May 5, 1985 TUESDAY PARTLY REINSTATED Supervisors to return By CasNews Staff The Castlegar school board recently made a decision to partly reinstate lunch-hour supervisors, but district teachers are still taking the board to court over the issue. Board: chairman Doreen Smecher said Tuesday the board decided April 24 to,have one supervisor at each school one hour a day beginning Sept. 1. Previously, some schools had a supervisor for up to 1'2 hours a day and some schools had two supervisors, she said. noon-hour supervisors were valuable to the staff,” Smecher said. “But for the six-month (January to July fiscal) period, we didn’t have the funds.” Lisa Pedrini, vice-president of Castlegar District Teachers’ Associa- tion, said she’s aware of the board's decision. But she said “I don’t F cipate that will change our position.” The teachers contend the board's removal of 18-lunch-hour supervisors earlier this year is in violation of a signed agreement between the teach- ers and the board. While the board has legally binding, the teachers insist it is. “Our contract has been broken, and we're continuing with the legal position that our contract has been broken,” said Pedrini. No court date has yet been set, although lawyers for both sides are meeting. Smecher said the board decided to reinstate some of the lunch-hour supervisors following an announce. ment by the B.C. Ministry of Finance that payments on teathers’ early retirements can be deferred. “We were able to free up some noon-hours supervisors. That was a board decision, and not a negotiated — with the CDTA,” Smecher said. Pedrini said another clause in the document on lunch-hour supervisors Provides that elementary school tea- chers are allowed 100 minutes a week to prepare for classes, mark papers and meet parents during school hours. The board says there's “no guaran- tee” that this time will continue to be allowed this fall, according to Pedrini. She said this is another reason the teachers want to establish the legality “The board has never denied that previously said the document isn't money, and we chose to reinstate the of the agreement in court. * WEATHERCAST Cloudy Thursday with @ few shor Hi &F V i gag" @ ar SAFEWAY MEAT DEPARTMENT $149 Pizza Crusts Paolo’s. Fresh 550 g pkg..... showers and highs again near 20. CASTLEGAR, BRITISH COLUMBIA, WEDNESDAY, MAY 8, 1985 POSSIBLE HAZARD Toxic chemical concerns cleaner VOL. 38, No. 37 3 Sections (A, B & C) Ham Steaks Safeway. 175 g pkg. Breakfast Slices Maple Leaf. 375 g pkg. .. = a $] 49 Luncheon Meat Safeway Sliced * Pickle & Pimento bel S49 Fresh Pasta Fish n’ Fraser Vale. Turbot chips, Ss] 49 frozen 250 g pkg. Sliced Meats * Mock Chicken or * Macaroni & +] Ba | 49 $149 Gunitsete cn Olympic. Sliced 250 g pkg..... Tomato Ketchu $149 Heinz. 375 mi bottle Macaroni & Cheese Dinner Town House. 225 g box Cat Tray Absorbent $149 7.2149 Safeway. 4.54 kg bag Facial Soap Woodbury. 90 g bar Safeway Bleach 3.6 L jug Mrs. Wright's. White. 425 g box 3 md | 49 son $449 Angel Food Cake Mix 4 $149 Steinfel *Fettuccini, 450 g pkg. Olivieries. Spinach or Egg $ 49 *Spaghetti * Linguine or GROCERY DEPARTMENT plain or asstd. 200 g tub 907 gtub Fresh Pizza Paolo’s. Deluxe 375 g pkg. $149 SPECIALS Lucerne Yogourt 3 OT 49 Empress Margarine $149 Small Eggs Lucerne. White Grade A dozen 2 a | 49 Rice Krispies Kellogg's. 350 g box *liquid or * creamed, 250 g cont. *Bread & Butter, 1 litre jar PRODUCE DEPARTMENT $49 Bee Maid Honey 2 214 d’s Pickles Navel Oranges 19 $149 Salad Pak Cauliflower $] 49 B.C. or California Grown. No. 1 Grade. Size 12 each White Srepene,, 14 Potting Soil $] 49 Pennington. 10 litre bag Consists of 1 Head of Lettuce 1 Bunch Green Onion 1 Bunch Radishes 1 Stalk Celery gy tee Ook —— | 49 ) 4” pot Deli Thin, Fletchers. *Corned Beef * Bavaria: $ 49 Meatloaf *Smokehouse Ham or *Black Forest Ham, 100 g pkg. .: aibcaielaeaeTaiaISIR Frozen Sausage $ Economy. Skinless 450 g pkg 49 Allan’s Licorice asstd. 140g 2 Bd | 49 Colgate Toothpaste asstd. bonus 150 mi tube s] 49 Listermint Mouthwash 85 ml bottle 3 ST 49 Shampoo or Conditioner asstd. Suave 350 ml bottle Johnson's. Plastic Strips, pkg. of 25 or Sheer pkg. of 20 Q-Tips Cotton Swabs, pkg. of 180, $449 $449 $449 Flower or Vegetable 6 ed | 49 * Polka Dot Piant *Calceolaria * Kalanchoe >] 49 In Castlegar Safeway Store. We Reserve the right to limit sales to retail Quantities CANADA SAFEWAY LIMITED 'NONOAKLIN FALLS Dave Bilinski, chairman of the Inonoaklin Watershed Association, which is FARMERS UP IN ARMS OVER FISH LADDER By RON NORMAN Editor EDGEWOOD — Inonoaklin Creek winds its way leisurely down the lush Inonoaklin Valley, past fields and farmhouses, through the small town of Edgewood and over picturesque Inonoaklin Falls before it empties into the Lower Arrow Lake. It's the perfect pastoral scene at least on the surface. In fact, emotions in this community of 600 some 80 kilometres north of Castlegar are reaching a boiling point. And at the centre of the controversy is Inonoaklin Creek. FEATURE REPOR The Ministry of Environment has proposed a $1 million fish ladder for Inonoaklin Falls. The ladder is intended to help 500,000 spawning gerrard rainbow trout, kokanee and dolly varden scale the falls and reach spawning beds further upstream The ladder is part of the compensation package negotiated with B.C. Hydro following the construction of the Hugh Keenleyside Dam. The ministry calls the “the key” to restoring sport fishing on the Lower But farmers and other landowners along Inonoaklin Creek are up in arms over the proposal. They're worried that there won't be enough water for both the spawning fish and for irrigating their fields. “There's inadequate water for both irrigation and fisheries,” says Dave Bilinski opposed to a proposed fish ladder on the falls Bilinski, 33, is a lifetime valley resident. He was born in Edgewood and his grandmother was the first white girl born in the region. (“History is pretty young,” Bilinski is quick to point out.) His 900-acre farm on which he grazed 220 cows last year is also one of the largest in the valley. Bilinski is chairman of the Inonoaklin Watershed Assoriation, a lobby group formed two years ago to represent the 50 or so landowners along the Inonoaklin Creek. Bilinski says the Association is concerned that some of the ministry's information about the creek is incorrect For instance, he says the ministry listed only nine irrigation licences on the creek, when in fact there are 23 if the Inonoaklin tributaries are included As well, he says the ministry's figures on the amount of water flowing through the creek are too high. At the same time the ministry has underestimated the irrigation needs of the farmers. That all adds up to a water shortage during August and September, says Bilinski — the crucial period when farmers need water to irrigate and when fish are spawning. But the potential water shortage isn't the Association's only concern. Bilinski says that the low water level during August and September will mean the spawning fish will simply rot in the streams, creating a health hazard. He estimates that there will be 2'/2 tons of rotting fish a day in the creek. “That's 100 tons of decaying animal matter .. . in that creek and we think that has an adverse impact on water quality especially when there's very little water,” Bilinski says And he said the decaying fish will attrack predators - another problem The Association has proposed a fish management plan that will keep the rotting fish to a minimum, Bilinski says He said the ministry's position is that predators will be dealt with in the usual manner but the closest conservation officer will be in Castlegar continued on poge A2 By ADRIAN CHAMBERLAIN Saff Writer Castlegar dry cleaner Steve Clement has nearly five oil drums of residue from a toxic cleaning solvent linked to kidney and liver damage stored in the back of Prestige Cleaners. But he doesn't know what to do with it. Clement is concerned about pollu- tion. He wants to safely get rid of the residue from thylene — a toxic substance .used..by..mast dry cleaners. But he's not sure how. A recent program on CBC-TV's Fifth Estate tipped Clement off on the hazards of “perc,” as it's called by dry cleaners. The program charged that the substance has been found in the water supply of New Minas, N.S. — a town of 3,700 near Kentville. The solvent, also found in the water supplies of Fredericton N.B. and Am herst, N.S., has been linked to kidney and liver damage in humans, and cancer in mice, the program said. Teacher bargaining continues By CasNews Staff Wage negotiations between the Castlegar school board and teachers are continuing this week, despite the board's insistence that it can’t afford an increase. The negotiations follow Compen sation Stabilization Program commis sioner Ed Peck’s rejection of arbi trated increases for most B.C. school districts last month — _ including Castlegar’s 2.3 per cent increase. Peck suggested that an increase of between 1.5 and 1.7 per cent would be acceptable for Castlegar. But board chairman Doreen Smecher informed Peck before Monday — the deadline for progress reports on wage negotiations in B.C. distriets — that the board can’t afford salary increases. “The board is saying we don't have any money for any teacher salary in creases. If Peck is saying there is room for teacher salary increases, it's an in crease that Peck has made, not one the board has,” said Smecher Tuesday Lisa Pedrini, vice-president of the Castlegar District Teachers’ Associa tion, said the board has indicated in the past that it “would have found a way” to pay an increase if it was dictated by Peck Teachers’ bargaining chairman Rik Hall said the board has pleaded pov erty “for the last four years, and they've always been able to pay what the government tells them to pay He said the board recently presented the teachers with a “package” on their wage demands. This will be discussed at a CDTA executive meeting tonight and at a general teachers’ meeting Thursday “I can't tell you what's in it,” Hall said. “All I can tell you is we've been (negotiating with the board) for a month and a half.” “The Fifth Estate is what really brought it to my attention,” said Clem- ent. “That it’s a problem in places with a closed water system.” Clement began storing the perc residue in five-gallon drums sometime last year, not that he was especially concerned about its toxicity, but be- cause he had a notion it could be re- eyeled. But when he first took over the business in October 1983, Clement fol- lowed the procedure established by the previous owners of 15 years. “I was not familiar (with) how toxic the substance was,” he said. “I followed the procedure the previous owners did. To pour ... the oil from the pere down the sewer.” Pere may pose a long-term hazard but is classified as being only “mod- erately toxic,” says Jim Jensen, envir- onmental safety program officer with the Ministry of Environment in Nelson. However, Jensen said “there are few chemicals out there that, if you're exposed to them for a long time, they're not going to cause some damage.” Jensen said there are no special hazardous waste disposal facilities or landfills in the Kootenays or the rest of B.C. He said the Ministry of Envir. onment offers a service to take hazar- dous wastes from hospitals, schools, municipal governments and private citizens, which are then transported to a special landfill in Arlington, Ore. .But businesses which regularly pro duce hazardous wastes — such as dry cleaners — are supposed to take care of —inside TABLES TURNED: It was a switch Tuesday as Auditor General Ken Dye, Parliament's chief financial watchdog, wos accused by Kootenay West MP Bob Brisco and other Tory backbenchers of wasting a half a million dollars of taxpayers’ money Aa COSTLY FARE: VANCOUVER fled and called police \t appeared Mr the rifle It's crazy, man volleyball squad... 81 When officers arrived, Seyfert was kneeling on the floor, or med with a rifle and watching the front door Seyfert was set up for a gunfight prosecutor Sandy Ross said in provincial court A policeman covering the back of the house fired three shots when Seyfert aimed the rifle at him When Seytert surrendered, a live round was found jammed in Seytert observed as he gave up the price of a cab fare. | didn't want to shoot any of you guys SHE'S OFF: Leigh Holisheft, a Grade 10 student at Stanley Humphries Secondary School, has been invited to try out for the B.C. midget PHOTO WINNERS: The three winners in the City of Castlegar Venture Inland photography contest have been select-d. . . 87 the problem themselves, Jensen said. Part of the problem appears to be lack of government regulations. Regu- lations for special wastes have now been written up for the provincial Waste Management Act, but have yet to be passed by Victoria. Rules to govern hazardous wastes are also in the works for the provincial and federal Transportation of Danger- ous Goods Acts, said Lanay Hubbard, head of environmental safety program with the environment ministry of Vic- toria. But Jensen said the additions to the Waste Management Act have been waiting for official approval for a year, and it’s difficult to say when they'll be He says residents leave small amounts of hazardous wastes at local garbage dumps — including the Ootis- chenia dump — and adds that increased public awareness is needed to curb the problem. “If the people aren't concerned about it enough, they can pour anything they want down their sewers, and in the landfills,” he said. Hubbard said the difficulty in B.C. is not lack of technology needed to dispose of hazardous wastes, but lack of available waste disposal sites. No one wants one in their nieghborhood “People are going to have to start understanding which risk is greater — the risk of having a waste manage ment facility, or the risk of not having a waste management facility.” City engineer George Reshaur said continued on poge A2 FONYO RUNS: Steve Fonyo was back on the road today taking his Journey for Lives to Kelowna and Kamloops... AS Frank Seyfert was sentenced to 21 months in jail “all over the price of a cab fare The 25-year-old Vancouver man arrived drunk at his parents house early on March 3, demanding money for his toxi fare. When his father retused, Seytert attacked him with a knife. The parents All over