The record, 29 août 1989, mardi 29 août 1989

Births, deaths .7 Classified .10 Comics .H Editorial .4 Farm & Business .5 Living .6 Sports .15 Townships.3 "Me?Good heavens, no! She’s further up." Liberals: Tax ads are pack of lies By Larry Welsh OTTAWA (CP) — Federal government advertising promoting the proposed nine-per-cent sales tax is untrue, misleading and amounts to contempt of Parliament, Liberal House leader Herb Gray said today.The Mulroney government took out two pages of advertising in several newspapers across the country during the weekend, promoting Finance Minister Michael Wilson’s new sales tax.“We believe that this ad is essentially untrue and misleading and amounts to a contempt of Parliament,” Gray told reporters.He and fellow Liberal Don Bou-dria said they will challenge the advertising because it states that the new tax will come into effect on Jan.1,1991, even though no legislation has been put before Parliament.“The fact of the matteristhat no law has been passed by Parliament authorizing the implementation of the goods and services tax uiat tins ad taiKs about, Gray said.Gray and Boudria said they plan to ask the Bureau of Competition Policy to investigate whether the advertising is misleading.But government ads on public policy issues are exempt from federal legislation regulating advertising, an official from the bureau said later.Group wants test flights over Ottawa By Paul Mooney OTTAWA (CP) — A peace group wants Defence Minister Bill McKnight to allow flights by supersonic CF-18 fighters over Ottawa.And it also wants the minister and four of his colleagues to watch the display from lawn chairs on Parliament Hill.The group, the NATO Out of Ni-tassinan Campaign, wants to demonstrate the environmental effects of a proposed NATO tactical fighter training centre at Goose Bay, Labrador.The peace activists believe the aircraft noise and sonic booms as the fighters break the sound barrier will cause severe environmental and psychological damage to wildlife and native peoples in the region.The group made its request for the Ottawa flights in a letter to McKnight on Monday.They offered to pay for the flights at a cost of about $2,500 an hour, but said the Defence Department must guarantee that damage to buildings and other structures in the region won’t exceed $50,000.•NO COMPARISON’ But Lt.-Col.Bill Aikman of the Canadian Forces said any comparison between Labrador and a Canadian city is like comparing apples and oranges.‘‘The Canadian Forces do not conduct low-level or supersonic flights over populated areas,” Aikman said.“In the area of Labrador where we fly now, a 100.000-kilometre square region, there are no permanent settlements — none.That’s why it was chosen." Aikman said if hunters tell the air force where they’ll be, pilots avoid the hunting grounds.They also fly well away from the caribou herds in the region."Surely through co-operation we can make this a good thing for all concerned.” he said smis mMHi o SHtKHRtX'M H hMCNTMT* SCHOOl Weather, page 2 Sherbrooke Tuesday, August 29,1989 40 cents ‘We’re going to keep it up until we get some action’ Natives fight herbicide spraying in La Verendrye Park MANIWAKI.Que (CP) — Members of an Algonquin Indian band have set up a blockade on the main highway to northwestern Quebec.The band is protesting herbicide spraying and current forestry practices on their traditional lands in La Verendrye Park.Motorists were stopped briefly on Monday on highway 117 by protesters handing out pamphlets describing logging and spraying in the park, said Michel Thusky, a spokesman for the Barrière Lake Algonquin band.“We’re going to keep it up until we get some action from the (provincial) government, until they start listening to us,” said Thusky, who estimated more than 300 people took part in the blockade.However.Const.Richard Bourdon.a spokesman for the Quebec provincial police in Hull, said there were only about 10 people at the blockade on a bridge 25 kilometres inside the park s southern entrance.La Verendrye Park is 170 kilometres north of Ottawa.Thusky said the band doesn’t have any plans to close off the highway completely, and will wait until a meeting with provincial government representatives on Tuesday before any further steps.Bourdon said police will continue to monitor the situation."We have a ear there and if they block the road we’ll be advised and take what action is necessary.RUNS HUNTING Thusky said the clear-cutting — levelling all trees in the area — and herbicide spraying "drive away the wildlife, the small game as well as the big game.It’s making it impossible for us to live off the land as we’ve always done.” Thusky said most of the band's 450 members still rely on hunting and fishing to survive.“But we’re always being uprooted and pushed away until there’s no place left to go.” nr '|h* RETORD/GRANT SIMEON School begins this week for kids in the Townships, ting grade three at Lennoxville Elementary this year, among them nine-and-a-half-year-old Peter Imo- An angel by our standards, Peter said he can't under-glois, of Huntingville.While playing with friend stand why he gets into so much trouble with teachers.James Bradley Thursday, Peter said he will be star- We can’t either.cWe still have the right of expression" Quebec election law most democratic By Peter Lowrey QUEBEC (CP) — The ebullient Louis Laberge, boss of Quebec’s largest labor federation, has vowed support for the Parti Québécois during the Sept.25 provincial election campaign, something he might like to trumpet in full-page newspaper ads.But Quebec, alone in Canada, has an electoral law which forbids a third party from spending money to promote — directly or indirectly — a political party or cause during a campaign.Only a candidate and an official agent can authorize such expenses.And Laberge’s group, the 400,000-member Quebec Federation of Labor, doesn't mind the prohibition.“We don’t have the right.Bravo!” said Fernand Daoust, secretary-general of the labor federation, adding that powerful business groups with “limitless" funds can no longer back a party or cause.DEMOCRATIC ERA “It permits a more democratic era to dawn.” Daoust said.“And we still have the right of expression.We can tell the media who we support.” Quebec’s largest employer group, the Conseil du patronat, also lives happily with the law.“There are no discussions among our members about wanting the prohibition removed,” Ghislain Dufour, Conseil president, said in an interview.“There are really no issues we would want to spend money on.” During the federal election campaign last fall, fought largely on whether Canadians wanted a free-trade treaty with the United States, no comparable federal electoral law was in force.Large sums of money were shovelled into a campaign pushing the agreement and suspicions arose that U.S.head offices funded their Canadian branch plants to support the federal Conservatives and their free-trade treaty.Pierre-F.Côté, Quebec’s chief returning officer, doesn’t think Canadians were well served by that.TRAVESTY “It’s a gap in the federal electoral law.an appalling travesty,” said Cote in an interview.“If we open the doors to (third-party advertising) we return to excess, to a system of secret funds where the money comes from anywhere in any manner ” The federal Elections Act did forbid third-party interventions until the right-wing National Citizens' Coaltion got it declared unconstitutional by an Alberta court in 1984.The Alberta Court of Queen’s Bench said the prohibition infringed on freedom of expression.In response George Allen, Commissioner of Canada Elections, announced he would not enforce that part of the law in the other provinces.NOT MOVED The ball was back in the lawmakers’ court but to date the Conservatives have not moved to replace the law’s section.The decision left the Coalition free to fund such campaigns as a series of anti-New Democrat “Ed is scary” ads.a reference to NDP leader Ed Broadbent.during the 1988 federal election campaign.Quebec is the only province with effective third-party legislation, Ron Gould, assistant to the federal chief electoral officer, said in an interview.Legislation in other provinces became inoperable after the Alberta court decision he said.More than half the park, desi gnated as a priority forest produc tion area by the Quebec government.has been clear-cut, said Thusky.The herbicide spray is to kill off vegetation other than prime lumber and pulp-and paper species, he added.“We weren’t even aware of it un til some of our people were told they had to move because of the spraying.” A statement issued by the band said some local people became vio lently ill last year after eating ber ries w hich had been sprayed.The statement said the herbicide goes under the trade name Roundup and its active ingredient is a chemical called glyphosate The U.S.Environmental Protection Agency considers glyphosate relatively non-toxic although it has been shown to cause skin and eye irritation and is linked to a higher incidence of kidney, thyropid and testicle tumors in laboratory animals But another chemical in the spray, considered a trade secret and thus not required to be publicly revealed, is considered more toxic than glyphosate, said a pamphlet put out by the Washington based U.S.National Coalition Against the Misuse of Pesticides.St-Jean to be tested for lead poisoning By Daniel Sanger ST-JEAN.Que.(CP) — Hun dreds of residents of a neighbor hood surrounding a battery recycling plant will be tested for lead poisoning following the confirmation Monday of highly elevated levels of contamination in the soil.Soil samples taken from an area surrounding an industrial park near downtown St-Jean, about 40 kilometres south of Montreal, indicate lead levels up to 10 times the recommended maximum.The provincial government has been aware of dangerous levels of lead at the plant for more than 18 months but repeated efforts to get the company to clean up were in vain, an Environment Department spokesman said Monday.“It became clear then that dras tic measures were needed,’’ Claude Rouleau told a news conference.Last week, the department received results of tests indicating contamination of the surrounding neighborhood, Rouleau said.He wouldn’t estimate how many townspeople will undergo the voluntary blood testing, but noted 300 children live within a 150-metre radius of the plant.High levels of lead in children’s blood have been linked to hearing damage and mental deficiencies.A letter dated Aug.15 from an Environment Department official to Liberal Environment Minister Lise Bacon recommended immediate action to stop residents from eating garden produce.LETTER LEAKED That letter was obtained Saturday by Parti Québécois Leader Jacques Parizeau, who in turn gave it to the St-Jean mayor Delbert Deschambault.Germain Gerard, a St-Jean resident.said he has seen five-metre-high stacks of batteries in the yard of the plant.“You could see the acid dripping from the batteries when they carried them,” Gerard said in an interview.“And when they had rain, you could see the ground bubbling.” A 1986 royal commission on lead in the environment recommended that levels of lead not exceed 500 parts per million in soil in residential areas and gardens.Some gardens in the immediate vicinity of the St-Jean plant had levels of 5,000 parts per million.Soil samples taken within a 150-metre radius of the facility — in an old industrial park near the downtown area of this town of 35,000 — registered levels of between 600 and 5,000 parts per million.The lead level in household dust was said to be between 1,200 and 2,500 parts per million.Lead levels in the soil of the plant’s yard were put at between 15,000 and 20,000 parts per million.Rouleau said the elevated lead levels were especially dangerous to children and pregnant women.“It’s not a catastrophe; it’s not a disaster,” he said.“There’s no reason to panic.But there is room for substantial concern.” The company, Balmet Canada Inc., was ordered to move a yard full of scrap batteries into a warehouse by Friday, pave the yard by Sept.11 and submit a plan for decontaminating its property by Sept.22.RESPONSE QUICK’ A government release lauded the order as an immediate response to a freshly discovered environmen tal menace But Parizeau suggested the government would have sat on the information had it not been leaked to him.If*(the gwernment ) would have ynespAsible if I had not im m'c^tafyly sent the report to the mayor,” he said at a stop in his campaigning for the provincial election on Sept.25.The high contamination levels in St-Jean come at a time when the ruling Liberals are being dogged by the PQ on the environment.Residents of the town of Baie-Comeau don’t want PCBs from the warehouse fire last summer at St-Basile-le-Grand stored near their town.A judge is to decide today whether a temporary injunction bann ng the storage of the PCBs near Baie-Comeau should be made permanent There were no representatives of either the Liberals or the Parti Québécois at the press conference in St-Jean where the lead contamination was announced.Few of the 6,000 to 7,000 people living within 600 metres of the plant — the area said by environment officials to be affected by the contamination — were aware of the reported danger.On Monday afternoon, local children who had been hired to distri bute information pamphlets about the dangers of the lead contamination were going door to door near the plant.Meanwhile, plant workers were scooping their way through a mountain of old batteries, moving them into a warehouse by the dozen with front-end loaders.Other workers were hosing down the yard on order of the Environment Department to keep lead contaminated dust from blowing into nearby residential areas.Baie-Comeau will find out if PCBs stay BAIE-COMEAU, Que.(CP) — A Quebec Superior Court judge will rule today on whether to grant a permanent injunction preventing a batch of PCBs from being stored near this remote mill town.Mr.Justice Marcel Simard is also to rule on a petition to lift a 10-day temporary injunction granted Thursday preventing the unloading or storage of the PCBs in the Baie-Comeau area, 350 kilometres northwest of Quebec City.Despite the court order, a Soviet freighter Thursday unloaded 15 containers of PCB waste from last year’s warehouse fire at St-Basile-le-Grand on to the jetty at Baie-Comeau.where they stand in legal limbo.Hydro Quebec, the owner of the storage site 30 kilometres north of town, Dynamis Envirotech, the company contracted to dispose of the PCBs, and the Quebec Attorney General s Department have applied for the temporary injunction to be lifted.A coalition of concerned residents is seeking the permanent in-juntion.Lawyers for the coalition say storing PCBs at Hydro-Quebec’s Manic 2 hydroelectric dam contravenes the constitutional rights of the citizens of Baie-Comeau.The coalition of 20 different community groups says there is no reason why St-Basile PCBs should be stored in their area.“The law isn’t just for the state, it’s also for the people of Baie-Comeau,” said spokesman Pauline Pelletier.« 2—The RECORD—Tuesday, August 29, 1989 The Townsh Kccora 6We have reason to be afraid’ ‘White Power’ not welcome in E.T.: Equal rights groups denounce racist By Scott David Harrison SHERBROOOKE — Rally or not, André Paradis is not prepared to accept racism as a way of life.Paradis, the executive director of the Montreal chapter of the League for Human Rights, joined more than a dozen local organiza- m M ¦0 % k A ndré Paradis.‘ We need to fight.tions to denounce a planned rally by white supremacist skinheads in the Eastern Townships this weekend.The rally, planned for a North Hatley farm, has reportedly been cancalled because of the negative attention it has attracted.The property owners have also announced the skinheads will not be welcome on their land.An unsuspecting Capleton Road couple had offered their land to their 16-year-old daughter, who said she was inviting a few friends over for a rock ’n roll party.No mention was made of the skinheads or a proposed cross-burning ceremony.“We need to fight against these types of organizations,” said the bearded Paradis.“If we don’t, we could see more massive human rights violations.” FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION Paradis scoffed at the suggestion the skinheads have the right to rally based on sections of the United Nations, Canadian and Quebec charters of rights which protect freedom of expression.“Freedom of speech is one of the most fundamental rights of democracy,” he said.“But some rights have to be balanced against others and the right to equality cannot be ignored.” Skinheads are members of a largely young, counter culture inden-tified by their apparel — black Doc Martin boots, torn blue jeans, black leather jackets, t-shirts and suspenders.They are also strongly against the use of narcotics.While not all skinheads aspire to violence, according to the League’s pamphlet titled, The Skinhead Movement and the Extreme Right, some factions believe in the supremacy of the white race.These extreme right-wing idealists profess violence against all non-whites, Jews and gay and lesbians or, according to a United Skinheads of Montreal doctrine, “anyone of abnormal sexual orientation.” according to the pamphlet.They attack in groups using their footware as their principle weapon.Racist skinheads are often in-dentified by the white laces in their Doc Martin’s.Racists skinheads grew out of the British working class during the late 60s.While they are often confused with punks, their ideals are different.The League for Human Rights’ 125-page document about the activities of skinheads also describes other extreme right groups, such as the Ku Klux Klan and the Aryan Nations.The document outlines actions of white supremacy groups in Britain, France, the United States and Canada.“It all comes from the White Power’ movement in the United States,” said Claudine Auger from the Quebec Commision on Human Rights.“That movement has penetrated Quebec and that is what we are dealing with.” Paradis said the core of skinhead membership comes from frustrated, unemployed youths who blame their predicament on immigrants.They also claim immigrants, Jews and homosexuals are “impurities” to their idealized all-white order.With guidance from their American counterparts, racist skinheads have firmly planted themselves in many Canadian cities, including Sherbrooke.The number of skinheads in Sherbrooke is unknown, but youth counselor Guy Laro-chelle, of la Table de concertation jeunesse de J’Estne said their attacks are increasing.CHEIF CANADIAN BASES Montreal and Toronto are the home bases for racist skinheads in Canada.There are also known sects in Quebec City, Trois-Rivières, Joliette, Halifax, Moncton.Fredericton and Vancouver.The United Skinheads is the principal group in Montreal with about 250 members.Police estimates / / « Claudine Auger., movement.dealing with show they were responsible for about 100 criminal acts in 1987, and are currently responsible for about one act of aggression every two weeks.Paradis said the only way to deal with skinheads is to expose their hideous crimes to the entire world.“We’re are not trying to give them free publicity, we’re trying to inform the public of their danger,” he said.“We have to take measures to ensure these types of movements do not develop." To do this Paradis said greater government action is needed to help young people find jobs and better funding for centres to help give direction to helpless, impressionable youths.“Some (skinheads) move out of the organization, but now we have reason to be afraid that they are moving into other neo-Nazi organizations,” Paradis said.“They are just a marginal group right now but we have to stop their growth.” Regardless of whether skinheads converge on the Townships or not, opposition groups are planning a rally of their own to be held Sept.3 in Sherbrooke’s Camirand Park at 1 p.m."All we want is for tHem to give us the services that we have the right to’ Magog Lake protection group wants provincial group to let it do its job By John Tollefsrud ROCK FOREST— A lake protection group in the Eastern Townships is taking its provincial umbrella group to task for violating the Canadian and Quebec charters of rights and freedoms.About 100 members of the Magog Lake Protection Association (APLM) voted unanimously Monday to support a resolution which asks the Quebec Ombudsman’s office to investigate the Fédération des associations pour la protection de l’environment des lacs (FAPEL).The demand is being made because FAPEL is refusing to reveal how many shrubs it is planting, and on the shores of which lakes, as requested by the Magog association.Such shrubs and bushes are used to help slow the deterioration of the shoreline.CHALLENGING The Quebec environment ministry under former minister Clifford Lincoln awarded FAPEL nearly $1.8 million as part of the lakes program.The Magog group — which is no longer part of the provincial body - is challenging FAPEL not for money but for what is considered its heavy-handedness and dic- tatorial ways.“All we want is for them to give us the services that we have the right to,” said APLM president Yvon Houle.“We don’t deal in politics.We work in the environment.” The outspoken Houle, a Montreal police sergeant-detective one year away from retirement, said he regrets APLM has to waste energy fighting the bureaucracy, but said it’s a matter of principle.“Those who benefit from government largesse shouldn’t abuse their powers,” he said.“There are circumstances when there is an injustice and it must be dealt with.” He added the timing of FAPEL's stubborn position of secrecy couldn’t be worse.“The recovery going on in Lake Magog is now in a crucial phase.” MAKING RECOVERY If the organization’s figures are correct it would appear Houle is right.The president, with the association’s biologist Gisèle Langlois on hand, told the audience Lake Magog is perhaps the only lake in Quebec actually making a recovery from shoreline depletion and algae destruction.Houle explained APLM uses a particular erosion scale, with 10 ESQUIMALT, B.C.(CP) —Dave Barrett removed himself from the NDP leadership race Monday, saying he wants no part of the kind of abuse national political leaders face.“It’s a debilitating, demanding, unyielding job,” said the former British Columbia premier, who sat poker-faced behind a wooden table as he ended months of speculation over his leadership plans."1 have not calculated the odds of whether or not I could win.I’m not interested in running for —____y»** Kccura Randy Klnnear, Assistant Publisher.569-9511 Charte* Bury, Editor .*.569-6345 Lloyd G.Scheib, Advertising Manager.569-9525 Richard Letaard, Production Manager.569-9931 Mark Gulllette, Press Superintendent .569-9931 Guy Renaud, Graphics.569-4856 Francine Thibault, Composition.569-9931 CIRCULATION DEPT.819-569-9528 KNOWLTON OFF.: 514-243-0088 FAX: (819) 569-3945 Subscriptions by Carrier: weekly: $1.80 Subscriptions by Mail: Canada: 1 year- $74.00 6 months- $44.00 3 months- $30.60 1 month- $15.00 U.S.8< Foreign: 1 year- $151.00 6 months- $92.00 3 months- $62.00 1 month- $32.00 Back copies of The Record are available at the following prices: Copies ordered within a month of publications: 60e per copy.Copies ordered more than a month after publication: $1.10 per copy.Established February 9, 1897, incorporating the Sherbrooke Gazette (est.1837) and the Sherbrooke Examiner (eat.1879).Published Monday to Friday by The Record Division, Groupe Québécor Inc.Offices and plant located at 2850 Delorme Street, Sherbrooke, Quebec, J1K 1A1.Second class registration number 1064.Member of Canadian Press Member of the Audit Bureau of Circulation being a bad state and 4 or 4.5 the ideal figure.The previous reading saw the figure down from 8.5 to 8 and Monday Houle told an anxious crowd the newest figure: 7.9, immediately followed by rousing applause.The war between the 500-member strong APLM and the provincial FAPEL dates back to November 1988, when Houle told a newly formed environmental council that lake protection should be decentralized.According to Houle that’s the main reason FAPEL expelled the group in March.PROTESTING Houle’s group is now protesting to the Quebec Ombudsman, arguing that the provincial body is not being accountable to the public for the use of its funds.Kicking out the Magog lake group is seen as a violation of the group’s right to free speech, right to free assembly and right to equal access to government services — all guaranteed under both provincial and federal charters, Houle said.Houle is especially furious about a letter from FAPEL which states that its raison d'etre is to protect the program itself.Houle said nowhere is it written that FAPEL is actually intended to save any lakes.Houle also stepped down as pre- sident of the Magog Lake Protection Association Monday after seven years with the group, citing health and professional reasons.The group also got a last piece of good news before the evening was over.St-Catherine de Hatley Mayor Pierre Beaupré said results of a 320-people questionnaire showed 66 per cent of that municipality’s residents supported a new sewage system.A feasibility study is already in the works.Orford PQ, Liberal talk shop with lake people ROCK FOREST (JT) — The provincial election campaign made a stop at an unexpected arena Monday evening as the Orford Liberal and Parti Québécois candidates addressed about 100 environmentalists.Liberal Robert Benoit and the Parti Québécois Henri Bourassa didn't exactly square-off as the Magog Lake Protection Association’s invitation came with a string of neutrality attached.Instead of a debate both men were given exactly 15 minutes to discuss the environment and their parties’ positions on the po- News-in-brief Public scrutiny too tough, former premier won’t run litically charged issue.Losing a coin-flip to speak first, Benoit still took charge of the meeting room and ‘won’ the minor campaign joust easily.While Bourassa spoke softly from a seated position for about 10 minutes, Benoit stood directly in front of the first row of seats, speaking loudly and non-stop for nearly 15 minutes.22,000 SHRUBS “You say you’ve planted 22,00ft shrubs, 8,000 and 6,000, that's great,” Benoit said.“But we have to plant a whole bunch more.” “I’ll put on my overalls and help you plant them,” he added.Speaking easily, Benoit spoke of his personal commitment to a cleaner lake environment, as he, like the audience members, lives on the shore of a lake.He said his wife Gisèle has volunteered by working on Operation Clean-Up, whereby school-children in the Magog School Commission are shown videos teaching environmental responsibility.Then a promise: “I won t put a single (campaign) poster on any telephone pole in the riding Or-ford,” Benoit said, explaining that it is a terrible form of pollution.A more restrained Bourassa stumbled at first, misquoting lake-pollution figures cited earlier to crowd murmurs.But he recovered nicely, speaking of the Parti Québécois’ commitment to the environment, havingheen the first Quebec government to have created the position of environment minister in the first place.Bourassa capped off his speach by saying Quebecers’ awareness of the environment must be elevated and that pollution must be reduced drastically at the source.leader.” A well-tanned Barrett, the MP for Esquimalt-Juan de Fuca, quipped that despite occasional “ego flushes” he is unwilling to face the intense scrutiny a national leader must endure.“Distasteful” personal attacks on retiring Liberal Leader John Turner, outgoing NDP Leader Ed Broadbent and Prime Minister Brian Mulroney convinced him the job would exact too dear a price on a “joyous” private life, Barrett said Train kills truck driver GUELPH, Ont.(CP) — A Via Rail train plowed into a pickup truck at a level crossing Monday, killing the truck’s driver.None of the 43 passengers aboard the train was injured, said Const.Charlie Hunter of Ontario Provincial Police.The name of the male driver was not immediately released.The train, which suffered about $100,000 damage, stopped a few hundred metres down the track after hitting the truck on Highway 7 about eight kilometres east of Guelph.The train was travelling west on a CN line between Toronto and London.The line was closed after the accident and passengers taken by bus to Guelph.The crash is the 20th in Ontario this year involving fatalities at rail crossings.There were 18 such deaths last year.Prisoner to strike for cigarette ST.JOHN’S, Nfld.(CP) — A prisoner at the nearby Salmonier Correctional Centre has threatened to go on a hunger strike unless the provincial government reverses its decision to stop distributing cigarettes to prisoners.David Ryan told a radio station he will begin the strike next Monday and is willing to die for the cause.Ryan said he'll call the whole thing off if officials come up with a program that allows prisoners to earn money for cigarettes and other canteen items.Don Saunders, assistant superintendent of adult correctional centres, said Monday he is investigating Ryan’s complaint and will make no comment until he has more facts on the case.The correctional centre, about 65 kilometres southwest of St.John’s, is a minimum-security institution housing 68 prisoners.Bell causes hot debate CHARLOTTETOWN (CP) — Acid rain and trade barriers are hotly debated topics in long-running disputes between Canada and the United States.Then there’s the bell from the ship Queen Victoria.The vessel gained historical significance when it was chartered to bring delegates to the 1864 Charlottetown conference, which eventually led to Confederation.Two years later, the 494-tonne iron steamer sank off Cape Hatteras, N.C.Thirty-five of its 37-member crew — and the ship’s bell — were rescued by the Ponvert.a ship out of Gouldsbo-ro, Me.The Ponvert captain turned the bell over to the Gouldsboro school district in 1875 and for a while it was used to summon children to class.A galaxies is born WASHINGTON ( Reuter) — Astronomers have accidentally found strong evidence that new galaxies are still forming, the National Science Foundation said Monday.While checking the calibration of a radio telescope in Puerto Rico, astronomers Riccardo C io-vanelli and Martha Haynes pointed the insiru-ment at what they thought was empty space.They found a massive cloud of hydrogen 65 million light-years away.(A light-year is the distance light travels in a year, 9.4 trillion kilometres.) The hydrogen cloud is 10 times larger in diameter than the Milky Way galaxy which contains the Earth’s solar system.“Before stumbling into this thing, neither I nor Martha were great believers in the existence of such objects,” Giovanelli said in a statement.Weather Showers in late afternoon, windy at times, the high 22.Wednesday, scattered showers in the morning, clearing in the afternoon, the high 20.poonesbury Shooting victim disappears SPOKANE, Wash.(AP) — A helicopter carrying an injured Canadian involved in a shooting near the Canada-U.S.border disappeared Sunday night while on a flight to hospital here from Bonners Ferry, Idaho.Rescue teams were searching today for the Aerospatiale helicopter that also carried the pilot, a nurse and a respiratory therapist, said Marilyn Thordarson, spokesman for Sacred Heart medical centre.The helicopter was one of two that were dispatched to Bonners Ferry on Sunday to pick up two victims from a shooting incident.One made the 150-kilometre trip safely from Bonners Ferry, but the other disappeared after making a routine radio check, said Thordarson.McDonald’s tries out pizza EVANSVILLE.Ind.(AP) — McDonald’s has flipped billions of burgers and tossed chef salads for the masses, but now it’s toying with pizzacraving palates in a move aimed at giving pizza chains pepperoni heartburn.The latest addition to McDonald’s menu is a 35-centimetre pizza, served as an experiment in a few test markets.It’s designed to woo families and couples, who might not normally frequent the fast-food giant for supper.So far.the pizza made of quick-cooking crust and fresh toppings seems to be getting good reviews, partly because it’s ready in a few minutes, faster than fastest pizza chain delivery car.The experiment began July 10 at a McDonald’s in Evansville.Now 16 stores in Evansville and nearby Owensboro, Ky., are serving McDonald’s pizzas daily after 4 p.m.BY GARRY TRUDEAU THAT'S YOUR NBW w/ee, J/M?PRETTY BASY ON THE EYE, HUH* ANPÏU-TELLYOU, SHEE QUITE A UVE WIRE' l 5W£ UlORNS UKE A DEMON AT THIEUTtlE DEBORAH NE EUEtNEEE l EST UP FOR HER, AND YET SHE ST/IH PENCHE IN PLENTY OF TIME FOR ME! I CAN'T TEH YOU HOW SUPPORTIVE THIS LITTLE GAL IS1 ^.KATHY WAS ALWAYS TEARING ME DOWN, RE MINDING ME OF WHERE I CAME FROM.I JUST WASN'T GETTING MUCH RETURN ON MY ZS YEAR VESTMENT i 1m 4^ JIM, SHE RAISED YOUR KIDS.Ill NOT SO WELL, FRANKLY.1 HAD TO SEND THEM BOTH TO MILITARY SCHOOL.I f* The Townships The REO)Rl>—Tuesday.August 29.198{^3 i__ ream! ‘Everyday I see a degree of need out there staring me in the face' Townshippers tells Liberal government Bill 142 isn’t much to brag about By Ann McLaughlin SHERBROOKE — In an open letter sent to Premier Robert Bou-rassa the Townshippers Association president Mary Mitchell says Bill 142 is not doing the job it was intended to do : to broaden the use of English in health institutions.“My main complaint is that nothing has changed" since the June 21 plan was put into action.Mitchell said in a phone interview.“It’s very frustrating," she continued.“to hear Mr.Bourassa bragging about the benefits of Bill 142 in the election camapign.” “Everyday I see a degree of need out there staring me in the face,” Mitchell said.Mitchell, also a social worker at the Richmond CLSC, said the institutions that identified to give English-language services are those which were already offering them.STATUS QUO “The only things that were allowed to be named were existing ones,” Mitchell said.“Providing an access plan is guaranteeing the status quo.” Mitchell maintains that some institutions, particularly two CLSCs — Albert-Samson in Coati-cooke and Maria-Thibault in Me-gantic — offered English services but were left out of the access plan.“They do not feel they will be able to continue service in these areas,” Mitchell said, adding that about 2000 anglophones under these CLSCs’ jurisdiction could be affected.The Townshippers Association did work with the regional health council (CRSSS) on the access plan, but did not have power to approve the final draft.Mitchell said FOUGHT PLAN "We fought it every step of the way, even calling the ministers up the day before it was to be submitted for cabinet approval," she added.Bill 142 is also supposed to provide the English-speaking population with equitable health services.In other words, services offered to the francophone community must be offered to anglophones on a toned down basis in proportion to population.But as far as youth protection goes, Mitchell said a home for maladjusted adolescents was not provided for in the plan and English-speaking teens will continue to be sent to Montreal-area group homes.“Thé French side isn’t perfect but we’ve got zip.Nothing.It would be better for us to be in a bad state like the francophones than in no state at all,” Mitchell added.INEQUITY Mitchell gave another example of inequitable services saying that 700 students in Richmond are entitled to a social worker for three-and-a-half hours a week, while the French school with an equal amount of students has a full-time social worker.Mitchell added she has also received complaints about home-care for the handicapped and nur sing care for the elderly, which are not offered in certain regions in English as the access plan describes.“When you’re old and losing your autonomy, the last thing you need is a language barrier,” Mitchell said.If the provincial government doesn’t boost the health care bud get for anglophones.Mitchell said she doesn’t see how Bill 142 can improve health services, unless bilingual professionals are hired.BILL 101 “When looking at the constraints of Bill 101, the government will have to have a good rationale to convince the public sector to hire bilingual individuals," Mitchell said, adding that the politicians do not seem prepared to make this step.Meanwhile back at junior Health Minister Louise Robic's office, press attaché Karen Potter said the political will to expand English-language services does exist."For the Townships region.$45,000 has been allocated for language training in the access plan.That is why the Bill is so controversial,” Potter said Monday, adding there is a special clause in Bill 101 providing for special cases when bilingualism is needed.The funds to teach English to some professionals in the Estrie health care system, comes out of $217,125 — paid 50-50 between both levels of government — set aside for the region’s access plan but not yet implemented.A regional coordinator, a translator and two secretaries will be hired to manage Bill 142 in the Townships.And the coordinator will be mandated to identify all areas in need of new English services, Potter added.Although government has not set aside funds to build new health services, Johnson Liberal candidate Denis Laflamme, a 32-year-old medical doctor from Acton Vale, said Monday he wants money for the whole region."Compared to the health care of- fered in the rest of Quebec, the en tire Townships region is underfunded.We have to start by getting our tair share," Laflamme said, adding the amount goes into the millions of dollars Liberals not sure about English services SHERBROOKE — Liberal candidates in Eastern Townships ridings have little to say about Bill 142 — the law which lets anglophones know where they can ob tain health and social services in their language.Sherbrooke MNA and Liberal candidate André J.Hamel did not know if his government had allocated any money for an access plan, which, as its goal, will improve services in the 05-Estrie administrative division, which includes the area spanning from the Three Villages area, up to Magog, over to Sherbrooke and onto Richmond St.Francis MNA and Liberal candidate Monique Gagnon Tremblay, was not much clearer on Bill 142, saying institutions offering services in her riding are regrouping their resources to guarantee the health needs of an glophones are being met.NO MONEY "There is no money being put into the system as such.But existing services will be made know n so people know how to find them," Gagnon-Tremblay said Monday at a news conference given by the six Townships Liberal candidates.Richmond riding candidate and MNA Y von Yallieres said an information centre is being set up in his region so anglophones can inquire about services by going to one spot That was the extent of the talk on Bill 142, which Gagnon-Tremblay added was devised with the help of English rights group the Townshippers Associa- tion.Liberal candidates Denis Laflamme, Yvon J.Hamel and Monique Gagnon-Tremblay say health and so- cial services lack not only for anglophones bat for everyone in the Townships.‘She’s hedged on her stand on individual rights’ Unity Party’s Neil callsBrome-Missisquoi opponent an ‘independent Liberal’ Graham Neil.‘It’s not an anglophone party’ By Sharon McCully STANBRIDGE — Unity Party candidate Graham Neil predicts history books will not to be kind to either of the leaders of Quebec’s leading political parties.“History will record the last two governments as taking the world’s two quiet and peaceful solitudes and setting them in conflict," said Neil in an interview from his Stan-bridge East farmhouse.“Both the Parti Québécois and the Liberal Party have accentuated the differences between our two cultures when as individuals we have been co-existing happily for generations,” said Neil, recently named Associate dean of Education at McGill University, adding he decided to enter the political arena “to try to right a wrong”.“Constitutional rights don’t seem to mean anything to the go- vernment,” said the soft spoken Neil.“We moderates have begun to say let’s look at what we can do through the democratic process.” ATTRACTED TO UNITY A firm believer in democracy and respect for individual rights, Neil was easily attracted to the Unity Party platform._ He does have one regret, however.He said he would have preferred to see independent candidate Heather Keith-Ryan accept the Unity Party nomination in Brome-Missisquoi.As it now stands, Neil and Keith-Ryan will be targetting largely the same voters — those who traditionally voted Liberal.“Initially, I could have supported Keith-Ryan,” Neil commented.“But I believe she’s hedged on her stand on individual rights.She seems to have modified her position, moving away from individual rights — for whatever reason.What I see her as now is an independent Liberal.” Neil does not deny the Unity Party is a single issue party.“But it’s not an anglophone party,” he insisted.“The party philosophy is the respect of individual rights and that means the rights of all Quebecers.” As an educator, Neil said he is appalled at how the French language charter discriminates against French speaking children.CAMP IN U S.“Fifteen years ago, a dyed-in-the-wool separtist moved into the neighbourhood.This summer, he’s sending his children to summer camp in the U.S.to learn English.He’s angry that he has to send his children out of the country to learn English,” recounted Neil.His greatest disappointment with the Liberal Party is with Education Minister Claude Ryan, he added.“1 think what he has done is incomprehensible.” If elected, Neil said he would push for more positive measures for protecting the French culture in Quebec.“You can promote language in a positive way,” he explained.“If you’re hiring for the public service, ensure new employees are bilingual; build it into the education system so that every graduate becomes bilingual.Spend more money on improving the teaching of French in French schools,” Neil cited as examples.OVER-LEGISLATION “To date, the approach has been over-legislation and punitive measures,” he added.Neil labelled the birth of the Unity Party in mainland Quebec and the Equality Party in Montreal as “a quiet revolution using the democratic route.“For the second time in the last decade, Quebecers have had to ask themselves the tough questions,” Neil suggested.“During the referendum, it was ‘are you a Canadian or a Quebecer’?Today, the question is : 'Do you believe in fundamental rights’,” Neil said He added he has no difficulty answering either question.“I’m not a politician,” he said.“I’m not nearly as concerned about getting a seat in the National Assembly as I am about restoring in dividual rights to Quebecers.And I believe I know what it means to govern.” Whether he will have the opportunity will be determined Sept.25 when voters in Brome Missisquoi head for the polls.‘I’ve always been lobbying for one thing or another’ Keith-Ryan offers some common sense and community relations experience By Sharon McCully MANSONVILLE — Brome-Missisquoi Independent candidate Heather Keith-Ryan believes the Quebec government would benefit greatly from a liberal dose of common sense.And she believes she is the person who can bring that element to government.“When you’ve coped with raising five children, you learn to be creative,” she commented from the Mansonville Bed and Breakfast she operates in addition to a career as a real estate agent.“An elementary knowledge of psychology tells you you can achieve more through reward than punishment.” Instead of punishing Quebec businesses for putting up bilingual signs, why not consider offering a tax credit to businesses which post French only signs?” she asked.Quebec’s family policy is another example of misplaced lo- gic, she said.“It makes me ill that Quebec women are being paid to have babies, but are not paid an equal wage in the workplace.” “Why not give women a credit for those years spent at home raising their children,” Keith-Ryan sug- STRONG WORDS And the Independent candidate had strong words for the government’s approach to environmental protection.In 1977 as a municipal building and septic installation inspector, Keith-Ryan got a first-hand look at Brome Missisquoi’s water and sewage network.“I think it’s unbelievable that in Cowansville, the only town in the county with a population of more than 5000, the people don’t have decent drinking water.” Of course, the lobbyist label is not a new one for Keith-Ryan “I guess I’ve always been lob- bying for one thing or another, she said.As president of the school committee, it was for better tea cher-student norms, late busing, and preparing briefs on successive education reforms.As a town councillor from 1970-76, she brought the concerns of the people to council.And for three years, Keith-Ryan estimates she devoted more than 20 hours a week as the volunteer president of Townshippers Association.The bilingual Keith-Ryan believes firmly that an essential element in representing Brome-Missisquoi constituents is a clear understanding of both linguistic communities.GOOD CONTACTS “I believe I have very good contacts with both communities, having worked and participated in both,” she said.“My children were educated in French schools and when they were there, I was president of the school committee representing the French-speaking parents in briefs presented to both the Minister of Education and the Minister of Transport.Keith-Ryan contends that all children — including French-speaking children — need to be bilingual.“The government has brainwashed the French-speaking majority into believing they must make sacrifices to protect the French culture, yet they send their own children to private English schools, Keith-Ryan charged.“The kindergarten children of today are the graduates of the year 2000, and we have to ensure they have the language tools to cope,” Keith Ryan said, adding that she made the foray into Quebec politics to give a political option to those voters who are angered over the governments Bill 178.INTENTION TO RUN “I find it difficult to accept the fact the Unity Party opted to run a candidate in this riding after I announced my intention to run,” Keith-Ryan said.Although she claims she was ne ver officially asked to represent the Unity Party in Brome Missisquoi, she said the reply would have been no.“There are just too many issues to be addressed by Quebecers in general to limit the campaign to one issue,” she said “And I ha ve no apologies to ma ke to anyone about my dedication to English rights, ” she added.“I’ve given three years — 20 hours a week — to English rights.I didn’t suddenly discover a cause.” She conceded that the presence of the Unity Party on the ballot will make it more difficult for her “But not impossible,” she added quickly.Heather Keith-Ryan.7 have no apologies to make to anyone' L’Option: Quebec independence how-to KNOWLTON (SM) — In its election publication, L’Option.the Parti Québécois has outlined the following step-by-step approach to Quebec sovereignty it would take if elected Sept.25: • From the outset, to present the party clearly as a sovereignist party before, during, and after the election.A vote for the PQ is a vote to begin severing relations with the federal government.• If elected, a PQ government would at once begin the process which would lead to sovereignty This process will take place within the context of negotiations I with the federal government.It is also understood that if the need arises, there will be laws enacted and public consultations held.At the same time, Quebec will draft a new constitution.It is anticipated that Ottawa will demonstrate a resistence to negotiating the separation of Quebec.• In the beginning Quebec will expand its responsibilities in critical areas such as family programs and immigration, deman-ding corresponding fiscal compensation.During the course of negotiations Quebec will need to demonstrate it has political power.• To illustrate public support for its negotiating position, citizens may be asked to vote on specific questions.The National Assembly can meanwhile propose a constitution which would prevent Ottawa from impinging on Quebec jurisdictions.• When the process of accession to sovereignty is sufficiently advanced.citizens will be called upon to vote by referendum on the constitution of a sovereign Quebec.If the majority of citizens respond oui, Quebec sovereignty will be proclaimed.PQ wants immigrants to choose French KNOWLTON (SM) — The Parti Québécois claims Bill 101 has been ineffective in integrating immigrants into Quebec’s francophone community because the Quebec Liberals have joined forces with the Federal government to promote bilingualism in Quebec.According to Parti Québécois figures the number of immigrants to arrive in Quebec who were able to speak English rose from 21 to 31 percent between 1983 and 1987.And 70 per cent of allophones who come to Quebec adopt English as the language of use, the PQ claims.In its election brochure, the Par- ti Québécois says me integration oi immigrants into the French community is further compromised by the Canadian constitution “The Canadian Charter of Rights has taken precedence over Law 101 in a series of court challenges, nullifying the effect of the law and im posing the Canada Clause which allows a greater access to English schools.” CONFESSION ALITY The PQ also decries the effect of the British North America Act of 1867 — which protects the confes-sionality of Quebec schools — and prevents Quebec from dividing schools along linguistic lines.Consequently, they say, Protestant school boards — which are essentially English boards — offer instruction to French speaking Protestants, and thousands of immigrant students.The PQ promises that as a sovereign state, the ambiguity which exists regarding the French character of Quebec will dissipate.An independent Quebec would assume control of immigration, the brochure states.“We will then take all the steps necessary to integrate newcomers to the francophone majority.” 1—The RECORD—Tuesday, August 29.1989 #1____fagl ttecora The Voice of the Eastern Townships since 1897 Editorial Maybe we should have been notified It’s great to know our government in Quebec City is on top of things.Premier Robert Bou-rassa’s ‘green party’ — as they like to pretend to be — certainly keeps up to date on environmental questions, of that there can be no doubt.But thanks nonetheless to Madame Minister Thérèse Lavoie-Roux for reminding us of our government’s efforts to be in the know as to the state of our environment.It would seem that soil samples taken over the past year in St-Jean, about 30 kilometres south of Montreal, prompted authorities to order tests following the discovery of high levels of lead near a battery recycling plant located there.And — as our Minister of Health and Social Services pointed out Monday — our friends in Quebec City knew about the situation, and the possibility of contamination, for the past year.Oh, good ! It’s such a relief to know the people we pay so well to represent us in the National Assembly are on top of things and are looking out for our well-being.Residents of the area could have been exposed to high levels of lead contamination for over a year — but at least the people in charge were “aware of the situation”.According to Lavoie-Roux, the contamination levels are higher than normally accepted standards but the situation is not ala.ming.How clever of her to point that out.But if tests to determine the level of danger residents of the area are being exposed to were carried out throughout the past year, did no one think that maybe we should have been notified earlier?We know that high levels of lead in children’s blood have been linked to hearing damage and mental deficiencies.St-Jean people had been complaining about the batteries at the recycling plant for five years.Nobody at the government level seemed to pick up on this or even heard their call, as usual ingoring the situation until it becomes impossible to do so any longer.According to a town official, things only began picking up only after the St-Basile-le-Grand PCB disaster last year.Is anyone surprised?Other towns have had to deal with lead contamination before St-Jean.How many more will have to go through their own ordeal in trying to clean up an area before someone in charge decides to act a little sooner?ROSSANA CORIANDOLI Thin-film to help bank see counterfeits TORONTO (CPi — While conterfeiters are getting more sophisticated, the Bank of Canada is determined to stay one step ahead by introducing new security measures this fall which include printing hologram-like images on bills.Beginning with the $20 bills, the national bank will introduce a colorful design using a so-called thin-film technique, the Toronto Globe and Mail reported today, quoting unidentified sources.Thin layers made of stacked materials modify the reflection of the light so that the design reveals different images or colors when viewed from different angles, making the bill more difficult to copy, the newspaper reported.But hank officials were reluctant to talk about the hi-tech changes to foil crooks.The printing changes were sparked by the introduction of sophisticated color photocopiers and laser scanners that can reproduce fine engraving and colors.The machines are still relatively expensive and hard to come by and there is no evidence they have led to an increase in counterfeiting yet.But “there's been a steady evolution of proved equipment,” one expert told the newspaper.GRAPHIC FEATURES While researchers are still working on thin-film bill designs, the Bank of Canada has made some advances by replacing $2, $5 and $10 bills with designs that incorporate new “graphic security” features, including fine patterns, pastel colors and microprinting.Elsewhere in the world, the development of currency protection has progressed faster.In Thailand, where counterfeiters duplicate everything from watches, handbags and briefcases to video cassettes, companies suffer millions of dollars in lost sales.But last year, the government issued a special 60-baht note using an optically variable ink to commemorate the 60th birthday of King Bhumibol.In Australia, the Reserve Bank has produced the world’s first currency that uses a hologram device that reflects light in a pattern and changes color.The design shows a picture of Captain Cook and is printed on a piece of petroleum-based plastic rather than on traditional paper.Murray Small, of the Toronto-based National Business Systems Inc., said durability is one of the main challenges in making images stamped on bills, which are folded, sat on and otherwise abused.“There needs to be advances so that a hologram will survive,” he said.Holograms, three-dimensional laser produced images, are already being stamped on credit cards, tennis rackets and chocolate boxes, but so far they have not survived tests by a machine known as a “crumpleo-meter” on paper bills, the newspaper reported.Canada has been interested in moving into high-technology security for currency since the early 1980s, when the United States announced a facelift for its bills because of counterfeiting.Leah Akbar, a spokesman for the U S Treasury Department, said the currency will be updated with two new measures — a polyester thread running through one side and microprinting.Secret Service Special Agent Richard Adams said there has not been a great problem with copying equipment, but there could be unless the government conti nues to research new printing techniques.“What concerns us is what technology is going to bring five years from now.” Letters In the right place and in the right way Dear Mr.Bury: Contrary to Sharon McCully’s August 10th editorial the Municipal Association of Brome Lake is not “an anti-development lobby group", nor does it claim to represent all the taxpayers of Brome Lake.It represents the concerns of its members, giving them a stronger voice to express as a group, what they want for their town.The following are a few ways that the Association has served its many members since 1980.1.Advocacy on behalf of Knowlton Pub in response to actions taken by Town Council/Quebec Liquor Board.2 Support for the creation of Block Parents Scheme.3.Village Fleuris (several years).4.Cardio Pulmonary Resuscitation training programs.5.Consultations with environmental and legal experts at members’ expense leading to important zoning bylaw revisions.6.Raising funds for the Brome-Missisquoi-Perkins Hospital 7.Many public meetings, petitions, etc.regarding highway safety, forest clear-cutting, and re-zoning a part of Knowlton Road The meeting that MeCully attended was a typical Municipal Association effort to inform their members and the public.All these meetings are open to all residents and all are invited to participate.8.Initiatives in forming the “Committee of Concerned Citizens’’ leading to candidate debates in each ward and a fully contested 1987 elec- tion.9.Research of citizen planning which was a major contribution to Imaginaction.Yes, we are very concerned with development but realize that it can be good for Brome Lake, if it is done in the right place and in the right way.Yours truly, Neil McCubbin, on behalf of The board of directors of the Municipal Association of Brome Lake Foster Tomb, tomb much Pictures look great Dear Sir: It is always heartening to see such lively support, indeed, one might say “groundswell,” (letters from W.L.Robbins, and Avery Booth, plus the article of August 4, by Ashley Shel-tus), for such a downtrodden group as the post-alive.But Jayne Greene’s untimely call for an early demise to this “very grave subject.” (10 August) is, indeed, as she states, “.tomb, tomb much.” As a pre-member of the “Parti Posthume,” (or, “PP”, as it is commonly known), with large representation in the body politic, including, it is said, in that august body, the Senate, I feel that a call for a crossing to, rather than of the bar is far more timely.Further, one must consider the future of the PP: will members continue to have the right to vote, as has often been the case in times past?Will small children continue discriminatory chants about them (.Styx and stones may have my bones.)?And, most importantly, will pre-postalivers continue to give their support?For, it is difficult, at best, for members of the Parti Posthume to stand up for themselves.Yours shade-ily, Phyllis Robbins Pre P-A, Pre-mem., PP Waterville To whom it may concern: On behalf of the children of Karous-sel pre-school (Sunnyside school) 1 would like to thank you for the beautiful pictures you sent us.The pictures were of our visit to the old Cassville school house where we held classes for a day.The oictures look great in our book of memories.Thanks again.Yours Truly LORRAYNE MARKWELL Teacher Stanstead P.S.My compliments to the photo-pragher — the pictures are great! ! ! Family name so badly spelled Editor; It is very nice to see this piece in the Record about the high school reunion “Massey Vanier” with pictures.They for sure had a good time, only I am disappointed to see my family name so badly spelled under one of the pictures.Frank Malanasar.Yours truly, Mrs.Christina Molenaar (Mrs.Peter) East Farnham MEAN STREETS.- ^Ll Serving alcohol to kids, a crime that must be punished There’s not a heck of a lot of things for a kid to do in a rural community.When they're very young they hang around the house, get under foot and complain about being bored.There’s always the wading pool, biking, hiking or television, and then it’s off to bed.As they grow older their choice of entertainment changes.Nowadays we try to force our children to become adults faster than any other past generation.We’re constantly telling them to “grow up”.It should come as no surprise that these children choose adult entertainment — particularly when other forms of entertainment are refused to them because of rural distance problems.Just as soon as a kid can poke his nose over a steering wheel most farm kids learn to drive.It is very handy having another driver around the farm, someone wrho can steer the tractor or take the pick-up home for a spare part while dad tears down the baler.BEND RULES Soon the young driver is as comfortable behind the wheel as his father and before you know it he’s slipping into town occasionally in the family car.Rural distances force farm children to become mobile long before city kids.Parents, tired of picking them up here or delivering them there, are quite content to bend the rules and allow their under-age driver an occasional sortie.The relatively small initial cost and low operating expense makes a motorcycle an attractive purchase for a young driver Many rural children can be louiid on two, three or four- Where /'“"'N the pavement ends JIM LAWRENCE wheel motor bikes driving illegally (What the hey!) over country roads.If anyone thinks the rampant drug culture of the 80s is confined to urban centers they are sadly mistaken.Drugs of every nature and quality can be found on the streets of every small town.Ask any school age kid where to find grass, crack, coke or anything else you can think of, and if he trusts you, he’ll tell you the name of two or three people ready to fill your order Drugs are easy to get and are used regularly.The use of alcohol as an entertainment medium is widespread in small towns.The per-capita consumption of beer is much higher in rural areas than urban centers, a fact of which Canadian brewers are aware to the point of designing some beers specifically for that market.GROW UP When you tell a kid to “grow up" and present him with an adult lifestyle that includes a high use of alcohol, you can expect his growing-up to include drugs of some kind.Few country dwellers would argue the dangers of drinking and driving.The unfortunate reality of the situation is that rural drinkers often have little choice.The rural environment is not conducive to taking a subway, hopping on a bus or grabbing a cab home.Often the choice between staying at the bar and going home puts drivers behind the steering wheel when they are too drunk to drive safely.The child that’s been told to grow up, provided with transportation and given an alcohol pattern to copy won’t hesitate to go to a bar, have a few drinks and drive home.Far too regularly rural children don't make it.Teenage deaths seem to run in cycles.Some years nobody is injured and then the next year the community loses five or six of its young people in a series of unrelated accidents.So far this year our community has lost two.Although schools, churches and community centres preach the dangers of drinking and driving the message falls on deaf ears at times, and the “you-can't-tell-me-anything” bravado of youth leads teenagers into trouble.TEEN SYMPTOMS That’s understandable and I remember living through the same rebellious teen symptoms.Fortunately cars were fewer and slower in the fifties or perhaps I’d have never made it and life would be a might easier for Bernie and Merritt.It’s all part of growing up — specifi-eally what we’ve been telling them to do for years.The thing that really burns my b< tom (apart from a fire about yea hig are the number of locations, in rur areas, that in order to keep up the nightly sales of alcohol resort to kn wingly selling to minors.In urban areas, I suppose becau of the larger number of inspectors because there are more people to s< to, anyone who looks younger than is asked for identification (Eve w asked last year and won’t let me fc get it — I keep telling her it was only courtesy request.) In this part of the Eastern Town hips there are a number of drinkii establishments that regularly ai matter-of-factly serve alcohol to ch dren as young as 14.Most small towi have at least one bar that convenie tly overlooks the minimum drinkir age.Parents often allow their ch dren to go to these bars with a “win wink, nudge-nudge” acceptance th their child can buy beer or liquor even though he may be under the leg drinking age.They think it’s cute that Little Joh ny can sneak in and buy a beer or tw How cute is it when Little Johnr gets loaded and is allowed to dri\ home?How cute is it when he doesn’t mal it?It's up to every parent who cares, i close down these under-age drinkir holes, or risk losing one of their ow children.Any bartender who serves alcohi to a 14-year-old is a criminal an should be treated as such.Wink-wink, eh? The RECORD—Tuesday.August ».1»89—5 Farm and Business #1___thci KBeora Square or flat saplings not as radical as that?By Debi Pelletier The Canadian Press The tree farms of the future may have a distinctly different look if the work of Robert Falls ever takes root.Robert Falls, a graduate student at the University of British Columbia, has succeeded in producing square trees.He has also patented a process that could result in flat ones.“1 have squarish saplings,” Falls, 38.says in a nonchalant sort of way.“It’s not quite as radical looking as you might think.“They’re normal looking trees, they just happen to to be kind of on the square side.” Indeed they are.Slightly rounded squares, but with four unmistakable corners.So why would anyone want to do that to a tree?Falls, a native of Nanaimo, B.C., says he wants to see the “strip mining” of the forests stop.He believes his research could result in more efficient, faster growing and better quality trees — which he says would put fewer demands on natural forests.CUTS WASTE About 40 to 50 per cent of a round tree is wasted in the sawmilling process.Falls says a square tree could slash that waste to 30 per cent.Creating a cubist tree sounds diabolically simple.Falls just applies a stimulus to the four “corners” of a stem and gets a 150-per-cent acceleration in growth rate.“The advantage of this is that we don’t have to plant seeds and wait for them to grow into trees,” he says.“We can take trees that are already standing, treat them and have them growing square, right like tomorrow.” Falls won’t say any more until he obtains a patent.Reaction from the forest industry has been skeptical.“I’m not going to comment until I talk to this guy,” said Frank Luccy, a vice-president at.Fletcher Challenge Canada, a forestry products firm.“It’s like telling me the Martians have landed.” Luccy added with a laugh.Stan Worsley at the wood harvesting division of MacMillan Bloedel’s research facility admitted he hadn’t heard anything about Falls’s work.“But if he’s done it, that’s brilliant,” Worsley said.“My first reaction is it would change a lot of logging equipment, processors and so on.Everything is geared to round trees.” The Council of Forest Industries, which represents forestry companies in British Columbia, declined comment.The impetus for Falls’s work came from research conducted at the University of New Brunswick in Fredericton.Rod Savidge, assistant profes- iFocus on Farming sor of forestry at the university, said his department is one of the few in the world trying to find out exactly how trees grow.SEEKS SECRET “There isn’t a person on earth who can explain how a tree makes wood on a basic biological level,” Savidge said.“That’s what we’re trying to find out.” Wood is produced by cambium, a layer of cells right under the bark.The layer only lives for 20 days, then dies until the next growth cycle.Savidge said Falls has put research into the cambium to practical use by stimulating growth rates, but cautioned that the research is very preliminary.Enter the flat trees.Falls says that because the cambium produces wood, cutting a tree is like destroying the factory.So he thought there should be a way of extracting the cambium and setting it up in a culture so that it continuously produces wood.“Biologically it works.” Falls says.“Implementing it may be a different matter.” LIVING HARVEST The idea is to create flatshaped trees so that the cambium layer on one side is never cut, but the wood on the other side can be continuously sliced off.“I’m not trying to tell people we have a commercially viable product here,” Falls says.“I just wanted to demonstrate that we can do a hell of a’ lot more (research) than we’re doing, and with limited resources.” That sentiment is echoed by Savidge who says there has been a massive investment in biotechnology, “but we’re putting the horse before the cart.“You can’t engineer trees until you know how they work.” Meanwhile, the lanky, easygoing Falls is concentrating on his PhD thesis.It deals with tree fluorescence, which started him down the square tree path in the first place.Falls believes tree fluorescence has even greater shortterm potential.By measuring flourescence — a reddish-colored light emitted by trees — Falls says foresters should be able to gauge tree health and growth rate.With remote sensors, whole tracks of forests could be monitored for signs of stress before trees actually start dying.Fluorescence monitoring, says Falls, could also provide badly needed data on the impact various pollutants have on the forest, or how clear-cut logging affects its health.RECYCLE THIS Æ; NEWSPAPER c;1 1___fall Kccora RÉGIE DES RENTES DU QUÉBEC As of 31 August 1989, the regional office of the Régie des rentes du Québec will be located at this address: 200, rue Belvédère nord SHERBROOKE (Québec) J1H4A9 des rentes To facilitate relocation to the new offices, client services will be suspended between 1:00 p.m.and 4:30 p.m.on Thursday, 30 August 1989.The personnel will be available to serve you better in the new offices as of 31 August 1989 at 8:30 a.m.Québec sz Manure odor gets in ABERNETHY, Sask. w ffi I % il» ft W ft ii;i ft HHHH :S:SO: ¦ "Countryside Common Mall" Since tl Rt.5; Derby Road TAB & RUFFLED CURTAINS DRAPERIES & ROMAN SHADES FABRICS & LININGS WOOD POLE SETS DRAPERY HARDWARE WINDOW SHADES WALLPAPER & ACCESSORIES GIFTS - POTTERY DEBBY GREENWOOD (802) 334-6208 DERBY ROAD, NEWPORT, VT 05855 © •!) | 1 w ft U y L> -V ame& Contemporary a Classic Clothing for Young women of All ages JANICE PALIN PATRICIA WALSH OWNERS Rt 5.Derby Road NEWPORT, VERMONT 0S8S5 802-334-5955 13:: PKOIJTY BE A C II LOCATED ON: Veterans Avenue, Newport, Vt.MAIL RESERVATIONS TO: 74 Main Street Newport, Vermont 05855 Telephone 802-334-7951 or 334-6345 l Rates: $11.00 Water/ Electricity $ 8.00 Tent Canadian money accepted at par with ad until October 9, 1989 Newport .VERMONT - - SUP O-.B.C v_ VÏRIAÔNT o««6y gggfPt 3