' ben 4 a2 Castlégity News January 11, 1987 ATR GS TUBE SHOPPING Cable shopping here ITO (CP) — Atten- tion shopaholics: your tele- vision may soon be an ally in your insatiable quest for dis- counted bargains, end-of-the- line markdowns and unique gift offers, Canadian Home Shopping Network, Canada’s first live shopping television service, begins broadcasting Jan, 15 through 90 cable companies as part of the basic cable service, An estimated 2.3 million subscribers will re- ceive the channel. It’s television without the shows — endless commer- cials that, in some areas of the United States, has at- tracted enough viewers to earn a Nielsen ratihg. But is television shopping a revolution in retailing or just a fad? “We see our niche as being a complementary merchan- diser,” says John Goldberg, chairman of the Toronto based network. Retail analyst John Winter agrees that video shopping is “going to gain a small market share of impulse items that you can push very hard. “But I don't think the es- tablished merchants have to be worried.” 14HOURS Initially, the network will broadcast for 14 hours, be- ginning at 1 p.m. EST, says Goldberg, although plans are to make it 24 hours. Hosts will offer products ranging from “jewelry to briefcases, from telephone answering machines to orna- ments, “anything that can be delivered by one man and a truck.” The sales pitches, four to 10 minutes per product, will be “much more leisurely and descriptive” with “much less hype” than current television advertisements for records and home gadgets, says Goldberg. Viewers will automatically become “club members” when they call a toll-free number to place an order to ask for a memebership kit. Wee MALONEY PONTIAC BUICK GMC LTD 1700 Columbia Ave. Castlegar 364-0213 365-2155 Winter doubts the shop- ping network will be soft-sell and folksy. “T've never seen any sell- ing that isn't hucksterish and hard sell.” Shoppers must phone ‘in their orders for products + mostly discounted items the network buys through manu- facturers’ overstocks, close- outs and clearances — while the items are being adver- ised. CHARGE CARD They must pay’ with a charge card, and to-the-door delivery is guaranteed within 10 days. All goods can be re- turned for any reason within 30 days, says Goldberg. The show will be shot in a television studio in Toronto and there wilt be on-air interviews with customers who call in, he adds. Home shopping sales in the United States hit about $450 million U.S. in 1986. At least two dozen shows are avail- able, although only a few are Powers appear By CasNews Staff Three of the four men charged in connection with the Dixie Dee Powers pyra- mid scheme appeared in Castlegar provincial court Thursday to make a plea and choose a method of trial. Daniel Anthony Voykin, 29, of Brilliant; Frederick Chursinoff, 49, of Brilliant; and Steven Evdokimoff, 28, of South Slocan chose trial by provincial court judge and pleaded not guilty in a brief appearance before Judge Bruce Josephson. Samuel Stoopnikoff, 28, of national. “aH Some U.S. shoppers report video shopping is addictive and they are afraid to leave their television sets in case they miss a juct, But Winter is doubtful about the popu- larity of home-shopping. —EeeEE Court news Arthur Sinclair pleaded guilty in Castlegar provincial court this week to one charge of oceupying the seat ordin- arily occupied by the driver of the vehicle in a drinking and driving-related offense. He was sentenced to 30 days intermittent. * * Edward Montgomery was fined $300 and sentenced to seven days intermittent this week for driving whie pro- hibited. brokers in court Castlegar, did not make a court appearance. All four are facing charges of fraud and operating a pyramid scheme. They will appear in court again Feb. 3 to set a trial date. Dixie Dee Powers, 39, of Castlegar, also known as Laura Grace Gibbons, is now serving a 12-month sentence for managing a pyramid scheme with RCMP say col- lected $3.2 million in the West Kootenay. Powers still faces one charge of fraud and one charge of failing to appear in court. Mr. Gary A. Maloney, President and Chief Executive Officer of the Maloney group of companies, is pleased to present the Salesman of the Year award to Mr. Brian Bebelman of Maloney Pontiac Buick GMC, Ltd. Brian, born in Hamilton, Ontario and educated at Ryerson Technical Institute in Toronto, has been a West Kootenay resident for the past twelve years and an employee of Maloney Pontiac Buick GMC Ltd. for the last eight years. Married, with two sons, Brian exemplifies the very finest attributes in sales leadership and community involvement. During 1986, Brian sold 99 new and 116 used vehicles for a total of 215 vehicle sales. This dedication carried over into his personal lite where he is active in community sports and is the Fire Chief of the Pass Creek Volunteer Fire Department as well. Soa tip of the Maloney Hat for a job well fi done and our sincere congr for this ach . Brian wishes to extend an invitation to his many friends and customers to contact him for their vehicle needs, either at home 365-2556 or at Maloney Pontiac 365-2155. MALONEY PONTIAC BUICK GMC LTD. 364-0213 1700 Columbi Ave., Castl 3 365-2155. Selkirk College campus- Nelson and Castlegar are being taken for grant- realize the value of what we have in Selkirk College, or remember the lesson of David Thompson Univer- sity Centre,” Rotering said in a prepared statement. “There is no imminent danger to any of Selkirk's several campuses, but Iam distressed that the re- gional college is taken for granted, not appreciated and not patronized as it should be.” 4 while Trail’s campus had a good turnout, “When Selkirk College's own newspaper has to report that attendance at this event was ‘disappoint- ing,” you have to worry how that impresses the college board and the pro- vineial government,” Rotering said, “Decisions for the future are based on how ‘much interest is, shown today. At some point, the princi it-or-lose-it comes into play. “Selkirk was B.C.’s first tegional college. Maybe apathy is a symptom of how long we've had it, and that the region has for- gotten how tough it was to accomplish a regional col- lege. We should remind ourselves how many op portunities the college pro- vides forupgrading, con- tinuing education, job re- training and to our chil- dren for entry-level uni- versity education.” - Rotering has concerns over Selkirk Colle GERALD ROTERING ... has campus concerns Crash settlement unfair TORONTO (CP) — Air- India is offering more money in compensation to families in Ontario who lost children in the June 1985 crash of its Flight 182 than it is to families in Quebec, say Mon- treal lawyers trying to reach settlements with the airline. As much as $95,900 has been offered in the case of a child from Ontario killed in the crash off the. coast of Ireland, the lawyers say. But only $60,000 has been offered — in which circumstances are similar — in the death of a child from Quebec. | “It’s raising a double stan- dard,” Georges. Audet of the Montreal law firm, Heenan Blaikie, said Friday. “It's outrageous that you ard go- ing to treat the passengers of the same airplane crash dif- ferently when they come from different cities in the same country.” Audet said negotiations with Air-India’s law firm in Montreal, Lavery, O’Brien, have broken down. Flight 182 — a Boeing 747 jumbo jet out of Toronto and Montreal — was en route to Bombay via London when it plunged into the Atlantic Ocean on June 23, 19865. 5 Report calls for money continued from front pege the regional district's forestry commit- tee, which will meet with the provincial forestry ministry to discuss the forest management. plan, said he does not think the report's recommendations will be adopted. “I don't think the government will give us the money ($25 million). The program is desirable but not very practical,” said McNeil. The report argues that there is a large backlog of reforestation areas within the regional district. McNeil disagrees. ve. “I don't But Woodlands manager Bob Korda told the Castlegar News there is a definite backlog problem. “I know we have a backlog in the Kootenays. It only makes sense to say that more money should be spent on growing new forests. That backlog will soon catch up with us and if we don't put more money into reforestation now then a lot of jobs will be lost,” said Korda. Riow “How Paecirite the backlog is, The: forestry thdiistry here does not think there is a backlog.” The forest management report, pre- pared by the forestry consulting firm of T.M. Thomson and Associates Ltd., argues that the forestry industry within the regional district will grow only if money is invested into it now. “The level of investment undertaken will directly determine the magnitude of the benefit. The proposed intensive forest management plan is designed to enhance the economic and social bene- fit to a realistically attainable level,” said Brian Wallis of T.M. Thomson. He warns that within the next 40 timber regional district will drop off to 25 per years the noe 6” short time. said. “It's like a Charity Bingo Giant Sunday Nite Bingo Bustout JANUARY 11 Two Big Guaranteed Jackpots Ist Jackpot 2nd Jackpot All Early Bird Payouts Kiwanis Bingo Licence No. 57613 EVERY TUESDAY 2-*250 BINGOS GUARANTEED $20 & $25 Packages Support Holey Park and Kiwanis Charities! $1000 Trip for 2 to Reno or-$250 Cash ......°100 Each Plus a Surprise for Everyone $20 & $25 PACKAGES PANDA HFA HF HH 7) UTILTCORP- continued from front poge they have only been in existence a “It is growing by leaps and bounds and it never stops to take a breath,” he basically, it’s not stable.” Scarlett pointed to UtiliCorp’s in- vestment of $50 mi nuclear plant called Palo Verde Nu clear Reactor Complex as just one cent of the present supply, resulting in the elimination of 1,600 jobs. “The recommended plan contained in 4,460 direct and indirect jobs would be created on a long-term basis,” said Wallis. There are six treatment methods outlined in the report which are designed to ensure the life of the forestry industry in the West Koot- enays. They are backlog reforestation, brushing and weeding, conifer release, juvenile spacing, fertilization and re- habilitation. supply in the this report suggests that 444 jobs would be created immediately and that example of the decision-making. “It’s a folly,” he said. “There's nobody in the world who doesn’t know that now.” Scarlett cited the nuclear accident at Soviet Union's Chernobyl! plant and the near disastor at America’s Three Mile Island as examples “Can we trust them to look after the interest of WKPL?” company’s poor house of cards ion U.S. in a MOVIES continued from front page Hollywood glamor to Princeton and nearby Headly, but also a few jobs as extras for the locals. DOES SCENE Marshall Johnson, 73, did a scene with Reynolds that went to seven takes before Johnson told the star: “You and me are together on this thing so let's get ‘er done.” And they did. Princeton Mayor Gloria Stout says Malone left more than $500,000 in the area from the rental of city hall and the court house as well as purchases from businesses like the local lumber yard and tire store. “They bought from everybody but the second-hand store and the mortuary,” Stout said If small British Columbia towns are a favorite location with producers, so is a cavernous building in Burnaby, that will soon become a major movie making centre. Known simply as The Phidge, it was originally built by the Dominion Bridge cémpany to make bridge parts, then served as an armaments factory during the Second World War and later as a transit bus barn. MAKES STUDIO More recently, it’s been used as a movie studio, its huge space (longer than a football field, higher than a four-storey building) serving as a stage for everything from a cave to the surface of another planet. Now the B.C. Development Corp., a Crown company, is using $5 million in private-sector funding to renovate the building in readiness for sale or lease to a private operator. Corporation vice-president Jim Mclean said the finished development will feature 3,700 square metres of studio space, making it the second-biggest stage in the world after Pinewood Studios in Britain It will also be the cheapest such building in North America, renting for about 20 cents a square metre compared with $2.20 in Los Angeles. The development will include three separate sound stages and there are plans for an office and post-produc tion centre, hotel and cinema. Mclean said there are three serious proposals from the private sector to operate the centre, and some time this year a deal with one of them should be in place Free Bus Transportation & Information Fruitvale, Salmo, Castlegar, R for bus transportation on or betore 4 p.m. daily Ph. 364-2933, 365-5007, 365-3458 1040 Eldorado — ex.-Konkin Irly Bird Building wn wy wn rw on ww” Our Action Ad Phone Number is 365-2212 Hyjacker WASHINGTON (CP) — A man hijacked « Continental Airlines. flight from Newark, N.J., Saturday but freed all 50 passengers and crew when it landed at Dulles airport outside Washington, the Federal Aviation Adminstration said. The male » wha wasn't was the only person left aboard the DC-9, said adminis- tration spokesman Steve Hayes. The man was demanding to speak to Black Muslim leader Louis Farrakhan, said FBI spokesman Tom Deakin. Prince a problem LONDON (AP) — Prince Edward said Friday he will announce Monday whether he will quit a Royal Marines officer's course, an issue making headline news in Britain. The dilemma facing the 22-year-old prince was the main story. Friday in three of Britain's tabloid newspapers and appeared on the front page of two of the four more serious dailies. . Moose heartbroken MONTPELIER, VT. (AP) — The desire that made a lovesick moose spend 76 days wooing Jessica the cow apparently dropped off with his antlers, and he deserted the Hereford of his dreams the next morning. “He looks like he's hit the road,” Donald Gallus, a Vermont game warden, said Friday. “It appears he is going home.” The 700-pound moose showed up at Larry and Lila Carrara’s hilltop farm in Shrewsbury in October during mating season and took a shine to Jessica. Bomb threat JOHANNESBURG (AP) — A sale on goods damaged in bomb explosions packed a bg downtown store on Saturday until rumors of another bomb sent shoppers racing into the streets, some with unpaid merchandise. There was hardly room to move in the OK . Bazaars store soon after it opened at 8:30 a.m. Goods had beén blasted about by two bombs Friday afternoon. The floor had been cleaned up, but goods were not on their proper shelves. Rumors of pregnancy LONDON (AP) — London's tabloid newspapers buzzed with rumors today that Prince Andrew's wife, the Duchess of York, may be expecting a baby. Buckingham Palace wouldn't say one way or the other. The unattributed reports said the duchess travelled to London earlier in the week from the Sandringham royal estate in eastern England for checkup with her gynecologist, Dr. Anthony Kenney. The palace did little to dispel the rumors that the visit suggested she was pregnant. Mystery marsupial HALIFAX (CP) — The Halifax News has sent its readers in search of Nova Scotia's mystery marsupial. The daily newspaper is offering a $500 reward for the first authenticated photograph of the mysterious, kangaroo-like animal reported seen by several Nova Scotians, first in the Antigonish area and lately near Dartmouth. Witnesses say the animal hops, is brown, stands two to three feet tall and has big ears and a tail. Car bomb MONTREAL (CP) — Police said a man was killed early today by a car bomb set off by remote control as he was pulling out of a parking lot in the city’s north end. Duty officer Richard Carlisle said Frank Russo, 26, was killed instantly. “It was a home-made device that was detonated at some distance,” said Carlisle. High-tech help VANCOUVER (CP) — Police had some high-tech help Friday when a man with a cellular phone in his car followed a bank robbery suspect fleeing from a holdup. Customer Jerry Grootveld noticed a suspicious- looking man leaving a Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce branch and tailed him in his car while talking to police on the portable phone. As I walked out, an employee of the bank was walking behind the suspect and then I noticed that there was something wrong because nobody goes out with a customer unless there is a complete need for it,” Grootveld said in an interview after a man was taken into custody. Heritage washroom TORONTO (CP) — Historic Niagara-on-the-Lake has decided, its visitors’ calls of nature will be answered in style. A $50,000 turreted public washroom covered in Williamsburg brick and cedar shakes will be the first new building in the recently proclaimed downtown heritage district of this tourist mecca about 20 kilometres north of Niagara Falls, Ont. More arms spending WASHINGTON (REUTER) — The United States must raise spending on nuclear and conventional arms in 1988 and 1989 despite the prospect of cuts in superpower nuclear arsenals, U.S. Defence Secretary Caspar Weinberger told Congress on Saturday. “Neither the promise of stragegic defence nor the prospects for deep arms reductions obviate the need to keep our nuclear deterrent and conventional forces strong and ready,” he said in the Pentagon's annual military report to Congress members. ~- Jonuary 11, 1987 Castlégar News oll Brisco sidesteps issues By MIKE KALESNIKO iit Stall Writer Electric C A i i di Don “We're trying to be more fesponsible than Bob Brisco.” Scarlett claims that the federal Scarlett claims his group is “trying to be more responsible than Bob Brisco.” ~ Searlett told the Castlegar News in a telephone interview from Kalso Thursday that. people are being “misled” by over the sur ding the proposed sale of West Kootenay Power and Light Ltd. to the Missouri-based UtiliCorp United Inc, “People are being given the impression that politicians are looking after our concerns,” he said. “If people are lulled into a sense of security, they'll just sit tight.” Scarlett points to kootenay West MP Bob Brisco’s presentation to the B.C. Utilities Commission in Trail last November, Brisco, in reference to a perception by many that the U.S. has been waiting for years to “get control of our water” and suggesting that UtiliCorp will be used as the vehicle to accomplish this, calls the idea “sheer scare tactic and fabrication.” Scarlett goes on to say that Brisco sidesteps all of the major issues raised by utility-users, including such coneerns as utility rate increases and the uncertainty of having a U.S. company own and operate a Canadian utility. “His brief is a sad show,” said Scarlett. “People are concerned about rates and water control and he denies this. government, in iP to the UtiliCorp takeover, has turned one of its own policies “upside down.” He quotes from a speech federal Minister of Energy Marcel Masse gave in Toronto to representatives from the dit Ned U.S. stock exchange. “The if of Ci firms by foreign companies remains a concern of Canadians and perpatcetes an important element of our acquisition policy,” said . “Our policy calls for us not to approve a direct q of a healthy C: excess of $6 million,” led firm valued in ‘The book value of WKPL is approximately $45 million though UtiliCorp's bid is about $80 million. “WKPL is healthy,” said Scarlett. “It's been around for 89; years. “What happened between November and New Year's Eve?” asked Scarlett, referring to the federal government's approval of the sale. “The government chickened out when it came down to it,” he said. “We in the Kootenays ‘are being used as a bargaining chip. “They made the announcement the same day,” he said. “I think it proves the federal government is afraid to do ing that might i them in any way.” LOADING UP .. . these five youngsters help load a truck with empty bottles and cans at the Old Arena on Saturday. The Castlegar Minor Hockey Association the Americans or upset held the bottle drive in an attempt to raise $4,500 for minor hockey in the area. CasNewsPhoto by Surj Ration Changes in pension 8 Under 65s can collect TORONTO, (CP) — Canadians are flocking to take advantage of changes in the Canada Pension Plan, which for the first time allows those who retire before the age of 65 to collect partial government pensions. Marcel Goldfinger, assistant director general for income security programs in Ontario, says 300,000 Canadians have already sent in coupons requesting more information about the changes, which came into effect Jan. 1. The coupons ran in newspapers, magazines and periodicals during November and December. Many people sent in their early pension applications in late 1986, but the last week has been extremely busy at all Canada Pension Plan regional offices, Goldfinger said. Officials at one Toronto office reported more than 300 people dropped in every day this week to submit applications. “Actually, I was expecting perhaps an even higher turnout,” Goldfinger said. “But activity since Christmas has certainly increased quite a bit.” He said staff are not asking applicants “quality-of-life” questions, which would shed light on why so many Canadians are seeking early-retirement pensions. Prelimin. ary observations indicate some people are simply opting to quit work earlier, while others have been off work for some time and are taking advantage of program changes. “I think it’s a very good idea,” said Heinrich Hertel, 61, a retired mechanic who has been disabled and off work for more than two years. “Many people are disabled and it's good to receive this money earlier than we had expected.” RECEIVES PENSION Hertel said his only income over the last two years wae a disability pension he received through his union “T'm glad that I can collect this pension now. Who*knows if I will even be alive whén I'm 65?” A cross-Canada, phone-in information service for queries about the Canadian Pension Plan amendments, opened in November, has received more than 40,000 English-speaking calls and 7,000 French-speaking calls. Changes in the Canada Pension Plan may affect as many as 175,000 Canadians, who could opt for early retirement in this first year under the new rules. Formerly, Canadians who retire from age 60 to 64 can collect a reduced pension. Those who extend their careers up to age 70 will get increased pensions. At age 60, for example, a retiree would collect 70 per cent of the current Canada Pension Plan maximum monthly entitlement of $486.11. For each one month older a Canadian is at retirement, an additional half a percentage point a month is added. Someone retiring at age 61 would collect 76 per cent. At age 62, it is 82 per cent, and at 65 the full 100 per cent. Similarly, someone retiring after 65 would get the same percentage bonus increase. Someone retiring at 66 would get 106 per cent of the full pension. For retirement at 70, it is 130 per cent. t . Hansén defends intentions TORONTO (CP) — Rick Hansen says it's wrong to think his round-the-world wheelchair journey has set impossible goals for the dis abled Responding ‘to criticism made in a television program, Hansen said. asking him to stop his trip would be “like asking Wayne Gretzky not to play hockey.” A CBC news program sug gested earlier this week that Hansen's“40,000-kilometre wheelchair tour is a fund. raising gtunt that sets impos sible goals for the disabled. “That's a really negative way to look at things,” the Williams Lake resident said Thursday. “Each disabled person is different. That's one thing that the public is learning.” Hansen, 29, has been in Thunder Bay, Ont., the last three days, exhausted by his wheelchair trek and a recent bladder infection. He responded coolly to the program's suggestion that fundraising for worthwhile causes should not depend on painful marathons like his, or Terry Fox's attempt to run across Canada. Instead, “the report said, there should Ke more funding from Ottawa “To a degree, it's a fair comment,” he said. “It's like everything . . . I mean, it would be nice if Terry Fox didn't have to run across Canada for cancer research It would be nice if the March of Dimes didn't have to work to raise mohey, or the heart fund or the United Way.” Fox, another B.C. resident, abandoned his Marathon of Hope run in Thunder Bay when the cancer that claimed his right leg attacked hi: lungs. He died in June 198: at age 22. Scarlett also pointed out that utilities maintain stability through government assistance. “In order to be stable there must be a guaranteed rate of return, that’s a government subsidy,” he said. “You don’t want them (utilities) to go up and down in the stock market and you don't give away a subsidized company to another country. . “That government subsidy is going out of the country to benefit someone else, not us.” * Scarlett admitts some of his concerns were nationalistic, but he maintained that the sale of a utility to another country is unheard of. “No country in the world lets another country buy its utilities,” he said. “Not even states in the U.S. let other states buy them. “UtiliCorp is just the darling of the industry right now,” said Scarlett. “Just like Dome Petroleum was. “It's increasing its assets and growing and things can go wrong.” But Scarlett, who will represent the ECA at the B.C. Utilities Commission hearings set to resume in Kelowna Jan. 19, says his organization is more determined than ever. “The government has made their decision and they're ve to live with it,” he said. “We can't let them — Opposition denounces WKPL sale OTTAWA (CP) — The federal government has sold sovereignty down the river by allowing a Missouri-based company to buy a B.C. hydro utility and take control of its water rights, opposition spokesmen said Friday. Liberal and NDP trade and financial critics both denoun- ced Ottawa's approval last month of the sale of West Kootenay Power and Light Ltd. to UtiliCorp United of Kansas City, Mo. UtiliCorp is offering West Kootenay's parent company, Cominco Inc., $80 million Cdn. for the utility. The com- pany serves some 97,000 cus- tomers, mostly in Trail, Kel- owna and Penticton. Licyd Axworthy, ,the .Lib- eral trade critic, said the sale and subsequent takeover of water rights now held “by West Kootenay Power shows the Conservative federal government is abdicating control over a sovereign re- source to the Americans. U.S. duties on Canadian fish, cedar products and soft- wood lumber and the failure- of Ottawa to persuade Wash- ington that it should reduce acid rain were all cited as failures of the government in its dealings with the United States. Axworthy also suggested the sale, if it proceeds, might contravene the 1961 Colum- bia River Treaty. The treaty gave the United States the right to build three large dams on the Col- umbia River, but it was billed at the time as a form of protection for other Canadian water rights. Michael Cassidy, the NDP finance critic, said water rights in Canada should not fall to U.S. control, and he warned that the sale will harm West Kootenay's con- sumers. Those customers now en- joy rates as much as 30 per cent lower than those in other parts of British Col- umbia. Like Axworthy and Lib- eral House Leader Herb Gray, Cassidy wants the fed- eral cabinet..to overturn In vestment Canada’s approval of the sale. However, mere approval by Investment Canada is ap- parently not enough to com- plete the def The B.C. Util- ities Commission has been holding hearings on the sale, and there has been stiff opposition from West Koot- enay customers, who say their rates are almost certain to rise under UtiliCorp's ownership. A.C. (Mike) Michaelson, secretary to the commission, said in an interview that util- ities are strictly under pro- vincial jurisdiction and that the commission has the right to approve or quash the sale. Five chosen for mission HOUSTON (AP) — Five astronauts who have flown some of the most ambitious space shuttle missions ever attempted were named Fri- day as the crew of the first U.S. space flight since the Challenger accident. The flight is expected to take place in 1988. Frederick Hauck, who led a 1984 shuttle mission which plucked two broken com- munications satellites from orbit and returned them to Earth, will command the crew, NASA administrator James Fletcher said at a Washington, D.C., news con- ference monitored at the Johnson Space Centre in Houston. The other members of the crew are air force Col. Rich- ard Covey, 40, the pilot; mis- sion specialists John Lounge, 40, and George Nelson, 36, and marine Maj. David Hil- mers, 36, the space agency said. It was the first time a space shuttle crew was com- prised entirely of astronauts who had flown in space be- fore. Shuttle flights were halted after the Jan. 28, 1986, ex- plosion of the shuttle Chal- lenger that killed all seven crew members. The flights are scheduled to resume in February 1988, but some ex- perts believe that first mis- sion may be delayed until later in the year. Mink deaths remain mystery HALIFAX (CP) — Air Canada says it'll probably never know why about 1,800 mink died last month while being flown to China. “Mi are extremely, ex- tremely sensitive animals,” Air Canada spokesman Es ther Szynkarsky said Friday in an interview from Mon treal. “It’s almost impossible 'to determine why they died.” The animals were part of a shipment of about 12,000 mink sent to the China Na- tional Fur Council in Dalian in late December by the North American Fur Trade Co. The mink, worth about $50 apiece, will be raised in China for fur coats. Szynkarsky said Air Can ada took as many precautions as it could with the mink. It was the first time the airline transported mink.