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PAGE A4, WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 21, 1991 MEMBER OF THE B.C. PRESS COUNCIL ESTABLISHED A AUOUST 7, 1967 TWICE WEEKLY may 4, 1980

THE MID-

27, 10880

LV. CAMPBELL ~ PUBLISHER, AUGUST 7, 1947-FEBRUARY 1 BURT CAMPBELL, PUBLIGHER EMERITUS ~ PUBLISHER, FEBRUARY 16, Soro MAY 9, 1901

me PUBLISHER ~Dave McCullough : EDITOR — Simon Birch a . PLANT FOREMAN ~ Peter Harvey WSF OFFICE MANAGER = Warren Chemoft CIRCULATION MANAGER — Heather Hadley ADVERTISING MANAGER - Mark Davis

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‘EDITORIAL

Discretion needed

Should the media allow themselves to be pawns in blatant attempts by certain groups to draw public attention to their

causes?

That’s the question our news department staff batted around Friday afternoon after being informed earlier that day there would be a staged protest Monday morning near Silver- ton by Hasty Creek water users who are upset that Slocan Forest Products planned to start building roads near the creek this week in preparation for logging.

As you can see from the front page story and photograph by reporter Ed Mills, and his analysis of planned protests on page A2, we decided to go, but: not without some debate.

In the end, we decided that the issue should be the deter- mining factor in the decision whether or not we cover an event such as the Hasty Creek protest.

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LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

In this case, the i issue is essentially the controversial topic

1 in wi heds. It’ hing important not only to the people who live in that ea of the Slocan Valley, but to everyone in B.C. }

Since part of the media’s joh is to foster public discussion about issues such as logging in watersheds, we decided it was important to cover the Hasty Creek protest.

‘Of course, the question now is, What next?

If the water users decide to stage another protest — per- haps breaking the law in doing so — do we cover that event as well? Probably, because the issue remains the same.

However, the thought strikes us that the law of diminish- ing returns probably comes into play with these planned protests — the public probably bi d by repetitive scenes of protesters waving placards and being carried off by the police.

Therefore, we think orchestrated media events should be used with discretion.

VIEWPOINT

Teachers lay out bargaining ideas

‘By DONNA JONES President

B.C. School Trustees Association

Every resident of B.C. who values the role public education plays in our society will be inter- ested in knowing that on Aug. 14 the B.C. School Trustees Association presented a collec- tive bargaining brief to Educa- tion Minister Stan Hagen, enti- tled Achieving a Better Teacher Bargaining System.

This brief contains a set of seven rights and principles that, if accepted by government and the education partners, would set the stage for a more enlight-

have to pay for, the bargaining decisions.

* The bargaining process must have integrity. It must not be interfered with, unilaterally set aside or undone, nor allowed to invade unreasonably other functions.

The BCSTA believes the min- ister of education should begin now with genuine, appropriate, collaborative consultation about the teacher bargaining system. This consultation must involve the major partners in education and enough time must-be pro- vided so that the result will be a long-term cure for real problems and not simply a band-aid for

Change policy

Closure of the Castlegar post office is the natural conclusion of current Conservative government policy being implemented by Canada Post.

Just ask Jack Chernoff of Castlegar, who was for some years a member of the Canada Post board of directors, at the instigation of then-MP Bob Brisco, a Conservative.

The Castlegar News of Aug. 14 headlined Rural Dignity’s warning that the local post office — including its regional distribution function — might soon centralize in Kelow- na. Your story contained delightful protesta- tions from Canada Post's representative, Mr. Doug McClelland.

He denounced the warning from our own Sandra Groepler as “speculation” and “spreading fear,” but confirmed that Canada Post has closed a thousand corporation-run post offices Canada since the privati- zation policy Was implemented five years ago. This should inspire confidence?

In fact, of course, Canada Post is simply working its way from smaller to larger com- munities in its staged transition to complete private-sector operation of retail postal ser- vices across the country.

Recently it replaced Robson’s post office with a small contract operation, and soon it will do the same with Genelle. Under cur- rent policy, Castlegar’s post office changeover is only a matter of time.

Alternatives, of course, are available, but must begin with a change in government instruction to its Crown corporation, Cana- da Post.

Fundamentally, the goal of the post office must be service without deficit and without profit, and at the best possible cost to the citizens who own it.

That principle lies as the cornerstone to

the New Democratic Party policy on Canada Post as presented by NDP MP Len Taylor back in April 1990 in his report On the Future of Our National Postal System.

In 34 recommendations, the New Demo- crat MP showed how Canada can have the

‘postal service it deserves without subsidy

and without privatization. The next federal government needs to adopt a program simi- lar to this.

As local letter carriers union president Bill Enstedt said in your article on Aug. 14, it’s discouraging to fight individual post office closures.

Rather, we need to change the federal government’s entire privatization mandate to Canada Post.

An election, anyone?

Lyle Kristiansen Kootenay West-Revelstoke MP

Holiday pay lacking

I am writing to you so that I can publicly protest an action taken against me and oth- er members of the Pulp, Paper and Wood- workers of Canada Local No. 1 by Celgar Pulp Co.

At this pulp mill we have an option regarding holiday pay — take it at the beginning of January, or take the pay when the holidays are taken.

In 1984, I opted to not take my holiday

day pay until the lockout had been lifted. This money was owed to me for the 1983 work year, not 1984,

Well, here we are in 1991, locked out again. I had been taking my holiday pay in January since 1984 but I forget one small item — part of the holiday pay agreement is that 10 hours of pay (dependent on years of service) is to be given out when the first week of holidays is taken.

Bingo. I phone into Celgar (different own- ers, of course) and I am told the 10 hours pay I am owed or the full holiday pay for other employees will be withheld until the labor dispute is settled.

This is money already earned. Thanks Celgar. We certainly can see by this exam- ple how you care for your “team” players!

P.S. I supported the pulp mill expansion.

Art Dusseault Castlegar

Please address all letters to the editor to: Letters to the Editor, Castlegar News, P.O. Box 3007, Castlegar, B.C. VIN 3H4, or deliver them to our office at 197 Columbia Ave. in Castlegar.

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 and a telephone number at which the writer can be reached between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. The writer's name and city or town of only will be Only in cases will letters be

pay in January. For the full year previ to the 1984 lockout, the entire maintenance department had been laid off every second Friday. This 10 per cent loss of wages made the lockout that much more difficult.

Upon phoning payroll at the mill, I was told the y was withholding my holi-

published without the writer's name. Nevertheless, the name, address and telephone number of the writer MUST be disclosed to the editor.

The Castlegar News reserves the right to edit letters for brevity, clarity, legality, grammar and taste.

VICTORIA (CP) — Premier Rita Johnston, high school

dropout, teenaged mother and deficit.

$9.7-billion budget

Johnston in the spotlight

Socreds eye election boost from premiers’ conference pound Geaee Credit's lagging

She travelled to Montreal this month to talk with Quebec Premier Robert Bourassa who

ened and stable bargaining pro- cess and, at the same time, pro- tect the interests of students, taxpayers and employees.

The rights and principles that the BCSTA believes should be pre-eminent in bargaining are as follows:

¢ Students have a right, through their school board rep- resentatives, to insist that their learning conditions are not unreasonably affected by collec- tive bargaining.

© People have a right to influ- ence decisions affecting their lives and livelihood. Teachers have a right to collective bar- gaining.

© Taxpayers, through their school boards, have a right to

symptoms.

In discussions with school boards across the province, and through public research, we know that the current nature of the collective bargaining system, and the disruptions it has brought to the education of young people, are not supported by B.C. voters.

We believe that any signifi- cant positive change to the cli- mate around bargaining will not occur through unilateral govern- ment decisions regarding bar- gaining.

If, for the sake of our stu- dents, we wish to stabilize the climate of education, there is a need to build a consensus, trust and understanding before

are

ensure that are not excessive.

* Dispute resolution for con- flicts between these rights must

be based on a balance of power. ny cannot strip employees of meani: influence, nor strip ——. and students of mean-

of local circum- mr

those who elect them and to those who are by, and

It’s time to adopt more mature attitudes in the way we work together in public educa- tion.

British Columbians share the view that the purpose of our school system is to enable learn- ers to develop their individual potential and to acq' knowl- edge, skills and attitudes needed to contribute to a healthy society anda prospetoas and sustain-

former trailer-park owner, assumes her biggest role in the national spotlight next week.

Social Credit strategists look for a statesman-like perfor- mance when she presides over the annual premiers’ confer- ence Aug. 26-27 at Whistler, the posh resort north of Van- couver.

And they hope to propel her from the limelight of confer- ence into a provincial election.

“It can certainly help if she makes an impression on the public of British Columbia that she feels comfortable repre- senting them on the national stage,” said Jess Ketchum, Socred director.

“It will assist the profile of Rita Johnston as premier of the province and - a signifi- cant par in Canadi

Rae ac- cused her of cheap politi-

first woman

premier,

meanwhile,

has some RITA JOHNSTON catching up

to do on na-tional issues.

Johnston is getting a crash course.

“She could get upset at the extent of briefing documents people are expecting her to read,” Ketchum said. “But she enjoys it.”

‘The conferences largely fea- ture closed-door meetings and little major news.

Individuals seldom shine but the chairman commands

politics.”

At thé least, her handlers don’t want negative publicity.

Johnston, who can be grand- motherly one minute and rasor- ed the next, recent- ly locked horns with Ontario NDP Premier Bob Rae after repeatedly badmouthing his

more att as official

Johnston is expected to call an election soon. She must to the voters by late fall.

Some observers say pl: host to the 32nd gnsenl aoe miers’ =. will her image, but won't turn

The party was wracked for 4-1/2 years by bittar. ting and byelection losses béfore Johnston took over April 2 from Bill Rbeeag Zalm. He

is boycotting the conference. Johnston convinced Bouras- sa to visit British Columbia ay fall for further discussions dian unity. And she

found him in ‘conflict of interest over his business dealings.

A divisive leadership battle that saw Johnston defeat party matriarch Grace McCarthy by a mere 60 votes a month ago didn’t help.

Opinion polls have suggest- ed for three years that the Socreds have an uphill battle to beat the NDP.

“The facetious comment is she could hardly look worse than previous wrk ir said L; Erickson, a i University political sci- sci-

ie clearly her handlers are trying to establish with voters that she is a credible leader.”

Donald Blake, a University of British orig cra politica) scientist, sees J dlers moulding her image as

And Johnston has begun

changed her tune about Que- bec.

During her leadership cam- paign she maintained there was no room for negotiations if Quebec wasn’t interested in remaining in Canada. But after talking to Bourassa, she sug- gested British Columbians need “a bit of education” to understand Quebecers,

“She went into the office of premier with very little back- ground on those kinds of issues,” Blake sai

“I think anything she can do to show that she’s willing to learn makes her look a more effective leader.”

After meeting Bourassa, Johnston travelled to Ottawa, where she was briefed on the federal government's unity strategy rae Constitutional Affairs ister Joe Clark.

She saith it, even though the policy hasn't been d yet.

laying the gr

as hana gts int OT SA a ssa alice Bai

continued from a

One way to contribute to the achievement of this goal is to establish a bargaining system which models the val and behaviors that we wish our young people to develop,

Cleaning up the province's landfills can be expensive

By MARTIN MEYER

It is time to that there are many constituents and that all have rights that a: be respected and protect-

Public education is precisely that — public. It is not the domain of any individual, group or party. A strong public educa- tion system demands strong public support and such will not be forthcoming when the major actors in the piece are not seen to be in accord’ on major issues.

It is time to make genuine efforts to reach agreement in teacher bargaining so that we can all get on with the job of providing quality education.

Everyone reading this has a direct interest in our system of public education. If you believe. that the approach to teacher bargaining and employee rela- tions problem-solving should be based on mutual respect and fairness, and that such an approach deserves serious con- sideration by government, please write to us. Take the time to share with us your thoughts and ideas on how all the education partners might be brought together to work as a team for the benefit of young people and for the ultimate ben- efit of our province.

LOTTERIES

THE DAILY

9 : 002966, 271358, : 10744, 50736, : 7296, 7073, 8758 : 273, 939, 332

- 61,77, 92 : 929625, 045665, : 67812, 02110, : 7978, 0032, 3723

3: 338, 995, 274 2 81,41, 77

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3: 492, 166, 584 3 23, 63, 94

Aug. 16 Match 6:866912, 478246,

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y Group

How much do ‘you think it would cost to clean up a dump site?

B.C, government ‘expects to spend up to $60 mil- lion to clean up the contami- nated soil on the Expo 86 site in downtown Vancouver. The site is reported to be contami- nated with a century of waste, including tar, gasoline, diesel fuel, motor oil, wood preserva- tive and heavy metals.

Not only is a huge sum of money involved, but huge has- sles as well.

The simple fact is that peo- ple don’t want the contaminat- ed soil to be deposited in their area. Nobody wants contami- nants to seep into groundwa- ter systems or to enter the food chain.

The controversy going on over the Expo site may only be

a sample of what we have to look forward to in the future as some of B.C.’s landfill sites have to be cleaned up or exca- vated for any reason.

Also, it’s an example of the type of costs we'll all have to share for cleaning up areas that have residues of toxic materials.

So what can we do if we wish to avoid future hassles and major cleanup costs?

Simple. Reduce the total input to our community land- fill —- the Ootischenia dump — as much as possible, and avoid putting any toxic materials into the dump.

The sooner we start serious- ly doing these things, the longer we can delay the day when we have to deal with the consequences of a full landfill site. As many of us well know, time passes quickly.

August 21,1991 : C

YOUR COMMUNITY AWARD WINNING FOOD STORE

POLICE NEWS

Castlegar RCMP are investi- gating a bicycle accident which sent a 65-year-old local man to hospital with a broken collar bone, facial injuries and a con- cussion.

John Makoroff was found by a local reident lying by the side of the road in the 800 block 8th Avenue Sunday morning.

The investigation has not revealed whether he fell off his bike or whether a vehicle was involved, police said.

eee

Police are investigating a report of wilful damage to the Coralea Scheupfer pool in Rob- son overnight on Aug. 17.

Signs were torn down, garbage was dumped into the pool, a chimney atta to an adjacent building was/demol- ished and beer cans were strewn around, police said.

The RCMP is investigating the possibility that people attending a neqarby house party may have been responsible for the damage.

Police do not have an esti- mate of the dmage at this time.

eee

A propane tank attached to a barbecue exploded Monday at

5:45 p.m, resulting in burns to the face and arms of a 41-year- old man at 2600 block 10th Avenue, police said.

eee

Amendments to the Motor Vehicle Act have made it an offence to carry a person outside of the passenegr compartment of a pickup truck’ within the

gers, which means the driver of the vehicle will also be charged. However, the offence must occur within a municipality.

A police spokesman said the law is specified for municipali- ties only probably as a result of recent incidents in places like Penticton which saw truckloads of people riding up and down

ies of a i The regulation requires peo- ple to be seated in a seat that is securely mounted in the passen- ger compartment while the vehi-

cle is moving, RCMP said. The new law applies to drivers as well as their passen-

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