Page 2A

The Castlegar Sun

IL

Perepelkin disappearance Family hires private detective in kee

NELSON DAILY NEWS

It's been just over a year since he was last seen, and Dennis Perepe kin is still missing

The 42-year-old Taghum resi dent that disappeared without a trace on the Kinnaird Bridge in Castlegar one year ago still has his family and authorities won dering just what happened.

Perepelkin was last seen at approximately 6:36 a.m. on Jan uary 16, 1992 on the bridge that spans the Columbia River. His vehicle, a fuel tanker truck owned by his employer Esso Petroleum of Canada in Nelson, was found parked and turned off on the East side of the bridge with the keys in it

mily search parties and RCMP helicopter searches were unable to turn up any clues. A search of the river by police divers was also uneventful,

“There is nothing new. It's like it just happened yesterday,” said Perepelkin's wife Janice. “| thought by now there would be a change - I thought I could talk about it without being upset.”

“It’s really hard to know what to do when we do not know what h .” she added. “We (his

Name: Joanna Soukoroft Where you work: Schcal What you do there: Work Castlegar likes: Shopping

& play

family) all believe he is still alive but just don’t know.” Castlegar RCMP advised that

Best kept Castieg Vehicle: Bike

What would you rather be doing? Skiing

Cc @rena

c 2 Ck iamion, : eN ait ao

Or do you k

Would you like to be our Face In The Sun?

Submitted

They require investigative skills, insight, compassion, and courtroom savvy. They are the Province’s 350 Probation Officers and they are celebrating the 50th Anniversary of the Provincial Probation Service.

The role of Probation Officers has become broader and more

| Give us a call at 365-5266 or drop by our office at 465 Columbia Avenue, Castlegar.

who ?

Ban on bear parts

will Soon

KAREN KERKHOFF Sun staff

The Ministry of Environment Lands and Parks, is cracking down on the sale of certain bear Parts, such as gall bladders, paws, and genitalia, through a new reg ulation which will come into effect Feb. |

The new regulation forbids the trafficking, importing, exporting and possession of parts from both grizzly and black bears. The only exception to the new regulation will be bear paws, which will still be permitted for personal and ceremonial use by aboriginal people

A program, which was initiat- ed in April 1991, monitored the trafficking of illegal bear parts, and what had been discovered through the monitoring program was not surprising to BC Envi- ronment

BC Environment Communica- tions Coordinator, Paul Curtis, said the results of the monitoring program only verified what BC Environment already knew.

“We found most trade was associated with non-legal means We found carcasses with the banned commodities removed.”

Under the current regulations it is legal for a licensed fur trader to legally purchase or sell bear parts, but when the new regula- tion comes into effect, Curtis said that will change.

“Licensed fur traders will no

be law

kilogram.

The desirability of acquiring certain bear parts is due in part to the fact that Asian medical prac- toners prescribe extracts of ille- gal bear parts for cure of certain diseases, such as chronic illness of the liver, gallbladder and stom- ach.

BC Environment advises that people who have bear parts in their possession have until Feb. 1 to either destroy them, or take them to a BC Environmental Wildlife or Enforcement Branch office for disposal

chal since the servite was established in April, 1942. Cur- rently, across British Columbia, Probation Officers are responsi- ble for supervising approximately

19,000 youth and adult offenders

on a variety of orders. Probation Officers deal with everyone from shoplifters to sex offenders, and in most cases, their workload has become more complex. This results in increasing demands on People supervising this wide vari- ety of offenders.

They also complete approxi- mately 15,000 reports each year on offenders and present sentenc ing and release options on Judges, Prosecutors and Parole Boards. As such, Probation Offi- cers play a critical role in the Criminal Justice System

British Columbia’s Probation Officers are among the best trained in the country but they still rely largely on their own resourcefulness and. versatility

they distributed about 200 “miss- ing” postexs locally and another 3,000 werk displayed at some 2,300 police agencies across Canada “At the present time. there no further leads since ¢ investigation wound down,” said Castlegar RCMP Cpl Brown. “The case won't be closed until such time as he is found,”

“We will still follow up any new leads that are brought for ward,” he added

The immediate family and rel atives, who have been very strong and united in their efforts to locate Perepelkin, have recently hired a private detective to help in the investigation.

“My sister-in-law hired a detective in about November and so far he has just been looking in Canada,” said Janice Perepelkin “The private investigator has not found anything new at all. We're going to put a picture and a story in the bigger city newspapers today or on the weekend.’

“I don’t know - I n't live like this forever,” she responded to a question on how long she would wait before giving up on her mis husband. “I don’t know where to start. Everything is just in limbo. I don't even know what to think about doing.”

still uns

Wednesday, January 20, 1993

olved after one year ping hopes alive

DENNIS PEREPELKIN

something, anything, different,” she added: “Maybe we're look ing in all the wrong places.”

“If he ‘reads this article or is in a position to read it, | would just like to say that we all miss him a lot, we love him and we'd all like him to come home - if it's possible - or at least get in touch with us,” said Mrs. Pere

“From the beginning I just feel t there is someone out there somewhere that knows something,” she added in a public appeal. “He just can't disappear It doesn't make any sense.”

Anyone with information conceming the disappearance or location of Dennis Perepelkin is asked to contact the Castlegar

Wednesday, January 20, 1993

The Castlegar Sun

BIA defeated by downtown merchants

SHARLENE IMHOFF Sun Editor

The establishment of a Busi- ness Improvement Area to allow for cohesive planning in Castle- gar's downtown won't be hap- pening this year, since the initiative was defeated by more than 50 per cent of downtown merchants

The purpose of a Business Improvement Area (BIA), is to allow property owners and busi- nesses in a specified area the abil- ity to pool their funds and effort for continyed marketing, beautifi- cation, research, maintenance and management. The initiative to begin a BIA on the part of down- town businesses was to go hand- in-hand with the city’s current strive for downtown revitaliza- tion and. facade improvement, according to Peter Vatkin, a busi- hess owner who was promoting the idea of a BIA.

The concept of a BIA involves having the municipal council col- lecting taxes frbm downtown businesses, on behalf of down- town business. The money col- lected would be spent entirely by downtown merchanis, in any way they saw fit to’ spend it. The City of Castlegar was prepared to become involved as a tax collec- tor in the initiative, but because more than 50 per cent of the value of property owners

The dedicated staff of probation services in Castlegar (I-r): Local Director, Fred Kani-

gan; Auxiliary Probation Officer, Carol Russell:

sellor, Laurie Morgan and Clerk Steno, Jackie Larson

Within a single hour, they may be comforting a victim of an assault, lobbying a group home to take a young offender, con- fronting an offender about miss- ing a treatment session, or referring persons to other appro- priate service providing commu-

nity agencies

In recent years, Probation Officers have also been trained as Family Court Counsellors to pro- vide information and mediation services for separating couples as well as investigating home situa tions for Courts faced with child

New Democrat labor relations code now in effect

will be fair and balanced, Social Credit Caucus Director of Operation. Martin Brown, had voiced strong opposition to the new Labour Code.

KAREN KERKHOFF Sun staff

Most sections of the new Labour Relations Code came into effect Jan. 18, with the exception of certain sections, thereby making’ the con-

troversial Labour Code (Bill 84) law.

The new Labour Relations Code has been heralded with much fan fare from Labour Minister, Moe Sihota.

‘The new Labour Relations Code provides the framework for mod- em industrial relations in the province. The real test of the fairness and balance built into the new code now. begins.” «

The sections which are delayed are; section 53 and 54, which will address joint consultation committees, and sections 83, 86, 87, 104, and 105 which deals with arbitration issues, and will require the establish Ment of an arbitration bureau prior to proclamation.

Although the Labour Minister has indicated that the new Labour Code

School board continues debate on classroom

KAREN KERKHOFF Sun staff

Parents representing Robson Elementary School breathed a

when a motion was presented to provide the Young Mom’s Pro. gram with a portable

Chairperson, Joanne Baker, opposed the motion, charging that the-K

“This has now tilted the scales

of Labour Law in B.C. towards the

unions. The whole purpose is to encourage unionization

The sections which still remain

in place are sections 74 and 78, and

these will be replaced by sections 53 and 54 which address joint consul- tation committees. It is expected that the new sections will be pro-

claimed May 1

Sections 95 and 96 will remain in effect until new. sections, which deal with arbitration can replace them. These will require the establish-

ment of an arbitration bureau prior

to proclamation. The new arbitration

bureau is expected to be established later in the year.

The additional 17 regulations which came into effect Jan. 18 cover applications to the new Labour Relations Board, which replaces the for- mer Industrial Relations Council, as well as voting procedures as direct- ed by the Board or minister during a strike or lockout

may be at a cost, but we're getting all the child care free. Education does not begin at Kindergarten and end at grade 2. This program is a win-win.I can't understand

portables

Trustee Bill Kinakin, also sup- ported the motion stating that the Young Mother’s Program is a model program, a program which Castlegar canbe proud of support-

Probation Officer/Family Court Coun-

SUN STAFF PHOTO / Sharlene Imhott

custody and access decisions.

The Castlegar Probation and Family Court Services Office is one of .78 throughout the Province operated by the Cortec tions Branch of the Ministry of Attomey General

The office opened in 1974 and Probation Officers/Famity Court Counsel lors and one administrative sup- port staff. The office carries an average caseload of 70 offenders and approximately 28 family ser vic€sS Cases at any one time Presently, the catchment area for the Castlegar Probation and Fam- ily Court Services office includes all communities between China Creek to Slocan City

Reconciliation with the com munity is an important part of today’s offender program philoso- phy. As an example, this is achieved by way of community service or direct victim reparation

Local Director, Fred Kanigan, 1s particularly proud of the dedi- cated service of clerk steno, Jackie Larson; Probation Officer/Family Court Counsellor, Laurie Morgan: and Auxiliary Probation Officer, Carol Russell

He is also appreciative ofthe

good working relationship the

now has two

P is the BIA will not take place.

According to an official at-city hall, business owners had until last Friday to make their concerns known. By Friday afternoon, 69 per cent of the value of property owners, or 39 property owners, submitted views stating they were against the initiative at this time.

Peter Vatkin, who admits he is disappointed by the results, said he can understand -why some business owners were opposed to the idea at this time

“Sure I'm disappointed, but it's not the end of the world—and this isn’t something I’m taking personally. It's just an initiative that will have to wait for awhile.”

Most of the downtown busi- ness owners who were opposed said the felt the idea was a good one, but not at this time. Because a downtown revitalization will be taking place, involving construc- tion, they felt it would be better to hold off until the revitalization Process is complete. Another rea- son to hold off until after the revitalization is due to funding— some business owners are not sure how they will be sitting financially after the revitalization process is complete in two years.

While some business owners were against a collective taxing initiative altogether, most were in favor of the initiative—but at a later time

SHARLENE IMHOFF Sun Editor

Castlegar Mayor, Audrey Moore, said she will be making the best contributions possible towards the committees to which she was appointed to by Region al District of Central Kootenay Chair, George Cady.

Moore, who was appointed to sit as a director on the Regional District of Central Kootenay board by council in December, received her committee appoint- ments during an RDCK meeting, last Saturday.

Moore’s committee appoint- ments are as follows: Govern- ment Awareness; Building, Planning and Development Ser- vices; and Federation of Canadi- an Municipalities.

One of the criticisms directed towards Castlegar City Council, by some members of the public, in appointing Moore to the RDCK, was that she would not receive any important appoint- ments by George Cady, since the two have not been on good working terms for many years.

Moore would not commient

Moore prepared to deal with portfolios |

directly on whether she was dis- appointed with her resulting appointments by Cady. She did say however, that she had listed other portfolios to which she was hoping to be appointed—portfo- lios such as Executive Personnel and Resources

Although she was not appoint ed to these committees, Moore said. she still plans to attend, in non-appointee capacity, any< meetings that interest her.

“I'm still going to take a full interest in the RDCK,” Moore finished.

Other Appointments

Area I Director on the RDCK, John Voykin, has been appointed to the following committees Waste Management Committee; Building and Planning and Development Services: Commit- tee; West Kootenay Board of Health; and the West Kootenay Courts of Revision. Area I encompasses the following Thrums, Tarrys, Glade, Pass Creek, Brilliant, and part of the Voykin subdivision

Area_I Director on the RDCK, Ken Wyllie, has been’ appointed

AUDREY MOORE

to the following committees Resources; Government Aware- ness, West Koote Board of Health; and West Kootenay Courts of-Revision. Area J encompasses the following Robson, West Robson, Raspber- ry, Ootischenia, Blueberry Creek, Fairview and Blueberry- Paulson

y to the idea, —

George Rilkoff (left) and Tim Dont ‘board up the doorway to Kinnaird Middle School after someone drove their vehicle through it, for the second time in less than three days. Police believe a pick-up is involved in the repeat incident

i SUN STAFF PHOTO /John Van Putten

WEATHER

OUTLOOK: The forecast for Wednes- day; A fairly stable but moist pattern will result in a few snow flurries during the morning. A system crossing Washington State in the afternoon may be close

enough to produce a late

Temperature: Max/Date

-2./17

Precipitation: Rain

REMARKS:

ing. warmer temperatures.

and evening snowfall. High today near zero. Lows overnight near -5. Out look for Thursday and Friday: Cloudy skies and periods ‘of light snow

A LOOK BACK AT THE PAST WEEK: Min/Date

-15.7/11

Snow

18

Arctic air blanketing the Province gave dry conditions with well below normal temperatures and above normal sunshine his past week. As the week progressed milder air started moving in form the South-west bring:

Forecast provided by The South - East Interior Weather Office at Castlegar, B.C. ARROW LAKE RESERVOIR FORECAST Jan. 16 - 1392.6 Jan. 23-1392.5

Normal Mean

Mean

“7.4 3.4

Normal Total

Total

0.8 28.4

Normal Number of Hours

5.9

P&T upgrade results in temporary layoffs

KAREN KERKHOFF Sun staff

Not many people elect to take their vacations at the end of February, but some Pope and Tal- bot employees will be doing just that due to layoffs February 26.

Pope and Talbot project man- ager, Bob Coutts, has verified that the workers will be laid off, but said the layoffs will be of short duration, and are a result of

the $9.5 million upgrade which was announced in early Decem- ber. “The layoffs are part and par- cel of the upgrade while the upgrade is in process.”

Sun Staff had been told that there was a possibility the layoffs were due to a lack of logs. How- ever, Coutts said the cause of lay- off is directly related to construction, not the lack of logs.

“I've got logs coming out my ears. The layoffs are due to the

SHARLENE IMHOFF

RDCK to discuss contract with Corp of Commissionaires

enforce. bylaws throughout the regional district.

Sun Editor

If the Corps is hired by the RDCK, it would

sionaires for a one-year term. The British Columbi

Board Directors from the Regional District of Central Kootenay have voted in favor of entering into an agreement with the B.C. Corps of Commis-

Corps of C

aires, a non-profit society comprised of former members of the Armed Forces and the RCMP, pro- vide security and other services to gov

with officials from the Corps of Commissionaires how it could help

8 np tration. Whether for animal control or unsightly premises, an RDCK staffer said earlier that the corps would allow more complaints to be investi- gated-—thereby speeding up the process.

RDCK Secretary/Assistant Administrator, Barry Baldigara, said the need for assistance in enforce- Ment derives from an accumulation of bylaws and

and report. back to adminis-

less adi

“The more. bylaws that are in place, the more administrative time it takes for the RDCK:to force them,” he

time for

said during an earlier interview.

Smoldering cigare

KAREN KERKHOFF

Sun Staff

A cigarette smoldering in an armchair and the absence of smoke alarms is a lethal combi- nation which most people would

tte results in fire at Robson home

house trailers, they can be gutted in three to seven minutes. There is so little time to get out of them. All dwellings should have smoke detec- tors, I'can't enforce that enough— it’s a matter of life and death.”

The Robson Fire department

longer be able to sell or purchase bear-parts.There—wilt nat and out ban.”

In 1992 new wildlife regula tions were amended to improve bear management, and help decrease the illegal trade in bear parts. But the new amendments will be rendered invalid when the new regulations come into effect

Current provincial black bear populations are estimated at approximately 112,000. but the growing demand for bear pars might see those numbers. quickly depleted. Extensive trade in bear parts in Asia is increasing demands, and some bear parts sell for as much as $1,000 per

igh of relief wh tion—to- provide Robson elementary School with a portable classroom was passed at the School. District No. 9 Board meeting Jan. 18.

Superintendent of Schools, Everette Surgenor, supported the resolution, citing the obvious need of increased space for the students at Robson Elementary.

‘I recognize the problem with space there. The medical room is being used for other purposes There is ¢gertainly a need at the School for more space.”

The resolution to provide Rob- son elementary with the portables was carried unanimously, howev- er considerable discussion ensued

yy Chittcare Soctery had not looked beyond their cur- rent needs for space, thereby con- demning their students to overcrowding. “I support the pro- gram. I know what it is like to be a young mom, but the Society had a dream, but they just didn't dream big enough. They knew there were 24 young moms out there. They did all that renovation and chopped the building up into small little rooms. At this-point | don't really see that we can go and do that (provide portables)” Trustee, Mickey Kinakin, argued strongly on behalf of the Young Mom's program. “I ha no problem with us doing it. It

Why We Should Object, the pro- gram is meeting the educational needs of students.”

ing. “We cither lead or we follow. We started this thing, I think we should follow it through.”

exists between all-community agencies and the Probation

Office.

Kambara officially announced as Premier's Excellence Award winner

SUN STAFF

Stanley Humphries Secondary School student, Sonoko Kambara, has been named one of the win ners in the 1992 Premier's Excel

lence Awards Fhe Excellenc nt for

Awards are an annual eve students in each of the 15 college regions and are based ea community service, académic excellence and school service

Premier Mike Harcourt, and

Advanced Education minister, Tom Perry commended the recip- ients of the awards.

“These students are to be com mehded on their efforts in school and in their communities. The Premier's Excellefice

mize their

Awards rec fforts and encourage them to be exemplary citizens

The awards which were estab- lished in 1986, include a medal of recognition and a $5,000 scholar ship to attend a B.C. university

college, or institute

be lucky to walk away from. But Frank Gallo, of Robson, did just that when the trailer he was rent- ing at the Hideaway Trailer Park was gutted by fire in the early morning hours of Jan. 14 Robson Fire Department Chief, Bob Taylor, said that Gallo was extremely lucky he did not perish in the fire. The formal investigation, which was con- ducted by Taylor, determined that the fire was started by a smolder- ing cigarette and there was not a smoke detector in the trailer. “People sHould have smoke detectors for sure, especially in

received the call at 2:15 am., and

, Taylor said firefighters were on ~ the scene by 2:20 am., but it was

too late to save the trailer. “We were there within five minutes of receiving the call, but by that time it was fully involved. Mr Gallo had apparently woke up and there it was" Taylor said that even though the Trailer was gut ted, and Gallo “lost everything”, one thing Gallo was lucky to not lose was his life

construction, not the lack of Togs.” Coutts said there will be a minimal amount of workers affected by the layoff, and all the affected employees will be back to-work by April 5, when the new equipment will be installed, with the majority of workers returning to work by March 15

“We haven't made up the final worklists, but my best guessti- mate is that there will be about 100 workers laid off.”,

About 30 construction workers will be used for the duration of the upgrade, which is expected to be completed by April 5. The upgrade will include the installa- tion of an optimized double length infeed canter-quad, which will allow for more lumber recovery, and will enable more lumber to be recovefed per log. This. in turn translates into increased efficiency, and theré- fore increased profits, a desirable result for any company

Coutts said the upgrade is only part of a larger plan. “We are call- ing this phase one. There will be a phase two. We hope to get approval for that in late 1993. \

It is not certain what the cost of phase two will be, or what it will include. “I do not have the numbers of what it will entail.”

But one thing Coutts is certain of, is the expected longevity of Pope and Talbot in Castlegar.

“You don't spend this kind of money if you don't intend to be here for a while, and we intend to be here for a long time.”

Local woman $15,000 richer after scratching ticket from Pharmasave

A local woman, Shirley Sher stobitoff, fell head-on into a snowbank and came out $15,000 richer.

Sherstobitoff had just bought a snowbank scratch ticket Jan. 9 from Pharmasave, and was in her vehicle on her way home with her husband when she started scratching the ticket

“When I started scratching the ticket I saw letters, which means

there is a winner. I told my hus band “gosh it looks like a big-one_-~ The ‘big one’ ended up being a $15,000 windfall which came exactly one month after Shersto-- bitoff had scratched $1,000 on Dec. 9, Sherstobitoff and her hus band didn't cash the ticket in Kamloops until Jan. 15 when Sherstobitoff's husband could get the day off For now, Sherstobitoff said. she

\

will bank the money, and think about what she plans to do with the wind fall. However, she is considering tak Ning a holiday with her husband.

Sherstobitoff said she intends on buying more scratch tickets especially in February ‘

“My horoscope said T would come into big bucks in February

If that happens, the old saying “three’s a charm”, will have spe- cial meaning to Sherstobitoff

Deer Park parents will be given notice of termination of bus run

KAREN KERKHOFF _ Sun staff

The board of trustees from School District No. 9 can expect Opposition to a resolution that they passed Monday evening.

The resolution states that Deer Park parents be given notice of termination of the school bus run, effective September, 1993

On route to Deer Park, the bus travels an often winding, narrow and elevated road, that is also used by other traffic such as log- ging trucks. Deer Park Road resi- dent, Garry Batting, said removal of the 35-passenger bus would create a hardship and danger whiclfis unnecessary.

“When the kids_use the. bus they are insured, and the bus driver has a radiophone on the bus, He is always in contact with other people on the road, and there is really no danger.” -

Batting said that transportation assistance, which is offered to Deer Park parents, in lieu of bus transportation, does not even begin to cover the expensive and time involved in transporting the students.

“Now we're all going to be on the road, and this means four times a day. The money they give us, which is two hundred and some- thing per family does not even begin to cover it. We used to have to

drive the kids before, we complied and wrecked two vehicles. That road is rough. The money didn’t even cover the gas and what we went through. There is always the problem that we have to be there when the kids get dropped off.”

Batting said formal notifica- tion from the bapa, Anas had not been received yet, however. if bus services were withdrawn the parents would then meet to dis cuss their transportation options.

There are currently five stu dents from Deer Park who attend schools in the district, but Batting said that the school bus also pro- vides transportation for other stu- dents along the route which includes Broadwater Road Thrums and Tarrys.

“It’s not a wasted trip.”

Board member, John Dascher, said the school bus would likely be put to good use elsewhere

“There is a good chance the bus will be re-routed and will be needed in the fall. There is a probl¢m in the south end, and there is a good chance the bus can be used there.”

The only good news for the Parents affected js that there was also a resolution passed Jan. 18 that the “kilometrage rate (trans portation assistance) in Regula- tion 8195 be adjusted from 16 cents to 25 cents, effective Jan-

uary 1, 1993.”

Library AGM recognizes local distinction

MARILYN STRONG Sun Staff

Last Monday night more than 60 Castlegar residents tumed out at the Royal Canadian Legion Hall for the Castlegar and District Public Library Association Annu- al General Meeting

After a few words of welcome from Castlegar Mayor Audrey Moore, a delicious turkey dinner was served by the Legion Ladies Auxiliary.

Special presentations were made to ten year volunteer Joyce McBeth and 40 year volunteer Glady Manahan. Jim Crawford received special recognition for his abilities in adapting the library to computers and Ron Norman received recognition as a past Board Chairman and Chair- man of the Personnel Committee which recently negotiated the union contract with staff

Highlights of the year included a circulation which, for the first time, exceeded 100,000. The Castlegar library has the«<tistinc- tion of having one of the largest circulations per capita in the province

According to statistics present- ed by Head Librarian Judy Wear mouth and prepared by the provincial government, Castlegar had the highest lending rate per

capita in 1990 and each year the library numbers increase beyond the corresponding population Some of the increases this past year was certainly due to the 1,448 new members.

A special resolution from the floor was unanimously approved that the Library strongly urge the federal government to provide funding for literacy programs. Sue Port reported that there were about one dozen volunteers teamed up with Castlegar residents in the Project Literacy program.

During the-AGM, the new board was elected for 1993 and that includes: Joy Anderson; Myrna Baulne; David Bullock; Polly Corbett; Terry Dalton George Kosowan; Helen Moore; Jean Sylvest and Jennifer Waring. The Board Officers will be elected at their first meeting in Febniary

Following the meeting, Jane Browne and Elizabeth Fleet spoke about their recent tnp to China with the Cetgar, City and College delegation. Jane's display of photos, silk, kimonos and books were extremely informa tive. Both Jane and Elizabeth included many personal anec dotes about daily life in China, their abilities to-adapt to a variety of different foods and personal grooming habits.