Saturday, August 1, 1992 @ WorkRPLACE Home Sweet liome Your busi Is our business Neil Rachyriski 365-7266 FOUR BY EIGHT An American consortium of four high technology companies has been awareded $8 million to build a better computer. A branch of the U.S. defence department has gathered GE, IBM, Honeywell and American Telephone and Telegraph to work in concert on a project that will attempt to speed up the transfer of information within a computer. PWA TAKES A NOSEDIVE Shares of PWA plummeted on the Toronto Stock Exchange Wednesday. A report states the stock was down $1.87 on the day, closing at $2.08. Shares had hit a low of $1.55. PWA was also the days most active stock, trading shares of 2,783,000. SPLIT LOOKS GOOD An independent Quebec could be financially beneficial to Canada, according to one provincial economist. A report quotes B.C. Central Credit Union chief economist Richard Allen as saying long-run declines would be off-set by ending transfer payments to Quebec. Computers age giving people new Neil Rachynski NEWS REPORTER EAVE THE OFFICE BEHIND. GET UP FOR WORK WHEN YOU FEEL LIKE IT. [And if you want to spend a little more quality time with the kids, it’s okay to take a break. _ Those are just some of the first things that come to mind when one hears of people working out of their homes. And thanks to computers, that big-city trend is catching on in big ways in Castlegar. Karl Swanson, president of Kootenay Computers Inc., says small businesses are making the most of their mega-bites at home. “For the past seven years I've seen.a lot of accounting ‘work being done out of the home for small trucking outfits and other small businesses like that,” Swanson said. “A lot of the guys who own these companies have their wives doing the accounting work. It saves time and accounting fees. time for her kids.” working out of your home. bring final audits out on diskette.” The options are almost endless. about “There are optometrists. And the advantage is they can work totally at home and at their leisure.” Even students can get in on the act. Swanson estimates three quarters of homes with kids have computers. “There’s programs for university students and grade school kids that provide all sorts of study drills,” Swanson said. “It’s gotten to the point where we have CD ROM’s. The amount of information you can access is great. You can get total volumes of encyclopedias, dictionaries and atlases.” e computer CDs each hold 660 mega-bites of information. They are the same as music compact discs which can, in fact, be played on a computer. Swanson says utilizing a modem, a person can work anywhere by hooking into the telephone line network. “You can have your office in your home and be a thousand miles from work,” he said. Modem can also plug your home into the “I just set one up yesterday for a lady who’s doing (accounting) at home for a gas station. (Her husband) will bring home hard copy and papers and she'll do the rest,” Swanson said. “She has two little ones so working at home gives her some wanson says all it takes sometimes is a small investment to have you “Bedford accounting systems cost $149 for the program,” Swanson said. “Even accountants like this because they can People are using computers at home to make a living as programmers, freelance writers, architects and even musicians. half-a-dozen programmers in the Kootenays,” Swanson says, “they’re doing mainly data bases and spread sheets for custom made applications, called vertical software. “There are stock market programs someone’s written. There’s also a mother in Nelson who’s written specifically for options at the touch of a finger Vancouver Stock Exchange. With a $5,000 investment for software, some programs will advise the operator whether to buy or sell on the market. Even musicians are getting in on the act. idi applications are allowing artists to write complete arrangements and orchestrations on the computer with simulated instrument sounds, from drums and guitars to vocals. To begin an at-home set up the initial cost of hardware runs about $2,000 and software can range from. $149 to $5,000. Swanson says, “speed is the biggest factor, along with clarity and color.” And as the popularity of working at home grows, so does the technology. “Fiber optics will revolutionize computers in the home and office,” Swanson said. “The day is coming where computers could become a plug-in device, the same as a telephone.” News photo by Neil Rachynski Karl Swanson has seen computers open new doors for home-based businesses. ‘There are no improprieties.” Uh huh. MT Amateur Sports, a Vancouver company that publishes programs for high school basketball tournaments, says their operations are on the level. This is the company that recently asked Castlegar businesses to buy some advertising in the MT program for a tourney in Richmond — an event that our Stanley Humphries senior _ boys basketball team will be The sales pitch, according to MT’s Murray Cameron, is that MT’s basketball program won't score for our team. any three-pointers with me they were donating a few bucks for the better of our local sports | Neil RACHYNSKI r | our fine local merchants can buy space in the program to show the community how much they support our SHSS boys. Remember, that’s not money to assist our team, that’s just money to show moral support So, why would a local businessperson by ads in a rag that is only going to be circulated at a basketball game in Richmond? Certainly not to increase traffic through his store. No, friends and neighbors, these merchants gave away their money with the understanding that the cash, at least some of it, would go directly to help the local high school team get to the basketball tournament. In their minds, these shops weren't buying ads so much as programs. And it’s easy to see where the ‘confusion’ occurs. MT told the stores that a |@ lump some of the ad money will be donated to the host team of the tournament. The problem is, it wasn’t made clear to some local businesses that those funds would never, ever help the basketball team get to the tournament. Cameron says any business that has concerns should cal MT. Want the number? 1-800-667-8474. @ Saturday, August 1, 1992 FastLANE Win, loss or draw, it's in The News Jonathan Green 365-7266 JONNY B __GOoD _ Well, don’t bother calling Jonathan Green, ‘cause he won't be coming to the phone, The News’ own Prairie flower is off on vacation for the next two weeks. With that, please direct all your sports calls to Scott David Harrison, who will assume most of the sports duties in Jonny’s absence —$5 says he comes back with more Winnipeg Jets clothing to wear. DEVILS BEGONE The Castlegar Hi-Arrow Devils are getting the ball rolling again this Sunday. The local men's soccer team will travel to Nakusp this weekend to take part in that town’s Centennial celebrations. Game time is 2 p.m. HAVE A BALL Don't forget about the annual Dan Markin-Mark Lightle Memorial Golf Tournament taking place this Sunday at the Castlegar Golf Course. As of Wednesday, a record field of 90 golfers were set to tee off for this worthwhile tourney. Here’s hoping they get 90 more. Local SPORTS Wi Claude Vilgrain shares some thoughts on living in the NHL Jonathan Green Beh REPORTER _ iInsome ways, Claude Vilgrain is like a lot of the guys je ase made it to the National Hockey ‘League. He grew up playing the gam on both the streets ri hockey rinks of Quebec, he was selected in the Entry Draft, and he spent time in ce minor leagues. ut in just as many ways, he’: an awful lot different. ee He was born in Haiti, he played Canadian university hockey, then spent time with the Canadian Olympic team. But regardless of what he did in the past or will do in the future, there’s one thing people will re- member most about Claude Vil- grain more than anything. He’s black. He always has been and always will be. Vilgrain spent the first year- and-a-half of his life in Haiti before = hassarsrharay ajob with the Agri- aluae é in Feast oh Ministry in Quebec City in Since then, he’s bucked the trend of how most players, black or white, get to the big league. It all started when the Detroit Red Wings made a 19-year-old Vil- grain their 6th choice, 107th over- all, in the 1982 draft. But for some reason, the Wings chose to watch him put 131 points in 63 games on the board over three seasons with the University of Moncton Golden Eagles. With little interest from De- troit, Vilgrain spent the next year with the Olympic team before be- ing signed by Vancouver as a free agent in June of 1987. Over the next season-and-a- half, he found himself playing for both the Olympic and National teams. He also spent time with the Canucks main farm club in Mil- waukee and had a six-game cup of coffee with the Canucks. But in March of 1989, he was dealt to the New JerseyDevils for Tim Lenardon, a guy who had put some decent numbers on the board with the CIAU’s Brandon Bobcats. Vilgrain spent 187 of the next 193 games with the Devils’ top farm team in Utica, N.Y, picking up 220 points in the process, which took him up to training camp last year. He went into camp a 28-year- old with 12 games NHL experi- ence, not exactly numbers another team would jump for if the big club had no place for him. But his years of perseverance paid off in 1991-92, as he found himself playing a regular shift with the Devils, finishing with 19 goals and 46 points in 72 games. Even better, he was the team’s Emory Edge trophy winner for best plus/minus, picking up $1,000 for his trouble. Now home with wife Janet and a five-month-old daughter for the summer, Vilgrain said although he’s now a free agent, things look good for him to stay with Jersey. “They want to re-sign me,” he said. “We're still negotiating.” am said there was no se- cre e success he enjoyed in his first full NHL parang ” He said injuries opened up a spot in the line-up for him, and things just went from there. “They never set up any plan for me,” he said. “They just let me et lay he di . play he did, missing just eight of the 80 games weha bars nia related injury. Vilgrain said hockey in New Jersey is a lot different than one in Montreal or New York. He said the Devils are con- stantly in the shadow of the Big Apple, which gets to be a drag when the Rangers are in town. “Everybody's a Rangers fan,” he said. “When we play them at home, half the fans cheer for the Rangers.” And when that happens, he says it’s nice to hit the road for a few games. “Sometimes you look forward to going on the road because you don’t have the fan support like they do in other cities,” he said. _ He also said that unlike playing in Canada, being recognized or swarmed whenever he’s in public is not a problem. In a section of the U.S. where hockey fights it out with the three other major pro sports, plus col- lege basketball, Vilgrain says the fact he is Black doesn’t make him any more visible. . “The only time you get recog- nized is maybe after the game when you go out to eat,” he said. “It’s not like Montreal or Van- couver.” But that doesn’t mean it doesn’t have its perks. _ With the five other Patrick Di- vision teams, plus some from the Adams Division a stone’s throw away, travel time is greatly re- Good things come to those who wait duced which means family time is greatly increased. “It's a perfect spot to play,” Vil- grain said. “We’re home right af- ter the games. “In Vancouver, you’re on the road for five, six days at a time.” These days, the NHL is a veri- table melting pot of nationalities and cultures, .and the Devils are no different. Vilgrain said the days of Euro- — coming over to do their own hing are gone, pointing to s like Czech Zdeno Gaerand bo sian Valeri Zelepukin. ; “They try to blend in instead of trying to do their own stuff,” he said. And blending in is somethin “= Devils do well . “Everybody gets along well,” he said. “They're a great bunch of guys and that’s the main thing.” At a time when NHL teams are oe ra younger, more exciting players to put people in the seats, Vilgrain is at a disadvantage. He is 29, and will be 30 by the end of next season, but you wouldn't know it to talk to him. : fj gore = I’m old,” he said. “I ee can skate with anybody. Twenty-nine is not old.” oe But that doen’t mean he isn’t thinking about life after hockey. “Every year (Janet and I) sit down and talk about it,” he said, adding that he is one year short of a business degree. : TH finish it and see what I can 0. With training camp upcoming Vilgrain has been baid at work getting ready for the 1992-93 sea- son. Like a lot of players, he works out, puts rollerblades to use and plays some hockey. But he’s also exercising his _ aac 2 ing that has to be ady when it’s time to earn we the big club. _— very year in training cam you have to be ready mentally,” he said. And being mentally prepared is not something Claude Vilgrain has _ work hard at. “Sometimes in the minors, yore if vou me what peas he ing,” he said, adding that h doesn’t have to wonder now. 7 “Last year was an exciti _ Tlook forward to panne, bare, Vacation loan? We'll make it hay