“The Castlegar Sun

Tuesday,: December 31, 1991

Dear Ann Landers: I don’t
want to go into too much ‘detail,
and I'm not signing my riame, but
if you use your imagination you
can figure out what happened,

HAIRLINES

1444 Columbia Ave.,
Castlegar, B.C.,

365-6700

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the Sun

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with so many: guns, loase these
days, this letter could have come
from Chicago, Memphis, Florida
or New: York, Actually, ‘I live in
Los Angeles, Please, Ann, print
this message;

Dear Teen-ager: I didn't'mean
to break your mother's heart. or
bring your family grief. #

If you were my son, I would
have told you,'"Son,
man says, ‘Stop!" — stop. Don’t
move, Drop whatever you're car-

> | fying and put your. hands where

he can see them. Treat him With
respect, If you don't, you could
makc a lot more trouble for your-
self and you already have plenty.”

T also would tell my own kid,

if you're driving a car and you.

see flashing red lights or hear a
siren, stop. Pull over to the:side
of the road and put your hands
where the officer can see them.
Someone may have just been

murdered, a child may have been
raped, or a bank robbed.

IT don’t know if you're carrying
a. Bible or a sawed-off shotgun,
but’ I'm not taking any chances.
You may, think I’m scared and

you're right. Iam’‘scared to death.
I'm scared that I might never sec,

my family again. ‘I’m scared that .
my little kids‘are going to grow °

up without. a father. I've been to
too many of my buddies’ funcrals
to think it couldn't happen to me.

“You may. think life isjust a game,

so you play the game for fun. I’m
sorry, son, but I'm a policeman
and I have to play for keeps,
Those are the rules and nobody
can change them. — Law Officer
in California

Dear Officer: That couldn't
have been an easy letter to write.
Thank you for sending it my way.

Dear Ann Landers: Your
advice to the family-concerned
about college costs and family
expenditures for providing higher
education was on the mark,
except for one thing: If young
person qualifies for admission at

Didn’t mean to break your mother’s heart or bring grief _

"financial realities candidly with
the admissions officers. You'd be
surprised how often that leads to
a splendid education and a world
of opportunity, — William R.
Lowery, vice president for exter-
nal relations, Carlcton College,
Id, Minn.

most good coll and

-Hes, the institution he or she
chooses will work hard to make
sure the family can afford it.

The financial aid system in this
country assumes that every fami-
ly has a responsibility to pay
what it can for'a child's educa-
tion, but no more, The institution .
and other agencies step in then to
make education possible, Grant-
ed, the system doesn't always
work, but millions of people can
testify to the fact that it usually
does. The bright child whose par-
ents wrote should find the college
or university that will serve her or
his needs best, apply and discuss

Dear William Lowery: 1
received dozens of letters from
admissions officers and faculty
members telling the same story.

College is very expensive
these days, but it is within the
reach of anyone who wants it
badly cnough, provided that per-
son has decent grades.

Here's a statistic that will sur-
prise a lot of people: Approxi-
mately 50 percent of the students
at Harvard University are. getting
some form of financial help,

The news of the weird

Roy McCarthy, 36, was
charged in Clayton, Mo., in Octo-
ber with assault in three incidents
in which he allegedly posed as a
doctor and tried to rub men’s feet,
In the latest incident, he was
accused of dropping gallon jugs
of wine on the feet of three clerks
at Dierbergs Market. One clerk
hobbled to the storeroom with a
broken foot and was followed-by
McCarthy, who said, “Let me
take a look al your foot. I'ma
doctor,” whereupon McCarthy

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WHAT GOES AROUND,
COMES ’ROUND

« A--bank robber in St.
Leonards, Australia, was crushed
to death in August when he leaned
over the teller's counter to check
the drawer at just the time that the
teller activated a bullet-proof steel

- sereen that rose from the counter

and pinned the robber’s head
between it and the frame on the
teller’s cage. The robber screamed
to his accomplice for help, but the
other man fled.

+ Rudolfo Naranjo, 49, died of
a heart attack as he was cleaning
out a safe in the middle of rob-
bing the Bill Miller Bar-B-Q
restaurant in San Antonio in
August. His two accomplices at
first dragged him toward the back
door and yelled for employees to
call an ambulance but then decid-
ed to leave Naranjo behind and
flee with their $60 booty,

© In Nashville in July, 85-year-
old Addic Davis stopped a bur-
glar in her home by repeatedly
hitting him over the head with a
ix-pack of canned Sprite. The
man, Kenncth D. Huggins, 24,
had already been badly cut by
glass from entering through a
window, and Davis said he
begged her just to kill him to put
him out of his misery. Said a
police officer, “He was cut worse

+ Louis Vaughn Hooper, 50,
was burned to death when his
getaway car smashed into a tree
and exploded in a ball of flames.
The crime he was getting away
from was a service station rob-
bery in which he made off with
$9 worth of gasoline.

current compilation of
the most peculiar things
people do, edited by Chuck
Shepherd.
Proof that true stories are
weirder than made-up
stories.

than any human I've ever seen.”

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|
gad Woe es

. Wayne McLaren, 49, filed a
lawsuit in Santa Ana, Calif., in
September against his physician,
who McLaren says failed to diag-
nose his lung cancer in time for
treatment,

McLaren is a former male
model who once portrayed the
“Marlboro man” in cigarette ads
and was a pack-and-a-half smok-
er for 25 years.

JUST CAN’T
STOP MYSELF
« Herbert G. Fisher, the former
official Virginia state archaeolo-
gist, serving 20 years in prison
for murdering his wife, was dis-
covered in August trying to dig
his way out of Gloucester County

Season’s Cheer

Thank youor bagntenng our season ond
ow year wih your friendship and support, ‘

Chang’s Nursery
Closed
Dec. 25 - Jan. 5
(inclusive) :
Y. :

° Alexander Paulsen, 25, was
struck and killed by a train near
Anchorage, Alaska, in August,
while lying on the tracks in pre-
cisely the same spot where he had
been lying when struck by a train
four years earlier. Police said he
had been drinking before both
episodes,

: ¢ Two Minnesota law firms
(including Dorsey & Whitney, the
state’s largest) were fined
$50,000 each this summer for
exceeding the page limits on
briefs filed in an age- discrimina-
tion lawsuit. The limit is 40
pages, which cach firm exceeded
by more than 600 pages.

¢ Rex Layne Millender, 37, on
the lam for bank robbery in
Alabama, was arrested in Dothan
in April for shoplifting an 89-cent
carton of orange juice,

+ Ettore Gagliano, 83, was
arrested outside a cathedral in
Milan, Italy, in July, for hitting
Dom Timoteo Moschopolos, 69,
a Greck orthodox priest, marking
the 59th time he had been
charged with assaulting a priest.
Gagliano yelled “Thieves!” dur-
ing the assault and told police: “I
don’t like priests. When I see one,
I just have to give him a punch in
the ear. There is nothing you can
do to save priests from me. I shall
bash them all until my last
breath." He is usually released
from custody because of his
advanced age, and Milan priests
are warned of Gagliano when
they first come to the area,

+ Anthony Galante, 31, a New
York City computer analyst, was
accused by police in July of hav-
ing made 30,000 obscene phone
calls in New York and Connecti-
cut. His preferred scheme was to
tell a woman that he was holding a
family member hostage and that
she should stand outside her house
naked as he drove by. Police esti-
mate Galante was successful in
one of every 100 phone calls,

« Hillary Parker was arrested in
Louisville in. February and
charged with robbing the Citizens
Fidelity Bank, He had just been
released from prison after having
served 13 years for robbing that
same bank in 1976.

+ The New York City Depart-
ment of General Services report-
ed in October that a thief has

" made off with 109 toilet bowl

handles from various government
buildings since March, i

one from a men's room just down
the hall from Mayor Dinkins’
office,

(Send your Weird News to
Chuck Shepherd, P.O. Box 57141,
Washington, D.C. 20037. )

COPYRIGHT. 1991 UNIVER-

SAL PRESS SYNDICATE.

Oe Be

BUSINESS

Anew grandmother for Christmas brings back fond memories

It was just after 2 p.m, on the
Friday, afternoon before Christmas,
Diane Ramage, the Manager of
Castleview Care Centre tele-
phoned. She apologized for the
late timing of the call, but could I
spare a minute, She explained that
Castleview Care Centre was ask-

ing business people in the commu-.

nity to help Santa with his yisit to
the residents, She would give me
the name and age of a resident, and
even provide'a stocking, Would I
be able to help Santa stuff it?
Immediately I said yes even
though shopping this close to
Christmas is not my idea of a good
time. She suggested a dollar limit,
which I was thought was quite rea-

hame and age of a ‘woman at the
Centre and told me a little bit about
her, By the time I had hung up the
phone, I realized I had inherited a
new Grandmother!

Within the hour one of the staff
of the Centre had dropped off a
beautiful Christmas stocking.

When I looked at it memories of «

wrapping parcels for my own
grandmother brought tears to my
eyes. My grandmother lived to be
95 and enjoyed every minute of
every day. In the fall of 1987 the
staff at the seniors home told us she
was tired, She wouldn't walk inside
the building and she had lost her
appetite. A few days before Christ-
mas, we received the call that she

WOOD SUPPLY INC.

sonable, Then she gave me the _had died, peacefully, in her i

Business Glance

ou go = - A fond farewell to 1991. vItwas a
good year. for. most of: us who are in business. Thank
you Castlegar and area residents for buying. our
goods and services. Our New Year's: resolution is to
become more:customer aware and work, even harder
to: earn your business and your trust.

Sprucing up the place. = The new owners of the Hi-
Arrow Hotel in Castlegar are gradually making:cos-
metic changes. ‘The. lounge has new light gray
Garpet which Brightens up the room.

Cookbook fever - The PetroCan cookbooks were so
popular that the company ran out of supplies before
the promotion ended. Ads in major newspapers give
an address of where you can send money if you wish
to complete your set. Or, visit Johnny's Gas & Gro-
cery.in Robson; they have a few left of each of the
cookbooks.

Community care — The business community in Castle-
gar responded to a request from the Castleview Care
Centre for Santa's Elves to stuff stockings for the resi-

Santa Stocking program!

Tree business - The Castlegar.Rotary Christmas trees
were sold out early again-this year. Money made
from the sale of trees goes to worthwhile community.
projects.

tiny. bit too small? Or did you receive a shirt size 2XL
instead of medium?. When you are taking items back’
to the store for a refund or exchange, please check
the.store’s return policy carefully... Many have time
deadlines for exchanges. Some will be pleased to
give you an exchange but have a policy of no cash
tefunds: Check ‘it out carefully.and please don't yell
‘and argue with the staff.: They are oe their: best: to.
‘bel you.

‘Dine out -
is tonight. The Fireside Restaurant has. a seafood.
buffet: and two sittings, one’ at'5 p.m. and one‘at'8
‘p.m. The Hi Arrow is having a'New Year's Eve party.
with. dinner starting-at 7. p.m. Find out what your

thema call.

Welcome -—A big. welcome to. 1992. We have a
chance. to make our community a better place: in
‘which to live and work and conduct business.: Happy.
New Year to* everyone. sr

free matinee on’ Saturday; December 14 for area chil-
dren.at the CastleTheatre in downtown, Castlegar. The
Disney adventure film Flight of the Navigator kept the
children occupied while parents: shopped. West's
Department store also showed the. community. they
‘care. The store sponsored an afternoon:of free skat-
sing at the Castlegar Community Complex on Friday,
‘December 27. Congratulations to: both gous Rae
id West's Department storel

dents: Congratulations to: more than 35 businesses
“who ‘participated in the Castleview..Caré Christmas *

Returns and Exchanges — Is the beautiful blue sweater a’

= Hurry, your last Chance to dine out in 1991

favourite restaurant is doing for New Years. Give:

‘Community business ~ Ceigar Puig Co, ‘sponsored a

‘No more time to think shd

: though Thad inherited a new

ing when she secs what Santa

brought her, ' Visions of preparing

this Chri and .

a needed n Santa stocking!

Marilyn
Strong

Community
Business

's parcels for Christ-
mas, 1961, ran through my mind.
‘That year my mother had bought
Dixic Cups for my grandmother's
i She

removed the cups from the box and
wrapped the cups separately, Then
she took the box and stuffed it with
Christmas cookies and taped the
end shut. ‘We helped her wrap the

It was after 6 p.m. when I left
the office and sct out on my Santa
shopping trip. Years ago my moth-
er carefully explained to us kids the
kinds of gifts that grandmothers
liked to receive. Pretty lace hand-
kerchiefs, doilies, Yardley English
Lavender dusting powder, pretty
note paper, special Christmas cook-

box in -y paper, made it a bit
taller than the actual box and mom
attached a plastic Santa to the top.
We all giggled when we thought of
grandmother opening the box on
Christmas day and finding the
cookies instead of the Dixie Cups.
‘We mailed the parcels away and
waited.

_ Alas, the joke was on us.

ies, candies and cake,.a

ly when di saw

puzzle book - the hard ones, were
all welcome gifts. As I walked
from store to store I was pleased to
find most of what I wanted. Teven
kept close (as close as anyone
does) to my budget. After all, I was
buying Christmas presents for my
new Grandmother!

By 7:30 p.m. I had finished and
was on my way home. Oh, how I
wished I could see my new Grand-

* mother’s face on Christmas morn-

Ge Disks Gop ta ie pata bos
unopened, in the cupboard under
the sink. There were several other
boxes with cookies in them so we
didn’t know she hadn't found these
ones. Then came the phone call
came in March. My aunt was
laughing so hard she could hardly

there were no Dixie Cups, only
very stale,‘ old Christmas cookies!
Grandmother was thoroughly dis-
gusted with herself. My aunt, on
the other hand, couldn't stop laugh-
ing.
I pledged that I wouldn't try that
little stunt with my new Grand-
mother, Late.Friday evening I set
out her parcels to wrap, The best
part began. I remembered that
Grandmother's parcels all had dif-
ferent wrapping paper on them.
And lots of bows and ribbons, And
lots of scotch tape. I could even
hear the voice of a 9-year-old say-
ing, “Grandmother's like lots and
lots of scotch tape, don’t they
mom.”

ing to put the pistachios, the wal-
nuts and the wind-up toy,

Thank you Castleview Care

, Centre for sending me the most
wonderful gift for Christmas, a
new Grandmother! '

New Grandmother, you' can ‘be
honest with me now, If you really
don't care for the Scottish short-
bread cookies, mints, wild berry
candies or the Christmas cake,
give me a call. I'll come up and
help you eat them. While I'm
there we can lough and giggle as
we try to figure out who can make
the little wind-up toy walk the fur-
thest.

Well, new Grandmother, I’m
afraid I didn’t inherit my mother’s
talent for tuming a small wra
box into a decorated Christmas
window using ribbon and stickers,
Nor do I have her talent for dis-
guising a magazine like a Christ-
mas cracker. I only had eight
different types of wrapping paper
for your gifts and very little rib-
bon.

& HAIRLINES
1444 Columbia Ave.,
Castlegar, B.C),
365-6700
Mon. - Sat, Wed. de Thurs,

My talent thong. as you proba- bata re

tell us the story. My
had finally run out of Dixie Cups
so she opened the box we had sent
at Christmas, To her amazement

bly
lies in the ee use of lots and
lots and lots of scotch tape and

finding little crevices in the stock- an camer ee Rocenays

Common complaints about
banking institutions

Lineups, computer problems
and “new faces.” If those are your
three most common complaints
about your banking institution,
join the club.

Vancouver City Savings Credit
Union is Canada’s largest credit
union, with 175,000 members.

Mike
Grenby

Syndicated
Columnist

cially long-time ones, object to
being asked for indentification or
to having staff - the new faces at
the counter - check signature
cards," he said. “Many people
object to turnover in general and
have little patience for new
employees who are finding their

McKay said then: is quite a gap
between these top three complaints

. and the others, which include;

Service charges, interest rates,
retumed cheques, staff standing on
policy, late statements, statements
with cheques missing, being left
on hold, staff's personal phone
calls. And among the more minor

Here’s what the
about most often - and what the
credit union is doing about those
complaints - according to Wayne
McKay, senior vice-president, mar-
keting and member services;

+ Lineups, “It’s not so much the
lincup but the speed at which it
moves,"*-McKay said. **People
become upset when there are
empty wickets or staff members
sitting at their desks.” Customers
become particularly annoyed when
they arrive at the last minute
before a holiday weekend and find
long lineups.

« Computer problems. Cus-
tomers are upset when the comput-
er system is slow, or not operating
and so information on balances
and other account details are not
available. ‘This also impacts on
lineups and phone services,” said
McKay. -

« New faces. “Customers, espe-

lack of eye contact by
staff, no pens or pens not working,
parking problems.

Like many financial institutions,
VanCity works at eliminating, or at
least reducing, customer irritants.

“We are tackling the lineup
problem by starting to merge the
teller and member service func-
tions to bring everyone to the
counter and eliminate a lot of desk
work.

“As far as our ip we

to staff to meet Peak times and
keep lineups moving quickly, “you
have physical limitations: there is
only so much room for tellers in
the branch.”

Windows « Garage Doors ~ Exterior Doors:

to Make
Your Business
Look Good.

Newsletters, Anaual Reports, Flyers, Brochures,
Business Stationery, Logo Design and more—
from concept & design to final printed product.

GOLDRUSH

TAY: P:E% GRAPHLC-S'§

362-9510

now have a front-end system
which allows us to continue to
operate even when the main frame
is down.

“Turnover has been cut to
around 10 to 15 per cent from the
60 to 70 per cent of a few years
ago. We devote substantial ener-

gies and dollars to staff training -

how to serve and how to defuse
hostility as well as how to sell.”
McKay said while VanCity tries

WZ

world.

The 6 stl \dar Sun
“AS

IS THE SPICE OF LIFE

Ay It takes all kinds of pcople to make up this big

And different people have different values-
: e that bicycle you never ride. Or that set of
weights you never lift. Chances are, someone

its them, and you want to make a sale!

Let us be your
salesman. Call
us today.
The
Castlegar Sun
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