The Castlegar Sun Wednesday, March 13, 1991 Where you work: Eastgate Gardens What you do there: Hostess Castlegar likes: The people Castlegar dislikes: The smell Best kept Castlegar secret: Hi-lite Pet: Dog - Sammy What would you rather be doing? Travelling Vehicle: Toyota Society not yet geared to accessibility for all By FRANK ISERNIA Sun staff writer»: | ‘needed wider bathroom doors, Why the need for bigger and A group of about fifty planners, developers and building inspectors from as far away as Golden, B.C, listened to sp ing the parking stalls,” “The thing that ‘stuck out the most was the lack of under- standing. That's why this kind of need for more public awareness in areas of accessibility during the designing and construction of new buildings. } All those who attended the one- day workshop last Friday praised the meeting, and agreed that it is so important. It is ; attitudinal. It is getting across to. these people why we need certain things, because they question it all the time.” “ Amstom said he shocked quite a few of the listeners when he said that there those who have to stretch ry many about accessibility as well as providing them with an increased of probl the disabled population. Organizers of the workshop were very pleased with the attendance and the interest shown by the public, Ed Amstom, one of the keynote speakers, and the founder and Executive Director of Kamloops’ People in Motion, said that he was impressed with the tumout. * “Although everyone was quite tentative, the interest was certainly there, We discussed a lot of technical things, and lots of questions were asked,” he said. “Everybody wanted to know the whys and the whos. Who needs accessibility.” He couldn’t emphasise strongly enough how many questions were of the why nature, Asked what be felt the meeting accomplished, Amston replied that he hoped Friday's meeting was an attitude adjustment. “Just from the looks I got, I’m sure that it was. One fellow, in Particular, be didn’t know why, he didn't know certain things about the disabled community, why we bathroom duties with the door wide open, “I could see it kind of shook them up.I'’ve gone into places that people have invited me to, and was not able to get into because of where the furniture was’ placed or the doors were not wide enough.” Amston said that those are the simpler things to remedy, but in structural situations there’s not much that can be done about it. He said some houses are just - impossible and must be tom down and rebuilt. “It's a real shame that society builds structures in the way that we do, there are a lot of people who end up disabled in their latter life who can’t even go out and visit their relatives and friends because they can’t get into the houseIt’s a pretty lonely feeling, when you've been able to roam around and do what you want, and all of a sudden you can’t do it anymore, It’s tough. I just hope that today we got the message across to people that we are part of society.All disabled people should be thought of as normal people in society. We're people, we are not the disabled and out in order to do their . we are not the handicapped, we are ° people who have a disability.” Keynote speaker ‘and B.C. Building Standards Officer, Bob Th don the access to that floor. He added that the courts would not mandate how the handicapped person ‘gets there, . just as long as the access is made ' meeting by stating that what he is seeing especially in a place like Castlegar, and other outlying small . communities is a really up front active role by the community in making their buildi “The building code standards require all-new’ buildings to’ provide accessibility, but what is. not there is legislation to enforce the sort of infrastructures that the building, such as to everyone, tt, “I think smaller roads, grounds, public parks, etc.” isti i don’t have do so more so than some of the legislation any retroactive iring the building to provide major cities, maybe. b its more visible. “But, I think this meeting is the first one that I know about that has been held outside the Lower i |. There have been two or three fairly large ones done in Vancouver and the attendance has been super. People have come from places such as Castlegar and other cities and towns. I hope this trend continues because I think what it does, is it gets people like me out to a whole bunch of people at once to tell them what’s going on” He alluded to the fact that there accessibility, but any renovations made must conform to current standards where it is practical, But in the U.S., all federal buildings must be handicapped accessible. “We are starting to see it here in Canada, but the province hasn’t gone that route yet. I’m not sure that it will. I¢ will take lobbying from the public, and if the right groups put pressure on the government, they'll eventually get their way.” Castlegar Building Inspector Phil Markin said that the meeting was most informative and that are many t designers, and building inspectors who don’t know that there are people in government who are available to answer their questions. He confirmed that there is a reluctance on the part of these people to phone or contact _ Victoria. “The building code as it stands now requires access to all places within the building, but there are some exemptions such as pressrooms, in, say, your industry, where handicap people cannot get accessibility. But anywhere the public has visiting rights must Have news of the community? Give us a call at 365-5266 = Southcentre Continued from 1A Grand Forks. Boxtart said he was excited about coming to Castlegar. “I think everybody will be happy about us being there,” he said. “We're different. We're not your run-of-the-mill supermarket. The difference can be seen in our ‘olir thésstige, ‘Andloiit’” Prices.” to the standards. However, the code does exempt small buildings in some cases, but ‘that is strictly an economic while his dep has been enforcing the building code in terms of accessibility, he would like to see the code enforced over and above the current standards, “I'd like to see Castlegar go over and above what the building code says because the code is only of minimum standard” Nelson Building Inspector, Bernie Zimmer said that the meeting heightened his awareness of inaccessibility. “Because of Nelson's hillsides it is difficult to build in terms of accessibility, but we've been kind of whittling away at different projects in order to make them accessible to all.” Zimmer added that he felt most people perceived the disabled as a which will pre ly Originally i d as the Twin Rivers Mall, Reid noted that it bad been decided that, although Twin Rivers had_ historical meaning in the area, it was not really a suitable name for the new complex. “We felt Southcentre Mall had an easier sound and was more indicative of the location,” said Réid, bes bes ‘ & Arcade Continued from 1A statement. “Our officers are very busy. We cover an area of over 100 square miles, but we try a respond as immediate as manpower allows,” explained Hall. “After normal hours we have only two members on duty, compounded by the fact we get all our calls relayed to us from Nelson, and depending on where our Officers are at the time of the call we respond immediately. “But we can't just drop what we are doing to respond unless it is an emergency.We don’t have the er.” “We can’t have our officers parked in front of the arcade all Hall suggested that citizens have to do something to help themselves, citing that they must not be scared to go into court to ensure that these offenders can be “If you see someone breaking the law, call the police, when they arrive walk out with the officer(s) and point the culprit(s) out,” ised Hall. The arcade owner doesn’t believe that a proposal by Alderman Duff that suggests a shut his doors, the bad apples would surface elsewhere, and the igh! watch be 1 éd will be because of the way the Criminal Code reads. “My understanding is that in order to prosecute, you peed more than just a name, you need to be able to identify those charged, and that is going to be a tough aut to cwack. Most of these people around bere don't know the kids, and after a while a face is just a face. They all look alike.” “Kids now today have no respect for the police. When they drive by the kids just yell and laugh at them.” Zaitsoff believes that society should bring the old system back suggesting that these trouble makers should get a taste of the old ear twisting ishment. “In the larger cities, these troublemakers don’t dare step too far out of line with the police or else,” he explained. “Most of the kids who use my facilities are good natured kids. Sure there are some bad apples in the barrel, but Wizard's Palace has nothing to do with it.” Zaitsoff believes that even if he P would “If this place wasn't here for the kids, the problems would probably increase because our kids “would have nothing better to do.” Rumors that the arcade is being forced to shut its doors have the kids upset and very defiant. One of the regulars, who wished not to be named, said that a petition would be circulated if that occurred. “There are a couple of people who are determined to shut me down,” confirmed Zaitsoff, “but I'll be dammed if I roll over and die on this issue.” “To make matters worse,” remarked Zaitsoff, “ city council sent me a letter dictating how I should run my business. They gave me an April deadline to paint my outside walls, install cement picnic tables out back and to remove the bush just outside my walls.” “First of all I don’t own the lot outside my business, and obviously council erred because even as I speak city crews are clearing the brush, secondly, there is no place that I can install these cement picnic tables, and even if I could, that would open up another can of worms. How can I justify upsetting my neighbors with all the noise that this would create, and how can I block off the alley?” he asked. Zaitsoff also disagreed with the letter’s suggestion of painting the - outside wall by the April deadline. “ Tt ludicrous,” he stated. “ Who paints in April, the wall wouldn't be dry enough to do a thorough and complete job.” “Why doesn’t the city worry about their own back yard before telling me to clean up my Zaitsoff was alluding to the fact that the street outside his business is in serious need of repairs. “The area surrounding this section of downtown is a mess. Seniors and other people wishing to cross the street are forced to walk in the mud.Why don’t they mend their own fences before pointing out my business flaws? I phoned Alderman Duff to come down and talk to me, but he never showed up. I’ve never met or seen the man. But, rest assured I am looking forward to the meeting, I will be there,” be promised. @ Co-generation Continued from 1A willingly support. However, Hydro is willing to pay a 15 per cent premium for a woodwaste project.” Should such a project become a reality, a 30 mega watt plant would cost approximately $80 million to build and take 18 to 24 months to complete, encompassing 180 man years of labor. At the peak of the construction period there would be 200 people on the site. When finished, the operating plant would employ 25 - 30 persons. True co-generation, said NW Bnergy’s project development manager Steve Davis, is when two things, steam and electricity, are produced from a power plant. The steam is then used in an industri: all of the steam will be used to create more electricity. Davis added that the NW Energy Corporation was the joint to sell power to B.C. Hydro include quality of the power and reliability,” he i who want to build. And we need a measure of support within a Fairbairn concurred. “The forest industry is cyclical. When we enter into a contract with B.C,. Hydro or West Kootenay Power, the only two buyers of Washington Water Power; and Tondu Energy. Systems of. Hi Texas. Each ip added to the sum total of NW Energy’s capabilities said Davis. in the p , whetber it's woodwaste, natural gas, or coal, they have got to know that in 20 years there will still be a supply. The financial institutions also need ‘assurance, Particularly There are a lot of Political impacts. Everybody is interested. “I think Castlegar may be a Place where it could work. People are well informed, there is already money being spent on the roads, and there is a problem in that a fair bit of woodwaste is being landfilled or incinerated. Why. waste it when you can add value to in?” : “WP Energy brings experi 5 ject, they already operate : a co-generating plant in Kettle Falls, Washington. Tondu is an, American developer ..;\ of; Process. In Williams Lake, where the company is about to begin construction of a $150 million co- generation plant next month, the plant will only produce electricity, ? power with over 10 years in the b' BC.) for long: fii ig," said Fairbairn. “But it is feasible. We have been successful in developing a project in Williams Lake. It takes a long time and alot of money. There-are road problems, site Fairbai: added that his company would try to benefit from what happened to Cel gar. “Over the next: couple: of months we will work more closely with ‘the ‘sawmills ‘and ‘the is just starting, so they can provide the expertise. Inland Pacific knows... with sawmills, the project review process, division or lack, of division:) ina; community, the province well ‘and can provide ;.”/ natural gas support. The 1 ition between people,” he said. “We _.would haveongoing strong public consultation, right from coming outiof the chute.’ We ‘all learned one day.” The courts, explained Thomp- son will basically force the issue by saying that someone in a wheelchair has every right as someone who walks, and just because there is no elevator, doesn’t mean he shouldn’t have person toa “That’s not the case, he said, there are people with multiple sclerosis, there are the seniors, those who are hearing impaired, and many others who fall into the same category as disabled. They all require their needs looked at in terms of accessibility. " ‘City Hall Continued from 1A vote on the issues. i did point out h 4 that anyone wanting to attend city council or visit the second story of the building will receive all the help required to get up there. \take- in ‘the :tin' Warriors wow, ‘em = A.crowd of about 200 was on hand Friday of special events: h festival’ held’at d by New best from the Celgar Wednesday, March 13, 1991 The Castlegar Sun Council Briefs by Frank Isernia The provincial government could Ieam a lesson from the municipal- ities on how to manage their finances says Castlegar City Council. ‘The remark comes on the heels of a provincial request for munici- Palitics to freeze taxes; except where cost increases are unavoidable due to previously negotiated contracts, or the actions of senior levels of ge he p jal ge has indi that if munici- Palities don’t honor the guidlines, they may be required to do so. Castlegar's provisional budget docs not include any increase in rev- enue from resi taxes thereby allowing the City to adhere to the provincial guidelines, oe In other City Council news: Council passed a recommendation that it advise Regional District of Columbia Kootenay that it has no objection to the Temporary Permit i The Society in trouble By FRANK ISERNIA their b through a booth Sun staff writer A heavily b is campaign at last year's Trade Fair. “We've only managed to sign up nine new over the last and District Heritage Society is desperately looking for an answer, any answer, that will keep the soci- ety from being forced. to disband said society president Sherrel Koreen. “Although the outcome looks dismal, we aren’t out of it yet," she said, “We've been operating and maintaining Zuckerberg Island and Castlegar Rail Station for three years and in no way are we giving up. We need more interested peo- ple to join our society. That's it in a nutshell. The problem with most of our 68 members is that most of them are spreading themselves too thin. They have too many other obligations to tend to.This leaves only a handful of four or five that can requested by Williamson Paving Ltd. subject to certain ditions are that the obtain app: from the City of Castlegar for the location and extent of any access driveway, and that RDCK collect, on behalf of the City a fee to be applied toward part of the costs of rehabilitation of Arrow Lakes Drive. But the there will be some unfavorable impacts caused by approv- ing this permit. The most significant impact on the City of Castlegar, is the potential for damage to Arrow Lakes Drive. The road will require rehabilitation entailing ip ion, possibly, or an asphalt lift. This road will be eligible for a 50 per cent provincial grant as part of the City’s Major Street Network. The concem is how to col- lect the remaining cost. oe A for a public process be to obtain views on options available to address the future of Kinnaird Hall was approved Monday. Council was told that Kinnaird Hall is in a state of deterioration. The kitchen does not meet Public Health requirements, and the build- ing does not meet a number of Fire/Building Code regulations. General usage of the hall was reduced to two functions in 1990, while several ity groups have established the hall as a permanent base of operations. The objective of the recommendation is to improve the economics of the hall while itasa facility. “What we need is some new blood in our society,” she said, adding that they had tried boosting three years, I wish I knew what the answer is. I'm nearing the end of my two-year term as president. A new executive must be elected in May.” But, there are no current candi- dates for the i iti OUTLOOK: The forecast for Wednesday; ‘} A mixture of cloud and sunshine. Highs near 7 with overnight lows near -3. The outlook for Thursday and Friday calls for remaining unsettled weather. Cloud and showers of mixed rain and snow. Temperatures will be at or near normal. WEATHER and that could spell certain doom for the society. If no one steps for- ward, and the society is forced to disband, both heritage sites would become the responsibility of the city, and the society would once again become an advisory commit- tee to the city, Koreen, in a telephone interview with the Castlegar Sun, said that she is not happy with the media reporting that the city might have to sell off the island and the sta- tion as a last resort. “The possibility of having to sell both sites as a last resort shouldn't have been adressed at all,” she Stated, Profession dedicated to service By FRANK ISERNIA Sun staff writer This is Social Work Week in Canada, a week that highlights a very special profession dedicated to serving the welfare of all people. Often mali, mis- Ketchum.”"We are highly trained Professionals." “Although the people who are doing protection and Child welfare work are called social workers, about 60 per cent are not trained as social workers, They are just people understood, and at times, even unloved, it is a profession that embmices social values and whose mandate is aimed at making people their top priority. A social worker is defined as someone who is trained to facilitate intemal personal development or assist people to cope with their social enviroment. “We are not just financial assis- tant workers that administer funds at welfare offices,” said Selkirk Social Work instructor Nancy ployed to carry out the role,” said fellow instructor and social worker, Phyllis Nash, “The importance of this week is to give social workers that recogni- tion that we are highly trained pro- i that do ing called Temperature: Max/Date 10.7/ 8 Precipitation: — Rain 3.0 cm. Sunshine: Number of Hours 23.2 A LOOK BACK AT THE PAST WEEK: Min/Date 49/8 18 Snow 5.0 cm. Mean Tota! Normal Total 8.6 om. 13.2 cm. Normal Number of Hours 26.2. Fairly low freezing levels and light snowfalls through the week kept the local sk-hills happy. An above nor- mal snowpack is being maintained at many mountain stations. Ed. note: I'm confused! When do we put our winter clothes away and bring the spring stuff out? On any given day I can either ski or arden. Tomorrow? Forecast provided by The South - East Interior Weather Office at Castlegar, B.C. All registered social workers have a university education, most with B.S.W. or M.S.W. degrees, and all a “generals practice",which means social workers can play a variety of Toles in the community,” affirmed Social Service graduate, and Selkirk social worker student, Rhonda Schmidt. A variety of services are pro- vided through established public workers belong to the British Columbia Association of Social Workers which sets stan- dards of practice, enforces its code of ethics, and has been instrumen- tal in bringing social issues to the attention of policy-makers, and creating a Social Workers Act. “ Here in Castlegar, we are see- increasing due to public need. For example, at Mental Health, social workers Martha Fish and Phyllis Gairns share their duties with Trail. They do therapy, individual and family assessments, deal with acute and chronic psychiatric dis- orders and provide health services to the elderly,” said Ketchum. “Social work is an exciting pro- fession with all kinds of possible job opportunities. " agencies as well as private practice. ing our professional services FEEDBACK By NANCY LINGLEY Sun Editor times through funding, such as the sheep,transplant they did at Deer Park, and i it Approximately 25 percent of the hunting in this province is done in the Kootenays. In this area, there is access to a large variety of game species including black bear, grizzly bear, moose, elk, and both white- tail and mule deer. The persons most active in enhancing the habitat so that these species may not only survive, but thrive, are the various wildlife associations in our region. Castlegar Sun editor Nancy Lingley spoke with Ron Milton, vice-president of the Slocan Valley Wildlife A iation about his ization’s il to wildlife enhance- ment. ee The Slocan Valley Wildlife Association 1986 Chapter came about five years ago when Ron and friend John Braun, a man who has hunted and trapped the valley for over 50 years, got together, Club membership has been as high as 93, but averages 35-40 per year. Right now the member- ship list stands at around 50. The club's territory takes in Management Units 4-16 and 4-17, which is roughly 32 miles in either direction on both sides of the valley, extending from South Slocan to Crescent Valley. “Our main interest is to maintain a healthy population of fish and wildlife. When we started up again in 1986, the club had been defunct for four or five years. It had been an on-again, off-again thing since Probably the early 60s. So John and I got together with other friends to try to recon- struct the club. We just bad a public meeting by phone with people we knew in the valley that were interested. “As a club, we help other clubs, such as Nelson and Castlegar. Some- ‘ Shrouded over by fog, Dean's Peak, on the east side of * : Highway 6 at Passmore, is the release site for the : Rocky Mountain goats transplanted from the East |... ‘Kootenays. GUN STAFF PHOTOS / Nency Lingey with hand. labor, like helping with the trapping of sheep.” In the beginning, the projects conducted by the Slocan Valley Wildlife Association were, by necessity, on the smaller side. “Because the club lacked funding, our earlier projects were small. Our very first project, in the spring of ‘87, was building osprey nesting plat- forms up on Little Slocan Lakes. We had to ort everything up by boat, climb trees, knock the top of the tree off at 50 or 60 feet and put big wood and steel platforms up there. It was fun. “Then we monitored them. One pair of osprey continues to use them now, The geese compete with the osprey for them. Either way, they’re being used. “In 1987, we also started a salt project that we still do yearly. We estab- lish a saltlick strategically where we know the deer winter, at least 300 to 400 yards off of the road, “We pack the salt up on salt boards and find the right soil conditions to put it on. Sometimes we just enhance a natural saltlick. We think this does Prevent roadkill in the winter. Last year we didn’t do as many and there ‘were more roadkills,” Fish habitat is also important to the club. “We're in constant contact with the fisheries department of Fish and Wildlife to get fish enhancement on Slocan Lake and the creeks. As a result, the club did a project on Hird Creek. We cleaned up all the slit, rot- ten logs, and old stuff that people who had used the creck for a dump in the 30s left. We spent $300 in club funds and hired a truck to haul two sizes of Pea gravel to put in the creek to make terraced pools. We put about 160 man hours into the project. “The few remaining rainbow in the river are using it as a spawning area according to the fisheries branch. We're very proud of the project. They want us to get involved with some other creeks, “ Wildlife clubs often use their manpower to help out the Fish and Wildlife Branch of the Ministry of the Environment. “We got a Habitat Conservation Fund grant in the spring of 1990 and were notified we were, indeed, going to get some goats from the East Kootenay, from Toby Creek. Larry Ingham and Dave Lewis, another biolo- gist and also a member, were going to try to trap the goats and we were told to get the release site ready. “We released the first goat on June 16, 1990, a mature nanny about 6- 1/2 years old and believed pregnant.” The club spent $1,100 of its own funds for three electronic collars for the ke d goats for itoring purp There are now eight goats “We help do counts such as grizzly bear or goat pop in our area by reporting dates, species, sex, how many, and showing their location on a topo map, They don’t have enough funding to do it on their own. A lot of the clubs help out that way. ; “We check on the habitat situation, too. We go into the feeding grounds and see how overmature it’s getting so we can recommend prescribed buming to rejuvenate the food source. “One year there was a lot of controversy over the limited entry draw. We did a survey and found that more antlerless deer were killed on the highway than by limited entry draw hunters.” But the club's biggest, most ambitious project has been the transplant of Rocky Mountain Goats to the Slocan Valley from the East Kootenay. “The goat transplant started at the time we got the club going in 1986, with a vision of what the club could do even if it was a small club. John said wouldn't it be neat if we could transplant goats to this mountain range for our grandchildren. Traditionally, there were goats there, but there had been nothing for the past 65 to 70 years because of a combination of little or no hunting regulations and overhunting, as well as a lot of the traditional ranges had become overgrown with forests that had choked out the winter feed.” i . 2 The goat transplant project involved many different persons. Ron start- ed.on it himself, but gave Mike Rowden credit for doing a lot of the leg- work. In the East Kootenay, where the goats were to be captured, Ray Demarchi, the regional biologist, and Carmen Purdy of the Wildlife Her- “dtage Fund became involved. » 3.1 Then we got a new, young biologist named Larry Ta, wham who really ‘wanted to sce it go and he was the final key that made it a success. on the due to the club's efforts. “We had seven releases. The last was a nanny and a kid about three weeks old. They're flown over in a specially designed box. They took all the seats out of the plane and the goat breathes down the neck of the pilot all the way over from Invermere, The timing is critical on the transplants. ‘The goats are very susceptible to stress, but it's gone like clockwork. Fred inil our club is very dedi He's there for cach and every release. We use his truck. “We will continue the goat transplants. We hope to capture and release 12 more. We and the biologists feel that we could sustain 40 to 60 goats oa that mountain easily. If we can get 20 up there, they should just take off. “It’s one of the biggest goat transplants to take place in B.C. and for such a small club it's a real accomplishment. Larry won an award for it through the Ministry of the Environment. We couldn’t have done it without Larry and Carmen.” Despite their work at making the world a better place for wildlife, the clubs still come under fire. “Because we are consumptive users, we have it thrown in our face that the only reason we want to transplant goats is to shoot them. “If these people are so dam interested, why don’t they involve them- selves in enhancement? Put their money where their mouth is? “The Valhalla or Greenpeace people don’t put moncy in enhancement. They just concentrate on shutting down the consumptive user. “If it ever got to the day where I thought the grizzly bear population was to the point where we've got to stop the hunt, I’d be the first one to say, we've got to stop shooting grizzly bears. : “But until that day, I see no reason not to enjoy a hunt as a form. of recreation.” Pp i