Legialative Library,

Parliament Bldg
Victoria, B. cy
V8V 1x4

+ 50L Bollevarre 3+

Vol. 40, No. 5Z

Homeowners sign up

The Central Kootenay Health Unit has received “quite a
response” to an advertisement asking Castlegar home-
owners to participate in a radon gas survey over the next six
months, according to Dr. Monty Arnott, director of the unit.

Arnott said some 20 households have already agreed to
participate in the rado survey after the health unit ran the
advertisement for just one day in the Castlegar News, but
he said at least 100 homes throughout Castlegar are needed.

Radon is described as a natural, colorless and odorless

of homes.

COOLING OFF . . . Syringa Creek beach was a busy spot on Canada Day.
Castlegar area residents used the holiday to head for the cool waters of

CASTLEGAR, BRITISH COLUMBIA, THURSDAY, JULY 2, 1987

Fun,

3 Sections (A, B & C)

radioactive gas generated by the natural breakdown of the
uranium in the soil. Radon is able to seep into the basements

Arnott said that radon gas levels are not dangerous in
the Castlegar area. He pointed out that Castlegar’s
relatively normal instance of lung cancer proves homes are
not inundated with the gas.

But the threat of radon in Castlegar’s well water
spurred the municipality to upgrade the area's water supply,
which now flows from the Arrow Lakes rather than being
piped in from wells.

,

Arnott said if the current survey detects radon gas the
health unit will recommend -homeowners simply better

ventilate their basements.

Homes taking part in the survey will have two radon
monitors installed. The monitors, referred to as “buttons”
because they are so small, will be placed-upstairs and in the
basement of each home for six months.

the Arrow Lakes and a respite from near-record high temperatures.

DEATH PENALTY

MP votes for return

By SURJ RATTAN
Staff Writer

Although he voted for its reinstate-
ment, Kootenay West MP Bob Brisco
thinks the issue of a return to capital
punishment should be left for the time
being.

Brisco made the comments on Tues:
day — the same day the House of Com
mons voted against a motion to have a
Commons committee study whether
capital punishment should be introduc
ed into Canada

The proposed return to capital
punishment was defeated by a 21-vote
margin with the final vote count
148-127

Canada’s federal politicians were
voting on the principle of the rein
statement of capital punishment and
the creation of a Commons committee
to determine which crimes would merit
the death penalty.

Brisco said four or five days before
the vote was held many mps thought

the motion would pass. He added that
Prime Minister Brian Mulroney man-
aged to sway some MPs from voting
from the motion with his speech in the
Commons Monday.

“I think the perception was within
four or five days of the vote the motion
would pass. The last few days, possibly
because of the prime minister's pas-
sionate appeal, some people switched
their minds,” Brisco told the Castlegar
News in. a telephone interview from
Ottawa.

He added that it was “not an easy
decision when you realize what you're
doing.”

Brisco said if capital punishment was
reinstated most MPs would like to see
it in the form of a lethal injection.

“The media kept referring to it as
the hanging vote but that was the last
thing on people's minds. Most favored a
lethal injection,” said Brisco. “That's all
academic now.”

Brisco said one of the reasons he
voted for a return to capital punish
ment is because he feels Canadian
courts are not handing out tough
enough sentences for certain crimes.

“The other element is a greater
degre of uniformity of punishment
being handed out by the judiciary. It's
(sentences) haphazard and willy-nilly. I
think capital punishment should apply
in contract killings, serial killings, rape
and murder,” said Brisco.

The capital punishment motion was
introduced by Progressive Conser-
vative MP Bill Domm. Although Brisco
said he thinks the issue should be left
alone, he feels Domm will continue to
push it.

“I think Bill Domm will still persist
by the route of a private member's bill.
I think the matter should be left alone
for the time being. I have a feeling we
may have put this issue to rest for 20
years.”

No postal 'monitors' here

By CasNews Staff
Castlegar postmaster Roy McNeil
has denied a claim that Canada Post
has hired several monitors to keep an
eye on post office employees.

A Castlegar letter carrier told the
Castlegar News that four people from
out of town are monitoring employees
at the Castlegar, Trail and Nelson post
offices.

He added that they are being paid
something in the range of $1,000 a
week, plus expenses

But McNeil denied that any monitors
have been hired. However, he said one
security person has been hired to
watch over the post office.

“] haven't hired anyone. I don’t know
where you're getting your information
from,” McNeil told the Castlegar News.

“One security person has been hired to
look after security. He's with a local
firm called L and S."

He added that seven strikebreakers
were hired to work at the Castlegar
post office during the strike Friday and
Saturday by the Letter Carriers Union
of Canada.

He added that no mail was delivered
on Friday. Asked if there were any
problems on the picket line, MeNeil re
plied: “I don’t think I'll comment on
that.”

MeNeil said things have returned to
“normal” at the post office and that
there is not a backlog of mail.

Kootenay West MP Bob Brisco said
he is not happy to see Canada Post hire
strikebreakers.

“T'm not at all pleased to see it. I'm

relieved to see them in a process of
mediation. That's going to cool things
down,” Brisco told the Castlegar News.

Although a mediator has been ap
pointed to the postal dispute, Labor
Minister Pierre Cadieux has been criti
cized for not appointing a mediator
sooner.

“There's a time when a mediator can
go in and succeed. That time can be
very close. The minister of labor's
judgment call was that they weren't

»” said Brisco.

Tony Guglielmi
Letter Carriers Union of Canada in
Castlegar, said Friday that the postal
strike was bigger than Brisco “wants to
admit.” But Brisco denied that.

“I really don't know where he's
(Guglielmi) coming from,” replied Bris-
co.

CosNewsPhoto by Ron Norman

Mill pollution
upgrading a
concern

By RON NORMAN
Editor

Several Castlegar aldermen say
they're concerned about Celgar Pulp
Co.’s decision not to speed up the
pollution upgrading program at Celgar
pulp mill, despite the fact the mill is
making “lots of money.”

‘Ashok Narang, chairman of Celgar’s
joint management committee, told a
recent Castlegar Chamber of Com
merce luncheon that the company in
tends to spend $48 million to improve
pollution standards at the mill. That's
up $18 million from the $30 million
program planned previously.

However, Narang said Celgar does
not intend to accelerate the 10 year
time frame as set out by the provincial
government.

“My understanding was that they
were going to accelerate it” if they
were making a profit, said Ald Carl
Henne.

Ald. Nick Oglow agrced, pointing out
that it was indicated at one point that
the program would be accelerated.

“Whether that has been changed
since then, we need to know,” said
Oglow.

Mayor Audrey Moore pointed out
that the proposal to accelerate the
pollution program was a recommend
ation from the independent consultant
appointed by the provincial pollution
control board.

Ald. Len Embree said he has heard
Celgar has proposed amendments to its
pollution control permit

He suggested council request-a letter
from Celgar providing an update on the
pollution control program.

In other news, council plans to write
to the provincial Ministry of Health
asking for a replacement for the local
public health inspector. The province
has a freeze on hiring any new
employees

continued on poge A2

for test

Arandom survey conducted here some seven years ago

The monitors, which absorb radioactive particles, will
also detected radon levels in certain homes. =

then be sent to Illinois for testing.

Arnott said only the overall results of the survey will be

made public once completed. The study will not offer
detailed information of individual homes.

Castlegar Mayor Audrey Moore, who pushed to have
Castlegar’s water supply moved off well water, said she

plans on having one of the monitors installed in her home.
“I'm certain there is nothing to worry about,” said
Moore. “But I have some concern that we don't have the

(radon testing) technology in our own country.”

Cominco,

unions ask

for help

By CasNews Staff

Cominco and three of the four

striking Steelworkers locals are again

turning to mediator Vince Ready to

help end the eight-week-old labor
dispute.

Ready, who acted as

Saare said the Kimberley employees
need security in a job that is certain to
be terminated in the foreseeable future
and he pointed to the quick demise of
Cominco’s Pine Point operations in the
North West Territories as an example

between the and S k-

of employ “I to seek com-
ive contract’ security.

ers during last month, rejected tenta-
tive agreement, will be arriving in
Trail today and will meet with the
production and maintenance locals
from both Trail and Kimberley.
John Owens, vice president of Steel-
workers Local 480, said ings be-

it’s not an ambitious package,” he
said. “If they (Kimberley) revamp that
issue, it could crack the door open for
further negotiations.”
However, Owens told the Castlegar
News that he spoke with the office and
nical

tween the union's bargaining commit-
tees and the company last Monday and
Tuesday led them to seek the services
of a mediator.

Owens said both Cominco and the
union bargaining committees agreed to
use a mediator again “to see if there is
a resolution to this dispute.”

However, Local 9705 president Jim
Saare said further meetings between
the office and technical local, including
9672 of Kimberley, and the company
are not expected.

Saare said the union bargaining
committee has recently “revamped” its
proposal to seek more comprehensive
severance language in the contract
agreement.

Saare explained that the Kimberley
union members are seeking a “con-
tributory package” which would re-
quire the company to match a per-
centage of employee contributions to
severance pay.

However, Saare said the company is
only willing to contribute one cent an
hour, which amounts to approximately
$20 per year for a total of only $400 by
the projected date of the Kimberley
mine’s closure — in approximately 15
years

“It's hardly a mining camp up there,”
said Saare. “That's an absolute dis-
grace.”

—inside

SHSS AWARDS: Rodney Marsh
received the award for the best
actor during the recent Stanley
Humphries secondary school
year-end awards ceremeony
A2

another Hollywood movie

about joining them
in their use of a mediator, but they de-
clined.

The 2,700 Steelworkers have been on
strike since May 9.

Explosion
caused by
bomb?

By The Canadian Press

RCMP are investigating an explosion
in New Denver that Mayor Ken Casley
says was caused by a bomb planted in
the pickup truck of a local logging
foreman.

Jim Hicks, 52, suffered minor
injuries last Friday when his 1984
four-wheel drive truck was badly
damaged by an early morning blast.
Hicks was alone in the truck at the
time.

He says he had no idea who would
have wanted to place a bomb in his
truck, and because RCMP were in
vestigating, he didn’t want to comment
further.

Cpl. Jim Delnea of the Nelson RCMP
detachment said police were called in

continued on page A2

ANOTHER MOVIE: Street Talk has learned that Nelson is in line tor
this time starring John Travolta

A3

LONG DISTANCE CYCLIST: A brain damaged California man cycled
through Castlegar recently on a long distance ride... Ad

DIABETIC DISCUSSION . . . Castlegar and District Hospital held the
second ina series of talks on diabetes Moriday

TALK, TALK, TALK: PLANTATION, Fla

Jim Wyatt's phone bill was

five centimetres thick, 210 pages long and detailed 4,931 long-
distance calls lasting 72,849 minutes The bill asked for $14,720.96

US

That's 50.6 days of non-stop talking in 30 days, suggesting
that Wyatt's U.S. Spring access code number was often being used

tor. more than one call at a time

Everybody in the United States was using it but me,” said

Whatt, 53

I'm not going to pay the bill

U.S. Spring spokesman Steve Dykes said company
investigators are looking into the matter. He said Whatt was
probably the victim of a hacker who used a computer to obtain his

access code and pass it around