Cé December 31, 1986
cost of the renovations, while local taxpayers will pick up the
remaining 10 per cent.
7. « «
A federal court judge dismisses an appeal by more than
60 local pulp workers for Unemployment Insurance benefits
during a lockout two years ago.
Aug. 11
Local residents flock to Nelson to catch some of the
action on the set of “Roxanne,” the movie co-starring Daryl
Hannah and Steve Martin, which begins filming today in the
Queen City.
._ *2* «

CP Rail's plan to demolish its 79-year-old railway station

Castlegar council agrees unanimously to pay half of the
$650,000 cost of the revitalization plan for the city’s
downtown core, but only if the benefitting area pays the
remaining $325,000 cost.

Aug. 18

MP Bob Brisco is hopping mad about a proposal to
eliminate his Kootenay West federal riding and amalgamate
the western portion with Okanagan-Similkameen and the
eastern portion with Kootenay East-Revelstoke. He says
there is no economic link between some communities in the.
proposed ridings and due to their size, MPs will spend more
time travelling and*less time serving constituents.

Aug. 25

Premier Bill Vander Zalm is in Trail to announce the
purchase by the provincial government of $55 million
Cominco Ltd. preferred shares. Less than 48 hours after the
ii | announcement, members of the modernization project
team meet with the company's services staff to plan the
demolition needed to make way for the new lead smelter
plant and its facilities.

. . .

Continuing his two-day sweep of the area, Premier
Vander Zalm tours Wester Timber’s Southern Wood
Products mill in Castlegar, where he indicates the provincial
government could block the sale of West Kootenay Power
and Light Co. to a U.S.-based corporation if the deal is not in
the province's best interests.

. . .e

B.C. and Yukon Division coordinator for the Terry Fox
Run, Betty Kerr, and Betty Fox, mother of the late Terry
Fox, are in Castlegar as part of their tour through the
Kootenays and other parts of the Interior to help
communities get ready for the sixth-annual Terry Fox Run.

September

Sept. 4

South African wines are pulled from Castlegar's
Government Liquor Store shelves when a Victoria
newspaper and television station receives letters declaring
two bottles of South African wine are poisoned

Sept.

Castlegar Rotarian Jim Gouk begins a 3,500-kilometre
bicycle trip from Christina Lake to Phoenix, Arix. to raise
money and consciousness for the Rotary International Polio
Plus project and the international student exchange
program of which Castlegar is a district leader

Sept.

Fire damages the partially restored chapel house on
Zuckerberg Island Heritage Park and is the result of arson,
say RCMP. Flames destroy the roof of the verandan and
part of the outside wall of the log building. delaying the
} completion of the restoration project by at least a month.

¢ 10

Former Castlegar resident Dixie Dee Powers is given a
suspended sentence in Casper, Wyo. after she pleads no
contest to one count of conspiracy to make false statements
while selling a security. Meanwhile, RCMP begin extradition
procedures against Powers, who is wanted in Canada on
charges of running a pryamid scheme that RCMP say
collected $3.4 million in the West Kootenay.

- 20

After weeks of waiting, Castlegar Mayor Audrey Moore
takes the plunge, announcing she will seek the Rossland
Trail Social Credit party nomination. She joins six other
candidates waiting to carry the Socred banner into the next
provincial election: Walt Seimens of Trail, Burt Campbell of
Castlegar, Trail Mayor Chuck Lakes, Sid Crockett of
Genelle, Anders Thomsen of Fruitvale, and Paul Moroso of
Castlegar.

Sept. 24
Premier Bill Vander Zalm, relying heavily on his

personal popularity, calls a provincial general election for
Oct. 22.

Sept. 26

Municipal Affairs Minister Rita Johnson gives Castle-
gar’s long-awaited transit system the green light. Taxpayers
in Areas I and J will pay more than $50,000 a year for the
transit system, or about $9 for the average homeowner.

._ 28 «@

Sponsored by the Doukhobor Benevolent Society, the
10-unit low income senior citizens housing complex known as
Rosewood Manor officially opens in Castlegar with a
ribbon-cutting ceremony attended by several municipal,
provincial and federal

. .

MLA Chris lice captures the nomination by
acclamation at the Rossland-Trail NDP nominating meeting
in Trail.

Sept. 27
Westar Timber Ltd. sells its Celgar Pulp operations for
$95 million to a consortium of two Montreal companies and a
Chinese bank.
Sept. 29
Castlegar Mayor Audrey Moore captures the Rossland-
Trail Social Credit nomination in a marathon race that sees
her pitted against two of the party's old guards — Sid
Crockett of Genelle whom she outpolls 146-109 on the fifth
ballot; and Burt Campbell, who throws his support behind
Crockett after the fourth ballot.

October

Oct. 2
The new Chamber of Commerce building at the corner
of 20th Street and 6th Avenue, officially opens with a
ribbon-cutting ceremony. The cost of the structure is
$118,350 but the deficit is whittled down to $16,500 due to a
federal grant and community support.
. .

New Democratic leader Bob Skelly appears before a
crowd of more than 200 enthusiastic supporters at Trail's
junior high auditorium, as part of his West Kootenay tour
this week.

Oct. 8

Castlegar Savings Credit Union goes under “short.
term” voluntary supervision by the Credit Union Deposit
Insurance Corp., as a result of being faced with a large
number of foreclosures and bankruptcies.

Oct. 9

At precisely 7 p.m. radio and television stations
broadcast a fire alarm intended to test fire escape
precautions in homes, as area joins the rest of
Canada in a national fire drill called Plan to Get Out Alive.

. * »®

Former Castlegar resident Dixie Dee Powers appears
in Castlegar provincial court and has her preliminary
hearing date reset to Oct. 17.

Oct. 10

Charter students, faculty and board members of Selkirk
College reminisce about the college's early days at an
anniversary pioneer dinner in Castlegar. About 150 people
attend the reunion at the Fireside Place.

.

Premier Bill Vander Zalm announces several major
projects for the Trail area, including the long-awaited CAT
scanner for Trail Regional Hospital, when he attends a
breakfast in Rossland with about 250 supporters.

Oct.14

Education Minister Tony Brummet arrives in Castlegar
with a $66,667 cheque for the Castlegar library board in the
first installment of the $200,000 Expo legacy grant for the
library expansion.

.- 2* «

Chairman of the heritage advisory committee, John
Charters, tells city council the committee is investigating
the availability of land near the present location of the
historic CP Rail station, along with the cost of moving the
building and restoring it to its original condition. He
estimates the cost at $100,000. CP Rail wants to either move
the building or demolish it to pave the way for a
single-storey modern station.

Oct. 22

Rossland-Trail New Democrat Chris D'Arcy beats back

iff challenge from Social Credit candidate Audrey Moore
to win a fifth consecutive term as MLA in today’s provincial
election. He collects 7,574 out of 14,916 votes cast — only 671
votes more than Moore. The Social Credit Party scores a
runaway victory, controlling 49 seats to the NDPs 20.

Oct. 26

Rotarian Jim Gouk is back in Castlegar after his 39-day,

3,600-kilometre bike ride to Phoenix, Arix. to raise funds

and awareness among the Rotary Clubs on his route for the
Rotary International Polio Plus project. Pledges and
contributions \so far top $20,000 are are going well.

November

Nev.1
Ceigar Pulp company announces it will buy its natural
gas from Inland Natural Gas Ltd, rather than directly from
natural 2 See
its franchise fee of approximately $100,000.

A united opposition io camaana federal electoral
boundary changes that would eliminate the riding of
Kootenay West emerges at a public hearing in Nelson, with
the first scheduled intervenors citing factors ranging from

disruption of cultural unity to lack of representation as
reasons.

Nev.6
provincial government takes away part of Westar
Timber’s Southern Wood Products annual allowable timber
harvest — the first time a B.C. forest company has had its
cut reduced due to insufficient wood harvesting.

Castlegar council is one of nine groups that plan to
intervene in public hearings the sale of West
Kootenay Power and Light Co. to U.S.-based UtiliCorp
United Inc.

Nev. 13

Bob Skelly announces he will step down as leader of the
British Columbia New Democratic Party. but will remain in
office until the leadership convention in the spring.

In 2 surprioe decision, Dixie Deo Powers pleads guilty
in Castlegar provincial court to one charge of managing and
operating a pyramid scheme, and is sentenced to one year in
prison.

Nev. 35

A total of 1,676 (or 40 per cent) of the registered voters
in Castlegar turn out at the polls to return incumbents Nick
Ogiow and Len Embree and elect first-time candidate Patti
Richards as aldermen. Jay Johnson and Gordon Turner
return as school trustees, as well as Area J incumbent Rick
Pongracz.

Nev. 17

More than $1.6 million is spent at Castlegar Airport in
preparation for a $5 million expansion of the airport
terminal. Projects include recontouring and overlaying the
apron in front of the air terminal; new radar and electrical
systems, fire alarm system; and electrical gates to the
maintenance garage.

Nev. 20

Mila Mulroney fulfills her promise by returning to
Castlegar while Prime Minister Brian Mulroney is in
Vancouver attending the first ministers’ conference. While
here, she meets with school children. attends a public
luncheon, and visits Colombo Lodge in Trail.

Nev. 24

Castlegar area residents get their first chance to ride
the bus to work, school and shopping. as the Castlegar
Regional Transit System begins its first day of operation.
The singie-bus system runs from 7 a.m. - 6:08 p.m. Monday
through Saturday. By the end of the first day, 217 riders
have taken advantage of the bus system

Nev. 30

The proposed expansion of the Castlegar and District
Public Library is in danger of being scrapped unless $40,000
is raised within the next month. The expansion has a
$400,000 budget — $200,000 from an Expo legacy grant and a
matching $200,000 from the city. However, the estimated
cost of the expansion is at least $440,000.

December

Dec.1
Nick Ogiow of Castlegar is one of nine West Kootenay
delegates who add their voices to retain John Turner as
leader of the federal Liberal party at a Liberal convention in
Ottawa.
Dee. 2
Rural firehalls fight for their lives in the wake of the
provincial government's removal of the machinery and
equipment tax on business. In Area I, elimination of the tax
removes Brilliant Dam and Kalesnikoff sawmill from the
assessment roll which (coupled with a recent drop in
assessment values) places the area's two firehalls in
jeopardy.
Dec.7
Ken Georgetti of Trail wins an unopposed election as
continued on C7

December 31,1986 C7

1986 tough year to beat in B.C.

By PAUL LOONG

VICTORIA — For many British Columbians, 1986 is
going to be a tough year to beat.

Expo 86, royal visits and the election of a new,
upbeat premier created an atmosphere of euphoria not
seen in the province for a long time.

But the revelry is over.

December cont'd

continued trom Cé
president of the 250,000-member B.C. Federation of Labor,
succeeding Canadian Labor Congress official Art Kube.

Castlegar’s CP Rail station is the site of several short
scenes in the movie “Housekeeping” presently being shot in
Nelson and the surrounding area.

Dee. 9

Castlegar council meets for the first tine with the new
owners of the Celgar Pulp company, a consortium involving
the Chinese government, Power corporation and Consoli-
dated Bathurst. According to Mayor Audrey Moore, the
meeting is a “good exchange of information.”

Dee. 12

A $7,500 donation from Celgar Pulp company pushes
the Castlegar and District Public Library's “46 in "36"
fund-raising campaign over the halfway mark. The board's
goal of $46,000 will be used for the expansion of the
downtown branch.

* 2 -«

The $650,000 revitalization plan proposed for Castle
gar’s downtown is in danger of being scrapped unless 60 per
cent of the landowners support it. The city pledges to pay
half the cost — $325,000.

Dee. 13

A proposal to build a major tourist attraction in
Octischpnia along Highway 3 is back on the drawing board,
as Regional District of Central Kootenay agrees to send the
project, which includes a waterslide, to a public hearing
early in the new year.

Dee. 17

An announcement by the provincial Highways Ministry
regarding an access to the “eliptical site” behind Castlegar
Plaza near Highway 3 confirms the building of a $6 million
enclosed shopping mall in Castlegar. Fir$i Commercial
Management Inc. the mall's Winnipeg-based developers,
hopes to begin construction in the spring.

NEWSPAPER
‘BONERS'
FOR 1986

By BOB TAYLOR
Canadian Press

In 1986, as in previous years, editors and reporters
everywhere nodded on the job at times. And, as usual,
rotten readers gleefully snitched on them to the New
Yorker and Punch magazines, which in turn told the
world.

These are some of the boners that delighted the
tattle-tales:

— CUTTING OFF SUPPLY WILL STEM DRUG
FLOW Washington Post.

— Scientific police were today examining a headless
and armless body found by a jogger yesterday to see if
there were any suspicious circumstances. — Melbourne
Herald

— At three months the Queen carried her youngest
son, Prince Edward, on to the balcony of Buckingham
Palace following the trooping ceremoney

— FROG RACES TO RAISE MONEY
HOSPITAL — Halifax mail-Star

— Billy at Bar Bossanova invites all his friends to his
special Irish happy hour~Have one drink and pay for two.
— Majorea Bulletin

— Neurosurgeons should soon be able to uncross
their fingers while operating on the brain. a senior
consultant claimed last night. — Ontario Medicine

Replacing it is the realization that troubles forgotten
during the excitement have not vanished. High
unemployment, protectionism in the United States and a
resource-based economy that is more bust than boom still
face the province in the new year.

Expo 86, the extravagant five-month world’s fair in
Vancouver, registered 22 million visits by people from
around the world.

Prince Charles opened the fair, but the Princess of
Wales stole the show. The exhausting pace of the couple's
whirlwind provincial tour caught up with Diana, who
fainted’ while visiting the California pavilion at Expo.

DEFICIT HIGH

The fair, on a transportation and communications
theme, chalked up a $350-million deficit but its main
advocate, the Social Credit government, labelled it a huge
success.

While some regions of the province complained about
the lack of spin-off benefits, Expo did generate a mood of
optimism and pride that got stronger as one got closer to
Vancouver.

A few weeks after Expo opened, Bill Bennett, who
transformed the fair from ambitious concept to reality,
surprised the province by announcing his retirement as
premier after 11 years at the helm.

His departure marked the end of an era that began
when his father, W.A.C. Bennett, became the first Socred
premier in 1962. Except for the NDP years of 1972-75, the
two Bennetts pi over British Columbia for more
than three decades under the banner of free enterprise.

But in its final months, Bennett's government was
plagued by scandals involving cabinet ministers who ran
afoul of conflict-of-interest and disclosure rules or had
personal embarrassments.

. CHORD STRUCK

At a midsummer convention, Bill Vander Zalm beat
11 other candidates for the Socred leadership. His
unorthodox style and unbridled optimism struck a
responsive chord among a population tired of carrying
the burdens of recession.

Vander Zalm's good looks, toothpaste smile, religious
piety and uncanny instinct to articulate simple ideas on
television gave him an immense grassroots appeal. Time
magazine called him “part Rambo, part Ronald Reagan
and part populist.”

Capitalizing on that popularity, Vander Zalm called
an Oct. 22 election and trounced the Opposition NDP,
winning 47 of 69 seats.

NDP Leader Bob Skelly, who had methodically

— MINERS REFUSE TO WQRK AFTER DEATH
Sowetan, South Africa
— He (Prince Edward) turned up shortly afterwards
with his detective. The couple danced together before the
prince returned to the Palace of Holyrood around
midnight. — New Zealand News UK
verton, bidding to reach Wembley for the third
successive season, will meet Sheffield Wednesday or
West Ham if they overcome Lutxon in tomorrow's replay
at Goodison Park tonight. — Gulf Daily News
GULF STATES MOVE TO PROTECT SHIPS
Royal Gazette, Bermuda
— When all the speculation started, I became
convinced that UFOs were magnets from outer space and
their mission was to collect socks from planet Earth. No
one’s ever disproved that theory. — Denver Post
— Continuing along a mall lined five people deep. she
(Margaret Thatcher) stopped periodically to shake hands,
or stooped to kill and embrace small children. Western
News, Vancouver
— GUINEA PIG TO COX CAMBRIDGE BOAT —
Bedfordshire Times, England
— An error in the Sunday business section
incorrectly said Brooke Astor and Mrs. Walter
Annenberg are socialists. The word should have been
socialites. — Cincinnati Enquirer
— Tracey, aged 21, pictured above waking up at
Crest Hotel, Cardiff, today won the votes of the judges
with her stunning blond hair, blue eyes and 34-34-34
figure. — South Wales Echo
— PLANE TOO CLOSE TO THE GROUND
CRASH PROBE TOLD — Vancouver Sun
— Canadian equipment and crews were involved in
the drilling of a borehole in South Africa to a depth of

prepared his party to fight Bennett but was not ready for
Vander Zalm’s charisma, announced three weeks later
that he was stepping down.

Both the Liberals and the Progressive Conservatives
remained on the outside looking in.

THOUSANDS LEAVE

Expo's glitter and Vander Zalm's whirlpool politics
caught the eyes of Canadians and diverted attention — at
least temporarily — from the thousands of people
struggling to make ends meet. Many gave up trying to
find work and headed for their home towns.

For the first time in years, British Columbia's
population declined, with the number of people leaving
the province second only to those leaving Saskatchewan.

Thousands of temporary jobs vanished when Expo
closed in October. The provincial unemployment rate was
a seasonally adjusted 12.1 per cent, but some regions
claimed a rate of more than double that figure.

And while demand for forest products was healthy
during the year and further growth could occur in 1987,
the preliminary 15-per-cent U.S. tariff on Canadian
softwood lumber will hurt the largest industry in British
Columbia. .

Early in the new year, the province will complete its
review of forestry practices, including stumpage rates —
fees for cutting timber on Crown land — that U.S. lumber
producers say are subsidized.

But even if the federal and provincial governments
manage to talk the Americans out of the duty, the forest
industry will likely face more pressure from growing
protectionist sentiments in the United States.

STRIKES COSTLY

And a lengthy strike by the International
Woodworkers of America over contracting out work to
non-union workers has been costly

Each of the 20,000 strikers was estimated to have
lost $200 a day in pay and, overall, the strike cost th
eprovincial economy between $10 million and $15 million ,
daily.

The dispute was the longest of several strikes during
the year. The others involved government employees and
health workers. sine

Together, they were a ¢ that British
Columbia's stormy industrial re climate was intact
despite Vander Zalm's calls for liation.

Native land claims are another simmering dispute
that could lead to more confrontation during 1987

54,422 metres, a new world record for that country
Northern Miner, Toronto

— Actress Elizabeth Taylor poses with her
Humanitarian of the Year Award. She recently broke off
her engagement to public relations consultant Denis
Stein. — Cape Times, South Africa

ARE HURTING PATIENTS
Evening Chronicle, England
While the steel band from William Penn
comprehensive school entertained, the bishop walked
among the crowds eating their picnic lunches.
Southwark News, England
We require four drivers urgently from 26th
August, 1986. Zimbabwean passports essential but not
necessa\ Herald, Zimbabwe
CHINESE ASTRONOMER ON HALLEY'S
COMET Rising Nepal, Katmandu
If we don't stop shearing the wool off the sheep
that lays the golden eggs, we are soon going to pump it
dry. — Ottawa Citizen

— Anti-nuclear protesters outside the Sellafield
complex threw more than 1,000 daffodils over the fence in
protest at the plant's role in Britain's nuclear defence. —
Aberdeen Press and Journal, Scotland.

— THE NEW BRITISH LIBRARY — SITTING
COMFORTABLY ON ENLARGE PILES — New
Scientistm, England

— Sukova, the 21-year-old Czech who at 88 metres in
tennis’s tallest woman, beat Armenian giant-killer Robin
White at Eastbourne today. — Dawn, Pakistan

— Reagan, master illusionist, is himself a kind of
American dream. Looking at his genial, crinkly face
prompts a sense of wonder: how does he pull it off? —
Time magazine

Newcastle