THE EXPRESS July 19, 1915 Page 3 Purple all over READY TOGO Fireseason □ cool,sofar But Forest Service expects the heat will soon be turned up for its fire crews by Don Anderson latter part of July and into Au- WEST K001ENA Y - The total gust, II he said. number of fires burning in the re- The Forest Service hasa total gion is up this year, but that of 19 Initial Attack Crews in the doesn't mean another record sea- region, from Golden to the Arrow son for fires is due. Lakes. Gary Shaw of the Wildland "We're ready to fight fires. Forest Service, Nelson region, Our resources are spaced out, said initial fears in May that the identified, contractors have been area would be faced with another hired to supply crews, our initial record season were alleviated by attack crews are in place, equip- June rains. ment hasbeen signed up -we're And although there have basically ready for the task been 79 fires reported in the re- ahead," said Shaw. gion to date - compared to 54 at this time last year - the season has been "remarkably quiet." The annual purple loosestrife pull is set for Saturday, July 22 at Blaylock Estates. The exotic, aquatic perennial is spreading uncontrollably along wetlands across Canada, and Nelson is no exception. The North Shore is particularly vulnerable to the plant, which is prolific, hardy and "June traditionally turns a lit- tle wetter and has per schedule," said Shaw. "We're still running Outstanding able to take over wetlands quickly. In some areas its growth has reduced vibrant wildlife habitats to silent, purple beds. Pull Day coordinator Jennifer Lucke poses with the purple menace. above last year's numbers but we're certainly not concerned at this point about an outstanding Forms Nelson Becker photo year." Last year the number of fires reported was double the average Libraryclosurea possibility for the region. A total of 1,074 fires were reported, 912 of which were lightning-caused and 162 human-caused. It cost $21 million □ Nelson council rejects request by library board for extra $10,000 to extinguish the fires. To date, it · Ease of.us~, ·. · · ···· by Don Anderson more than 8,000 members in too Book and labour costs are the has cost $706,000 to extinguish ·9omp~dbllity, all the .. NELSON - The Nelson Munici- City, and roughly 300 members Jast two items that the board can fires. features you need.Jµ ..,i?ri pal Library is facing closure and from outlying areas. As of July 1, cut back, McCarvell said. This year, lightning has business.Jqrms: ...•.•.•.•.·.•.·.•· the discontinuation of its peri- the library had a collection of "Ifwe cut books our librarian caused a mere 17 fires, compared odicals collection. 42,200 books. (Deb Thomas) is extremely con- to 16 fires reported at this time to.feadr·.. Ff.otfi··~~stbin According to ltbrary board City allocated $290,000 to cerned that the quality of our col- last year. "We just haven't seen much \ made . ';_.. invoices. .. ... . . ' .. •. . ... .·• ,. -_ chair Nonn McCarvell, the facil- the libnuy in April, $5,650 less lection would deteriorate." , ity may have to shut its doors for than it had in 1994. Additional The closure of the library in the way of major storms mov- ··.statements, purcha~e·. · • two to six weeks because of a funds have come from private do- will depend on scheduling of staff ing through compared to what we \ ◊rders:, gue~{t·cheq~etC. · shortfall in operating funds. nations and fundraising events holiday time, said McCarvell, had last year," said Shaw. \ ~eceipt books and. . .. "When our operating budget sponsored by the Friends of too adding that the board will con- Although the outlook for the rest of the season is fairly promis- 'more . ... . . is used up we have to close," said Library, but are not enough to tinue to "work with council" and McCarvell. "We're hoping not to cover projected operating costs. pursue additional funding. ing, Shaw said the region has a HrillPrinting has what but it's a possibility." "The first place we could A referendum in 1990 calling ways to go to meet its annual av- yt>11need to make yo~r McCarvell made a plea to look at for saving (money) is peri- for the tax bases of regional district erage of 528 fires. "The expectation is that we b~siness run smoothly: City council last Monday for ad- odicals and even with that we'll areasE and F to be included in the ditional funding its 1995 budget be in a deficit position," he said. library's funding was defeated. will see a great deal of fire in the The request for an extra $10,000, although supported by councillor John Neville, was denied. Instead, councillors passed a motion that too library's board of directors approach the surround- Castlegar librarywon'tclose ing regions for support for a refer- D City council comes up with additional funding to prevent endum to regionaliz.e the facility. 10-week closure of library Councillor Gerald Rotering, by Alexa Pongracz we don't know yet what we're going to receive. One who forwarded the motion, said CASTLEGAR - A possible 10-week closure of of tooadvantages in having both areasI and J con- the City's finances are very re- the Castlegar and District Library has been tribute to our tax base is that we get proportional pro- stricted and "many departments avoided vincial funding per capita," Weannouth said. are going underfunded." ''This is very uocomfortable for Castlegar City Council voted last Tuesday to Some of the options the Castlegar and District ~~TING provide $40,000 in additional funding, bringing the Library presented to City council included closure couml aid I don't think anybody sawthiscoming,"saidRotering. total of their funding to $175,000 for 1995. "I'm relieved and delighted to for 10 weeks, reduction of staff, reduction of hours, and paring the budget. 75f/MJl".r ef flak!trP""1irtiirf He said providing additional hear that the City has voted to give "The only workable option funding from the City's coffers is us the $40,000 that we need to op- "One of the would have been a 10-week clo- Trail: 364-2300 a "quick fix" that would not bene- erate for the year," said Judy Wear- advantages in having sure and that is unacceptable to us, 815 Victoria Street fit the library in the long run. Re- mouth, head librarian of tooCDL. and the community," said City gionalization, said Rotering, may both areas I and J Castlegar: 365-5433 The money was needed to councillor Ron Annbruster, who is relieve financial difficulties. cover a shortfall of some $33,000 contribute to our tax also the City's representative on 1434 Columbia Avenue "The board will certainly take in the operating budget and $7,000 base is that we get the Library board. Nelson: 352-6900 that route but would be swprised for increased utility costs and staff proportional David Willi.ams, chair of the if the regional districts would 715 Vernon Street wages. In 1993 and 1994, City • • I f d" Castlegar and District Library hold a referendum on our behalf," grants to the CDL were $193,900. pro~m~1a un mg per Board, said the additional funding said McCarvell, after the motion The reduced level of City funding capita. is welcome news. was approved. in 1995 came as a result of the Re- "The City will still be spend- The main benefit of making gional District of Central Kootenay Area J referen- ing less on us than they did last year," Williams the library a regional facility, he dum in March. said "Some of that shortfall has been taken up by said, is a wider tax base from The referendum gave the library additional Area J and we're hopeful that area I will also be- which to draw funding. revenues of $43,000 from the ROCK, and a possi- come part of the library. Area I residents will have "Our collectionis pretty good ble increased Provincial grant of $28,000. A refer- free use of the library from Aug. 1 until Dec. 31. but it would be even better if we had endum for area I will be held in September. We hope to encourage them to enjoy a well-run li- support,"saidMcCarvell regional "We're waiting to hear from the province and brary." At present, too library has