The Castlegar Sun Wednesday, December 20, 1995 ‘Complete Body & Paint Facilities Auto Glass Replacement Towing 2816 - 6th Ave., Castlegar “LOOK AGAIN” Because many local businesses have week-end specials and events. ..check your , Castlegar Sun again before you head out on your shopping trip. A perfect way to remind you where the savings are. Your Castlegar Sun You'll enjoy a second look. BONUS! PURCHASE A NEW HOME DURING DECEMBER AND RECEIVE A FREE WASHER AND DRYER 5% DOWN - S YEAR EDR CAL. pag ay MawuracTurep Homes © 365-0112 ° Tad cone ENE Sun. by appt. 9 Cockwell 365-0515 (res) ITT m ay & Set Did you forget something? Please remember to leave a light on, and clear the snow and ice from your paths and steps so | can deliver your Castlegar Sun and West Kootenay Advertiser . Thanks, your Castlegar Sun Carrier SHSS juniors ready to rebound JEFF GABERT Sun staff In junior level basketball, the name of the game is develop ment. You teach the skills that will prove valuable at the senior level There was a lot of development on show at,Stanley Humphries last weekend as the junior Rock- ers and Rockettes welcomed six other Kootenay teams to their invitational tournament. The tournament started late Fri- day afternoon and it was clear on the boys side that this year would go as the Crowe flies. J.L. Crowe has one of the best junior teams in the province this year and everyone is scrambling to catch and compete with them. That includes SHSS, which had only two games under its belt prior to the three-game round- robin tournament. The junior Rockers started out well with an excellent game against Grand Forks. The game went right down to the wire with Stanley Humphries being hospitable in giv- ing up a 58-57 loss. Tan Mosby led the way for the Rockers with 21 points while Ryan Fontes chipped in 20. Saturday got a little better for SHSS as Fontes poured in 29 points to help pummel! Rossland 67-39. But it ended poorly as Crowe flew by with a 78-47 win. The junior Rockers ended up finishing in third place, which was quite alright with coach Doug Hickey. “That was quite expected,” said Hickey. “We could have eas- ily finished second since we only lost to Grand Forks by a point.” The team only has four starters back from last year which means this is another rebuilding year for Hickey. Therefore, he has kept the goals for the team small “We'd like to try and finish top 4 in the West Kootenay and cut the Crowe margin down to 15-20 points,” said Hickey, “The key is to continue working on basic skills and make sure they Play with intensity every e out on the court.” The boys now get a break for Christmas but will be back quickly in the New Year as they travel to Fatt *25,000 A TRAVEL tas ques do bento GETRACAN Long sleeve mock or ~ turtleneck T-shirts 9 9 Reg. Price $12.99 ALDER BAY Long sleeve Dress shirts *10 OFF Regular Price FLEECE JACKETS Full zip or pull-over 99 Reg. Price © $39.99 20” OFF Selected ALPEN WINTER JACKETS MENS & LADIES NYLON SKI-GLOVES 99 PR. 9 Reg. Price © $12.99 *10 OFF ALL SORELS While Quantities Last j Columbia Plaza Castlegar Ph: 365-0555 ¢ fax: 365-2721 ' Hours: Mon. to Thurs. & Sat. 9:30 am to 5:30 pm | Friday 9:30 am to 9:00 pm « Sunday 12 pm to 4:00 pm nT 7 Come here little ball. SHSS player yrs Gcnonan (#5) goes up iors a hard rebound Saturday versus J.L. Crowe. the J.L. Crowe Invitational Tour- nament. Their season lasts until March and Hickey said it will be a good one, especially with talented kids like Mosby and Fontes. “I'm very happy and extremely excited to be with the team because they're a great group of kids.” Colette Ritchie also has a great group of kids in her junior girls BEST WISHES FOR THE HOLIDAY SEASON Thank You for your Patronage in 1995 5 Sows > ee GIENGER CONTRACTING LTD CASTLEGAR 365-5221 FAX 365-5442 program and they always present tough competition to the other teams in the Kootenays. They started out the tourna- ment against Cranbrook who already had game experience this season. Stanley Humphries, on the other hand, had been together for just four practises. Therefore, the 44-40 loss wasn’t totally unexpected or disappointing. “It was a good opening to the season,” said Ritchie. “Ourselves and L.V. Rogers haven't played any games while Cranbrook played eight. So we felt pretty good the way we matched up.” After that first loss, everything came together the rest of the way as Jamie Postnikoff led the junior Rockettes to a 54-37 win over L.V. Rogers and Leanne Gritchen powered them to a 58-47 victory SUN STAFF PHOTO /Jeff Gabert over J.L. Crowe The two wins against West Kootenay opponents gave SHSS second place in the tournament and leaves Ritchie feeling good about the season. “Tt should be good,” said Ritchie. “We've got a lot of skill which was proven in our first game. I’m pretty optimistic overall, but it’s hard to tell at this point.” Ritchie said the goal of the team is to win the West Kootenay zone but the real objective is overall improvement. Like Hick- ey, she’s developing her players for the senior program and so far she’s right on track. The next action for the junior Rockettes will be in the new year as they travel to Cranbrook and Rossland for tournaments in January. ROYAL CANADIAN LEGION Branch 170 Sundays 2-8 pm Mon.-Thurs. 2 pm -10 pm Fri, & Sat. Nam-11 pm Bingo every Thurs. Weekend Music - Crib GUESTS WITH MEMBERS WELCOME! 248 Columbia Ave., Castlegar ¢ 365-7017 - Darts « Sunday — Please Support Your Local Food Bank The management and staff of Emcon Services Inc. are proud to serve the Kootenay Boundary District and wish everyone a safe and happy holiday season Grand Forks + 442-2025 24-Hour Road Condition Report * 1-800-665-7959 Remember - Please Don't Drink & Drive ‘I think because I've worked so many, it's like any other day.:.’ — KERRY SOLINSKY Staff Sergeant Castlegar RCMP 4 think it's more difficult for the children. The spouses understand it's necessary because they're adults. But the children have a difficult time comprehending what Mom or Dad is doing here and why they aren't home’ — DENISE READ Director of Nursing Castlegar & District Hospital Story & photos by: Trent Bancarz hristmas Day. For, most of us, it conjures up images of spending time with our families, watching childrens’ joy as they tear into their gifts and partaking of that traditional huge feast. But other folks will punch the time clock and treat Dec. 25 pretty much like any other day. Staff Sgt. Kerry Solinsky of the Castlegar RCMP has worked roughly 15 Christmas Days during his 22 years on the force. He Says it’s something he’s gotten used to during his days as a police officer. “I think because I've worked so many, it’s like any other ‘day,” he says. “For myself, it’s just the way things are and it comes with the territory. However, I do enjoy having them off these days (since he rose in rank to staff sergeant)”. And an officer never really knows what Christmas is going to be like, adds Solinsky. He explains Christmas Day can either be slow and quiet or the busiest day of the year for a police officer. “It all depends where you are and what type of community you’re posted in,” says Solinsky. “‘In some communities, you have a lot to deal with. But others are quieter and it’s just a matter of being there and being available if needed.” And the holidays can bring the type of a situation officers fear the most: the domestic dispute. “It’s the most difficult situation to deal with and you can be dealing with a lot of them at Christmas, depending where you are,” explains Solinsky. “With a domestic dispute, both people can suddenly turn on you. You finally get things settled down and are ready to haul Dad away and then Mom can Start on you. Unless you know the people really well, at least two officers always go to a domestic. And a lot are repeats. “You especially see a lot of domestics on Christmas Eve and it’s always bothered me FEATURE Wednesday, December 20 — B1 hristmas On The personally. The kids are trying to enjoy things, but Mom and Dad are busy smacking each other around. You're half- tempted to smack both of them and ask ‘What are you doing, here?’” Solinsky has had a lot of variety during his 15 Christmas Days on the job. When posted in Alexis Creek, Solinsky recalls spending Christmas Day riding in an ambulance which was towing his broken down police cruiser. Also inside the ambulance was a dead body to be transported. “I went to work on Christmas Eve morning and came back Boxing ahaa Day night. That was quite an experience.” Another Christmas occured when Solinsky had to notify parents that their daughter had been killed on the Hope- Princeton highway enroute to the parents house for Christmas. The mother went into hysterics, while the father suddenly suffered a heart attack. “He was all right eventually and he didn’t die,” recalls Solinsky. “In a way, his heart attack was a mixed blessing. It forced the mother out of her hysterics and forced her to focus on something else and to do something else.” But Christmas job memories can be pleasant as well. Solinsky was investigating a break-in at a family’s house, which occured a few days before Christmas. All the gifts had been stolen. But the community rallied behind the family and gifts started showing up at the detachment. “People were calling and coming in and wanting to know who the unfortunate family was. Eventually, the family had plenty of gifts in time for Christmas.” Solinsky says his family has handled things well over the years and has been very understanding. “They know what my job is. My wife has been very understanding and I don’t recall the kids ever complaining because I wasn’t there on Christmas Day.” What has helped is | modern technology. With radio phones, officers can often go h .e for periods on Christmas Day because the phones allow them to be reached if they’re needed. “When my kids were little, I was usually able to be there when they woke up. You start your shift make sure everything is okay and go visit your family for Nowadays, we can be anywhere and if we're needed, we can respond from there.” Solinsky grins when asked awhile. “T've given — people warnings on Christmas Day, but I’ve never issued a traffic ticket. I have picked up a couple of impaired drivers on Christmas Day. But that’s different. There’s no warnings for that.” Health care workers often also punch the time clock on Christmas Day. Denise Read has been director of nursing at the Castlegar and District Hospital for the past 20 years and has been in nursing even longer. Though she hasn’t had to work any Christmas Days since 1975, she did work many before that. “There's a feeling of camaraderie amongst staff who have to work on Christmas Day,” she explains. “When you work in the health care field, it’s a given the job is 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. It’s what sets the staff apart from people with more ‘traditional’ occupations. It comes with the territory. “T think it’s more difficult for the children. The spouses understand it’s necessary because they’re adults. But the children have a difficult time comprehending what Mom or Dad is doing here and why they aren’t home.” That’s something registered nurse Lori Enders agrees with. She’s worked four Christmas Days during her eight years as a nurse. “It (working Christmas) is not the most favorite thing to do, especially when you have a family,” explains Enders. “But we have to take our turn. I think it’s harder for the kids to accept, but the spouse understands because we're in this. profession.” The policy at the hospital is every nurse gets at least every second Christmas Day off. But staff can arrange shifts among themselves and often exchange shifts with one another. The bottorn line is enough staff have to be in place to keep the hospital going, explains Read. “You can’t anticipate what’s going to happen and the activity levels from year to year always vary. It can be slow and at other times, you're so busy, you don’t have time to think about working on Christmas Day. “But we still have to fully staff the hospital. If it gets busy, we have to make sure enough staff is here to handle it.” The hospital tries to send as many patients home for Christmas as is possible or safe and Read says the facility makes every effort to make Christmas Day as festive as possible. A special Christmas dinner is provided for the patients and families are encouraged Christmas Cop - Staff Sgt. Kerry Solinsky of the Castlegar RCMP has been on duty memorable Christmas Day 15 times during his 22-year career. to come to the hospital and eat dinner with the patients. A lot of gifts come to the hospital from former patients and the staff brings in home- baked goodies to make it as much like home as possible. Often, community groups visit and sing Christmas carols and Santa even manages to find his way over there some years. “We're very liberal with the visiting hours on Christmas Day,” adds Read. And Christmas is like any other day for a health care worker: you never know what’s going to come through the door, explains Read. “You're dealing with some serious stuff sometimes. It’s g that goes th th every health care worker's head. “Some situations can increase at Christmas time. People often don’t eat properly at Christmas and we see a lot of heart attacks or other problems connected to eating coming through here.” But the holiday season can also be a joyful time at the hospital. “It’s very pleasant when you have a Christmas or a New Year’s baby at the hospital. I think every hospital in the world waits for it and it’s a wonderful event.” Ge Fs € WY if he’s ever handed out a HOliday Health Care - Working on Christmas Day is nothing new to local nurses ticket on Christmas Day. Elaine Sloan, Lori Enders, Diane Guglielmi, Mona Ferguson and Sandra Beatty (I to r).