Merriman
on Trudea
Page A4

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Page B1

VOL. 37,.No. 19

3° and 6°. Almost no chan:
precipitation

3 Sections (A, B& C)

d ened. aN

id

PERRY MEETING .. . Some 170 resi turned out y. fora
meeting to discuss the April | closure of the Castlegar/Robson ferry.

Saturday.

vow to occupy the ferry on several occasions beginning
CosNews Photo by Chery! Colderbank

Pulp talks break off

VANCOUVER (CP) — The costly labor
troubles that have plagued British-
Columbia’s pulp and paper industry in
recent weeks showed no signs of
abating Friday when contract talks be-
tween the industry and the two major
unions broke down,

And neither side was able to tell

reporters at an afternoon news con-

ference when negotiations might re-
sume.

Art Gruntman, who heads the Cana-
dian Paperworkers Union, and Jim
Sloan, president of the Pulp, Paper and
Woodwérkers of Canada, said they will

to their members.and wait for the
dustry tp make the next move.

But try negotiator Dick Lester
said the industry believes it has made
moves toward a settlement, adding
“we've put the ball in their court.”

About 18,000 members ofthe two
unions, who have been without a con-
tract since June 30, 1983, have been
locked out at 20 British Columbia milis
since Feb. 2. In imposing the lockout,
the employers claimed the’ unions had
been dragging their feet in negoti-
ations.

The industry will not say how much
it is losing each day due to the dispute,

*

but the unions estimate the costs at $10
million a day — $5 million of that in
wages.

Gruntman told the news conference
that the employers had refused to in-
crease pensions from the average of
$168 @ month and declined to forfeit
their demand that union members
work on one of three statutory holi-
days. ‘'

“The adamant refusal of the employ-
ers to consider any kind of reasonable
eompromiise leaves no alternative for
the delegates but to go home and
consult with their respective local
unions,” he said.

Gruntman added that, unlike the
industry, the unions had made some
compromises.

On Thursday morning, the unions
offered to drop their demand for a
two-year contract in return for a
cost-of-living clause that would in-
crease wages from the levels of no
inerease in the firetiyear, four per cent
in the second and 4.5 per cent in the
third, if the cost of living went up more
than 8.5 per cent.

Lester countered by saying it has
been the unions which have given no
sign of their willingness to comprom-

ise, while the industry had made “two
considerable moves” at the bargaining
table.

He -said the union's efforts to
introduce a cost-of-living clause during
negotiations meant they, were asking
for more than what was 6n the table in
terms of wages.

“The principle that the employer
should indemnify the employee against
increases in the cost of living is lop-
sided,” Lester said. “We just don’t buy
it.”

He said one substantial’ move intro-
duced by the industry was to suggest
that it would negotiate retraining of
employees with seniority rights who
have been laid off. This would mean the
companies would pay to retrain em-
ployees for other jobs so they could
exercise their bumping rights under
the union contract, replacing workers
with less experience.

The industry says the other conces-
sion it offered was to remove the com-
panies’ discretion on which statutory
holiday to remain in production.

Originally the companies wanted to
bave the right to decide which of three
giatutory holidays they would remain
Open.

PICKETS
WON'T
SPREAD

VANCOUVER (CP) — British
Columbia's locked-out pulp unions
are unlikely to expand their picket
ing to more forest industry opera-
tions even though contract talks
broke down, a senior official of the
Pulp, Paper and Woodworkers of
Canada says.

Stan Shewaga, president of Local
8 of the PPWC, said his union has
been getting “signals” from the B.C.
Labor Relations Board that “we've
gone as far as we can go.”

Contract talks in the pulp and
paper industry broke down Friday
with both sides blaming the other
for refusing to compromise.

The 7,600-member PPWCand the

9,000-strong Canadian Paperwork-
ers’ Union were locked out of 20
pulp mills on Feb. 2.

Ten days ago, they began picket-
ing mills that were still operating,
most of them organized by the IWA.

In most cases, the board has
allowed secondary picketing of
plants owned by the same compan-
ies as those involved in the lockout.

ON SATURDAY

Residents
to occupy
the ferry

By CHERYL CALDERBANK
Staff Writer

Robson and area residents will be
stepping up their actions to protest the
closure of the Robson-Castlegar ferry,
scheduled to be shut down April 1 by
the provincial governemnt.

At a meeting Saturday afternoon of
Robson and area residents, and repre-
sentatives from Castlegar city council,
Castlegar school board and the Re
gional. District of Central Kootenay,

3 about 170 tesidents unanimously voted

“to physically keep the ferry in Castle-
gar” by occupying it.

The first mass occupation is sched-
uled to take place at 10 a.m. next Sat-
urday.

‘The group of residents also voted to
form a co-operative non-profit society
to operate the ferry if it is shut down
by the government.

In addition, area residents are being
urged to send letters or teleg: to

invite Fraser to come to Robson to
account for the closure. The motion
was put forward by Castlegar school
trustee Peter Kagis.

The unnamed person who made the
motion to occupy the ferry noted, “the
only way the ferry is going to stay here
is to physically keep it here . . . to go
down there when they take it over and
throw them into the water.”

There haye been reports that the
ferry will ke used. between Fauquier
and Needles once it is discontinued.

Another member noted: “Why wait
until} March-31? Why not do it once a
week?”

Meeting chairman Martin Vander
pol, Area J representative on the
Regional District of Central Kootenay,
assured residents that the protest
would be orderly and that there would
be enough room for vehicles crossing
the river.

The formation of a non-profit society

Highways Minister Alex Fraser, urg-
ing him to reconsider the decision to
discontinue ferry service.

Residents also passed a motion to

d from a by Robson
resident Bill Kelley, who asked if the
city of Castlegar could take over the
ferry “why can't we?”

continued on page A3

Nelson council votes
to purchase DTUC

NELSON (CP) — City council voted
Friday to purchase for $1 the threaten-
ed David Thompson University Centre
from the provincial government and
operate it as a private institution.

Under terms of the offer the pro-
vincial gov: ‘will recognize and
treat the (centre) as other private edu
cational institutions in the province .
in terms of providing funding.”

The city’s offer was made following 8
government decision to close the cen-
tre May 1 as part of its prog of

ees, is a major employer in Nelson, a
city of 10,000 where the unemployment
rate is 24 per cent, compared with the
provincial average of 15 per cent.
The centre serves about 500 full-time
and part-time students. Jointly spon-
sored by Selkirk College and the Uni-
versity of Victoria, the university cen-
tre offers degree-granting courses in
music, creative writing and theatre.
Under the city's proposal, Nelson
would establish a board of management
le ti ;

budget cuts. Despite protests in Vic-
toria and Vancouver on Monday, Edu-
cation Minister Jack Heinrich refused
to reconsider the decision to close the
centre.

The centre, which has 100 employ

il for the
and maintenance of the centre.

The would also agree to
help the city obtain funds from “such
other sources as the federal gov-
ernment, the private sector, founda
tions, organizations and individuals.”

By ADRIAN CHAMBERLAIN
Staff Writer

Greg, a Grade 4 student at Kinnaird Elementary
School, is playing ® speed-spelling computer game.

The word “mother” flashes on the screen for a
half-second. Greg quickly responds by typing “mother”

naird E

Computers used

, agrees that having pupils do spelling

as learning aids.

h

The spelling drill game also helps improve a child's
d. ion, said

student.

“T have a gifted student who's on that program. She
has everything in her brain, but she can't get it down to
her hands, on paper.”

Lamont said the Star Wars game is helping the

Sahistrom and Lamont also have students with

onto the screen.

The words “Way to go, Greg,” immediately blink
acrosa the screen. Greg — although used to this per-
sonalized computer reply — is, gratified, and eager to
continue.

Computers “talking” to kids? It’s a simple trick —
they'se pre-programmed to do so.

‘What's really unusual about the speed-spelling game
at Kinnaird is that. Grade 4 students with learning
problems are doing it om their own-initiative'— even at
recess, lunch and.after school.

Bob Sahistrom, a learning assistance teacher at Kin-

drills on their own time is a teachers’ dream.
“Computers are # motivational aid — the biggest.
thing is that the kids like it,” said Sahistrom, who teaches
between 30 and 40 children from Grades 1 to 6 in his
classes.

the ly a
~ child with phrases like.“super.” “great work,” and “way

: teachers
provide on such dvonsiatent and personalized level — are
always available from a computer.

y i

Another computer game being used in Castlegar
schools for learning assistance programs is called Star
Wars.

The game features a star-ship that is attacked by
letters. A pupil can shoot a letter by correctly typing it.

“(It's) an absolutely excellent one for hand-eye co-
ordination,” said Inga Lamont, who gives learning assis-
tance classes for Grades 3 to 6 at Twin Rivers Elemen-
tary school.

She explained that the Star Wars game is essentially
a typing program for students having problems with
“seeing and doing.”

learning problems play a hide-and-seek computer game
called apple panic (“good for hand-eye co-ordination”),
and a game which took Lamont 100 hours to program
called Smarty-Cat. It teaches children how to use
contractions.

Sahistrom has programmed a math-speed drill game
‘on his own.

Even typing out paragraphs and stories on a word
processor is helpful for many pupils with learning prob
lems. Many of them find it difficult and frustrating to use

continved on page A2