a2___Casthégar News _ soy. 1926 D'Arcy calls for fairer Hydro rates By CasNews Staff Rossland-Trail MLA Chris D'Arcy last week called on Energy Minister Tony Brummett to pressure B.C. Hydro into charging fairer rates for the surplus power it sells to West Kootenay Power and Light Co. Speaking in the legislature, D'Arcy said, “I would hope that the minister, because he has some corporate responsibility for a wholly owned government subsidiary — in this case B.C. Hydro — may will consider using some influence on that company to be to customers in the southern interior of the province.” D'Arcy’s comments came one day after the B.C. Utilities Commission convened hearings in Kelowna on Hydro’s request for a 12-per-cent hike in the rates it eharges WKPL for the purchase and transmission of power. The hearings reconvened this morning in Castlegar. Added to WKPL’'s own request for a five per cent imcrease to cover increased operating costs, Hydro's increase would mean WKPL’s 96,000 customers in the Kootenays and southern Okanagan face a total rate hike of 17 per cent, WKPL president Joe Drennan said in Kelowna. In the legislature, D'Arcy pointed out that Hydro sells surplus energy to utility companies in the United States at lower rates than to WKPL, a situation which he said “sounds totally absurd.” “I doubt that any state government in the U.S., any provincial government elsewhere in Canada, would see any utility — let alone a publicly owned utility — in a situation where they're holding out on another utility within their jurisdiction, and at the same time are giving away energy to other utilities in competing economic jurisdictions.” However, Brummett noted that Hydro is required to “hold and secure” the power for West Kootenay. “They can’t turn around and say, ‘I'm sorry, it isn't available, " he said. Brummett said Hydro does not have to ensure a security of supply for the “spot export market.” But D'Arcy said that is “an irresponsible attitude on the part of the government,” “The government is saying: “We're prepared to continue to supply utilities in the United States on a spot market basis when and if we have the power, but we're not prepared to supply power except at extremely high rates in British Columbia’ — to British Columbians who own the resource.” However, Brummett pointedout that WKPL customers pay less for their service than customers on the Hydro stem, and he added that Hydro’s request for a rate increase is fair from its point of view. “If Hydro has to supply more power, if they have to store more power, they have a cost involved,” Brummett said. i, imagine (Hydro is) trying to transfer some of that . to anybody else who buys it, and not to charge their own ® cosaemnars higher rates in order to supply power at bargain rates to other B.C. citizens who are getting it ata lower rate now. “Is a fair price selling something to somebody else for less than you're selling it to your own customers?” Brummett asked. He ended the debate by saying the issue would not be settled in the legislature. “The B.C. Utilities Commission is in the process of hearing the argument and trying to settle it, so perhaps we'll leave it to them.” OGLOW BACKS SINGLE SOURCE Selkirk College well touted as water supply ~ TOP BAND . . . Antoinette Santos and Ken Chernoff, drum majors of Kinnaird Junior Secondary School Marching Cobras, with trophy the band won at this with 67 other bands, took first place in the marching band division in the 35th annual parade sponsored by Spokane Jaycees. | CotewsProte 7 F FOR Thursday, May 22 Friday, 1 POUND ARMSTRONG CHEESE May 23 500 GRAM PACKAGE OF APPLE JUICE GROUND BEEF x LEAN BONELESS. CANADA STEAK | $988 ® BLADE BONELESS. CANADA jiuee LE ee rs ba CUBED PORK 3% 19 = SAUSAGES “ae BACON. woo, 2239 |8 GARLIC RING AY he ¢ OR DRY SALAMI, BAVARIAN By RON NORMAN Editor A Castlegar alderman says an unde- veloped well at Selkirk College could be used to supply water to the Castle. gar Airport, Doukhobor Village, the National Exhibition Centre, Ootischen- ia elementary school and the proposed Ootischenia firehall instead of devel oping individual wells. “It seems like a multiplicity of wells is a waste of money and most un- reliable,” Ald. Nick Oglow said. ‘s comments came after coun- cil received a letter from Transport Canada indicating the federal agency doesn't anticipate any problems drill ing a new water well at the airport. ‘Transport Canada spokesman T.W. Nash said the preliminary design for the new well was completed in Feb- ruary. ‘The design included a geo-technical assessment for a new well. Nash says based on that assessment “we have no reason to doubt that there Wwill be any problem locating a suitable water well, but will be underttking further geo-technical work during the final design to confirm this.” Mayor Audrey Moore had raised a question about finding an adequate well at the airport during a meeting with Transport Canada last month The well is part of a $3.5 million expansion proposal for the airport. Final design of the new well should be completed by the end of June with construction to begin in August. Work _ is expected to take about four months. But Oglow says there is an aquifer at Selkirk College that could serve all the facilities. He proposed that the Selkirk College Enterprise Develop ment agency prepare a fea: y study on supplying water from the aq uifer. But Ald. Len Embree pointed out that couneil should work through Area J regional director Martin Vanderpol because the area in question is located in the regional district. Embree added that a feasi jility study may not’ bé“heséssary” because material assembled when the City of Castlegar developed its water system may contain that information. He also noted that studies at that time indicated it is cheaper to install a line from Castlegar to Ootischenia than develop the college well. ' Ald. Terry Rogers agreed. He said he could see Oglow's point about de- veloping a single water supply, but said more “background” information is nee- essary. He also said council shouldn't be in- structing the regional district what to do. “I don’t think it’s really any of our business,” added Ald. Bob Pakula. But Oglow persisted and suggested council initiate the proposal, if not with the college, then with the regional directors for Areas I and J. Council referred the issue to its planning and development committee, which in turn recommended that a copy of the Transport Canada letter be sent to Vanderpol with the suggestion that joint use of the Selkirk College well would 6é worthwhile investigating. OMBUDSMAN The original spawning grounds were flooded when the Arrow Lakes were created with the construction of the Hugh Keenleyside Dam. ENDS INQUIRY INTO COMPLAINT ieee. livestock watering was the limited volume of the River,” It adds that A fish. ladder would overcome the varying water levels in the Arrow Lakes and bypass two waterfalls near the mouth of the river. “The concern of the Inonoaklin community was that the only source of surface water for irrigation and the report says. one complaint asserted the water i year’s Spokane Junior Lilac Parade. KJSS, competing GETTING THE FACTS . . . B.C. Utilities Commissioners listen to submissions at the rate hearing into the dispute between B.C. Hydro and West Kootenay Power and Light Co. Left to right are Donald Kilpatrick, Marie Taylor, chairman, and Dave Newlands, deputy chairman. CosNews photo By CasNews Staff A complaint to the B.C. ombudsman about the proposed fish ladder on the Inonoaklin River was not pursued because plans for the fish ladder have not been made final, the 1985 annual report of the ombudsman says. The report says the complaint was lodged on behalf of farming interests \in the Inonoaklin Valley Although the complaint was not pursued, the report notes that “what was made evident by the ombudsman's involvement was the absence of material to answer the farming community's questions on the use of alternative, non-agricultural areas” for the fish ladder. The proposed ladder will allow migrant fish access to the Inonoaklin River from the Arrow Lake to spawn. resource barely meets existing agricultural requirements without considering potential expansion. The report notes that, although the Ministries of Agriculture and Environment “embarked on a coopera tive program . . . environmental interests appeared to overshadow those of agriculture.” “The community's fears appear well-founded.” When the ministries agreed to continue further study of the fish ladder, the ombudsman’s office discon tinued its investigation, the report says. The 1985 annual report is the first under acting ombudsman Peter Bazowski, who took over July 2 from Karl Friedmann when his six-year term as B.C.’s first ombudsman was not renewed by the provincial government. ID program continued By CasNews Staff Selkirk Lady Lions will once again conduct the Little Pepsi child identification pro- gram The program consists of fingerprinting and photogra phing children for identifica tion purposes. According to Lady Lions treasurer Dee Lewis, the program is a way for parents to have immediate identi cation to show authorities should their child ever go a: tray. The program, which is sponsored by Selkirk Lady Lions and West Kootenay Soft Drinks, has been under taken on an annual basis for the past two years. In that time, nearly 2,000 children have been fingerprinted and photographed. City to erect anti-nuke signs By CasNews Staff The City of Castlegar will erect four signs at its major highway entrances declaring Castlegar a nuclear weapons free zone The signs came at the request of the Castlegar Peace Group in a letter to council “Seeing that council has passed a resolution some time ago declaring Castlegar a nuclear weapons free zone, we feel we should join other communities in posting signs depicting the declaration on all four highway entrances to the city,” peace group chair person Olga Kittson said in the letter. Kittson said the signs would serve as “constant re minders” to try to find al- ternate methods to solving disputes rather than by use of force and violence. “I see nothing wrong with (the signs),” commented Ald. Terry Rogers. Ald. Len Embree agreed, and said: “I think the issue is extremely important.” Offering the program for a third year gives new parents a chance to have their chil dren's identification done, says Lewis and gives parents whose children have been identified previously a chance to update the photo- graphs. “It's a free service to the community,” explains Lewis. There will be only one copy of the child's identification and that copy is turned over to the parent and not passed on to the RCMP. The identification consists of a plasticized photograph identification card with a separate fingerprint card in cluding statistics on the child. The identification session will take place from 11 a.m. 3 p.m. Saturday in the lobby of the Community Complex. Negotiations start today By CasNews Staff Negotiations between the Pulp, Paper, and Woodwork ers of Canada Local 1 and Westar Timber’s Celgar Pulp Operations were postponed until today. The talks were scheduled to begin Tuesday but were set back one day because the union’s representative was delayed in Vancouver, said a PPWC Local Mike Babaeff while the na tional union of the PPWC will be represented by its presi. dent Stan Shewaga Celgar Pulp Operations general manager Wilf Swee ney and members of local management will negotiate on behalf of the company with industrial relations man. ager Burt Collier acting as chairman. There is on the talks. The PPWC's current con. tract expires June 30. news blackout WKPL continued from front pege Kootenay region is dependent upon the relatively less expensive power sup- plied by West Kootenay Power.” Hydro has proposed a 12-per-cent increase for 1986 which, if approved, would be added to a five-per-cent increase requested by WKPL, effective Jan. 1, to cover increased operating costs. The total 17 per cent increase would adversely affect the Kootenays where the economy already faces difficulties, Drennan said last week during the hearings, which began in Kelowna. The hearings are scheduled through Friday in Castlegar and will resume next week in Vancouver for concluding arguments. DRENNAI . Captive customer COLLEGE—— continued trom front poge Salmo to provide Knowledge Network services. In addition to the satellite dish, Armstrong said there are about 20 chairs, eight to 10 tables, a typewriter, answering machine, television, tape deck, teacher's desk and books at Salmo. But Merriman went on record as being opposed to the motion. “Somewhere in the system .. . we should have it clear cut so we shouldn't have to go through it every time,” he said. “Where do ‘you suddenly get tough?” But board chairman Jack Colbert N said that if the board develops a policy it could be bound by it continued from front poge While that might not sound like much, Howard and Winlaw station manager Larry Avis said that with the right technique and 4 little initiative, earning at least $6 an hour is an easy target — that's 30 pounds an hour. “It's a good thing for a family to do,” said Avis, who added that picking ferns is also a great opportunity for students to earn extra money. Both men noted that fern harvesting is a safe activity, even for children. {eater ocotmsen RE: orm REARS There are some rrles though. The ferns should be picked to at least a 14-inch (36-centimetre) length and should snap to break. If the stem folds then the ferns are too mature and should not be picked, Howard said. The reason for the specified length is that the ferns immediately begin to die from the broken end up. Since the stems will be trimmed to 12 inches (30 centimetres) at the weigh station for processing, Howard said, the extra length allows a short time for pickers to deliver the ferns to the stations before too much of the fern's stem is damaged. However, the ferns must be delivered the same day they-are picked. Also, ferns must have only single heads. Double heads or what looks like a head and arms means the fern is too mature and is not acceptable, they said. After picking, the ferns should be bunélled by the handful and secured with elastic bands, which are available free at any of the weigh stations. FERNS BIG BUSINESS Full directions are available at the stations. Howard and Avis also suggested that if people are not sure how to pick the ferns, they could pick a few and bring them to the stations for an assessment. Payment is made in cash based on the weight of the ferns after trimming. Then the company takes over. The ferns are pickled in a brine solution for preserving and are trucked to Vancouver for shipment to Japan, Howard said. In addition to pickling the ferns, the brine also removes any toxins in the ferns, which Howard and Avis stressed should not be eaten raw The pickled product is sold in Japan for about 50 to 60 cents a pound, they said. Neither Howard nor Avis has tasted the ferns, but Avis said he has heard they are “very tasty.” The usual picking season for the ferns runs from the beginning of April through May, Howard said. However, because of the cooler weather, this year's crop was late sprouting and will be ready for picking from now until the middle of June. If this year’s harvest is successful, the company will establish the business in the West Kootenay every year. even to the point of setting up a processing plant here next year if things go well, Avis said. He added that if the company starts to get good response at the weigh station, it will set up sut-stations at several locations — ii Castlegar — where pickers could bring the ferns for weighing. SS Castlegar News TREET TALK THEY DIDN’T win, but aldermen Terry Rogers and Cari Henne came oh so close to capturing the Silver City Days grape stomping competition for a second year in a row The team of Henne and city engineer George Reshaur took the title in 1985. This year Henne and Rogers wore T-shirts declaring them 1985 champs “to the envy of everyone there,” says Henne. But Rogers said the competition was “loaded against us” because all of the contestants but the defending champs were given half barrels with spiggots at the bottom “We got a 17 gallon plastic bucket” with a hose to siphon the juice over the top, Rogers says. “Even with that we came close to winning,” he adds. CRESTON physician William Mitchell-Banks has been named Family Physician of the Year by the College of Family Physicians of Canada. Mitchell-Banks is the first British Columbian doctor to win the award and the 15th in Canada. He has been in Creston since 1977 following 14 years in Prince Rupert. CHAHKO-MIKA MALL in Nelson has a new store. It's called Victorian Lace Salon and it features fine lingerie and gifts. Owner Phyllis Hiltz-Bontje opened the store April 9. ONE OF THE MORE attractive souvenirs from Expo 86 is the B.C. Pavilion’s coffee-table book, British Columbia, Time of Our Lives. And the project co-ordin- ator for it was a young man who received his primary and secondary education in the Castlegar school system, The son of Malcolm Scott (who was associated with both Boundary Electric and Century 21 here), Michael is promotion manager for! the book publishing firm of Douglas & McIntyre who produced the book in co-opera- tion with the B.C. Pavilion Corp. The B.C. Pavilion paid the development costs and has taken 5,000 of the initial printing. The provincial government has also taken several hundred boxed copies for gifts. British Columbia, Time of Our Lives, is a new kind of picture book. It isn't a collection of panormaic views of B.C.’s natural beauties, although the glories of the land are evident in photograph after photograph. Nor does it attempt to reduce the province to the simple emotion- alism of a “Day-in-the-Life of B.C.” portrait. What it does, quite successfully, is capture a sense of how the people and the land fit together. Comments*Seott: “In its portrayal of industrial enterprise, it is a book about business. In its celebration of a gritty and hardworking people, it is a book about human dignity. In the sense that it looks at how people live and work on the land, it is a book about ecology .. . “Fundamentally, it is about the experience of life in British Columbia captured in word and image by people who may love it or hate it, but who are never indifferent to it.” Police file Vandals struck at several Castlegar locations over the Victoria Day long weekend, including Zuckerberg Island Heritage Park where the park's signs were the target Elsewhere, someone took and burned two books from the dropoff bin of the Castle. gar library's downtown branch. In addition, the flags at city hall were stolen from the new metal flagpoles. Ald. Albert Calderbank told Castlegar council Tues day that a $500 reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of van dals is still available. PAR 7. 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Ovi ERLANDER BULK SLICED. ..... 100 G. | A BLACK FOREST 99° KOOL AID CRYSTAL LIGHT. 19.4 G MARSHMALLOWS. 99° sp LARGE EGGS GRADE A. LOCAL FRESH. DO: ed bad MARGARINE 9 9Q¢ a Ae aC TANG CRYSTALS | $439 2 KRAFT DRESSINGS $] 19 MUSHROOM ‘Sour? 99° POST CEREAL ~ $928 1. KG. SUNFLOWER OIL CHEDDAR CHEESE $998 | SU $639 EXPO SUPER DAY PASS RE AN BONUS PRODUCTS wth Posk in Yomste Seven. fomate Souce. wrth Pork & Molesces. Heinz. 398 mi NALLEY’S POTATO CHIPS ¢ WITH ‘4 PRICE TICKETS FOR EXPO RIDES OPEN SUNDAYS 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. CHIP DIP DOG FOOD ICED T CASE OF 24 TINS $16.56 Boxes LUNCH BOX PUNCH 250 mi EA MIX ¢ CAKE MIXES FROSTINGS, 99° $179 TIN TIE COOKIES WESTONS. ASSORTED. $909 PACIFIC MILK 385 mi TIN . 69° PAL DOG FOOD EX. BEEF, LIVER, CHICKEN. 400 G. TIN 69° DETERGENT DISHWASHER. ELECTRASOL. 1.4 kg $349 TASTY PERCH $929 CALA BLEACH 3.6 LITRE . $159 ORANGE FIWICE CARNIVAL. 341 mt 99° | su SUPER FRIES $159 GRANOLA BARS NIELSONS. 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