Wednesday, February 19, 1992 i OurViEWS Composing Room Foreman Mark Davis Advertising Manager Warren Chernoff Change is ’ paving referendum and the 1992 needes! he Coalition Unaccepting | Rash Bureaucracy has come of age. : Castlegar’s rebellious citizens group affirmed itself as a legitimate voice of opposition Monday, thanks to a two-hour public meeting. The public process was the first of its kind for CURB, which is certain to be a thorn in Castlegar city council’s side. ; The upstart watchdog group used the meeting to address and readdress issues that are slowly dividing our city — the relocation of the city works yard, city hall renovation, water and sewer line restoration, the failed municipal budget. : Calling for open government in a city that draws political lines quicker than municipal boundaries, CURB urged citizens to get involved. That plea is clearly working. What started out one month ago as a refuge for political outsiders, CURB is swiftly growing into public force. Kicking down the door, CURB is committed to having a voice inside council chambers, and with good reason. Monday, CURB topped the 100 mark in its loosely-financed, rarely- publicized membership drive. That, in itself, gives city council 100 reasons to recognize its status quo 1s obsolete. Things are changing in Castlegar and if the city is to survive united, council must change with it. WITH THER UPOUR INDUSTRIES. . Me : Wace The public hearings are ! y, = ei = snd) SHY RS 3 PIE y WL iid a Mill workers deserve answer That raw material is TFL No: 23 as outlined in = over, it is time to act. The provincial government owes it to 280 unemployed workers to approve the swift sale and transfer of the Castlegar sawmilland Tree Farm Licence Nb. 23 to Pope and Talbot. If the government doesn’t know it already, jobs and livelihoods are at stake. Our provincial leaders have lolly-gagged long enough. Anything short of a p. HARRISON Harrison “2 Comparison | Pope and Talbot’s proposed purchase. According to the $22 million W:8; deal hammered out between Pope and Talbot and anemic Westar, the Midway-based company would secure the rights to timber south of the Trans- Canada Highway. Anything less, Pope and Talbot has suggested it would walk away from the na decision is simply : cruel land unusual punishment for our mill and forestry workers who have been forced to put their lives on hold since Westar shut down its operations in November. . — It is clear that everyone and their dog favors the sale of the Castlegar mill to Pope and Talbot. With that, it is incumbent on the provincial government te_give this economically-sound. company the raw material to ensure the survival of local jobs. proposal, leaving our workers spiralling into economic poverty. Pope and Talbot’s request is reasonable. Any government tinkering would be irresponsible to the 280 mill workers who have the right to earn a living. For some unknown reason, Revelstoke seems to think the Pope and Talbot deal is tainted. And for some unknown reason the government is listening. please see HARRISON page 7 Heather Hadiey Circulation Manager Burt Campbell Publisher Emeritus : L.V. Campbell Aug. 7, 1947- Feb. 15, 1973 S treef WAILIK Question: What would you i“. Theresa Gevatkov Castlegar “’d keep working but pay off my debts. Pd take a holiday, ‘ too.” ¥ Chris Barton Castlegar “Not tell anyone.” Lorraine Saliken Castlegar. “Share it with my family and pay some ~ bills.” George Perepelkin Glade “Share it with the poor, pay some bills and take a long holiday.” “Steven Rigby Castlegar “Buy a car.” @ Wednesday, February 19, 1992 dThe News Other VIEWS 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 anda telephone number at which the writer can be reached between 9am. and5 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, Letters toWHE EDITOR Fur trading is fundamental In response to Barbara Murdoch letter: The domestication of various animal species has made farm animals dependent on humans. The accepted moral and ethical standards of our society require that humans respond to this dependence with responsible stewardship. Canadian trappers and fur farmers are strongly committed to the ethics of humane conduct toward wild and farm raised furbearers, and to the prevention of avoidable suffering at all stages of their lives. ’ How can you justify the killing of animals for furs when we have synthetics and other alternatives? Synthetics deplete already scarce resources on our planet and pollute the environment. Fur is long lasting renewable natural produce. ‘ Furs account for less than one per cent of the animals used (for food etc.) each year in Canada. At a time when we’re thinking more about how we can protect the environment, fur makes more sense than ever. z If we care about animals, why should we buy fur? 23 Trapping helps to maintain stable, healthy wildlife populations, in balance with available habitat. Trappers are “our eyes and ears on the land”, and play an important role in protecting wildlife habitat. The fur trade is carefully régulated to prevent over exploitation. What about leg-hold traps? Canada is the undisputed world leader in scientific trap research. Over $5 million has already been spent on this work, to provided trappers with the most humane trapping methods possible. Over 90 per cent of the wild furbearers taken in Canada can now be captured with quick killing traps or set. Connibear traps, for example, operate much like a large mousetrap. Larger animals can now be taken with new soft- padded traps to prevent injuries. Trappers attend courses to learn the most humane methods available; as new methods are developed, trappers manuals and regulations are continually being updated. All major conservation organizations support the responsible use of renewable resources. These include: International Union for the Conservation of Nature; United Nations Environment Program, World Wildlife Federation and Canadian Wildlife Federation. Greenpeace dropped its anti-fur campaign following meeting with Canadian Native Groups. Furs from endangered species are not used. : Animals rarely die of old age. Nature’s way of controlling animal overpopulation is starvation and disease. As civilization has encroached further into areas which were formally wildlife habitat, the management of animal populations has become increasingly vital, not only for man’s protection but for the survival of the animal species themselves. That’s why trapping is an important element of wildlife management, and one that is recognized, endorsed and regulated by the government. Real fur is a+ renewable resource produced in an ecologically. sound manner. The byproducts of fur farming are used in the production of animal feed, pet foods, and in the making of fine quality hypo- allergenic soaps and cosmetics. Even the manure produced on mink farms is in heavy demand as a natural and ecologically safe fertilizer. Animal byproducts play a vital role in our, lives. Think about wool, silk, goose down and leather as well as fur. Think about the food you eat — beef, pork, poultry, fish, eggs, dairy products. Think about the medical technology that saves human lives — not only medications but surgical techniques as well. i activists now seek to deny us the freedom to choose fur, or to eat, wear or use other products of animal origin. They oppose the use of animals in medical research. They view pet ownership as a form of slavery. And, most frightening of all, their goal is to impose the value system on all of us. In a free society, lifestyle decisions are a matter of personal choice. The decision to eat meat or wear fur or natural fibers or to use animal-based cosmetics or medications, is and should remain an individual one. Donna Smith Robson, B.C. Gorbachev must be saluted Though barely a teenager at the time, I clearly remember when Sir Winston Churchill, in his usual deep, ponderous voice, praised the young airmen of the Royal Air Force for their remarkable victory in the Battle of Britain — that historic .showdown in the skies which turned the tide against Hitley’s drive to rule the world. In that unbeKevably calm, deliberate, unhurried voicé — highly symbolic of the stubborn British Resistance — he said: “Never before in history was so much owed by so many to so few.” Fifty years have now passed and we have just witnessed the rise (and decline) of another hero of enormous significance to the world — a man named Mikhail Gorbachev. Although his star — truly a “supernova” — is now on the wane I believe it is appropriate to say: “Never before in history has so much owed by so many to one man”. How quickly we forget those spine- chilling terms that struck cold terror into our hearts for more than 40 years — frightful words like hydrogen bomb and nuclear winter. Almost overnight these nightmarish terms began to disappear from our lives, largely through the efforts of one dedicated man. With exceptional clairvoyance and courage Mr. Gorbachev saw that the Soviet Union (as well as the West) had had enough of the global duel of Russian roulette and called upon world leaders to join him in his monumental tasks: * an end to the Berlin Wall * a major reduction of missiles in Europe ° a nuclear weapons free Arctic ° a nuclear weapons free world by the = year 2000 Any one of these would hither to have been impossible. At first the world almost laughed at him — then suddenly the laughing stopped as the first two of these Herculean feats became faits accomplis and the others appear to be well under way. Not that we aren’t grateful for the ‘wisdom of our western leaders who met the Gorbachev challenge half way and together broke the stranglehold of nuclear terror that had gripped us for so long. Yet what a paradox that virtually all the initiative, determination and drive towards this end came from this gallant Sir Galahad from behind the Iron Curtain who came to slay the multi-headed dragon of nuclear escalation. : : It was he who threw the wrench into the gears of the engine and slowed its fateful pace. Almost single-handedly he wrestled with the doomsday clock and cheated it: out of its appointed hour. Sadly now, the plight of Mr. Gorbachev is not unlike that of Moses who after leading his wandering tribes of Israel to the very brink of the promised land having then fulfilled his appointed task — never himself got to cross the River Jordan to set foot on the other side. os Yet, because of Mikhail Gorbachev our planet Earth now seems to have a second chance. And so I believe I express the feelings of many people in saying: “Mr. Gorbachev, we owe you a tremendous vote of thanks!” H. F, Killough Castlegar Harrison continued from page 6 There comes a time, though, when the government has to stop listening and act. Let’s face it, the government has two choices. First, it can secure 280 jobs and the economic stability of Castlegar by approving Pope and Talbot's transfer. Second, it can buy into Revelstoke’s slim argument that the TFL split shuts it out of any legality, grammar and taste. forestry future. If the government can see beyond the Lower Mainland, it will recognize that Revelstoke is playing politics. Like wildly throwing darts at a board in the hopes of hitting the bull’s eye, Revelstoke is demanding a piece of a TFL pie that it has never had rights to to begin with. It’s that simple. Historically, TFL No. 23 has belonged tq the Castlegar mill. It must stay that way. Anything different would be a slap against the proud workers of Castlegar and Nakusp who have been maligned long enough. The choice the government has*to make is an easy one. It must see through Revelstoke’s short-sighted and politically- motivated begging in favor of Castlegar. Revelstoke’s shallow and petty argument is a hoax, leaving local workers confused and dazed about their futures. If the government has any ounce of integrity, it will stand behind Rossland-Trail MLA Ed Conroy — for the first time since Oct. 17— and local workers in support of Pope and Talbot. After all, isn’t the preservation of Castlegar jobs more important than the ‘possibility’ of Revelstoke’s future? : The answer is an unconditional yes.