Can I rescue my files from version 09?

Please forgive me if this topic has been addressed already but I could not find an appropriate answer despite many searches.

The problem I am encountering is that I am unable to select images from the background (which I placed on a few documents in the previous version of pages). It is making updating some templates very frustrating in this new version. I typically update my background images for certain documents and do have text flow over some of these. But now I cannot even select the images I placed in the background or manipulate new documents to move the image to the background but still have it be selectable (not unless I make it a master and that introduces more problems than it solves since in some cases each page requires unique images and layouts).

Does anoyone know a good work around for this that doesnt involve reducing the opacity of the image so much that it becomes nigh invisible?

Any help would be greatly apprecaited.