The record, 2 juin 1999, mercredi 2 juin 1999

THE ORD The voice of the Eastern Townships since 1897 Music Fest ‘99 I June 5 & & Ayer’s Cliff Fair Grounds to benefit Children’s Wish Foundation 60 CENTS Wednesday, June 2, 1999 mSaP- Mi 105 refugees to arrive in Townships Staff Around The World In 80 Dishes More than 100 Kosovar refugees will begin arriving in the Eastern Townships on June 8.Granby is accepting 55 refugees and Sherbrooke will take in 50 from June 8 to 21, announced Robert Perreault, Quebec’s Minister of Citizenship and Immigration.“Quebec has put everything in place to receive these refugees,” said Perreault on Tuesday.In all, 1,200 refugees will find new, temporary homes in Quebec.Quebec City will receive the most refugees, agreeing to take 340.Montreal will accept 300; Brossard/Longueuil, 100; Laval, 80; Victoriaville, 70; Hull/Gatineau, 60; Granby, 55; Sherbrooke, 50; Saint-Jérôme, 40; Trois-Rivières, 40; Joliette, 35; and Saint-Hyacinthe, 30.The number of refugees taken in by each community is based on infrastructure factors such as housing, schooling and access to health care in each city.The refugees first arrived in Canada on May 13,17 or 21 as part of the program to reunite displaced Kovosar-Albanians with relatives in Canada.In all, 700 refugees came to Canada and lived at the Canadian Forces Base in Kingston.“We were planning to receive some but it’s moving very quickly,” said Hélène Beauchesne, régionale director of Communication-Québec.The refugees are the responsibility of the Ministry of Citizenship and Immigration which, in turn, \yill count on local organizations to help integrate the Kosovars into Canadian society.About 500 other refugees are expected to arrive at CFB Kingston in the coming weeks and, from there, some may come to Quebec.Read Thursday’s Record for full details on the resettlement plan.Bishop’s University ready for Congress Staff The scholars are coming.The scholars are coming.And there are a lot of them.More than 7,000 academics in the field of humanities and social sciences are expected to descend on Lennoxville and Sherbrooke today for the Congress of the Social Sciences and Humanities.The Congress will bring together researchers from across the country and around the world in every discipline for a 12-day meeting.In between presenting discussion papers and networking, the group of will be treated to a little Eastern Townships culture.Walking tours of Sherbrooke, a trip to the Capelton Mines and a drive to Knowlton are events the group can attend.Please see The Record’s special supplement on the Congress of the Social Sciences at Humanities inside today’s paper.LUCAS LAUIER/SPECIA1 TO THE RECORD ; More than 800 people took a gastronomic tour of the world at the 28th annual Buffet des Nations in Sherbrooke.For more, see page Z ; I?VOITURIER FORD MERCURY LINCOLN Townships Leader in TRUCK SALES (819) 569-5981 1261 King St.E., Sherbrooke 4.2L, 205 HP V6 engine AM/FM stereo cassette radio 40/60 material seats Aluminum rims 5550 lb.load capacity 19,495 * T.T.P.extra page 2 Wednesday, June 2, 1999 ¦—THE — RECORD Johnson kept his promise.AQdid change Alliance leader confident he’ll get 10,000 members at next convention.or he’ll resign A year ago, when William Johnson seized the presidency of Alliance Quebec after a bitterly-fought campaign, he and his superbly-organized band of red-shirted supporters promised the lobby group would never be the same again.They were right.All those who reject Johnson’s brand of political activism, who have a visceral dislike and distrust of Johnson himself, who don’t see themselves as victims of an insidious separatist campaign to suppress the English language, who don’t appreciate his verbal excesses, his defiant style, or his support for partition -all those people have left.Some are now part of a parallel group, Coalition Quebec, which formally came into being last week.The ones who remain are Johnson admirers, who see him as courageous, selfless, a champion of minority and human rights, a true democrat who aims not to divide Quebecers but to unite them.When Bill Butcher, chairman of the executive board, introduced Johnson Sunday at the closing lunch of AQ’s convention, he recalled - and it’s not the first time the story is told - that Johnson had once walked with U.S.black civil rights leader Martin Luther King.Some find this greatness-by-associa-tion to be presumptuous and arrogant, and find it even more preposterous to subtly link the U.S.civil rights movement with the place of Quebec anglophones.But the comment did not raise any eyebrows among members of the new AQ.They have the firm conviction they are fighting for a cause, that it is just, and that they will win.Johnson’s appeal, said Montreal delegate Cheryl Taylor, is his “altruism”.“To me, he is a man whose motives are pure.They’re actually to benefit the members.He has no outside goals and I really feel he does want to listen and have us actively involved.I think that’s what scares people.” AQ members also fully support Johnson’s commitment to dismantle the Charter of the French Language.“We’ve been told to accept that if you’re against Bill 101, you are a racist,” said Board member Jimmy Kalafiditis.“It’s a stigma that separatists have placed on our society.In reality, what is Bill 101?It’s a racist law.It’s a gentle ethnic cleansing.“Let me tell you something.How do you get rid of a minority in Quebec without any violence?You cut them off where they grow, in their education.You close down their schools, you shut down their hospitals, you make them feel uncomfortable, you tell them you can’t have equal signage, you can’t work here because you can’t speak French properly.That’s how you ethnically cleanse someone gently.” MAINLAND ANGLOS Having taken control of Alliance Quebec, Johnson has now set his sights on English speakers in the rest of Quebec represented by the Townshippers Association, Voice of English Quebec, and the Committee for Anglophone Social Action.“If we don’t have 10,000 members at our next convention, I think I will resign, because we’re going to get that.We can and we will.” Johnson denied he intends to actively recruit members away from those groups, all of which have rejected his leadership and pulled out of AQ.His message however was clear.“I don’t see that there should be a monopoly,” he said.“If the Townshippers Association doesn’t want to be associated with Alliance Quebec, that’s fine, that’s their right,” he said.“But are Townshippers content with this?And if they’re not, why don’t they come and let us know and see if they want to be represented by Alliance Quebec as well.” Asked what AQ can do better than the regional organizations, he replied: “I can speak for a united voice.The Townshippers have wanted to isolate themselves, VEQhas wanted to isolate itself.They’re good at community action and we want to do that as well.“But they cannot speak with a provincial voice and now they refuse to come to our convention where we can deliberate together and formulate together common policies.It’s very self-destructive to break up that alliance.“But if people want to be part of a provincial voice, they should have the right to be part of Alliance Quebec.If people in the Eastern Townships, the Quebec City area, or Gaspé want, they should have the right to be able to unite their voice with the bulk of English-speaking Quebecers.“I don’t have in mind any recruiting.I’m just issuing a public appeal to their conscience - do you want a strong, united voice?If so, act accordingly.” If participation counts, last year’s convention drew 264 delegates; this year, there were 182.MONEY Also up for grabs is money.With the split in the organization, Heritage Canada funding, which totalled $922,300 last year, has not yet been approved.AQ has received half that figure in interim funding for this year and there is a good chance Coalition Quebec could siphon off some of the rest while regional groups might see their funding increase.“If the Heritage Ministry wants us to QCNA Columnist Glenn Wanamaker have a fragmented voice, they will give money to every single little parish organization that presumes to speak for someone or other.Alliance Quebec chapters cover three-quarters of all English-speaking Quebecers, and this group Coalition Quebec - they simply have no appeal to the grassroots.If that’s what Heritage wants, a kind of elite group that can’t solicit membership, I’d say that’s unfortunate.” But despite the defections, AQ still has regional support from The Coasters, the Val d’Or, Rouyn-Noranda, and Upper Laurentians AQ chapters, and the Chateauguay Valley.The Outaouais Alliance also remains active.“We have no intention of breaking away,” said President Faye Sullivan-Stafford, also a member of AQ’s executive board, “and we have no intention of going with this new coalition.“Why would we want to.These are the dissidents who wouldn’t accept the democratic process of Bill Johnson being elected.They knew they wouldn’t be elected this year because they were lamb lobbyists,” she said.“You know the old adage, if it’s not broke, don’t fix it.Well, it was broken so we have to fix it.That’s exactly what Bill Johnson is doing.He’s one of the best Canadians I know.He defends rights for everyone, not just anglophones.” Give blood.A matter of life.Info-Clinic (514)832-0873 1 800343-7264 Web site: www.hema-quebec.qcca Weather WEDNESDAY ; Cloudy with clear periods and 30 percent probability of showers.High near 24.THURSDAY : Cloudy with a few showers.Low near 9.High near 21.Probability of precipitation 60 percent.FRIDAY : Variable cloudiness.Low near 9.High near 23.SATURDAY : Variable cloudiness with a few showers.Low near 10.High near 25.Probability of precipitation 30 percent.BEN by Daniel Shelton WHAT?! WATCH OUT l|-' , FOR.Mt H ->k; FWWE ÜW?'At/nmA »mi Wednesday, June 2, 1999 page 3 ¦¦THEmi i Record Clarenceville community at a crossroads Governing board to consider fate of school June 8 By Caroline Kehne Record Correspondent Clarenceville The fate of tiny Clarenceville Elementary School may be sealed when its Governing Board meets on Tuesday, June 8.Enrolment at the tiny community school have dwindled as some parents with certificates of eligibility for English education opt to mainstream their children in the nearby French elementary school, École St-Jacques.Others have chosen to send their children to English schools in Bedford or St-Jean-sur-Richelieu.@txAs a result, the issue of the school’s viability is a hot topic of debate among local parents.Laura Lee, a community representative on the elementary school’s Governing Board, said that the latest round of troubles began at the Feb.24 meeting.The school’s projected enrolment for the 1999-2000 school year dropped to 23 students (kindergarten through grade 7).Lee said that meant a concomitant reduction in staffing units and required grouping the remaining student body into two levels, the first with grades 3,4 and 6 students and the second, with levels K, 1 and 2.When an increasing number of parents started to talk about pulling their children out of the school, the Governing Board came up with an alternative plan, successfully petitioning the Eastern Townships School Board to change the school’s Deed of Establishment to state that if enrolment fell below 26 students, the school would offer only K through grade 4, with upper levels 5 through 7 being transferred to Butler Elementary in Bedford.In spite of this, an increasing number of parents seemed to be turning their backs on the community school in favor of other options.For veteran teacher Nick Wynnik, the crux of the issue is numbers.“Budgets are based on enrolment,” he said.“Less students means less budget.In the end, you have a building (with fixed expenses), but less budget.” According to Wynnik, modest budget surpluses have enabled small improvements in staffing, such as the hiring of a kindergarten teacher three days a week or the hiring of a recess supervisor.Wynnik also questions how the school’s special needs students will fare if taken from a small classroom environment into the much larger ones of Butler School.Principal Jim Colley said that the Governing Board meeting has been scheduled for June 8.The board will then forward its recommendation on the fate of the school to the ETSB.Colley said that the board has several options.In addition to a clear “open” or “close” decision, the board also might opt to suspend operations for a year, since the school’s Deed of Establishment is valid for three years.However, even if the board opted for the intermediate option of suspending operations for a year, Colley felt that it would be unlikely that the school would open again.“It would take a real drastic change in how the local parents see the school,” he said in a phone interview.He referred to a survey done earlier this year that indicated that parents were uncomfortable with the multilevel groups forced by the greatly reduced student numbers.“The only solution is to have more students and that that will happen is doubtful,” said Colley.Still, some parents cling to the hope that their community school, resurrected two decades ago, might survive into the next millennium.“My main reason for fighting for the school is that we have a local school that has been good to the students,” said parent Judith Almond, who has had three children educated in Clarenceville Elementary.“I have no problem with the education that my children have received over the last 12 years.I’m also doing everything that I can to keep an English establishment going in the current political situation.” If past meetings are any indication, next Tuesday’s Governing Board meeting promises to be, at minimum, spirited, as parents, community members and the Governing Board consider the options before them.Parents were uncomfortable with the multi-level groups forced by the greatly reduced student numbers.The only solution is to have more students.Principal Jim Colley Melbourne and Richmond will attempt merger without Cleveland Hafner workers vote to accept proposal By Stephen McDougall Special to The Record Melbourne f a jhe mayors of Richmond and Mel-i bourne Village said Wednesday JL they will try to negotiate a merger of the two municipalities and forget about a larger amalgamation with the Township of Cleveland.This after a majority of Cleveland residents voted against amalgamation last Sunday in a consultative referendum.Although the Cleveland council still has the last say on the proposed merger of the three municipalities, most councillors the Record spoke with after the referendum said they will now vote against amalgamation.Richmond mayor Marc-Andre Martel believes a merger with Melbourne can still bring benefits for the residents.“The grant we get from the Quebec government will be less than if we merged with Cleveland, but it will still be large,” he said.“It is better than nothing.” Martel said the two towns can expect a $336,000 grant over five years to pay for merger costs and keep municipal taxes low.If Cleveland had agreed to the merger, the grant would have been $536,500.Opponents to the merger in Cleveland argued that Richmond and Melbourne would benefit most from the grants.Councillor Denis Auclair said Cleveland residents would get less of a tax break even though the township had a budget surplus last year.Melbourne mayor Jacques Champagne said a merger with Richmond will require a recalculation of fiscal projections and tax levels.He added those calculations will probably go past a June 30th deadline imposed by the Quebec government on this year’s municipal merger deals.Merging municipalities that go past the deadline risk losing their five-year grants for 1999.“We hope to have all the work done by the end of July or August, so we will ask for a few months extension on the deadline,” Champagne said.“I think we can keep the same amount of tax savings as was proposed in the old merger deal.If we find we can’t, we will have to inform the residents and let them decide.” Staff Employees at the Hafner textile plant in Granby have voted in favor of a proposed labor contract.On Sunday 53 per cent of Hafner’s 171 unionized workers voted in favor of the management’s latest offers.The employees have been without a collective agreement since May 16.Changes in the contract centre primarily around salaries and time off.Workers at the mill presently making $13.50 per hour will see wage increases of 3.7 per cent, 3.9 per cent and 4.1 per cent over the next three years.“The negotiations went well and we Staff Monday’s record setting temperatures are being cited as the most likely cause of the death of hundreds of fish in the Yamaska River in Granby Township.The fish were spotted by an angler in a section of the Yamaska between Route 139 and Simonds Street.The angler reported it to the Granby Township Police, who in turn called in the Urgence Environment unit of the provincial environ- were able to quickly reach an agreement with our unionized workers,” said Hafner president Adrian Sperry in a press release.“I am very satisfied with the agreement, and I believe the employees will be equally satisfied.” Sperry said good relations between the management and the union helped to speed up the negotiations.Hafner was created in 1954, growing to become one of the most important manufacturers of upholstery fabric and stretch fabrics for the clothing industry, production is carried out in three plants in Granby, employing 400 people.ment and wildlife ministry.Early tests indicate that the fish most likely died from the extreme heat.In that area the river runs slowly, and the water is shallow.Most of the affected fish were small.Water samples were taken to confirm that the water was not poisoned.However later in the day the Urgence Environment team was also called to a waterway in Glen $utton to investigate a similar report there.Heat was likely fish killer page 4 Wednesday, June 2, 1999 ¦ ¦THF mi Record SENIORS’ DAY THIS FRIDAY! Are you looking for an interesting, entertaining and informative way to spend an hour or a whole day?Do you want to learn more about services and programs geared specifically to seniors in the Townships?Are you interested in trying your hand at gardening, light exercise, painting and more?Or do you simply want to have a good time, tapping your toes to great bands and listening to some truly interesting speakers?The “Happy Healthy and Aging” committee will provide you will all that, and more, this Friday, June 4 at the sugar shack La Grillade in St-Alphonse de Granby (just off exit 68, Eastern Townships Autoroute).One of the many attractions at this Seniors’ Information Day will be the Muséobus, a travelling exhibition of art, history and science related to the older generation.The day is absolutely free and the site is completely wheel chair accessible.Look for our next Seniors’ Information Day to be held in Lennoxville at the W.B.Scott Arena at Bishops’ on June 17.SUMMER EMPLOYMENT Townshippers’ is looking for a CEGEP or University student to work out of our Sherbrooke office for seven weeks this summer.The applicant’s tasks will include attending community events over the summer to promote the Association and helping out with membership.The student must be dynamic and outgoing, need little supervision and have strong organisational and communication skills.Send résumés care of Erin Mallory to 2355 Galt West, Sherbrooke QC.J1K 1L1, fax them to (819) 566-0271 or e-mail them to ta@townshippers.qc.ca AND THE WINNERS ARE.The essays have been handed in, the judging has been completed and the winners of Townshippers’ Heritage Literary Contest have been selected.This year’s theme was “A Look Back to the Past 20 Years, and a Look Forward to the Next 20,” in honour of our 20th anniversary.The quality of essays was terrific this year, and the judging was difficult.This year’s winners are: ELEMENTARY First Prize: Audrey-Ann Cantwell from St-Francis Elementary Second Prize: Lydia Desmarais from St-Francis Elementary Third Prize: Emma Beattie from St-Francis Elementary SECONDARY First Prize: Lisa Jewett from Knowlton Academy Second Prize: Ashley Staton from Knowlton Academy Third Prize: Paul Nettleship from Knowlton Academy Honourable Mention: Holly Dunn from Knowlton Academy Congratulations to our winners, and thanks to everyone who participated! TOWNSHIPPER OF THE YEAR AWARD Over our 20 years of serving the English-speaking community we’ve come across some truly incredible people, devoted to the Townships.We want to start a tradition honouring Townshippers, living or dead, who contribute to the quality of life and well being of the region.Nominees must have once lived or studied in the Townships, regardless of where they currently reside.If you know someone you think is a worthy candidate, send in your nomination to either our Sherbrooke or Cowansville offices.We’ll need the nominee’s full name, the reason why you are nominating them, as well as your name and address.Please keep your description to 250 words or less.Candidates for the award will be selected by a panel of judges from our board of directors, as well as a representative from the town where Townshippers’ Day will be held.Deadline for nominations is July 31.Winners will receive their award at the Annual General Meeting, held this year at the Lakeview Inn in Knowlton on September 17.Put on your thinking caps and help us honour those who deserve it! Send your nominations to 2355 Galt West, Sherbrooke QC J1K 1L1 or 203 Principale, Cowansville, QC, J2K1J3.PUBLIC MEETING ON HEALTH CARE The Estrie Regional Health Board will be holding an information meeting on the current situation of services in the MRC of Val-Saint-François.Show your interest and concern for health and social services in the region and come out with any questions or comments you may have for the Health Board.The meeting will take place next Wednesday, June 9 from 1:30 p.m- 3:30 p.m.at the Carrefour de la santé et des services sociaux at 980 McGauran Street, Richmond.Keeping In Touch Townshippers’ Association Briefs Collision with car kills skate boarder A 20-year-old skate boarder is dead after being hit by a car early Saturday morning.Skate border Frederick Dion was traveling south on Rte.139 near Rue Clement in St.-Alphonse-de-Granby at 12:45 a.m.Saturday when he was hit.Dion died at the scene.Quebec Police Force Sgt.Rejean Gagnon said the driver, who is from Dunham, did not see the skate boarder.No charges are pending as alcohol and speed were not a factor in the accident.Deer on Highway 55 A 24-year-old woman is recovering in hospital after the motorcycle she was driving hit a deer, Friday night.The woman was traveling Highway 55 near Stanstead East at 7:35 p.m.when she collided with the deer.Witnesses said the deer was running very fast and the accident was inevitable, said Quebec Police Force Sgt.Rejean Gagnon.The woman, who lives in Ste.-Etienne-de-Lauzon, is in stable condition.Her injuries are not life threatening.Police search for robber Haute Yamaska police are searching for the man who used a knife to rob a convenience store in St.-Alphonse-de-Granby early Sunday morning.A man wearing a nylon mask over his face entered Le Petrole Maurice at 12:14 a.m.wielding a knife and looking for money.The lone attendant on duty, an 18-year-old man, handed over the money in the cash register.Quebec Police Force Sgt.Rejean Gagnon said the owner is not sure how much money was stolen because the day’s receipts had not yet been counted.The rob was last seen leaving in a black car.More towns get 9-1-1 Three Townships municipalities are among 58 that will be hooked up to 9-1-1 emergency service on June 9.Stanbridge Station, Barnston West and Coaticook residents will then be able to use the popular number in any emergency situation.Since 1994 764 municipalities have been connected to 9-1-1, serving 95 per cent of Quebec’s population.Operating costs of 32 cents per month for the system will appear on phone bills.St-Jacques presents RCMP petition Shefford MP Diane St-Jacques has presented a petition calling for the RCMP detachment in Granby to remain open.The petition was launched by Granby’s downtown merchant’s association as a result of persistent rumors that the six member RCMP detachment would be closed down, and the officers moved to St-Jean.In all some 2000 signatures were gathered, with St-Jacques presenting the petition in the House of Commons in Ottawa Monday.“Organized crime is not uniquely an international or national phenomenon,” St-Jacques said.“Its activities extend also into small areas and into our schools.That is why it is imperative that we have the presence and the expertise of the RCMP in our communities.” To all students looking for a summer job $3,000 interest-free loan to create your own job Students often have problems finding an interesting summer job.Many of them are still looking in mid-May for an employer who will allow them to gain valuable work experience and save a little money for school in the fall.However, there is an interesting solution to this problem available to any student aged 15 or over: create your own business with interest-free financing from Human Resources Development Canada offered through the Business Development Bank of Canada.Do you have initiative and some good ideas?Do you have a viable project and few hours to fill out a very simple business plan?If so, nothing could be easier than obtaining an interest-free loan of up to $3,000.So don’t delay.Visit the BDC Web site at www.bdc.ca, or call toll-free 1-888-Info-BDC, or go directly to the BDC branch nearest you to apply.You have until June 25 to create your job.Revenue Canada holds information session Revenue Canada officials will be visiting businesses on Alexandre Street in Sherbrooke from June the 8th to 10th inclusive.The purpose of information visits such as this is to ensure that businesses are aware of available information and services that will help them meet their tax obligations.The visits will also sensitize the population of the importance to refrain underground economy and so foster free and fair competition.Revenue Canada is determined to guarantee the public that they can trust the integrity and equity of the tax system.As regards to trade practices, the Department seeks to ensure voluntary compliance with the law by providing information and services, informing Canadians of the risks they run if they contribute to the underground economy, and by taking stern measures against those who do not pay their fair share of taxes. Wednesday, June 2, 1999 page 5 m »?j '¦ .in M ni .¦rm— Record Mondex teams up with banks to deliver e-cash Stores and students to test new cash cards Where has all the cash gone?Sagging pockets, loaded down by the weight of loonies and twoonies is becoming an endangered sight in Quebec.The jingle-jangle of coins tumbling into a cash register is heard less and less in today’s retail outlets as the soft hum of electricity grows louder.It started with credit cards, then came debit cards.Now its e