t- Families Matter D Separation & Divorce SERVING NELSON & THE KOOTENA YS, B.C., SINCE 1988 Nelson hearing on MAI By Murray Greig Smallwood. The purpose of NELSON - Is it dead, or the hearings is to collect just hiding under another public input, which will be name, waiting to swallow forwarded to Ottawa by the our sovereignty? provincial government. When it comes to the con- While Kootenay-Bound- troversial Mu I ti I ateral ary-Okanagan Reform MP Agreement on Investment Jim Gouk has indicated he (MAI), it seems everybody believes public hearings has a different opinion. are premature because no The intricacies and impli- negotiations are currently cations of the MAI will be being held, Nelson-Creston discussed at a public hear- MLA Corky Evans said ing Feb. 23 at the Best he's had several inquiries Western Baker St. Inn. from constituents about the "H's all about our future long-term implications of as an independent coun- the proposed agreement. try," said Diane Taylor, The Feb. 23 hearing will chairperson of the Nelson begin at 2 p.m., and time chapter of the Council of will be set aside for ad hoc Canadians. presentations. "The MAI is alive and To register, call Taylor at Nelson resident Dawn Penniket, who Inherited the only surviving hand-carved horse from Nelson's original well, despite what some 352-6597. carousel in the early 1900s, displays photos of the antique piece. Pictured below is Roy Penniket, age 5, posing with the horse in 1951. A proposal to recreate the old Nelson Carousel was presented to city council last week. people are saying. We're Lakeside carousel pitched already living with a ver- sion of it under the North American Free Trade Agreement." Taylor said the secrecy shrouding MAI negotia- tions is cause for alarm. 'The MAI is a bigger ver- sion of NAFTA, and has far more disturbing provi- as a hot tourist attraction By Paula Wilson resident Dawn Penniket, who first saw the last The group's long-term vision is to have the sions that attack the gov- NELSON -A group ofNelsonites is set on giv- remaining carousel horse in her living room in "mother" carousel in Nelson and a portable, ernment's ability to ing the city the "go 'round" by bringing a piece 1926. traveling version to visit communities through- achieve social, environ- of history back to the waterfront. Penniket's father, Roy Sharp, was a friend of out the Columbia Basin. mental, employment and At a presentation to city council last week, Horstead and gladly accepted the latter's offer to "It's like my father always used to tell me," public health goals," she "The Citizens of Nelson Who Feel The Magic" take home a horse. It now sits in Penniket's said Penniket. "There isn't a town anywhere said. encouraged more residents to support their daughter's family room in Stony Plain, Alberta. that can do anything Nelson can't do better!" "Even though it was efforts to erect a carousel in Lakeside Park. The proposed new carousel would be entirely Inquiries about the carousel proposal should be defeated under its original Horsepower Productions gave a thorough pro- hand-crafted by local artisans and the designs directed to the Nelson Economic Development terms, the agreement has posal on the significance of bringing back a would include the look and feel of the horses Office, 352-8230. now been presented to the carousel like the one that graced the location from the original. Horsepower Productions has World Trade Organization, around the turn of the century. sought input from many local artists, carvers, and our federal government "This could be Nelson's most spectacular painters, sculptors and historians. is totally committed to it." attraction -- a jewel for the city," said Horsepow- 'This would be much more than just a merry- The series of public hear- er spokesperson Trish Hill. "It would be a per- go-round," said Hill. "The work involved in cre- ings, organized by the fect millennium gift to the residents of Nelson." ating each horse is well over 1,000 hours, but the provincial government, is The city's original carousel was built in the end result would be a joyful experience for peo- being chaired by Joan early 1900s and was a popular tourist attraction ple of all ages." until it was dismantled in 1926 by George If Hill's group gets the green light from coun- 11•'ki1•J#I Editorial 4 Horstead, the official customs officer at the time. The steam operated ride was about 50 feet wide but was fully portable. cil, the attraction would be the first new, hand- carved carousel in Canada in more than a quar- ter-century. Street Talk 5 After years of wear and tear only three of the "Carousels are a growing trend in the Pacific Calendar 8 carousel's hand-carved wooden horses were sal- Northwest," said Hill. "The idea is in sync with Entertainment 9 vageable when it was dismantled, and today Nelson's overall heritage theme, it's comple- Horoscope 11 there is only one known survivor. mentary to the Streetcar #23 attraction, and it Classifieds 10-11 "I love my Black Beauty," said lifetime Nelson would support value-added wood productivity." JadJreath? Yourpet mayhave dentaldisease.Februaryis DentalHealthMonth. Callustoday"j5t. -7861