Wednesday, January 22, 1992 @

City says ‘no’ to pesticides

@ Pesticide spraying not. wanted by Castlegar Scott David Harrison

’s official.

Following the lead of sever- «

al West Kootenay communi- ties, Castlegar city council op- posed pesticide spraying along area highways.

Council unanimously re- jected a request Tuesday from Boultbee Pest Control Ltd. seeking permission to spray pesticides in the West Koote-

nay. ae

It took all of two minutes for council to agree to draft a letter rejecting the Penticton- based company’s request filed with the Regional District of Central Kootenay.

By rejecting the permit, Castlegar joins Rossland, Grand Forks and the RDCK. The Regional District. of Kootenay Boundary has with- held a decision pending its own investigation.

Prior to Tuesday’s decision, the city contacted the health unit to study the chemicals to be used in the proposed spray-

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(Roundup is being used in Castlegar, but city officials have assured that it is used primarily for pavefent edges and sidewalk cracks.)

The health unit study de- termined that if used properly, the chemicals held low hazard ratings.

What captured Castlegar’s attention, though, was the unit’s statement that the chemicals should not be used in ground water levels.

“We don’t want any pesti-

‘cides near ground water or

even surface water,” Ald. Lawrence Chernoff said prior to the vote. :

The RDCK is expected to make a decision on Boutlbee’s

_ application in

CourtNEWS

Trevor Peter Planden was fined $100 and prohibited from driving for three months for driving without due care and attention.

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Strike has road work at a dead end

Jonathan Green NEWS REPORTER

What do you get when you combine a strike by highway maintenance workers and sriow?

Chaos.

Winter driving in southern

- British Columbia became all

that more hazardous this week when maintenance workers walked off the job. At 4:30 a.m. Monday, Em- con Services employees took to the picket lines after rejecting a weekend contract proposal

from the company.

Cliff Andstein said from Vancouver that negotiations. between the two sides began in Kamloops at 8:30 a.m.Tues- day.

“The union wants a collec- tive agreement,” said the B.C. Government Employees Union director of negotiations. “The employer has a bunch of concessions on the table.”

Unlike last summer’s postal workers strike, And- stein said that work would not continue on a rotating basis.

He said snow removal would occur only in emergencies.

“We have an agreement

promising emergency service

‘to the RCMP, ambulances and fire departments,” he said.

With snowfall hitting sever- al regions of the province Tuesday morning, the Min- istry of Transport and High- ways announced closures of some major routes. Among them was the Coquihalla Highway between Hope and Merritt. i

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@ Wednesday, January 22, 1992

Jonathan Green NEWS REPORTER

The Regional District of Central Kootenay has shelved plans to recover ad- ministrative costs.

In November, the nine municipal and 11 ‘rural di- rectors voted to consider ap- plying fees to the 152 ser- vices receiving district funding.

Through a $9.50 levy on all cheques written by a particular service, the dis- trict hoped to recover some $156,000. But at the Jan. 11 meeting, the board chose to put the plan on hold until 1993.

“The board decided that’s the way they wanted to go with it,” RDCK Chief Administration Officer Reid Henderson said.

Henderson said that al- though the “cost-apportion- ment” plan was retired, the board voted to pursue an- other option — liability in- surance.

In the past, cost of insur- ing particular services was covered by the RDCK. But under a new plan,.costs will be split between the service and the district.

The implementation of that plan gives facilities such as the Castlegar and District Community

RDCK rejects recovery plan

Complex some breathing room, Complex director Pat Metge said Tuesday.

Metge said if the cheque service charges had been adopted, the five compo- nents of the complex would have faced an additional $30,000 in annual costs. Under the new plan, the complex faces a $10,000 in- crease for liability insur- ance.

“It’s a realistic cost,” he said. “We don’t have a prob- lem with it.”

Metge said he hoped the board would re-evaluate over the course of 1992 the proposed cost-apportion- ment plan.

Fate of Kinnaird in hands of supporters

Scott David Harrison EDITOR , innaird Hall has survived for another day. ‘

Castlegar city council Tuesday moved to place the fate of the aging structure into the hands of the public.

Council agreed to rescind its plan to have the 50-year-old landmark closed and scrapped. Instead, against mounting pres- sure from user groups and building supporters, council has agreed to a plan that may save the Kinnaird Hall.

The plan allows council to examine the lease or sale of Kin- naird Hall. In addition, the lease or sale of the hall comes with certain criteria attached. First, in the event of a sale, the city must get market value for the structure and land. Second, cur- rent users group would be allowed to stay. Third, minimum ren- ovations would be done to ensure the hall meets safety and health requirements.

A decision on'the halll’s sale or lease is expected in February

Library closed for area residents

Jonathan Green NEWS REPORTER

User fees are continuing to scare off Area I and J residents who want to access the Castle- gar and District Public Library.

Since 1990, homeowners in the two outlying areas have had to pay an annual fee of $50 to use the local library. City homeowners, mean- while, can use the facility free of charge thanks to Castlegar tax dollars.

Ron Norman says the user fees are unfair and he wants them scrapped.

“If they want to use the library, they have to pay $50,” said Norman, the library. association chairperson. “What we’re saying is that the li- brary should be free.”

Until 1990, Norman said 20 to 25 per cent of the library members came from the outlying areas, yet the $20 annual user-fee they paid covered only three to five per cent of library

He added that area homeowners rejected a 1989 counter-petition which would have in- cluded them in the regional tax base for library

“The library had no alternative but to raise the fee,” he said:

Norman said there is residential support for a recent library board proposal to bring the once-rejected referendum back to life, but re- gional directors Kenneth Wyllie and John Voykin say that the people have to speak first.

Wyllie, director for Area J, says now is not —

the time for a referendum

“I don’t think there’s enough public support to warrant a referendum,” he said.“If it failed, Ithink it would undermine community support for the library.”

Area I director Voykin agreed, saying that if a referendum was to be held it would come at the will of the people, not the library board.

“The residents need to give me an indication they’re interested in the library.”

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