UNITED WAY “campaign winds up bi barometer ‘atop downtown Bank of raised Blessin (ett) an and Don, Ellis dismantle some $45,000 this ners —CosNews PHoto Teetiage mothers are keeping their babies MONTREAL (CP) — Sarah is a 15-year-old high school student who likes de- signer jeans, hates math and quarrels with her mother about curfew hours. She also is a mother of an eight-month-old son and one of an increasing number of adolescent mothers in Can- ada choosing to rear her own child rather than put it up for adoption. Ten years ago, 30 per cent of teenage mothers opted to keep their children. Today, the figure has soared to 88 per cent. “We consider all single adolescent mothers to be highrisk mothers,” says social worker Nora Alexan- ian of the Montreal Chil- dren’s Hospital. “These girls are so vul- nerable themselves. Their ability to tolerate stress is low and motherhood some- times adds more stress than they can handle. “In the worst cases, that could manifest itself in physi- cal abuse of the baby.” Alexanian points to cases of young mothers visiting hospital emergency wards — “a cry for help if there ever was one” — and others. in- isn't easy,” MacKay says. Sarah attends Ecole Ros- alie Jette, a Montreal Catho- lic School Commission high school for pregnant teen- agers and new mothers. The school has an enrolment of about 55 pregnant girls, aged 15 to 18. Sarah said she became pregnant when her doctor took her off birth-control pills after she developed migraine headaches. She was too shy to ask for another contra- ceptive. One of her friends at school is Bettina, a 16-year-old sin- gle mother of a four-month- old son. Bettina came to Montreal from the West In- dies when she discovered she was pregnant because as an unwed youth there she would not have been permitted to finish school. On her arrival in Montreal, a social service agency helped her enrol at Rosalie- Jette and arranged for her to receive welfare. Bettina took herself to the hospital for the birth of her son, bringing him home three days later to her tiny apartment which she manages alone. She said she got pregnant on purpose because she longed for someone to love. She rejects the idea that she is a high-risk mother. “I wanted this baby, he's my whole life,” she said. “I never expected things to be easy, but I know I can cope. I love looking after him. Other than studying, I have nothing else to do with my time.” Bettina eventually hopes to return to the West Indies so that she and her son's father can marry. But be- cause she wants to give her son a good life, Bettina said she won't return until she has completed college-level train- ing in dress design. Dr. Benjamin Schlesinger, a social work professor at the University of Toronto, con- ducted a study of 264 teen- aged mothers in Toronto last year. It showed that many adolescents who kept their children had already dropped out of school when they became pregnant, while those who were having abor- tions or giving up their children for adoption had the support of their parents and wanted to continue school. DIVORCE Christmas is anguish TORONTO (CP) — The at- mosphere of love and family togetherness that should characterize Christmas can cause anguish to children of divorced parents, even if the split occurred years ago or the parents are still friends, psychiatrists and counsellors say. “Christmas didn't turn into a family thing,” ond teenager said of his first post-divorce Christmas. during a group therapy session at th Hincks Treatment Centre for adol- escents. “It didn't pater It was just Children y whase parents have divorced begin to won- der about Christmas well in advance — in some cases as early as October — and need their doubts and queries ad- dressed long before the holi- days, the experts say. “Try to sit down with each child, or with all of them, and find out how they feel about things,” family counsellor Eva Philipp, who ran self- help groups for children of broken marriages for four years, says. “Give them permission to have the feelings they have, even if they clash with the parents’ feelings. For in- stance, they might say, ‘I want to see Daddy, I really want to spend time with him.’ STRIFE PERSISTS But even when an ar- rangement that suits every- one is worked out and there is no ill feeling, parents should anticipate some strife on the part of their children, Rhonda Freeman, a social cheeks because they think they really want to be there (the absentee parent and a happy family) won't be there.” Gelcer says that no coun- teract the child’s insecurity, parents should. make Christ- mas as similar to presvious Yuletide celebrations as pos- sible, instead of trying to distract the child with a truckload of gifts or an ex- citing trip. Christmas can be an agon- izing time even for children ‘Cabbit’ of divorced parents who have an amicable relationship and are happy to reunite for the | occasion, “At very little provocation, ‘| chlidren tend to fantasize about reconciliation,” Philipp says. “When you come upon a holiday like Christmas, of course they're going to be very sensitive about the issue of reconciliation. “They have to be reas- sured that this is just for Christmas ... and that they want to be together as par- ents, not as partners.” is first he’s ever seen INGERSOLL, Ont. (CP) — What has the head of a cat, the stomach and powerful hind legs of a rabbit, hops and eats lettuce? It’s a ‘*cabbit"’ — and the first one ever seen by Dr. Wilbert Walker in his 34 years of veterinary practice. “I've never seen a cat this abnormal,” he said in an interview Friday. ‘‘] just can’t believe this can happen but I can't dispute what I see with my own eyes."" But two officials of the Ontario Veterinary College in Guelph who have not seen the animal said they doubted such a creature could exist. The animal, the purported result of a natural mating between a wild jackrabbit and a domestic cat, belongs to Ralph and Barbara Walker of bore three normal kittens, rejected two ‘‘cabbits”’ in the same litter. Whereabouts of the other was not known. The veterinarian gave the animal the same vaccinations AN AT THE LOsiay, IN JUST 6 WEEKS! THE WINNER OF THE REBOUNDER FROM DIET CENTER WAS GAIL VERHAEGHE CALL TODAY FOR A FREE CONSULTATION 365-6256 7am. leu. Mon, Fri +9: orby peceet eden est ‘Anytime for rabies and he would give to a normal kitten. He said he can offer no explanation for the creature, which he sayd cannot walk like a cat because of its long hind legs. Dr. Wayne Hollingshead, an intern at the veterinary college, said in an interview “it's very, very doubtful’ the animal is what it’s claimed to be. “Ther only a one-per-cent chance that such a thing could happen,"’ he said. ‘'The ani- mal would have to have been artificially inseminated.”’ He said the only way to about 10 kil worker who works pri with the children of broken marriages, says. “It is still a really hard time for the kid because it emphasizes the divided loy- alties issue. The kid can be with only one at a time.” In some cases, children can become weapons at Christ- mas for parents whose sep- aration has been hostile. “It's a time when two parents will intensify their competition over the chil- dren,” Dr. Paul Steinhauer, child psychiatrist at Hospital for Sick Children, says. Some parents try to keep the children from spending time with the partner, whlie others lavish them with gifts. “They may get many more gifts sometimes because of the parents’ guilt,” Dr. Es- ther Gelcer, child psychol of The Walkers, not related to the i said they the animal’s spe- cies is to take a blood test, which would reveal its genetic Dr. Ken Fisher, a received the animal from friends who want to remain anonymous. medical geneticist at the coll- ege. said the mating of the two species is physically and The th h-old ani- mal came to the Walkers when it was 10 weeks old. They said it had to be bottle- fed because its mother, who Although he hasn’t yet seen the ‘‘cabbit."” Fisher said the animal must be a Manx cat. NOW LEASING — TRAIL'S NEWEST MALL “The Towne Square’ LOCATED ON CORNER OF CEDAR & SPOKANE STREETS Former site of Eatons Store For information call CENTURY 21 VISION REALTY LTD. j@ 1346 Bay Ave., Trail 369-8236 CASTLEGAR ROTARY CLUB CHRISTMAS TREES WILL BE ON SALE AT Castlegar Tire & Trowelex STARTING DEC. 14 Mon. - Thurs., 9 a.m. - 5 p.m. West Kootenay Power Building Fri., 4:30 - 9:00 p.m. Sat., 10 a.m. -5 p.m. Sun., 10 a.m. - 5 p.m. All proceeds go to Rotary Community Projects Castlegar Rotary Club gist at Clarke Institute of Psychiatry, says. EMPHASIZE GIFTS “The children may talk about how many presents they're going to get from this boyfriend of their mother or that boyfriend. “But eventually the tears start rolling down their dulging in self-abi in the form of drugs and alcohol. ' “Most of these girls are seen by a social worker just after the baby’s birth, but if they appear to be going home toa good situation there may | , not be any follow-up,” said Alexanain. “Also many girls shy away from social workers fearing they'll lose their babies.” CHILD RAISING CHILD Whether they remain in the family home or strike out on their own, adds Alex- anian, teenage moms are es- rearing § children. They are struggling sentially children for emotional maturity while facing the economic and psy- { chological difficulties of being a single mother. Social MacKay says many young women who remain with their families after their chil- | dren are born, move out within months because they" cannot handle the pressure of #: being both child and parent | at the same time. “Chances are she won't § find a job and will opt for welfare,” month.” Only exceptionally-motiv- { ated teen mothers finish high school. “Getting the child fed and 4 dressed, and transported to day care before school be- § gins, putting i ina full day and ‘ ¥ 4 worker Jocelyn K says MacKay. “If ; so, her welfare cheque is no | more than $452 a month, plus 4 a family allowance of $21.46a & day, D Extended | Shopping Hours gh Wed Mi Mon. to Fri. 9:30 a. ae to9 p.m. Sat. 9:30 a.m. a Ss Hn ate Santa at Waneta Plaza Sat., Dec. 5 to Thurs. Dec. 24 Monday to Friday: 10 a.m. to 12 noon . 2p.m.to4p.m. 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. Saturday: 10 to 12 noon and 2 to 5 p.m. Every child who visits with Santa will receive a Free coloring book and a Free candy PHOTOS WITH SANTA AVAILABLE. Gawercta & plaza 8100 Rock Island Highway, Trail When I met Werner Alox- ander Lutz, I met a person interested in people. . 1 visited him at both his offices and watched while people came in one by one, to express their concerns and to ask questions. Alex greeted them all not with the false friendliness of one who must smile because it’s part of the job, but his welcome smilé and open manner are gen- uine, Up until last year Alex was Castlegar’s city superinten- dent, a position he held for 18 years. Now that he's retired he holds two part-time posi- tions. Three mornings a week he mans the office of the RRAP (Residential Rehabili- tation Assistance Program) located in the Senior Citizens’ Centre. Two mornings a week he is the Murphy Creek Dam spokesman with a spa- cious office above Mitchell Auto Parts, “I like meeting the people and answering their con- cerns, the concern of the city regarding the dam, and the concern of citizens who can't afford to fix up their houses.” The RRAP is a program which makes lower interest loan money available for house repairs. If your home needs upgrading in one of five areas; heating, electrical, . structural soundness fire safety or plumbing, you may qualify for a loan. Alex told me that 90 per cent of all people who take advantage of this service are senior cit- izens. The rest are most often young people starting out. “The part I like the best is when a loan is approved for people who really need it. I enjoy the satisfaction of see- ing individuals get the money when they really need it. Some of our senior citizens live on very small incomes.” The other two mornings Alex answers the commun- ity’s questions regarding the proposed dam. On one long wall are explicit maps de- Keenleyside Dam and Bril- liant Dam showing exactly what land the water from the Reflexology -LINDA HALL Getting to Know Your Ne eighbor dam will replace. Every sin- gle house or mobile home is indicated on the map. He shared cups of instant coffee with visitors who walked up, curious as to what the dam might do to their property. He took the time to point out their houses on the map and answer their ques- tions. After one phone call he turned to me and said, “that was an interesting call. They wanted to know if tl.sy would be flooded out, or if they would have water front prop- erty.” Then standing up, Alex looked out the large windows in the southerly direction. “See all that,” he said point- ing toward the steep brown banks of the Columbia River. “All that will be water. It will be better than ever. We'll have our own Lake here!” For over a year Alex has been a part-time employee in the lands department of B.C. Hydro. “If they need to drill a holo or trespass, I got per- mission from the owners, and then after the work is done I © make sure the home owner is happy.” Alex was born in the little town of Lemberg, Sask. He remembers playing hockey and fastball, and although Lemberg boasted a popula- tion of only 500 at that time, Alex refers to himself as-a “city slicker.” “It was still town.” His dad owned a hardware store, and he remembers that during the fall they bought apples by the barrelfull and threw them out of the store to feed all the kids. “I was community-minded even at that time,” he says with a .__ twinkle in his eye. _ ‘When he was 16 he moved north-and worked at a silver fox farm for $10 a month plus All in a foot shake . VANCOUVER (CP) — A footshake tells Chris Shirley as much about a person as a handshake. Shirley gained this know- ledge as the result of three years of practising the ancient Chinese art of foot reflexology — relaxing the body by stimulating points in the feet. : Reflexologists believe that the feet, held together, are a mirror image of the human body. Conncections can be made with inner organs by touching corresponding spots on the feet, he says. For example, Shirley says it’s believed that the sinuses correspond to the underside of the toes, the shoulders to a point about one centimetre under the small toe, the balls of the feet are connected with the lungs and so on through every organ from the gall- bladder to the pancreas to the lymph gland. Shirley has about 20 clients who pay $7 for a half-hour session each week. Each client responds to his minis- trations differently, he says. One falls asleep, while anoth- er feels a surge of vitality, but all agree the experience is relaxing, he says. The atmosphere in his Vancouver home where he meets his clients is soft and subdued. The room is dimly lit and shelves are lined with books, foot powders and foot _ sculptures, room and board. He began his day at 6 a.m. milking seven cows, and worked until Tpm. ‘Then he married Elizabeth and they moved up north to homestead. After four frozen crops, they “dropped every- thing and moved to the coast,” Alex worked a num- ber of jobs in construction on the coast, but finally settled back into farming, his speci- alty: pole beans. “In four years I grew $10,000 worth of pole beans.” After this un- precidented success he went to work as a shift foreman in a sawmill, In 1952 Alex went into city work and this is where he has been ‘ever since. He started as a backhoe operator for the city of Port Coquitlam and prior to coming to Castlegar he’ was promoted to city inspector. It was in 1967 that Alex first heard of the job opening in Castlegar. “They called me in February and when they told me there was 12 feet of snow on the ground, I said ‘forget it!’ ‘In September they phoned me again, one night at 9 p.m. We were sitting playing crib witb our good friends, and I wondered who was calling from Castlegar. It was Jim Corbett, who was an alder- man then. He wanted us to fly up and see the place because the job was open again. So my wife and I flew up and it was 110 degrees. ‘The air conditioning in the Hi Arrow was haywire and we were just cooking.” Alex remembers fondly that first visit to Castlegar. He met Mayor Maddocks and was chauffered around by Curley Cook in an old chevy in which he had to hold the. door shut. He had two weeks" to make up his mind but finally at the last minute ac- JOHN CHARTERS’ Reflections & Recollections cepted the job for $650 a: month, . The Lutz’ have two sons; Leonard in municipal work in Port Coquitlam; and Larry, in the insurance business in Kamloops; and three grand- children, “I love my retirement,” he says, “the wife and I would golf away every day if we could.” Alex didn’t start golf- ing until he was 55 years old but loves this new-found hobby. I even noticed one of those little putting cups in a corner of his office. Fishing is also a favorite hobby of Alex's, “but I like my two feet on the ground. I don’t like boating.” He re- ‘cently obtained rock cutters. “So now when I don’t catch any fish I'll pick up a stray rock and put it in my pocket.” He fishes right off the beach of his north Castlegar home, “a peaceful spot with good neighbors,” he told me. First stepping “It is finished” — John, 19:34 (one of Christ's “Seven last words on the cross”). My first book of prose and poetry is published and one feels a great sense of relief, replaced almost immediately by worries of how many er- rors have crept through un- seen? And worse, how will it be received? ‘Itis not as if [had any,real_ choice in the writing of it. Everyone has, in his most secret heart, something that™ he must do or, if not done, go to the grave unfulfilled. Some would marry and have a number. of children; some would climb Mount Everest; some would win the national yodelling championship, or own a house, or paint a pic- ture. Mine was to write a book. All of us have goals and ambitions which change, or are moda a time, cir- and money, and fervent “never-agains.” There is only the next goal. The goal. The poet Robert Browning wrote, very aptly: “Ah, man's reach should exceed his grasp Or what's a heaven for?” This small’ volume (80 pages) contains some mat- erial which is familiar to - some of my readers:and more which is hot. The title,.“The naa Tree” ‘may seem to be a strange one, and is best understood if one reads the foreward. The contents are intended to be read and understood by different age groups and at several levels. In this, I suppose, the book is a re- action to so much of modern writing which I, at least, find incomprehensible, \ banal, sterile and humorless. The book is also a kind of salute—“a All of us pea one hard-core’ goal which we hold close and concealed to our chest, rarely admitting its presence until it has been achieved and often, not even then. It is safer to remain quiet than chance the scorn and disbelief of others. Once this prime goal has been realized, however, it ceases to be a goal and be- comes a stepping stone. For- gotten are the sleepless nights, the hair-tearing frus- trations, the expense in time to this one small corner of earth — the community of people at the junction of two rivers which we call Castle- gar — particularly that part of Castlegar in the eatery of Zuckerberg’s Island.” The great majority of the 67 items are, therefore, to- gether with the photographs and drawings, very much a part of this small space. “The rest” (to quote from the foreward) “are ripples in the pool of memory — friends reaction _ and events which have modi- fied the shorelines of my life and outlook, though they are still in the spirit of the dragon.” The economics and ener- gies involved in writing and printing of “The- Dragon Tree” have. been something of a shock, It took two years (Lhad figured on one) to pre- pare, with twice As, many hours in each year and ‘almost twice as much money to print it as I-had anticipated. But, while the contents may be quality of production. I would like to thank, therefore, Evelyn McGauley, Joe Ranallo, Betty Leitner, Audrey Millar, Professor David McFadden and wife, Bunny, for their critical eval- uation and. suggestions; Verna Keraiff, Mary Picton and Joan Clifford for the typing; Marjorie West, Darel , Duroyter, Joe Cushner and Jim Ford for photographs and sketches; the staff of the Castlegar News for technical assistance; Crossroads Prin- ters for their work; and to my many friends for their encouragement and support. The next goal: The story of the Castlegar district, I. think. © In -the meanwhile, “The Dragon Tree” should be available in local outlets by THE DRAGON. TREE: mid-month. CASTLEGAR NEWS, December 13, 1981 Alex Lutz: a personable person ‘ALEX LuTz: Now that he’s, retired he Assistance | holds: two part-time positions. Three a 3 mornings a wi e office of - spokesiiial pa he m the RRAP (Residential. "Rehabilitation Cl im) Gnd ‘two'momings Murphy Creek Dam romantic reactic small. corner.of earth to thi: community of peoelee at the junction of’ two slyers wi ich we call Castlegar’ F then g the p [ Xy pe SKYE Billion-dollars-a grown from a two-shoebox operation into a billion- dollar-a-year business, but it did not do it by becoming ithe best at turning out greeting cards, its execu- tives say. They say the company became the biggest by looking at its products as more than just greeting cards. They are social ex- pressions, art for the mass- es. “We're serving the masses, people who find cards and almost } every other art form But the spirit Parker with The halls are abuzz with — cheery employees, who stop to talk about the lat- est card as if they were talking about their child's latest report card. ‘INVIGORATING FORCE” “There's an artistic spir- it here that is vital to our product,” says Parker, whose 600 artists and wri- ters comprise one of the largest art departments in the world. “You can almost feel an creative force cards a y experi- ence,” says George Parker, head of the creative ser- vices division of Hallmark Cards, the largest greeting card maker in the world. “We're a universe of art and emotion — that’s what the card industry is.” ‘‘The company’s nine- storey headquarters is filléd with plants, draw- ings, paintings, ceramics, in the air.” Parker was hired ‘in 1972, when Hallmark exe-' cutives decided they needed someone to unify writers and artists into one creative force. The current process by which cards are conceived and developed — one that emphasizes in- volvement by everyone — is Parker's brainchild. speaks of Joyce C. Hall, who founded tie company in 1910°as a one-man show, making and selling cards himself. As a privately owned: company, Hallmark does not have to release finan- cial statements. But it has been estimated the com- \Peny has sales of $1 billion annually, “and we don’t deny that figure,” says spokesman John Dinardo. STARTED AT YMCA When Hall came to Kan- sas City from Nebraska as a young man, he set up hop in a room at the YMCA with two shoeboxes full of posteards. Seventy- one years later, Hallmark turns out 11 million greet- ing cards and three million non-greeting card items year “probably has put it to 'Igss, that is, the emotion or _ pany finds in bad taste. ‘dent Donald Hall's sister, Whatever the emotion or occasion, ‘Hallmark pictures and words — un- ‘occasion is one the com- /“If you're looking for a card with a naked woman on a motorcycle, you'll have to go to the specialty firms,” Dinardo says. Creation of a new card, and even the revision of an old one, is long and com- plicated. As many as 3,000 people, carrying out up to 800 separate steps, may have a hand in the process, the company says. Up to 18 months are needed to produce a greet- ing card, first step to last, whether it will sell for 25 cents or $5. A cadre of higher-ups — including company Presi- Barbara Marshall — has a final say on each card that goes into production.