Ny, a2_Casthagak News _Febrvor 4, Heavy mountain snowfalls in Jan- uary were a boon for local ski hills but when accompanied by high winds created avalanche hazards which closed local passes on several occasions, the Castlegar weather office reports in its monthly weather summary. “A westerly flow of Pacific air gave mild temperatures to south- eastern B.C. through the month of January,’’ the weather “office says. “'The westerly flow brought in bands of moisture-from-the Pacific bringing snowfalls in the mountains to near normal levels.’’ No significant records were broken during the month although the mean temperature — the aver- age of the high and low tempera- tures for the month — was 0 C, 3.7 degrees above normal. The weather office recorded 62.6 cm of snow during January, slightly less than the average 72 cm for the month but well below the record 185.7 cm set in January 1969. Twice as much rain as normal fell in January — 41.3 mm compared to the average 20.1 mm. The record is 70.8 mm set in January 1983. Total precipitation for January was 93.2 mm almost 17 mm above normal but short of the record 120.9 mm set in January 1969. Court news In Castlegar provincial court last week, Edward James Pongracz pleaded guilty to possession of a narcotic and was fined $100 or, in default, sentenced to two days in jail. Pongracz also pleaded guilty to driving while prohibited and was fined $400. cee Aaron Webb pleaded guilty to driving with a blood alcohol level over—.08and—was—sentenced toe 14-day intermittent jail term and two months’ probation. He is also prohi- bited from driving for one year. CUT OFF . . . high water in the Columbie River on Friday broke through section of the causeway leading to Zuckerberg Island. —cosews rhote by John Charters Causeway awash By CasNews Staff High waters in the Columbia River on Friday washed out a 30-metre section of the causeway leading to Zuckerberg Island. “‘It is difficult to assess the dam- age at the moment since the water is at least a foot over the road and flowing rapidly,"’ John Charters of the Castlegar and District Heritage Society said Friday afternoon. Charters, past president of the society which has spearheaded the protection of the island as a heritage site and restored the Chapel House on the island, said the society has Minister By CasNews Staff Employment and Immigration Minister Barbara McDougall was “very attentive’ during a‘ tive’’ meeting between the minister and members of a Trail-area dele- gation that travelled to Ottawa Wed- Local briefs Cominco fined $30,000 Cominco Ltd. was fined a total of $30,000 after pleading guilty Thursday in Rossland provincial court to charges of illegally dumping waste into the environment in two separate incidents in January and provincial park have been identified as Jack Steed, 62, of Nelson, and his 27-year-old son James of Victor secondary school in Nelson. Police said the pair were among 12 skiers taking part in a seven-day excursion in the park 32 kilometres northeast of Nelson. of Santa Monica, Calif., who suffocated Tuesday after falling in a treewell while heliskiing near Nakusp. the Castlegar and District Development Board $2,000 to help purchase a computer system, the ministry said in a news release Thursday. and around the world, linking p' investors and vendors to customers, the ministry says. April 1989. In January 1989, effluent backed up in a sewer line and overflowed into the Columbia River near the Trail smelter after an alarm failed to operate. The backup was caused by an obstruction in the line and resulted in the discharge of 12-14 kilograms of mercury contained in the contaminated effluent, Cominco sai In April 1989, 80 cubic metres of zinc sludge spilled from a broken, unused pipeline into a catch basin in a new construction area and from there into the river. An alarm was activated but the response was delayed through misinterpretation of the signal and lack of communication regarding use of the catch basin, the company said. The spill contained the equivalent of 11 tonnes of zinc and smaller amounts of other metals, the company said. In handing down the fines, Judge Stuart Enderton noted that Cominco had acted responsibly in dealing with the spills. Dead skiers identified Two skiers who died Tuesday while skiing in Kokanee Glacier Jack Steed was a former science teacher at Trafalgar junior RCMP are also investigating the death of Eric Mathew King, 45, Board gets $2,000 The Ministry of Regional and Economic Development has.given The computer system will improve office operations-and provide access to the resources and information of the B.C. Enterprise Centre through the B.C. Business Network, the ministry says. BCBN provides information about busiriess opportunities in B.C. to markets, P s to made repeated requests to the city of Castlegar, which has responsibil- ity for the causeway, to raise the causeway. “Since the causeway is seen as an essential fire protection access road to the forest and Chapel House on the island as well as an entry route for handicapped people and wedding parties in the past three years and since it is a city responsibility, repeated requests to raise the lower section one-and-a-half to two feet have been made,’ Charters said. “Increasingly high waters on Friday have placed both causeway and Chapel House in jeopardy and there is widespread concetn.”” The Heritage Society raised the causeway four feet and widened it about seven months ago using $1,100 of a $2,000 grant from B.C. Hydro plus another $100 of society funds. The city installed two 16-inch conduits during construction. “The city is without an engineer at the moment but seven months is a long time for what could-have been a small maintenance job,’’ Charters said. meets delegation nesday to discuss the government's plans to move 10 jobs from the Trail Canada Employment Centre to the CEC office-in—Nelson,Trail_Mayor Marc Marcolin said Friday. The four members of the dele- gation, including Marcolin, were pleased with the outcome of the meeting which was expected to last about 20 minutes but went on for 40 minutes, Marcolin said. The minister said she was ‘‘lis- tening to her people’’ and was “happy to listen to us,’’ the mayor said, adding he felt the length of the meeting was a good sign of Mc- Dougall's interest in the issue. However, McDougall asked before the delegation travelled to Ottawa that labor-management issues not be brought up during the meeting, Marcolin said, a reference to the Canada Employment and Immigra- tion Union’s protests against the moving of the jobs. To comply with the minister's request, only Marcolin and Doug Swanson, chairman-of the Regional District of Kootenay Boundary, spoke with the minister while Joe Szajbely, local president of the CEIU and union member Kelly Bay met with CEIU national president Cres Pascucci, Szajbely said. Complying with the minister's request—was—satisfactory—with—the union, Szajbley said, since the union has done all it can to inform Mc- Dougall about its position and the meeting Wednesday was ‘“‘more of a political thing.”” The mayor and Swanson represent the same position the union stands for, he said, which is that the loss of the jobs will mean a loss of service to Trail and the area around the city. “I'm really proud of what Doug and Marc did,”’ Szajbely added. Marcolin said the delegation was pleased by Kootenay West-Revel- stoke MP Lyle Kristiansen’s state- ment on the issue in the House of Commons Wednesday morning and the delegation received support from the NDP caucus during a morning meeting. The city hopes McDougall will make a decision by next week but the trip to Ottawa will be the last effort to make the minister change her mind regardless of her final decision, Marcolin said. State officials blame Celgar OLYMPIA, Wash. (AP) — Wash- ington state health officials are blaming the Celgar pulp mill in Castlegar for small amounts of dioxin found in fish collected from Lake Roosevelt. Officials say untreated wasted dumped by the mill into the Columbia River is the likely cause of the contamination. Lake Roosevelt is the reservoir behind Grand Coulee Dam on the Columbia River. Castlegar is about 40 kilometres north of the Canada-U.S. border, and about 80 kilometres north of Lake Roosevelt. The state's Department of The fun ‘ y the ministry through the C: gee pier for (COED) program. ° phone ovr Circulation Department at 365-7266 EOL Deadline Canada Safeway Overwaitea Shoppers SuperValu Thunderbird Zellers continued from front page proposed expansion have not had sufficient time to comment on the plans. However, he said the extension — the second in the last month — “affects the credibility’ of the pro- vincial government's major project review process which is still in the draft report stage. Comments on the proposed ex- pansion plans should be directed to Ecology more sampl- ing and more tests are scheduled for the spring. While officials were concerned, Celgar general manager Jim Browne or to the Environment Ministry's re- gional director, Dennis MacDonald, in Nelson. Copies of the Celgar’s environ- mental impact assessment remain available at public libraries and town halls in the West Kootenay. Celgar's public information office is also open in Castlegar at the downtown mini-mall Tuesday through Saturday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m they were cautious about linking the chemical’s presence to possible health effects. “At this paint, there is no reason for people to change their fish- eating habits,’’ said Roseanne a Washington Depart- ment of Health ‘toxicologist, who reviewed the Yindings. Unlike pulp mills in the United States, the Celgar mill discharges untreated waste into the Columbia, said John Arnquist, director of the Ecology Department’s Spokane office. Celgar officials were not available Saturday, a man who identified himself as a mill worker said when contacted by telephone. Sex trial hears final arguments NELSON (CP) — A lawyer rep- resenting a minister charged with sexual assault told provincial court 7*Thursday that the six young girls involved made up stories about the minister molesting them: Leigh Harrison called the allega- tions against Rev. Laurence Fuller- ton, 51, ‘‘unreliable manufactured evidence of impressionable 10 year olds.” Harrison said that by the time police talked to the girls, aged be- tween 11 and 13, they had already discussed the alleged assaults among themselves and with at least two friends. Fullerton, of the Evangelical Covenant Church in Creston, is charged with three counts of sexual assault and three counts of sexual touching at a Bible camp north of Nelson in 1988. Judge Donald Sperry reserved judgment until Feb. 21 in Rossland. “Nothing about it makes any sense,”’ Harrison said in final argu- ment in the 12-day trial. “The Crown would have us be- lieve ‘that a 52-year-old man, 30 years a minister, with an unblem- ished reputation prior to the alle- gations of 1988 had in a two-to- three day period suddenly run amok in front of his wife, 20 councillors, a lifeguard and scores of people on’a public beach and molested not one but four or five children.” Crown counsel Dana Urban re- plied that young girls know when someone touches them in private parts. “Someone is lying here, on one side or the other. There is no room for mistakes, no in-between, no room for misunderstandin, Urban said the girls involved were at first prepared to give Fullerton the benefit of the doubt, “although his actions had made them uncom- fortable. “Later they realized what they had shrugged off was not an acci- dent,"’ he said. “Why shouldn't these kids be believed? They're Christians too. Why did they lie?” Fullerton is free on an under- taking that he appear in court, keep the peace, and not be with children under 16 years except of the child’s own choosing or with the super- vision of another adult. Dy CastlégarNews * Februory 4, 1990 Briefly In memory Rossland. Funeral Chapel. Mary Polovnikoff Mary Polovnikoff of Thrums passed away Friday, Feb. 2, 1990, at Trail Regiohal Hospital after a lengthy illness at age 84 Mrs. Polovnikoff was born in Pelly, in 1906, and moved to Ootischenia with her parents as a child. Shortly after, they moved to Thrums. There she-married. Jacob Polovnikoff and for a time lived in They moved back to Thrums where they worked with her parents im a general store. In 1930, they purchased their own farm in ‘Thrums and in 1945 opened J and M Polovnikoff Thrums Esso and General Store which is still operated by their son Jack. Mrs. Polovnikoff is survived by her daughter Nellie Konkin of Trail; sons and daughters-in-law Jack and Sara of Thrums, and Peter and Olga of Maple Ridge; nine grandchildren; 13 great-grand- children; and one brother, Peter Abrosimoff of Grand Forks. She was predeceased by her husband Jacob in 1978 and one brother. Funeral services will begin at the Castlegar Funeral Chapel at 7 p-m. Monday and will continue Tuesday at 10 a.m. at the Tarrys Hall with burial to follow at the Shoreacres Cemetery at noon. Funeral arrangements are under the direction of Castlegar Mary Sapriken Mary Sapriken of Crescent Valley passed away Friday, Feb. 2, 1990, at Mount St. Francis Hospital at age 87. Mrs. Sapriken was born Aug. 14, 1902, at Arran, Sask., and moved with her parents to Krestova in 1912 where she lived all of her life. She married Mike Sapriken there in 1924. Mrs. Sapriken was active in and supported the Doukhobor faith. She enjoyed gardening, sewing and knitting. She is survived by four sons and daughters-in-law, Bill and Vera of Kelowna, Walter and Pauline of Oliver, Mike and Norma of Crescent Valley, and Larry and Edna of Slocan Park; 13 i and five g i She was pi by her husband in 1978. Funeral service will be held at the Castlegar Funeral Chapel beginning Tuesday at 7 p.m. and will continue Wednesday at 10 a.m. at the Crescent Valley Hall with burial at noon at the Krestova Cemetery. Funeral arrangements are under the direction of the Castlegar Funeral Chapel. Polly Harshenin Polly Harshenin of Ootischenia passed away Friday, Feb. 2, 1990 at age 8. Mrs. Harshenin was born Aug. 15, 1904, at Prince Albert, Sask., the daughter of William and Tania Fomenoff. She moved with her parents to Grand Forks when she was a young girl. She married Koozma A. Harshenin there in 1923. After their marriage, the couple moved to Brilliant and in 1928 to Ootischenia where she lived since. Mrs. Harshenin enjoyed her family, sewing, knitting and gardening. She is survived by four sons, Bill, Steve and Walter of Castlegar, and Ken of Grand Forks; 15 i and seven great-grand: children. She was predeceased by her mother in 1962, her father in 1967 and her husband in 1942. Funeral service will begin“at 7 p.m. tod: at the Castlegar Funeral Chapel and will continue Monday at the Ootishenia Russian Hall at 10 a.m. with burial at noon-at the Ootischenia Cemetery. Funeral arrangements are under the direction of the Castlegar Funeral Chapel. Jane Reid Jane ‘‘Jean’’ Reid of Fruitvale died Thursday, Feb. 1, 1990, at Trail Regional Hospital after a lengthy illness at age 80. Mrs. Reid was born in Denbeath Methol Fife, Scotland, on June 16, 1909. After the death of her husband David in 1970, she moved to Sechelt and lived there for 14 years before returning to Fruitvale last Lottery numbers pte to be closer to her family. She is survived by two daughters, Jean Gibson of Princeton and Bonnie Newlove of Castlegar; son David of Fruitvale; 15 grand- The winning numbers drawn Thursday in the B.C. Keno lottery were 4, 9, 10, 12, 21, 25, 42 and 54. The winning numbers in Wednes- day's Lotto 6/49 draw were 1, 10, 11, 15, 22 and 29. The bonus num- ber was 42. The four Extra winning numbers for British Columbia were 46, 47, 93 and 94. The winning numbers drawn Wednesday in the B.C. Keno lottery were 8, 12, 13, 28, 30, 36, 39 and 47. These numbers, provided by The Canadian Press, must be considered unofficial. hildi 16 great and sister Nettie Ferguson. She was predeceased by her husband David and a daughter, Ara Huggard. By personal request there will be no funeral service. Cremation has taken place in Rossland. Carberry's Funeral Home was in care of the arrangements. William Price Price, formerly of Castlegar, passed away on on Monday, Jan. 29, 1990, at age 53. Mr. Price was born in Cranbrook on Dec. 16, 1936. He is survived by five daughters and three brothers Funeral services will take place in Creston on Monday. Dire consequences predicted MONTREAL (CP) — The Meech Lake accord is a declaration of love for Canada by Quebec and its failure would have dire consequences, Prime Minister Brian Mulroney said. Mulroney said it may be decades before Quebec returns to the cOnstitutional negotiating table if the accord isn’t ratified by the June 23 deadline. “The stakes are high’ and the hour is late,"’ he told a Canadian Pulp and Paper Associati ina hotel ballroom. “The Meech Lake accord is a statement of love for Canada, ‘It is Quebec saying we love Canada, we want to be part of Canada, and Canada saying these are reasonable terms for the reintegration of one of the founding people, in Gne of our largest provinces."’ Canada Post, union strike deal OTTAWA (CP) — Canada Post and its largest union have reached a in contract iati The two parties struck an agreement in principle on a process to clear up a backlog of 80,000 grievances the Canadian Union of Postal Workers has filed against post office management. Both sides hailed-the development as a positive omen for the future of contract talks. “The fact that we did this one — which is very because of the size of the backlog and issues that are involved — it does demonstrate that yes, CUPW and Canada Post, with a lot of perseverance, a lot of hard work, can come to an agreement,"’ said Gilles Courville, Canada Post's corporate manager for labor relations. Noranda may build Soviet mill VANCOUVER (CP) — Noranda’s Forest Inc., which ns MacMillan Bloedel, is considering building a pulp mill in the Union, says a company executive. Last week, MacMillan Bloedel said it was considering closing one of its pulp mills, at Port Alberni, on Vancouver Island, threatening 200 jobs. Another of Noranda's companies, Noranda Forest Sales of Toronto, and Hymac of Montreal, a designer of pulp-and-paper machinery, will start a joint study of the Soviet proposition later this month. with both were part of a 240-person delegation that toured the Soviet Union last’ November, looking at business prospects there. NDP tactics called costly OTTAWA (CP) — New Democrat MPs are costing Canadian taxpayers $1 million a day by obstructing House of Commons business, government whip Jim Hawkes charged. He said that taxpayers are paying for the stalling tactics being used by the NDP caucus to fight the government's goods ands services tax. The New Democrats have forced recorded votes at every possible stage of debate and raised countless points of order to delay debate on the legislation to enact the tax, scheduled to take effect Jan. 1, 1991 Hawkes said the delays began as soon as the session resumed Jan. 22. By Wednesday, they had cost at least $8 million. He explained the $1 million-a-day figure saying the Commons budget of $220 million covers salaries for Hill employees and other expenses for an average 220-working-day year. But noting the House sat only 120 days last year, he said the $1 million-a-day estimate is in fact low. Ethnic groups begin talks February is heart month Rob MacPherson (left), local Heart Fund Curlathon chairman, joined (left to right) Castlegar Mayor Audrey Moore, Betty Sahistrom, South Castlegar division chairman, and Bill Moore, North Castlegar division chairman, in raising the Heart Fund flag at city hall Friday marking February as heart month. — cou Celgar continued from front page gards to the pulpwood agreement."’ Parker said Celgar has established the long-term — 2S years and longer projected volumes of chips from area mills. ““Our assessment tells us that (supply) is there for quite a while,” he said. ‘‘Quite a while means medium term,” Parker said, adding that medium term means 10 to 15 years. “And, as we need more fibre, then I expect we will increase our ability to use the wood that’s avail- able now along with the current sawlog harvest. And when I say that, I mean it’s wood today you would not see used in a sawmill and it would come here (to Celgar) as wood chips."” However, the Coalition for Infor- mation on the Pulp Mill Expansion, using information from the South- eastern British Columbia Fibre Source Study, which documents the availability of fibre sources in the re- gion, says there are not enough wood chips in the area to supply an RIGA, U.S.S.R. (AP) — Feuding A and A have opened peace talks and immediately found commons ground: Both sides criticized the Kremlin for sending the Red Army to their southern region. Armenian negotiators told reporters the use of Soviet troops was y and was ili the entire Caucasus region, which includes Armenia, Azerbaijan and Georgia. The Armenians and the Azerbaijanis, meeting in the capital of the western republic of Latvia on the Baltic, agreed to discuss the presence of the troops, the estimated 500,000 refugees of both nationalities the ethnic conflict has created, and other humanitarian issues Both sides agreed not to raise the territorial dispute that sparked the unrest. Armenians want political control over Nagorno-Karabakh, a largely Armenian district located inside Azerbaijan, but A Celgar pulp mill. “The fibre study shows there is presently a surplus of wood residue (chips) in the West Kootenay above Celgar’s present requirements, but not nearly enough. to meet the expanded mill's needs,’’ CIPE for- estry committee member Frank Rul- jancich says in a news release issued last week. ‘Therefore, it might be reasonable to assume that the fibre out of this pulpwood agreement would be in use from day one.”’ CIPE notes in the news release is want the region to remain in their hands. Troop discussions to continue BUDAPEST (AP) — Hungary said the Soviet Union agreed to continue work on a timetable for removing all 50,000 Soviet troops from the country during an initial two-day session that ended Friday. ‘‘In the course of the talks, the sides set forth their position and agreed that the withdrawal of Soviet troops will be carried out on the basis of an inter-governmental agreement to be concluded within the shortest possible time,’’ the Foreign Ministry said in a communique The communique, carried by the official MTI news agency, sai no date was set for a second round of talks, but that the two sides had agreed to continue efforts “‘at working out the timetable for the pullout.”" There was no immediate Soviet comment. Romanian officials convicted BUCHAREST (CP) — A military tribunal has convicted four top officials under ousted Communist dictator Nicolae Ceausescu of being accomplices to genocide and sentenced them to life in prison, Radio Bucharest reported. They were convincted of backing Ceausescu’s orders to shoot demonstrators during the violent December revolution that toppled him after 24 years. Ceausescu and his wife, Elena, were executed by firing squad on Dec. 25S. The five-judge tribunal, the first to try leading figures in the Ceausescu government, rejected a prosecution demand that the four men be convicted of the more serious crime of co-authorship to genocide. U.S. agrees Noriega PoW MIAMI (AP) — The U.S. Government has agreed that Manuel Noriega is a prisoner of war, but said that even under the Geneva , the former F leader can be prosecuted on drug charges in a civilian court. U.S. Justice Department spokesman David Rinkel said prisoner- of-war status means Noriega can direct complaints about prison conditions to a U.S. military ison officer designated by the Defence Department. But he won't be moved to a ary jail, Runkel said. The government's position was outlined in a document filed in response to defence arguments that civilian courts lack jurisdiction over Noriega and co-defendant Luis del Cid, who are charged with drug trafficking and money laundering The men surrendered to U.S. troops following the invasion of Panama U.S. District Judge William Hoeveler has scheduled a hearing for Feb. 8 on the issue of his jurisdiction and Noriega’s PoW status. that margi timber and stands appear to be the major source Ol quality timber “Marginal timber stands are also one of the most sensitive parts of our forest eco-system,’ says Herb Hammond, a professional forester and member of CIPE's forestry committee. ‘‘Many of these areas have taken greater than 300 years to grow to their present state — mainly due to soil and climatic restrictions. These forests will not regrow to a reasonable commercial size for hun dreds of years. “It is a non-sustainable approach to forest management."’ CIPE also notes that under the terms of a pulpwood agreement, the holder of the agreement only has to purchase chips from local and re- gional suppliers if the chips are of- fered. If the holder of the agreement is unable to fulfil mill requirements it may then use fibre sources from within the area covered under the pulpwood agreement, CIPE says. Trucker shutdown possible VANCOUVER (CP) — Indepen- dent truckers in British Columbia are preparing for a shutdown to back demands for better wages and more regulation, says a spokesman for the Western Owner-Operators’ Associa tion. A date for a possible provincial shutdown will-be set Feb. 21 at a meeting in suburban Burnaby to discuss hauling rates, said trucker Don Tofsrud “And if we do shut down, this province will be at a standstill,’ he said Truckers want legislation changed from the current unregulated system to @ mini wage, said Tofsrud Pulpwood continued from front page Nelson. manager lan Hamann said Fri- However, Hamann said the planned expansion of the Celgar mill is a separate issue from the pulpwood agreement and the two should not be considered connected. Pulpwood agreements state the successful compafy must use all excess pulp material gen- erated, by sawmills in the pulp- wood area, Hamann said. Once the excess is exhausted, the company can then apply to the ministry for a timber sale licence to harvest decadent or pulp- grade timber within the agree- ues. ment area to meet the S00,000- cubic-metres-per-year limit, he added. However, the decision to award an agreement is made by the Ministry of Forests in Vic- toria and ministry officials can award agreements to one or more companies or reject all the proposals, ministry regulations state. The ministry will decision following public hear- ings, mandatory under the For- estry Act, that are set for Oct. 4 and how agreement. shipping it to in Kamloops and Oct. 11 in According to the Forestry Act, day. the ministry must evaluate the proposals partially on the basis of how each proposal will affect employment opportunities and other social benefits in the prov- ince, how the proposals will pro- vide for the management and ings will use of Crown timber and ‘‘fur- ther the development objectives of the Crown,"’ meet the objectives of the min- istry for environmental quality and the management of water, fisheries and wildlife resources, the proposals will contribute to provincial reven- Hamann said Westar Timber's the obligation to-harvest-a portion of the decadent wood in its tree farm licence No. 23, which falls within the boundaries of the in pulpwood area, will not be affec- ted by the signing of a pulpwood Westar will still be expected to cut down the same volume of decadent timber but will likely make a sell it to the holder of the pulpwood agreement rather than company currently does, he said Applications for proposals must be received by the ministry in Victoria by June 28 and completed applications will be available for public viewing at district forest offices, including the Arrow forest district office in Castlegar, for four weeks begin- ning July 12. The public hear- follow the viewing period. Other fibre studies which have been conducted in the area, going back to 1976, came to similar conclusions on the amount of pulp material in the area, the current fibre study, available at the Arrow forest district office, says. In 1982, a fibre study led to ministry deisgnating the region a —_pulpwood—area—and calling for proposals but because of the downturn in the economy the early 1980s no new industries were established using the surplus wood. “This present updating of the 1982 study is in response to the improved economic climate, a better potential for new indus- trial development and a greater awareness of the additional vol- umes of unused fibre available from the forest.'’ how they will the coast as the Funding continued from front page That's because when enrolment increases, gener- ally a few students are added at a number of schools within the district and demand for classes and programs does not increase while the district receives a sizeable budget increase. However, if enrolment decreases and a few students are lost from a number of schools, class and program demands will remain the same while the board's budget will decrease substantially, he said. Trustee Mickey Kinakin, chairman of the board's education committee, echoed Turner's worry over decreased enrolment, saying districts such as Castlegar that have boom-and-bust economies will suffer greatly if enrolment decreases during @ bust cycle. The ministry should build in a mechanism to help out small districts and districts going through bad economic times, Kinakin said, or the funding system will lead to the ‘‘ghettoization’’ of school districts If the government introduces a new program such as computer technology province-wide, then each district will receive funding for that program, Turner said, adding that the province will likely provide extra funds for the implementation of the new primary program now being introduced in all districts in B.C. However, when a district must go to referendum for a new local program, it is likely only popular courses such as band classes or physical education courses will get-approval from the general public, he said. Many taxpayers have no children in the school system and would see no reason to vote for a tax increase, he said Initiatives such as Castlegar district's proposed late French immersion program, which is in the planning stages now, would likely not receive approval in a referendum, he said, adding that the board has budgeted for the program already and a referendum should not be needed on the program School boards will go to referendums for ‘‘add- ons, not essentials,’ Turner noted. Kinakin also criticized the referendum policy, calling it a “phony piece of democracy."’ The government doesn’t propose going to referendums when ICBC insurance is to increase or when property taxes go up, he said Castlegar schools were able to move to smaller class sizes last year because the board increased taxes and found the money to accommodate the smaller classes, Kinakin added Turner said small districts such as Castlegar are also at a a with the system because a small district would not have the money or personnel available to hire or reassign someone to publicize and run the voting And Turner warned that the new policies could lead to a situation like the restraint period of the early 1980s when the government took back the power to tax and education taxes went up while school boards were told to cut their budgets. é Turner said the Castlegar board will likely not need to go to a referendum this year after the budget is submitted to Victoria March 15 School districts warned | tough times may be ahead VANCOUVER (CP) — School districts in British Columbia may have a tough time persuading voters to approve increased taxes for school services, say California officials familiar with such referendums. The effort includes analysis of voting patterns and political campaigning and analysis to get voters to finance education improvements, they say The B.C. government announced Wednesday that school boards will have to go to a referendum if they want more than the Education Ministry allots in budgets. The change could take effect as early as April Majgr education groups in the province are opposed! to the idea of cost-control by referendum, saying it creates rich and poor school systems. In Fairfield, Calif., professional campaigners spent ‘$20,000 and-campaigned for six months but failed to e win the referendum. Today, 8,000 of the district's 20,000 students are still in portable classrooms while associate superinten dent Tom Chalk and other administrators gear up for another referendum this year Chalk said he thinks referendums have a built-in failure factor. This is the last avenue where the taxpayer can say: ‘No, I won't pay.’ Nobody else asks them if they want to or not — only we do." But school districts are winning the majority of referendums, said Bill Rukeyser, from the California state superintendent of schools’ office. Of 36 in the last round, only seven failed, he sai In Davis, Calif., the school district succeeded in persuading people to help pay fot new_schools