86 Castlegar News November 2, 1988 Britian to convert to metric LONDON (AP) — The government has pledged to keep the pint and the mile but says that from gills and gallons to feet and fathoms, virtually all the rest of Britain's traditional weights and measures system will vanish in the 1990s. Detailing the latest draft directive from the European Economic Com. munity on converting Britain to con tinental Europe's metric system, Corporate Affairs Minister Francis Maude said the government sees no grounds for making unnecessary changes. “We're not going to have to re measure the cricket pitch,” he said in BUSINESS DIR TELEPHONE 365-5210 a statement designed to reassure Briton’s over the planned conversion to the metric system. Cricket pitches will indeed stay the same length, 22 yards. But measure. ments in yards, inches and feet will be phased out by the end of 1994 and replaced by metres, centimetres and millimetres under the terms of the draft directive. The directive was issued by the Brussels-based executive commission of the 12-country EEC, to which Britain belongs. Other units from what is known as Britain's imperial system of weights and measures that will vanish under New insertions, copy ch accepted up to 5 p.m. Tu the terms of the draft directive include the gill, the fluid ounce, and the fathom. PHASED OUT A gill is the equivalent of a quarter pint, or 0.13 letre, A fluid ounce, or 28.41 millitres, is a measure of capacity containing an avoirdupois ounce of distilled water at 16.6 degrees Celsius. The fathom (about 1,8 metres), which is used to measure ocean depths, is already being phased out by the Royal Navy but its use will be allowed until 1999. Maude said the draft directive was broadly acceptable to the govern- the traditional pint for draught beer and cider in pubs and for milk in returnable bottles, and for the troy ounce, The troy ounce, used to measure gold and other precious metals, is crucial to London-based bullion trad- ing operations. Maude said that to avoid wasting an estimated 2.2 billion returnable bottles in circulation for drinks other than milk, the government is seeking arr to allow the ii use of imperial-measure bottles until the end of 1999. He said the government is also ment, It pi for of and cancellat! to keeping the mile as a ECTORY 1s for the Car ye month of Dec: r News Business Directory will be I. Brian L. Brown CERTIFIED GENERAL ACCOUNTANT 270 Columbia Avenue Castlegar © 365-2151 Gordon A. Read & Co. Certified General Accountant Office 368-6471 Residence 365-2339 1250 Bay Ave., Trail Appliances (==) MOBILE PowER wa! AWNINGS & SIGNS * BRICK. STUCCO & WOOD PATIOS & DECKS * SIDE & DRIVEWAYS. 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Castlegar 5121 CASTLEGAR FUNERAL CHAPEL Dedicated to kindly thoughttul service COMPLETE FUNERAL SERVICE Cremation, Traditional Burial and Pre-Arrangement Plan Available Granite, Bronze Memorials Cremation Urns and Plaques PHONE 365-3222 Now Has a Full Line of LAZER XT AND LAZER 128s EX South Slocan Junction 359-7755 TYPE SETTING Give your newsletters. meeting bulletins, etc. a professional aj pearance Comera-ready type for your photocopier CASTLEGAR NEWS 365-7266 “"We the jury find the defendant not guilty by reason of insanity.’ Moving & Storage Williams Moving & Storage 2337-6th Avenue, Castlegar Invite you to call them for a free moving estimate. Let our representative tell you about the many services which have made Williams the most respected name in the moving business Ph. 365-3328 Collect Optometrist oUL LeNoy B.C. O.D. OPTOMETRIST 1012 - 4th St., Castlegar PHONE 365-3361 Tuesday to Friday 9a.m. to 4:30 p.m Saturday 9 a.m. to 12 Noon Painting & Decorating > = AACQUES DILLEN FAINTING & } | DECORATING (>) 365-3484 Serving Castlegar for 20 Years Plumbing & Heating Bartle & Gibson The Plumbing & Heating Centre * American Standard * Volley Fibrebath * Jacuzzi * Crane * Duro Pumps & Softeners © PVC Pipe Fittings © Septic Tanks * Electrical Supplies 2317-6th Avenue, Castlegar Phone 365-7702 (CasNews |) Printing Letterheads & Envelopes Business Cards Brochures Business Forms Invitations Any Printing Don't forget our Web Printing Service. For details, call us. L Castlegar News Y} Radiator Repair Mike’s Radiator Repair & Sales New Location 690 Rossland Ave., Trail Open 8:30 - 5 p.m. Monday-Friday 9:30-2, Saturday oily Pickup ond Delivery in Costlegor Phone 364-1606 Atter Hours Emergency or Pickup Call Perry, 364-1506; Tim 359-7951; Mike 359-7058 ROOFING * Guaranteed Work © Fair Prices © 30 Years in Business Free Estimates "JAMES SWANSON AND SONS Ph. 367-7680 Septic Service COLEMAN COUNTRY BOY SERVICE Sump & Septic Tank Pumping Phone 365-5013 3400-4th Avenue Castlegar SILVER CREST PLUMBING 713 Tamarack St., Castlegar Call 365-3044 ; - Planning a Wedding? We Sell Distinctive . Invitations, Napkins etc. COME SEE US AT Castlegar News 197 Columbie Ave. measure for distance and speed on signposts and speedometers. A mile equals 1.6 kilometres, He said the furlong, a distance used in horse racing, would also stay because it was used only in a sporting context and was therefore not covered by the draft directive. A furlong is an eighth of a mile, or 200 metres, But for trade in fruit, vegetables, meat and other items the pound and the ounce will be replaced by the kilogram and the gram. One. ~pound equals 453.6 grams, In 1965, Britain first committed itself to going metric — x system devised by the Paris A idemy of Sciences in 1791 which is now in force throughout continental Europe. British youngsters learn the met- rie system at school, many goods in British supermarkets show both the metric and traditional imperial meas- ure side by side, and some business like measuring materials in dry goods stores is done entirely in the metric system. The imperial system results from its days of empire when it turned its back on continental Europe and went its own way. Britain joined the European Economic Community 1973. “This does not mean that the United Kingdom will suddenly lose all its imperial traditions but it does mean that over the next five or six years we will see some changes in the way goods are sold in the shops,” Maude said. “In matters which \are entirely domestic to the United Kingdom we see no reason why we cannot continue to use imperial units where they are customary.” HUGE MACHINE DIGS TUNNEL UNDER CHANNEL SHAKESPEARE CLIFF, ENG- LAND (AP) — A colossal tunnelling machine is boring beneath the Eng- lish Channel from the white cliffs of Dover, pursuing a dream born in Napoleon's time that is coming true at last. Another is digging from the French coast in what the tunnel builders call the largest civil eng- ineering project under way in the world today. The 50-kilometre tunnel, nearly 40 kilometres of it under water, would cut the London-Paris rail journey to three hours from six, as fast as a scheduled air flight. It will enable freight to travel on one train instead of being shifted to trucks for a cross-channel ferry trip subject to weather and shipping strikes. Tunnelling speed at the Dover end is less than five metres an hour and the machine boring from the geologi cally more complex French end moves even slower, which is why the tunnel will not open until 1993. The tunnel, 24 to 40 metres below the seabed, was about three kil ometres into the channel from the English end on Oct. 9, the most recent measurement available, and the French had progressed about 400 metres. Digging began last Decem ber. TRAVEL DISTANCES For continental Europeans, accus- tomed to long-distance rail travel, the tunnel is but a small spur on a vast network stretching to Moscow and beyond. For the British, the change wrought will be enormous. Some wonder whether Britain will be ready for it. “People still question whether the tunnel will be complete in May 1993 and that’s ridiculous,” says Kathy Watson, co-author of a book on the project. “They're still arguing about whether it will introduce rabies into this country, or let in terrorists. “They discuss it in terms of their being an island race, with a channel that has kept out invaders,” she said in an interview. Crown-owned British Rail will not commit itself to building a high-speed link from London to the tunnel in time to make the three-hour journey a reality in 1993. It intends instead to improve existing tracks. Eurotunnel, the Anglo-French con- sortium that will own the tunnel, is urging British Rail to speed its plans. Critics say the tangle of commuter lines in southeast England, so ob- solete that trains can be delayed by a sudden fall of autumn leaves, will delay tunnel traffic. The consortium forecasts 16.5 million passengers in 1993 but the railway says that figure will not be reached before 1998. WASTE TIME Arriving channel trains will ter. minate at Waterloo station in south London, at a large customs and im- migration terminal. Critics say this will waste time and Britain should follow the continental practice of handling such matters on the train during the journey. British stations, bridges and tun: nels are not built for the tall loads commonly carried across the channel. That means many loads will have to be repacked or transferred to trucks unless the facilities are rebuilt. The grandiose project has been on and off the drawing boards for more than 200 years. Napoleon wanted to bore a tunnel in 1802 but Britain's generals warned him off. Digging began in 1882 but was halted by British fears of French invasion by tunnel. With trade barriers among the 12 EC countries set to fall in 1992, Colin Kirkland, technical director of Euro- tunnel’s work on the British side, says the tunnel will be completed this time. He says the entire cost of the project — estimated at the equiva lent of $10.5 billion Cdn — is pri- vately financed and cancellation Also, the British and French gov- ernments signed a tunnel treaty in February 1986 and both would have to agree to cancellation. At its peak, the project will employ about 11,000 workers and 11 tunnell. ing machines. Aussie koalas worry Canadians TORONTO (CP) — Crocodile Dun. dee, koalas and Foster's beer have the chairman of the Tourism Indus- try Association of Canada worried. William Rowe says these and other Australian image makers are beating Canada in the race for tourist dollars. Rowe, also a vice-president of Air Canada, says Tourism Canada has come up with some great media campaigns in the past, but that the federal agency's advertising budget now is too low. “We're worried it's not keeping up with places like Australia,” which has also done a better job of co-ordin- ating its tourism promotion with its exporters, Rowe said in a recent interview. Meanwhile, some northern states like New York and Illinois are also putting more money into tourism promotion than Ottawa. And in 1989 there will be no major events like a Winter Olympics or world fair to dreaw crowds to Canada. “We really need to get out and push,” said Rowe, who wants the public and politicians to view tourism as an export industry as important as agriculture or forestry. Canada’s tourist industry, includ- ing resorts, hotels, airlines and credit card companies, says it provides 600,000 direct jobs and attracts $6 billion in spending by foreigners each year. Visits to Canada in the first eight months of the year were down nearly one per cent to 28.1 million. Yet the total number of Canadians travelling to the U.S. and abroad rose 12 per cent to 36.7 million. The main decline came in U.S visitors, perhaps because it's an elec. tion year there. The Summer Olym. pics in Seoul may also have hurt. To address the situation, Rowe's group wants Ottawa to: ¢ Substantially increase the $30- million marketing budget of Tourism Canada. ¢ Shift control of foreign tourism officers from Exvernal Affairs to Tourism Canada, and give the latter full status as a ministry. Give foreign tourists a free ride on sales and excise taxes. © Develop a national plan for de velopment of tourist attractions and lodgings. ¢ Develop a strategy for attracting and training employees for the tour. ist industry, which is having trouble attracting part-time workers as un. employment declines. BUSINESS > November 2, 1988 Castlegar News TORONTO (CP) — It’s 4 p.m. in a downtown cheque-cashing store and a towering, wild-haired man wearing a black leather jacket, sun glasses and an earring has just stopped by with his brother. “Got any LD.? Rapid Cash clerk. John Christoff asks from behind a glass partition as the man proffer: municipal welfare cheque for $200. “No, I lost it,” replies the man, who then tries to point out the family resemblance between he and his brother, hoping identification his brother is carrying will suffice. Christoff peers briefly at the brother's driver's licence before handing over the money, but it's’all a charade. Rapid Cash doesn’t really care whether a customer has identification. That's the key to their business and a growing number of competitors who run similar shop-front operations — fast, on-the-spot cheque cashing for a commission that ranges between 2.9 per cent and 4.9 per cent. Around the corner from the Rapid Cash store in the blue-collar Regent Park district, maintenance man Don Horsnell has arrived at a Money Mart outlet to cash a cheque for $171.70, his salary for the week. He walks out with $165.98 in his jeans pocket about five minutes later, content to have lost a chunk of change in order to avoid going to a bank the next day. “I live from day to day,” says Horsnell, who has the words “love” and “hate” tattoed on his knuckles. “I never Have enough money to put in the bank. Right now, I'm running on empty in my car.” RULES VARY Rules for cashing cheques vary at most banks. Some will cash a cheque if a customer shows several pieces of identification, preferably with a picture, while others handle cheques only for people with an account at that branch, For many poor people, however, scraping together enough identification to cash a cheque, or start an account, is impossible. That puts them at the mercy of cheque cashers like Money Mart and Rapid Cash, the National Anti-Poverty Organization says. “A lot of social assistance is ending up in the profit margins of these places,” says Havi Echenberg, executive director of the Ottawa-based group. Echenberg, who says her group “took it personally” when a Money Mart opened near their Ottawa office, cites a survey by the City of Ottawa Business cashes in on welfare cheques that indicates 15 per cent of the social assistance cheques it issued in a month were cashed at a Money Mart. Based on that figure, the two Money Mart outlets in Ottawa were handling roughly $250,000 worth of social assistance cheques in a year, a study last year by the organization estimated. While the federal government regulates the closely related tax-refund business, cheque cashers are the responsibility of the provinces, Echenberg says Quebec has made it illegal for these outlets to cash government cheques and the anti-poverty group is urging other provinces to do the same. Despite their apparent success, both Money Mart and Rapid Cash are shadowy companies that shun publicity. Rapid Cash's four Toronto stores are owned by a group of investors who refuse to give out their names, Christoff says. Money Mart, a privately held corporation, was begun in 1982 in Edmonton by Victoria-based businessman Steven Clark and partner Mark McDonald of Seattle. The company now has more than 90 stores from Vancouver to Montreal, most of them franchised, and will soon expand into the Maritimes. The partners also own a chain of U.S. stores called Check Mart. In a telephone interview, Clark refused to provide any information on Money Mart’s operations or profits. He said welfare cheques cover only a tiny portion of the company’s business — payroll cheques are the meat and potatoes. And he brushed aside criticisms his company exploits the poor. Z “It's sort of like going to K-Mart and saying, ‘Gee, how dare you do business with people on a low income,” he said. “It's often\hard for people to understand a new business.” a Gus Baril, manager of a Toronto Money Mart, describes his clients as “people who don't want to wait in line in a bank for two hours. “We like to think of ourselves as the 7-Eleven of banks,” he said in reference to the renowned convenience store. “Fast, efficient, courteous cus. tomer service is our angle.” Christoff believes cheque cashers provide a necessary service by dealing with people who won't or can't go to banks. He's heard all the knocks against these outlets, but says they're just misunderstood. Plastic becomes a problem TORONTO: (CP) — Overflowing landfill sites across the continent are forcing producers of plastie pack aging to pay attention to what happens to their product after it’s tossed in the trash, an industry spokesman says. Ron Hayter of the Society of the Plastics Industry of Canada said packages accept that they've con: tributed to North American's gar- bage disposal problem, noting plas. ties represent about seven ‘per cent of Canada’s solid waste by weight. “We're part of the problem of waste management and now we're trying to be part of the solution,” Hayter, the society's director of en vironmental affairs, said in an inter. view before addressing a one-day society management conference in Toronto. The plastics industry is worth about $10 billion yearly in Canada, about a third of which is accounted for by packagers, Hayter said. He said the society has done a lot of research on waste disposal and has conditionally endorsed measures such as recycling and re-use of products. Absent from the list is any mention of biodegradable plastics — designed to decompose like organic matter. Biodegradable garbage bags have been developed recently amid much fanfare, but Hayter says such products can lull people into feeling they may litter with impunity be. cause the trash will eventually dis appear on its own. HELPS SOCIETY “Recycling really is helping to con. tribute to a conserving society, while biodegradability is contributing to a throw-away society.” He also dismissed any notion of cutting out plastic packaging entire. ly, citing the results of a West Ger. man survey which suggested such a move would increase the price of packaging by 211 per cent, and sa community's tonnage of waste by 413 per cent. Don Toner, a researcher with the Campbell Soup Co. in Camden, N.J., said food and retail companies must also address the problem of over. packaging, a contentious issue be. cause firms rarely see their carefully planned packaging design as being wasteful. John A. Chai the taste of words. Writing is a com collection of ceramic dragons '$ was born in Vancouver in 1916 and spent his boyhood near Barnet on Burrard Inlet. After attending the University of British Columbia, he enlisted with the Seaforth Highlanders of Canada, attaining the Wu jor m the Columbia River in Castlegar with his wite Bunny, three dogs, a cat anda Humourist, raconteur, traveller naturalist, historian and social critic John Charters is all of these and now Over My Shoulder gathers, for the first time, the best of his pungent Castlegar News columns. Charters reflects on the peculiarities of the sexes, on freedom, education and life's wonders and horrors. He recollects memorable characters, t Kootenays of old, favour: and the joys of childhood. Over My Shoulder is an entertaining mix of perception and observation from a journalist who has been writing with wit and compassion for 30 years. journeys 200 Pages $14.95 lantry in action while serving in the h school sciences h Columbia like the 9." ound and john Cher rs lives beside Over My Shoulder is lab National Exhibition Centre, Cos A 365-6549) TRAIL: LJ Books. discount: John Charters 365-5241. at the foll i, CASTLEGAR: The Book Shop, Central Food Mart, Airport Gift tHegar News : Oliver's Books, Nelson Museum. CRESTON: Apple Tree Book Store. Personally inscribed copies and seniors , Bear Grass Press (Kathy “If you have-a loaf of bread; you could put it into two plastic bags,” said Toner, another speaker at the conference. “Some people would call it over-packaging, while others would call it necessary for product safety or freshness.” Hayter, arriving for the interview with an armload of recycled plastic products that included flowerpots, file folders and fenceposts, said suc cessful waste management depends on cities and towns adopting or ganized recycling programs. In an effort to make the recycling of plastic as efficient as possible, he said, an Ottawa suburb begins an experiment today which was or ganized by the society, a private firm and the Ontario Environment Min istry. Under the project, hydraulic mach- inery will be fitted onto garbage trucks to grind and bag plastic waste. Building permits increase By CasNews Staff Construction activity in Castlegar continued to boom in CLEAN COTTON RAGS — WANTED — Castlégar New: 197 Columbia Ave., Castl thanks to a new truck unloading system at Celgar Pulp Co. The building permit issued for the $1.4 million pulp mill project was the only industrial permit issued in Sep- tember, compared to three issued for the same month in 1987, But the value of the single project was $918,000 more than the value of the three industrial projects last year. The number of building permits issued so far this year totals 262, compared to 242 for the first nine months of 1987. And the value of this year's permits is just over $6 million, an increase of $3.7 million compared to the end of September last year, Ald. Len Embree, chairman of the finance and administration commit. tee, called the increased activity “That should help considerably at tax time,” Embree said, pointing out that the increased tax base will alleviate an overall drop in area assessments. Residential starts were down slightly in September from three valued at $150,000 last September to two valued at $125,000. As well, residential alterations dropped slightly from 24 last Sep- tember valued at $37,325, to 20 this year valued at $35,567. Commercial building activity also fell in value, though the number of building permits issued nearly dou bled. This September there were 11 permits issued for commercial con- struction valued at $11,885. That compares to six permits valued at $87,200 issued in September, 1987. As well, institutional permits fell to a value of $3,200 this year from $80,000 in 1987. Sandman satisfies creditors Northland Properties and Sand- man Inn president Robert Gaglardi has announced his companies’ major creditor — the Bank of Montreal — has agreed to approve a financial reorganization plan to be presented to all creditors“this week. The Northland/Sandman compan. ies, which own and operate 20 Sandman Inns across western Can ada, owe creditors about $200 million — including $115 million to the bank. Debts to about 2,200 other creditors range from $200 to $22 million The companies said in a news release they expect creditors will “overwhelmingly support” the plan this week, now that the bank has approved the proposal. The plan calls for new valuations to be made of company assets and for most credi tors to receive 100 cents on the dollar over one to five years. ROGUE RIVER Steelhead Fishing at its best at JOT’S RESORT, Gold Beach on the OREGON COAST We Turn Fish Stories into Fact! The U.S. northwest's top steelhead river is lively with Steelhead run. Get ‘em while the fishing’s great! There's Lots More than Fishing at Jot’s Comfortable rooms and suites Swimming pool and indoor ‘Spa. Superb dining & entertainment. Golf course nearby 1g and i Magnificent seascapes Toll-free in U.S. sivas $389* BINA y GOLD BEACH P.O. Box J, Gold Beach, Oregon (503) 247-6676 1-800-FOR-JOTS (1-800-367-5687) jet boat tours. per person double occupancy valid thru 1989, Packages for non: fisherman from $235 per person. Of accommodation pack age at the beautiful Bay in Waterton Lakes valued at $350 is Judy Gustafson 227-102nd Street shore Inn, Castlegar Entry was chosen from Dixie Lee Castlegar Helper coupon News Budget Coupon Tab of Wednesday, Oct. 19/88. in eese . . Portug¥ MexicO (nadian 1ON? pA GREAT SPECIALS EXCELLENT FOOD AT GREAT PRICES * Check Out Our Daily Specials * LIONS HEAD PUB ‘Across From the Ferry That Don't Run!" Effective October 30, 1988 Dep. 13:10. Arr. 15:15 ......Sunday Only, Non-Stop Dep. 13:25. 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