-

Castlegar News _1une 22. 1996

JX

BUSINESS

T

Technology revolution a bust?

By MARLENE ORTON

OTTAWA (CP) Com
puter technology has not
created the new industrial
revolution politicians and
scientists have promised
says veteran
Gordon Thompson.

Neither vast economic
wealth nor massive labor
growth has materialized as
anticipated and as was seen
with the industrial revolution
of the early 19th century,
Thompson said at a high
technology industry confer.
ence.

Thompson, now a fellow
emeritus at Bell Northern
Research after a lengthy

researcher

career with the firm, was
among several high-tech
executives discussing the
new technology.

“1 don't think the revolu-
tion has happened,” he said.
"We just haven't got the
pieces logether to get the
grass brown to start the bush
fire.”

The three-day convention
and trade show, sponsored
by Ottawa area high-tech
companies, stressed the more
practical side of an industry
often characterized by com
plex machines and mystify-
ing jargon

Brian Greenlead, president
of Ottawa-based

Kios

Systems Corp., warned that
fancy new gadgets and
machines are worthless if
they don't do what office
workers do.

Greenlead used the exam-
ple of a person who borrows a
personal computer, figures
out how it works, but returns
the machine because it
doesn't do anything he could

use.
Technology needs “to pro-
vide them (workers) with
help, with the tools to do
their jobs without turnii
them into computer people.”
Mike Cowpland, co-founder
of Mitel Corp. of Kanata who
left to start a new company,

DEAL MADE FOR GREENEX SHARES

Corel, agrees technology

often looks good on paper but
may be useless otherwise.
FAILURE

Telidon, for example.

turned into a colossal failure

“because the information

The same principle
apparently applies to
kind of incentives industry
wants from the federal
government to. help spur
competition and . economic
renewal.

didn’t have any
value. It was mostly a
curiosity,” Cowpland said.
Telidon was a multi-million
dollar government project
designed in the late 1970s.
The two-way video set-up
was tested in several small
towns, providing homes with
information from airline
schedules to recipes. But it
never seemed to get off the
ground in the marketplace.

Vestgron to sell mine

By CasNews Staff

Vestgron Mines Ltd. a
subsidiary of Cominco Ltd.,
announced last week it has
reached a tentative agree
ment for the sale of its shares
in Greenex A/S which opera
tes the Black Angel mine in
Greenland, a news release
from Vestgron says.

The deat-also calls for the
repayment of a $6 million
loan owed by Greenex to
Cominco, which has a 52 per
cent interest in Vestgron, the
release says. .

Boliden AB, the Scandin.
avian company which recent
ly reopened the Cyprus Anvil
mine in the Yukon, has ac
quired the shares in Greenex,
subject to approval by Vest
gron’s shareholders.

“If the sale is approved,
Vestgron will have no further

operations. Accordingly,
Vestgron's directors are
proposing to the sharehold
ers that the corporation be
liquidated,” the release says.

A special meeting of Vest
gron shareholders has been
called for July 8 to approve
the liquidation and the sale of
the Greenex shares.

Cominco spokesman Don
Townson said Friday the liq
idation of Vestgron will not
mean a loss of jobs.

“It will not have any
impact on employment in
Canada,” he told the Castle-
gar News in a telephone in.
terview from his Vancouver
office. .

Townson said Greenex cur-
rently employs 326 people
and.the metals mined at
Black Angel are refined in
Europe.

The sale agree-

ment provides for payment
on closing of about $850,000
or 20 cents per share on
Vestgron’'s outstanding stock
to Vestgron for the shares of
Greenex, the release says.

It adds that the deal also
calls for $3.4 million to be
paid for Cominco on account
of the principal amount of its
subordinated loan

“Additional amounts would
be payable to the extent that
Greenex receives value in
excess of $727.20 U.S. per
metric tonne for the metal
content of the first 57,207
metric tonnes of zinc concen
trate shipped by Greenex in
1986."

Of these additional
amounts, if any, the first $2.6
million would be paid to
Cominco in completion of the

Filmless camera

expected soon

NEW YORK
Canon Ine. says it will be the
world’s first company to sell
a filmless color
which captures images with a

(AP) —

camera,

computer chip and
them on a floppy disk

stores

Canon showed off its Still
Video System to reporters
and said it should be for sale
in August. Sony Corp. and
Hitachi Ltd. are expected to
enter the market soon

The electronic camera is
expensive and its picture
quality does not match that
of conventional cameras, but
Canon says it is perfect for
photographers on tight dead
lines.

Electronic cameras prob
ably won't start to bump
traditional film and chemicals

WE ARE PLEASED TO INTRODUCE OUR
NEW APPLIANCE TECHNICIAN

from the consumer market
until around the year 2000,
speculated Herbert Keppler,
editorial director of Modern
Photography magazine.
Canon's electronic camera
looks and acts much like a
conventional 35mm camera,
but instead of film, the image
is captured on a special kind
of chip called a charge
coupled device. The chip
passes the signal to a five-
centimetre-wide floppy disk.

The system allows a photo-
grapher to pop the floppy
disk out of the back of the
camera, put it in a special
transceiver and send pictures
from the disk over ordinary
phone lines anywhere in the
world

The images can also be

shown on a television screen
or reproduced using an ink
jet printer.

Prices are high: The
camera, without a lens, is
$2,595 U-S.; lenses are $695
and $795; the printer is
$6.950; the recorder is
$2,695; and the transceiver is
$19,900. People not needing
to transmit photos could do
without the transceiver.

The pictures produced by
Canon's system are roughly
as good as those on an
average color television, but
not as good as ones produced
by a conventional camera,
even those using instant film.

Besides photojournalism,
Canon said the camera would
be useful in law-enforcement,
construction, industry and
science

Castlegar Plumbing & Heating Ltd.

PETER FOOKS

Peter has 12 yrs.
experience as an
appliance
technician in

all brands

* Fast courteous
service

* Genuine Maytag
parts
We Service all

Makes
Specializing in
Maytag

Columbie Avenue, Castlegar
Call 365-3388

pay of the subordin.
ated loan and the remainder
paid to Vestgron, the release
says.

It adds that Vestgron es
timates that only if the aver
age value received for the
metal content of the zinc
concentrates exceeds about
$825 U.S. per metric tonne
will any amount in excess of
the original $850,000 be re
ceived by Vestgron.

The sale of Greenex shares
is subject to a number of
other conditions, including
agreement by the banks with
loans outstanding to Greenex
to both terms of the sales
agreement and a plan prop-
osed by Boliden to the banks *
for repayment of the out
standing loans.

“We want prog! (that
are) simple to understand
and simple to administer,”
Cowpland said. In fact, most
Canadian businesses cannot
afford to research a lot of
new technology anyway.

“In terms of pure research
today, only giant companies
and rich countries can afford
pure research.”

Cowpland said companies
don’t need money thrown at

them for research. And a
lapsed scientific research tax
credit perfectly illustrates
why that idea doesn't work,
he added.

“Companies scrambled like
mad to get the money and
find ways to spend it.”

The tax credit, introduced
by the Liberals in 1983, went
wildly out of control as shady
investors figured out how to
milk millions from it. The
Program to boost research
was supposed to cost about
$200 million but may end up
costing the government up to
$3 billion in taxes companies
would otherwise have paid.

Weekly Stocks

TORONTO (CP) — The
Toronto Stock Exchange ed-
ged lower at a surge of active
trading late in the session
Friday

The TSE 300 composite
index Wes off 0.43 to 3,059.79
with most share groups
showing little change in
volume of 16.4 million shares.
Declines led advanced 365 to
344 while 365 were un-
changed.

Friday's action brought the
week's losses to 29.24 points.
The week's losses translate
into a disappearance on pa
per of $2.3 billion from the
value of listed stocks.

In ‘New, York, the Dow
Jones -ifidustrial average
jumped 23.68 to 1,879.54, its
‘Highest close since it reached
wrecord 1,885.90 two weeks
ago.

Friday was a special day
for market watchers because
of what has become known as
“triple witching hour,” a
quarterly phenomenon that
comes with the last trading of
expiring sets of future con.
tracts on stock indexes, op-
tions on stock indexes and
options on individual stocks.

The witching hour has
been blamed for wide swings
in the market as professional
traders engage in multiple
program strategies in which
big baskets of stocks are
bought and sold in thie course
of closing out positions. The
last triple witching hour ses
sion was March 21 when the
Dow plunged 36 points, its
fourth largest drop on rec-
ord.

Traders said activity on
both markets was slow.

. asterPlan in conjunction with a Kootenay
Savings MasterCard card, is the most Comprehensive,
personal financial money management tool available in

Canada today.

MasterPlan consoli
dates your financial ser

vices, and provides you
with a comprehensive

statement for all your
Credit Union accounts

and transactions

ATM cash withdrawals.

MasterPlan also offers other financial benefits, such
as free MasterCard travellers’ cheques, free travel accident
insurance, a discount on safety deposit boxes, and discounts
on,Kootenay Savings Personal Financial Planning Services.

Our brochure **HOW YOU CAN BENEFIT FROM
THE COMPLETE MONEY MANAGEMENT SYSTEM”

gives complete details of
MasterPlan, pick one up at
your nearest Kootenay Sav ings

branch today!

Trail + Fruitvale + Castlegar + Salmo * South Slocan * Nakusp * New Denver * Waneta Plaza » Kaslo Z

HOMEGOODS

FURNITURE
WAREHOUSE

Tues. - Sat., 9:30 - 5:30
China Creek

“Drive a Little to Save a Lot”

Counselling
Assistance
to Small
Enterprises

ANNOUNCEMENT

Ed Delamont will be at the FIRESIDE MOTOR INN
in Castlegar on Wednesday, June 25 from 1:00-
4:00 p.m. and at the HERITAGE INN in Nelson on
Thursday, June 26 from 9:00-12:00 noon. He will
be available to discuss, without charge, your

b

problems, pr Is or Pp
ideas to determine if a counsellor could assist

you.
For more information or an appointment call:

E.H. DELAMONT
Cranbrook 426-7241 (Collect)

Labatts hot in men's fastball

On Tuesday, Labatts snapped a 3-3 tie in the eighth
inning with a pair of runs and held on to beat Hi Arrow
53.

By SIMON BIRCH
Staff Writer

Labatts continued to swing hot bats this week in
Castlegar Commercial Fastball League play, winning two
more games, including a 7-1 victory Monday in a
head-to-head match-up against first-place Checkers Pub.

The wins moved second-place Labatts, 11-4, to within
four points of Checkers, 13-2, which bounced back from
the loss to Labatts behind the pitching of Eli Soukeroff
who threw a no-hitter Thursday in a 7-0 win over Valley
Juniors.

Hi Arrow Arms remains in-third place with 20 points
from a 10-6 record.

Valley Juniors are a distant fourth with four wins
and 12 losses for eight points.

Salmo trails the pack with only one win to show for
16 games.

Clay Liber of Checkers holds the league batting lead
with a .500 average from 15 hits at 30 at bats.

Salmo's Guiseppe Muto is right behind with 19 hits in
40 at bats for a 475 average.

Hi Arrow’s Lee Belanger is third with « 431 average
from 22 hits in 51 trips to the plate.

Rob Gretchin of Checkers leads pitchers with a
perfect 6-0 record.

Labatts’ Pete Evdokimoff has moved into second
place with a 7-2 mark followed by Soukeroff of Checkers
at 62.

For complete statistics see Weekend Wrap-up, page
B2.

In this week's action, Evdokimoff threw a four-hitter
in Labatts 7-1 win over Checkers.

Phil Koochin went two-for-three, scoring twice for
the brewery team.

Liber led off the top of the first inning with a home
run but that was all the scoring Checkers could muster in
the game.

Soukeroff struck out five and gave up seven hits in a

losing cause.

Mike Byrne gave up seven hits in earning the win.

the game.

Checkers squeezed out seven runs on four hits off
losing pitcher Tony Kabatoff.

The week wasn't a complete loss for Juniors
however.

The team grabbed its fourth win of the year Monday
with a come-from-behind 5-4 win over Salmo.

Mike Nelson scored the winning run in the eighth
ifining for Juniors in a game that saw each team smack 10
hits.

Bob Markovie and Rick Streichert each went
two-for-three for the winners while Alan Waterstreet,

Joey Tarasoff and Muto each had a pair of hits for Salmo. |

A. Evin went three-for-four and scored one run in a
losing cause for Hi Arrow.

‘The hotel team bounced back Thursday with a 70
shut out of Salmo.

R. Gregoire walked to start the first inning for Hi

C. Mercer then singled and the two were brought
home on hits by Terry Halisheff and Evin.

Hi Arrow never looked back, picking up four more
runs in the fourth and a single run in the fifth to seal the
victory.

Winning pitcher G. Plotnikoff held Salmo to three
hits in earning the shutout.

MasterPian.

The Kootenay Savings MasterCard card is the key
to MasterPlan. It's a payment card that can be used in place
of a cheque or credit card. It is also a cash card that can be
used for cash advances all over the world, or locally for

q

D
Kootenay Savings
Where You Belong

FINAL DAY . . . Golfer aims for hole Friday at Birch
bank Golf Club during final round of play of the B.C

Senior Men's Golf Championships. The
round was played at Castlegar Golf Club

Costiews Proto by Ph! Cotderbont

Fritz wins golf title

TRAIL (CP) — Herb Fritz
of White Rock sank a 15-foot
birdie putt on the 17th hole
Friday to win the British
Columbia senior men's golf
championship by one stroke.

Fritz, a first-time winner of
the championship for golfers
65 and over, shot a final
round 73 over the par-71
Birchbank Golf Club to beat
defending champion Don

Gardner of Vancouver

“Tm very pleased every
thing happened the way it
did,” said Fritz, 63.

Fritz finished the 54-hole
tournament at 226. Gardner,
56, had a chance to tie
playing-partner Fritz on the
final hole, but his 30-foot putt
for a birdie just missed.

Second-round leader Bruce
Pelmore of Victoria shot a 78

Friday to finish third at 229.

Jack Grundle of Vancouver
was alone in fourth at 233
after a 77. Tom Hunter and
James Arnold, both of Rich.
mond, were at 234 after
closing with scores of 81 and

couver tied at 235. Barradell
shot 77, while Senior, Bergen
and Plommer all closed with
79s.

The top 20 and ties after 54
holes will take part in the
B.C. senior men's invitational
July 26-27 in Vancouver. The
top four after 90 holes will
make up the B.C. team at the
Canadian seniors champion.
ship Sept. 36 in Winnipeg

Yankees win over Jays

AMERICAN LEAGU!

TORONTO (CP) — Mike
Easler's two-run double
keyed a three-run 10th inning
that carried New York to a
42 victory Saturday after
noon over Toronto, the Yan-
kees’ second straight extra.
inning win over the Blue
Jays.

Rickey Henderson started
the 10th with a walk off loser
Dennis Lamp, 24, and
promptly stole his American
League-leading 45th base of
the seson. Ken Griffey then
delivered a run-scoring single
to centre that put New York
ahead 2-1. After Don Mat-
tingly singled to chase Lamp,
Bill Caudill gave up the

two-run double to Easier for
his seond and third runs
batted in the game.

Dave Righetti, who gave
up the tying run in the ninth,
earned the win to improve
his record to 54. Alfonso
Pulido gave up a solo homer
to Cliff Johnson, his 10th of
the season, in the bottom of
the 10th, but then got the
final out to record his first
major league save

RED SOX 7 ORIOLES 2

BOSTON (AP) — Roger
Clemens became the seventh
pitcher in major-league his-
tory to start a season with 13
straight vietories, giving up
six hits over eight innings as

the Boston Red Sox beat the feated the Milwaukee Brew
Baltimore Orioles 7-2. ers 4-3 Saturday

WHITE After one out in the ninth,
oo? reliever Mark Clear, 23,
walked pinch-hitters Johnny
Grubb and Darrell Evans.
Dan Plesac relieved Clear
and walked Dave Collins.
Pinch-runner Pat Sheridam
scored on Whitaker's fly

MARINERS 6
CHICAGO (AP) — Cariton
Fisk's two-run double keyed
a four-run fourth inning and

NATIONAL LEAGUE
CUBS 8 METS 6
"NEW YORK (AP) — Keith
Moreland led off the ninth
with a home run and Chris
Speier’s RBI grounder cap-
ped a tworun inning that
gave the Chicago Cubs an 86
vietory over the New York

Mets.

Joe Murphy No. 1 pick

By ALAN ADAMS

MONTREAL (CP) — The only thing missing at
Saturday's National Hockey League annual draft was Bruce
Springsteen playing Born in the U.S.A.

A record seven Americans were taken in the first
round, and while Joe Murphy, the No. 1 pick overall, is
Canadian, he made his name playing in the States.

The annual pick of players from the junior ranks,
universities and high schools also had a strong accent on
offence and youth — 13 18-year-olds were selected in the
first round. Only four defenceman were among the first 21
picks, while the first goaltender didn't go until the third
round.

And despite a bevy of trade rumors that circulated
during the NHL meetings held in Montreal this week, there
were no deals made in exchange for first-round selections.

As expected, Murphy, 19, of London, Ont., was the first
player chosen when Detroit general manager Jimmy
Devellano made the smooth-skating centre the first pick.

Murphy, who played at Michigan State University last
season and who shared the scoring title at the world junior
hockey championship last January, made hockey history by
becoming the first college player to be the top. pick overall.

‘AN HONOR’

“It is quite an honor,” said Murphy. “They said they
were going to take me so I kind of knew that my name was
going to be called right away.

“It is just a great thrill and I just can't believe it. !'m
happy it is Detroit.

Los Angeles resisted several trade offers for its second
choice overall. Kings general manager Rogatien Vachon
went for Jimmy Carson, a highly-touted centre.

Carson, 18, a native of Detroit, played for Verdun of the
Quebec Major Junior Hockey League last year and had 70
goals and 83 assists in 69 games.

“I am very happy because I think this organization
needs some players,” said Carson.

Carson told reporters he found out at about 5 a.m. EDT
he would be the Kings’ first pick “and I am going to 5 there
and give it the full shot

“T think I am ready to play (in the NHL), but it is not my
decision.”

NO SURPRISE

Calgary general manager Cliff Fletcher, who chose

American high school player George Pelewa as the Flames

first pick and the No. 16 choice overall, said the increase of
talent from the United States doesn’t surprise him.

“Their kids don’t play as many games in the winter, but
they have spring and summer leagues and they are on the
ice more months of the year than Canadians are,” he said.

New Jersey Devils, who had the third pick, opted for
offence when they drafted Neil Brady. A Montreal native,
Brady, 18, had 76 points last year for the Medicine Hat
Tigers of the Western Hockey League.

While some of the players will probably make it in the
NHL next year, most will either remain with their junior a
college teams.

Pittsburgh Penguins’ choice and the fourth overall,
Zarley Zalapski of Edmonton, aims to play in 1988 Olympics
before he hopes to jump to the pros.

Other first-round picks Saturday:

Buffalo Sabres selected defenceman Shawn Anderson,
who last played for Team Canada; Toronto Maple Leafs took
Vincent Damphousse, a left winger who played for Laval of
the QMJL; Vancouver Canucks picked centre Dan Woodley
of Portland in the Western Hockey League; Winnipeg Jets
took Pat Elyniuk, a right winger with Prince Albert of the
WHL.

New York Rangers took defenceman Brian Leetch, a
high-school student from Texas who played last season in
Hartford, Conn.; St. Louis Blues picked Jocelyn Lemieux, a
right winger with Laval; Hartford Whalers selected right
winger Seott Young, who played for Boston University last
season; Minnesota North Stars took Warren Babe, a left
winger with Lethbridge of the WHL.

Boston Bruins took centre Craig Janney, who played for
Boston College; Chicago Blackhawks picked Everett
Sanipags. a left winger with Verdun of the QMJL; Montreal
Canadians selected Mark Pederson, a left winger with
Medicine Hat; Calgary picked Pelawa, a right winger who
played high school hockey in Bemidji, Minn.

New York Islanders took centre Tom Fitzgerald, a high
school player from Boston; Quebec Nordiques chose centre
Ken McRae, who played for Sudbury in the Ontario Hockey
League last season; Washington Capitals took Jeff
Greenlaw, a left winger with Team Canada; Philadelphia
Flyers picked defenceman Kerry Huffman, who played for
the Memorial Cup champion Guelph of the OHL.

Edmonton Oilers used the last pick of the first round to
take Kim Issel, a right winger with Prince Albert

Spain faces Belgium

MEXICO CITY (AP)
Neither Spain nor Belgium
was supposed to get out of
the quarter-finals. But, after
today, one of them will be in
the World Cup soccer semi
finals.

The Spanish knocked out
Denmark and the Belgians
eliminated the Soviet Union
— teams which displayed the
two most potent offences in
the opening round of the
tournament. Now, they
square off in Puebla, with the
winner advancing to the final
four.

The other quarter-final to
day, at Aztec Stadium here.
has England against Argen
tina — their first major spor
ting inter since the 1982
Falkland Islands War. Satur
day, France played Brazil at
Guadalajara (France won 4-3)
and Mexico opposes West
Germany in Monterrey

Spain shocked the Danes
5-1, with Emilio (The Vul

* ture) Butragueno equalling a
World Cup single-match rec
ord with four goals. It was
the first four-goal game since
Eusebio of Portugal accom
plished the feat in 1966
against North Korea.

Igor Belanov of the Soviet
Union found it easy enough
to score against the Belgians.
scoring three goals. But Bel
gium got two goals in over
time for a 43 upset.

Belgium has been idle since

last Sunday, while Spain beat
Denmark on Wednesday.
POLITICAL AURA
The survivor will meet the
winner of the England-Ar
gentina match, which has
taken on an added aura be.
cause of the Falklands con
frontation.

“Don't waste my time
talking about the Falklands,”
said English manager Bobby
Robson. “Don't confuse the
two issues of soccer and pol-
ities.”

Diego Maradona, Argen-
tina’s star striker, agreed.

“We came to play soccer at
the World Cup,” he said. “It
has nothing to do with pol-
ities.”

Maradona appeared at a
news conference Friday to
announce a July 27 all-star
game at the Rose Bowl, to be
sponsored by -FIFA and
UNICEF. Both organizations
are hoping to bring in $4
million in proceeds to help
needy children around the
world

My childhood was not one
of luxury and I needed hands
to help me out.” Maradona
said. “Now, it is my turn to
lend a hand.”

Maradona will play for the
Americas team. to be co
coached by Argentina's Car
los Bilardo and Mexico's Bora
Milutinovich. He will be
joined by Careca and Julio
Cesar of Brazil, Hugo San

chez of Mexico, Roberto Fer
nandez of Paraguay and
many other stars, including
several Americans yet to be
named.

‘The team representing the
rest of the world will be
coached by West Germany's

Franz Beckenbauer and Jo-
hann Cruyff of the Nether
lands. Northern Ireland goal
keeper Pat Jennings, Eng
land's Gary Lineker, Butra
gueno and Michel. Platini of
France already have been
named to that squad

City to operate
Kimberley ski hill

KIMBERLEY (CP) — The
debt-ridden resort in the
Kootenay community will be
operated by the city next
season, says Mayor Jim
Ogilvie.

Under a deal worked out
with the Bank of Montreal,
the city will pay the bank
$750,000 to take the
resort

The Kimberley Ski Resort,
formerly operated by the
non-profit Kimberley Ski
Club, was closed in April
when the bank demanded full
payment of a $2.5-million
loan.

“We are, in effect, pur
chasing the club's assets from
the bank.” said Ogilvie
“They are owed $2.5 million.
and have agreed to give us all
the securities and to write
their demand down.”

Ogilvie said the city plans
to set up its own operating

over

company to run the resort
once it receives approval for
the deal from the Municipal
Affairs Ministry. That is ex
pected within two weeks.

The company would be in
corporated and privately run.
he said, and would lease or
buy the ski resort from the
city

Stars tie
Nelson

By CasNews Staff

Castlegar soccer
team tied Nelson 1.1 Thurs
day night in Kootenay Soc
cere League play

Nelson scored its goal in
the first half while Joe
Antignani got the Stars’ goal
in the second half.

Stars