AA Castlégar News March 4, 1990 Library valuable to community We are disappointed to learn that petitions are circulating in Areas | and J against the Regional District_of Central-K " proposed bylaw to establish a tax that would help fund the Castlegar and District Public Library. The $3.50 it will cost the owner of a home valued at $50,000 in Area | and $7 for the owner of a home of similar value in Area J seems a small price to pay to help create an even better library than we already have. There are a number of valid statistical and financial arguments in favor of the proposed bylaw which were pointed out in last Sun- day's Castlegar News ina letter to the editor written by library board chairman Ron Norman, Among those arguments is the fact that residents of Areas | and J currently account for 17 per cent of the library's total membership while the user fees they now pay contrubute just 2.7 per cent to the library's operating budget. As well, if the bylaw passes, some of the additional revenue the tax will generate will hopetully be used to hire additional staff at the library and ease the burden on its overworked librarians. The bylaw will also be a springboard to additional provincial funding since Vic- toria funds libraries at twice the per capita rate in unincorporated areas than municipalities — $3.20 compared to $1.60. That would mean an additional $22,000 to the Castlegar library, but only if the bylaw is approved. But those are just the hard statistics. The value of a library to a community can’t be measured in just dollars and cents. Much like the new Castlegar and District Aquatic Centre, which contributes to the physical health of the community and makes this area a better place in which to live, the library adds to the educational and cultural health of Castlegar and the surrounding area. We don't NEED a well-staffed, well-stocked, library just as we don't NEED an aquatic centre. But the local community is much, much richer for having these facilities. Just as Area | and J voters overwhelmingly approved the referendum on the Aquatic Centre, we hope they will support the proposed bylaw to help the library financially and not sign the coun- ter-petitions being circulated. If you have signed the petitions, please reconsider and take your name off. In this International Year of Literacy, $3.50 per year or $7 per year is indeed a small price to pay for the valuable educational and cultural service the Castlegar Public Library provides. Tax policies tax patience While I have qualms about putting myself in the position of appearing to have no sympathy for seniors on fixed (and therefore, paradoxically, diminishing) incomes, I cannot agree that seniors should be exempt from any specific taxes, and especially from taxes earmarked for education. We who are no longer part of the formally recognized work force should have no illusions as to how we are to be provided for in the future. The goods and services we will need will not come from the pieces of paper and computer entries that so many of us have come to see as wealth. peared but the overall tax rate did not go down, nor was there any suggestion that the obligation to pay the pension was removed. This is not the first time that the Mulroney administration has set about the reducing of and eventual ef- fective elimination of the OAS. The first attempt in 1985 was too ham- fisted.. The announcement was made that the indexing of OAS was to be lowered. The effect of this was ap- parent to everyone: inflation would inexorably erode the value of the OAS until it became nothing but a token payment. Who can ever forget the diminutive Solange Denis holding on to the arm of our prime minister and telling him ‘*. . . you lied to us. . .”” and causing him to beat an em- barrassed retreat? No, the meat and potatoes, and the services that are essential to our well being can come only from our natural resources and from the work of in- telligent and well-educated human beings. We all have a vested interest in building and maintaining an effective and adequately financed system of education. Since then our government has been reading its Machiavelli, and has learned its lessons well, Who today will have much sym- pathy for anyone having trouble making ends meet on the income of $50,000 per year at which the clawback starts, or any at all for those with the $76,000 at which the clawback is complete? No taxation policy can ever be per- ceived by all as being fair. Toward achieving fairness the best we-can do is base taxation on the ability to pay and to establish a generous level of in- come, a level propped up with refun- dable tax credits, at which taxation kicks in. There will always be special circumstances that call for some tinkering with this admittedly overly simplified principle, but there should be no blanket exemptions for par- ticular groups, even when I am a member of one of those groups. But let us think about this. The threshold does not ge up with in- flation, but rises only at the inflation rate less three per cent. With in- flation showing signs of running at six per cent, in one short year this $50,000 threshold will become in pur- chasing power only $48,500, and each year will decline by however much the inflation rate exceeds three per cent. Those now in their 30s will be: most unwise if they plan on using the OAS as the foundation on which to build a retirement income. This is not the case with the system that the Mulroney administration is imposing on us now. With the clawback of old-age security those of us who are 65 or older are being made subject to a special tax that does not apply to younger people. OAS is not something that our government is giving to us. It is a payment that we have earned by vir- tue of our having spent our lives working in Canada: it is part of the social contract. This was clearly ar- ticulated for many years in the early part of my working life when there was a line in the income tax form that specified the amount being paid for old-age security. In one of the many revisions to the form this line disap- r I do agree that we older people should get organized and undertake political and economic action of some sort. If the younger people know what is good for them they will throw in their lot with us. But let us not go af- ter the schools and the universities. The real villains are in Ottawa. And, I am embarrassed to have to say, we the people have put them there. Fred G. Marsh Castlegar Su Castlégar News (MEMBER OF THE B.C. PRESS COUNCR ABLISHED AUGUST 7, 1947 E WEEKLY MAY 4 1980 INCORPORATING THE MID WEEK MIRROR PUBLISHED SETPEMBER 12 1978 AUGUS! 27 1960 LV CAMPBELL — PUBLISHER. AUGUST 7. 1947 FEBRUARY 15, 1973 PUBLISHER — Burt Campbell EDITOR — Simon Birch PLANT FOREMAN — Peter Horvey ADVERTISING MANAGER — Woyne Stolz OFFICE MANAGER — Lifitio Kositsin CIRCULATION MANAGER — Heather Hodley ry March 4, 1990 Remember when # YEARS AGO From the March 9, 1950 Castle News . Education Week is the week set aside for-the furtherance of the cause of education in British Coltimbia, and it was with this purpose in mind that the Castlegar District Teachers’ Association sponsored the public meeting of March 6th held at the Coronation Hall on Monday evening. eee Many important and varied municipal matters were brought un- der discussion at the Commissioner's recent meeting of March 6th in the Village Office. It was decided to give the exterior of the town hall the “‘new look”’ with a stucco job on the Village Office and Firehall, leaving the garage and warehouse as they are now. The purchase of the new Village truck was discussed and will be brought before the attention of the Commissioners at their next meeting. o- A resolution presented to the legislature select standing committee on agriculture Thursday by the B.C. Farmers Institute Advisory Board requested that daylight saving time be outlawed except in the case of an emergency such as war. Primula are blooming in the garden of Mr. and Mrs, Archie Ferguson. 25 YEARS AGO From the March 4, 1965 Castlegar News The Castlegar Hospital Board of trustees approved submission to the B.C. Hospital Insurance Services i for 1965 in the amount of $245,905. This amount represents an increase Letters to the editor Recycling needed I am writing in response to a letter by Fred Peitzsche about the “tignorance”’ of the Coalition for In- formation on the Pulp Mill Expan- sion regarding recycling and the kraft process. First, I would like to point out that the original press release issued by CIPE regarding recycling contained the following paragraph. “The Celgar kraft mill process does not allow for recycled fibre being in- cluded, but CIPE is optimistic that as Celgar realizes the magnitude of regional concern, they will explore the options.’’ - This press release can be found in the Feb. 12 Nelson Daily News. The same press release was also in the Feb. 14 Castlegar News, but this paragraph was unfortunately deleted by editorial discretion. As to the ability of Celgar to con- sider recycling, | quote from Celgar’s Bleached Kraft Mill Expansion Report, dated December 1989. “Interestingly, growing public con- cern for protection of the environ- ment, consumer appreciation for and acceptance of recycled paper produc- Fund gets goo Whether the performance attracts 30 people or 330, the amount of human time and energy required to arrange its presentation is the same. That is why then, it is ever so much more gratifying to those who are ex- pending that time and energy, when audience size turns out to be the lat- ter. Such was the case Feb. 23 at Kin- naird Junior secondary school when the Castlegar Arts Council and the Stage 9 Community Theatre Commit- ts, and the use of recycled newsprint now being mandated by some jurisdictions, . presents both a challenge and an opportunity for Celgar.”” So, by Celgar’s own admission, there is an opportunity for recycling. Therefore, it becomes imperative for the public to ensure that the company takes up the challenge. As to the detailed analysis offered on the de-inking process, it should be noted that a large portion of the toxic effluents generated in a de-inking plant originate in the inks themselves. The need for de-inking plants and their associated environmental hazar- ds can be minimized by having society convert ‘to environmentally sound inks made from biodegradable vegetable-based dyes. These types of inks are currently being used in other parts of the world and are starting to gain acceptance in North America. Also, the need for de-inking plants per se is under debate. Eaglefoot Recycling of Nelson markets a writing paper called Recycled 100, which is not secondarily bleached or de-inked. boisterous round of applause from admiring friends and neighbors during their final bows. On behalf of the Arts Council and the Community Theatre committee, I would like to extend heartfelt thanks to everyone who helped make the evening such an unqualified success, to David Healing for encouraging us to sponsor the performance in the fir- st place and for working so hard to help bring it about, to all members of the cast and crew of the RLOP for tee the land Light Opera Players’ pi of Gilbert and Sullivan’s Pirates of Penzance. In spite of _ less-than-perfect acoustics and only moderately com- fortable seating, 330 appreciate patrons did not fail to convey their total enjoyment of the evening’s event Individual performances were all noteworthy, but RLOP’s tong-time veteran, George Bourchier, as the “very model of a modern major- t ighly per to School District No. 9 administration and maintenance per- sonnel for their cooperation in making the facility available, to Bruce and Clara Gerrand and Suzanne Rogers for their help at the door, to Eleanor Elstone for her tireless efforts in arranging details and encouraging attendance, to Carl’s Drugs, Phar- masave and the Castlegar Public Library for acting again as ticket sales outlets, to_all those who sold tickets general’ was ‘With just the right combination of authority and humor, he brought his character fully to life. His wife, Babs, as Ruth (the only female pirate aboard) gave a very strong, accomplished perfor- mance as well. Locally recognized cast. members, including Lorren Culley as the Pirate King, Mary Healing as Kate, and chorus members Jim Waldie, David, Sara and Mat- thew Healing, drew a particularly y-and to you who bought tickets and came out to support us. Without the efforts and support of each and every one of you, the evening would have been far less suc- cessful than it was. As our first offi fundraising ef- fort towards the realization of a 300- seat community theatre in the present activity room of Stanley Humphries secondary school, the presentation of Pirates raised approximately $1,500 More letters, page AS Domtar produces a line of writing paper which is 100 per cent post- consumer fibre and is not de-inked. The major drawback in the post- consumer fibre market is the price imbalance between recycled fibre and regular paper products. As our resource base continues to decline with the rapid increase of pulp mills in Canada, I believe it may become necessary to impose a ‘‘virgin fibre tax,”’ to help sustain our forest and pulpwood industries. When that comes to pass, which may not be that far off, recycled paper will become competitive on the world market. But, as an employee of Celgar, Mr. Peitzsche is already aware of this in- formation. So the only sour spot left from Mr. Peitzsche’s informative letter is his need to demean as he educates. If he insists on using this approach, then f would suggest that he attempts to use some form of vegetable-based ink That way, at least the environment will not be exposed to any undue toxic affects. Craig Lawrence Winlaw start — a healthy beginning to the theatre account. We hope the success of this event will inspire the people of Castlegar and district to take note of this project and to commit their sup- port to future fundraising endeavors by both the Arts Council and the theatre committee. Friday night proved the existence of a good audience in Castlegar and if only we had a “‘proper’’ performing arts facility, I suspect our cultural development would be well served. Thank you, everyone. We invite everyone to attend our next Arts Council attraction, Gerald Laroche, Harmonica Master, at the Sandman Inn banquet room March 9 at 8 p.m. Donna Moyer for Castlegar Arts Council and the Stage 9 Community Theatre Committee Please address all Letters to the Editor to: The Castlegar News, P.O. Box 3007, Castlegar, B.C. VIN 3H4, or deliver them to our office at 197 Col b 12 percent over —of funds approved by BCHIS for 1964. eee The possibility that both Robson and Blueberry Creek may be forced to incorporate as villages if a district municipality is not formed in the area was strongly hinted at Tuesday night by several speakers at a meeting of a district municipality study committee. vee Castlegar is to get a regional college to serve the West Kootenay. Eight thousand and fifty-six voters went to the polls in six school districts last Thursday to give the College 72. 57 per cent support. see Plans for a $1,400,000 hotel for Castlegar for which liquor control board approval has already been ob- tained were made public yesterday by George Goloff of Goloff and Co. The hotel will be bounded by Wood and Pine Streets and will front on Wood St. The site is the present vacant lot located across from th Bank of Montreal. * 15 YEARS AGO From the March 6, 1975 Castlegar News The 1975 executive of the Castlegar and District Chamber of Commerce was installed Thursday evening with the gavel presented to president Dave Silvester by Mayor Ed Mosby. eee Lack of suitable premises is the main stumbling block in locating a hostel in Castlegar to amalgamate hostels which have been operating in Trail and Nelson. eo. One of the world’s most accom- plished violinists, Jack Glatzer, will give a concert on the evening of Mar- ch 15 in Stanley Humphries secondary school. eee Local realtors and developers ap- pear divided in their opinions on the new subdivision bylaw. This was the report given by Ald. Mike Livingstone at the last regular council meeting, at which he stated a meeting was held mid-February and everyone concerned was allowed to express their opinions on the bylaw eee Reg McQuaid told an audience of 20 people at Selkirk College last Sun- day that after 12 years as a missionary in India, he decided that a missionary was needed in the corporation board rooms and the Parliament offices of Canada. 5 YEARS AGO From the March 3, 1985 Castlegar News The Nordic Ski Touring Club in Castlegar has been awarded a federal grant of almost $14,000-to develop new trails at the Paulson Country ski area and near Nancy Greene Lake. * Castlegar school board has at- Avenue, Castlegar. Letters should be typewritten double-spaced and not longer than 300 words Letters must be signed ond include the writer's full name and address. Only in very exceptional coses will letters be published without the writers name Nevertheless. the nome ond address of must be disciosed to the he Costlegor News reserves the right to edit letters tor brevity, clarity, legality end grammor tacked the p government's new Bill 48, which allows school boards to go to public referendum to obtain additional taxes to pay for education costs. In a prepared release, the board said Bill 48 ‘‘is not_a solytion to the Problem of inadequate finding from the B.C. government."’ Instead, the board said the bill “‘creates a much greater problem of inequality from school district to school district.’ Waldie. He has showed you, O Man, what is good; and what does the Lord require of you but to do justly, and love kindness and to walk humbly with your God. — Micah6 Bill Waldie will be 87 years old this July and he has served the community in which he has spent the great part of that long life in accord with the requirements of the prophet Micah — justly, kindly and humbly with his God. Thus, among his many avenues of service — often for Tong periods and in executive offices — he in- cludes: the Castlegar Board of Trade (forerunner of the Chamber of Commerce), the Doukhobor Con- ird-Rob: sultative Ci the Ki Waldies reflects _ on history Editor's note: The following is the conclusion of John Charters’ two-part feature on local ploneer Bill only lumber mill of any size and we had almost no competition for all of the time we were in business. “Therefore there would have been no market for the loggers on the lake to sell their logs, and no lumber for the hundreds of people here and from Trail to build their houses, often on credit — a bit at a time — as they could afford it. Yeah, I guess here LETTER Socialist-style subsidies unfair would have been really slowed down, that’s for sure. There was also the spin-off effect on other industry and business. “Pete Kalesnikoff, for example, when he opened his mill, gave Waldie’s a lot of credit for his getting started.’” Then came the grin again and lie added: ‘‘Even on the downside we got credit. Cap Capozzi (who, with the help of W.A.C. Bennett built the Calona Wineries, among other things, and became a mijlionaire) says that he would probably have retired as a lumberyard = | John Charters Reflections and man of the A Community Chest (later the United Way), the Toast- masters Club, the Robson school board (later incor- porated into the Castlegar School District), and the Castlegar and Robson United Church. He has been a Liberal candidate for MLA, chair- d Chambers of Ci for Castlegar . recollections worker if Waldie’s hadn’t laid him off after the 1918 opening these highways. questions. been? If your father somewhere else?’” had Southern B.C., and took part in the treks over the Kinnaird-Nancy Greene and Salmo-Creston highway routes to demonstrate to the government the need for Furthermore, in 1965, the Kiwanis Club, of which he is a charter member, to honor him, made him a Citizen of the Year. It was essential, therefore, that I make a second visit to Bill’s home in Robson to take advantage of this experience and ask two further Question one: ‘‘What would have happened to the history of Castlegar if Waldie’s Mill had never invested his money Bill smiled wryly. He was not going to be lured in- to making rash statements. Then he said slowly: “‘It would have made a difference, all right. We were the fire. He liked it here. “People are different today,’’ Bill continued. “They want Jo start at the top with everything com- plete rather than to build as they go. They aren’t prepared to work eight hours and then come home and spend another four building their home from the basement up. It’s a part of the inflationary spiral, this instant gratific: mn. **We have also lost much of the volunteer spirit — giving time and effort for the benefit of the community as a whole. For example, practically everyone was in- volved in the building of the arena — the only hired person being the building supervisor. The airport is another example. Stan Horswill pointed out the possibility over there and a lot of us went over with rakes and shovels and trucks and picked up rocks to create the first landing strip. It sure was dusty but it continued on page Aé LETTER Steelworker sees both sides There seems to be a lot of con- troversy over the proposed moder- nization at Celgar pulp mill. I personally helped build the old mill and we were told at that time that these plants would be good for only 20 to 30 years due to competition, newer methods and wear and tear. Therefore, there can be no logical argument put forward to maintain the old polluting, worn out mill. Accor- dingly, the only question left is: What type of mill should be built? I do believe that in my 30 years in industry, having been on the con- struction of 20 or more plants of all kinds, I can firmly say that no plant is non-polluting. Local 1 of the Pulp, Paper and Wyodworkers of Canada (one of my favorite locals) has produced a position paper that states: ‘We welcome the new mill, welcome the more secure jobs and appreciate the company’s efforts to modernize.” I can support that. I can also sup- port the community groups that wish more information and want to ‘‘wat- chdog’’ the mill. Local 480, United Steelworkers of America, tabled a motion at its mem- bership meeting Feb. 21 supporting the modernization of the new mill, providing all federal and provincial standards are met. The tabling was done to enable us sufficient time to gather information to support that motion. In an attempt to obtain that information, we had a member sit on the Coalition for Information on the Pulp Mill Expansion to keep us in- Pre-Spring Special! | Extended by’ Popular Demand until March 311 P, LIVING ROOM, DINING ROOM AND HALLWAY $38°° We Move Furniture POOR BOYS CARPET & UPHOLSTERY CLEANERS 365-2488 367-6234 jobs, i future, sustainable growth — don’t they have an appealing gut-wrenching ringtothem? > A One must assume sustainable is the caich-word of tthe decade — even Mike Harcourt-seems fond of it, He even wants socialist-style subsidies for small, inefficient farms in order to sustain agriculture. Of course, we all have to have good-paying jobs or businesses to pay higher taxes to sup- port these subsidies, but that’s a mere detail of tactics and has nothing to do with socialist policy. I know the goal is to” buy as many votes as possible, but subsidies? You must be'kidding, Mike. Farm exports come under the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade every bit as much as fisheries does. Subsidies are unfair to those who do not get the grants, and the money to support them has to come from somewhere. It appears Mr. Harcourt has a bigger clear-cut between his ears,than any in the forests of B.C, U yates a subsidy large enough, everl one or two acres becomes a farm and able to support a family. Socialist regimes in Europe are crumbling en masse because of such government manipulation and now Harcourt wan- ts to bring these tactics over here. What else do we have to fear if this man comes to power? Meanwhile, on the local scene, Corky Evans has his eye on one of the only sustainable jobs in the area — as MLA for Nelson-Creston. Funny, neither Corky nor Lyle Kristiansen (Kootenay West-Revelstoke MP) has spoken in public either for or against the pulp mill expansion at Celgar. Come on Lyle and Corky, tell us where you stand. Are you for or against the pulp mill expansion? Have you the guts to get down off the fen- ce? Fred Peitzsche Ross Spur ARROW LAKE ELEVATION 1403.67 ft. on March 2 Forecast of Elevation 1398.95 ft. by March 9 ROAD CLOSED MONDAY, MARCH SAM. pat a and all should be well! Yes, by 9.0.m. Sundays, you should be enjoying your Sunday Castlegar News It you're not, we want to correct the matter Hf you fail consistently to get your su Castlegar News by 9 @.m., then vs orid n. Call 366-7266 and ‘ask for cireviation. Castlegar News 197 Columbia Ave. 365-7266 ) “Real CONSIDERING NEW CONSTRUCTION? Buying a home? Whether it's a new . building or existing, it’s probably the formed. We have members sit on biggest investment you'll ever make. many committees, such as-lead study, | with, long term = financial oe ramifications. 11 calls fer