THE FAR SIDE By GARY LARSON SS csr) Okay, Johnny --youc Turn ! Ready? Now keep that fail up ! OKay, here I come, Dohnny / le bus. Nelson boy dies after B.C. Transit accident A Nelson boy is dead after colliding with a city bus. Courtland Tyler Lake, 11, died instantly on Saturday, March! 14 after the bicycle he was riding collided with a B.C. Transit The accident occurred at the 700 block of Baker Street near} |ASPARAGUS| p.m. ” Castlegar Foods WHITE BREAD | Or Whole Wheat ¢ 570 g. AY RED GRAPES Seedless ¢ 2.18 kg. Back Attached ¢ Gov't Inspected ¢ 1.92 kg. OL ‘California Grown #1 BROCCOLI -30 kg. Pacific #1 1.74 kg. Northern Country a Wednesday, March 18, 1992 3n 4The News Scott David Harrison EDITOR Mums the word on Tree Farm Licence No. 23. The five-MLA committee appointed to study Pope and Talbot’s proposed takeover of TFL No. 23 has made _ its recommendation to Forest Minister Dan Miller. That decision, though, is under ‘aps. ‘ “It would be wrong for me to comment on what the recommendation of the committee was,” Columbia River-Revelstoke MLA Jim Doyle said. “I couldn’t do that to the committee and I couldn’t do that to the communities involved.” Doyle, one of the five MLAs involved in the exhaustive study, said the committee reached a unanimity-on Pope and Talbot's $22 million U.S. bid before handing its recommendation over to Miller. The minister is expected to make a decision on March 27. Rossland-Trail MLA Ed Conroy declined comment on the details of that recommendation, saying “I wish I could, but I can’t. As a committee member, I am sworn to secrecy.” Conroy, though, did say that Pope and Talbot is “ready to get rocking” as soon as Miller announces his final decision. Asked if the committee’s recommendation would be favorable to Castlegar and the 280 IWA-Canada workers that have been off the job since November, Conroy said “it’s a fair recommendation that was made in the interest of all the communities effected.” Conroy cautioned that the final word rests with Miller. “It’s going to be up the minister,” he said from Victoria. “What he decides behind closed doors, I don’t know.” Committee chair Paul Ramsey also declined comment on the fate of TFL No. 23. Instead, he said he was impressed with the lengths that Castlegar residents went to show their support for Pope and Talbot’s proposed purchase of the local sawmill and a reduced portion of TFL No. 23. In addition to public hearings held in Castlegar, Nakusp, Revelstoke and Sicamous, Ramsey said the committee TFL ruling in minister’s hands reviewed 700 written submissions and a 350- name petition. Ramsey said public input was long overdue. He said British Columbians must have a strong say in the management of the province’s forest resources. Conroy agreed, saying the province is “finally starting to manage its forests properly.” “We’re in trouble,” he said, “and I think everyone should understand that. “In five years, one out of four communities will still be able to rely on the forest as their prime source of economy,” he continued. “It’s not that thrilling, I know, but it’s the truth. I’m cautiously optimistic that Castlegar will be one out of the four that will survive.” Pope and Talbot’s David Jukes said the Midway-based company is awaiting the minister’s ruling. : However, Jukes did say that Pope and Talbot president Abe Friesen was to meet with ministry officials in Vancouver today to discuss what could be preconditions surrounding the TFL transfer. WHAT'S COOKING? Kinnaird finds new the SuperValu store at 9:30 a.m. Nelson City Treasurer Lloyd Moseley, who has followed the accident closely, insisted that no one was to blame for Satur- day’s fatality. : _ “This was purely an accident — a very unfortunate accident,”| said Moseley. : Moseley added that the driver of the bus was “certainly al qualified driver who has a large number of years experience.” The accident was the fourth fatality in four days involving] B.C. Transit buses. PolicCBEAT SOUR CREAM Limit 1 Per Family Purchase e 500 mi. ORANGE JUICE Unsweetened e 341 ml. landlord Scott David Harrison EDITOR An “11th hour decision” has prevented the Castlegar Selkirk Lions Club from taking over the Kinnaird Hall. The local group lost in its bid to purchase the Kinnaird Hall to the United Brotherhood of Carpenters and Joiners of CANNED MILK SecondFRONT CALL THE NEWS @General Inquiries 365-7266 A 1989 Isuzu was stolen from Kalawsky Motors some- time during the night of Thursday and the morning of Friday. The theft was reported to the Castlegar RCMP on Fri- Ly- In a related incident, police received a report of a license plate stolen from a Columbia Avenue residence on Friday 13. The stolen vehicle was lo- cated in Chilliwack, B.C. and a 17-year-old Chilliwack man was taken into custody. eee A GMC 4-wheel-drive was stolen from Performance Au- to Body on the night of Thurs- day and reported to Castlegar RCMP the following morning. The vehicle was recovered by Trail RCMP on Monday, Mar 16 3 Columbia Avenue was broken into Saturday. The matter is still under in- vestigation. eee Acar driven by 20-year-old Bryan Wiznuk of Castlegar re- ceived $1,100 in damages Sat- urday, March 14 when it struck a cement barrier locat- ed on at 100th Street in‘Blue- berry. eee Two unnamed brothers were arrested after Castlegar police received a report of a . fight at the Fireside Motel Monday. The two were released the following morning after they sobered up. eee A four-car pileup ited in over $10,000 in damages Monday at Sherbiko Hill. Preliminary investigations _ indicate that the lead car stopped suddenly in heavy traffic to avoid a vehicle which was changing lanes. A chain- reaction was the result. There were two minor in- juries, and police are still in- igating the incident. |/LITE TUNA| MIRACLE WHIP Regular or Light e 1 L. Limit 1 18 PEANUT BUTTER Smooth e Club Pack 2kg. - 3 99 SURPLUS DAVE’S This Weeks Featured Item Buy a stainless steel stock pot and receive free-1 Ib. of butter plus a free head of fresh cabbage. SURPLUS DAVE’S Located in Castlegar Foods Paramount CHUNK | 184 g. NOW AVAILABLE Taking Orders for... Steer Manure 2 types......................- 1.99 - 2.19 OUR HOURS The News is located at 197 Columbia Ave. Our office hours are Monday to Friday, 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. Closed on weekends and statutory holidays. SUB RATES The News is published by Castle News Ltd. for Canwest Publishers Ltd. Mail subscription rate to The News is $40 per year ($44 in communities where the post office has letter carrier service). The price on newsstands is 75¢ for each edition. The price delivered by newspaper carrier for both editions is only 90¢ a week (collected monthly). GST extra. Second class mail - registration number 0019. their spring break. These two eager Stanley Humphries students were among the many who helped to clean and move equipment to the high school’s new wing March 13. Students will start classes in the new wing Monday, after News Photo by Glen Freeman Glen Freeman NEWS REPORTER Mediated contract talks between the British Columbia Nurses Union and the Health Labour Relations Association began yesterday. Martin Livingston, Director of Communications for the HLRA, indicated that he did not expect any difficulties in reaching an agreement. “The only matters which we still have to settle are over money, and we aren’t too far apart there,” he said. . Livingston added that the Nurses Union has been co-operative up to this point in the negotiations. “There has been a very good atmosphere at the bargaining table,” said Livingston. “The BCNU has recognized the tough economic times, and have taken a responsible approach to negotiations. Nurses ready to back HEU “These talks have really been a breath of fresh air after dealing with the Health Employees’ Union.” The HEU is currently holding a “rejection vote” for a proposed 3.5 per cent increase in wages this year with a 1.5 per cent increase next year. According to. Livingston, the HEU is demanding a 63 per cent increase in wages and benefits. While the Nurses Union may have avoided a strike, they will honor any HEU pickets which may be put in place. “I’m sure we will support the HEU if they strike, because they supported us in our last strike,” said Laverne Bondaroff, a local representative of the BCNU. ‘The BCNU last staged a strike in 1989, which lasted six weeks. America, Local 2300. The local union appears to have offered the city a deal it couldn't refuse, $69,900 to take over the aging structure. The Lions offered Castlegar $1. Despite coming up $69,899 short, the Lions’ John Moorlag said he didn’t think Kinnaird Hall was a money venture. “We were lead to believe that it would be a no-cost item to us and that the city was prepared to provide some money to us for renovations,” Moorlag said. “Now, here in the 11th hour, we are presented with a piece of paper saying they are accepting the $69,900 from another interested party. “That caught us totally off guard.” Moorlag said he had no problem with the carpenters union, only the way the city mislead his group. According to law, the hall must officially be put on the block before the union takes it over. Under the agreement, Castlegar would return $40,000 of the $69,000 to the union to help cover renovation costs.