pipes. MAY 4. 1980 12, WE-AUG. 27, 1980 LV. CAMPRELL — PURLISEIER AUG. 7, 1M7-FER. 16, 1973. t0 the adver ive vested in end belongs to Costle Mews Lid. provided, ences ts eoputighs fe ame part Und tad gant oly @P prepored trom repre prooty, engravings, etc. provided by the advertiser ae shall remain in ond Scheme is One of the better ideas Castlegar council has had was to invite a landscoping consultant to tour our community and prepare a report on how to improve its ap- pearance. For anyone who has taken a good look at our major city streets, a beautification scheme of any sort is welcome. The problem doesn't lie with our residential areas. They are quite scenic, many of them having nicely landscaped homes with large lawns lined with huge trees. It's @ credit to Castlegar residents that the homes look like they do. The problem lies instead with _ Solumbia Ave. and several other major streets. They lack any kind of cohesive appeorance, and that stems from the fact that for the most part those streets have been the victims of strip development. Still, the problem isn’t insur- mountable. Things like trees, plan- ters and flowerboxes not only spruce up drab-looking streets, but add that necessary cohesiveness. They make the community look like its one. If you want to see just what a few trees lining the sidewalk can do for Columbia Ave., walk by the block containing the RCMP detachment. What makes it look so good? The trees lining the sidewalk out front — that was until five or six of them in front of the RCMP building were chopped down. It's hard to understand the rationale behind the action. On the one hand, the city is about to em- bark on a beautification program which will undoubtedly include planting #rees.-On the other hand; the same city goes ahead and takes out five apparently healthy birch trees along one of the nicest looking stretches of Columbia Ave. If the trees were in tact old and decaying — which didn't ap- pear to be the case judging from their stumps — it only proves that before any tree planting program is undertaken, city works crews welcome must be instructed how to properly care for the trees so that we don't end up having them die on us as they reach maturity. How often have we all seen healthy 3 “pruned” in- discriminately because their bran- ches are growing too near power lines? It we're going to plant trees, we better learn to look after them properly. One of the interesting myths of beautification programs is that they cost a lot of money. They can, but they don't have to. One of the ‘easiest ways to improve the ap- pearance of our community would be to clean up any junk, weeds or unsightly parts of our businesses and homes. Aan or two of paint can't cost too much — even in these difficult times, and neither does main- taining our property. Bizarre regulation Three cheers for John Char- ters’ and the Rotary Club's con- tinued work on Zuckerberg Island Park. It is fast becoming a city lan- dmark of great proportions. Particularly exciting is the “T minus 3. ..2...1.. .blast-off.... Blast-off! BLAST-OFF DAMMITII! Letters to the Editor proposal for a Pp bridge linking the island and the mainland. But we're more than a little dumbfounded by the knowledge that if the 44th Engineering Corps uses gover- nment funds to build the bridge, then they must blow it vp (quite literally.) However, the bridge needn't be blown up if private funds are used to finance it. We've heard of all kinds of bizarre federal regulations before, but this one tops them all. W wonder where things would be today if the 44th’s predecessors had built the Parliament buildings in Ottawa. Just a thought. Fred Merriman We have received word that Pierre Elliot Trudeau has an- nounced his retirement. A few pictures flash to mind: Mr. Trudeau moving about the room holding a file folder in a scene covered by television cameras con- cerning the divorce debates. Mr. P.E. Trudeau, prime min- ister, standing at waters edge somewhere in Ottawa, apparently deep in contemplative thought as though he carried the entire weight of Canada upon his shoulders. And then a return of a scene re- cording his reply to a student: “Take me the way I am or to hell with it.” I have seldom agreed with his policies — as well meaning as they may have been. He used the Liberal Party in the same way any am- bitious man would have. Despite his many moves, mano- euvers and wrong policies, I ad- mired the man for his bluntness and for living out the words he issued to that questioning student. The man wanted to dance in Arabian costume, so he danced. He felt like saying “fuddle duddle” to the voters — as many a politician has dearly desired to do — so he did. particular prime minister felt it most important to receive at least three paragraphs in the history books. He wanted to bring the Constitution back to Canada. He wanted Canada to be a bilingual country. And he wanted to reward all his friends and supporters. Some would say he was arrogant. position moved. I would count the man as “honest and open. The entire nation could see exactly what he was -_ os 4 Sat a nw \/ -_— doing. He revealed his emotions, his feelings and said rather intelligently exactly what was on his mind. Personally, my vote will go to the Conservatives but that does not take away from the fact that Pierre Elliot Trudeau was a good prime minister; probably the best prime minister Canada has ever had. I would hope that his friends and enemies alike will reward him for the service and sacrifices he made for his country. He was straight- forward enough for the people to decide whether they agreed with him or not — a far better choice than listening to someone wobble and waffle through points of view with several maybes thrown in. The man appeared to be a social- ist converted to reality. Perhaps he wore the rose at taxpayers’ expense because he admired beauty. One could justify the expense if in his deliberations a moment of truth as represented in beauty would settle upon his mood in public places. Trudeau was not afraid. It is fair to say he was a courageous man. I don’t know of his personal religion, but I like to think of him as a religious man. The blame for the financial situation in which this country now finds itself is our blame collectively, for not being intelligent enough, courageous enough or hon- est enough with ourselves and our government. We did not tell Tru- deau and company clearly enough the direction we wanted this coun- try to go. So he did it his way. Perhaps he was more of an example as a man that a prime minister. I will be sorry to see him go. That is not easy to say for a dyed-in-the- wool Conservative, but it's how I feel. CasNews headline called into question "Editor, Castlegar News F As L'was about to light my fire with the Feb. 12 edition of the Castlegar News, a headline caught my eye: “Ottawa took part in mind altering tests.” I re-read the article with the same feeling of impotent outrage at our gov- ernment —often admired throughout the world as a paragon of democracy — as I experience when reading about events in Guatemala and El Salvador. Having lit my fire and calmed down somewhat, I remembered that I had a bone to pick with a headline in an earlier edition of the Castlegar News: “Studies back wolf kill.” The article itself mentions that the study by Environment Ministry biologists que- gtiogs whether the kill program is the complete answer to the problem of de- clining his gave herds, as well. as whether or not there are any long-term benefits to be had from “random re- moval of individual wolves.” I wonder if this is not a good example of a misleading headline? Now that a cup of coffee has mellowed the contours of my mood, I must let it be known that I use the Castlegar News for tinder only after I and the rest of the household have read it through and found a surprising number of interesting articles and tid- bits about all sorts of things ranging from world events to people and places once familiar. Thank you. Tanya Charters Hornby Island Please address all Letters to the Editor to: The Castlegar News, P.O.Box 3007, Castlegar, B.C. VIN. 3H4, of deliver them fo our office at: 197 Columbia Avenue, Castlegar, B.C. single men. A two-car garage. will be ‘coristPucted at the rear of the premises. Construction of the building is by Ltd. ._ 8 6 Newcomer to the Board of Directors, Casth and District Hospital Society Letters must be signed and include the writer's full name and address. Only in very exceptional cases will letters be published without the writer's name. Nevertheless, the name and address of the writer must be disclosed to-the editor. The Castlegar News reserves the right to edit letters for brevity, clarity, legality and grammar. Interest rate myths By DON McGILLIVRAY From the Feb. 24 Vancouver Sun OTTAWA — Canadians are being fed myths about interest rates. Myth No. 1 is that interest rates are declining. “A crucial aspect of the med- ium-term projection,” said one of Marc Lalonde's fa documents, “is the underlying moderate and sus- tained rates.” Interest rates aren't falling. They're rising. The Bank of Canada's lending rate rose to 10.07 per cent last Thurs- ‘Interest rates aren't falling. They're rising.’ in relation to U.S. rates. It can make it fall by lowering rates. Since December, 1982, when Bank of Canada Governor Gerald Bouey broke the link between his policy and the growth of the money supply, the main policy of the central.bank has been to keep the Canadian dollar at the present level. So it is, in effect, a pegged cur- rency, not a floating one. Myth No. 3 is that we cannot have made-in-Canada interest rates. The policy of a fixed value for the Canadian dollar in terms of U.S. cur- rency dictates interest rates that are more or less fixed to American rates. The latest rise in Canadian rates, for le, has nothing to do with what's day. A year ago it was 9.48. It was kept at about that rate for most of last year. Then it was pushed, late in the year, to its present level of about 10 per cent. What's more, the prospect is for higher rates if latest signs from the U.S. economy mean anything. The Federal Reserve Board is taking such a tough line that any sign of vigoréus U.S. growth will be met by higher rates. . Myth No. 2 is that the Canadian dollar is floating. A “floating” currency has its value set by the forces by the market rather than intervention by the central bank. Lalonde keeps saying this is what has been happening to the Canadian dollar since 1970. The Bank of Canada has often inter- vened in recent years to keep the dollar at about its present valule of 80 cents (U.8.). . Sometimes this has been done in the currency markets. More often it has taken the form of manipulating interest rates. The bank can make the dollar rise by pushing Canadian interest rates higher going on in Canada but a lot to do with the argument in Washington over the U.S. budget deficit. But we don’t have to be the 13th district of the U.S. federal reserve system with no voice when interest rate policy is set. If we let the dollar float, as other countries do with their currencies, we could have lower rates. But every time this argument is ad- vanced, we hear Myth No. 4. ‘That is the Canadian dollar is poised on the brink of an abyss. If it starts to fall at all, according to this myth, it will drop to 70 cents or 60 cents American or lower. This is a scare story d to keep people from asking for 5 Brcsgosary but the present pegged dollar and high interest rates. And it’s nonsense which shows little rency, oct by the people who want to buy ai a arbem its valeo drops below sce into the market because they want to profit from its rise or get the money at a favorable price to pay a future debt in Canadian dollars. These forces operate unless the country’s economy is rotten to the core. And Canada’s isn’t. Myth No. 5 is that the Canadian dollar is “weak.” It isn’t. It has gone down a bit in relation to the American dollar, but it has. risen in relation to all others. There's a growing suspicion the Can- adian dollar is “overvalued” — that it costs too many German marks or - we could have lower rates’ Japanese yen to buy a Canadain dollar at current rates of exchange. If we get past all the myths, there's room for the dollar to float and for interest rates to decline. And to drop in interest rates would tend to strengthen the dollar, not weaken it, in the longer run. The strength of a cquntry’s currency Keeping interest rates high may look good for the dollar in the very short run because it attracts short-term M.E. Moran declined to run for re election. Also elected was Gordon Reith of Kinnaird. * 8 « Staff of the Castlegar os office reported a busy session. Friday and Saturday with the sale of 1900 motor vehicle licence plates. Friday was the biggest day with 190 sales of plates recorded and 109 plates went out on Saturday, the last day of February, for which the office stiyed open as a publie convenience. According to office figures, a total of 928 sets of automobile plates have been issued to date and. 964 sets of truck licences. 15 YEARS AGO Frem the March 6, 1969 The T of e Town on opposed an application by en tad close 20 of its agencies in the Kootenay division as well as opposing the com- pany’s plans to consolidate its customer services at Nelson. It also argued in favor of retention of an agency in Castlegar by the company. . The B.C. Telephone Co. will invest more than $1.5 million this year in new facilities to the way for in- troduction in 1970 of Direct Distance Dialing service for Castlegar and the balance of the West Kootenays. This will enable telephone customers to dial their own long distance calls directly. * «© « Castlegar’s clamp-down on dogs is now underway — and the get-tough policy on dogs is now underway with- out fear or favor. Ald. Cari Henne informed Castlegar council Tuesday night that his dog-has been picked up twice already. And the second time it cost him $31 to retrieve the wandering canine. high ates. Getting down is the most vital problem facing the Canadian a Got even men- new buyers ‘are brought