The Castlegar Sun Wednesday; Nanueny 2, 1991, Wednesday, January 2, 1991 _ The Castlegar Sun Name: Christopher . Where you work: Student Castlegar likes: Di i] What you do there: Nothing Castl - disikes:CI rt Pet: Dog - Roadkill Best kept Castlegar secret: Why HI Arrow burnt down Vehicle: Red Camero What would ou rather be doing? Flying jets in the roads and lack of snow Middle East Belezyk home for Christmas By FRANK DERBY ‘Sun staff writer Taken off the hill cian but Ae sore, Belczyk was relieved to learn that d Felix Belozyk missed Christmas with ‘the family last year so it was twice as nice to be able to get back this year. Add to that the fact that his girlfriend Bonny was joining the celebration with the Castlegar clan and you have the perfect family setting for the holid: finished a disappointing 35th, ““I was getting good times in practice and felt I was ready,” said Belczyk. “I felt good and was , but as.I came As surprised as the locals with the amount of snow and the minus twenty temperatures, Belezyk tried skiing daily at Red Mountain, but found it too cold to stay on the hill for long. At home with chestnuts. roasting and turkey in the oven he was content to put skiing on the back bumer, relax, and catch up on the family and home town gossip. _ Home is a rather nebulous concept for Belezyk. He does have acondo in Vancouver but only has April and May to fully enjoy it. Dry land training starts again in. June with occasional skiing in July. In August, the national ski team spends two to three weeks in South America. In September the team heads for Europe and the Alps. Special arrangements have been made for a hotel in Munich to serve as home: base to the Canadian ski’ team, but once starts, from D. to'March, home is a circuit of _ hotels around Europe. Belczyk’s season got off to a rough start. In the first race at Val D' sere, France he crashed. “ T lost it coming out of the i and. b * airbome,” said Belozyk. “I found myself straddling a gate in mid air with my skis off before sliding toward the net at 100 km/hr. As I hit the net my knees came up into my chin and I knocked myself out.” = Frozen Continued from 1A. have adequate winter clothes. It’s been too long.” The coldest’ ‘émpet recorded in ‘Castlegar si when they started keeping track of. these things was a nippy -30.6 on Dec. 30, 1968. The cold doesn’t not come without accompanying problems noted Richards. “There’s a wind chill factor that’s especially biting on exposed skin,” be said. “And with the light snow and strong winds, transport of snow in the mountains makes for more avalanche hazard for the Biphways, he heli-skiing, and cross- country skiing. The wind exposure ; long as you dress warmly, it’s not bad. It’s the wind that’s cold. Over on the T-Bar where it’s lower and not so exposed, it’s quite comfortable. Bundle up and come on out. We're definitely not speaking on crowds. There’s good skiing. I was out and I had a great time.” Someone else who’s having, if not a great time, but not a bad time with the cold snap are the West Kootenay Power crews. “Locally, we’ve had very few troubles,” said Doug Ferguson, WKP divisional manager for Castlegar and South Slocan. “We put in a new substation this past fall here in town and that's helped. We've got lots of capacity we didn’t have before. The odd and extra cold ip will make skiing more uncomfortable.” However, over at Whitewater office supervisor Anne Pigeon said weren't ov ded, but it’s been a nice quiet Christmas for us here in Castlegar.” That is not to say that the “It’s not too bad so long as you bundle up and come in every other yun or so,” she said. “And stay below the tree level. Tho snow is sO nice and the skiing so good. As can’t help out, though. “Most definitely,” said Ferguson, “It helps to. watch uneeded appliances then, say, do laundry later in the evening, it’s a big help to the-system. And in the long run, it saves money. We don’t have to buy that expensive power from B.C. Hydro.” The cold temperatures began to down the hill I knew that I just ‘wasn't sharp. After getting knocked out I guess it takes a little longer to get sharp again.” Rob Boyd was sharp and : finished second in the race, providing the Canadian ‘team with abit of alift. “The big difference between this year and last year is that we actually have a team.” said Belczyk. “For most of last year, with injuries and whatever, it was just Boyd and myself. This year we have eight racers. Carry Mullen and Darren Thorbum are a couple of the young guys with a future. | Rob Bossinger is back from a knee injury and Stemmle is doing great. ’ Now when we get into skating which we do for conditioning, we can get a little hockey game going. It’s more fun with more people on the team.” The fun is almost over for Belezyk, at least in racing. At 29 he’s one of the senior citizens of the downhill circuit. “A lot depends on how I do the rest of this year,” explained Belezyk. “It's a big year with the World Cup in Saalbach(Austria) and if I’m satisfied with my performance I just might hang on for the Olympics next year.” In terms of his future after racing, Belezyk is not sure what he will get into except to say that he wants to stay connected to the port. “I’ve gotten a lot out of skiing and I’m looking forward to giving something back. I plan to do a two year course in business administration and after that who knows? I’ve considered opening my own ski shop, but ski area ge to the knec was’ limited to'a bad bruise.! Av week’: later he felt he was ready to go: again. At-Val Gardena,Italy, he | PSD ELESEESEISSES ER CCUEL TEE ECCCEEREOECEOOEEED Felix Belczyk and friend relax at home. the first group in slalom.” + Coaching on the national team has changed this year with Gemnain Barrette taking over for Hans Stohl. “Hans was a lot tougher - is also ling and then there’ 's always the possibility of the p end of rything was done to the max, Barrette to an extent has let us ine our own work loads.” things for a ski company. ing would be part of my _ at the of the week, bringing with it the expected big dump of snow. Over at the South East Interior Weather Office on Monday moming, Ron Lakeman noted that “it looks like the moderating trend will continue through the weekend. There’s going to be snow, lots of it, today and tonight.” ona - I have almost a sense of duty to put something back and I could see myself coaching at a club level.” Coaching is an area that has improved greatly in Canada and Belczyk thinks it has reached a par with what's happening in Europe.. “We have particularly good You can see “All the highways have compact snow throughout and there will be icy sections” reported Doug Baker from the Hi, that in Allain Villiard - for the first time in decades we have a skier in said Belezyk. Felix Belczyk bas that glint in’, the eye that says he may be coming close to the end but he’d rather go out with a bang than a whimper. “If I could pick a race to win, it - would be Kitzbuhel. The best I've done was a 4th place finish there and it was great. If you do well at Kitzbuhel you get the respect of the other racers. To win it is my On the other hand Belozyk did Radio Room in Nelson on Monday momihg, “The Salmo-Creston is closed until further notice as is Highway 31 north of Lardo.” But, nothing really out of the ordinary has happened. “It’s happened before and it during the supper hour of 5-6 p.m. If everyone could cut back on all will happen again,” said Richards. z _& Council Continued from 1A part of the city’s new traffic tation initiative inteoduced ‘in “We ‘have a safety p said Moore in an interview Friday. “We're trying to rectify i it” “Moore said the city is only now beginning to grapple “with a problem created long time ago” as December. “We obviously have a problem with big trucks on 6th Avenue,” said Moore. “We' ve had a Problem, for a long time.” Council will first take another look at the 6th Avenue parking at’ its first meeting in the new year as a Committee of the Whole, January 8., then make a decision at its first regular meeting of council on Jan. 14. = Dispute ‘Continied from 1A :Sinelu ding the customers, like they :. didn't’ care whether the customers came back or not.” ‘The Fireside Motel owner Emie Turta — from whom Pitaloulif and Holt were. Jeasing the dining room ayed. out of the nar that bad management. was to blame, but insist the union drive played as important a role. “T think it was because of the union for one, and because they couldn‘t manage ‘the place,” waitress Toni Goetting said. “ “Intimidation was very much the case,” she insisted. “I signed up for union (certification) on the union’s position Nov. 17, and on Monday I was fired over the Phone and replaced.” ing said the new Hebert, who did not lose her job until the closure, said that after the union certification she was told “not to bother” coming to work when the restaurant was catering a number of banquets and was busy. The restaurant closed “because the union came,” Hebert said, “without a doubt.” She also disputed the owners’ claim that they opposed the restaurant going union for fear for wage increase demands, noting began threatening the staff from the start of union organizing. . “They .were telling us, ‘If you , go union, we're gonna shut down ” she said. “Just steady “People went.through the doors, threats. bell.” ¢ Another waitress, Samantha Hebert, agreed. “I've been working aaa for twelve years and it was the worst experience of “my life.” that staff for reason of shortage of business were replaced the next day with, outside People. “It wasn’t about wages — it, was about job security,” Hebert said. The, recent union certification, was the first time the Fireside has gone union. In Castlegar, Monte Carlo Motel is also a union shop and Hi Arrow Arms Motel has fired one day. Sugar and | spice she congetod herself. " m never doing: this. againi* said. teacher’ : ‘Denise Laurie, two weeks before. Christmas. al “"Actually. | amnext week, with my. other class, i will go a long way toward makin; site preparation is not somethin “So far, in my opinion&t least, th ‘BUN STAFF picrorrekOxty refer to the 9-10 months he devotes to skiing as “my job” and that may: be a sign that the racing season is becoming too much like work. He may be getting tired of moving rootlessly from hotel to hotel: Driving from one ski hill td another in wicked storms certainly has no appeal. Caught on the road between Val D’Isere and Val “Gardena, it took Belezyk almost nine hours to cover a stretch of 50 kilometers. At one point he bounced his car off the front end of an oncoming bus that was sliding into his lane and. threatening to squash him against the guard rail, He accelerated and made it through . the gap before it closed. Then too it may be easier for Belczyk to contemplate his future outside of racing now that Bonny Lothrup is part of his life. They met a couple of years ago at Whistler during World Cup racing. Given the nature of the sport with all the traveling and time spent in Europe, the odds of pinga Winning with style Ruth and Arthur Konkin, winners of the first-ever Castlegar Sun Seasonal Showcase, Light Up Castlegar for Christmas contest accept confirmation of their grand prize from Sun Editor Nancy Lingley. The Konkins will be flying AirBC to Vancouver, stay overnight at the Delta River Inn, and see a Canucks hockey game. ‘SUN STAFF PHOTO / Frank Derby WEATHER The forecast for Wednesday after- noon calls for cloudy periods with sunny breaks. Highs will be around -10. The outlook for Thursday and Friday calls for the upper flow to change from northwesterly to westerly. This will allow more of a norma! weather pattern to develop. Highs on Friday might even reach 0. Could this be.a break? -3.9/ 27 Precipitation: Rain Ocm. Sunshine: Number of Hours 74. ALOOK BACK AT THE PAST WEEK: Temperature: Max/Date Min/Date -23.1,/29 Snow 29.8 cm. | 29.8 cm. Mean Normal Mean “13.4 32 Total Normal Total 23.2 cm. Normal Number of Hours 61 REMARKS: Another cold week with snow (trace or more). reported on all 7 days. Reports from the imme- diate area indicate that the Castlegar Airport is receiveing far less snow than elsewhere. Except for Red Mountain the area ski hills have picked up con- siderable snow although temperatures and wind chill would make skiing uncomfortable. Forecast provided by The South - East Interior Weather Office at Castlegar, B.C. Council opposes rezoning of land Castlegar City Council has to of unsurveyed crown land in the Hugh Keenleyside dam area, cit- ing “ Pp on the mit resource processing and an asphalt plant, as requested by a Crescent Valley busines: sman, Jack Williamson, who noted in his city’s : roads, 4 potential environ- mental impacts” and “aesthetic considerations” from a quarry pro- posed for the site. Council voted to advise the FEEDBACK ‘by NANCY LINGLEY /Sun Editor He stands on guard for free. *' Gerry Rempel is a volunteer that puts his life on the line in the name of public service on a regular basis. Employed by Transport Canada as the Fire Chief of the Castlegar Airport Fire Department, for the past five years Gerry has volunteered his time as an auxiliary RCMP constable, served with the B.C. Ambulance Service as an attendant for seven years, and has spent 14 years with the Castlegar volunteer firefighters. All of these positions require formal training. The certification course for Auxiliary RCMP covers all aspects of law solid relationship are slim - the odds against maintaining a long distance romance over time arg high. A. very private person, Belcezyk was reluctant to discuss their relationship but spending Christmas together with the families shows some solidity. Christmas day Bonny and Felix flew to Montreal to spend the balance of the holidays with her ly. But soon it will be back. td work, challenging Helmy Hofflener (last year’s ch and the rest for the tide of King the Hills. A few top 10 finisheé this’season a success. A wir or tw would push any thoughts af retirement back at least anothér year. A win at Kitzbuhel is whit = @RDCK Continued from 1A that should be delayed.’ “Cm Surprised,” said Voykip. tegional district has co-operate right along with the’ approvi Process ‘once the | ‘federal government got involved. The provincial government had nothing in place to review the Project. They ididn’t know how they were goi going to handle the whole situation. But once the federal government got |, we: said that’s basically "what the board wanted. We laid off ight after tha SCO" “In fact, Director ‘Wylie id, myself ment fare lobbying’ the: ‘ beech a union got the 3 i principle, but in the meantime they He medical qualifications obtained through B.C. Ambulance Service training, and has also passed the firefighters certification course. Gerry feels strongly about his commitment to public service and recently took some time out of his busy life to discuss his feelings about the volunteer work he does with Sun Editor Nancy Lingley. oe +’ All three of Gerry's chosen volunteer fields have the potential for, if not disaster, at least personal danger. He accepts those conditions philosophi- tally and with a great deal of common sense. 1 District of Central Kootenay Board of its objection to rezone land south of District Lot 4268 from Rural Two Family to Industrial Special Heavy, to -per- that a portion of the property in question had been used as a quarry when the dam was being constructed, in the early 1960s. The city, however, fears that the proposed operation would generate heavy truck traffic and could become an unsightly view for resi of Robson. =the. area is “vey pear.a significant “There are different levels of danger, I guess. With the police you never know when because you deal with such a variety of situations. It’s a dif- ferent scale than with the fire service. Any car check (in a roadblock) is a potential problem that way. “During an actual fire, there’s a considerable amount of danger. In all the services that’s where your training comes in. When the chips are down, you react the way you're trained. If it’s a good training program you react well. All the services have good training pro; “In the ambulance service you can also deal with contagious diseases. . § You take precautions. That’s true of alll the services. “] think about it (the danger). I think everybody does. You take precau- tions. You do the best you can, but you always have the element of sur- prise. You don’t know what you're dealing with until arrive at the scene and then you have to make decisions on the spur of the moment. “There are a lot of factors involved. You just have to react. Again, this is where training and experience come in. We all have theory training, but I think experience is one of the best teachers. We all should leam by our mistakes. “I’ve never seen anybody in trouble from not reacting properly. I’ve seen some bad situations, but they’ve always worked out all right. Gerry has been married to wife Carolyn for 12 years. The couple has a young family of four — an 11-year-old daughter and three boys ages eight, six, and two. “My wife Carolyn is very supportive. It (volunteering) also affects the family. When I get paged in the middle of the night, they all wake up. It’s not just one guy. It’s the whole family. “T miss out on things like family nights, like when I’m on standby and other people are having barbecues and other things. But I wouldn’t be doing it if I didn’t enjoy it. “I still spend time with my family. That’s the most important thing. I have to make time, It’s demanding. Especially for a person with a family. Any of the ser- vices require a certain amount of time that you have to put in. “I’ve left my wife in restaurants having supper or in the It’s not fair to her, It has its inconveniences. But she’s good. She puts up with a lot. “You've got to have a good relationship all right. That's a part of it. At 5 pm. on the dot, Gerry's pagers — all three of them — come alive Jor the daily pager check. “T’ve got to say I enjoy the emergency services. It’s a different life. It has its moments. It gives me the opportunity to work with people in the community. It’s a chance to help people that really need help right now. “But it can't be all serious. The firefighters have their hoselay competi- mq tions. There’s annual al get fone with the RCMP Auxiliary and the . i Ambulance Service has every ‘We all get the Get to know each others wives. The wives have kind of an ipfonmal sup- Port group. “You're closer knit within the associations. Especially with the RCMP. f] There's a lot of “esprit de corps.” They're a good bunch. . Gerry says volunteering is rewarding, even though it can be serious business, and he encourages everyone to do their share. ‘ “T enjoy working with people. I guess that’s why I'm involved in every- ‘ thing I'm involved in, to give people a hand that need a band. Timectia'lot should help their fellow man if they can. ‘Most don’t realize how many services volunteers provide. A lot of. : people Pt in a lot of hours. Without volunteers, some services wouldn’t exist. They just don't have the funds to have all fulltime staff. “There’s lots of work out there for people that want to give their time. Just talk to any supervisor if you want to get involved. Emergency services volunteers aren't just limited to males Gerry noted. “There are female Auxiliary RCMP and a few female ambulance atten- dants. There aren’t any female firefighters at this point, but there's no rea- son why there shouldn’t be if they're capable of doing the job. Te 'S good to have women on the crew. I tends to make the men toe the Gerry puts in his 40-hour shift at the airport fire department every week, is out pretty much every weekend with the RCMP, and is called to an emergency an average of one night a week. "When you're called out, you go where you have to and it could come at any time, “A few. have tumed out really good. A few haven't. You just do the best you can. “T'm not looking for financial rewards. The biggest reward is knowing you can help somebody. :You’re there to offer your belp — at least to do what you can to belp. Most of the time it makes a difference. f Svc wih as ng ap Yea. Teajy bing pope and wong with people.