ABLIGHED AUG 7. 1947 Tt mu

(ARMBER OF TH B.C. PRESS COUN

TWICE WEEKLY MAA 4.1980 12, 19

LV. CAMPBELL — PUBLISHER AUG. 7, 147-FE, 15, 1979

‘cdverncament propored rom Slngeaccneme

Ft weny Sested im ond belongs to Castle News L'd.. provided. however, thot copyright L rod trom repre procts, engrovings. eX. provided By the

Give locals edge

The controversy over Castlegar council's decision to award a water contract worth nearly $25,000 to an out-of-town supplier isn't new. It's simply another side to the complex issue of local hiring and local purchasing.

The two can't really be separated. Those who champion the cause of local hiring can’t very well oppose local buying, just os those who say we should hire the

heapest labor possible regardl

ot where it comes from can't suddenly say we should buy all our goods locally no matter what the price.

Most Castlegar residents would agree it is good tor the community to hire locally and to buy locally. But the issue gets sticky when that policy is put into practice.

Does that mean we hire locally even if we have to shell out for much hi wages? Do we still buy locally when the price is

what it can be purchased for out of town?

Where do we draw the line?

py ‘

is o] to decide where to draw the line. It is f he @ new purchasing policy. That policy will provide o guideline for the city.

it will spell out when the city

offered elsewhere. It will also spell out when the city should reject the local price in favor of the cheaper out-of-town

price.

But it will be another thing to get council to follow that policy. That was the problem with the water contract.

The works and services committee made its decision without referring to the present city p ing policy. The pi iJ policy stipulates thot council should give preterence to local suppliers up to a limit of five per cent or $250.

Under those conditions, the Bartle and Gibson bid would still have been rejected because even though it was only tive per. cent higher than the Kelowna firm's bid, it was higher by some $1,400.

But evpn if a new purchasing policy provides more generous limits for local businesses, council could still run into the same

instead, council should review each case individually and judge each on its own merits. It should use its new purchasing policy and the- whole low bid system as guidelines, not as hard and tast rules which must be adhered to at all costs.

Awarding contracts to suppliers and’ hiring employees should involve more than dollars and cents. A local firm and local workers should be given preference and shouldn't have to be placed on the same footing as out-of-town businesses and

ers.

Council should recognize the special contributions local firms and local workers have to offer. After weighing those intangible contributions, council then must decide if the price for buying locally or hiring locally is too steep.

Is this quality?

Editor, Castlegar News:

During recent years the school sys- tem has tried to provide quality education for all children. The aim was to reduce class sizes and provide a more personalized education for chil- dren with different needs and abilities. Our school board has obviously sacri- ficed the quality education of rural children to deploy their school cen- tralization plan.

School is a very important, part of a child's life. It serves to teach basic skills such as reading, writing, mathe- matics and reasoning. It should also serve to introduce our children to sciences, arts, cultural traditions and leisure time activities. When our chil- dren leave school they should have an understanding of who they are and what they could be. Is our current school system providing these ser- vices?

Due to the recent closure of four schools our children are facing larger class sizes in the fall. This reduces the time each child will have with his/her teacher. Children from rural areas who

will be bused into town will be de- prived of extracurricular activities in their new schools because of tight busing schedules. These programs will not be available in their neighborhood schools because these schools will no longer be active. More yéung children will be spending up to two hours on the bus every day, this reduces their time for homework, rest and recreation. Is this what the school board calls quality education for all children?

I have often thought of the possi- bility of educating my children at home. With our school system the way it is, now is the time to consider all the alternative types of education. We as parents have the right to choose the one that is best for our children.

I would like to hear from anyone who is i d in isting to ish a parent support group. This group will investigate al} alternative methods of education available to our children.

Kathleen Terry c/o Box 3663 Castlegar, B.C. VIN 3W4

- Editorial ‘unfair’

Editer, News:

In a democracy, everyone's opinion counts. I wish that more people would be regularly, involved and partitipate in guarding against our rights and privileges.

No, I had not made up my mind prior to voting on the question of closing the four schools. My hope had been that at one of the meetings someone would have come up with a viable alternative for the board to consider.

Instead what I heard expressed were some unfounded prejudices against Twin Rivers school, a repeated ples not to close “my school”, regardless of which other school may be closed. Also I heard concerns about property values going down because of the school closure and a most valid concern about busing schedules and children waiting for classes because of busing schedul

In B.C., school boards have become a sort of executive branches of the will of Victoria. Even though the electorate is still left with’ the token privilege of electing boards of trustees, boards’ powers have been drastically reduced by legislators over the last four years, Trustees have become whipping boys and girls.

My “backside” hurts, thanks to our benevolent government, also thanks to your editorial and the many rightfully irate parents and taxpayers.

We are facing difficult times. Yet I believe that by working together, for the good of the whole school district, we can provide reasonable good education for all children. Should we give it a try?

Trustee

Possibly the only as yet, held explora Pez, The Top Twenty, declared his intention to ri Premier of British Columbia!

living Socred tory meetings with The or Expo Ernie—and/or to run for election as

who hasn't,

Letters to the Editor

shelters. With paint donated by the village, the board workmen painted the shelters, but no sooner was the work finished, than children began defacing it with serawlings and drawings.

. .

On Jubilee Saturday, July 7 the morning entertainment for Trailites and visitors celebrating the city’s 50th birthday will be provided by Cominco. A show of industry has been planned and it will start off at 10:30 in the morning with a long parade through

the downtown streets. . e

This concern shall definitely be given much consideration by the board.

The fact that during the four meetings another positive suggestion was not put forth is perhaps most indicative of the difficult decision this board has faced. Therefore to deny the fact that I, for one, have sincerely and humbly sought an alternative solution to close schools in our effort to maintain an acceptable level of edu- cation for our children, is a most unfair claim of your editorial in the June 15 paper.

Please address all Letters to the Editor to: The ir News, P.O. Box 3007, Castlegar, B.C. VIN 3H4, or deliver them to our office at: 197 Columbia Avenue, Castle-

. the name ond eddress of the writer mus! be disclosed to the editor

The Costlegor News reserves the right to edit letters for brevity. clority, legolity ond grommor

|

Local firm supported

Editer, Castlegar News:

I wish to write to indicate that I fully support the position taken by aldermen Nick Oglow and Bob Pakula in unsuccessfully attempting to have the City of Castlegar accept the recent Bartle & Gibson Co. Ltd. water contract bid. I believe the local business should have been awarded the contract.

I appreciate that there are substan- tial reasons for awarding contracts to the lowest bidders and for’ maintaining the integrity of the low bid system.

usinesses: “It

community affairs. It is

businesses that

stability to our city and region. Its

Victoria to blame

Editor, Castlegar News:

After reading the letter from Helen Tereposky in last Sunday's paper, I am left feeling tremendously saddened.

To hold Kay Johnson, Terry Way- ling, or our board of school trustees responsible for the closure of four schools in our district is totally unfair.

These are not the people who decided to cut several hundreds of thousands of dollars out of our district's operating budget again. These are not the people who decided to implement a fall enrolment count, which could well result in further financial to

direct economic contribution to our area is far in excess of the difference in the bid it quoted.

In addition, it has recently come to my jon that a leading i has found that if $1 can remain and circulate in a community for 30 days, the value to the community of that $1 at the end of the 30 day period will be $2.50.

I was invited to a conference which was held recently in Trail. It was sponsored by the United Steelworkers and the B.C. Dederation of Labor. Its theme was economic recovery for the greater Trail area. Several specialists had come from the V area.

power to maintain local economic control, had left the area and region. It was believed that local economic initiative could do much to restore local security.

I believe we, as residents of Castlegar, are in many ways fortunate and can look forward to a bright future. However, it is my opinion, and I think the opinion of many others, that we must analyze each economic decision in the most careful way, considering not only immediate but also far reaching

ywences so that each one of our tax doilare io spent in voch a way as to bring the greatest possible benefit to

One of the greatest concerns expressed was how much wealth, and with it the

our s Terry Dalton

Grads not responsible

Editer, Castlegar News:

Iam a parent of a student in the 1986 grad class. Two of us spent many hours arranging driving for the grads and their dates. The following is what we were led to believe would take place and what actually took place.

The Sunset Drive-In was to show a regular feature or be closed. After the patrons had left, the grads of ‘86 and their dates were to enter the drive-in.

The drive-in was closed, but pon- grads were allowed in at $2 a head long before the grad dance was over. Several people told us of this charge.

Only a fewapars were to be in the drive-in. They would be there so the kids could have music. In fact, there were many cars and they were parked like there was to be a movie.

The grad class had been instructed to bring unbreakable containers at the request of the owners of the drive-in. The majority of the Grad ‘86 class

our district in the fall.

There is certainly justification for deep anxiety and concern for the closure of the four schools. But let's place the responsibility for this act where it should go — totally to the provincial government in Victoria.

Kay Johnson, Terry Wayling, and our board of, school trustees were merely left “holding the bag” — a bag - that terribly inadequate funding.

Iw urgg all people concerned to remember this when a provincial election is called.

Marlane King Castlegar

Real issue is fu

Editor, Castlegar News:

Those who control the education ministry purse strings in Victoria must be chuckling with glee at the spectacle of the “civil war” raging in School District No. 9 over the closing of rural elementary

It is easy to point the finger at our local school trusteés,gs a group or as individuals. They are handy, and visibly on the spot. The budgetary “pie” they are expected to slice up fairly is too small. The size of that pie was dictated by the Ministry of Education, whose duty it is to provide adequate funds.

Now our trustees, and we as citizens, have been forced into confrontation with each other over whose schools, programs, etc. are the most important. There can be no winners in this conflict — we all lose the strength we have as a

lied. The non-grads brought bot- tles, which they broke.

The drive-in owners also requested the grads clean up the garbage. They cleaned up a lot. The non-grads refused to pick up any garbage.

We were led to believe the drive-in gates would be locked so non-grads would not be allowed in. Anyone wanting to leave would have to ask for a ride home. What happened was that the entrance gate was repeatedly left open so cars could come and go at will.

As parents offering rides, we would encourage people to let us drive them home. We never turned anybody down. We stopped people from leaving with

cohesive community to influence those who really wield the financial power over our schools.

The energy that's been expended for and against Russian immersion, for and against school closures, etc., is incred- ible.

Why can’t all of us put this energy to work on gaining the amount of funding we really need to run a school district of our size, geographical and cultural variety?

As long as we're fighting among

their cars when we parked a car in front of the gate. As for as driving people home, we drove many — grads, non-grads and even parents who were partying with the grads.

The pancake breakfast was for the grads and their dates. Many of the students had bought tickets at $1 apiece in advance. These people were very polite when they got their breakfast. The non-grads wanted breakfast, too, and many were very obnoxious about having to wait until the class of "86 had finished.

One of the parents at the gate phoned the police because we were afraid somebody would get hurt when the older children, (you can't call them men), kept turning a car over. Once the car was on fire they seemed content /to throw rocks and bottles at it and at anyone who got too close. ‘a

The owner of the car told the fire department he was a grad. Well, he was — from a few years ago. That is why I have tried to make it clear that this year’s grads had nothing to do with the incident.

The were still at the drive-in waiting for the diehards to leave when I left at 8:30 a.m.

I would like to thank all the people who helped us fulfill our obligation to provide rides and thank those who made use of our service.

Good luck class of "86. I hope the incident at the drive-in has been a learning experience.

Janice Johnson Castlegar

nding

isn't working for us to support quality education for our children. Bureaucrats at great distances are deciding how much our children’s education is worth. We are being denied our rights.

public input while doing a difficult, thankless job most of us wouldn't have on a silver platter. Let's support the

some

compromises. And let's get together as

a whole community on the real issue

here — restoring adequate school

funding so that all our children can

have a first-class education. Castlegar

More letters page AS

Pete MelIntyre, well-known and former

A Kinnaird man has been elected to the board governing the Senior Citi- zens Association of B.C.

Ernest Balley, who was a delegate to the recent annual convention of the group in Kelowna as a delegate for the Castlegar and Rossland clubs, won election to the board.

. 8 @

will officiate at the opening ceremonies which will be attended by civic and i dignitaries from Castlegar

A naming ceremony for the newest vessel in Canadian Cellulose’s fleet of 18 tugs is to be held at 11 a.m. on

of next week at the

G.0. Sutherland in honor of the retired long-time captain who during his many years on the Arrow Lakes and the Columbia River was in the employ of Canadian Cellulose and its predecessor companies. . 8,8

Following months of preparation, the $600,000 referendum for a Regional Recreation Centre went down to defeat Saturday when voting took place in the twin towns of Castlegar and Kinnaird and electoral areas I and J. The referendum received over- whelming support in Kinnaird and a majority of the voters in electoral Area

gional District of Peace River-Liard. . . .

A single-engine Cessna 172 crashed at Deer Park at 9:30 p.m. Saturday claiming the lives of two local men.

The two men, a Robson resident and one from Glade, workers at the Mica Creek dam, were returning home for the weekend.

5 YEARS AGO From the July 2, 1981

Picket lines were up Tuesday at thr Castlegar post office as local members of the Canadian Union of Postal Workers joined the union's nationwide strike.

. 26 8

Union members at B.C. Timber’s Celgar lumber and pulp divisions have voted strongly in favor of strike action to back their contract demands.

7 2¢ @

An appeal to B.C. Attorney-General Allan Williams for a meeting to discuss the past week's rash of attempted bombings and arson is being sought by the Orthodox Doukhobors in the West Kootehay. er een terete cermnenncmmn

‘

Take a look at service

Editer, News: I am writing about the service I have received from a number of businesses in Castlegar. | certainly won't be doing

approximately 25 cadet uniforms for the annual inspection and banquet held June 11. I explained to the manager of the cleaners that the earliest I could have the uniforms there would be on Monday, June 9 as the cadets

the door locked. There was a sign in the window stating thé summer hours and that it was closed on Mondays, I was not told this would be the case.

After a few moments of panic, I drove downtown to

‘Cleaners. I asked the fellow who was working there if he could clean 25 cadet uniforms by Wednesday. He informed me he could.

On Wednesday as I picked up my daughter's uniform, I Jooked the uniform over only to discover that the tunic had been pressed wrong, that the pants had not been pressed in the hip area, and that there were double creases down the back. I asked the fellow to repress the pants. I received a number of complaints from parents that they had to redo the uniforms when they got home. That cost parents $157.50 for a job that was not well done.

‘That same Monday morning | took two disc films to the

Picture Place at the Castleaird Plaza to have them developed, as we needed the pictures for our annual i ‘The films were of the sports weekend in Vernon. I was told by the owner's wife that they only do disc film on Monday mornings. I proceeded to tell her that this is Monday morning. Her reply was that the films had to be in on Saturday. | explained that we were in Vernon for the weekend and just got back Sunday night. I explained that the pictures were very important to the cadets as they do displays for the annual inspection. She said she was sorry.

Disappointed with school trustees

school board's proposal, even prior to the briefs being heard. A lot of people, ineluding myself, were will ing to lay down their tools when the teachers asked for help, but when it comes down to providing help for edu- cation for all children, it now - appears that a lot of teachers’ self interests rise to the forefront. 1 do'wish to thank those teachers and parente~from - both the city and rural areas - who did place education first and assisted greatly in pre- paring an alternative to the proposed tragedy. William Hadikin

actively supporting the

F.J. MCLEOD LTD. CASTLEGAR, B.c.

. .

INDUSTRIAL & * CRAWLER LOADER a BacKHOE

RF. (Dick) MeLEOD 365-3566

ALCON PAINTING & DECORATING .

FOURTH AVENUE ec yes 3563

2649 CASTLEGAR vin 2s! 7

Carol Magaw Dianna Kootnikoff

ADVERTISING SALES

EG. SeSeRECAR, NEWS

OFFICE 365-5210

I then said there is another shop in town that maybe could d them for us. She asked if I would like her to give

them a call and see if they could, so she did. They could

have a good look at the way they are operat

2b UET?

excellent service we have received and for a job well the engraving of our trophies. It was a pleasure to do h 5

they serve this city well at a number of events

the year. They do this service only for

throughout exposure as well.as to live.

help the community be a better place to

In closing, I would

like to remind the businesses in

Castlegar that if they want the dollars to stay in Castlegar they should have a good look at the service they are providing, as Trail and Nelson are only a half hour away.

Mrs. J. Neumann

Club revives Robson fair

Editer, Castlegar News:

We feel that the following information will be of inter- est to women in our com- munity who have found that the desire to belong to a women's service club has been suppressed in the past for various reasons.

We are writing as a group of women from Castlegar, who have struggled to find an active place in our communi- ty.

We started our club a little over a year ago with a small group of women over the age of 19 from various walks of life, such as housewives, students and career women.

While time progressed, we discovered the obvious need Aor @ women's service club as our group continues to grow. Our ever-present desire for new members makes our club an exception to the quite often strict rules of many other women's clubs and makes it easily accessible to

all women over the age of 19.

ity Fall Fair which will ve held on Sept. 20. In past years the Robson Women's Institute has held this valu-

feel that with the the Robson Women's Insti- tute we too will be successful in raising funds for the various peeds in oyr_com- munity. ‘ “5 Our future plans are to continue as an active women’s service club and to be of as much assistance to our community as possible. Krull

Castlegar

Exner notaCA

I am writing on behalf of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of British Co- lumbia in regard to an article in the May 7 issue of your paper entitled “Residents opposed to waterslide.”

The article referred to a Mr. Gary Exner of Nelson as a “chartered general accoun- tant.”

This description is wrong; there is no such designation. He is either a chartered

Our Action Ad Phone Number is 365-2212

cost of this ad! 365-5210

accountant or a member of another accounting body. (And just for your records he does not appear in our member list).

I understand that a re porter may be confused be- tween the CA profession and other accounting bodies. But in our eyes, there is a major difference. The Institute of

Youths didn’t

block fi

it? F

gFEEG 1 it

I did not have anything to do with burning the vehicle

Face real

We are disgusted with his attitude about non-Douk- hobor children, and we think that he should open his eyes, turn on his “Satan box” and face the real world.

Students of KJSS

RENT THIS SPACE 365-5210

Chartered A is the province's leading profession- al accounting organization Tepresenting almost 6,000 members and students in education and government service.

Chartered accountants set the accounting standards re- quired by the Superinten- dent of Brokers, stock ex- changes, and government regulatory bodies. Other accounting groups adopt these same standards.

I hope this clears up any confusion.

COMMENT INVITED

Your School Board is inviting comment

TOYOTA _ |

all

orrison se it, FU find itt”

CASTLEGAR CHEVRON

wo)

on a ‘draft’ Mission and Goal Statement. Reactions will be used in developing a community consensus ot the direction public school education should take in School District No. 9.

Copies of the ‘draft’ statement ore available at the School Board Office and individuals or groups are invited to pick up one and respond. BOARD OF SCHOOL TRUSTEES School District No. 9 (Castlegar)

Your Castlegar News carrier is running his own business, and he deserves to be paid promptly.

If you're late with

remen

ELE TEM thet iil

8 rh

The firemen simply entered on foot to see if there was any

hazards involved. Every- thing wais in control so they

ITE ig

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Judging to take place during SunFest July 9 & 10 Entries must be within the City of Castlegar limits. Clip the coupon below and mail to:

of Commerce

Sen 3001, Cootioger, B.C. VIN 3K3

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PRESENT YOUR

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