LOCAL POLITICS ‘n sole possession “tandings ] <2” The Castlegar Sun Black bear carcasses alarm conservation officers Public assistance sought in recent folations/2A | Kootenay West-Revelstoke candidates square off Vol. 3- No. 46 oa VARIABLE Weather 3A ‘The weekly newspaper with a daily commitment’ 75 Cents + G.S.T. In tune —— Locals meet the challenge Four councillors coming back for more Sun Editor Although the media limelight has been steadily focused on candi- dates running in the federal election, ( astlegar is getting ready to choose a new mayor and six councillors in a municipal election set for November 20. For the past six months, the BIG question of whether or not to run in this upcoming election has been asked of those people who have been considered choice candidates. The first day for filing nomination papers at city hall was October 5, and five people took the opportunity to do so, four of whom are current city councillors. Filing as candidates for the position of mayor thus far are City Coun- cillors Doreen Smecher and Position of mayor. He admits seriously considering the suggestion, but only for awhile. “I know that I can be more effective as a councillor than I would be as a mayor at this time.” The youngest candidate to declare thus far, Duff continued to say he is hoping voters will take a close look at his past performance as a councillor when making their decision. -ouncillor Bob Pakula decided to run again for council just two weeks ago. “I guess I just can’t stay away, there's so much work left to do. I feel like’I haven't finished my job yet.” Pakula cited issues such as paving, infrastructure and unfinished bylaw work that continues to interest and demand his attention. “It's just all too important for me to let go of at this time.” Councillor Doreen Smecher’s decision to run for the mayor's chair is not a recent one. After receiv- Lawrence Chernoff, while Bob Pakula and Kirk Duff have filed their intentions to run again as city councillors. One newcomer has placed her name on the list Brenda Binnie, a resident of Do you have a question? As declared candidates for the municipal election prepare for election day in Castlegar, local residents should also be Preparing—preparing as ing support from family, the encouragement she says she has been receiving from sup- Porters made her decision an easy one. Smecher first served on the school board in 1979, Shelly Ewing (keyboard) and Pierre Shields, both members of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police Band, played to an audience of -mixed ages at Stan- | ley Humphries Secondary School last Wednesday. In total the band has over 20 members and played a wide selection of music Castlegar for 13 years and a bus driver for School District No. 9, is the first new face to enter the municipal political scene Binnie, former CUPE Local 1298 president, says her style of Politics is one of collaboration and problem solving. In a press release received by The Sun earlier this week. Binnie says the end result of any decision should be based on judgement, and state that in camera (private) council meet ings should be kept to a minimum. sound SUN STAFF PHOTO / John Van Putten Castlegar Sun stands up to tough test SUN STAFF The Castlegar Sun has recent ly achieved provincial recogni- tion after entering in the British Columbia and Yukon Communi- ty Newspaper Association's BCYCNA) challenging annual ompetition In the General Excellence cat egory for broadsheet newspapers (based under 10,000 circulation), Lhe Castlegar Sun was awarded a second place finish overall, los- ing only to the Williams Lake Tribune by four points. Under the critical eyes of 22 different judges, each newspaper was cri- tiqued from page one to the final classified ad. Merits were award- ed for editorial content, news writing, headline writing, design, typography, layout quality, com- position and reproduction just to name a few. The Williams Lake Tribune was awarded a total of 694 points, while The Castlegar Sun's total was not far behind with 690. Third place was award ed to The Terrace Standard, receiving 681 points. Inside se Business Comics... Classifieds Entertainment . Inspirations The BCYCNA competition also awards individuals for excel- lence in reporting, feature writing and photography for both hard and soft news. Castlegar Sun Pho- tographer and Sports Reporter, John Van Putten, was awarded a second place finish for a color photograph. Castlegar Sun readers might remember the front page color photograph that depicted Cindy Talarico doing an “Eskimo Roll” in her kayak (the photo- graph was taken under water). All entries were judged on human interest, originality, imagination and quality of reproduction. Finally, The Castlegar Sun received an honorable mention for a health care feature written by Sun Editor, Sharlene Imhoff. The award, sponsored by the Registered Nurses of B.C., called for articles that promote a proac- tive approach to lifelong good health, and could focus on an individual or group of health care professionals, public health pro- grams or other health related issues. The Castlegar Sun's entry, called “Redefining Health Care,” focused on the future of health care in the West Kootenay and how a new model of health care delivery was being sought Being only three-years-old, it was the first time stlegar's local newspaper was eligible to enter such a competition, opening itself up for a professional cri- tique along-side hundreds of other entries Castlegar Sun Publisher, Mari- lyn Strong, said it was a wonder- ful surprise to hear the newspaper's name as a second prize winner in the General Excellence category. “I think being recognized by your peers is flattering, and I'm pleased for all the staff who work so hard to produce the paper each week. It's a great benefit to know where and how we can improve Castle gar’s paper, and we're working on that right now.” Since its start in the communi ty almost three years ago, The Castlegar Sun has received numerous awards, certificates and accolades from groups and organizations within the commu nity, as well as a provincial and national award The Sun is, to ask tough questions dealing with local issues that are impor- tant and imperative. Future taxation, growth and infr: problems are only a few issues in which we feel candidates should be well versed. And although we'll be asking a lot of questions, we're also certain there are questions and ideas—good ones—which we could overlook. That is why we feel it is important to allow Castlegar Sun readers an opportunity to ask their own questions, in their own way. Starting today, The Castlegar Sun office will accept these brief, written or typed questions and in turn, Present them to the candidates who are running in this municipal election. Questions and answers will be published in a special feature before the election in November. It's one way we believe our readers can take a more active role in this election, and in the way it is reported. So put on your thinking caps, and don't take too long! In all faimess to the candidates, questions should be received no later than Friday, November 5 Only one month ago, current City Councillor Kirk Du that he would not be seeking re-election due to tamily Duff now admits that even saying he was going to stay away from poli tics was a difficult thing to do, and after receiving the blessing ofhis family, is now jumping back in with both feet as a councillor is incredible, but I really believe that I can lead a good family life while taking an active part in Castlegar's future planning.” Six months ago, it was predicted that Duff would be running for the and remained there for 11 years. The past five years have been spent as a city councillor, which also allowed her to rep- resent Castlegar as a director on the Regional District of Central Kootenay. She feels now is the time to take a greater role in working for Castlegar. “We should be doing more to encourage business,” said Smecher, who requested a breakdown of what it costs to do business in Castlegar last Spring, but has failed thus tar to have her request met uid publicly comnutments. Castl ‘The time commitment I want this to continue City Councillor Lawrence Chemoff says he enjoys a challenge, which is why after six years as a city councillor, he feels he has the motivation, expenence and leadership qualities for mayor is entering a new era: the future has never looked better, and I'm proud to have played a part in the decision-making of the past See MUNICIPAL 12a Ice time- Vanessa Kastrukoff, holding Shane Skating Club's free skate last Wednesday. Callaghan (left), helps the young skater devel- op the fine form needed in figure skating while Nicole Hackett gives some encour- aging words to Alisha Kastrukoff. The four werestaking part in the Castlegar Figure SUN STAFF PHOTO / John Van Putten RCMP construction project awarded to local contractor SHARLENE IMHOFF Sun Editor There was good news and bad news as city hall anxiously received and opened the six bids it collected for construction of Castlegar’s new RCMP building, predicted to cost $1.7 million The good news being that three of the bids, including the low est, were from local construction companies. The bad news however, is that all six bids received were over-budget Despite being over-budget by almost 20 per cent, cry coun cl decided during Tuesday's meeting to award the construction Project to the lowest tender, which was received by Trowelex Construction Lid. (Castlegar) at $1,822,474. This was followed by Marbella Construction (Delta) at $1,909,979; Nutech Con struction (Castlegar) at $1,914,605; Wm. Berg Construction (Castlegar) at $1,957,037; Yellowridge Construction (Port Moody) at $1,958,000; and Seacue (Winfield) at $2,169,135 Last fall, through a highly publicized referendum, Castlegar residents voted to allow city council io borrow $1.7 milion to Pay for what is considered a necessity in capital projects a new RCMP building. Earlier, City Councillor Lawrence Cher noff sud he would like to see council accept the lowest, most qualified bidder and, after spending $1.7 million, take the remaining money from general revenues. We are not going to ask to borrow more money have to, since there are other ways we can finance this project According to one senior staff member at city hall, it’s likely that capital projects such as these won't be affected, since city we don't Castlegar Sun and your support — a wir hall currently has $290,000 in unallocated capital from 1993. It was decided, during council”’s last meeting that it is from this unallocated capital where the majority of the extra money will be taken. Since the cost for construction of a new RCMP building was estimated in 1990, it's not surprising ver the projected $1.7 million buds other factors have come into play, such as increased provincial and federal taxes, inflation and of course. the Provincial gover: ment’s Fair Wage Policy, which would apply 10 the construc tion of the RCMP building Under.a policing agreement With the federal government municipalities with a population of more than 5,000 are respon. siblity for the full costs of an RCMP facility lat bids received were Since 1990, a number of