t Sy 8: Castlegar News December 24, 1988 SPORTS Brown's patience paying off By ALAN ADAMS Canadian Press TORONTO A year’ ago, Karen Brown dreaded the frequent phone calls from her son Rob. It wasn't the long distance charges from Pittsburgh, but rather Rob's fragile frame of mind concerning his status with the Pittsburgh Penguins under coach Pierre Creamer. Creamer used Rob sparingly and Karen Brown says many hours were spent convincing her son not to quit because he hadn't had a chance to prove he belonged in the National Hockey League. “He was really, really down,” Mrs. Brown said from her home in St. Albert, Alta., near Edmonton. “It had got to the point where we were thinking he was going to give it up. “He'd almost stopped believing in himself. It was awful. That was the first time I have ever seen him completely down.” A year later, Rob Brown is the Penguins’ second leading scorer and is fifth overall in the NHL with 25 goals and 61 points. At his current pace, he'll get 147 points in his second year with Pittsburgh, but his first full season as a Penguin. Despite his talent, skill and remarkable statistics in junior hockey, Brown appeared headed to the bargain basement bin and a life in pro hockey’s minor leagues. He was rated one of the top junior prospects in his draft year (1985-86), but had to wait until the fourth round before Pittsburgh selected him 67th overall. LONG WAIT “We sat through the first round, and then you think, well, the second round,” said Mrs. Brown, who sat alongside her son at the Montreal Forum for the annual lottery of amateur talent. “Then they go through the second round, and then the third round, and you think ‘Oh God. Just call his name or take us away from here.’ Brown won the Western Hockey League scoring title in 1986-87 with the Kamloops Blazers, and was selected the top junior player in Canada for the same period he was second in WHL career scoring, he was the WHL West Division most valuable player twice and WHL leading scorer twice. Brown seemed doomed by the collective “they” when he showed up at the Penguins training camp. They said he couldn't skate; they said he wasn't quick enough; and they said he'd never be able to stand the pace in the NHL. “I think Creamer heard everything and he didn't want to be the one to put me out there and then look says Brown, who spent most of the time watching from the press box. The Penguins tried loaning him to the Canadian Olympic team for the Calgary Winter Olympics. The Canadian junior team, heading to Moscow for the 1988 world championships, took him on last Christmas and Brown says winning the world championship helped him put things back in perspective. He returned to Pittsburgh determined to keep his spirits up, no matter what, “At the ing, it was very fr ig." says Brown. “You come in a star and all of a sudden, your ego is put to rest because they are telling you that you are just another player. It hurt a lot, ‘There were times I thought maybe everybody was right, maybe I am not just good enoiugh to play hockey in the NHL. I started to think maybe I should quit and find something else before I got too old. “I think last year was the first time in my life I doubted myself aS'a hockey player. And when ycu start doubting yourself, you had better hang them up.” ° Browns's big chance to prove to Creamer he could handle the NHL came when he was inserted into the lineup to replace an injured Bob Errey. Brown responded by scoring twice and he was a regular from then on, He finished his rookie season with 20 goals and 24 assists and was named the Penguins’ top rookie. os December 24, 1998 Castlegar News 23 Busy sports year By NEIL STEVENS The Canadian Press The Calgary Olympics. Wayne Gretzky's trade. Brian Orser and Elizabeth Manley. Carolyn Waldo and Lennox Lewis. These names and events trigger vivid images of the year in Canadian sports, but they're overshad. owed by one person — Ben Johnson. During 1988 Canadians had different images of the sprinter — Ben Johnson, the world’s fastest human; Ben Johnson, right hand raised with a signle finger pointing skyward as he sets a world record and takes the gold medal at the Summer Olympics; Ben Johnson, \slinking out of Seoul as an accused steroid user ahd fallen hero. And finally, there is the image of Johnson that will remain for a while — Ben Johnson, at his Toronto home and in limbo as an athlete while a royal commission investigates steroid use in Canadian sports. Johnson has been banned from competing for at least two years, but he will be in the news throughout 1989 and probably until 1992 because that is when the suspended sprinter says he'll make a triumphant Olympic return, faster than ever. INQUIRY BEGINS Since returning to Canada, Johnson has maintained he doesn’t know how the banned anabolic steroids, which caused him to fail a doping test at the Summer Olympics, got into his system. It is expected that Mr. Justice Charles Dubin’s federal inquiry into the use of drugs in sports, which will begin full-scale hearings in January, will last more than a year. Sport Canada, which provides funds directly to athletes and to the various sports federations, will need time as well to decide on future policies. Canada won 10 medals at the Olympics in Seoul. Officials had predicted more medals from the fourth-largest team at the Games. “What we're doing in developing athletes is not wrong,” says Abby Hoffman, director general of Sport Canada. “But no doubt we need to do more with younger athletes. “In the Canadian system, by the time an athlete gets to the junior level, so much hnique and skill and the swim team won only two medals, silver and bronze in relays. Two medals, both bronze, were also won in equestrian and yachting events. CALGARY ‘BEST’ At Calgary — which Juan Atnonio Samaranch, president of the International Olympic Committee, called “the best-organized Olympic Winter Games ever" Canada’s five medals palced it fifth in the standings. Brian Orser of Penetanguishene, Ont., and Elizabeth Manley of Ottawa won silver medals in figure skating, and the ice dance team of Tracy Wilson, of Port Moody, and Rob McCall of Dartmouth, N.S., won bronze. They're all skating professionally now. Skier Karen Percy of Banff, Alta. won two bronze medals to complete Canada’s modest haul in Calgary and she's back to lead a women's ski team that has lost veteran Laurie Graham to retirement. Graham has taken a job as a CBC commentator. Rob Boyd of Whistler, is among the leaders on the men's team. As the new winter sports season progresses, new stars will rise. Kurt Browning of Caroline, Alta., has quickly filled the void created with Orser’s departure and has a good chance of winning a medal at the world figure skating championships in Paris in March. Although Canada failed to win a hockey medal in Calgary, placing fourth, it is probable the country will have one of its strongest teams at the world championship in April in Stockholm. Canada has not won the global tiffe since 1961 but took the silver in 1985 when Mario Lemieux was among the NHL players that went to Prague. Optimism this time is fuelled by a glance at the NHL's Smythe Division standings. The Calgary Flames, the defending-champion Edmonton Oilers and the Gretzky-led Los angeles Kings are fighting for first place. One of the three teams will be knocked out in the first round of playoffs, freeing a raft of quality players — maybe even Gretztky for Stockholm. Gretzky has not participated in a world have already been missed.” Carolyn Waldo and Lennox Lewis relieved a bit of the anguish Canadians felt after Johnson. Waldo won the synchronized swimming solo event at the Olympics and joined Calgary teammate Michelle Cameron for duet gold, and Lewis of Kitchener, Ont., won Canada's first boxing gold since 1932. The boxers won more medals for Canada at the Games than did athletes in any other sport. Egerton Marcus of Toronto won silver and Ray Downey of Halifax took bronze. Dave Steen won bronze in the decathlon for Canada’s only track and field medal, tournament in seven years becaue his former team, the Oilers, have been involved in Stanley Cup play long after players had to be selected for world competition. The Gretzky-Lemieux contest for the scoring race is bound to be a highlight all season — although both may be overtaken by Gretzky's teammate Bernie Nicholls. And the progress of Hall of Famer Guy Lafleur from a four-year retirement to play for the New York Rangers will be worth watching. As for the Canadian Football League, the big question is: Has it overcome its troubles or is there more misery ahead? F.3, Your Lung Association NHL denies inviting Snowphone 365-7614 For current W. Kootenay Ski Area conditions and intormation STANLEY HUMPHRIES GRAD BASKETBALL Boxing Day Mon., Dec. 26 Soviets NEW YORK (AP) — The National Hockey League and its players’ union have denied reports from Moscow that the league had invited the Soviets to field an NHL team. On Thursday the weekly Moscow News reported that the Soviets were considering such an offer. “We are looking at a suggestion from our partners on the other side of the ocean,” Victor Galaev, director of foreign economic relations for the state sports committee, was quoted as saying. “Perhaps in the future, our boys will be competing with prof for the Stanley Cup.” Admission $1.00 1989 CAMPION CASTLEGAR & AREA RECREATION DEPARTMENT SUN., DEC. 25 — MERRY CHRISTMAS! No public skating MON., DEC. 26 public skating TUES., DEC. 27 Otfice Closed. Public skating 2-4 p.m. FREE. Spon. sored by West's Dept. Store. Fitness Class 7-8 p.m. Workout with Pam WED., DEC. 28 — Fitness 10-11 a.m Workout with Susan C. Cross Country Ski Lessons Complex 1-2 p.m Public Skating 2.4 p.m. Fitness 7-8 p.m. Workout with Deb C THURS., DEC. 29 — Cross-Country Ski Skating 2-4 p.m. Workout with Susan C Boxing Day. No geey FRI., DEC. 30 SAT., DEC. 31 Workout 9-10 a.m Public skating 2-4 p.m SUN., JAN. 1 Wf you are interested Country Ski 365-3386 Phone 365-3386 — 2101-6th Ave., Castleger Lessons, 10-11 a.m. Complex. Public Fitness 7-8 p.m — Fitness 10-11 a.m Workout with Deb C. Public Skating 2-4 p.m. Rebels vs. Ex-Rebels 8 p.m. New Year's Eve with Chris B. HAPPY NEW YEAR! c. 2 or Dec. 29 please call the Rec Office BOATS IN STOCK — SPECIAL — 180 HORIZON HARDTOP Built-in Fuel Tank, Floor Storage. Comper Back Canvass, Wiper & Horn, 115 H.P. Merc O/8 Oil-injected. Power Trim. All Galvanized Highliner Trailer PAYMENTS FROM ONLY $2993... O.A.C. in the Cross. De With 25% Down Total Price $18267.36 Syringa Park Marina Call Sid Smith 365-5472 ] SOURCE REVEALS PLAN Lions must be sold VANCOUVER (CP) — The B.C. Lions of the Canadian Football League won't survive past January in their present form and will probably be sold within a month, a senior government source has told the Vancouver Sun. Millionaire businessman Jimmy Pattison has made\an offer to his bid to purchase the tommunity-owned Lions. = “We'd be crazy not to cut a deal,” the Sun quotes the unidentified source as saying. “The Lions aren't going to survive past Janaury so we have to have something together by then. “If we don't get something, the Lions go under and if the Lions go under the CFL goes under, it's as simple as that.” The Lions’ debt million. The newspaper quotes sources as saying a deal with Pattison should be completed by the end of next month if there are no snags or a groundswell of negative public opinion. BAILED OUT CLUB The Social Credit government, which faced some criticism over a $2-million bailout of the Lions last season, has distanced itself from Pattison by turning stadium nego- tiations over to the B.C. Pavilion Corp. Pattison, 60, has twice previously tried to buy the Lions. is about $6.9 The sources say he is willing to pay $500,000 for the football team and pay the government $2 million cash to cover its 1987 investment in the club. Pattison has offered the govern ment a percentage of the annual pre-tax profit from the stadium operation and would guarantee a minimum revenue amount for a 15-year period. Pattison has also offered to keep separate the balance sheets of the Lions and B.C. Place Stadium. That way he can’t write off any losses by the Lions against other stadium revenue, consequently diminishing the profit the government would get. Saunders calls it quits VANCOUVER (CP) — Vancouver Canuck farmhand Dave Saunders has retired from hockey to pursue his education, his agent said Thursday. Larry Kelly said he has spoken to Saunders several times since the 22-year-old left winger went missing last week after being reassigned from the Canucks’ farm team in Milwaukee to Utica Devils of the American League. “Dave is totally turned off with the pro hockey scene,” Kelly said from Ottawa. “His feeling was that if he was going to be mired in the minors, he would rather continue his educ- ation. “He already has his undergraduate degree and, it’s my understanding, he plans to study for an MBA. Dave is a bright boy and a good kid. He has all the tools to do whatever he wants in life.” Kelly confirmed earlier statements by Brian Burke, the Canucks’ dir. ector of hockey operations, that Saunders was devastated when he was dispatched to the minors to start the season. Saunders was not at his family home in Munster Hamlet, Ont., yesterday and Anne Saunders, the player's mother, declined to discuss her son's whereabouts or his decision to quit hockey. “Dave is fine, he’s OK, but I can’t make any comment at this time,” she said. The Canucks, meanwhile, were still waiting to hear from either Dave Saunders or Kelly at the close of business Thursday. “Problems shouldn't be handled this way,” said Burke. “Frankly, we're disappointed.” Saunders, who played collegiate hockey for the St. Lawrence Uni- versity Saints, scored seven goals and added 13 assists in 56 games with the Canucks last season. Competition close By GERRY WICHERT After the steely glints were dis placed by cordial smiles and ex- changes of warm Merry Christmas wishes nobody had clobbered any- body during last week's curling draws, most of these games were very close-and the “hammer” in the last end was the dominant factor to decide the outcome. The two-game winners were skipped by Bate, Buf- fett, Verzuh, Oglow and Kelley. One win and one tie was the weekly results of the rinks skipped by Burak. Recording one win each were the teams of Kaardal, Obedkoff, Mc- Gauley, Bradford, Wilson, Oglow and Leckie. Finishing with a tie was the rink skipped by Waterman. There are no games scheduled for this week. The next draws will be played on Jan. 3 starting at 9:30 with Obedkoff meting Walker, Verzuh will play Archambault and McGauley will go against Kaardal. In the afternoon we have Bate playing Wilson, Burak squaring off against Flynn, Kelley will be eye- balling Oglow, and McGillivray will go against Leckie. Wednesday's draw will see Brad- ford against Walker, Waterman vs. Archambault, Buffett will meet Rust, and Obedkoff goes against Kaardal. Thursday’s morning draw has Verzuh vs. Flynn, McGauley vs. Wilson and Bate against Leckie. In the afternoon it will be Burak battling Rust, McGillivray will test Kelley, Buffett will be playing Oglow, and Bradford contesting Waterman. Weekend Wrap-up HOCKEY NHL CAMPBELL CONFERENCE Norris Division wee Detrowt FINAL HOCKEY TOURNAMENT STANDINGS Were a Soviet Union 24 Sweden Czechoslovakio “4 Conedo 6 20 Sunday, Dec. 18 yeden 2 Czechosiovakia 0 Soviet Union 5 Finland 2 Seturdey, Dec. 17 BASKETBALL You're in Spokane and looking for a good place to eat? Try Partners downtown. The place isn’t all that obvious, but its worth looking for. A former bank building, it has retained some of the reticence of an old fashioned banker, but inside it's pure gold — the food, the service and the style. Gene Bronson, a past Rotary district governor, and his wife Mary, took us there for lunch earlier in the year and we were obliged to show it off to someone else, and did. To begin with, the young and smart-looking staff give every indication they enjoy their work and are delighted to have you join them. It is a welcome that makes the difference between a meal and an occasion. Derek, our waiter, was an excellent example of attentive and friendly service. A bottle of Johannesburg Reisling white wine, dry and crisp, and opened with ceremony, got us off to a good start. The Charters family, always interested in good seafood, got started on the creamy northwest clam chowder at $1.25 a cup, $3.25 an entree serving. Had I known how good it was going to be, I would have settled for the entree. Rosa took the tossed green salad with tomatoes, carrots and croutons and was equally happy. For the main course, Bruce and I choose the baked ling cod with jalapeno and scallion glaze at $8.95 while Bunny took the Swiss chicken Walter speil and Rosa the Fettuccini Bolognese. With the fresh salad accompaniment, they were just fine, thank you. For dessert, Bunny and Rosa had Chocolate Decadence a rich chocolate cake which, with a full-flavored, rich coffee, made a most satisfying meal. Extra points were accorded to the staff question, “Are you going to a concert?” and the extra-speedy service when told that we were. Extra points were given for cream served in a jug, but points were taken away for lack of sufficient quantity. Points also were lost for sugar served in those confounded packets rather than properly in a sugar bowl. I liked the kind of bar that they had where guests, if they wished, could sit, eat, drink and watch the cooks at work. Do try it. If you like waffles as much as I do, the best place that I have found anywhere is also in Spokane. It is called Waffles and More and located on Division. I prefer mine plain, tender, light and crisp. Served with the syrup of your choice, an egg and bacon or sausage and good coffee, and in quantity with a smile, they made a wonderful breakfast. . 8 «@ Last week while in Victoria we called on John Munday, just out of hospital after his open-heart surgery and looking fine. The next day we followed up with a business luncheon with Bernice Till of the British Columbia Heritage Trust and was able to give her a good report on our progress in Castlegar. That evening we paid a repeat visit to Al's House of Ribs, earlier praised in this column and found that the food, music and hospitality remains undiminished in quality. The next night we were taken by our Richmond relatives, Joan and Wally, to a family owned Ukranian restaurant, Lala. Beet borscht, home. made sauerkraut andf Ukranian sausage, vegetables, together with a bottle of wine and tip, came to less than $40 and I ate everything, including the delicious homemade roll. Served by a most attractive member of the family, Iris-of-the-rainbow, it was truly a bargain in pleasant dining. The following evening, we hosted our hosts at a Greek restaurant in Richmond called Felicos. We had been there before on two occasions and it came up a winner every time. We ordered two combination dinners for two (I can't remember the name but it is a sampler of a number of items on the menu) and comes in at about $20 per couple and is certainly worth a try It starts off with a Greek salad called horiatiki, a delicious combination of fresh tomatoes, cucumbers, green peppers, sweet onions and feta cheese, all topped with oregano, olive oil and fresh lemon. The salad is served with the most tender and tasty pita bread I have ever eaten, together with a dip called homous. Had I known how good it was I would have stopped right there. The salad is followed by a huge platter of kalamaria (deep fried squid with a dip called satziki), dalmadakia (grape leaves stuffed with ground sirloin), keftedes (spicy meat balls), brizoles (char. broiled lamb chops with fresh vegetables), roast potato, and spanakopits (spinach and feta cheese pie). Restaurants get thumbs up I finished off with a puff pastry dessert with a creamy filling which the other three passed on and then helped me eat The good, rich.coffee was served with a jug of cream — always a plus in the Charters service department Ordinarily I avoid wine but seeing retzina, resin flavored Greek wine of great antiquity, I tried a glass. I enjoyed it but the others turned up their noses. The owner told us that whenever he and his friends have a party, regardless of the number present they always order a gallon of retzina. Whatever remained they would pour into the gas tank of his car, he said. It worked just as well as gasoline, he assured us with a straight face. I still liked it. A very good belly dancer provided an interval of lively entertainment and was joined in turn by hn Charters Reflections and recollections several of the patrons. The service was excellent and the management most warm and hospitable. Strongly recommended If all of these are too far removed for you at the present time, then try the most economical and closest to hand of all — Zuckerberg Island and the Chapel House. The island at this time of the year is food for the soul. The quiet place, and the Chapel House, thanks to the Ministry of Tourism, is open five days a week Tuesday to Thursday and weekdays. Gail Moodie has decorated it for Christmas and has tea, coffee and hot chocolate to warm and comfort you. Bring your holiday friends and guests for a unique, small, easily accessible outing. It is my fourth Christmas season recommendation. (Closed Christmas day.) a To all my kind readers and to those who love the Island ‘a most joyous and fulfilling Christmas. r Finland 4 Caechosiovahio 4 node Sweden 4 Car Fridey, Dec. 16 Soviet Union 7 Canada ‘NHL -SOVIET UNION SUPER SERIES xi Horttord Dec. 26 Red Army at Quebec, 4:35 p.m Pittsburgh . 65 mv. Te y, Dec. 27 Philo Dynamo Riga ot Calgary, 6.35 p.m Dynamo Riga at Edmonton, 6:35 p.m Lokers Thuredey Portland Phoenix Dynamo Riga ot Vancouver, 7:35 p.m Searle Dee.'31 Golden Red Army ot Boston, 4:05 p.m. iy Dynamo Rige ot Los Angeles, 7:35 p.m. Winnipeg Calgary ot Vancouver Tueedey Gomes Red Army ot Pittsburgh. 4:35 p.m 1 New Dyname higa ot Chicago. 3:38 pm TRANSACTIONS Philadelphia at War Montreal at Los Any Dynamo Rigo ot St. Lovis, $35 p.m. dey Red Army at New Jersey, 4.45 pm a. 4 Lemieux, Poh Red Army ot Harttord, 4.35. AMERICAN LEAGUE Dynamo Riga ot Mi Seottle Mariners name Gene Clines boring lon coach Red Army ot Buttalo, 4.35 pm National Leogue MOTE: Times PST. subject to change, Atlonta Braves sign intielder Darrell Evans to league contrac! netsesersy? Corson, € CATCH THE WINTER WAVE Snow City Snowboards 444 Baker Street, 4 teow sovesy Devils voteen Quattor Nelson, Phone 352-3714 tounce of the Ameren Mechey te 3 Canada Post unveils 1989 stamp series Canada Post Corporation has announced details of its 1989 stamp program which features a variety of subjects including architecture, the Canadian North, the arts and Canada’s Armed Forces. On Dee. 29, two new rate definitives will be issued. They will be similar to those issued last year in that they will again feature the Queen and the Parliament buildings. The Queen's portrait, taken from a 1984 Yousuf Karsh photograph, which had a blue background last year, will have a purple background. A different view of the Parliament Buildings will be presented on the new 38-cent stamp. MAMMAL SERIES CONTINUES On Jan. 18, three new rate value definitives will be issued as part of the continuing mammal series. A walrus will be featured on the 44-cent stamp, a musk-ox on the 59-cent and a grizzly bear on the 76-cent stamp The stamps are based on photographs with a stylized interpretation of the featured animals’ environment. Four commemorative stamps will begin a three year series, Feb. 1, depicting small craft of Canada. The first set of the series will feature the Micmac canoe, the Haida canoe, the Inuit kayak, and the Chippewa canoe, all craft developed by the native peoples of Canada. These stamps will appear in conjunction with Stamp Collecting Month in Canada held in February. EXPLORATION SERIES The last set of four commemorative 38-cent stamps of the four-year series on exploration will be issued March 22. This year, explorers of the Canadian North will be featured. Included in the set will be Matonabbee, who with Samuel Hearne led a famous expedition from 1770 to 1772 from what is now Chruchill, Man., to the Coppermine River; Sir John Franklin, who led three Arctic expeditions during the first half of the 19th century; Joseph Burr (J.B.) Tyrrell, a scientist who led expeditions down the Dubawnt and Kazan Rivers in the Northwest Territories in 1892 and 1894; and Vilhjalmur Stefansson, an anthropologist who between 1913 and 1918 found the last undiscovered land in Canada, in the Arctic Islands. Two high value definitives focusing on Canadian architecture will be issued May 5, featuring the Runnymede Library in Toronto in the denomination of $1 and the railway station in McAdam, N.B., in the denomination of $2. These stamps will appear in conjunction with Royal "89, the annual convention and exhibition of the Royal Philatelic Society of Canada being held in Hamilton May 5-7. PHOTOGRAPHY SERIES To commemorate the 150th anniversary of Canadian photography, four 38-cent stamps, honoring Canadian photographers and their work, will be issued June 23, as this year’s Canada Day issue. The four featured photographers are William Notman, Alexan der Henderson, W. Hanson Boorne and Jules-Ernest Livernois. Continuing in the series of Masterpieces of Canadian Art will be a 50-cent commemorative stamp depicting a ceremonial frontlet, a symbol of authority worn on the head of one of the chiefs of the Tsimshian Indians of Canada's west coast in the early 1900s. The stamp will be issued June 29 on the occasion of the opening of the new Museum of Civilization, which has the ceremonial frontlet in its collection. Canadian poets, Louis Frechette and Archibald Lampman, who lived in the latter half of the 19th century, will be featured on two 38-cent stamps July 7. These commemorative stamps will be issued on the opening day of Philex France '89, a world phil exhibition to be held in Paris. CANADIAN MUSHROOMS Four commemorative stamps depicting Canadian mushrooms will be issued, in 38-cent denominations, Aug. 4. These stamps will appear in conjunction with the American Institute of Biological Sciences Conven tion, being held in Toronto Aug. 5-11 and the Mycological Society of America Convention, also being held in Toronto in August. On Sept. 8, a pair of 38-cent stamps wil] be issued to commemorate the 75th anniversaries of two Canadian regiments: the princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry and the Royal 22 Regiment. Both regiments will present a military pageant to be held on Parliament Hill in Ottawa Sept. 9. The beginning of Canadian Export Trade Month will be marked with a 38-cent commemorative stamp appearing on Oct. 2 and depicting International Trade. ARTS AND ENTERTAINMENT The arts and entertainment will be the focus of a set of four stamps to be issued Oct. 4. The world of film, .dance, theatre and music will‘be depicted on 38-cent stamps. The commeorative stamps will be issued in conjunction with the 50th anniversaries of the National Film Board and the Royal Winnipeg Ballet, the 25th anniversary of the Confederation Centre of the Arts in Charlottetown, P.E.I. and the 30th anniversary of the Vancouver Opera. Winter landscapes will be the focus of the commemorative Christmas stamps being issued Oct. 26, in denominations of 33 cents, 38 cents, 44 cents and 76 cents. A new series marking Canada’s achievements and sacrifices in World War Two will start with a set of four commemorative stamps to be issued Nov. 10 in advance of Rethembrance Day. These 38-cent stamps will recognize Canada’s declaration of war, the Canadian Army's mobilization, the Royal Canadian Navy's first World War Two convoy, and the British Commonwealth Air Training Plan administered by the Royal Canadian Air Force. CHRISTMAS SHOPPING . . . West's Department store in downtown Castlegar was busy this week as last minute Christmas shoppers filled the store looking for that special gift CosNews photo RURAL CUSTOMERS Fees to disappear By DAVE BLAIKIE OTTAWA (CP — Free lock service comes to rural post office customers box on Jan, 3 when Canada Post stops option To qualify for a Canada Post must rule that a lock is a customer's only free service, people receiving mail by general delivery live in rural areas. A lot of them waiting for lock boxes will be reassigned to group boxes outside service collecting its $6.74 fee from about one million rural customers for the use of locked boxes in post offices. The policy was announced in May as part of a new five-year business plan Lo overhaul postal operations. It's intended to put rural residents with no alternative to lock boxes on an equal footing with other people who get basic mail delivery free — either at home, in group boxes, oh rural routes or through general delivery Rural residents have long com plained of discrimination at paying for basic delivery. The change should win the agency some badly needed friends in rural Canada, where it has taken a beating during the past two years because of plans to close or turn small offices over to private hands. Beneath the flashy headlines of an advertising campaign trumpeting the abolition of fees, there is some fine print that may make a few new enemies. A national review of rural delivery services is under way to weed out customers who have crept into the lock box system over the years despite the availability of an alter nate service. If the agency decides certain cus tomers should get mail on rural routes, for example, it won't force them to give up lock boxes. FACES FEES But they will still have to pay — and the fee will be $26 a year, not $6.74. That's the rate charged people now identified as preference users of lock boxes rather than users of nec essity Anyone switching to laneway ser vice will also pay a price — not an annual service fee but the $15 to $50 it costs to buy a mail box, plus the expense of installing and maintaining t The new policy may also cause unhappiness among general delivery customers. Most of the estimated 400,000 the post office Critics say’ this will deprive them of a daily visit to the post office, an established ritual for many rural Canadians. Canada Post says group boxes will eliminate lineups for general delivery! and allow customers to collect mail 24 hours a day. As with lock box users, however, general delivery customers will be able to retain general delivery for a fee if they want. The rate hasn't been set yet but is likely to be similar to the $26 fee paid by box users who have alternate service available. Overall, though, Canada Post ex pects to make far more friends than enemies with its new policy “It's good news for most people,” says Shelley Rowan, a Canada Post Media relations officer. “They're pleased when they find out they don’t have to pay. “It's not a big thing, but it is something they had to pay that they will no longer have to pay.”