ABLIGHED AUG 7. 1947
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(ARMBER OF TH B.C. PRESS COUN

TWICE WEEKLY MAA 4.1980
12, 19

LV. CAMPBELL — PUBLISHER AUG. 7, 147-FE, 15, 1979

‘cdverncament propored rom
Slngeaccneme

Ft weny
Sested im ond belongs to Castle News L'd.. provided. however, thot copyright
L rod trom repre procts, engrovings. eX. provided By the

Give locals edge

The controversy over Castlegar
council's decision to award a water
contract worth nearly $25,000 to
an out-of-town supplier isn't new.
It's simply another side to the
complex issue of local hiring and
local purchasing.

The two can't really be
separated. Those who champion
the cause of local hiring can’t very
well oppose local buying, just os
those who say we should hire the

heapest labor possible regardl

ot where it comes from can't
suddenly say we should buy all our
goods locally no matter what the
price.

Most Castlegar residents would
agree it is good tor the community
to hire locally and to buy locally.
But the issue gets sticky when that
policy is put into practice.

Does that mean we hire locally
even if we have to shell out for
much hi wages? Do we still
buy locally when the price is

what it can be purchased
for out of town?

Where do we draw the line?

py ‘

is o]
to decide where to draw the line. It
is f he @ new purchasing
policy. That policy will provide o
guideline for the city.

it will spell out when the city

offered elsewhere.
It will also spell out when the city
should reject the local price in
favor of the cheaper out-of-town

price.

But it will be another thing to get
council to follow that policy. That
was the problem with the water
contract.

The works and services
committee made its decision
without referring to the present
city p ing policy. The pi iJ
policy stipulates thot council
should give preterence to local
suppliers up to a limit of five per
cent or $250.

Under those conditions, the
Bartle and Gibson bid would still
have been rejected because even
though it was only tive per. cent
higher than the Kelowna firm's bid,
it was higher by some $1,400.

But evpn if a new purchasing
policy provides more generous
limits for local businesses, council
could still run into the same

instead, council should review
each case individually and judge
each on its own merits. It should
use its new purchasing policy and
the- whole low bid system as
guidelines, not as hard and tast
rules which must be adhered to at
all costs.

Awarding contracts to suppliers
and’ hiring employees should
involve more than dollars and
cents. A local firm and local
workers should be given
preference and shouldn't have to
be placed on the same footing as
out-of-town businesses and

ers.

Council should recognize the
special contributions local firms
and local workers have to offer.
After weighing those intangible
contributions, council then must
decide if the price for buying
locally or hiring locally is too
steep.

Is this quality?

Editor, Castlegar News:

During recent years the school sys-
tem has tried to provide quality
education for all children. The aim was
to reduce class sizes and provide a
more personalized education for chil-
dren with different needs and abilities.
Our school board has obviously sacri-
ficed the quality education of rural
children to deploy their school cen-
tralization plan.

School is a very important, part of a
child's life. It serves to teach basic
skills such as reading, writing, mathe-
matics and reasoning. It should also
serve to introduce our children to
sciences, arts, cultural traditions and
leisure time activities. When our chil-
dren leave school they should have an
understanding of who they are and
what they could be. Is our current
school system providing these ser-
vices?

Due to the recent closure of four
schools our children are facing larger
class sizes in the fall. This reduces the
time each child will have with his/her
teacher. Children from rural areas who

will be bused into town will be de-
prived of extracurricular activities in
their new schools because of tight
busing schedules. These programs will
not be available in their neighborhood
schools because these schools will no
longer be active. More yéung children
will be spending up to two hours on the
bus every day, this reduces their time
for homework, rest and recreation. Is
this what the school board calls quality
education for all children?

I have often thought of the possi-
bility of educating my children at
home. With our school system the way
it is, now is the time to consider all the
alternative types of education. We as
parents have the right to choose the
one that is best for our children.

I would like to hear from anyone who
is i d in isting to ish a
parent support group. This group will
investigate al} alternative methods of
education available to our children.

Kathleen Terry
c/o Box 3663
Castlegar, B.C. VIN 3W4

- Editorial ‘unfair’

Editer, News:

In a democracy, everyone's opinion
counts. I wish that more people would
be regularly, involved and partitipate
in guarding against our rights and
privileges.

No, I had not made up my mind
prior to voting on the question of
closing the four schools. My hope had
been that at one of the meetings
someone would have come up with a
viable alternative for the board to
consider.

Instead what I heard expressed were
some unfounded prejudices against
Twin Rivers school, a repeated ples
not to close “my school”, regardless of
which other school may be closed. Also
I heard concerns about property values
going down because of the school
closure and a most valid concern about
busing schedules and children waiting
for classes because of busing schedul

In B.C., school boards have become a
sort of executive branches of the will of
Victoria. Even though the electorate is
still left with’ the token privilege of
electing boards of trustees, boards’
powers have been drastically reduced
by legislators over the last four years,
Trustees have become whipping boys
and girls.

My “backside” hurts, thanks to our
benevolent government, also thanks to
your editorial and the many rightfully
irate parents and taxpayers.

We are facing difficult times. Yet I
believe that by working together, for
the good of the whole school district,
we can provide reasonable good
education for all children. Should we
give it a try?

Trustee

Possibly the only
as yet, held explora
Pez, The Top Twenty,
declared his intention to ri
Premier of British Columbia!

living Socred
tory meetings with The
or Expo Ernie—and/or
to run for election as

who hasn't,

Letters to the Editor

shelters. With paint donated by the
village, the board workmen painted the
shelters, but no sooner was the work
finished, than children began defacing
it with serawlings and drawings.

. .

On Jubilee Saturday, July 7 the
morning entertainment for Trailites
and visitors celebrating the city’s 50th
birthday will be provided by Cominco.
A show of industry has been planned
and it will start off at 10:30 in the
morning with a long parade through

the downtown streets.
. e

This concern shall definitely be given
much consideration by the board.

The fact that during the four
meetings another positive suggestion
was not put forth is perhaps most
indicative of the difficult decision this
board has faced. Therefore to deny the
fact that I, for one, have sincerely and
humbly sought an alternative solution
to close schools in our effort to
maintain an acceptable level of edu-
cation for our children, is a most unfair
claim of your editorial in the June 15
paper.

Please address all Letters to the
Editor to: The ir News,
P.O. Box 3007, Castlegar, B.C. VIN
3H4, or deliver them to our office
at: 197 Columbia Avenue, Castle-

.
the name ond eddress of the writer mus! be
disclosed to the editor

The Costlegor News reserves the right to
edit letters for brevity. clority, legolity ond
grommor

|

Local firm supported

Editer, Castlegar News:

I wish to write to indicate that I fully
support the position taken by aldermen
Nick Oglow and Bob Pakula in
unsuccessfully attempting to have the
City of Castlegar accept the recent
Bartle & Gibson Co. Ltd. water
contract bid. I believe the local
business should have been awarded the
contract.

I appreciate that there are substan-
tial reasons for awarding contracts to
the lowest bidders and for’ maintaining
the integrity of the low bid system.

usinesses: “It

community affairs. It is

businesses that

stability to our city and region. Its

Victoria
to blame

Editor, Castlegar News:

After reading the letter from Helen
Tereposky in last Sunday's paper, I am
left feeling tremendously saddened.

To hold Kay Johnson, Terry Way-
ling, or our board of school trustees
responsible for the closure of four
schools in our district is totally unfair.

These are not the people who
decided to cut several hundreds of
thousands of dollars out of our district's
operating budget again. These are not
the people who decided to implement a
fall enrolment count, which could well
result in further financial to

direct economic contribution to our
area is far in excess of the difference in
the bid it quoted.

In addition, it has recently come to
my jon that a leading i
has found that if $1 can remain and
circulate in a community for 30 days,
the value to the community of that $1
at the end of the 30 day period will be
$2.50.

I was invited to a conference which
was held recently in Trail. It was
sponsored by the United Steelworkers
and the B.C. Dederation of Labor. Its
theme was economic recovery for the
greater Trail area. Several specialists
had come from the V area.

power to maintain local economic
control, had left the area and region. It
was believed that local economic
initiative could do much to restore local
security.

I believe we, as residents of
Castlegar, are in many ways fortunate
and can look forward to a bright future.
However, it is my opinion, and I think
the opinion of many others, that we
must analyze each economic decision in
the most careful way, considering not
only immediate but also far reaching

ywences so that each one of our
tax doilare io spent in voch a way as to
bring the greatest possible benefit to

One of the greatest concerns expressed
was how much wealth, and with it the

our s
Terry Dalton

Grads not responsible

Editer, Castlegar News:

Iam a parent of a student in the 1986
grad class. Two of us spent many hours
arranging driving for the grads and
their dates. The following is what we
were led to believe would take place
and what actually took place.

The Sunset Drive-In was to show a
regular feature or be closed. After the
patrons had left, the grads of ‘86 and
their dates were to enter the drive-in.

The drive-in was closed, but pon-
grads were allowed in at $2 a head long
before the grad dance was over.
Several people told us of this charge.

Only a fewapars were to be in the
drive-in. They would be there so the
kids could have music. In fact, there
were many cars and they were parked
like there was to be a movie.

The grad class had been instructed
to bring unbreakable containers at the
request of the owners of the drive-in.
The majority of the Grad ‘86 class

our district in the fall.

There is certainly justification for
deep anxiety and concern for the
closure of the four schools. But let's
place the responsibility for this act
where it should go — totally to the
provincial government in Victoria.

Kay Johnson, Terry Wayling, and
our board of, school trustees were
merely left “holding the bag” — a bag -
that terribly inadequate funding.

Iw urgg all people concerned to
remember this when a provincial
election is called.

Marlane King
Castlegar

Real issue is fu

Editor, Castlegar News:

Those who control the education
ministry purse strings in Victoria must
be chuckling with glee at the spectacle
of the “civil war” raging in School
District No. 9 over the closing of rural
elementary

It is easy to point the finger at our
local school trusteés,gs a group or as
individuals. They are handy, and
visibly on the spot. The budgetary
“pie” they are expected to slice up
fairly is too small. The size of that pie
was dictated by the Ministry of
Education, whose duty it is to provide
adequate funds.

Now our trustees, and we as citizens,
have been forced into confrontation
with each other over whose schools,
programs, etc. are the most important.
There can be no winners in this conflict
— we all lose the strength we have as a

lied. The non-grads brought bot-
tles, which they broke.

The drive-in owners also requested
the grads clean up the garbage. They
cleaned up a lot. The non-grads refused
to pick up any garbage.

We were led to believe the drive-in
gates would be locked so non-grads
would not be allowed in. Anyone
wanting to leave would have to ask for
a ride home. What happened was that
the entrance gate was repeatedly left
open so cars could come and go at will.

As parents offering rides, we would
encourage people to let us drive them
home. We never turned anybody down.
We stopped people from leaving with

cohesive community to influence those
who really wield the financial power
over our schools.

The energy that's been expended for
and against Russian immersion, for and
against school closures, etc., is incred-
ible.

Why can’t all of us put this energy to
work on gaining the amount of funding
we really need to run a school district
of our size, geographical and cultural
variety?

As long as we're fighting among

their cars when we parked a car in
front of the gate. As for as driving
people home, we drove many — grads,
non-grads and even parents who were
partying with the grads.

The pancake breakfast was for the
grads and their dates. Many of the
students had bought tickets at $1
apiece in advance. These people were
very polite when they got their
breakfast. The non-grads wanted
breakfast, too, and many were very
obnoxious about having to wait until
the class of "86 had finished.

One of the parents at the gate
phoned the police because we were
afraid somebody would get hurt when
the older children, (you can't call them
men), kept turning a car over. Once the
car was on fire they seemed content /to
throw rocks and bottles at it and at
anyone who got too close. ‘a

The owner of the car told the fire
department he was a grad. Well, he
was — from a few years ago. That is
why I have tried to make it clear that
this year’s grads had nothing to do
with the incident.

The were still at the drive-in
waiting for the diehards to leave when
I left at 8:30 a.m.

I would like to thank all the people
who helped us fulfill our obligation to
provide rides and thank those who
made use of our service.

Good luck class of "86. I hope the
incident at the drive-in has been a
learning experience.

Janice Johnson
Castlegar

nding

isn't working for us to support quality
education for our children. Bureaucrats
at great distances are deciding how
much our children’s education is worth.
We are being denied our rights.

public input while doing a difficult,
thankless job most of us wouldn't have
on a silver platter. Let's support the

some

compromises. And let's get together as

a whole community on the real issue

here — restoring adequate school

funding so that all our children can

have a first-class education.
Castlegar

More letters page AS

Pete MelIntyre, well-known
and former

A Kinnaird man has been elected to
the board governing the Senior Citi-
zens Association of B.C.

Ernest Balley, who was a delegate to
the recent annual convention of the
group in Kelowna as a delegate for the
Castlegar and Rossland clubs, won
election to the board.

. 8 @

will officiate at the opening ceremonies
which will be attended by civic and
i dignitaries from Castlegar

A naming ceremony for the newest
vessel in Canadian Cellulose’s fleet of
18 tugs is to be held at 11 a.m. on

of next week at the

G.0. Sutherland in honor of the retired
long-time captain who during his many
years on the Arrow Lakes and the
Columbia River was in the employ of
Canadian Cellulose and its predecessor
companies.
. 8,8

Following months of preparation, the
$600,000 referendum for a Regional
Recreation Centre went down to
defeat Saturday when voting took
place in the twin towns of Castlegar
and Kinnaird and electoral areas I and
J.
The referendum received over-
whelming support in Kinnaird and a
majority of the voters in electoral Area

gional District of Peace River-Liard.
. . .

A single-engine Cessna 172 crashed at
Deer Park at 9:30 p.m. Saturday
claiming the lives of two local men.

The two men, a Robson resident and
one from Glade, workers at the Mica
Creek dam, were returning home for
the weekend.

5 YEARS AGO
From the July 2, 1981

Picket lines were up Tuesday at thr
Castlegar post office as local members
of the Canadian Union of Postal
Workers joined the union's nationwide
strike.

. 26 8

Union members at B.C. Timber’s
Celgar lumber and pulp divisions have
voted strongly in favor of strike action
to back their contract demands.

7 2¢ @

An appeal to B.C. Attorney-General
Allan Williams for a meeting to discuss
the past week's rash of attempted
bombings and arson is being sought by
the Orthodox Doukhobors in the West
Kootehay.
er een terete cermnenncmmn

‘

Take a look at service

Editer, News:
I am writing about the service I have received from a
number of businesses in Castlegar. | certainly won't be doing

approximately 25 cadet uniforms for the
annual inspection and banquet held June 11. I explained to
the manager of the cleaners that the earliest I could have the
uniforms there would be on Monday, June 9 as the cadets

the door locked. There was a sign in the window stating thé
summer hours and that it was closed on Mondays, I was not
told this would be the case.

After a few moments of panic, I drove downtown to

‘Cleaners. I asked the fellow who was working there
if he could clean 25 cadet uniforms by Wednesday. He
informed me he could.

On Wednesday as I picked up my daughter's uniform, I
Jooked the uniform over only to discover that the tunic had
been pressed wrong, that the pants had not been pressed in
the hip area, and that there were double creases down the
back. I asked the fellow to repress the pants. I received a
number of complaints from parents that they had to redo the
uniforms when they got home. That cost parents $157.50 for
a job that was not well done.

‘That same Monday morning | took two disc films to the

Picture Place at the Castleaird Plaza to have them
developed, as we needed the pictures for our annual
i ‘The films were of the sports weekend in Vernon.
I was told by the owner's wife that they only do disc film on
Monday mornings.
I proceeded to tell her that this is Monday morning. Her
reply was that the films had to be in on Saturday. | explained
that we were in Vernon for the weekend and just got back
Sunday night. I explained that the pictures were very
important to the cadets as they do displays for the annual
inspection. She said she was sorry.

Disappointed with
school trustees

school board's proposal, even
prior to the briefs being
heard. A lot of people,
ineluding myself, were will
ing to lay down their tools
when the teachers asked for
help, but when it comes down
to providing help for edu-
cation for all children, it now
- appears that a lot of teachers’
self interests rise to the
forefront.
1 do'wish to thank those
teachers and parente~from
- both the city and rural areas
- who did place education first
and assisted greatly in pre-
paring an alternative to the
proposed tragedy.
William Hadikin

actively supporting the

F.J. MCLEOD LTD.
CASTLEGAR, B.c.

.
.

INDUSTRIAL &
* CRAWLER LOADER a BacKHOE

RF. (Dick) MeLEOD
365-3566

ALCON
PAINTING &
DECORATING .

FOURTH AVENUE
ec
yes 3563

2649
CASTLEGAR
vin 2s! 7

Carol Magaw
Dianna Kootnikoff

ADVERTISING SALES

EG.
SeSeRECAR, NEWS

OFFICE 365-5210

I then said there is another shop in town that maybe
could d them for us. She asked if I would like her to give

them a call and see if they could, so she did. They could

have a good look at the way they are operat

2b UET?

excellent service we have received and for a job well
the engraving of our trophies. It was a pleasure to do
h 5

they serve this city well at a number of events

the year. They do this service only for

throughout
exposure as well.as to
live.

help the community be a better place to

In closing, I would

like to remind the businesses in

Castlegar that if they want the dollars to stay in Castlegar
they should have a good look at the service they are
providing, as Trail and Nelson are only a half hour away.

Mrs. J. Neumann

Club revives
Robson fair

Editer, Castlegar News:

We feel that the following
information will be of inter-
est to women in our com-
munity who have found that
the desire to belong to a
women's service club has
been suppressed in the past
for various reasons.

We are writing as a group
of women from Castlegar,
who have struggled to find an
active place in our communi-
ty.

We started our club a little
over a year ago with a small
group of women over the age
of 19 from various walks of
life, such as housewives,
students and career women.

While time progressed, we
discovered the obvious need
Aor @ women's service club as
our group continues to grow.
Our ever-present desire for
new members makes our club
an exception to the quite
often strict rules of many
other women's clubs and
makes it easily accessible to

all women over the age of 19.

ity Fall Fair which will ve
held on Sept. 20. In past
years the Robson Women's
Institute has held this valu-

feel that with the
the Robson Women's Insti-
tute we too will be successful
in raising funds for the
various peeds in oyr_com-
munity. ‘ “5
Our future plans are to
continue as an active
women’s service club and to
be of as much assistance to
our community as possible.
Krull

Castlegar

Exner notaCA

I am writing on behalf of
the Institute of Chartered
Accountants of British Co-
lumbia in regard to an article
in the May 7 issue of your
paper entitled “Residents
opposed to waterslide.”

The article referred to a
Mr. Gary Exner of Nelson as
a “chartered general accoun-
tant.”

This description is wrong;
there is no such designation.
He is either a chartered

Our Action Ad Phone
Number is 365-2212

cost of this ad!
365-5210

accountant or a member of
another accounting body.
(And just for your records he
does not appear in our
member list).

I understand that a re
porter may be confused be-
tween the CA profession and
other accounting bodies. But
in our eyes, there is a major
difference. The Institute of

Youths didn’t

block fi

it?
F

gFEEG
1
it

I did not have anything to
do with burning the vehicle

Face real

We are disgusted with his
attitude about non-Douk-
hobor children, and we think
that he should open his eyes,
turn on his “Satan box” and
face the real world.

Students of KJSS

RENT
THIS
SPACE
365-5210

Chartered A is the
province's leading profession-
al accounting organization
Tepresenting almost 6,000
members and students in
education and government
service.

Chartered accountants set
the accounting standards re-
quired by the Superinten-
dent of Brokers, stock ex-
changes, and government
regulatory bodies. Other
accounting groups adopt
these same standards.

I hope this clears up any
confusion.

COMMENT
INVITED

Your School Board is inviting comment

TOYOTA _ |

all

orrison
se it, FU find itt”

CASTLEGAR CHEVRON

wo)

on a ‘draft’ Mission and Goal
Statement. Reactions will be used in
developing a community consensus ot
the direction public school education
should take in School District No. 9.

Copies of the ‘draft’ statement ore
available at the School Board Office
and individuals or groups are invited
to pick up one and respond.
BOARD OF SCHOOL TRUSTEES
School District No. 9 (Castlegar)

Your Castlegar News
carrier is running his own
business, and he deserves
to be paid promptly.

If you're late with

remen

ELE TEM thet
iil

8
rh

The firemen simply entered
on foot to see if there was any

hazards involved. Every-
thing wais in control so they

ITE
ig

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Clip the coupon below and mail to:

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