The Castlegar Sun Wednesday, March 4, 1992 Traffic accident reductions on Columbia Avenue point to additional third lane SHARLENE IMHOFF Sun Editor Continued from 1A “IT can't see (HLRA) offering jus anything more in the third year jof our contract, and by that time ‘we woulda’t be in a position to ido anything about it.” Gainor ssaid. If strike action does become a yealiry, Gainor said he is not sure ‘what form of job action would be taken. “We do have an essential ser- vices plan drawn up. Our quarrel isn't with the patients, t's with management at the hospitals Gainmor finished by stating that if job action is taken, it could last for two hours, or up to 24 hours, depending on the hospital and the type of job action decided upon. News glance 1 Celebration planned - i's a Gala Evening Celebration! The Ki Columbia Childcare $ is 20 at 6 pm. and dinner from atic oe A. * 30 p.m. until 8 p.m. followed Traffic accidents are down— way down, along Columbia Avenue according to statistics provided by city hall. Gary Williams, city As statistics indicate, there were 22 traffic accidents on year. “There are still motorists hav- Cc Avenue b July and December in 1990 and only three accidents in 1991 over the same time period, “We're pleased with the trator, reports the number of accidents along Columbia Avenue have decreased by a large number, while at the same time, the amount of traffic using Castlegar’s main roadway has increased significantly. in but we're not sure what's contributing to it at this time,” said Williams. Some of the changes which have been taking place along Columbia include the dual left- turn lane which became func- tional near the end of June last ing pi with this turning lane, but I guess it takes time,” Williams continued. Another factor which might have contributed to fewer acci- dents is the fact that there is no longer a [eft-turning lane at 4 Ave., in front of the Bank of Montreal. Williams also cites the reduc- tion in the speed limit along Columbia Avenue from 60 km to 50 km. “There are many people who want the speed limit brought back up to 60 Km,” Williams said. The city official believes it might be possible to increase the speed limit in the near future which*may give city hall and RCMP an indication as to what is contributing to the reduction in accidents The statement left one local resident, who was attending the council meeting to ask, “If it's not broken, why fix it?” Heavy tax burden might ground airlines Sun Staff sumers to seek cheaper methods of A heavy tax burden placed upon airlines, especially those which fly into smaller centres such as Castlegar, could result in cutbacks and a reduction in Service. Dr. John Hall, chairperson of the Castlegar Airport Advisory Committee, spoke to city coun- cil last Monday evening and stated airlines such as AirBC and Time Air are considering cutbacks since high taxes on airline tickets are forcing con- Explaining the tax burden many short flights are paying more than their fair share. “The affects of heavy taxes is which the airlines and ly the travellers must face, Hall stated that for a $100 ticket, which would include landing fees, terminal fees, user fees and a federal fuel tax, $35.18 is handed back to the government. “One of the reasons this is so unfair is that we are being taxed on a tax and then taxed again on another hidden tax,” Hall said. What's worse, smaller munic- ipal airports which carry out Students aim to party JIM _ZEEBEN Sun staff Keeping more drivers straight and on the road has been a two- year project for Selkirk College's student government. This weck, a heavy schedule of events will showcase an innovative concept aimed at stopping drunk drivers. The Designated Driver Incen- tive Program, created at the Castlegar campus two-years ago, encourages students to have fun through safe partying. It's a concept which has received national recognition, getting ink in the Canada wide college magazine On Campus. DDIP has also been picked up by a number of other schools. including the University of Man- itoba. “The U of M adopted Selkirk’s program and we've sent out 35 packages to other universities and colleges,” said Selkirk Stu- dent Association president Jeff Leggat More activities are planned for Alcohol Awareness week, an annual event. then ever before Everything from Jell-O wrestling to an ice cream snarfling contest is supposed to show students ways of having fun while staying sober. “We had something last year but it wasn't as big as this year,” said Leggat. “This is the first time we're holding events designed to show students they can do other things to have fun besides - There's also an alcohol toler- ance “experiment™ scheduled for tomight at the Lion's Head Pub. Leggat said it was originally sup- posed to happen at the college but the school’s administration didn't like that idea. “They had a problem with some of these events.” he said, referring specifically to the toler- ance test and Jell-O wrestling Both those events were re-locat- ed. “I guess it was bad for their or something. On Thursday, a number of happenings will go on at the Castlegar cam- ex ly detri 1 to air- lines in small municipalities. These airline services employee people, attract tourism,. business and conferences to the commu- nity,” Hall said. Hoping that Castlegar city council would lend their sup- port to the crucial situation, Hall recommended that council write to Transport Canada and the Federal Minister of Trans- portation complaining of unfair taxation and to coordinate their actions with those of other com- munities who have decided to take action such as Medicine Hat and Lethbridge—two Alberta cities. Hall also request- ed that council send communi- cation to the Canadian Aviation magazine in Calgary to show their support. Realizing the importance and the affect which the Castlegar airport has on the economy in Castlegar, city council unani- mously accepted all of Hall's proposals. safe and drive straight nine watering-holes in the West Kootenay. “The object is to sign a DDIP contract—to be used the way it the contest. The competitive object of the blitz is to earn prize entry-forms by getting to each of the participating bars. Students can also earn pus. A mock accident will be set up as well as a booth offering tastes of de-alco- holized beer. The biggest ‘if we can get people used to having a designated driver then we've done what we're trying to do’ — JEFF LEGGAT Selkirk Student Association bonus tickets if they are stopped at a RCMP road check. The entry forms are then placed in a draw for three “dream event, which resembles a traditional pub crawl. goes Friday. The “DDIP blitz” 1s a challenge for car loads of students to bar hop around was intended—and then try and get your car filled with a bunch of your friends,” Leggat said. explaining the rules and prizes of date” prizes. “If we can get people used to having a designated driver then we've done what we're trying to do.” Students at Woodland Park who received various awards for excellence during February. Above (I-r); Magen Chernoff, Kristi Fox, Robert Hickey, Cody Jack and James Kereiff. Below (I-r); Megan Shmoorkoff, Celia Cancela, Blair Tassone, David White, Joshua Zavaduk and Stephanie Zeabin. Castlegar youth Wednesday, March 4, 1992 The Castlegar Sun Seminar discusses mobility for people with disabilities JM ZEEBEN Sun staff They came from around B.C. to talk about ways of easing the handicapped's admission into able-bodied society. Last Friday in Casticgur, re sentatives for people with disabil/ | ities gathered in the banquet room of the Sandman Inn. “They found out about Nation- al Access Awareness Week (NAAW],” said Simon Cumming, one of the day's guest speakers and the provincial coordinator for NAAW. “We talked about its his- what it’s been and what it's doing.” Running from June 1-7, NAAW was initiated with the belief that all Canadians have the right to full access to everything in their community. “The purpose of the seminar was to give participants an idea of what NAAW is and how to deliv- er it at a local level,” Cumming said. “We spent a lot of time on developing committees within the communities.” Cumming said committees could then lobby the provincial and federal governments to improve accessibility to things like recreational facilities or curbs and buildings. SUN STAFF PHOTO / Jim Zeeben The Interior Access network executive gathered at the Sandman Inn's banquet hall last Friday to discuss progress in surrounding areas. From left are: Doug Haugen [Vancouver], Cathy Lafortune [Castlegar], Earla Baker [Williams Lake], Adrienne Colby [Kelowna], Glenys Snow [Spillimacheen], and the chairman Ed Arntson. Some of the speakers included the federal coordinator for NAAW, Moira Jones. The workshop was meant to help communities realize con- cepts which they had thought up for NAAW. “They outlined sources of funding that are available,” said Cathy Lafortune, who also liked some of the suggested activities. 4 ties pick one project to focus on.” As far as local activities during NAAW, one idea Castlegar is looking into is putting together a pamphlet which could be used by “They rec c Program for victims receives city funding BRENDAN HALPER Sun staff Castlegar'’s Police-Based Victim Assistance Program is a lot closer to becoming a reality. Ce of the detachment building. Sangster first approached city council on November 19, 1991, with the idea of a victim assis- tance program, after realizing that Castlegar offers no such program for victims of crime. ble Russell S: of the Castlegar RCMP detach- ment says $10,000 in funding has been approved by city hall. Sangster oversees the local Crime Prevention Program and is involved with existing victim services staff at the Castlegar detachment. The program, offer- ing support services for victims of crime. operates under the direction of the RCMP and out The program will cost $30,000 per year. and if approved, the provincial gov- ernment will be providing an additional $15,000, the remain- ing funds needed for the year of 1992. “We're not sure we'll get the program yet.” said City Clerk Betty Price. previous Protective Services City Staff Representa- tive. Castlegar Fire Chief Gerry Rempel will be taking over as the city’s liaison for the Victim Assistance Program. “The city offered to be the contracting agency, but this has to be approved by Victoria,” Price said. Sangster expects the program to be running by late August or early September. All victim assistance work is done on a volunteer basis with the exception of a Victim Assis- tance Coordinator who must be hired for a 3/4 time paid posi- tion prior to launching the pro- gram any c ity to raise aware- ness of disability access issues. “A seminar put on by NAAW has to be at a community level,” said Ed Arntson, the chairperson for the Interior Access Network [IAN]. One of the reasons the conference came to Castlegar was to make sure NAAW has a pres- ence outside of Vancouver. “You can’t have someone from Vancouver or Ottawa telling you what your issues are.” IAN is still looking into a toll- free number which area residents could phone to get information on issues which affect the disabled “We're looking into sources of funding,” Arntson said. “We're not just working on structure we're networking now.” = Budget Continued from 1A of CURB. Flux did say he felt the meet- ing was a “step forward” and that the interaction between council and residents had gone well “Now we have to sit back and sce if they respond to some of the people's input,” Flux firtished. Input from Michael O'Connor, president of CURB, indicated that local taxpayers would like to know fully the long range plans for city expenditures, have input into major capital projects and see the city priorize future projects. O°Connor also stated that CURB members have priorized Pressing issues that the city should be looking at, such as; a secondary access through Castle- gar, paving and upgrading of Streets, sewer and water exten- sions and projects “In Closing, | would like coun- cil to understand that CURB and the citizens of Castlegar do not have a personal vendetta against city hall. We just want our city Officials to act responsibly with our money,” O'Connor finished. Council promises support for Castleview Care in funding proposal SHARLENE IMHOFF Sun Editor Castlegar City council has voted in.favour of a recommen- dation which chooses to suppon Castleview Care centre in its pro- posal to receive funding for 25 intermediate care beds. The recommendation from council, presented during Tues- day evening's meeting, has final- ly arrived after the administrator of the Castleview Care centre, Dianne Ramage made at least two previous requests to city hall. “City council and the citizens of Castlegar must realize the impact these empty beds are hav- ing on the community,” Ramage said. The recom: ion approved * by council states that city staff will arrange a meeting between council representatives, the city WEATHER OF FEBRUARY 1992 Castleview admin- istrator and Elizabeth Cull, Min- ister of Health, to discuss the proposal for an additional 25 intermediate care beds at the Castleview Care centre. One of the 25 furnished rooms at Castleview Care Ce sith main empty even ee though a list of seniors waiting to use the rooms is growing. Castlegar City Council has approved a recommendation to support the facilitie’s proposal for more funding. SUN STAFF PHOTO / Shariene imhoft WEATHER OUTLOOK: The forecast for Wednesday; Cloudy with afternoon sunny breaks. Highs will be about 11. The forecast for Thursday and Friday calls for cloudy periods mixed with periods of sunshine right through to the weekend. Editor's Note: Let’s hit them there ski hilis! A LOOK BACK AT THE PAST WEEK: Temperature: Max/Date Min/Date Mean 11.2/25 13/26 Precipitation: Rain Normal Number of Hours 111 A ridge of high pressure over Southern B.C. was replaced by a moist southwesterly flow from off the Pacific. A strong inversion gave higher mean tempera- tures over the passes than at valley sites. Ski areas are recording good spring skiing conditions. Forecast provided by The South - East interior Weather Office at Castlegar, B.C. Mar. 7, 1992 1412.72 feet Administration & Finance Protective Services .. Street Maintenance . Garbage Collection Cemetery ... Planning & Development Recreation & Culture .. Lecce Debt Servicing & Reserves Transfer to Capital Budget 1199960 6,088,590 3,984,031 10,072,621 Collections for Others... TOTAL EXPENDITURES . RCMP...... Fire Salaries /incl. Volunteers. Fire Dept. Maintenance Building Inspection... Parking & Animal Control . TOTAL PROTECTIVE SERVICES... Supervision & Benefits Equipment Maintenance Road Maintenance... Street Lights & Signs. Storm Sewers & Boulevards Winter Activities TOTAL STREETS... Staff Salaries Consultants . Special Projects Development Board Chamber of Commerce TOTAL PLANNING. s s s involved in riot to Short Term Debt Long Term Borrowing The privately-owned facility has been capable of caring for 61 residents since April 1991, though the government is willing During the first and last weeks of February 1992, a ridge of high pressure sat over Southern B.C., diverting Pacific systems into Northern Portions of the province. There were several days where record-breaking maximum who are waiting for admittance to either Castleview Care or Moun- tainview Lodge, which is a 60- bed publicly funded facility come addition to the Castlegar residents but there is still a large number of people waiting for beds. “up to two years long. While speaking to council dur- ing a question-answer session, Ramage presented some statistics receive sentencing — [over 18-years old] have been given one-year in jail, the lone A Castlegar youth. who allegedly took part in the Pen- ticton Peachfest not last mer, goes before the coun { sentencing on March | The youth years old. was a minor when the alleged incident occurred He 1s among 1S youths who were charged with participat- ing ina not Their cases have attracted Provincial attention for the severity with which they were deah wih. All except ome of the adults who is now 18- received 11 months. Though he's 18 now, the Castlegar youth will be dealt with as a juvenile because the alleged crime took place before his last birthday According to Penticton police Sergeant Rick Lawton. most of the juveniles have temperatures occurred. The most notable parameter for the month was the record breaking mean temperature; recorded at 3.1 degrees, the normal is -.7, while the previ ous high was 2.0 degrees set in 1983. Temperature High This Year 12:3 22 -3.4 23 Date Record Day 14.3 21 been placed on pr wih- out a jail sentence The maximum penalty for a pavenile is 22 months of proba- tion while an adult could face up to two-years behind bars. 38.2 15.2 52.0 39.1 to fund only 36 beds—leaving 25 furnished rooms sitting empty. Earlier last week, a Cry EDIATE BEDS TO POPULATION IN KOOTENAY AREA No. Facines which she feels indicates the need for more beds in a community the size of Castlegar. P person rep ing the owners of Castle- CRESTON view Care centre, Chantelle Management, stated that the empty-bed situation in the centre has reached a crucial point financially and that the care home would be in danger of closing— soon—ending 52 jobs GRanp Forks" NELSON Tran Nakusp New Denver CASTLEGAR | 1500-1600 596 6385 “There is a province- wide cry for more beds since the population is getting older. But we have to ask ourselves—is the Pioneer population of Castlegar any less deserv- ing of increased beds in this area than the rest of and leaving an added 36 seniors without a home. According to Ramage, this would add to an already over- loaded waiting list of 96 people, addition to the Castlegar and Dis- trict hospital. “The beds in Mountainview lodge have cenainly been a wel- “Our retirees in Castlegar are not being supponed,” said Ram ; who stated that an average waiting list for a senior might be the province?” Gary Williams, city administrator, dia call would be place to Elizabeth Cull as soon as possible in order for a meeting to be set Capital Grants Reserves : General Taxation ... 1992 CAPITAL PROJEC * Downtown Revitalization * City Hall Renovation * Public Works Building Paving Equipment Purchase/Lease Twin Rivers Park /Other Projects TOTAL