OPINION | May 6, 1992 oa The C © Sun ZS PUBLISHER JON JARRETT This is the green season! Everywhere you look, it is green! The recent warm showers have brought forth the leaves and blossoms in splendid profusion. Our local stream sounds like three idling diese] engines as it roars by. The children have donned their more colourful spring garb and now play happily as they await the morning school bus. As I stride out on my i that editorial comment Canada is not immune Let’s get real about the violence in Toronto. Would it still have occurred had the volcano remained dormant in Los Angeles after an all-white jury ruled four white police offi i of the walk, I am kf the snowball season has passed, though I must admit that our last snow season was a relatively short one, and the children were mostly courteous. We have a lot of gardens in our friendly city and their gar- dens are flourishing with spring blooms. As the breezes warm with that special spring softness, are we not happy to be alive and to have survived yet another winter/ As I observe all the greenness about me, I reflect back on a decla- ration of one of our famous past Members of Parliament, who stated that our stripped public forest lands would eventually “green in” and the foresters’ replied “Yeah! In about 75 years!” This became the “Green- ing-In Policy” of past governments who set the stage for our present day forest conflicts by neglecting to fe desirable species and of severe (and in my opi y) beating of a black man? Probably not. But bad timing on the Toronto id ddenly given permission for all hell to break loose everywhere—even, gasp, in Canada. I was one of those Canadians who was glued to my television set the evening the riots in L.A became headline news. I watched distastefully as the rolling camera caught, and relayed back to me, the disturbing images of senseless vandalism, uncontrolled looting and further beatings based on colour alone. It was indeed a stomach-churning news hour, the kind that makes ratings soar. It was at this time I offered a silent prayer of thanks for not having to ever experience a mob mentality of that magni- tude—and how could I, as a peace-loving, diplo- matic Canadian, ever experience such lawlessness. Something like that, could never happen here, right? ” I have always considered myself patriotic (even to the point of defending our little furry mascot with the overbite problem). Sure the Americans might have more glitz, lots of glamour and larger- than-life ideals, which all seem attractive at first. But that suddenly changes when the National Guard has to be called in to save the day. Then, even cross-border shoppers from Canada rush back home and watch from the safety of their T.V. sets. The only thing is—we're fooling ourselves. It can happen here, and it did. While the riot was much smaller in Toronto, the issue to which caused it is was also based on racism. Racial tensions are also on the rise in Vancouver, where more than 70 people marched to the police department in that city in an angry-state. That’s a little too close to home. Ahh, home. The beautiful, safe, comforting Kooftenays. That could never happen here, right? BENARORFERIIGSE By Don Addis WHATS A NICE GULL LIKE You DOING INA PLACE LIKE THIS ? 1S POLITICALLY INDEPENDENT AND A MEMBER OF THE STERLING NEWS SERVICE Established November 28, 1990 Published by The Sun Weekly on 465 Columbia Ave., Castlegar, B.C. VIN 1G8 sufficient volume throughout our province. This also led to the pre- sent usage of the noun “Green” to representing the people of the Province, to ensure the reforestation of public lands. Those govern- ments, instead, chose to spend most of the stumpage revenues on roads and brides, office buildings, social services, and whatever, rather than on trees. low which meant that the material was removed down to the clay level. Clay makes a perfect “liner” 80 water would collect from rain- storms and remain in some parts of the pit throughout the year. The gravel pits were a source of con- stant joy and discovery for the local Seasons Elma Maund “ee Back in the days when green was just an adjective, our seniors were green. As a matter of fact, our seniors have been green all their lives. The seniors of today were green long before it was socially acceptable, trendy or , as now, nec- -essary. It was simply part of every- day life. Any senior or historian will tell you the sad realities of the Depression Years. In the 1930's, which my parents lived through in Canada, close utilization. and con- servation were economic necessi- ties. As a child, I do not remember ever seeing a garbage dump. We had a gravel pit close by the occa- sionally the local populace would be Ss had du d hil In winter they became our skating rinks. Adults helped in the snow removal process and enjoyed skating, impromptu tag and hockey games with the children, and, with little coaxing, the day would be mp d with huge fii and toasted marshmallows. In spring, the pools would teem with polli- wags and “suckers” and even the odd trout. Throughout the summer vacation we swam’'and dove, built ramps and rafts and generally enjoyed the warm water. We actual- ly looked forward to the summer storms which replenished both the oxygen and water supply, for with- out them the pools would stagnate and become weedy and unpleasant- ly warm and smelly. In the autumn ducks and geese would gather, pro- viding endless games for children and dogs and even the occasional hunter. Thus, we certainly did not want any smelly garbage in our gravel pits. Once a dead deer was found in our swimming hole and the chil were i to swim garbage in the gravel pit! When be both capitalized and parenth sized. There are those who would happily, yet wrongfully, blame the manufacturing companies for the . decline of the forest inventory, but, in actual fact, it has always been the duty of governments, as owners igated, it was usually deduced that some unscrupulous urban dweller had the temerity to misuse our local playground. We had two darge pits close by our house as I was a child growing up in the coun- try. Both gravel deposits were shal- in it. It ruined our whole summer. I was sent to Summer (Church) Camp! And that is another story! Since we did not have garbage dumps, what did the local residents do with their garbage? Well, the answer is, there was none! These were the happy days, before the dis- AFRAID LINES IN THE SAND! covery of plastic. Sacks were made of hessian or cotton. Class and tin containers were scarce, particularly large one. Those purchased were thoroughly cleaned and reused countless times for countless uses. Tin (now aluminum) foil and string was carefully removed and saved. Fruits and vegetables were sold in light and heavy weight wooden crates, boxes and baskets of varying shapes and sizes. They were treated with respect and carefully stored and reused time and time again, until they literally fell apart and then, often they were repaired and still used. Every home had a com- post pile or container. Animals pro- vided the fertilizer for gardens. pap books and i were passed on until they were no longer readable and then they were used to start the kindling for the morning fire. Cook stoves were wood burning and ravenous, with tanks which warmed water. Some of us Still have them in cottage kitchens. There were those who warned that if we forgot our roots and moved toward a throw away soci- ety, we would produce a society that should be thrown away! Many thought there was no need to worry, fore that would never happen! How could it happen? The very thought of built-in obsolescence was joke, then! Today, the joke is on us. As we celebrate Earth Day and Envi- ronment Week we would do well to remember the wealth of experience and knowledge of our seniors, the original Greens! Could it happen here? It did! Members from the black community say ‘something is radically wrong’ There is an awful temptation, watching the news reports out of Los Angeles, to smugly say, “that's the US for you. That could never happen here.” Let's not fool ourselves. It could happen here. In fact it almost certainly will here if we don’t act quickly to solve some basic problems in our society. And at the top of the list is edu- cation. Yesterday's fatal shooting of a young black man in the Bloor-Lans- down area was the eighth such inci- dent in the last four years. Outspoken members of Metro's black community say there's one system of law for whites, and another for blacks. “Something is radically wrong here,” said Dari Meade, of the Black Action Defence Committee. “There's no question that we're being policed differently - we might as well just hand over our first- bom.” Police point out they were ding to i from their area. And drugs were found on the dead man. Why a policeman would feel it necessary to resort to deadly force when faced by a man armed with a knife will be the subject of a full investigation. Mike Duffy Syndicated Columnist The Los Angeles case is much clearer. The riots began after a jury of ten whites, an Hispanic and an Asian, in effect endorsed the barbaric actions of those four Los Angeles police officers. But while the acquittal was the spark, the fuel that the fires burning was the sense that the rioters had nothing to lose. As Rev. Jesse Jackson put it ' There are more blacks in Ameri- can prisons than there are in Ameri- neighbours about drug dealing in can Unemployment in South Central Los Angeles is estimated at 40 per cent - and it’s even higher among the young men at the centre of the violence. High school failure rates are over 30 per cent. Those stats sound familiar. Here in Canada - the country the UN rated as the world’s nicest place to live - we also have a high school drop-out rate of 30 per cent, and among some of our young people the unemployment rate is also approaching 40 per cent. The sense of despair felt by America’s poor blacks is becoming all too familiar here As our natural resources are depleted or the cost of production makes industries here less competi- tive, employment in communities which were built on those natural resources will decline When that happens, those who can move to the big city. Sadly, studies show many of those people are illiterate. Before they can be retrained, let alone get a job, they have to be taught to read and write No one is going to built a high- tech plant in a community where the people have no-tech or only be low-tech skills. Last week's report by the Eco- nomic Council of Canada on the State of education in this country contains a blunt warning that if we don’t wake up, we'll lose it all. Our kids will be left eating the dust of the Europeans and Asians who are winning all the prizes in the educational contests. To add insult to this gross injury, Canada’s system of education is among the most expensive in the world. If it were a car we'd have declared it a lemon and dumped it on the dealer's doorstep years ago. The downstream effect of a poor system of education is clear. We saw it in yesterday's tragic drama in the west end. Ed. note: Since this column was written the city of Toronto gota taste of what was happening in Los Angeles In Toronto on Monday evening over 1,000 windows were smashed and many people injured. Another ‘demonstration’ is planned for Thursday. Let's hope cooler heads prevail. Wednesday, May 6, 1992 The Castlegar Sun Letters to the Editor Massive and vocal complaint must make Victoria listen Dear Editor: The West Arm Wilderness Group in Nelson, BC is calling the latest development in the Lasca Creek issue “di ful sentatives to sit on the Planning committee for Lasca, Tunstall and Eight Mile Creeks. The communi- ty expressed anger and resentment over decisi that had been and dishonest”. - The Kootenay Lake District Ministry of Forest has scheduled the first meeting of the Integrated Resource Management Commit- tee for Lasca Creek on Tuesday, April 28, without legitimate citi- zen representation for the resi- dents of Harrop/Procter and the North Shore. In January of 1992, the Min- istry of Forest called a public meeting in Harrop in order to allow the citizens of Harrop/Proc- ter to nominate one or two repre- already made by the Ministry of Forests. Residents asked that Dis- trict Forest Manager, Al Bradley and MLA Corky Evans come to a meeting and assure the community that public input would be valued and acted upon. some people felt that more than one or two people should represent the community. District Planner, Dale Ander- son, agreed to set up a ing Lasca Creek at the end of February. The Ministry of Forests (Kootenay Lake) decided that planning for Lasca Creek would be put on hold until after a decision was made. It was the ity's spokesperson said, “Whether or not the representative knows about forest practises is not the issue. The issue is that once again, the Ministry of Forests has shown saying would be developed for logging. Lasca Creek was not to be includ- ed in Stephen Owen's Commission and i with Messrs. Bradley and Evans. In the interim, the Minister of Forests issued a saying on Since the decision to proceed with logging Lasca Creek was that a decision would be made on Shriners give three-year old an opportunity to run to the circus with the other children Dear Editor: With the Shrine Circus in town I would like to take this opportunity to thank the Shriners of Castlegar. Because of their efforts my now three-year old daughter (Amy) will be running into the Circus with the rest of the children. Just two years ago Amy was diagnosed with Conjenital Hip Displasia (her hips were out of their sockets). But thanks to dedi- cated Shriners like Andy Andrews of Robson, BC and Archie Leonard of Cranbrook, BC, Amy is as good as new. These men should definitely be proud of their Shrine Hospital in Spokane. The facility provides a means for giving crippled chil- dren from all walks of life a whole new meaning to life. Andy I appreciate your kind- ness and eagemess to help, that will never be Archie, d, the public has not been contacted by the Ministry of Forests, however, the Ministry has taken the liberty of “appointing” a ive from ter. The representative has a pri- vate forestry consulting firm and has a good working knowledge of forestry issues. ¥ A West Arm Wilderness pt for proper public input by making private deals with indi- viduals without notifying citizens who will be affected by the deci- sions." Most people in Procter/Harrop and the North Shore don’t even know who their representative is. In the past two years 175 families in these com- munities have actively expressed concern to our group over the Las- cas issue regarding ferry usage, and gardens. Only a massive and vocal com- plaint will make the government in Victoria listen. Development in Lasca should be deferred until a fair public process has been developed. Without this we will see public input in forest issues in the Kootenays erode even further. Its a matter of lad The West Arm Wilderness Park Study Area is supported by Envi- ronmental Award Winner Colleen McCrory of the Vathalla Wilder- ness Proposal. Ramona Faust Wild weed whacker a waste Dear Editor: This is my nomination for Bozo of the Week Award “EMCON”, Saturday, when they drove their grader with a giant weed-whacker-tree smasher Hig! y safety, lost vi pe a prefe for wild down both sides of The Government has implied that the local forestry office can treat community concerns any way it likes by leaving the West Arm out of C.O.R.E. Many peo- ple had high hopes for the NDP. Some people have given up - feeling powerless, they have turned their focus on their homes The grass was only six inches high so it definitely needed cut- ting, and leaving the smashed, chopped-up, rooted trees and bushes where they fell was an added touch. Does this waste of taxpayer's money mean that the recession and time of government cut backs Control over rezoning not held by CURB Dear Editor: In the May 2, issue of the Castlegar News, Mrs. Jean Fitz- patrick writes that the decisi would like to see done and you have very valid reasons for the rezoning of your property. because of your insight the whole process couldn't have been more efficient. To both of you, the greatest comfort of all was know- ing that Amy was getting the best medical care possible. My gratefullness and respect to you all, Janice Stalker Castlegar In memory Shirley Ann Jenkins On Sunday, April 26, 1992, Shirley Ann Jenkins of Castlegar, BC passes away at the age of 50 . Jenkins was born April 12, 1942 at Saint John, New Brunswick, She came to Blueber- ty Creek in 1966. Mrs. Jenkins worked as a lunch hour supervi- sor at Stanley Humphreys Sec- ondary School. She loved being with her friends. She is survived by daughters: LTT NL Rae. ry , Patricia Trendall of Westbank, BC and Christine Jenkins of Nanaimo, BC, four grandchil- dren. Many nieces.and nephews. Funeral service was held at the Castlegar Funeral Chapel on April 30, 1992 with Pastor Ira Johnson officiating. Interment was at Park Memorial Cemetery. Funeral arrangements were under the direction of the Castle- gar Funeral Chapel. Joinus... Silver City Days garding the Mall Proposal at the interchange has been left up to the CURB organization and that somehow CURB has been given a controlling voice in this rezoning issue. Well, Mrs. Fitz- patrick, as far as I know, CURB has not been given any more con- trol in rezoning of the properties than anyone else. Many people attended the public meeting when Mr. Laing presented his proposal to council and everyone had the opportunity to speak. As presi- dent of CURB I and other mem- bers attended the meeting but although we support all develop- ment in Castlegar, we felt strong- ly that council should work with the parties that are going to be affected by tHis mall. As I recall, your property is not going to be rezoned and this is what you Find it in the Classifieds ‘ x May 6th to 10th — Trail, B.C. For info. 1-604-364-2545 Presenting... eFamily Fun For Everyone eChildren's Free Wiener Roast eFamily Days Picnic At Gyro Park eKiddies eParade eMidway super pres. The stan time will be 2:00 p.m and Capers eGrape Stomp eFireworks eCraft Fair the grand prize te a 1992 Toyota. TimeAir Carat THE ONE BUTTON DRAW Trip for 2 to Vancouver Sponsors: Time Air, Georgian Court Hotel your only is to go to council and persuade them to include your property. To Presume that CURB has the con- trolling voice in this issue is wrong, we are only able to state Crystals * Rocks + Jewellery POLLAINE E. EMDE 1480 COLUMBIA AVE. CASTLEGAR, B.C. VIN 3K3 (604) 365-7616 Res 365-3253 our opinion like everyone else. I wish you luck. Respectfully, Michael J. O’Connor, President CURB The Board of Trustees of the Hospital requires trustees to replace members completing their terms of office. Directors on Board of Trustees 6 Elected - Two new trustees will be elected at the Annual Meeting on June 10, 1992 (2 trustees for a 3-year term). Candidates must join the Society before May 10, 1992. Membership in the Society is open to all persons who reside in the area of Iand J. New members may join the Society by paying $1.00 at the Hospital between the hours of 8 a.m. - 9 p.m. and must join prior to May 10, 1992, to be eligible to vote. Present members may renew their memberships any time before the Annual Castlegar or in Electoral Areas of Meeting in June. CASTLEGAR & DISTRICT HOSPITAL SOCIETY is over, if so does it mean our ferry is finally coming home where it belongs? Kelly Podealuk Broadwater Road Robson Letters Policy Letters to the Editor are wel- come on any topic of local or general interest. Letters be double-spaced, typewritten, or legibly handwritten, and no more than two pages if possible. Let- ters will be edited in the interests of brevity or taste if necessary. All letters must be signed, with address and telephone number, although names may be witheld from publication for valid reason by the approval of the editor. Send letters to: The Castlegar Sun, 465 Columbia Ave., Castlegar, B.C., VIN 1G8, or drop them off at the office. 4 Appointed ATTENTION: ALL MOMS! Come and Visit us at Chahko-Mika Mall on Saturday, May 9th and you will receive a Beautiful Carnation and sample some delicious chocolate. Compliments from the nN ELAS MUNA 115@ LAKESIDE DRIVE NELSON, B.C. Merchants at Chahko-Mika Mall. The Meeting Place Because You Deserve the Best! IVICAWIEAIE) HOURS: MON, TUES, WED, & SAT. 9:30 A.M. - 5:30 P.M. & FRI. THY 9:30 A.M. - 9:00 P.M.