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Wednesday, January 29, 1992 &

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OurWiEWS

| Adrian RAESIDE

CURB’s time has arrived

asten your seatbelts Prcesticgar you’re in fora rough ride.

The face of Castlegar politics has changed forever. On Friday, the Concerned Citizens Coalition proved they were more than just a passing fancy.

Throwing caution to thé wind, the group disbanded only to be reborn as the Coalition Unaccepting Rash Bureaucracy. Quite a catchy name isn’t it? ;

The founding members of CURB must be congratulated for putting themselves on the frontline of Castlegar municipal affairs. It’s a bold step, but not one that comes without responsibility.

If CURB is to be a legitimate body, it must make darn sure it has something to offer.

It must start by inviting the public to become involved in municipal affairs — something it has already done. Furthermore, CURB must ensure that city council explores every avenue before a penny is spent.

The last thing Castlegar needs is a group content on stirring the political pot for the sake of holding the handle.

CURB must resist the obvious temptation to deliver or trade pot shots with our elected officials. Instead, it must allow the political process to proceed free of personalities. -

The responsibilities of a citizens group are clear and with CURB, Castlegar will be well served.

ie we we 7 , Bs

Ren

(Se ene fy 2S

Robson deserves much better

Dear Mr. Charbonneau,

Hi Art.

Hope things are going well and that you are settling in to your new position as Transport Minister.

As you know, the folks uj here are pretty dismayed with your first few months on the job. After all, you sank the Robson ferry and you’ve put the Robson- Castlegar bridge on hold.

There’s two strikes:on

) Harrison “2 Comparison

Well, I think its time to drop the “proposed” in favor of “promised.”

Why, you ask? Allow me to explain.

On Friday morning, importance of a Robson- Castlegar span hit home for me, literally.

You see Art, on this day there was an accident involving a school bus and a pick up truck. Guess who won? The truck was a twisted mess with driver

you Art. Well, I can hardly blame you for pulling the plug on the Robson ferry. After when it comes right down to it, it was a Social Credit decision. A bad one, but one that you can absolve yourself of any responsibility. Listen Art, I want to talk to you about the bridge. You know the one don’t you?

The same one that you have been referring ~

to as “proposed” since your election.

===

being rushed to hospital for observation. As for the bus, it survived nicely. Sure it needs a new ‘front fender, but that’s about it. And the children?

Count our blessings, the bus wasn’t full. Instead, three adults and one student onboard came away unharmed.

While one injury is more than enough, imagine if that bus had been filled with school-bound children.

“please see HARRISON page 7

Streit TALK

Other EWS |

Feb. 45, 1973

Question: How important do you think Castlegar’s downtown revitalization project is?

~ Ken Malloff Castlegar

“It’s necessary. It will make downtown more attractive and

Matt Gallo Castlegar

“We need more parking and town

Stuart Shaw Castlegar

“It’s important if you want to keep downtown.”

draw more people in.”

1d look better.” h s.

Richard Roussy

“It’s important but a bridge from Robson is needed before it will work.”

Lori Johnson Robson Castlegar “Downtown definitely needs to look better to draw some tourists.”

Please address all letters to: Letters to the Editor

Castlegar News P.O. Box 3007 Castlegar, B.C. ViN 3H4

or deliver them to 197 Columbia Ave.

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 9am. and5 p.m. The writer's name and city or town of : residence only will be published. Only in exceptional cases will letters be published anonymously. Even in those cases, the name, address and phone number of the writer MUST be disclosed to the editor.

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

y 29, 1992.

Letters toll i

EDITOR

Tax dollars heading South

Ever since the amalgamation of Castlegar and ,.our city has been managed by a group of council members from south Castlegar who love spending our tax dollars — right and left — like free doughnuts.

It might be wise to have a referendum to go back to two municipalities; we have separate schools, separate churches, separate T.V. broadcasting, politicians separating, not to mention couples separating.

A referendum on that issue would probably bring out every voter on the voters list and could be held before the municipalities convention to be held in April right here in Castlegar.

Anyone from north Castlegar would be better than the crew from south Castlegar.

In north Castlegar, there are many capable experienced, responsible, honest male and female taxpayers who could look after our side of the tracks and let Kinnaird look after their busy, busy area and their own fire-hall, city hall and R.C.M.P. station etc.

I can remember 40 years ago when all the council members were volunteers and all school board staff were volunteers and honest people took care of our tax dollars — they were respected citizens and Kinnaird was a whistle stop.

Let’s not count our chickens before they are hatched, or we may well be heading down the Columbia River without a paddle by the year 2000.

Our friendly neighbors to the south will be cruising up here in their million dollar yachts waving their American flags and bypassing Kinnaird and Castlegar.

Boats, not cars, will be the mode of transportation and water planes will be doing a thriving business up and down the Columbia from Oregon to Arrowhead.

Then, the Canadians can kiss goodbye to their fishing and hunting grounds in our beautiful Columbia Valley.

Those tourists will say “thank you” and smile behind our backs and be on their merry way. ~ Another thing — if the local yokels want their Robson ferry back in operation they better cheer Mr. Charbonneau when he arrives here February 24th not boo like they did to the former premier five years ago. :

Maybe some people need lessons in behavior before February rolls around.

I’ve never booed anyone in my long life and don’t intend to ever do that to anyone.

Fern Schwartzenhauer

Castlegar, B.C.

Put RCMP to the front

It is very surprising indeed, that ratepayers in a designated area of downtown Castlegar are prepared to accept a 40 per cent increase in their taxes at this time.

I believe a program of revitalization should be considered only after the bridge and the RCMP building are in place.

It would be a tragedy if a bylaw to finance the RCMP building were defeated because some of the ratepayers are taxed beyond their ability to pay.

A successful and a desirable community is made up of three components: health services, educational facilities and people supportive of their law enforcement agencies.

Our health services are first class, with home support, professional home care and public health nursing.

We have a first class hospital for the size of our community, with competent staff caring for intermediate, long term and acute care clients. .

Our schools are spending several million dollars to upgrade their physical plant. They provide for primary to post secondary education and turn out graduates that are among the best in the province.

The facilities for our third component desperately need upgrading.

Our present RCMP building is totally inadequate. The cells and offices which were suitable 30 years ago are now obsolete.

I sincerely hope and trust that city council and the people of Castlegar will give top priority to this third component.

We need a new RCMP building before revitalization, before a new city hall or a new works yard.

Lets not kill this project with an overload of other proposals.

N. T. Oglow Castlegar

Revitalization loan a pay-off

News item: Provincial government loans City of Castlegar $3.3 million.

A pay-off for getting the Robson ferry off Mike Harcourt’s back with city council’s recent “sink the ferry” resolution?

Any government which would borrow money (we have a $2 billion deficit, remember?) in order to lend at lower-than-

‘information so we can mak:

market rates to a debtor who is unwilling to pay off its last loan (for the Industrial Park) is no financial Einstein, in my books.

At the same time city council, without even going to referendum, accepts a 15-year debt on behalf of its taxpayers, so it can bury power wires and build sidewalks on a dead-end street.

Had $3.3 million been placed in trust and the accrued interest used to operate the Robson ferry, the effect on the business community would be immediately beneficial. At least 1,500 potential shoppers would be at once positioned within w: distance of the downtown core, something any merchant in any city wouldenvy. .

That this thought has escaped our political leaders at both levels of government leads me to think that we’re all in big trouble.

George Stein Robson, B.C.

Ootischenia dump garbage

I have just finished reading Mr. Meyer’s column, Recycling and You.

The most I can say is I am bitterly disappointed. To assume that trucking waste from several areas to one particular spot will in any way reduce that solid waste is a complete breakdown in logic.

After filling a truck with garbage and driving 45 to 50 kilometres to our dump, you still have a truck load of garbage. This is, at best, a stop-gap solution for the Regional District of Central Kootenay, Nelson, Proctor, Harrop, Balfour, Ymir, Salmo, New Denver, Kaslo, and Slocan.

It is not a solution for Ootischenia.

I, too, watched the Riverview, Mich. Mount ore show. And while that city did sing praises to others garbage, we must remember it is a city.

Ootischenia is a quiet, rural, residential community. People live here because they like it that way.

Even assuming the RDCK had the intention and the facilities to manage this dump as they have in Riverview, which I sincerely doubt, what makes you think we would want the waterslides or ski hills or tourists or traffic that those changes would bring!

It’s been my impression that the job of the Recycle Advisory Group is to give us e changes to life styles to help preserve our land and communities.

The information in this most recent column does no such thing.

Joy Anderson Ootischenia

Harrison

continued from page 6

This is a scary game we seem to be playing Art, Rex tarormed when lives are at

While I jealise the odds of me starring in my own mini-series are higher than another bus acci- dent, the fact remains it can hap-

n.

Safety is my chief and only con- cern here Art. And that concern isn’t exclusive to Friday’s get-me- out-of-bed accident between a pick up and a bus, rather it is a concern

for every accident that takes place on or near Broadwater Road.

Dammit Art, Robson — not to mention Pass Creek and Brilliant — deserves better and I hope you realize that in your heart of hearts when you gather for that town hall meeting on Feb. 24.

The Robson-Raspberry Ferry Users Ad Hoc Committee has stated time and time again that Robson is one major ac g ing to happen. It’s

Heed the warning and approve pitch.

a family is ruined.

Columbia.

+)

it wait- here.

the bridge before a life is lost and

All we are asking for Art is a simple bridge. We’re not your ministry to recreate the Lon- don Bridge on the banks of the

It’s a $23.5 million investment that will surely up your sagging popularity in this region.

Come on Art, let’s stop playing

your third crack at the

Isn't it time for a hit?

Until next time, Art. Your pal Scott

PS. — while we're talking pro- jects, Art, do you think you could ask the highways workers to stop

spreading so much gravel around the West Kootenay.

Isn't one broken headlight and

cracked windshield quite endhige?

Thanks again, Art.