cs CASTLEGAR NEWS, April 8, 1981 Supervisors don overalls and are pushing brooms VANCOUVER (CP) — Mu- nicipal supervisors who nor- mally wear ties and sit be- hind desks are wearing cov- eralls and pushing brooms these days while the “tiring and boring" job of covering for striking employees con- tinues, Civic workers, represented by the Canadian Union of. Public Employees, have been on strike for nine weeks in Vancouver and most neigh- boring municipalities, But unlike the recent strike at B.C. Telephone Co. where supervisors who took over union jobs were treated to verbal and sometimes physical abuse, municipal su- pervisors are only occas: sionally taunted as “scabs” and generally left alone. “Changing jobs like this takes away the boredom, but if it was ever fun, it’s cer- tainly not fun any more,” says John Bremner, chief en- gineeer from North Van- couver District. “AM I can see now is the backlog of administrative work I'd normally be doing.” Bremner keeps a supply of coveralls on hand in his office in case he has to man the municipal dump. DONS COVERALLS Les Harrington, Port Moody city administrator, often dons boots and cover- alls for outside work while logging about 10 hours of overtime a week. ‘Our city treasurer must put in 20 hours of overtime a week because he's doing most of the paperwork,” said Harrington, “He grabs a body to help him whenever he can,” A complete mess, is how Len McCabe, Port Moody police chief describes the sit- uation. Some officers have to put in 12-hour shifts, seven days a week. “Jf the strike ended right now, it wouldn't be soon enough,” he said. Other municipal supervi- sors have drawn upon earlier talents while filling in for striking employees. Surrey’s deputy treasurer, for ex- ample, spends two days a week with the public works crew because he knows how to perate a backhoe. PERMITS EXPIRE Dave Morgan, Vancouver's environmental health officer, said the food permits of 1,700 restaurants expired Wednes- day but there is little he can do. Instead of his usual staff of 28 health inspectors he makes do with a doctor and a dentist to enforce the city's health bylaws and proceeds new permits, An anonymous phone cal- ler threatened to burn down ‘his house because he was “scabbing,” Morgan said, but Are disheartened by public! apathy EDMONTON (CP) — The Bigstone Crees sat in dis- appointed silence around the small, battery-operated tel- evision set perched on a log near the campfire. They had waited all even- ing for CBC newaman Knowl- ton Nash to. tell Canadians about their plight. He didn't. “Reagan and Poland and that constitution” make news, not an Indian band walking 400 kilometres for a better future, said Clara, who has walked along a northern 2Alberta highway for 13 days ‘with her seven-year-old daughter. Public apathy is disheart- ening to the 80 marchers on the protest journey to federal Indian affairs department offices in welfard, ; They want jobs, quality ‘education and a new independence. Band officials have made little progress in bargaining with Indian affairs officials, R.B. Kohls, acting director of Indian affairs for Alberta, said last week his limited ebudget is “a drop in the bucket compared to the real needs. of northern .-Indian communities.” Officials offered the Big- stone band $3 million for the new fiscal year — about the same amount budgeted be- fore the march began. They said they could give no more without depriving 41 other Alberta bands. have endured nights and aching feet with ~ Little complaint. [. van walking for my son, and my NEEDS SIX MILLION , Chief William Beaver, rep- who g the 1,700 Bi; rain, cold | Crees, said he needs at least , $6 millipn to provide a new * begiining for his people. The chief presented a grandchildren,” said 60-year- old Mary Gambler. She walks 16 kilometres a day and rubs ointment on arthritic legs in her tent every evening. : Cecile Young, expecting a child in a month, has walked more than 200 kilometres. “I'm marching mostly be- cause I want improvement in the schools,” she said. "I hope this is over before the baby comes.” PUBLICIZE HARDSHIP . The Crees left Desmarais on March 23 on a “walk: for economic equality,” organ- ized to call public attention to severe hardship on six re- serves north of Lesser Slave Lake. The story is familiar. Few Bigstone members have run- ning water. Many live in overcrowded, inadequate houses. Roads are in poor repair. Surrounded by mineral wealth, they are tired of "y plan to the de- partment. “Indian affairs offi- cials were unimpressed. They said the document de- manded substantia! funds for staff salaries — $30,000 a year for the chief and edu- cation director — but gave no details on job and training programs. Bigstone leaders said they need time and assistance from other federal depart- ments to come up with a development scheme. Mayor Ralph Klein of Cal- gary has offered to mediate. He told hers.he has “an other than that he seema to get along fine with the strik- ers, even taking them coffee on the picket line. Watching visitora pick their way through shards of glass and rotting gargage on the Vancouver city hall drive- way is Bill Baker. He nor- mally is a personnel officer but now he mans the deor at one city hall entrance. He has mixed emotions about his position because he recognizes that he will ben- efit from whatever settle- ment is won, by the striking workers. City clerk Bob Henry said he is tired of doing the man- dane jobs usually handled by, his clerical staff. “I don’t feel any great accomplishment when I am stapling and col- lating.” A gregarious man, Henry misses his staff whom he regards as family. “It’s very depressing in an empty office trying to carry on.” Seeks vaccine against pregnancy EDMONTON (CP) — searchers at the University of Alberta are trying to find a vaccine against pregnancy. “Nobody is working on the pregnancy vaccine in Canada that I'm aware of except the U of A,” said Dr. Tom Weg- mann, an immunologist at the university. “There's a bit of research worldwide but. not nearly enough. The population prob- lem is everybody's problem, not just India’s, not just China's.” The world’s rapidly- expanding population will make life “a hell of a lot less livable.” ‘Wegmann and eight others are doing vaccine research at the university. Ideally, he said, vaccina- tion against pregnancy would ‘allow a woman's body to reject sperm.” before... they came’ into contact with the egg. “The idea is to render the sperm infertile. An antibody would combine with the sperm and deactivate it. The sperm can't have great big antibody molecules hanging on it and still be effective.” Research at the University of Alberta concentrates on. trying to discover and purify thé most successful antigens for injection into mice. Anti- gens are substances that provoke a reaction by anti- bodies. Oncofetal antigens, the most promising in terms of a pregnancy vaccine, are found on sperm, early embryo stages and in certain tumors, such as cancer of the testi- cles. Scientists at Harvard University, who collaborate with the Alberta research- ers, have shown pregnancy in mice can be prevented through vaccination of heav- ily-radiated tumor cells con- taining such antigens. But Wegmann said use of whole- tumor antigens is un- humans be- affinity and understanding for Indian people.” Klein, in a telegram to Prime Minister Trudeau, said © the situation “could become volatile.” Inflammatory words -are not spoken in the Cree protest camp. They simply say they are willing to walk to Ottawa to bring new job opportunities home. Answer for Sunday Crossword Puzzle No. 942. beizinic im iT