CASTLEGAR, BRITISH COLUMBIA, WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 24, 1966

3 Sections (A, 8 & C)

McGauley turns to premier

By RON NORMAN
Editor

Retired Castlegar teacher Alma McGauley has appealed
to Premier Bill Vander Zaim in a last-ditch effort for a formal
inquiry into the failure of the Teachers’ Investment and
Housing Cooperative last November.

McGauley sent Vander Zalm a lengthy telegram
Monday asking him to consider the request for a formal
inquiry at a cabinet meeting today

“The ad hoc committee still hopes for a full inquiry.”
MeGauley’s lawyer, Terry Dalton, said Tuesday.

However, Dalton noted that if the request for a formal
inquiry is refused, the committee plans to ask for a superin
tendent’s inquiry

Consumer and Corporate Affairs Minister Elwood
Veitch has twice rejected a request for a formal inquiry. The
latest refusal came last Friday during a meeting in Victoria

with McGauley, Dalton and a major co-op depositor whom
Dalton declined to identify.

However, Veitch said he would consider an investi
gation into the co-op if it were conducted by Allan
Mulholland, B.C.’s superintendent of financial institutions.

McGauley’s first request was turned down by Veitch in
August for several reasons. Veitch said the petition with
5,000 names did not contain enough signatures of co-op
members.

Other reasons included the $150,000 estimated cost of a
formal inquiry, and Veitch’s position that the authority of
the inquiry provision of the Cooperative Association Act
does not extend to cooperatives that no longer exist.

Dalton said a superintendent's inquiry differs from a
formal inquiry in that there would be no public hearings.

Instead, the superintendent, likely working in con
junction with a consultant, would call for written sub-

missions.

Dalton said the Friday meeting with Veitch lasted about
an hour and 45 minutes, and included a presentation by
depositor who had $600,000 invested in the co-op at the time
of its collapse.

“That is why we can't use his name,” Dalton said.

He said the depositor, a retired senior civil servant with
the federal government, said he first learned there may be
some difficulty with the coop on Labor Day 19865.

Dalton said the man went to the co-op's main branch in
Vancouver on Oct. 21, met with the manager and expr d

reason for concern

Dalton said the retired civil servant told the manager he
wasn't concerned about this first $60,000 “because he knew
that was insured”, but about the rest of his deposit.

“The manager didn't say it was insured, but he didn’t
tell him that it wasn't,” Dalton said, “and of course, it
wasn't.”

Dalton said the man learned of the co-op's collapse in
early November while working in Costa Rica as part of an
executive volunteer organization.

concerns about his deposit

“The manager assured him that the coop was
completely sound, that he had nothing to worry about,”
Dalton said.

The manager also added that the Edmonton and
Calgary property investments were sound and there was.no

Dalton sugg d that had the man known the co-op was
in difficulty and part of his funds were uninsured, he would
have withdrawn the entire $600,000 “that day.”

Dalton said the dep made his pr to
Veitch because the consumer and corporate affairs minister
had pledged earlier that if there was one shred of evidence

continued on poge AZ

~ CPR STATION

with private

MAY BE

middie of

ube station — one of the city’s last

to

oppose

boundary change

By CasNews Staff of B.C. Municipalities convention in Minister Bill Reid about the council's

HIGH TECH . . . Operator John Silvo at the controls
of computerized chip and saw machine at Westar

SAWMILL TO
SPEND $20 M
TO MODERNIZE

By RON NORMAN

Editor

Southern Wood Products has
embarked $20 million uprgrading
program that will bring the sawmill into the computer

Westar Timber's

on an ambitious

age when it's completed
We've got about 20 million bucks to spend to get to

where we have to,” general manager Wade Zammit said

in an interview

Zammit says the upgrading began in 1984 when

Timber’s Southern Wood Products sawmill

Westar $1.5 million, prim
trimmers The company matched that amoun

spent ily for

when it purchased, among other things, a com}
chip and saw machine

This year it has spent $4.5 million
which wen

$1.5 milhon of
to pay for an edger optimizer that will be
installed by mid November
$360,000 will be

Westar

And Zammit says anothey
spent before the year is out
spend $7.1. million
followed by another $4.6 million in 1988
the major upgrading

By then, Zammit says the mill will be compe
again

This is a quick catch up,”
mill is *

plans to nex

the last yea

he says, noting tha
‘out of synch” with the rest of the industry
has already modernized

He points out that from 1980 through 1983 no
was spent to modernize the mill

continued on page A2

Castlegar council plans to oppose a
proposal to dissolve the federal riding
of Kootenay West and amalgamate the
western portion with Okanagan-Si
milkameen and the eastern portion
with Kootenay East- Revelstoke

We don’t want to become an appen
dix to one of the other ridings and
become completely forgotten,” Ald
Nick Oglow said Tuesday night

Oglow made the comment in re
sponse toa letter from Kootenay West
MP Bob Brisco. Brisco also opposes the
proposal, saying “such a move makes
no sense.”

He asked council to join him in offi
cially opposing the realignment

Vernon

Moore said she, some aldermen and
Chuck Rose, vice-president of the
Selkirk College student society, made 3
strong and united
Johnston

presentation” to
The ministry and the Urban Transit

Author

hard for tha
Meanwhile

pressed

are looking very
bus,” she said

Ald. Bob Pakula said he
the
10-year variance order granted Westar

very

council's opposition to
Timber's Celgar Pulp Operations on its
effluent pollution permit

Pakula said he spoke to Environ
Minister thee
permit Pakula said

Austin Pelton at

request for a customs officer at the
Castlegar Airport

He said he was definitely going to
look at that,” Pakula said.

Pakula also busy met with Forests
Minister Jack Kempf where he raised
the of Westar Timber's Tree
Farm License No. 23, which the
ministry is considering reducing

“The minister himself assured me
that Westar would not go short of saw
jogs.” Pakula said

Pakula said Kempf also pledged to
silviculture, not only in the
but throughout the

issue

increase
West Kootenay

province

Thomsen pulls out of race

By CHERYL CALDERBANK
Staff Writer

@ne more candidate has jumped into
the fray while another has decided to
withdraw from the the
Rossland-Trail Social nomi
nation

Rossland school trustee
mack became the eighth person in the

race for

Credit

Thomsen
Meanwhile
decided to throw
Jean Cor Sid Crockett
running, but the field was narrowed to
seven candidates today when Anders Trail.”
Thomsen, the first to declare himself in
the local race, announced he is with
drawing Cominco
I have been
forward

working hard and

looking to the nomination release

meeting for many months, but with my
present commitments at school in Van
couver and heavy exams for the next
week, I can't actively participate

Thomsen said he

because he is the only
candidate who could realistically
the support of the large labor vote in

‘We are both Local 480 Steelworker
members and my fellow workers at
have a great
Crockett.” Thomsen said in a prepared

Thomsen added that
the Credit
back into power in B.C., the
candidate at the time, Castlegar News
publisher Campbell, could
swing the labor vote in Trail and ended
up losing to the NDP’s Chris D'Arcy

“The same problem exists today with
the labor we must
someone that will represent all of the
faction of the

in 1975 when

Social government swept
Socred
said
Burt not
has
his support behind
get vote elect
riding and not just one
voters

Meanwhile, Cormack said Tuesday
that she is ready for a new challenge

respect for

continved on page A2

Oglow said eliminating Kootenay

West would be a

ned
to the or

severe blow

area
We

Nelson

have
frail, Castlegar in joint use of
he added

s agreed

very strong ties with he ail
economics.
Roy

tha

the airport
Ald. Terry
I think it
said, adding

sentation wo

he
repre
area

a disaster
Castlegar's
if the
sn Okanagan riding
Moore

ssion to the

id be “nil
became part of

Mayor Audrey suggested
council make Fed
eral Electoral Boundaries Commission
for B.C. when i
n Nelson No. 5.

We should make every
Kootenay

said

ELECTION
holds a public hearing Vander Zalm
his personal
attempt Lo calied a prov
tion for Oct

standings |

make sure it West) stays in
place.” Moore

In other ¢
city

ounct legislature
32 NDP 2

votive one a

A2

put its case for
before Municipal Aff

Johnston last week 4

rstands the posit

said he spoke

INSIDE

TIME:

ld. Nick Oglow said he spoke with
Ministry of Health officials about the
proposed expansion to Castlegar and
Hospital's extended

the need f

monitoring

r funding

n here District care

don't know,” ward
We p
could

get I

our case as well as we

urism Oglow said

Bull
relying heavily on
popularity, today

incial general elec

22. At dissolution

n the

Premier

provincial

Social Credit

Progressive Conser

id three vacant

INSURANCE PROBLEM: Reconstruction of the Doukhobor Village is

being stalled

Pilot
injured
in crash

(CP) The
of a light plane

UNITED WAY
blitz tonight
st of a series

BAD DREAM
dis
bathroom of

He still
there, but au

when he

PEACHLAND. B(
pilot survived the crash
Tuesday near this Okanagan commun
34 kilometres of Kelowna.
rescue officials said today

The pilot
of the aircraft
withheld
Penticton

The
Night to Penticton from Castlegar
launched

uncommon fc

ity south

who was the lone « bathroom be’

and whose name was
was taken to hospital in brown snake

it was |
during: up. its tongu:

nlane disappeared

He shut
ntont son st

ground search was

morning when poor weather prever

Morgestern said
year-old daughter

When he tlicked on the light

by insurance difficulties... A2

Castlegar United Way begins its annual door-to-door
To help mark the occasion the CasNews begins the fir
ot teatures on United Way member agencies . . .AS
Marc Morgenstern thought he was living a nightmare
overed a hissing snake rising from the toilet in the
his home just outside Cleveland
doesn! know for sure how the four-foot python got
thorities say pythons are fond of water and that it's not
>1 animals to travel through sewer pipes
11 all began Saturday night when his three
Sarah. asked him to accompany her to the
tore he tucked her in
Morgenstern saw a black-and
head turned toward him
tke in o classic Egyptian horror movie. sticking straight
he sod It was every child s worst

rising out of the toilet

fe going. Ssssss

nightmare realized

@ door leading trom a bathroom to the bedroom of an
utted towels under the doors and called police

an air search