—==* SSATP amc be ae yt ca a ee a Se i LOCAL NEWS HIGH WIRE ACT splicer Jack Pi service to the BRE St CELE EB, Somewhere up there among the wires and tools is B.C. Tel who was reworking the wiring to increase wntown Castlegar area. CosNews photo by Ed Mills Ministry urges care as fire season nears Summer may still be a few months away, but it’s not too early to start taking precautions against forest fires, the Ministry of Forests says. The forest-fire season officially gets underway April 15, but there have already been several small fires, and one 200-acre grass fire caused by “‘human carelessness,’’ Forests Minister Clade Richmond said in a news release. He urges people to be careful in provincial forests. “Our fire-fighting crews do an outstanding job each year to limit damage from forest fires,’’ he said in the release. ‘‘The public can also help by taking care while enjoying the outdoors.”” Burning permits are required for all open fires and can be obtained at local forestry district offices. Con- tained fires do not require a permit, the release said. “Persons who fail. to obtain a permit or comply with the conditions can be held liable for fire- suppression costs,’’ Richmond said. Firefighters responded to 3,257 fires last season and 3,500 the year before, the release said, “‘We lose an average of 80,373 hectares a. year to. forest fires,”* Richmond said. ‘‘While our tech- nology and resources are among the best in North America, our losses to fire can be cut -significantly through careful use of our forests.’” Human error is still the single largest cause of forest fires — about 55 per cent — followed ‘closely by lightning at 45 per cent. Colin Effa, superintendent of operations said the ministry is becoming much more successful in forecasting lightning storms: **Using lightning-detection technology, we are able to position crews and ‘equipment to quickly combat any lightning-caused fires.” Effa said well-trained crews also help minimize damage. ““We have a 95:per-cent success rate in meeting our goal — to have the' fire controlled by 10 a.m. the following day. In«some areas, we have hit 100.per cent.”* “*Good-crews and support staff are essential in getting fires out,’’ Rich- mond ‘ added. .“‘While we. are. at- ARROW LAKE ELEVATION 1384.18-Ft. on April 6 Forecast of Elevation 1383.20-ft. by April 13 tacking fires quickly, we are always looking to improve our operations and ensure forest fires are kept to a minimum."’ Effa said that although it is too early to tell what will happen this season, there are indications drought conditions are extending from the U.S. into the southern valleys of the province. “We are, therefore, monitoring the continuing dry trend in these areas, as well as other areas in the province,’’ Effa said. “*I urge anyone who sees a forest fire to immediately call the operator, ask for Zenith 5555, and report the fire,” the minister said. \. Here’s My Card E> Harmony a pliers of Custom Hor 2401-10th Ave: c. tlegar, B- Conn SAL CSCU benefits from optimism The Castlegar Savings Credit Union board of directors announced in its annual report payment of a 10 per cent dividend on equity shares — the first dividend paid to members since 1984. General manager Lorne Myhra said part of last year’s success can be attributed to local optimism, despite a nation-wide recession, “We really didn’t suffer anything at all (from the recession) because of optimism in the (Celgar Pulp) mill and what we perceive as being a very good time for the economy,”’ he said Thursday. Consolidated earnings, after taxes and dividends, also provided suf- ficient capital for CSCU to meet requirements under the Financial In- stitutions Act. CSCU can now Forum to be held to discuss Canada By ELIZABETH FLEET “‘We won't get around to trying to save Canada until it’s too late.’” This sentiment has been expressed to me a number of times in the last few weeks. It would be sad if it turned out to be true. However apathetic Canadians may be, my sense is that most of us would like our leaders to attempt to work out some new approaches to our political problems. We would prefer our country to stay together, though we recognize that this may not be possible. The closest that we, in Castlegar will ever get to helping to decide the future of Canada is to attend one of the hearings of the Spicer Commission called the Citizens’ Forum on Canada’s Future. Two have already been held in Castlegar, and those who were present found them well worth attending. A third forum in one or two groups, will be held on April 12, at 7 p.m. at Castlegar United Church. The Spicer Commission has gained notoriety recently because of its budget overruns, and many people are skeptical about its usefulness. The citizens of Castlegar need not Castlégar News Wayne Stolz * Caroline Soukoro Join by April 27th at these convenient times and locations: f} Paul Stoachno ADVERTISING OFFICE 365-5210 ° FA’ FALCON PAINTING & DECORATING 2649. FouRiy GFASTLEGAR VIN 2s) IN ONE SESSION!!! + NO ANXIETY - NO WEIGHT.GAIN + NO. WITHDRAWAL BE FREE OF TOBACCO FOREVER! Attend this POWERFUL group seminar, GUARANTEED ED FOR YOUR EVER request a release from supervision by the Financial Institutions Com- mission, which had been requested in 1986 by CSCU “when local economic conditions had a very negative impact on the Credit Union operations,’’ a news release said. Myhra said the board expects CSCU will continue to grow given the ‘‘very dramatic swing’’ an- ticipated in the local economy. “We're probably going to enjoy ‘amous & Caesar Salad!" ® STEAKS * SEAFOOD @ POULTRY HOURS: LUNCH: Mon. -Sat, 11:15 a.m,-2 p. DINNER: Mon,-Sai, 5 p.m..9/10 p.m, COMINCO & CELGAR VOUCHERS WELCOME! 352-5358 Annex extends a warm welcome to LEAH FORD. licenced stylist. Welcome back to CINDY MAIRS Cindy is available for all your hair care n on Wednesdays and Thursdays. We are now open MON.-SAT. for your convenience. THE HAIR SPORTS AVENUE c some of the benefits of that,” he 646 Baker St., Nelson 365-3744 & said. & ‘ AL VA 7. FULLY AUTOMATIC SPRINKLER SYSTEMS & RESIDENTIAL & COMMERCIAL ® PREE ESTIMATES CASTLEGAR FOR 15 YEARS ARTS & LAI * SERVING CAS’ * GUARANTEED PARTS OUR FOR | YEAR CALL AL VARABIOFF © 442-3417 rand Forks Take the Weight Watchers” Diet Challenge. At the annual membership meeting held recently, three directors, whose terms had expired, were re-elected to the board. Terms are three years. The board of: directors then re- elected Russell Leamy as chairman. worry that the commission is wasting money in the Kootenays. Facilitators Bruce and Nancy Ketchum are volunteering their time for the good of the cause. As for skepticism, of course we don’t know if the commission can achieve anything worthwhile, but perhaps it can, and isn’t it worth a try? tm: eee at ptesanke tee Say no to liquids, powders, commission is asking what people skimping and starving. think is wrong with their country, how it can be improved, afd what is REGISTRATION right and worth preserving. Those SAVE $18, ™ “exinsereay who attend the Forum do not have to present papers, or come with any G.S.T.) Say yes to real, delicious food morning, noon and night. set positions on issues. Each of the UWegteAtatchere, hearings follows a group discussion To bring Weight Watchers to your | given are then fed into a final report, which is due July 1. The facilitators have chosen a more central location for their third forum. Castlegar United Church is not involved in the facilitating of the forum. It has simply provided a venue for the meeting. We as citizens of Canada are being invited to contribute to our country’s future. format and the ideas and opinions workplace, Call 1-800-663-3354. X 365-3334 Sandman Inn -Wed. 6:45 pm For information on the meetings nearest you, please Call 1-800-663-3354 365 3563 > ‘EASILY IT! +-PAY.ZERO ATTENTION TO WHAT YOU EAT + NO WILL POWER - -.NO EXERCISE LOSE WEIGHT AND KEEP IT OFF! This is the most effective weight loss treatment available in Canada. ‘State psychotherapist. George treated thousands of people during the past few years. Sea ai kr who follow the instructions. session, & scar tak MES ete onic renee ae ee ate control at all mes. After the session, intone easily. NO DIETING! NO EXERCISING! NO CASTLEGAR Friday, April 12 7 p.m. to 10:30 p.m. SANDMAN INN . Angeles MELISSA READ A rising star in girls basketball at Twin Rivers elementary school, Melissa, 11, is a team player all the way. Twin Rivers girls A team coach Mike Balahura says Melissa has worked hard on her skills and has made Strides in every area of her game this year. TRIVIA Which team won the last Stanley Cup prior to the for- mation of the NHL in 1917? Hint: It’s a U.S. based team that never did have a fran- chise in the NHL. Answer at the bottom of Page B2. SOFTBALL “Coaching and support per- sonnel are wanted for boys and girls competitive softball ages 12-18. Those interested can call Gordon Bos. Players who are aware of coaches and assistants can also call Bos. There’s been a change of venue for the Softball B.C. certified umpires clinic being held April 13 in Castlegar. The clinic will now be held at Selkirk College. Contact Bill Savinkoff for more infor- mation. A mini clinic will be held April 20-at 9 a.m. for anyone interested in coaching or um- Piring in the Castlegar Minor Softball Association. This is an informal clinic to provide basic informiation for those who require instruction in coaching skills and umpiring techniques. Cost is $5 and registration is at the Com- munity Complex before April 12. HOCKEY The Vancouver Canucks playoff ‘schedule ‘against the Los Angeles Kings. All times Mountain: Tonight’s Game Vancouver at Los Angeles, Los Angeles at Vancouver, 7:35 p.m., ‘CBC (B.C. only) Wednesday, April 10 Los Angeles at. Vancouver, 7: 35 p.m., CBC (B.C. only) Sunday, April 14 x-Los Angeles at Van- couver 7:05_p.m., CBC (B.C. only) Tuesday, April 16 x-Vancouver at 7:35 -p.m., (B.C. only) (x-if necessary) Los RECORD BOOK eectchninnechanmeniaeneiedesinne The record for attendance at a single round of curling was beaten several «times during the first eight draws of the 1991 “World Champion- ships in Winnipeg last month. Attendance at one draw was 11,361 which. eclipsed the old mark of 9,436 set at/the 1970 men’s championship, also in Winnipeg. f NOW AVAILABLE _.__ PROFESSIONAL TAX PREPARATION SERVICE More bouquets for Midgets Team terrific rolls By ED MILLS Staff Writer The team from nowhere has done it again. The Castlegar Midget Reps, a team nobody wanted, added a berth into the AA provincial hockey champion- ships to a long list of accomplish- ments this season. Derek Kazakoff scored a hat trick and Nino DaCosta and Mike Hunter had two goals each as the Reps beat Aldergrove 7-3 Thursday night at the Nelson Civic Centre. Johnny Strilaeff scored Castlegar’s other goals while Jarrod Beck and Hunter each set up two goals. PAUL PHIPPS ++. very pleased The romp moved the Reps into the provincial final against Hastings, Vancouver's representative at the tournament. It's the same Hastings team that thwarted Castlegar in a big way beating them 10-1 in the gold medal game at the BC Winter Games in Duncan last month. Results from the provincial cham- pionship grudge match, Played last night at the Civic Centre, weren’t available at press time. But whether or not the Midgets won the B.C. title is almost secon- dary considering their accomplish- ments in a season that started with uncertainty and then got going with a slapped together team of local kids. For the record, the Reps finished first overall in the West Kootenay Minor Hockey Association — ahead of the AAA Trail Midgets. They beat teams in the East and West Kootenay in a playoff to determine who would represent the. region at the Winter Games and they placed second in a 10-team tour- nament in Spokane at Christmas. Sure, in hindsight, it’s easy to say co-coaches Paul Phipps and Rick Welychko had the tools to work with when they decided to put this team together after nobody else volun- teered in September. Players like DaCosta, Hunter, Strilaeff and Kazakoff, vee Coovleger Midget Reps skated by Aldergrove 7. Midget Hockey championships at the Nelson Civic Arena. ding people, and his team, they are Vaughn Welychko are a “good nucleus for a solid midget hockey team. All those players proved — to the fans and maybe the junior A scouts — in the provincials that they are outstanding young hockey Players. But as Phipps is so fond of remin- not a of ii — it’s truly a team. And success would not have come if it were otherwise. So when you talk to him, he’s just as likely to mention goaltender Joel Audet or unsung winger Ryan Jolly, even if DaCosta got his usual bushel full of points or Welychko stoned the other team in the nets again. “I can’t say enough about those guys who don’t get on the store sheet every game,”’ Phipps said. “They are the heart of this team, they are the ones who set the stage for the guys who do the scoring at the other end.”” Castlegar beat Whitehorse, Salmon Arm, /100 Mile House, Port McNeil and Fernie to go undefeated -3 Thursday night in the semifinals of the Provincial CosNews photo by Ed Mills through the round robin portion of the tournament. Hastings and Aldergrove advanced to the semifinals out of the tour- mament’s other division which in- cluded Terrace, Dawson Creek and Nelson. Hastings beat Salmon Arm in the other game Thursday night to ad- vance to the final. Can't count Kanigan Castlegar native will keep plugging at pros By ED MILLS Staff Writer Nobody native Lorne Kanigan is National really thinks Castlegar Hockey League material, himself. But then a few years ago nobody thought the St. Louis Blues’ Brett Hull or Hartford Whalers’ John Cullen were good enough either. And Kanigan, 20, has more in common with those two NHE stars then you might think. In fact, the Castlegar .born-and- raised kid is following in their footsteps. Like Hull; Kanigan’s playing tier two junior A, currently in his second and final season as a right winger with -the B.C. Junior Hockey League’s Vernon Lakers. Hull ari in the BCJHL for 983 not even Penticton And ike both NHL stars Kanigan’s goal is to play four more years of hockey at some U.S. college that’s willing to give him a scholar- ship. Hull played college hockey in Minnesota and Cullen went to Boston University. Jim Nelford's Though Kanigan wasn’t drafted at all, it appears NHL teams had about the same interest in Hull as he was passed over 116 times before he was taken in the sixth-round in 1984. Cullen was picked 10th overall by the Buffalo Sabres- in a supplemental draft then was promptly released and signed as a free agent with the Pit- tsburgh Penguins in 1988. But perhaps the most crucial area that Kanigan compares favorably to Hull and Cullen is in the character trait that got them to the pros — he just keeps getting better. Though the “thoughtful, soft spoken Kanigan, who was named the Lakers’ assistant captain this season, isn’t about to admit he’s in a league with Hull and Cullen, ‘he can’t deny that he, like them, hasn’t taken a step backwards as a hockey player since he started playing junior. He can’t deny it, because it’s right there in black and white in his stats. “I'd imagine so, yeah, because my first year in junior (with the Junior B Castlegar Rebels four yéars ago), I had 65 points, then my second year I had 95 or something. Then the same thing happened in Still waiting for old form to return By DOUG SMITH ‘The Canadian Press Jim Nelford talks a good game of golf. He's not playing a bad one right now, either, Nelford, still trying to regain his form after suffering a devastating arm injury in 1985, is combining television touring in the 1991 season. ' the-PGA Senior Tour in Scottsdale, Ariz. The week before, he was a player finishing sixth on the Ben Hogan Tour stop in Lake Myers, Fla. Next week, who knows? “Right now, I’m going to try to focus my efforts on playing,”’ the Vancouver-native said from his Phoenix, Ariz., home this week. “But I still want to do some broad- casting and some design work on golf courses.’” So far, the 35-year-old’s efforts on the course are paying dividends. He’s had finishes of fourth, sixth and ninth on the Hogan Tour — a breeding ground for future PGA players — and is 18th on the money list with $11,000 US. “The “scotes are evidence that it seéms tobe coming back," he said. LORNE KANIGAN ++. wants scholarship junior A. If you work hard anything can happen,’’ he said. His incteasing totals culminated this season with the Lakers as Kanigan scored 44 goals, added 53 assists’ and bonked heads with op- posing players enough to rack up 133 penalty minutes. “Thad a lot of ice time during all the regular season, I really worked hard this year to have a good season and hopefully get a chance to play college hockey in the States.’* painful come “I'm just going to play wherever | can play and right now the Hogan Tour is giving me that opportunity." That Nelford is competing on level ground with other professionals is a testament to this determination. He suffered a near carcer-ending fnjury when his right arm was broken in nine places when hit by a boat's Propeller after he fell water skiing. The nerves and tendons in the arm are still damaged and he’s been on a six-year search for a comfortable, ef. fective swing. Nelford missed the entire 1986 Season recuperating and was given a Special medical exemption by the PGA for 1987 and 1988.-He lost his tour card after finishing 200th on the money list in 1988 and spent 1989 Some tour events .under Sponsor's exemptions and competing on the Canadian tour. out Besides the Lakers run for a second straight Centennial Cup ap- pearance — they begin a best of five provincial championship ‘series with Prince George in Vernon Tuesday — getting a scholarship is Kanigan’s ob- session. It’s an obsession shared by some colleges, but Kanigan knows his future is tied to the future of the Lakers this year. “There’s quite a few offers but nothing serious right now, the fur- ther we go as a team the better offers Pitt have.”” I'll have.” No, Kanigan isn’t planning his future around playing in the NHL, he knows it’s a long shot: But if a door opens in that direction, hé will be ready to skate through it “I mean if thete was a.chance of me walking on (to an.NHL team) as a free agent or something tike that, I wouldn't pass it down by any méans. But as. far as I'm concerned, right now my Ynain objective is to get my degree and if anything élse happens after that through hockey then that’s fine.”" Next year Kanigan will disappear through the door of some U.S. college willing to pay his way and Castlegar. hockey fans may never see his picture on a bubble gum card. * But remembering Hull and Cullen, don’t count on it. Football returns to Montreal By BILL BEACON MONTREAL (CP) — They booed the Canadian anthem, cheered Bjorn Nittmo and gave American football a hero’s welcome Monday when the Mon- treal Machine played its first home game to a full house. The Montreal entry in the new World League of American Football only failed to. please on the scoreboard, where the visiting Barcelona Dragons won 34-10, It was the first game “of professional football in the city since the Alouettes of the Canadian Football League folded in 1987. The crowd greeted the Machine wih a long standing ovation as it took the American-sized 100-by- 50-yard field — 10 yards shorter and 15 narrower than a Canadian Football League field. The WLAF, inspired by the National Football League owners, was created last winter with 10 teams — six in the United States, the Machine in Canada and a European division with Barcelona, London and Frank- furt. Each team plays 10 games. back SATURDAY FEATURE He played a few Canadian events last year, missed the 72-hole cut at the PGA fall qualifying schogl and, this season, hit the road with the Hogan boys. He expects to play some Canadian events this year, but ““Bve only got half my schedule worked out right now."" During his hiatus from. the tour, Nelford found another way to stay in the game. He worked as a color commentator on CTV's golf coverage, drawing good reviews, and hopes to continue. “The PGA tour is pushing me, they are recommending me to all the networks in the U.S. but, the economy being the way it is and with everybody cutting back on budgets, it's hard to break in right now,”’ Nelford said. But as much as he likes the television work, and the money he earns doing it, Nelford still wants to play the game like he did in the early 1980s, when he lost a playoff to Hale Irwin in the 1984 Bing Crosby Pro- Am, won the 1980 world team i with Dan I and finished second in the 1983 Sea Pines Heritage Classic. “I enjoy the game,”’ he said. “I enjoy the competition, I enjoy fin- ding things out about myself on the course. “Playing tournament golf teaches you an awful lot about yourself — how you handle pressure, how you Teact to what's out there."*