Saturday, December 7, 1991 a YOUR CASTLEGAR SAFEWAY ($) Always Serving You Right! KRAFT MIRACLE WHIP 2.98 ICE CREAM Snow Star * Assorted Flavourse 4 L. Pail Regular or Light. 11 L. Bottle. Limit 1. Overlimit Price 3.48 FLOUR Robin Hood ¢ Assorted Blends Lim. 1 ¢ Overlimit Price $5.18 Reg. or Diet, Caffeine Free 2 L. Bottle CHICKEN WINGS $4.39/kg. T-BONE or WING STEAKS sn. 0208 RUSSETT POTATOES B.C. Grown ¢ Canada Gr. 2 TRAY BUNS White or Whole Wheat WINNIPEG RYE BREAD Prices in Effect Sun., Dec. 8 - Sat., Dec. 14 mba aneadie Thucsem Fy eon ~ nday We bring it all together } ye We reserve the right to limit sales to retail quantities. 60SECONDS Adrafting assignment to de- sign a recycling box turned out to be a rewarding experience for Brian Port, a Grade 11 stu- dent at Stanley Humphries Secondary School. page 9 The Castlegar Rebels came to the Forks in the road in Grand Forks Saturday night and saw their six-game Koote- nay International Hockey League winning streak come to an end. page 20 Once considéred little league, the sports card market is now in the big leagues. No loriger are cards thought of as small change, but rather good as gold. And you don't even get gum anymore. page 23 Farside Editorial Harrison Beyer After Hours Our People Castlegar Close-Up Sports Work Place OGROMVNADN N a MA CASTLEGAR LEGISLATIVE Liz PARLIAMENT BL F CANDLES OF HOPE News photo by Scott David Harrison The Montreal Massacre was remembered and mourned Friday in Castlegar. Fourteen candies lit up the night sky as some 30 residents remember the women who lost their lives to Marc Lepine. Among those on hand were (from left) Mila Richards, Ann Pollock and George Richards. WKP eyes hefty rate increase lM West Kootenay Power ready to up utility rates by as much as 14.9 per cent through 1993 Jonathan Green NEWS REPORTER West Kootenay Power may just shock its customers on Jan. 1. The American-owned utility an- nounced last week that it has applied to the B.C. Utilities Commission, seeking rate increases of as much as 14.9 over the next two years. The rate increase would be 4.2 per cent in 1992, followed by a 5.8 per cent hike on Jan. 1, 1993. WKP is also re- questing that customers pay an addi- tional 4.7 per cent in 1992 and 0.2 per cent in 1993 to help cover costs of its re- vised energy contracts with Cominco. Mike Bradshaw of WKP says that the utility struck a deal to purchase Cominco’s excess power, which would then be sold to WKP consumers. “We rely on Cominco for a cheap sup- ply of power,” he said. Bradshaw added that if the deal with Cominco had not been reached, WKP would have had to purchase pow- er from B.C. Hydro, forcing customers to pay even more. If every increase is approved, cus- tomers can look forward to a 8.9 per cent rate hike in 1992, followed by a six per cent jump in 1993. But the increases wouldn't end there. WEP has requested that a 4.2 per cent increase be granted on an interim re- fundable basis effective Jan. 1, 1991. In- terim rates are subject to final approval of the commission following a public hearing. Bradshaw says the proposed in- crease for 1992 allows the utility to ac- complish two things. “We could keep up with inflation and improve our system at the same time,” he said Monday. “The last four years have been the most aggressive period we've ever had,” Bradshaw said. “We have to firm up our supply of power.” The utility has spent over $70 million in the last five years to increase trans- mission and distribution facilities. Although the total increases seem high, Bradshaw says that reaction is fa- vorable, following a hearing last week in Rossland. “There seems to be a lot of tolerance for the rationale,” he said. “I think it works for everyone.” Everyone but Fred Marsh, that is. Adirector with the Kootenay-Okana- gan Electric Consumers Association, Marsh says that 1990 figures show that WEP shouldn't require a rate increase. Reading from the July 1991 issue of Globe & Mail Report on Business, Marsh said that WKP was first among please see Kootenay page 2 THE NEWSPAPER YOU’VE COME HOME TO FOR 44 YEARS