as Castlagar News Moreh 13, 1988 BUSINESS Cominco starts projects By CasNeows Staff Cominco Ltd. has started on two expansion projects totalling $8.1 million at its Trail operations that it says will make it the leading supplier of two high-technology metals. Cominco has already started work on a new $2. million indium project and a $5.8 million germanium recovery project. The projects should be completed by the end of August and result in at least 10 new jobs. When the projects come on stream Cominco will become a leading supplier of germanium and indium by year-end. “With its own raw material input, Cominco will be a long-term, stable source for these strategic metals,” the company said in a prepared release. Cominco is the world leader in zinc and lead production, and the new projects are linked to the company’s base metal metallurgical works at Trail. “These projects will make Cominco the lowest-cost world producer,” says Klaus Goeckmann, vice-president, marketing and sales for Cominco, “Initial germanium production will be eight metric tons a year, with provision for expansion to 15 metric tons, and ind‘um production will rise from about 150,000 ounces a year to a potential capacity of about a million ounces a year, “The indium market is rapidly expanding,” says Goeckmann,” and the germanium market has experienced steady growth. We forecast a strong future for both metals.” Both germanium and indium are strategic metals with important high-technology applications. Germanium is used in night vision systems by the electronics industry and as a catalyst in the production of plastics. Indium is used in semi-conductors, light-emitting diodes, nuclear control rods, and in other applications such as dental alloys and hi demi: 8. BRITISH MUSICAL Castlegar merchants stamp passports Passports. Prizes. A provincial championship. All of this, along with 300 young women basketball players, will be converging on Castlegar starting Wed. nesday as the Provincial ‘A’ Girls Basketball Champ- ionships commence at Stanley Humphries secondary school. This year, there is a new program that will involve many of the visitors and local merchants. Called “a passport to Castlegar,” it consists of 800 passport cards which will be distributed to the visitors, as well as inserted in the programs that will be for sale at the games. The “passport” is a brainchild of Jon Mattson of M. Strong and Associates. “It works very simply,” he said “In order to win one of several prizes and be eligible for the grand prize of a two nights stay at Ainsworth Hot Springs, all the passport holder has to do is to have the passport stamped after any purchase from any one of the nine merchants listed on the passport. Then, fill out the entry form on the back, deposit it in the bin at the high school any time during the weekend and hope that your name is drawn for one of the prizes. “There will be several draws during the weekend and Saturday night, at the final game, the draw for the two nights at Ainsworth Hot Springs will be made.” Participating merchants will receive a “Rocky” poster (SHSS's mascot) indicating that they are passport sponsors. Jack Closkey of Stanley Humphries noted, “The business community of Castlegar has been extremely supportive of the tournament and the passport program, and we are very grateful for all of their help. We're hoping that, in the future, we can bring the community into the school more often and establish a good working relationship with local businesses.” B.C. invests in theatre VANCOUVER (CP) — More than 400 British Col- Vancouver Stock Exchange. “New process d at C s Technical Research teams at Ae has resulted in a com- bination of new, break-through processes which will result.in- low-cost production,” says Roger H. Watson, general manager of Zinc Operations at Trail. A concentrate will be produced containing both the germanium and indium, This concentrate will ens be 70 YATES STREET VICTORIA, BC VOW 1L8 TOLL FAME 1-000-000-4001 of 986-4128 treated with Comi ped solvent to recover the indium. This impure indium will be refined in in the existing indium refinery at Trail. The residual solution will then be treated in a second solvent extraction process, similar to the first, to recover the germanium. The impure germanium will be refined in a new plant being built at Trail. The products will include germanium oxide and high purity germanium metal. Some concentrate will also be offered for sale. Winnie, to list the company on the Vancouver exchange. Marlborough Productions, umbia investors will be por. ing over British theatre re- views in about six weeks when a $2-million production of a new play about Winston Churchill debuts in England. The musical, called Winnie, was financed through the sale of public shares on the B.C. investors put up their money in hopes Winnie will follow in the path of hits such as Cats and Les Miserables. “It’s a risky investment — unique in Western Canada,” said Odlum Brown spokes man John Hislop, who acted as agent for Marlborough Productions, producers of Job creation response great By CasNews Staff A federal job creation pro. munity Futures Committee. It is available only to indiv gram announced last month has received “tremendous response,” says a program spokesman. Kay Ryan, consultant for the Self-Employment Incent ive Program says the pro: gram received 178 inquiries during February As well, there were 27 applications, five of which were approved by Canada Manpower and another seven are expected to be finalized by mid-March The program provides grants of $720 per month for up to one year for people starting their own business Last month the federal government approved a bud get of $561,000 for the pro gram. The program is the second option chosen for funding by the Central Kootenay Com. iduals who are presently col lecting or are eligible to collect. Unemployment In surance or social assistance. This grant is paid in lieu of UIC or social assistance benefits and only new bus. inesses qualify There are currently enough funds allotted to the Central Kootenay region to assist in the start-up of 60 new businesses under this program alone “Since most of these bus: inesses are small, the ma jority of their purchasing will be done locally and the spin-off will be felt through out the local economy,” said Ryan Informational brochures are available at Canada Man. power offices and village offices throughout the Cen tral Kootenay region. Weekly Stocks TORONTO (CP) — The Toronto Stock Exchange charged ahead this week driven by healthy economic in tors and a growing belief that the economy is not headed for a recession. The TSE composite index gained 69.76 points, or 2.2 per cent, during the week to close at 3,321.21, its highest weekly close since Oct. 16, the last trading day pre- ceeding the market crash. The index gained 80 points in the first three days of the week but the rally petered out by Thursday when it fell 20 points. On Friday, it re. covered slightly with a 7.49- point gain. In New York the market was less buoyant. The Dow Jones average of 30 indust rials ended its string of four consecutive weekly advances dropping 22.88 points this week despite a gain of 8.95 points Friday. It closed at 2,034.98. “It's been an interesting week,” said John Ing, presi. dent of Maison Placements. “It's become apparent that the recession fears of Octo- ber were very misplaced.” Interest rates have drop. ped, fears of inflation are down and employment fig ures are strong in both Can ada and the United States, he said INFLATION FEARS Now investors are back to worrying about whether the economy is so healthy so inflation could be a threat in the coming months, he said. Analysts have noted that the institutional investors who had been hanging back in recent months are begin ning to return to the stock market. But Ing suggested that part of the institutional act- ivity stems from “window dressing.” To Members of Kootenay Savings Credit Union On March 17, 1988 VOTE FOR DIRECTORS 10 a.m. to 4:45 p.m. Polling Stations at Your Branch Office « D “It’s coming up to the end of the quarter and they're going through a beauty con test — trying to figure out which ones look good and which ones they want to get rid of.” In Toronto Friday declin ers outnumbered advancers 418 to 368 with 370 issues unchanged on a volume of 24,831,969, deceptively high because it included five mil- lion shares that were traded as part of a takeover. Total trading value was $302,820,771. For the week all 14 of the index's subgroups advanced, led by transportation, up 4.1 per cent; communications, up 3.5 per cent; merchandising, up 3.0 per cent; real estate and construction, up 3.0 per cent, Winnie stars Robert Hardy (who portrayed Siegried Farnon in the TV series, All Creatures Great and Small) as Churchill and Virginia Me- Kenna (who played Joy Adamson in the movie Born Free) as Mrs. Churchill. The director is Albert Marre, who did Broadway productions of The Man of La Mancha, among numerous other plays. Along with traditional songs from the Second World War era such as We'll Meet Again, a new score is being written by Lionel Bart, who did the music for Oliver! Investing in Winnie is “probably as risky as any mining venture on the VSE,” said Stan Szary, 33, a B.C. stock broker involved with F iB pointment A representative ot the Bank will be in Castleger on March Te, 1988 to discuss your Business. Financial ond needs. Why not call us today at 426-7241 to arrange an ap. La Banque oftre ses services dans les deux langues ofticielles. BACKING INDEPENDENT BUSINESS which also raises money to produce films. The venture's success hinges on the opening nights in Manchester and London, said Szary. Winnie's writer and pro- ducer is Robin Hardy, who is also president of Marlbor- ough. Hardy said he came to BIGGEST REFUND With the talk of changes in tax laws, many Canadians ore contused as to whether their incéme tax returns will be atfected. At H&R Block, we've got the answers. Our specially trained tax preparers will always find you every deduction, exemption and credit to which you are entitled. Come to H&R Block this year — we'll get you the biggest retund you have coming. oa eenineetnnemenimemmanimnemnee THE INCOME TAX SPECIALISTS 1761 Columbia Ave., Castl (Old Shell Building) 365-5244 ee ee March 13, 1988 BI Ask about our RRSP planner. Figini captures downhill It came as no surprise to anybody who's been watching women's World Cup skiing this year to find Swiss ski ace Michela Figini on top of the winner's podium at Red Mountain yesterday. She is favored to win the overall and downhill points race this year. Figini flashed down the 2,847-metre-long Granite run in one minute, 42 seconds, almost a full second faster than teammate Brigitte Oertli, who took second place. “I feel really good today,” said the elated Figini at the bottom of the course following the race. “It was a great race for me.” Veronika Wallinger of Austria came in third only 37-100ths of a second slower than Oertli. taking 10th spot. Laurie Graham came in 14th Percy was hoping to do better than fifth place, satisfied to be top Canadian finisher. “The medals are where it's at,” Percy said following the race. “And fifth I should be happy with and I am but you always want top three for sure.” Percy said she lost some time in the flat section of the course and admitted might have been because she is selective about her skis. “These are definitely my favorite race skis,” she said of the boards she was clutching at the time. “I'm a little stubborn that way, maybe I could have found faster ones (skis) but I think we picked the best ones for what we knew.” but was Canada and the V Stock Exchange to raise money for his projects be- cause Vancouver has a repu- tation as an excellent “ven- ture capital centre.” Since Marlborough went on the VSE_in 1987, Hislop said it's traded between about $1 and $2 a share. Winnie begins a five-week run at the Manchester opera house in late April. 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Stevens second in DONALD STEVENS surprise finish Ski rules superior for By The Associated Press BEAVER CREEK, Colo. — Swiss veteran Peter Mueller, continuing his mastery of North American courses, flashed to victory Saturday in a men's World Cup downhill ski race while Donald Stevens of Rossland was a surprise second-place finisher. Rob Boyd of Whistler was fifth. Castlegar’s Felix Belezyk was tied for seventh. He was 23rd in Friday's downhiland Stevens was 10th. Mueller, 30, was clocked in two minutes, 25.75 seconds over a long, jump-loaded course that will be the featured attraction of the 1989 World Championships. It was Mueller's second downhill victory this season and the 17th of his career. Eight triumphs have come in races in the United States and Canada. Stevens, starting far back in the 42nd position but consistently fast in training runs, stole second place in 2:26.26, knocking Mare Girardelli of Luxembourg back into third place. Girardelli, third in Friday's downhill as well, was timed in 2:26.29. Sporting Views By Brendan Nagle right reasons I'm a male chauvanist . and proud of it. So why am I so happy to be covering the women's World Down hill? Aside from the obvious — getting to meet the racers, coaches, or- ganizers_and watching the races from a good spot on the hill — I like covering this event because its run by good, old-fashioned male chau- vanists. My kind of guys. The Federation Internationale de Ski (FIS) is the organization in which all alpine World Cup ski competitors — men and women — are racing. This federation, in its infinite wisdom, has through the years survived the surging tide of “lib- eration” sweeping global sport- ing arenas. Unlike both sexes who run the same marathon or swim the same 100-metre breaststroke dis. tance, the boys at FIS continue to set their courses differently for men and women. The gals, according to FIS, aren't up to skiing the same course as the men. Instead jof explaining why, I'll let Heinz Krecek, FIS women's World Cup head alpine ski co-ordinator answer this one. Heinz is the number one technicalrepresentative for FIS women's skiing and spends his laying out courses and even finding alternate ski sites from heli copters when booked sites aren't up to standards. “That's normal,” Krecek says matter-of-factly for the difference in men’s and women's courses. “A man is much stronger than a woman.” Ah yes, a man is much stronger than a woman. I couldn't have said it better myself. But I don't buy Krecek’s excuse. It’s too simple. There's more to it than just power. Strength is a key element in any sport and it appears as though the ladies have more than proven their strenths in “liberated” sports like triathlon events indentical to those run by men. What about tennis? The court is the same size. Check out the 10-metre-high diving tower at the Summer Olympic Games in Seoul later this year. It sure isn’t going to be lowered once the ladies enter the fray. Ice hockey hasn't been the same since they gave dames sticks, helmets and pucks. While the women are not com. peting directly against the men in most cases, they are competing on identical venues. The finishing times may be a little slower and the action seem less intense than in men’s competitions but women are most definitely proving they can cut it under the same conditions as men There is no doubt in my mind the women skiing in FIS World Cup alpine ski competitions are strong enough to ski the same courses as the men. You couldn't pay me enough dough to leg wrestle with any of the competitors who are thundering down Granite today. But Krecek—I really admire this guy — sticks to his guns. “His feeling is harder so we have to make it different between the ladies and men,” Krecek says of the men skiers who ski the harder downhill courses. “The line has to be different.” Safety is a major concern with FIS officials and it’s their belief women will be less likely to injure themselves on courses where aver- ay dere Teens 90 bes By rened downhill race Austrian Peter Wirnsberger had his best result of the season, finishing fourth in 2:26.81, while Boyd followed in 2:26.89. Italy's Michael Mair wound up sixth in 2:27.00 and stayed alive in his battle with Switzerland's Pirmin Zur- briggen for the World Cup downhill title. Mair added 10 points to his total while Zurbriggen, a disappointing 26th in 2:27.96, did not score points. Zurbriggen’s lead in the downhill standings fell to 118-96 with one race remaining. Mair would need to win that race, worth 25 points, and have Zur. briggen finish 13th or worse to claim the title. Zurbriggen’s lead in the overall standings remained at 224-213 over Italian Alberto Tomba. Zurbriggen’s 11th-place finish in Friday's race and his failure to earn points on Saturday appeared to give the edge to Tomba in the overall points race. Tomba is a slalom and giant-slalom specialist who does not run downhill. She also admitted disappointment for not being the top Canadian of the day and said she really was hoping to finish in the top three. “I definitely wanted to be up on the podium today and it's unfortunate I didn't get there,” said Lee. “I would have liked to be up there for myself and Rossland.” But she added she's working hard to perform better next year and said her confidence is growing with every top 10 finish. “I'm now finally getting the consistent top 10s and I think that’s good if not for this year, for getting on the podium for next year and having confidence that I actually belong in the top 10,” said the Rossland native. Lucie LaRoche turned in her finest downhill perform. ance ever in her career yesterday and was elated not only because of the finish but because Canadian coach Currie Chapman said if she placed in the top 10 in this race she would be going to Austria to somaete in the final event of the season “I'm really happy, that’s my best result ever,” said LaRoche, beaming from ear to ear at the bottom of the course. “I think it's going to be really good in the final coming up.” She was 28th on the starting order. LaRoche said she was happy to do so well in Canada and said she was just trying to ski a good race when she left the start “I just let it go,” she said. She was clocked doing 117 kmp at the top of the flats.“ just really let it go in the flats. LaRoche and the rest of the Canadian team finish the season in Saalbach, Austria which begins a week Wednesday. SPEED MERCHANT . . . Swiss downhill skier Michela Figini concentrates on the course as she shoots down Granite run. Figini won the downhill event on Red to 110 kmh. Lets quit splitting hairs here and say a mistake at either speed is costly. Even if race officials were to remoye 10 of the 40 gates Krecek said would be necessary to accommodate a men’s downhill event on Granite, I'm sure the women could race the course. I figure the gals get out on the men's course and ski their race, just as they play their hockey on the same ice and swim in the same pool. Adjustment plays a major role in any alpine racer’s ability to compete and the women could easily modify their approach to race a men's course, just as they adapt to the numerous women's courses they ski around the world over a season. So the reasons given to me for the glaring inequities in the course structures of the men’s and women's alpine courses can’t, in my opinion, cut it. Which leads me to believe FIS officials are my kind of guys. The only reason I can find for the race organization to keep the women from skiing the more de- manding courses is they're male chauvanists, plain and simple. In FIS's blatant defence of the staunch male chauvanistic faith, the men will always hold the superior competitions in World Cup alpine not because the girls aren't up You can have all the “liberated” and “equalized” competitions and activities you want Tl stick with this final bastion of true male superiority in inter national sport where both genders are sutable represented and rule the day the FIS finally relents to ex: y day and is currently leading women alpine skiers in the World Cup downhill points race. She is also a close second for overall World Cup points behind teammate Brigitte Oertli. CasNewsPnoto by Brendon Nogie Lee looking to improve By BRENDAN Nagle Staff Writer Rossland's Kerrin Lee says skiing in the shadows of some of the other team members and a mixed blessing. Lee, a four-year veteran of the World Cup ski circuit at only 21, said Friday following the only training run of the day that skiing in the wake of Karen Percy and Laurie Graham puts less pressure on her because she isn't in the spotlight. But it also provides her with reasons to do better. Talking about her finish in Aspen, Colo. — her best to date in World Cup competition — Lee said people “didn't really know of Kerrin Lee . . . It's alt Laurie Graham and Karen Percy and when they missed gates in Aspen it wasn't who did well, it was that they * missed gates and they didn't win the race. It wasn’t that I had my best run.” Lee said her World Cup race season has been successful this year, but- her Olympic performance wasn't what she'd hoped it would be. “As far as the Olympics went, I'm glad they're over and I didn't enjoy them very much because I put toc much pressure on myself.” She said that because Graham and Percy were the centre of attention in Calgary the pressure was not coming from the outside, but from within “I wanted to do well badly and I KERRIN LEE emerging from shadows ternal pressure and compromises its male dominance. just didn’t let it happen,” she said. Racing in front of the home-town crowd at Granite Mountain will prob- ably ease any pressure because she knows the.spectators are behind her no matter what. “I really like to race here,” she said. “I don't feel any pressure at all, I think they're going to support me whether I win the race or if I come in 10th.” Lee said she isn't sure how long she will stay on the World Cup alpine circuit, but said she will end her stint on the tour when she feels she'd done her best. “I'm going to compete until I'm satisfied I've done what I've set out to do and when I'll be satisfied with my career when I retire,” Lee said. “I don't know if that's going to be after next year or in four years or after two more Olympics . . . I will quit when I'm not having fun anymore and [I'm not enjoying it.” Lee said the season has been tough, but added it’s all part of touring on the World Cup. She said it has its high and low points. “It's frustrating and I don't recommend it to anybody who isn't willing to answer to a stiff finish. So when you have a good race you know that it’s finally worth it.” She said Aspen was a good event for her, not only because of her finish in the race, but also because of her first place finish in the training run. “I finally won my first training run,” she said. “That's what really makes me feel good is I know it's there, I know it's possible. “You know exactly where you want to go and the closer you get the more you can taste-it.” because it isn't enjoyable all the time. It's veryk rare that you're thrilled with yourself when you come through the o Lee's found hunger may just launch her out from behind~ the shadows of Graham and Percy if she's not careful.