SPORTS LOCAL BUSINESS F ie 4 Castlegar's ‘Karate Kid’v lands first place finish Bud Godderis never loved to fly—until he left Guatemala Castlegar man returned home gafet y Friday anel ea goer stesdaaadeds Castlegar women named to Assessment Appeal Board moe’ The Castlegar Sun MIXED Weather 3A Vol. 3 - No, 28 ‘The weekly newspaper with a daily commitment’ 4 75 Cents + G.S.T. Baltimore, Maryland. Off to the big time! Thumbs up for great support! These smiling faces make up the two teams from Robson Elementary and one from Tarry's Elementary who are en route to compete in the World Finals Odyssey of the Mind competition in 4 * t 4 SUN STAFF PHOTO / John Van Putten Water diversion to U.S. gets federal attention Opposition MP.making noise through debate SHARLENE IMHOFF Sun Editor "It was a very lively debate, and a lot of good comments were raised,” said Gardiner. Just like the. water levels of the Arrow Reser voir, the federal government's awareness of water diversion to the U.S. has been extremely low and inconsistent at best—but a recent debate in the House of Commons might be the lever that opens the flood gates Bulkley Valley MP Brian Gardiner led a debate in the House of Commons on an opposition motion he introduced last Friday. The motion put forth Tequested that the House of Commons condemn the government issues "I don't think there is as much awareness in parliament on these here. should be.” Although the voting tally resulted in the motion being defeated, Gardiner said a lot of people are now aware of what could be a fede: fall. "We brought it to the national agenda. And I am 1 election issue this certain that water issues aré going to be made a key part of the federal election campaign.” Gardiner also credited Kootenay-West Revelstoke MP Lyle Kristiansen for his part in the debate "Lyle Kristiansen spoke on the history of the for its failure to protect Canadian interests regarding treaty, and how people have been negatively affected the inter-basin transfer-of water as exemplified by the Kemano project, the North Thompson River diversion plans, and both the Columbia River Treaty and the North American Free Trade Agreement by it in the Kootenays." This particular debate may be over, but Gardiner said he will constantly be reminding the current gov- emment about the importance of water management Audit results remain behind closed doors for now SHARLENE IMHOFF. Sun Editor A highly publicized audit into the accounting practices of a fed eral government program in the Central Kootenay is not yet ready for public view Manager for the B.C. and Yukon regions of Community Futures. Greg Tolliday office in Vancouver has received a draft of the audit though he is still waiting to Memorandum of agreement reached in labor talks KAREN KERKHOFF Sun staff said his Fulton review back in Castlegar SHARLENE IMHOFF Sun Editor As part of the final stages of information-gathering for the Post-Secondary Education Review, Dr. Margaret Fulton made a brief visit in Castlegar to hold two meetings at the Selkirk College campus, last Friday. The Post-Secondary Education Review Process, which began early this year, will recommend future post-secondary education and training possibilities in the Kootenays, including from which institution degree-granting status should be delivered. Fulton, who was appointed by , the provincial government to chair the process, conducted a series of tours throughout the Kootenays in order to conduct interviews and ,gather information from various pap 2 sections 26 pages Business ............... 3B Editorial ................ 6A Classifieds............. 9B Entertainment .. 2B Community Cares ...8B Divine Inspirations ..6B , Such as school boards, colleges, unions and industry, etc.. Her latest visit in Castlegar resulted in two sepa- rate meetings; -both of which involved major stakeholders in education, including the Selkirk College board, various school boards, East Kootenay College and the City of Nelson “These meetings involved her final stages of information: gath ering, and now she has returned to write up her report,” said Selkirk College President Leo Perra, who was present at the meetings It has been a while in the mak ing, but Pulp and Paperworkers of Canada (PPWC), Local 26, might be closer to'reaching a contract agreement with Selkirk College administration After two days at the table, PPWC Local 26 President John Chemenkoff said a memorandum of agreement has been reached between the two sides. However the agreement still needs to be presented to PPWC members this evening. The members will then vote on June 8 to accept or reject the latest memorandum of agree ment Although National Officer Len Snow (essentially a mediator) was called in to help resolve several outstanding issues Chernenkoff said talks might have progressed without the help of Snow. “TI think we would have made progress anyway, but he helped.” Although Chernenkoff declined to relate specific details of the agreement, he did say that there were some areas in which Progress was made. “We corrected a few areas which needed correcting.” Selkirk College's Director of Personnel and Employee Rela tions, Barry Jackson restated that a memorandum of agreement had already been reached April 5, but PPWC members rejected the agreement on Apmil 25 The 122 members of PPWC Local 26, which is comprised of support staff, clerical workers and maintenance personnel, have been without a contract since Dec 31, 1992 Chemenkotf said the previous contract covers However the members while are ongoing and until a new con tract is signed negotiations receive the final report “We won't be sharing any information with the public until we get a final report from the auditor,” said Tolliday The audit into Central Koote nay Community Futures (CKCF) began last January, after an initial report by’ a regional financial offi cer was completed in November The repon, which identified possi ble problems with financial. prac ces, recommended that a full and extensive audit be completed. It was the ‘second generation’ or ‘new crop’ of board members which began asking questions about previous bookkeeping entnes. It was these questions that led to the November report Even though the results of the audit are not yet known, Central Kootenay Community Futures is currently operating under a new set of (second generation) board members. (One generation repre sents five years). Joanne Rielly. current chairperson of CKCF, said she is anxious to see the results of the audit, and the directions that will accompany them, since it has been assumed the auditor has list- ed a number of recommendations in the report. which will lead to improved communication and accountability between the local Community Futures and its head office in Vancouver “This whole process has been dragging on for so long now. It has nothing to do with our group (second generation board mem- bers), but we'll benefit from the recommendations that are made by the auditor just the same. This is a good thing. We want to know our guidelines and our responsi- bilities,” said Rielly Central Kootenay Community Futures is a fedéral government Program which has a mandate to promote and develop economic growth in the Central Kootenay Rielly said the new board mem. bers have been working well together and that the next meet ing is set for June 14. The organi zation is receiving money from the government, and is reporting back all accounting practices. something Rielly is adamant about in order to. stop any confu- sion between past and present board practices. “We're not accountable for what happened in the past, it was their (Community Futures head office) responsibility to track money.” Tolliday said that once both past and present board members have a chance to view the final audit, it will be available for gen- eral public enquiries. Tolliday would not comment on the draft report at this time Glance Fire Hazard The Arrow Forest Ny District office states {( there have been 14 UMM fires to date—11 of which were caused by light- ning and three are unknown causes. Predicted rainfall in! the area has resulted in the fire hazard level to be reduced to low. Did you hear the latest? Psst! Did you hear that B.C Hydro has purchased ten acres in Ootischenia and that it has also bought the Celgar camp trailers? If you did, then you have heard an INCORRECT rumor. B.C. Hydro Columbia Kootenay Program Manager, Al Geissler, said the rumor about the purchased property might have originated when he was looking to purchase land for himself. As far as B.C Hydro purchasing the camp trailers goes, Geissler said that Hydro’s commitment to Castlegar includes encouraging future workers to re-locate to Castlegar with their families And we all know that camp trailers:are not conducive to a healthy family life. This is a perfect example of how word (the wrong word) gets around! Downtown Revitalization This week (week three) conduit instal- lation will continue on 13th'Ave.; road subbase preparation will start on 13th Ave.; con- crete and asphalt will be removed on Wood St.; Wood St. will be closed; asphalt will be removed on Third St (west from Wood St. to Columbia Ave.), but the side- walks will be left in temporar- ily; new connections will be made for storm drains on Third St.; curb preparation will start on 13th Ave.; and the new parking lot on 13th Ave. will open. The Down- town Revitalization Office is now open at 280 Columbia Ave. (upstairs-in the City Centre Mall). Hours are 8:30 a.m.-9:30 a.m., and noon to 1:00 p.m. weekdays. The tele- Phone number is 365-6998 Top trekkers! UN STAFF PHOTO / John Van Putten Members of the Kootenay Mountaineering Club enjoy a well-deserved rest after hik- ing to the peak of Ymir Mountain, just outside of Nelson. It took just over five hours for the 13-member group to reach the top. The resulting view makes it all worthwhile