wie Saturday; May’ 16,1992 mr Nine to FIVE ¢ ‘ Your business is our business Jonathan Green 365-7266 CRUDE MOVES Layoffs continue to hit workers at imperial Oil Ltd., both in Calgary and at the head offices in Toronto. The company laid off some 300 workers this week, part of a move that will see some 1,700 employees cut from the payroll this year. HOLY ROLLER Religious broadcaster Pat Robertson will pay about $10,000 US a day to operate United Press International while deciding whether to buy the news agency, under a contract being drafted Wednesday. The tele-evangelist’s $6 million bid to buy the financially- stricken UPI was accepted Tuesday, but said he wanted until June 15 to examine the wire service’s books before making a final decision. * THROUGH THE ROOF The cost of building a new home in Vancouver has shot up by nearly 50 per cent in the past five years, according to a Real Estate Board of Vancouver report. The report says that a 111-square metre single family home cost $67,500 to build in 1987, 46 per cent less than the $98,500 needed today. Kootenay Computers is working to keep up with the latest industry technology Jonathan Green NEWS REPORTER Tim Swanson works in an industry where technology can change almost in the blink of an eye. “Every year things change dramatically, the advances are huge,” he said. “It’s endless.” Swanson is a part of Kootenay Computers, a 6th Avenue merchant that once called the Playmor Junction home for several reasons. “Our overhead was lower and we were central to Nelson, Castlegar and Trail,” he said. Started in 1985 by Swanson and his parents, the. family business moved to the city last August for a reason beyond ‘their control. “We outgrew our other location,” he must read, study and keep on top of what the manufacturer has been up to, something Swanson says is a constant. “You never know enough,” he said. “The people who make computers are always making them better.” And to know all about those better computers, Swanson and his staff attend conferences and go on courses put on by manufacturers like IBM and Novus. “You have to go on it in order to maintain your dealership,” he said. With that knowledge, Swanson said he and his staff are able to answer and assist customers, something he says they do an awful lot of, “We’re heading for Star Trek faster than you think.” — Tim Swanson “I can’t think of a time in the last two years where we sat around with nothing to do,” he said. “Everybody’s got a computer now.” In an area where life is not quite as hectic and business conscious as the big city, you might think finding staff capable of working in a computer store to bea problem. Not so, says Swanson. : “We had a guy with a PhD apply for a job,” he said, adding that big city people are slowly making their way out to the Kootenays. “There’s a ton of qualified people in the area. It’s really quite unbelievable.” Equally unbelievable to some might be the rate at which computers have evolved. “We're heading for Star Trek faster than you think,” Swanson said. And on the way to “boldly going to where no man has gone before,” Swanson says undoing a complex computer knot gives him a certain amount of satisfaction. “It can be very rewarding,” he said. “You get a really good feeling sometimes when you solve a big problem.” Problems aside, Swanson said he has enjoyed the first seven years and doesn’t expect to be entering a new line of work in the near future. “We've put so much into it, we want to stay with it.” dl When the Swansons first set up shop, the computer was just starting to become a part of business and family life, yet Tim said there was a void in the Kootenays. “There was nothing around here to offer any kind of service,” he said. Although none of the three professed to being computer experts at the time, Swanson said it was basically a learn as you go process. “When we started, computers were just starting, (the industry) was going through its teething stages,” he said. - “It was a case of learning as computers grew.” After opening their doors, the Swansons set about getting area businesses on line with current technology. “We targeted the companies around here right away,” he said. “We established a rapport with industry and never looked back.” In the early days, Swanson said a normal work week would see him on the job for 12 hours a day, six days a week, but not because he was obsessed with his career. . “’’m not a computer nut,” he said. “It was my job more than anything.” Now, some seven years later, those hours are a lot closer to a traditional five day, 40 hour week, but that doesn’t mean there’s any less stress. “If something goes wrong, I have to be there like right now,” he said, adding that having 24 hour-a-day clients can take its toll. “It’s a burnout job.” With both the personal and business worlds enjoying the benefits of technology, there is always the seven years ago, th need to stay one step ahead of the coven pent pd in customer. To do that, the computer dealer News photo by Jonathan Green e Swanson family opened up Kootenay Computers at the Playmor Junction. Now, Castlegar, Tim Swanson can't remember a day in the last two years when he or his staff sat around with nothing to do. cS Saturday; Maly 16,;'1992> “The Forest and the People”, a half-hour current affairs program sponsored by the Forest Alliance of B.C. begins its second season May 21 at 7:30 p.m. on BCTV. The first program of the series this year profiles ordinary British Columbians from Point Grey to Heffley Creek, Win- : ter Harbor to Williams Lake. It’s called “Common Ground”. Host Fanny Keifer introduces us to people committed to balancing a healthy environment with a sustainable forest economy, including the Devick family, a fourth generation ranching family from Heffley Creek, the Sihota family, an ur- ban couple living in Vancouver, Ray Woods, the former may- or of Williams Lake and Ronae Theabeau, a man who makes his ee making designer furniture with twigs from the for- est floor. Answers to today’s Crossword Puzzle and Cryptoquip ULIs MIOMMBIA mir|—|Ojm s c A P O}|M)-j}O} >| D L ! | olol-[zlo>|-|mz m(m|z| ofl o[z|—|=|m m|]—|2| >| CR | 2|>/ =| Di mo m||O|O}-0| >| 0M |r| >|—|D >|Q|m}=|ORm| | Dimi Ol-|-|>|o/Zz[O|m|a|> > RDM 0|—|S RO >| 41) a4 <|Mjr-|O|m| Dl OR) r-|—| Dim) o =| mi! mM >| |O| CO BA|O|> BO C|> || z|mla|>|0/0|=|- 9 [clo|m|>/—|a]- & L A N D E [e) Ss f N Answer to Sunday, May 17 Cryptoquip: DON RICKLES ONCE WORKED AS A DOCTOR'S ASSISTANT; WAS JUSTLY FIRED FOR ADDING INSULT TO INJURY. 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