• • • Page 2 THE EXPRESS November 22, 1995 •••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••• Localblacksmithscometogether •• Nowalso Hot metal workers gather 'round the anvil to promote their trade available Western Canada," he said. "And until recently, many of smithing, including knifemaker Jim Jennings of Kaslo; Steve Overwailea them had worked and trained Cass of Nelson's Cottonwood with me. But that's changing, Creek Forge who forges carving Broughtto you fresh, especially with the Kootenay tools; Tony Rupp of Salmon Arm hand rolled, and wood fired School of the Arts teaching who makes jackhammer bits for from the Only Bakeryin Procter. blacksmithing. And I felt we needed the resources of an association." industry; and George Tegart, a farrier from Brisco-the only one in the crowd who shoes horses ~ ................................. ~ Smith belongs to the for a living. Artists-Blacksmiths The group elected Paul Reimer Association of North president. He is the youngest America. among them and perhaps one of "They provide excep- the best known as his work is tional resources for work- seen by thousands of people each ing blacksmiths, including year at Fort Steele's Heritage big international conven- Park. Ron Smythe of Hillside tions and a library of books Forge in Kootenay Bay is the John Smith photo and videos." group's treasurer. AT THE FORGE: Blacksmith Paul The n~wly formed_K_ooten~y Several smiths demonstrated . Blacksmiths' Association will their skills at the first meeting, R 1emer__________ .:..;.;.;:;.;.;.;:.;;.;... . ltkely become a chapter of the including Derry Cook of the by Susan Bulland North American association, plug- Vancouver Island Blacksmith CRAWFORD BAY-Twenty- ging what Smith calls "a sort of gap Association. four blacksmiths were there but in the Kootenays" surrounded by Members discussed the associ- there wasn't a horse in sight! several other chapters of working ation's goals. That was the scene in Crawford blacksmiths. "We formed to promote black- Bay recently when blacksmiths Smith defines blacksmiths as smithing and awareness of black- from throughout the Kootenays "those who work with hammers smithing among the public, to and as far away as Salmon Arm and hot metal on an anvil to forge help members learn from each met to form an association. knives, decorative ironwork or other, to network on purchases of John Smith of Kootenay Forge tools." tools and equipment and, oh, called the smiths together. The people who responded to yes-to have fun," said Loma "There are probably more his invitation ranged in age from Robin of Crawford Bay, one of working blacksmiths living in the 21 to over 60, and represented three female blacksmiths in the Kootenays than in the rest of the whole spectrum of black- group. Advertiserswantto knowwhereyou sawtheir ad ... HANFORD: Noofficialacknowledgement Continued from page 1 tell themyou sawit here. which took place at Hanford dur- ing its 45 years of operation. their own. "I have 55 responses on my list Pengalley in 1988, the group shares similarities with the THEEXPRESS "I went public with this con- already." said Ostendorf. "Each Creston women Members of cern in August, after becoming aware of the possible connection of my sisters has had about 20 calls. Many are coming in from these women's families fell ill (six of Jurji's family suffer from EndtheTaxBreaks through a friend." said Ostendorf. people who used to live here, hypothyroidism) and they began I f you've ever won- centage points higher "I heard about a study being done from places like Cranbrook and to look for answers, Jurji said. dered about the than virgin, repre- in Washington and got hold of a Kimberley and from as far away Years later, their grassroots high cost of prod- seating an added cost 1-800 number in Spokane, but as Campbell River and Taber, work paid off, Jurji said. ucts made from recy- of $281 million per they never got back to me." Alberta." "We were most effective in cled materials, our tax year. There has never been an Two official studies on health having the Hanford Information system is the major Virgin paper official American acknowl- effects related to Hanford are Network fonned," she said "And culprit. production enjoys a edgement of Hanford-related underway, intended to "put the in 1990 we initiated a privately- While Canada has smaller advantage health concerns among health issue to bed, for once and funded study of 8,000 people, never formally adopt- Th (2.2 percentage Americans or of the possibili- for all," Schien said. mostly high school kids .from 15 ed a national materials e points) over recycled ty that radioactive fallout may One, funded by the U.S. small towns downwind of policy, it has an Three R's paper, amounting to have crossed into Canada. Centers for Disease Control, is Hanford, that showed they suf- implicit materials pol- by Michael Jessen $74 million per year. "There is no data or studies hying to determine what doses of fered ten times the national aver- icy embodied in the ------ Adding up all anywhere that conclusively indi- radiation a person living near age of thyroid disease." tax code. corporate and business taxes, cate problems caused by Hanford Hanford from 1944 to the present Jurji said she thinks there's Our tax policies impart a the average levy on recycling to people living nearby," said might have received. Another, definitely a Canadian connection competitive advantage to the firms is 2.9 percentage points Guy Schien, spokesperson for the conducted by the Fred to the Hanford story. extraction, transport, and use higher than those that use vir- U.S. Department of Energy. Hutchinson Cancer Research "There's general recognition of virgin materials relative to gin materials (27.4 percent "There is general recognition of Center, is looking for possible that the problem crossed the bor- secondary materials. compared to 24.5 percent), the occurrence (of radioactive links between radioactive releas- der. The subject of Canada still A study by the Canadian representing an added cost of emissions) but no links to health es and the incidence of thyroid comes up at some of the commit- Council of Ministers of the $367 million annually on recy- problems." disease in 3,500 people. tee meetings I attend. Someone Environment concludes the cling. The Creston women are While results from both studies from Canada should be involved. Canadian tax system subsi- Ending such tax breaks encouraging Kootenay residents are still pending, an American Some group should be looking dizes the production of virgin would make secondary materi- to help them explore the possible group, the Hanford Downwinders out for your interests." materials at the expense of als competitive withvirgin link between Hanford and thyroid Coalition, is convinced of the To participate in the Creston- recycling. materials in manufacturing. disease here by responding to a connection. Founded by Judith based thyroid disease study call The biggest subsidies This will improve recycling simple four-question survey of Jurji and her friend Mary Gerry Ostendorf at 428-2788 come from tax breaks for markets, startnew manufactur- exploration, development and ing industries, create jobs, capital costs for mining, the stimulate economic growth, study says. Recycled metal and lower the cost of products TheHanfordnuclearfacility 1943: Hanford's first nuclear reactor was built It provided plutonium for the bomb which destroyed production is taxed at 4.5 per- made from recycled materials. RECYCLING DEPOT352-2412• REDUCE • REUSE • RECYCLE Nagasaki. THISFEATIJRE SPONSOREDBY: 1944-1957: An estimated 538,619 curies of iodine 131 were released into the atmosphere (compared to only 24 curies released during the 1979 Three Mile Island crisis). The most famous incident was the 1949, Nelson & District Credit Union .. "Green Run" when an estimated 7,780 curies were deliberately released in a military experiment. 1986: The explosion of a similar reactor at Chernobyl, USSR and growing public dissent, caused Nelson East Shore American authorities to shut down Hanford for a $50 million upgrade and safety enhancement. By 1987 352-7207 227-9221 more than $70 million has been spent 1988: Hanford is shut down after 45 years of operation. The 560 square mile "nuclear reserve" is placed on a national priority list for cleanup. The cost of the 50-year cleanup program is estimated at $48 billion. "Being environmentally friendly in a friendly environment"