The Castlegar Sun Wednesday, October 28, 1992 Well built family home, 1200 sq. ft., 2 bedroom house, ail finished Revenue Suite downstairs Laundry room on main floor, hot water heating, root cellar, breezeway & garage. Vineyard, fruit & nut trees on 3.89 acres, ail fiat and usable Located in Ootischenia, 837 Columbia Rd. Asking $99,500.00 For more information & appointment cail 365-6475 Anne 365-5034 ater 5 pm Unwanted houses demolished last week Seven out of 15 houses that were slated to be auctioned off to make room for bridge con Struction are in the process of being demolished. Sandra Groepler, a Robson resident, is upset with the fact that these seven houses are being demolished while a lack of affordable hou: is preve lant in the West Kootenay area The houses, which were pur chased by the Ministry of Trans- portation and Highways this summer and fall, were to be bought and relocated by tie end of October. Those houses which were not purchased from the ministry faced the wrecking ball, last Sunday. When Groepler found out the houses were being demolished she said, “I was shocked when they said they were going to be torched, or knocked down. I just think it’s a shame. I'm really disappointed more people im the community didn't react to them being demolished. It's just apa- thy.” The. land which the houses once stood will be re-lanscaped to prepare for bridge construc- non On August 27. 1992 An KAREN KERKHOFF Sun staff Castlegar's derelict suspension bridge, located beside the Bril- liamt bridge over the Kootenay River, could be undergoing a complete restoration. Several concerned individuals and societies im the Castlegar area have banded together to help those plams become reality “We have been working a whole year on that bridge.” said John Voykin. one of many ind:- viduals involved m planning the restoration Cominco Engineering has doge prelamuimary studies on the stability of the bridge. which was built in 1912 by the Doukhobor community. Their report has come back im favour of the restoration. “lt has been mspected visually. but an ultrasound stil! needs to be dome.~ “They have given it basally a clean bill of health, with some improvements needed.” said Rt is unckear at this ume how the project will be funded. “We've looked at different ways of fundimg the restoration. There has not been a decision made. We re-tooking af options for funding and lability.” The restoration start date depends on the acquisition of Charbonneau officially recog- nized the bridge as a vital link. This recognition is in direct relation to the anticipated eco- nomic growth of Castlegar, as well the ongoing traffic con- cers in congested downtown Castlegar. It is estimated the bridge will cost approximately $26 million. Completion is scheduled for June 1994, and a tendering-out process has begun. The bridge will be a seven pier concrete structure, or a six pier steel structure with a con- crete deck Charbonneau feels that this type of structure will allow con- tractors an option that will be economically viable “We are providing contrac- tors with an option that should result in the most cost-effective design.” The project will include a railway overpass, retaining walls, lighting. landscaping, and a two lane, 478 meter bridge with approximately four kilome ters of road. Castlegar and Robson resi dents will have the opportunity to view the scale model bridge design during an open house planned for mid November in Castlegar SUN STAFF PHOTO ‘John Van Putien Houses along the Columbia River faced the wrecking ball last week to prepare for bridge construction. Vague plans to reconstruct suspension bridge built in 1912 revealed in provincial magazine Wednesday, October 28, 1992 The Castlegar Sun Lack of action over intersection raises concerns City council asked by school board if safety concern still alive SHARLENE IMHOFF Sun Editor The safety concern over an intersection in south Castlegar was raised again at a recent city council meeting. The intersection, located just after the Kinnaird Hall, is a con- cem for the local school board and the parents of children who cross that Street everyday while g@ Kinnaird Ek y School. Concerned citizens, school officals and parents want to know if their fears will be addressed. School Board Trustee Antonio Guglielmi re-surfaced the issue of the intersection during a Castle- gar City Council meeting last week. Guglielmi questioned whether city council still consid- ered the intersection a dangerous one, and whether any type of communication between the city. and the ministry of transportation and highways had taken place on the matter. “The traffic has been increas- ing, that’s obvious. We should seriously consider what our options are for controlling traffic at this intersection—and we shouldn't wait until after an acci- dent occurs,” Guglielmi said. City council has no lawful jurisdiction over that part of Columbia Avenue, which is really Highway 22, and therefore is the sponsibility of the g funds. and the quesnon of who will assume babihty “Funding won't be available wan! the question of lability is addressed, and construction won't begin until we have fund- The suspension bridge, built in 1912 by the Doukhobor community, could be undergo- ing a restoration by local organizations the City of Castlegar for partial “it has been presented, but not greed upon yet” The bradge is currently owned by the Highways Department. and @ 1s hoped by Voykim that the Cay of Castlegar. or RDCK will SUN STAFF PHOTO John Van Putten take it over. The bridge will be accessible to bicyclists and foot traffic In the winter edition of Beauti- ful BC Magazine, mention was made of the plans to restore the suspension bridge City Councillor Lawrence Chernoff assured Gi i and The intersection on Highway 22, referred to as Columbia and 24 Street, is a major con- cern for parents since there is no form of traffic control there. process. The ministry would pay 60 per cent of the cost for the erection of any form of traffic control, while the city would pay the remaining 40 per cent. “We don’t have any problems with cost sharing. We do want to see something done soon. There's no doubt that this is taking far too long,” Chemoff said. Support for such a safety fea- ture also comes from the Kin- other school board trustees who attended the council meeting that the city had corresponded with the ministry and were waiting for a reply. “The city realizes that some form of traffic control is needed in that intersection. We're won- dering ourselves why something like this has to take so much time,” Chernoff said. If the ministry stated that traffic lights or pedestrian lights were an option, the ministry and the city would embark on a cost shared naird ‘y School Parents Advisory Council. Joanne Stan, co-chair of that council, said a let- ter was written to the ministry which outlined many of the par- ents’ concems for their childrens’ safety. To date, the parents’ group has not received a response. “Talking about the concern over this intersection has been on-going since the summer of 1991, we'd really like*to see some action,” said Stan The parents’ group estimates, after doing their own study, that approximately 150 children use the crosswalk each day. John Bodnarchuk, district highways manager for the Min- istry of Transportation and High- ways based out of Grand Forks, said the ministry has completed a study which determines how much traffic is involved. The results will be released, along with a recommendation by the Regional Traffic Engineer, who will decide whether a traffic con- trol device is necessary for that intersection. One of the reasons why this particular case has taken awhile is due to the intersection itself. Bod- narchuk called the intersection a nonconforming intersection, and explained that it is not like your average intersection where all distances are equal. “This intersection is not a right angle intersection. The side streets are skewed. So we have to consider what will be involved.” Bodnarchuk said that a stan- dard procedure must take place, SUN STAFF PHOTO John Van Putten which when completed, ensures the need for any type of traffic control device. Bodnarchuk said he is hoping that the results from the study will be released within the next month. WEATHER _ OUTLOOK: The forecast for Wednesday; A fairly mild, moist southwesterly flow will keep skies mainly cloudy. A few rain showers. Lows near zero rising to about 10 by late afternoon. Outlook for Thursday and Friday: main- ly cloudy skies. Showers will threaten at times. 17.8/23 Precipitation: Rain ALOOK BACK AT THE PAST WEEK: Temperature: Max/Date Min/Date 3.7/19 Snow Mean 154 Normal Number of Hours A series of weak disturbances embedded in a southwest- erly flow provided fairly mild, moist conditions during the week. Greater amounts of sunshine and warm tempera- tures prevailed at weeks end as a ridge of high pressure dominated. The Forestry season ended on the 18th. Forecast provided by The South - East interior Weather Office at Castlegar, B.C. Local Victim Assistance Program has remaining hurdle to clear JOHN VAN PUTTEN Sun staff There’s just one more hurdle to clear before Castlegar has a victim assi “Once the final paperwork is completed (on the seven new pro- grams) there will be 61 police- d Victim Assistance The program initiated by local RCMP has been approved by the City of Castlegar and the Min- istry of Attorney General. Castlegar is one of seven cities in the province involved in the final stage of negotiations to start a victim assistance program. Railway crossing made more accessible in co-operative effort SHARLENE IMHOFF CARPET & UPHOLSTERY CLEANING GREAT VALUES! $ 397° TWO ROOMS Wail to wall carpeting & a hail *8B4"5 VALUE House: 5 rooms of wail wal carpeting, 8 stars & hail SOFA, CHAIR & LOVE SEAT These = One Super Uphoistery Package eT Bomb investigation — Corporal Gordon Meishep of the Nelson and District RCMP detachment investigates the ins of a rural mailbox, after a bomb detonated from within, Tuesday. Metal parts from the mailbox were romans the The bed mailbox, located next to Highway 3A across trom the Voykin subdivision, is the second such nexdent in ths area. A DOMD also detonated in srexher maiioox only weeha aoe SUN BTAFE PHOTO Aone Van Putten ‘ Sun Editor Dan Bush is a happy man. He can now cross the railway tracks in the Woodland Park area, without have the tires of his wheel chair becoming lodged in the track's flangeway (space between the rails of the track). “This is definitely a great thing. I’m now able to wheel across these tracks with a greater amount of ease,” Bush said. Next to the road, an asphalt ramp leads up to the track, where a type of rubber, made from recy- cled tires, has been placed in the flangeway. The rubber makes the spaces within the track narrower, which means a wheelchair's wheels will not become trapped in the space when attempting to cross. Making these tracks accessible was a cooperative job between the City of Castlegar and the Canadian Pacific Railway. Employees from the city of Castlegar constructed the ramp leading to the tracks, while CPRail employees made the tracks more accessible by placing the rubber tracking in the flange- way. “It’s good to see this project is finally completed. I’m sure that other Greg Huestis, roadmaster for Castle; gar. Huestis is hoping that Castle- gar’s four other crossings will be made wheelchair accessible by next summer. “It’s getting a little late in the year to start work on A new level of accessibility at the railway crossing in the Woodland Park area is noted by (I-r): Jim Chapman, city councillor; Dean Harder, track maintainer; Dan Bush, Castlegar resident; Don Kosiancic, assistant foreman; Narinder Mondair, deputy road- master. Missing, Greg Huestis, roadmaster. these projects now.” The cost of the project was shared between the city and CPRail. The city’s share was approximately $500. Castlegar City Councillor Jim Chapman said the project has been a long-time in coming, and is benefitting not only those who ride wheelchairs. “Some parents with children in strollers are also using this new path to cross the Launch of The SHSS Pride creates on-the-job learning KAREN KERKHOFF Sun staff There's a new paper in Castle- gar, and its name reflects its spirit The SHSS Pride is produced by Journalism 12 students from Stanley Humphries Senior Sec- ondary School, with direction and help from Cheryl Bonowicz, the journalism 12 instructor. Bonowicz is proud of her stu- dents, and the effort they collec- tively placed into their first edition of The SHSS Pride. “They've worked very hard, there were lots and lots of extra hours.” She feels that the production of the paper was both exciting and an important learning tool. “What I like about it was there was a lot of learning going on. The exciting part is that A: we learned together and B: a lot of learning went on that applies to the year 2,000 program. Bonowicz also feels that it is a good thing for the students. “The kids are empowered because they take charge of their own learning. They have a meaningful prod- uct.” While there were some initial road blocks and detours in launching the paper, they were soon sorted out “We sorted them all out...there were a million of them. Necessity is the mother of invention.” The SHSS Pride is financed in part by the advertising the stu- dents were able to sell. The paper is sold for a 25 cents each. SUN STAFF PHOTO / Shariene Imhoff tracks as well,” he said. from users of the new crossing, to see if the same type of design should be used on the remaining four crossings. Administrator in Victo- ria with the Police Services Branch of the Ministry of the Attomey General. There are approximately 600 police-based victim assistance Programs in Canada, covering each province. The one stumbling block the would receive this type of pro- gram. If it had not been for the interest of the people, we would not be where we are,” Sangster said. The next step is to hire a co- ordinator and to organize the pro- gram. “All we are hoping for is to get a co-ordinator in place by early next year,” Sangster said. Although Sangster expected the program to be running by now, “It's better late than never,” he said. Charbonneau feels the imple- ion of the victim Castlegar program has tered comes from the Regional District of Central Kootenay. The RDCK has tabled the resolution until it's November 5 meeting. “We had some questions as to who would be paying for the pro- gram, so we put it on hold until the next meeting, giving the administration a chance to gather more information,” Regional Dis- trict of Central Kootenay Chair- man George Cady said. The program will cost $30,000 per year to run. The City of Castlegar has offered its support by designating $10,000 for the program, the Provincial Govern- ment has approved a grant of $16,000, which leaves $4,000 for the RDCK to pick up. Constable Russell Sangster of the Castlegar RCMP first approached city council with the Proposition of a program for the victims of the crimes on Novem- ber 19, 1991. “I wanted to be certain we program is a real acknowledge- ment of the need for supporting people who are the victims of the crime. “It’s time to balance the scales of justice. We believe the crime victim needs the support after the crime,” Charbonneau said. The program will help the vic- tims feel comfortable after a crime happens which affects them. “The whole event puts them into a state of shock, they are normal feelings after such an event.” The program informs the vic- tim once someone is charged with the crime, when the court dates are and what the outcome of those court appearances are. “The police are just too busy to provide follow up information to the victims. This program pro- vides information and keeps the victim informed all the way mneau said. Schedule for waste depots change SUBMITTED viously directed to landfills, such New schedules for the eight household hazardous waste depots across the province were as paints, P and aerosols. The wastes are col- lected by an environmental ser- vice contractor for reduction, recycling, Tecover and/or chemi- announced today by BC E: ment. Depots are located in Prince George, Smithers, Surrey, Victo- ria, Kamloops, Nanaimo, Nelson and Penticton. The depots will open cal and phy This ensures that materials requiring Purpose of the depots is to reduce household hazardous wastes, pre- January 10 & 11, 1993 March 14 & 15, 1993 KAREN KERKHOFF Sun staff Castlegar's Council, and District Hospital Board have rhe: pp: tame ced in ‘avout of supporting Castlegar Centre’s bid for $50,000 from the provincial government. Community services finds support from city and hospital boards in funding bid Money will be used to increase programs Lakes, administrator of comment” services is four week waiting list for vic- tims needing counselling ser- vices. Due to the overload, some