The Castlegar Sun

Wednesday, March 6, 1991

Name: Vahid

Where you work: Radio Shack & Video World

What you do there: Work :

Castlegar likes: Friendly people, quiet

Castlegar dislikes: Too much snow, not enough soccer Best kept Castlegar secret: I am not an Iraqi

Pet: Soccerball-Santos Vehicle: Jeep truck

What would you rather be doing? Playing pro-soccer in Rio de Janiero, Brazil!

Festival this weekend

By FRANK ISERNIA_ ‘Sun staff writer «:

sored jointly by

and the School District. Also slated isa performance by Brazilian id by the Arts Council-School District initiative- and on Friday evening the local Doukhobor choir will perform.

Castl and area will be in for two days of festivi- ties as the Spirit of the Earth festi- val unfolds tomorrow night and

At long last the moderni:

of the’ Castle.

Tt’ Ss Hi a p a) e ni n gl A Celgar Modernization and Beane Update

pe : gar Celgar Pulp Company Mill has begun. It's Happening ise

a weekly feature of the Castlegar Sun.

By NANCY LINGLEY Sun Edltor

A change from minimal treat- ment to complete treatment,

That's what's planned for the effluent that the Celgar Pulp Mill releases into the Columbia River. And, if it's at all possible, the new biological treatment system will be in place to treat effluent from the old mill prior to completion of the modemized version, as recom-

-mended by the Review Panel.

“If possible,” stressed Celgar's Te Manger Vic Mi “We haven't seen anything in terms of the feasibility of that yet. One of the differences between the new mill and the old mill is that the processes that will be installed in the new mill are designed to reduce the chlorinated organic compounds and the organic: load-

ing, (BODs). But it’s being looked —

at”

The cleaning of the mill's efflu- ent, which will render it less toxic, reduce the organic material in it, reduce the chlori

include minor chemical spills fis ‘ the mill that slipped past the in.’ *

pliant spill control. It will: be

pumped to the biological treatment '

site where it will be channelled into.cither one of the two spill ponds or the primary clarifier,

If, due to chemical content that

will be monitored by instrumenta- tion, the effluent is too strong and would disrupt the biological pro- cess efficiency, the effluent will,

’ be diverted into one of the two

spill ponds, each with a capacity 12 hours of volume from the mill, From the spill ponds, it will be gradually bled back into the system diluting it to a acceptablelevel for biological treatment.

In the primary clarifier, basical- ly a large settling tank, fibres and other suspendible solids are allowed to settle out of the efflu- ent, The effluent then moves on to acooling pond, having:a capacity of 24 hours of volume, where the temperature of the fluid is allowed to drop from the approximately 52 C. of heat remaining in it from the mill p to about 35 C., a

and reduce the solids,

which will not harm

will take place some 2.5 km. away from the mill towards the Hugh Keenleyside Dam,

Construction of the biological treatment facility is well underway at this time,

The effluent, water containing waste resulting from the chemical processes required to produce bleached kraft. pulp, may also

the beneficial bacteria used in the biological treatment pond.

The biological treatment pond, with a 48 hour capacity, contains a low-rate activated sludge contain- ing bacteria that consumes organic material, very similar-to a munici- pal sewage system.

“The biological treatment is a very sensitive, finely balanced sys-

‘SUN STAFF PHOTO/ Nancy Ungtey

Construction is underway at biological treatment site.

tem,” explained Process Chemist Fiona Mackay.

She went on to explain that a life cycle was in place in the bio- logical treatment pond. A life cycle that required oxygen, meaning that air would be blown into the pond; a source of food, the ics, or

sludge is settled out. The majority of that sludge is recirculated back into the biological treatment pond, the remainder, plus the solids

Wednesday, March 6, 1991

Tote cee pe ieiers

i sasawis

Sa enreruaeetsa tage mae veTeT Tye vel wots

‘The Castlegar Sun

A single vehicle accident this past Sun- day resulted In only minor Injuries to the

this car. Her passenger, also a youth, escaped Injury. Both were wear- ing seatbelts.

The vehicle was trav- elling along. Arrow Lakes Drive at approxi- mately 5 p.m. when it hit a pothole and slid down an embankment near the Celgar Pulp Mill.

An ambulance was called to the scene. Police said that no charges will be laid in the incident.

female youth driver of .

Use of seatbelts prevents serious injury in vehicle tumble down hill

removed in the primary cl: are taken to the de-watering plant where 55 per cent of the moisture

carbon-based compounds con- tained in the effluent which were mostly lignin — the “glue” that holds the wood fibre together, removed in the pulping process; and a nitrogen source and a phos- phorus source, two nutrients neces- sary to balance the diet of the bac- teria so that it may reproduce.

“The more organics going into the pond, the more oxygen and Dutrients needed,” said Mackay.

pe biologically treated effluent

is to i in the No. 2 Power Boiler,

The effluent, now much clean- er, is retumed by gravity through a sewer system to the existing foam tank where it is mixed with clean water that was used for cooling in the milling process. It then travels through the diffuser already in place and into the river.

“Even though we will double the production of the mill with the expansion, the quality of the efflu- ent going into the river will be

into two clarifiers where the biological

much than it is today,” said Morandini.

* Friday evening at Selkirk College. This festival will focus on inter-

Dr. Glen Eyford, a professor of International Development at the Uni of Alberta, will be the

national and I con- cems and opportunities to share in the greater vision of humankind. The festival kicks off with an evening of multicultural entertain- ment. The festival will feature a dance performance by a Maori group from New Zealand, spon-

keynote speaker,and the festival will include many other speakers.

Selkirk student Stephan Svenson and Selkirk teacher Linda Wilken- son are chief among the group of organizers to formulate such a vision of the event itself.

& Valley

Continued from 1A

will decrease. There are an abun- dant number of properties for sale between here (New Denver) and Kaslo, I see that as the future.”

Valley residents were not really considered by the Panel maintains Wright.

“Celgar was given quite a lot by both the panel and the govern- ment. We fecl some accommoda- tion could have been given to the residents of Slocan Valley that are

so opposed to chip trucks,” Wright stated. “We would like the Celgar Pulp Mill to look into the alterna- tives suggested by the Review Panel. The alternate our group favors is barging chips down the Arrow Lakes. No matter what they do with the highway, it will not change the size of the chip trucks or the way the drivers drive. We're willing to work with Celgar to try to come to some kitid of a solution to this problem.”

Dave Gairns of Contract | Municipal Administration hands over the first $20 towards the 1991 Sunfest Fireworks display to be co- ‘ordinated by the Castlegar Fire Department. The fire- fighters are asking all resi- dents, . businesses, and social clubs to make a- donation of. at least-$20 to make the expensive under- taking a reality. Send contri- butions to: Len Bleir, 837 10th Ave., Castlegar, B.C., VIN 1L2. Left to right, Len Bleier (chairperson), Dave Gairns, and Dick Dunlop (assistant chairperson).

SUN STAFF PHOTO / Brendan Halper

Starting off the Sunfest Fi reworks Fund with a pang

Candidate feels snubbed by City Council

By FRANK ISERNIA

Sun staff writer

In an open letter to Castlegar City Council, The Committee to Elect Walter Siemens, charged that Council snubbed the Social Credit Candidate when he was denied a hearing ata recent council meet- ing.

However, in an interview with the Castlegar Sun, Mayor Audrey Moore said that she personally apologized to Mr. Siemens for the unfortunate incident.

“It was a clerical error and a lack of communication. We tried to inform Mr. Siemens of the

error, but we couldn't contact him. ‘We're an open council and we don’t refuse anyone who wishes to be heard. We'll hear any political party, there is no favoritism,” she explained.

But, Committee To Elect Wal- ter Siemens representative, Paul Johnston, doesn’t buy Moore’s apology.

“When the Mayor apologized she passed the blame onto her sec- retary, but that doesn’t wash. Council i d Mr. Si H

spite of Mr. Siemens flying from Vancouver to Penticton, renting a car, and driving to Castlegar sim- ply to attend the council meeting to hear Castlegar concems,” stated Johnston’s letter.

Contacted by the Castlegar Sun, Social Credit Candidate Walter Siemens said that in his view, City Council should have

na amore Concerted effort to fit

eet feel that they conducted the

that lama ‘prospective govern- ment candidate,"stated Siemens,

"Castlegar has benefited more from this government than any other riding in B.C over the past four years.”

presence at the meeting for almost 45 minutes before addressing him.”

“Council's action was taken in

Continued from 1A

ial asa

a Local

source of supply where possible. However, “the:commitment to use local suppliers;does not warrant a premium for their services.”

within the City limits they don’t need the Motor Carrier Authority.” This owner-operator’s state- ments were not entirely true said Leif Bengtsson, director of the province's Motor Carrier Division. “There’s no such thing as the

Bob Williamson of Peacock, a public relations firm hired by Celgar, stated last Friday that “everyone: is just sort of scrambling right now to see what

-contracts are coming up and trying

to see what can be broken down. The equipment that’s: working there now .was sitting there all last summer: since the work was stopped and they just went in and started again.” *,

«Williamson promised that when he had a list of what contracts were coming’ up ‘and what the opportuni-

* i ties were ‘going’ to be. they would

4 be released.

“The problem the owner-oper- . °*-tors have is that we're protected in, our ‘areas under our Motor Carrier

A

hority,”’ said an

Sane’ local Siheraperlors, like Gerry's Backhoe Ser- vice, are wanna on the Celgar site. ‘i

who: contacted the: Sun, “We Pay:

every year for the protection of our licensing: not to .get-an overabun:

dance: of trucks i in our ‘area. But?

ing jobs,” said Bengtsson. “I don’t think that's what they're paying for. Every- thing is based on the need and necessity for work. And where they’re operating within the municipality of Castlegar, they're Dot regulated by the Motor Carrier Act. I really. can’t tell-you if they have any recourse or not.” Bengtsson added that his office had had no complaints about the situation since Feb. 25. He said, on Monday, that there were 15 trucks on the site — six local and nine from Kamloops and Vemon. “It was brought to our attention a id we had somebody look into e said. “If they’re hauling inside the boundaries of the munic- ipality we have no jurisdiction. It's

>a tough issue. It's a sensitive issue.

There are:a lot of factors involved.

- Wet: re e trying to. monitor it, any-

Castlegar seeks legal opinion of RDCK budget responsibilities

By FRANK ISERNIA

+ jects are-not

Sun staff writer

Doreen Smecher, Castlegar’ Ss RDCK director, told other region- al district di that

not belong in Development Ser- vices. They should be included in other areas, but not in develop- ment.”

_ Smecher explains that rural

Castlegar had sought legal opinion and opposed the revised RDCK budget which she said has Castle- gar paying for services in the region that will not benefit Castle- garand would place unwarranted taxes on city taxpayers.

“The resolution as it was listed on last Saturday’s agenda said that $14,000 would cover prepara- tion and attendance Board com- mittees, period. But that figure has remained intact, when it should reflect the fact that they have removed half of what it was origi- nally going to pay for.

“And our legal opinion is that the $8,000 allotted for public enquiries and the $15,000 price tag for short term pro-

are the only ones that can participate in planning, and added that, “municipalities have been kicked out.”

“Rural directors have trans- ferred a number of planning func- tions into development services. While those areas were covered by the planning department, we had the opportunity to opt out, and in fact, that is what the city did.

“In order to be able to maintain those function that are required by the rural areas, they transferred a number of those functions over to Development Services where we have no options,” she explained.

Smecher insists that they should moved those functions

back-to where they-belong and % i fi

They.do ..

of. th vices that would

FEEDBACK

By NANCY LINGLEY

enable the planning department to recover the costs and not pass the unrecovered costs onto the taxpay- ers.

“The taxpayers do not need the services, they shouldn't have to pay for them, but they are transfer- Ting a lot of costs onto the taxpay- ers that could rightfully be applied to the users, and that was my argu- ment,” stated Smecher. “ And the way they presented the motion , and I asked them on Saturday that they break that up and deal with it in seriatim so that I could discuss these things ly and they

Creston were also opposed to var- ious clements of the budget. Despite the opposition mounted by Castlegar, Creston and Nelson, the $279,867 budget was passed by the RDCK board.

Waste Management director, Bob Barkley informed the board that the B.C. waste management committee planned on setting up collection centres in Nelson ,Castlegar and Creston, with a mobile centre in Salmo. He stated that there would be no user fees for private individuals, but a fee

refused that. They said no, that they would deal with this recom- mendation and these would only be attachments, so I couldn't debate these things at the meeting Saturday individually. They allowed me to do it the committee of the whole meeting a week ear- lier, but not on Saturday.”

. Nelson representative Donna., . McDonald and Bill Herchmer of... .

would be i

for businesses. Hospitals and schools would not be charged for PCB disposal. The board was also told that all paint collected has been sold to B.C. Building Corpo- ration in advance and, at the same time, Mohawk Oil intends to set up 260 depots province-wide to —— the paint for recycling,

“In other RDCK business:, *The board voted approval to

send a resolution prepared by John Voykin to Canada’s Minister of

OUTLOOK: i The forecast for Wednesday; Cloudy with a few snow flurries

unavailable at'press time. Sorr

WEATHER

and highs near 3.;The outlook for Thursday calls for moring sunny f breaks with clouds increasing by the afternoon with a 30% chance of snow. The forecast for Friday was

‘yl

11.6/ 27

Precipitation: | Rain Snow

3.8 cm.

Number of Hours ,

“20.7

Sunshine:

ALOOK BACK AT THE PAST WEEK: Temperature: Max/Date Min/Date

7.6/2 0.3 0.6

23.4cm. 27.7 cm.

Normal Mean

Mean

Total i Normal

‘Total . 16.2 em.

Normal Number of Hours |

19.5

REMARKS: Significant snowfalis for hi

combined with strong winds

helped to extend local skiing interests. The snow

way passes. (Ed. note: Spring was nice while it lasted. ! guess Mother Nature was teasing us. Did anybody actually expect to start gardening in February? Reallyl)

Forecast | provided by me The South - East Interlor Weather Office at Castlegar, B.C,

igher elevations have

also closed some high-

Mukiculturalism, stating the board believed that Canada should fol- low its traditional role as a peace- keeper and that RDCK believes

and all eye surgery would be per- formed in Nelson. In exchange Trail would offer supporting ser- vices to Nelson currently not i in Nelson. The board

the federal g this role by sending troops to the Gulf without consulting the Cana- dian people.

*A proposal calling for a swap of medical services between Nel- son's Kootenay Lake District Hos- pital and Trail Regional Hospital that could ultimately save tax pay-

thought the plan would benefit both Nelson and Trail area tax- payers and will study the plan fur- ther.

Dr. Blizabeth Barbour approached board mem- bers for support of a Kootenay

“region self-care plan which would restructure the way in which

ers up to $350,000 was at the Central Kootenay Regional Hospital District board meeting this past Saturday.

Nelson would purchase ophthal- tology equipment and hire the sérvices of Trail’s ophthalniologist

is ed.

She asked and was given a total of $10,000, but that mor joney will be set aside until Re,

Columbia Kootenay: can-confirm “wether or not Kootenay Boiitidiiry

There are 287 students enrolled at Kinnaird Elementary and 15.3

‘Sun Editor

March 4 - 9 is Ed Week thr British C

Over the past few years, the school system has undergone enormous changes, due, in the most part, to the Sullivan Royal Commission on Education conducted from March of 1987 to July of 1988. The results of that study, the Commission’s report entitled A Legacy for Learners, was released in August of 1988. It contains 83 recommenda- tions dealing with a wide range of topics, including the areas of cur- riculum and assessment. The document Year 2000: A Curriculum and Assessment Framework for the Future outlined the changes that would result in a newer, better system for learning in B.C. Schools. Follow- ing suggestions by educators, parents, and others involved in the pro- cess, the latest document Year 2000: A k for L

on staff. Principal Dino Zanet has made a personal choice to teach a math class in addition to his other duties. As a teacher and a prin- cipal he has some concerns about the new system.

“Tn the new system, the students leam by continuous progression. None are held back. Whether or not we can deliver on that, time will tell. I feel very confident that in the primary grades we can deliver. But at this point, I’m not sure about the transition from Primary to Intermediate. I’m not sure what will happen about that.

Students in Grade 5, for example, can have academic abilities from P4 to Grade 8. There can be a wide range of abilities in one class. The ques- tion is, what kind of strain will that put on the teacher? I guess my con- cem as a principal is where we will find teachers that have Primary skills and Intermediate skills. In my opinion, in this building we have very, very teachers, but we have had trouble finding one to take that on.

reflects comments made about the previous he 2000 and provides a consistent framework for the delivery of the education program to the time gui i in the first Year 2000 paper have been, by-and-large, set aside, the new program is now in place i in the primary grades. What was formerly kindergarten to Grade 3 is now P1 to P4. The next step will be to install the inter- mediate level, formerly Grade 4 to Grade 10, soon to be I1 to 17. Kinnaird Elementary School has been caught betwixt and between. Comprised of grades from kindergarten to Grade 6, the school now finds itself with the newly implemented primary program and classes designated as P1 to P4, as well as Grade 5 and 6. Sun Edi- tor Nancy Lingley talked with Kinnaird Elementary Principal Dino Zanet about the changes in the school system. ose

Mn Archibald’ and Mr::Zanet in’ one of Mr. Zanet's':

favorite Grade 5 Math classes. ‘SUN STAFF PHOTOS / Nancy Lingley

No doubt they will have to change teacher training.” Some of the changes will be more noticeable than others.

“In the Primary program there not a great change in philosophy even for teachers of many, many years. The focus is on the child.

“Intermediate grades used to focus on the curriculum. The new pro- gram is leamer-centered supported by the concept of continuous progress. ‘We'll need to help our teachers get some training, no doubt about it.”

Parents, too, will notice a change in their own responsibilities.

“A significant change brought on by the Year 2000 program is a change on the focus of responsibility. It’s a definite message in that document to parents not to wait for the school to keep them informed. It’s their respon- sibility. They have to get into the school and show interest.

“Traditionally the parents sit back and wait for, primarily, good news. Now they’re saying you contact the school to see what your child is doing.

“There are no comparison marks on report cards anymore. The report to a parent simply tells a parent about his child. What the child can do, where the child is in i social 1p social — art and

music — and physical development. .

“Some parents are showing a resistance to it. Some parents in the pri- inury grades feel very good about it. Their child feels good, so they feel good. “There is less pressure on the child. It's wonderful to go home in Grade 1 with all Gs (Goods). But what about the child with all Ns (Needs improvement)? That can have a devastating effect on the child. It’s all bere removed. Now teacher say to parents, ‘here is what your child can

0."” “This system does add to the teachers’ responsibilities. “se

“Teachers have always worked hard and this is more of a work load, absolutely. I try to read all of our teachers’ reports on students. They're thoughtful, meaningful, not just hastily written. They take the time to make notes on what goes on in the classroom. The teacher assesses how the child relates to others.

But the children are thereal_ benefactors of this new system.

“"“T think the kids feel really good about what's happening to them, They feel positive about themselves, They work bard: ‘They’ re progressing. Pro-

™ gressing at their own rate.

“The focus is not so much on content, ‘what is leamed, rather on how

it’s learned and improved ways of learning. In math a few years ago when you talked about problem solving, you talked about a solution. Now we talk about a variety of ways of solving the problem. What is the appropri- ate way? What is the easiest way? What is the best way?

“That's a vast change.

“There is no one way to leam. What may be a good way for you to lear may be useless for me. We try to recognize that. We're not going to neglect the basics, nor are children going to leave this system without any knowledge base. We judge our by the i ments of our kids. We are still a school. We do want our children to achieve high academic standards. Some won't get there. That's life.

“The kids are happy and learning. That's what we expect for our kids.

However, the schools are not always viewed, favorably by others.

“I feel bad when people slam the schools because it’s education. I feel a litle discouraged about that. I think a lot would feel better if they under- stood. Phone the school and come on in, We can always make arrange- meats for visits. The only way to clarify concems 3 sna questions ‘is t0. come ‘and see for yourself.

“I look around the school here, and I know it applies to all of the schools in the district, and I see people baresnd really, really hard on etal of the Nat: They do a lot for the Ids, bork sod oat of the Class:

roeiT feel really good to be a part of that.” ze

%