Wednesday, September 16, 1992 @ PAGE?’ = = = Op OurViEWS Adrian RAESIDE RCMP need our support t’s time for the citizens of Castlegar to get off their apathetic butts and pay attention to the world around them. On Oct. 17, the city will hold a referendum on a new $1.7 million RCMP headquarters. The referendum is the first of its kind since the 1991 paving referendum bit the dust because 80 per cent of Castlegar’s population decided our roads were just fine, thank you. We blew that one and if things don’t change quickly we can kiss another golden opportunity goodbye. On Thursday at the Community Complex, Castlegar will host an information session regarding the new RCMP headquarters. The 7 p.m. meeting will give citizens the information they need to make an informed decision regarding the fate of this project. The facts surrounding the RCMP referendum are simple — the current building is outdated, overcrowded and an obstacle to proper law enforcement. There is also another little-known fact surrounding this referendum and that has to do with legalities. According to the province’s contract with the RCMP, proper facilities must be provided. Clearly, the current structure is inadequate for the needs of our police officers and our community. Castlegar’s RCMP officers constantly go above and beyond the call of duty to support this community. It’s time the community returned the favor with a yes vote on Oct. 17. icone finns (oan i We Brace your eyes Castlegar surfaced when Art — I’m about to take another shot at the Castlegar- Robson bridge. But before I do, perhaps the folks at city hall should sit this one out. After all, it wasn’t so long ago that my publisher’s phone was ringing off the hook with insiders demanding my head because I chose to write something about our infamous bridge. Past indifferences aside, I want to tackle that almost- D.HARRISON Harrison tw Comparison Charbonneau came to town three weeks ago. Again, don’t get me wrong, I’m excited as a schoolboy after his first kiss that the bridge is on its way, I just want to know why Charbonneau bent his own rules to find the funds. So what happened, Art? Two trains of thought have surfaced since Charbonneau blew into town and blew us away incestuous subject one more time. It’s not about whether or whether not we should have the bridge — I always campaigned for the crossing — but it’s about why we got the crossing. See, I’m having a little difficulty finding out the straight goods behind the once- shelved project. For the better part of last week, I made phone call after phone call, trying to track down the truth behind the instant cash that with the $26 million gift. (Doesn't inflation suck? Think about it, just seven months ago the bridge was said to have cost $23.5 million. Now, here in good 6ld September 1992, we find out that the taxpayers of British Columbia will be coughing up an extra $2.5 million because our insightful government chose to delay the inevitable. Not-so-sound financial planning if you ask me.) please see HARRISON page 7 Stree( TALK John Swetlichoff Thrums Edith Ferguson Castlegar “Keeping rent down to a minimum.” “We need more homemakers who come more often.” Question: What is the most important issue for seniors in Castlegar? Mary Lewis Castlegar “I feel that we should have a dental plan.” oS Alice LeCouffe Castlegar Alex Poznikoff Castlegar “Some seniors need help but can’t afford to pay.” “Some recreation facilities to get together in winter.” Fe ON SS . SU el ie a TE: Sits eet SY et etary Pee alende @ Wednesday, September 16, 1992 a Tae aa OtherVIEWS | Please address all letters to: Letters to the Editor Castlegar News P.O. Box 3007 Castlegar, B.C. V1N 3H4 or deliver them to 197 Columbia Ave. Letters should be typewritten, double-spaced and not longer than 300 words. Letters MUST be signed and include the writer's first and last names, address and a telephone number at which the writer can be reached between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. The writer's name and city or town of residence only will be published. Only in exceptional cases will letters be published anonymously. Even in those cases, the name, address and phone number of the writer MUST be disclosed to the editor. The News reserves the right to edit letters for brevity, clarity, legality, grammar and taste. | Letters coWHE EDITOR City hall project worth it @ Editor should take the time to see the truth behind renovations When it was decided that something had to be done about the condition of city hall, a renovation committee was struck. The committee consists of three employees and -one_ councillor. Considerable discussion and research went into the decision to renovate rather than build a new city hall. Concern as to the acceptance of another referendum to borrow $1.5-to-$2 million was one of the deterrents of going the route of a new building. We need something done now, not three referendums in the future. The project can be handled financially out of the operating budget over the next five years without putting a great burden on the sensible way to fill a need without putting a great burden on the taxpayer. 1 The basic construction of the building is sound and we are very pleased with the design the architects have given us. We would like to extend an invitation to residents of Castlegar and News editor Scott David Harrison to come down to city hall and look at the renovation plans. If Harrison would like to meet with the Renovation Committee we will be happy to set up an information session. If anyone has any questions please feel free to contact any member of the committee: Ann Robertson, Nona Kucher, Linda Leckie or Alderman Chernoff at 365-7227. Ann Robertson Chairperson City Hall Renovation Committee ICBC refuses to recognize facts I would like to respond to president of ICBC Robyn Allen’s comments in your Sept. 12th article on whiplash claims. Allen may have the training to run a multi-million dollar company but she obviously never passed her high-school physics class. She equates a five kilometre per hour collision to being ‘exactly’ like wrenching A few degrees of movement in the lower back at impact are magnified up the spine, such that as the head whips backwards, the neck experiences a force up to 2.5 times that of the striking vehicle. Which end of a whip would you prefer to be hit with Allen, the handle or the tip that can ‘crack’ the air? your back ‘moving things around the Or do you feel the force house’. Granted, Allen, that the speeds may be equal, but you are neglecting the small matter of weight. Force is equal to mass multiplied by acceleration (F=ma.). By your way of thinking, Allen, the force of a 100 kg weight dropped from 10 metres onto your head would be just as damaging as a loaf of bread from the same height (Their speed is equal after all — or did you miss the lecture on Galileo too?). By your way of thinking, Allen, I would imagine you’ve taken a 100 kilogram weight to the head a few times yourself. Which end of a whip would you prefer to be hit with Allen, the handle or the tip that can ‘crack’ the air? again would be equal? The facts of the matter; Dr. David S. Williams gre that ICBC simply; refuses to understand the consequences of a rear- end collision to the soft tissues of the neck. Such damages are hard to recognize and diagnose without proper training. If the claimant hasn’t the decency to break a bone or lose a limb, something that is visibly tangible, ICBC will quickly take the cynical view that} everyone’s out to take them for a ride. David S. Williams, D.C. News editorial truly asinine With reference to your recent editorial “Let’s not make a deal”. You, as a former resident of a “nether world”, beyond Hope, have consulted your crystal-ball and voiced your opinion as to the whys and wherefores of a labor dispute, which adds to no help in settling a disagreement between the two parties. To use the words of the late Major Turner Lee, a much loved member of the 54th Kootenay Battalion, “I shouldn’t call you an ass, old chap, but really you are.” W. D. MacDonald Nelson Unsigned letter lacks credibility I am shocked that an unsigned letter which criticizes a local service agency would be printed in this newspaper column. It is normally expected that statements of personal opinion be identified in letters to the editor. Although the writers of the letter are not identified, I wish to state clearly that Early Childhood Education instructors were not involved. If people responsible for this letter have concerns about hiring practices in local agencies it would seem far more “professional” behavior to directly approach the agency in question rather than present misleading information to the readers of the newspaper. Judy Pollard Early Childhood Education Selkirk College Thanks for the hand On behalf of the Castlegar and District Heritage Society, I would like to publicly thank Celgar Ltd. and Argo Industries for repairing and resurfacing the Zuckerberg Island Heritage Park Causeway. Because of their generous donation of materials, equipment and labor, the island is now accessible to emergency vehicles and those persons with handicaps or disabilities once Then there is the matter of the ‘whip’ in whiplash. Chiropractor| #82in. Castlegar John H. Coyle President Harrison continued from page 6 Back to those theories, though. The first one identitifies MLA Ed Conroy as the wheelman be- hind the Castlegar-Robson push. It is said that Honest Ed rapped on Charbonneau’s door so many times that the minister got sick of seeing his bearded mug and final- ly knuckled under to his bother- some counterpart. I spoke to Conroy about this theory last week and, for a change, Conroy decided to slap imself on the back for a job well done. As modest as Conroy is, howev- er, he was quick to credit every- one, saying pushes from the city, the Castlegar and District Cham- ber of Commerce, the Robson- Raspberry Ferry Users Ad Hoc Committee and Celgar’s owners helped solidify the project. Good enough, right? Not really. See, the second theory is re- markably different. So different that it peeked my curiosity enough to write about it. This theory involves political arm-twisting all the way up to Premier Mike Harcourt’s office. According to this theory, Cel- gar’s owners — better known as the Chinese Industrial Trust and Investment Corporation — put the big squeeze on our premier, saying they wouldn’t invest fur- ther monies in British Columbia unless the government saw fit to build the bridge. The bridge, if you recall, was agreed to by the then-Socred gov- ernment under the Celgar Expan- sion Review Panel. It was the New Democrats that pulled the plug on the project. Theory has it that the threat worked, because Harcourt — who was all but strung up at a recent CITIC luncheon in Vancouver — came up with the funds, prompt- ing the once-maligned Charbon- neau to ride his shiny white horse into town with a cheque in hand. Now, I don't know which theory is correct and I’ll probably never know. All I know is that the bridge is on its way and for that I am thankful I just wish I knew who I'm sup- posed to thank.