THE AAID-WEEK MURROR PUBLISHED CARAPRELL — PUBLISHER AUG. 7, 1947-FES. 15, 1979 PUBLISHER — Burt Compbel! Ron Norman FOREMAN — Peter Horvey LL ey nee ge ay mal IWICE WEEKLY MAY 4, 1990 See, 12, 1978-AUG. 27, 1980 Full, vested in and belongs to Cas! Lid Srzseerteeease ereperes bow roove prose, ¥ to the advertiser, Le Rick Hansen is inching his way up the Blueberry-Paulsen Highway right about now, making his way toward Christina Lake where he is scheduled to stop at an elementary school early this afternoon. It is inty the excitement s beginning to build. in Castlegar the hoopla is over. Rick Hansen has come — and gone. But he left behind a flood of memories: of him rolling off the Castlegar ferry and entering the city; of the civic reception, the elementary school choir and the warm welcome extended him; of his genuineness in greeting the throng of well-wishers. And Castlegar can be proud of its achi The ity many residents toward the disabled and handi: ed; of raised more than $23,000 for the Man in Motion trust fund. But raising money isn't all there is to the Man in Motion tour. Long after the memories have grown dim, the euphoria of the fund-raising has died down and the sweatshirts bearing his now famous wheeling pose have faced, Mr. Hansen will still have left his mark on the city. The community will have im- proved wheelchair access to many public sidewalks, stores and buildings. There will be the s $500 bur- sary to a student intending to pur- sue a career in pysiotherapy or oc- cupational therapy. There will be the city’s annual ability awareness day, focusing on the capabilities of the disabled, the_ handicapped and the under- privileged, in addition to the abilities inside each one of us. There will be the heightened profile given the handicapped and disabled because of people like Kris Stanbra and her visits to area schools. There will be the already noticeable change in attitude of being able to look past the obvious to the individual. And there will be the side effect ‘of working to raise the $23,000 for the trust fund, when the com- munity came together to work toward’ a common goal. That helps bind a community, making it closer. It also helps make it easier when it comes time for the com- munity to close ranks and work toward other common goals down the road. While it's true Mr. Hansen may have been here only a half hour, he left behind things that will last o lifetime. Please address all Letters to the Editor to: The Castlegar News, P.O. Box 3007, Castlegar, B.C. VIN 3H4, or deliver them to our office at: 197 Columbia Avenue, Castle- gar, B.C. Letters must be signed and include the writer's full name and address. Only in very exceptional cases will letters be published without the writer's name. Nevertheless, the name and address of the writer must be disclosed to the editor The Castlegar News reserves the right to edit letters for brevity, clarity, legality and grammar. Letters to the Editor How low can we sink? It is incredibly shocking that our MLAs, the elected “cream of the crop,” are seeking nce and public opinion about B.C.'s liquor policy. The vast array of social problems and the moral and physical detrioration of the inhabitants of this supposedly Chris- tian country are obvious enough for any sii to see. T of for advertising and promoting the use of such evil products as alcohol, tobacco, narcotics; pornography and hing. Are vertising and launch an intensive anti- alochol campaign. Do our politicians lack the insight and i to wisely direct the immoral our politicians immoral fools to allow this promotion of the moral and physical destruction of the very people who have elected them to provide wise hip? Think of the cost. expert studies and informed articles, proving the needless, harmful destruc- tion of society brought about by the easy availability and abuse of alcohol, are available to anyone who can read. How much lower can we sink? Our governments already permit the spending of billions of dollars each year Search is on The Castlegar and District Multi- cultural Society has decided to honor two immigrants in our ‘district who have the oldest Canadian citizenship. The first citizen to be honored will be the immigrant who arrived in Canada prior to World War II with the longest The second person will be the im- migrant who has held the longest itizenship since 1947. This was the Ron Norman It'snot by chance that the B.C. teachers and the labor movement chave been fighting separate battles against the provincial government's controversial new legislation. Tea chers and trade unionists may be headed in the same direction, but they are taking markedly different paths. For one thing, while the B.C. Federation of Labor is just winding up its province-wide series of infor- mation meetings (the final one was held Wednesay here in Castlegar), teachers have already hit the bricks for a day. And while B.C. Fed president Ken Georgetti is vowing to turn up the heat on the government, the B.C. Teachers’ Federation has had the heat on for several days. Its instruction-only campaign enters its fourth day Monday It's obvious teachers are as upset with Bill 20, the Teaching Profes. sion Act, as the labor movement is with Bill 19, the Labor Relations Act. It would seem natural, then, that the two would join forces to oppose the legislation. Uh, uh. One of the reasons for that is pretty straightforward: The two bills are separate pieces of legis lation. Certainly, the changes to the labor code will affect teachers, es: pecially those who decide to join a local union. They will come under the thumb of lavor czar Ed Peck just like union members elsewhere in the province. But while Bill 19 deals with all labor relations in B.C., Bill 20 focuses strictly on teachers — no one else. So teachers feel they have even more at stake. Still, that isn't the only reason teachers and trade unionists haven't joined forces. Mike Rodgers, presi dent of the Castlegar and District Teachers’ Association, drew atten- tion to another reason during Wed nesday's B.C. Fed meeting at the Community Complex. Rodgers recalled the last time B.C. teachers joined with labor unions to fight the provincial government. It was four years ago during the Solidarity protests against then-premier Bill Bennett's newly-introduced restraint program. Rodgers pointed out that teachers went on strike in 1983 in’ what’ was supposed to be the first in ab es- calation of walkouts leading to a general strike. But teachers ended up being the only group to gé@ on strike. Shortly after they went out, IWA boss Jack Munro huddled with Ben- nett in Kelowna and emerged with a deal. Rodgers says the deal settled the government employees’ and ferry workers’ contracts, but teachers eneded up with nothing. That was the teachers’ initiation into the labor movement. Rodgers's comments aren't new. Many teachers criticized the Munro deal. And they weren't alone. Com- munity and church organizations were also unhappy with the pact because it did not reinstate services eliminated by the restraint pro- gram. Georgetti, of course, defended Munro, saying he had done more for the labor movement than anyone else in B.C. But that response says something to teachers. It tells them that Munro may have done a lot for labor in his time, but he hasn't done much for teachers. And that is a major reason why teachers are directing their own opposition to Bill 20, handling their own job action, on their own time- table. year in which Parliament passed its first Citizenship Act and this year marks its 40th anniversary. The Citi- zenship Act was important legislation in the development of Canada from colony to nation. The Castlegar Multicultural Society would like members of the community to search for these two persons and inform either Colin Pryce at 365-8058 or Marti McCaffrey at 365-3029. Colin Pryce Chairman In terms of human suffering by encouraging and condoning the use of alcohol we encourage and condone all alcohol related highway accidents and deaths, murders, suicides, child abuse, family breakdowns, diseases crime; as well as hopelessness, despair and wasted human potential. Then there is the financial burden to society: policing, courts and prisons; hospital and medical expenses; social services billions of dollars spent on advertising and promoting of satanic products, into preventative measures and towards the betterment of mankind rather than trying to band-aid a terminal illness? Tragically it is our youth who are most easily influenced and subverted “Remember When? 35 YEARS AGO From the May 8, 1952 Castlegar News Premier Byron I. Johnson is sched- uled to visit Castlegar yy morn: ing along with Mrs. Johnson to attend a breakfast meeting sponsored by the Castlegar District Liberal Association, to confer with district Liberals. ‘The Premier is on a whirlwind tour of as many of the 48 provincial ridings as he can visit before the June 12 election. . # 6 The annual Kootenay Highland Games were held in Trail this year on Saturday, May 3. There were 13 competitors from Castlegar, all pupils of Mrs. K. An- dreashuck and the group came home proud possessors of 10 medals. . * « Playing at the Castle Theatre is Across the Wide Missouri, starring Clark Gable and Ricardo Montalban. ALso playing is the Groom Wore Spurs, starring Ginger Rogers and Jack Carson. This affair is one for the books, and you'd better tear out the pages. 25 YEARS AGO From the May 3, 1962 ar News Word has just come from Kamloops that must stir every member of this community with pride. Young Terry Dalton of Castlegar, a member of the graduating class of Stanley Humphries secondary school, has been judged the outstanding young citizen of the entire region of Western Canada. The announcement was made at the by the advertising, p: and easy access to alcohol, and its accompanying moral laxness. Somehow the ads always fail to point out that alcohol dulls the senses and numbs the brain, rendering mankind insensible. To the contrary, all efforts are spent to instill the idea that you have to have that drink, or life just isn't worth living. D have a saying, “The and welfare; pre- miums; unemployment and lost pro- ductivity. Yes, liquor is “big business,” not only for the manufacturers and dis- tillers, but also to government itself. It would take very wise and cour- ageous politicians indeed to reverse the trend; say “no” to the rich and power- ful liquor lobbyists, refuse their campaign contributions, ban all ad- Column needed As a subscriber to your paper, I find it a little disturbing when the things of interest and special events are scatter- ed through the pages. I am sure they are missed by people of all ages who wish to go to these events, and make them more successful. A special column would be the answer. J.MecKay Castlegar wealth of the whole world is not worth the life of one child.” Teenage alcohol- ies and the children of alcoholic par- ents, have no life. Psychologically, the placing of al- cohol on grocery store shelves, along with all the other “necessities of life,” takes ‘one “believe, especially the young children, that alcohol is an‘ ac- ceptable and desirable consumer prod- ugt. Will you also install liquor vending machines next to the condom vending machines in our schools, to ease the anxiety and tension of our youth as they experiment with unnatural and free sex? (Just think of the profits to be made.) With the certain likelihood of AIDS becoming a major epidemic if the present trends continue, surely you do not need the public to tell you that it is time to tighten up — not loosen moral standards. Limiting availability of al- cohol must play a major, prominent role in the preservation and protection of our society. “The penalty for sin is death.” Mike E. Chernenkoff Crescent Valley Labor’s attitude stgpange fz’ all the rhetoric the changes being "s labor laws is the protect the rights of thodg-who're, left on the sidelines during Jgkgr'disputes — the people of B.C. re, It’s symptématic of the"me first” mentality and attitude of some special interest groups that’s going to have to change if we're ever to shed our reputation as an unstable location for investment and develop ment. What's also interesting is that neither the labor movement or the business community is totally happy with the labor law changes that are being made — a sure sign that we haven't tipped the balance too much in either direction or favored any special interest group. Any fair-minded person who looks at the changes, and most of you are now aware of what's entailed, will recognize that they'll bring about positive results in terms of improved industrial relations — if the parties directly involved will make a sincere effort. What's most surprising — and I think it’s very unfortunate — is the decision by the labor community to adopt.a blanket policy of non-coop- eration and pull out of such worth- while programs as the drug and Premier's Report By Bill Vander Zaim alcohol task force, apprenticeship planning and training and other joint initiatives. This attitude, and threats of “non-compliance” with the new Industrial Relations Council with its improved mediation procedures and powers to protect innocent victims of labor disputes, is particularly strange. Who can quarrel about giving individual union members more democracy on the shop floor? What's wrong with giving workers and employers the right to commun- ieate more freely with each other? What's so terrible about making sure that there’s fairness in union hall dispatch procedures? And what's wrong with making sure that the public interest is protected from lengthy, costly and wasteful labor disputes? It doesn’t help when labor leaders tell rallies that “there's gonna be confrontation all the way” or that “we may have to turn B.C. upside down” or that B.C. should’ brace itself for a wave of strikes and job action. The only action they say will P would be a pl withdrawl of the legislation and a new round of hearings into our labor laws. What's forgotten is that we've already held hearings at which we got more than 700 submissions from unions, management and individual British Columbians. While our offer to listen — to address specific concerns — remains open, we can’t and we won't bow to an attitude that says “it’s either our way, or no way” As government we will not capitulate to blanket demands from special interest groups because by doing so, we'd be abdicating our responsibility to individual workers and more important, the public at large — the people of British Columbia. That's where our first duty lies and we can't and won't step back simply because any group decides that its own interests must always come first. nearer pti regional conference at which time the results of the nation- wide Foundation Citizenship Award findings were made known. . 8 6 Former Trail Mayor L.A. Read will carry the Socred banner for . West Kootenay in the federal election in June. He was unanimously elected by a nominating convention of the Social Credit party Tuesday night in Nelson. . * The general purposes mill rate for the Village of Castlegar will remain at 15 mills, it was diselosed,at the council meeting Tuesday night. 15 YEARS AGO From the May 4, 1972 Castlegar News A reflector station which could provide television service not only to the twin towns of Castlegar and Kinnaird but to Area J and portions of Area I, was discussed by council on Tuesday. An attempt will be made to form a committee representing these groups to pursue the matter further. * 8 « The Little People’s Nursery in Kin- naird has closed its doors but has not given up the fight. The move came after Dr. Nick Schmidt, medical health officer for the West Kootenay Health Unit, wrote them April 26 advising them to “volun- tarily” cease operation _ * « The deplorable state of some of the - sidewalks in Castlegar, which was the subject of a photographic essay in the Castlegar News recently, are «now being repaired. This was reported to council Tuesday night by Ald. Andy Shutek who also made favorable comments on the success of the recent clean-up days held in Castlegar 5 YEARS AGO From the May 2, 1982 Castlegar News Plans for an addition nearly three times the size of existing facilities at Castlegar Airport were revealed this week, and if all goes well construction should begin by March, 1984. John Williams, Transport Canada supervisor of services,,spoke of prop- osed plans at a meeting with members of the Castlegar Municipal Airport advisory committee. * 8 6 Castlegar and District Hospital has decided to wait until Monday to announce the measures it will take to bring costs into line with its 1982 budget, board chairman John Dalziel said Friday. * « 6 Castlegar's mall saga took yet another twist this week when local developer Paul Boel announced he has reached an agreement with Canada Safeway Ltd. to jointly build a mall on his property on Columbia Avenue, just north of the Hi Arrow Motor Arms Hotel. Boel discussed the agreement in a letter to Castlegar city council. Chris D’Arcy © Editor's note: The following are excerpts from an April 14 speech Rossland-Trail MLA Chris D'Arcy made to the legislature on his opposition to Bill 19, the | Industrial Relations Reform Act. * * . There are some criticisms about the Labor Relations Board and the Labor Code in terms of practice which I would agree with. But, Mr. Speaker, that. does not mean that you throw out that body of legislation. Just to give an example, I have wondered for some years how labor relations boards, or panels thereof, could be so rapid with some types of decisioris and so slow with others. I think those are valid criticisms, because justice delayed as always justice denied. But that is an administrative problem, not a probtem of doing away completely with a ‘body of legislation. I have to reiterate, as so many other people have said here, that most contracts are settled without difficulty. Those that result in work stoppages, strikes or lockouts, in most cases in British Columbia, in recent years at least, have involved the resource industries — very often a major tussle, not with indigenous resource operators but rather with resource industry operators whose primary interests lie outside the province. We need a “made in studied . political science in university because I am com- but y | this individual is going to have a tenure in office that goes _ even beyond the government itself. I'm not ‘one of those who are going to predict ‘the electoral future in this province, but members of this House who are elected by job, it won't be him that’ the members opposite. How does that make you feel, boys and girls? Mr. Speaker, that is an important point, because the interest of the people on this side of the House is the common good of the people of British Columbia. We aren't here merely to see you people turfed out of office. I want the government to review this bill because I do not believe it is in the interests of all the people of British Columbia. I see my handsome friend across the way from B.C.” and resource-use policy .. . So here once again we have a government reacting to a situation that no longer exists and, indeed, may never have existed. The fact is that the rise of non-union contractors in B.C. had a great deal to do with the very high unemployment of the last few years. We still have high unemployment inB.C.— 13.6 per cent adjusted a) probably heavier than that in the construction trades. Yet B.C.’s highly competent unionized construction firms — and when I say highly competent, I'm speaking of the super and the as well as the trades people who work for them — are in many cases underbidding the non-unionized firms. Here is a situation which I'm sure the members opposite philosophically ean resemble: the marketplace adjusted. That's really what happened. That's what this~ non-union contractor was telling me: the marketplace adjusted. The government across the way have decided that they're going to alter the marketplace now. Mr. Speaker, if the existing body of labor law and the operation of the Labor Relations Board was so bad, why was there not a major demand for change? Are they saying that all those very high-priced experts éver the years. madé wrong-headed decisions? The fact is they haven't — slow on occasions but not wrong-headed. They reacted to public need, to a changing market situation in British Columbia, and to an South is here. He’s an engineer, so maybe he will relate to what I'm going to say. There are imperfections in any piece of law, any codification, but there are imperfections in buildings, ships and aircraft, and that does not mean we throw out all the knowledge we ever.had and ‘start all over again, because the occasional ship sinks or a plane crashes or a building has structural failures. I have a concern about the use of the term “in the discretion of the public interest.” I don’t know if all the new members on that side or on-this side are aware that in Canadian law — and maybe it’s peculiar to Canadian law — we have the famous “notwithstanding” syndrome, You've hard that expression “notwi ding.” It pletely at a loss to explain the of our poli in Kootenay West on the mat- ‘ter of the sale of the West their strange actions and in- actions they are not* en. hancing their political If the acquisition by Utili- Corp United is s thereby~resulting in, total foreign ownership forever of WKPL, and if this happens along with the continued lack of any assistance from” our local politicians in helping to achieve some Canadian solu- tion for this controversy, it is unlikely that these gentle- men will survive the next election. Where does the New Democratic Party, stand on this issue? Since the very es- sence of the NDP would appear to require that this party be at all times pro- Canadian, it is not surprising that the NDP — federally, provincially and regionally — has come down solidly in opposition to foreign owner- ship of WKPL. I do wish, however, that the spokesmen for the Rossland-Trail branch of the party would be less timid in publicly declaring their position on this vitally important matter. Upon Mike Harepurt's re- cent visit to Rossland-Trail riding, the Castlegar execu tive of the Kootenay-Okana- gan Electric Consumers appears in the constitution, and basically what it says is that it doesn’t matter what the previous paragraphs have said, or previous chapters, or previous volumes; notwithstanding any of that, the government of the day can do whatever they please. When the expression “public interest” appears in the Revised Statutes of British Columbia anywhere, it’s rather like the regulation section that appears in so much legislation, especially that passed by Social Credit in recent years. The classic pression is: “Notwi ing anything previous in this bill, the minister has the right to make regulations in the public interest.” What does that mean? That means the minister or the government ¢an do anything they want. Slocan Forests Products buys Clearwater Timber 185 million VANCOUVER (CP) — Slo- can Forest Products of Van- couver has purchased Clear- water Timber Products Ltd. for $7.9 million in cash, the company said. Clearwater Timber, based in Clearwater about 350 kil- ometres northeast of Van- couver, operates three saw- mills at Clearwater, Vavenby and Valemount. It has an annual lumber production of board feet. The purchase is subject to regulatory approval, includ- ing the approval of the Tor- onto-Dominion Bank, which holds preferred shares in Clearwater worth $14 mill- ion. Slocan president Ike Bar- ber said his company is talk- ing to Toronto-Dominion of- ficials. The company intends GET YOUR HANDS ON BIG VALUE! to buy back the preferred shares over time. The bank's preferred shares are the result of an agreement between the com pany and the bank concern- ing ‘a restructuring of Clear water's long term debt. “The acquisition of Clear. water will add about 50 per cent to Slocan's lumber capa- city and about 70 per cent to Slocan's timber harvesting capacities,” said Barber. after some last minute scrambling, was able to arrange an_ hour-long meeting with our (then) up- coming Leader of the Op- position. In his usual tactful ‘and ho-nonsense manner Mr. Harcourt clearly defined his party's position — that WKPL should be Western Canadian-owned and, opera- ted, preferrably not by B.C. Hydro. He even inquired as to the estimated cost of get- ting WKPL back again (after the next election) if the pres- A Sound New Investment ACCOUNT Introducing Kootenay Savings’ T-Bill Ac- ward about coming forward: Where does the former NDP premier stand? At the recent “farewell event”. in ‘Nelson in honor of Dave Bar- rett, the ‘fiery former pre- mier came “right out of his tree” on this issue, express- ing disbelief that the people of Kootenay West could be sleeping ‘s0 soundly as to allow a corporation from Missourj to own and operate their vital-power generating facilities. In fact he ex- pressed “surprise that we were nof out in strength pieketing: the offices of our local politicians. (It i#'irpnic that in the U.S. electric ‘energy production and distribution is regarded as a matter of national secur- ity and cannot — by law — he foreign ¢ontrolled. Why in heaven's name does Canada not have similar regulations in place?) In conclusion, West Koot- enay Power and Light is an efficient, well-managed, profit-making utility with no serious debt load. In a sense (and somewhat figuratively speaking) all that is nec- essary is to oil the gener- ators, sweep the floors, maintain the power lines and pay the water rates. This energy-producing part of the river is.here in Canada, the dams are here, the customers, the workmen, even some pf the pioneers who built the dams are still here in Canada =» the: prob- lem is, where are the poli- ticians? Harry F. Killough Castlegar f a.m. ++; and all should be well! Yes, by 9.0.m. Sundays should be enioying your Son: 932 Columbie Ave., Moy4 Butterick to May 9 Patterns ... my 19.29 Eyelet & Flounce May 25-30 CARTERS SEWING CENTRE DOING OUR BEST TO SERVE YOU. 623 Columbia Ave., 365-3810 ... With Savings Account Ease Castlegar Nelson 352-3713 You make us better. & count, a premium investment savings account for people who are serious about their savings. Now you can enjoy investment-level interest rates and still enjoy the ease and convenience of a regular savings account Premium Interest Rates... Open your Kootenay Savings T-Bill Account and you'll receive investment-level interest rates on balances of $10,000 or more. And if your balance falls between $5,000 and $10,000, you’ll still re- ceive regular savings rates All interest is calculated daily and paid monthly. Rates are set weekly and are based on the Bank of Canada rate. Trail + Fruitvale * Salmo Castlegar * South Slocan and Convenience Unlike other large deposit investment funds are not locked in with Kootenay’s Account. In fact, you have 24 hour access to your money through Automatic Teller Machines. As well, you get two free withdrawals every month, and regular monthly statements showing all your transactions. Call Us Today. If you’re serious about your savings, call us today. After talking with one of our representatives, we're sure you’ll- agree that Kootenay Savings’ new T-Bill Account is the sound investment for you. Nakusp + New Denver Wancta Plaza * Kaslo