a2 Castlegar News

July 30, 1989

of the same functions
forthe police, he said.

joined the force in 1958 at the age of

the force over the years.

tant for young people

enter a bar off duty, he remembers.

continued trom front page
officers — who are not RCMP but who perform many
act as guides and interpreters

Hall, who has been a staff sergeant since 1980,

reluctant to discuss what drew him to police work (he
admits an older brother in the force was an influence),
he said he has witnessed a number of positive changes in

No one under the age of 19 can join the force now
and Hall said that extra year after high school is impor

He was finished training at 19 and was considered a
police officer at a time when he needed to be 21 to legally

Training has changed for the better, too, Hall said
When Hall joined the force, training was over in
nine months. Now, recruits spend six months studying

18. Although he's

mer for the B.C

myself."*

and going through physical training and then spend an
additional six months in the field with a well-chosen, ex
perienced officer as a guide and trainer, he said.

That extrasix months makes all the difference, Hall
said but added the quality of officer that finally hits the
streets depends on the attitude of the trainer

Hall’s wife will join him in Castlegar soon — she
had to finish out a contract with the N.W.T
nment. His son is a member of the Ontario Provincial
Police and his daughter works as a computer program
Lottery Corp.’in Kamloops where the
family maintains a home

Hall said he plans to sit back and observe how the
Castlegar detachment runs before making any changes
if they are needed. He said he doesn’t believe in
changing things just to suit himself ‘

But there are two things he says he does believe in
high morale and setting an example.

“1 won't ask anyone to do anything that | won't do

gover

Pro-lifers march

VANCOUVER (AP) — About 200
anti-abortionists marched peacefully
outside Vancouver's private abortion
clinic for several hours Friday with a
renewed sense of
what they see as two recent victories.

1 Phe numbers (of anti-abortionists)
are growing every day and they are on
our side," Alan Ganeau told the crowd
gathered in front of the Everywoman’s
Health Centre

*We want full protection for the
unborn,” he said. ‘*We believe in life
in life, the right to life and that right ex-
tends to the moment of conception.”*

Speakers cited a Quebec court ruling
denying an abortion to Chantal Daigle

confidence after

and the turnaround of Barbara Dodd,
who had an abortion and now says she
is against abortion.

Daigle wait, A3
|
READS PASSAGES

Jim Demeres, 32, of Nelson, stood
in front of the entrance to the clinic
and read passages to clinic workers
from the United Nations International
Covenant on Civil and Political
Rights.

“International law supersedes the
law o ery country,"’ he told clinic
staff, who didn’t respond to his com

ments. “This place is in violation of in
ternational law.” .

Demeres said he was sentenced to 30
days in jail for an incident at a Nelson
hospital where he seized “a suction
machine for killing babies and conver-
ted it intoa book trotley."”

There was only one brief scuffle out
side the clinic as a passing motorist
became angry when he had trouble get
ting through the crowd, which spilled
on to the street during the speeches.

He threw a punch after exchanging
heated words with one young anti
abortionist, but a clinic worker calmed
the man down and he drove away
honking his horn

Tax case

continued from front page
Crown, only against the government
itself, and therefore the case must be
heard in federal court in Vancouver
Dalton told the judge that asking
particularly those
to take ac

ordinary people
in remote parts of B.C
tion in federal court, which is costly
and time-consuming because of the
travelling distance, means such cases
may not be heard and government of
ficials effectively have immunity from
responsibility for their actions

On Thursday, Dalton told Fabbro

the telephone call did cause Paling
distress and DeShane was particularly
at fault because Paling was not the tax:
payer, Dalton said in an interview
Friday

Dalton’s summation relied on a
number of cases with some similarities
to the present case, including a recent
case in the Maritimes in which a doctor
was awarded $10,000 in damages in
federal court for his treatment by
Revenue Canada

Paling alleges DeShane treated her
maliciously and told her the gover

nment would start garnisheeing 50 to
60 per cent of Hadikin's wages to
recover the money he owed

DeShane testified July 13 that he
was courteous and businesslike as
usual with Paling and told Paling it was
important for him to reach Hadikin to
inform the contractor of | legal
proceedings being taken against him
and of the proposed garnishee of com:
pany money

A telephone call from Dalton later in
the day was the first DeShane knew of
Paling’ s alleged distress, he said

continued from front page
He said he is also waiting to hear f

company, Credit Lyonnaisse, about possible funding
Stark said he will cite emotional stress and personal
bankruptcy in his lawsuit if he sues Telefilm
He has sold most of his possessions, including his
house and car, to finance the film he has been working on
extremely grateful’’ to

for 10 years. He added he was

receive an extension of the limit of one of his credit cards now | that
regulations, is not likely to fund the picture, Stark said his
American backers will want to film somewhere less expen
sive, such as Yugoslavia

because he was down to the $10 in his wallet
If he takes Telefilm to court, Stark said he will release
the script so it can be known publicly what the film is about

Stark alleges the federal agency might be reluctant to

rom a Rowerdam

its treatment of

Canada
Stark

currently has commitments
Christopher Plummer, his daughter Amanda Plummer,
Margot Kidder, Megan Follows and Elias Koteas

The film was to be partially shot in the Kootenays, but
Telefilm,

fund the film since it criticizes the federal government for
he Doukhobors when they arrived in

from actors

which has Canadian content

Crossword

Antic Anatomy . . . answer in Wednesday's paper

ACROSS

65 MyM

cRYPTOQUE

KACGIZG6S

swPS AOY

Today's Cryptoquip

tue Y equals N

CVISA KAWVSUUZWYCT

47S IW AOY sweSs

‘d Puzzle

Pp ‘ed by the foll:

TIM-BA-MART,

466

AAEMBER OF TIAA

368-

SCHNEIDER'S

BUILDING SUPPLIES LTD
Wenete Junction
TRAIL

PAUL'S PLACE LTD.

CHRYSLER
Waneta Junction, Trail

DODGE PLYMOUTH

368-8295

Tax review panel
headed for Castlegar

By CasNews Staff

The travelling provincial property
tax review panéh will touch down in
Castlegar Aug. 29, the government has
announced.

Finance Minister Mel Couvelier and
Municipal Affairs Minister Rita John-
ston will head the panel which will seek
public input on property tax reform, a
government news release says.

“Property tax increases have caused
& wave of concern across theprovin-
ce," Couvelier says in the release. "We
want to get to the root of that concern
and go ‘to people for workable
solutions.””

The government will announce a
time and location for the meeting later.

Joining Couvelier and Johnston on
the panel are Union of B.C.
Municipalities president Marilyn
Baker and tax reform activist Conrad
Adams, the government says.

The panel will conduct the meetings
as an open forum, encouraging a free
exchange of ideas and emphasizing
remedies, the
Residents will be invited to provide
suggestions in writing or in person on
how the province can assist local
governments to pay for services such as
school’s, police and fire protection,
roads, parks and recreational

government says

MEL COUVELIER
.. . heads panel

facilities, the government says.

The discussions will be recorded and
a report prepared for cabinet and the
public, the release says

“Property taxes are meant to give

Forest fires

By GUY BERTRAND
Staff Writer

Campfire bans will remain in effect
through the weekend as 47 new fires
were reported in the Arrow Forest
District this week

Ted Evans, the district's fire infor
mation officer, said a combination of
dry weather and lightning has caused
the high fire hazard throughout the
area

“*On Thursday we reported 36 fires
in the Nakusp region and 16 of those
required (air) tanker action — and that
was just in ourdistrict,"’ Evans said

“All the fires have been caused by
lightning. In the western third of

Alberta and B.C. there have been

Marijuana
plants
seized

By CasNews Staff

Nakusp RCMP, assisted by the
Nelson RCMP’s Drug Section, have
seized 472 marijuana plants in
Edgewood with a
$236,000 at maturity, an
spokesman said

Five adults were arrested and will
charges of marijuana
cultivation in Nakusp provincial court
Sept. 14, the spokesman said

The plants were seized July 21 after
police, armed with search warrants,
investigated two residences, an RCMP
news release said

The RCMP found three hydroponic
growing rooms and two fields of the
plants, the release said

Crash
injures
man

By CasNews Staff

A 37-year-old Castlegar man was in
satisfactory condition in Castlegar and
District Hospital Friday after receivin-
g undetermined injuries in a single-
vehicle accident Thursday afternoon,
a hospital spokesman said

The man, whose name was not
released, was the only occupant in the
vehicle, a 1977 Corvette, when he lost
control and went off the road just east
of the Castlegar Airport on Highway
3A around 4 p.m., a RCMP
spokesman said

Damages to the car are in excess of
$2,000, the spokesman said, and the
police investigation is continuing

value of
RCMP

street

face five

30,000 lightning strikes recorded."*

Up until Wednesday, the district
had recorded 64 fires this year but now
the total has reached 111, said Evans.

“In comparison, last year we had 10
fires at this time.”

Evans said not all the fires have been
contained but three lielicopters have
been transporting crews and equip-
ment during the week. He said the fires
aren’t large — one-tenth to one-third
of a hectare each — but require a lot of
ground work

Evans added there may be some fires
that have not been reported yet
“When there is a dry breeze you

locally elected governments the means
to fairly distribute the costs of services
they provide,”” Johnston ‘said. “We
want to detemine if this objective is
being achieved.""

Johnston — indicated that a
background paper on the subject of
property taxes is being prepared by the
UBCM and will address the concerns
of residential and commercial
ratepayers, provide some history and
set the scene for the discussion.

Copies of this document will be
made available at the offices of gover-
nment agents ‘shortly before the
meetings, the government says. Local
government agents will be ‘the key in
formation contact for the event
meetings and will be kept informed of
all developments regarding the panel's
tour of the province

Written submissions may be left
with the agent for inclusion in the
proceedings, the government says.
Castlegar residents may leave sub-
missions with the government agent in
Nelson

Meetings will also be held in Cam.
pbell River, Dawson Creek, Cran
brook, Terrace, Prince George,
Kelowna, Kamloops, Vancouver, Ab-
botsford, Surrey, Squamish and
Saanich

flare

can't always see the smoke,”” he noted

However, he said two daily patrols
are out in both the northern and
southern parts of the district

Bruce Hutchinson, provincial fire
control officer, said in a news release
that lightning storms are expected to
continue throughout the weekend,
“and we don’t see any significant rain-
fall in the weather forecast."*

The release said the Nelson Forest
Region has had 287 fires to date with 58
still burning. Total area burned in the
district is 819 hectares.

Last year the Nelson Region had 124
fires during the same period and 208

hectares burned.

suly 30.1909 CastlégarNews

Briefly

Lottery

numbers

KAMLOOPS (CP) — Unofficial
results from Friday’s Punto Parley lot-
tery in British Columbia

July 25 — Winnipeg wins by 1 poin
ts(a 11-14 point spread).

July 26 — Calgary wins by two poin-
ts(a0-3 point spread)

July 27 — Toronto wins by four
points (a 4-7 point spread)

July 28 — Hamilton wins by 17 poin
ts(a 15-21 point spread).

The following winning numbers
were drawn in Thursday’s lottery

B.C. KENO — 4, 13, 34, 41, 47, 51, 55

and 56

Following are the winning numbers
in Wednesday’ lotteries

LOTTO 6/49 — 1, 5,6, 9, 22 and 44.
The bonus number was 46.

The jackpot of $4,177,204.20 was
divided into nine prizes of
$464,133.80

EXTRA — 25, 44, 58and81

B.C. KENO — 3, 13, 14, 15, 29,
31,37 and 51

These numbers, provided by The
Canadian Press, must be considered
unofficial

In memory

75

came to British Columbia in 1928
Thrums on Nov. 21, 1935

William Perehudoff

William Samuel Perehudoff of Thgems, passed away July 26 at age

Mr. Perehudoff was born Aug. 24, 1913 at Langham, Sas&., and

He married Dorothy Kalesnikoff at

During his life he worked as a carpenter in the building and construc-
tion trades. He was a 40-year member of the Brotherhood of Carpenters
and Joiners and had served as president. He was a member of the 1967
Brilliant Expo Choir, past-president of the Tarrys Improvement Society
and was chairman of the 1966-1967 Tarrys Centennial Committee Mr
Perehudoff enjoyed gardening and his family

He is survived by his wife, Dorothy of Thrums; four sons, Alex and
William of Thrums, Frank of Castlegar, and Terry of Edmonton;
daughter Nadeen Elasoff of Thrums; 11 grandchildren; three great-
grandchildren; brother John of Penticton; and sister Mary Shantaruk of
Burlington, Ont

Funeral services were held from the Brilliant Cultural Centre on
Friday and Saturday with burial in the Brilliant Cemetery

Funeral arrangements were under the direction of the Castlegar
Funeral Chapel

LOW GRADE PARTICLE BOARD SALE!!

Sale starts Saturday, July 22 and continues to Saturday, Sept. 2
OR UNTIL PRODUCT IS ALL SOLD — WHICHEVER COMES FIRST!

Monday to Saturday, 8:30 a.m. to 6:00 p.m.
Price: $1.00 Per Sheet Cash Only

SPECIAL NOTE: Large Quantity pick ups — flatbed trucks or more -
contact sales department for prior arrangement. Phone: (604) 442-5521

CANPAR INDUSTRIES

Industrial Parkway, Grand Forks, B.C.

CANSPAR

STRIES

Manufacturer of PARTRBOAR

HOURS OF OPERATION

please

No commitment given natives

NEW ALYANSH, 'B.C.(CP) — Premier Bill Vander Zalm gave this
remote Nisga’a Indian village a few autographs Friday, but no commit
ment that his government will consider changing a century-old policy that
denies Indian land right

Friday's meeting was the first in a series of crpss-province conferen
ces planned by Vander Zalm’s newly formed prémier’s council on native
affairs.

The Nisga’a say it might one day be si
British Columbia’ s deadlock over aboriginal title

nas the turning point in

“Lam confident, and I hope | am not mistaken, but the various hints
that he’s been dropping, well it seems to give me some cause for op-
timism,”’ Nisga’a chief Rod Robinson, executive director of the Nisga’a
Tribal Council, said. Vander Zalm confessed Friday that he did not un
derstand the issue well

He said he didn’t know if the natives hoped to win land-claims set
tlements and access to resources but continue to rely on government ser
vices; establish new governments or accept existing structures.

“That's what I need to learn more about,"’ Vander Zalm said. “If we
can clarify these basic questions, perhaps that will help us along.”

Liberals ride to save rails

OTTAWA (CP) — Liberal MPs are taking to the rails Aug. | for a
series of public meetings aimed at saving Via Rail — whose services the
party first cutin 1981

The Liberal\ government under former prime minister
Trudeau cut 20 pet cent of Via services, leading to a public furore.

The public‘at the time said that they did not want to see Via cut
said Liberal MP Herb Gray, after announcing the party's Via campaign
“We're entitled to learn from what the public said in the past.”

Gray, an MP for the Ontario riding of Windsor West, said the
Liberals may have reduced services but the Conservatives are planning
**an absolute dismemberment and gutting of the Via Rail system.””

The Conservative government is studying a Via business plan that
would drop some passenger trains and other services. Via will lose about
$400 million of the corporation's annual government subsidy by 1992

Pierre

Riis to make announcement

KAMLOOPS (CP) — NDP House Leader Nelson Riis will announce
on Tuesday whether he’ ll seek his party’s leadership, an aide said

Riis has said he is considering running but has yet to make anofficial
decision on whether he'll try to replace Ed Broadbent

A news conference is scheduled for his Kamloops constituency office
at 8:30a.m. PDT.

Five members of the federal NDP caucus have declared their can-
didacy — Steven Langdon and Howard McCurdy of Windsor, Ont., lan
Waddell of Vancouver, Simon de Jong of Regina and Yukon MP Audrey
McLaughlin,

Riis and MPs Dave Barrett of Esquimalt, B.C., and Lorne Nystrom
of Yorkton, Sask., are considered possible candidates

Travelling candidates’ forums begin Aug. 26 in Winnipeg and the
leader will be chosen Dec. 3 at aconvention in Winnipeg,

Batman banned in Britian

LONDON (Reuter) — British censors have banned youngsters under
12 years old from seeing the new film Batman.

It was the first time the British Board of Film Classification has used
the new 12 category saying the film was unsuitable for children

Batman, starring Michael Keaton and Jack Nicholson, broke a
Hollywood record by taking in $100 million at U.S. box offices in 10 days.
The film, which was shot in Britain, opens in London on Aug. 11

Batman is rated PG by the North American film industry which ad
vises against it being seen by children under 13

Broadway nude revue to close

NEW YORK (AP) — They’re baring all for the last time

Oh! Calcutta! , Broadway’s long-running nude revue, will close Aug
6 after arun of 5,959 performances, executive producer Maria Di Dia, has
announced

“It’s been an exciting ride, and I’m sad to see it end,”” said Di Dia
“But I’malso happy because no one ever expected this show to succeed.”

The current edition of the show opened Sept. 24, 1967, at the Edison
Theatre. It was the second major incarnation for the revue, which per
miered originally in 1969 at off-Broadway’s Eden Theatre, moved in 1971
to Broadway's Belasco Theatre and ran there until the following year

The show has been seen by more than 85 million people in 18 coun
tries, including Canada, according to Di Dia, and has grossed more than
$350 million US.

Knife nets woman probation

BURBANK, Calif. (CP) — A Canadian woman arrested while
carrying a knife near the television studio where Johnny Carson tapes his
talk show has been placed on probation for three years.

Krystyna Marenchin, 39, of ‘atharines, Ont., was arrested out
side The Tonight Show studios lagilmeek when police found a knife with a
28-centifnetre blade in her back

Marenchin pleaded guilty"to trespassing Thursday after spending,
seven days in jail awaiting trial

She was also ordered to stay at least 450 metres from the NBC
studios, her lawyer, Steve Monette, said ina telephone interview

Valdez nearing safe harbor

SAN DIEGO (AP) — The ailing Exxon Valdez limped toward safe
harbor Saturday after postponing massive hull repairs for weeks while
waiting offshore until environmental questions could be answered.

The tanker involved in the worst oil spill in U.S. history was
scheduled to enter San Diego Bay early today, under tow as it has been
throughout the 4,000-kilometre journey south from Alaska

Divers were confident they had but off all the dangling steel plates
torn loose during the southerly voyage and that the damaged tanker
would be able to pass through the harbor’s shallows.

State environment officials said they would keep close watch on the
lumbering ship when it enters the bay under escort, surrounded by a
flotilla of U.S. coast guard vessels.

Local Greenpeace activists said they'd be watching too, following at
a distance after staging a protest demonstration against Exxon planned
for this morning.

Bike brake hazard identified

OTTAWA (CP) — Mountain bikes with cantilever brakes are a
potential hazard and should be altered to prevent accidents, the Depar
tment of Consumer and Corporate Affairs said

The bikes are equipped with a new system of brakes activated by
cables connected toa lever on the handlebars,

The department said the danger occurs when the brake cables loosen,
jamming the front wheel and throwing the rider over the handlebars

I suggest owners take their bikes to a bicycle shop where a device
preventing the cables from jammingthe wheel can be installed. The device
costs only a few dollars, the department added

Daigle
must
wait

OTTAWA (CP) Chantal Daigle
must wait at least three more days to
hear whether the Supreme Court of
Canada will lift a Quebec court order
barring her from having an abortion.

Five judges of the country’s highest
court will meet Tuesday to consider her
request to appeal a lower-court ruling
that a fetus has aright to life

Meantime, the injunction stopping
Daigle from ending her ‘21-week
pregnancy remains in force,’ Anne
Roland, thé Supreme Court's deputy
registrar, said Friday

lt is’t known how quickly the
judges will decide whether.to hear the
appeal, and if they do hear it, when
they would hand down a decision

Daigle’s lawyer, Daniel Bedard, has
asked the court to first lift the injun
ction to allow his client to end her
pregnancy

Most Canadian doctors will not per
form abortions after 20 weeks. In the
United States abortions may be done
as late as 24 weeks

Daigle, ‘somewhere in Quebec,"’
has no comment, said her sister, Mar
jolaine Groulx.

A procedural meeting was held
Friday between Mr. Justice Charles
Gonthier and lawyers for Daigle and
her ex-boyfriend, Jean-Guy Trem-
blay

Tremblay was granted the injun
ction by the Quebec Superior Court on
July.17. It was upheld Wednesday by
the Quebec Court of Appeal, which
held that the fetus has a right to life un.
der the Quebec Charter of Rights

One option for Daigle is to defy the
court and have an abortion in the U.S.
Her lawyer believes she would risk a
contempt-of-court citation,
punishable by up to two years im-
prisonment

But Bernard Dickens, a law
professor at the University of Toronto,
said it’s unlikely Daigle would be
found in contempt

“It’s perfectly lawful to arrange in
Canada to go to the United States to
have an abortion,” Dickens said in an
interview, “‘in the same way it is lawful
in Canada to arrange to go to Las
Vegas or Atlantic City to engage in
gambling that is illegal in Canada.”

Fletcher
to halt
island

road

VANCOUVER (CP) — A logging
firm says it will stop construction of a
logging road in the Sulphur Passage
area of western Vancouver Island that
has been under seige from environ:
mentalists in the area

Protesters say the announcement by
Fletcher Challenge Canada isa sign the
company and the B.C. government are
prepared to listen to local people who
object to logging in the Tofinoarea

“We think it’s a good piece of news
that the road will not continue,”
Diona McCallum, spokesman for the
Friends of Clayoquot Sound, said in
an interview from Tofino.

A contractor for the New Zealand
controlled company halted work on
the road last year, after several
protesters were arrested for defying a
court injunction against{ interfering
with the work.

Twelve people were jailed and 20
more cited for contempt

Fletcher's announcement came
three days after Premier Bill Vander
Zalm toured the region by helicopter
and said “‘maybe some of these areas
should never be logged.””

Fletcher Challenge plans to continue
logging in the region, but now says it
has come up with an_ alternate
development plan that includes ‘‘new
access options for the Sulphur Passage
area.""

“*We do know we have better alter
natives to that road not only from an
environmental standpoint but an
economic standpoint,” said Frank
Lucci, Fletcher's Vancouver Island
region vice-president

Lucci said the company could begin
helicopter logging in some areas to
avoid having to build roads.

McCallum said her-group will fly
over the area soon to confirm that road
construction has stopped.

But she said the concession should
be just the first stage in a process to
give local residents more say about
logging in the area

“We would like to see that
shifted back to the community,’’ she
said

The environmental group will await
the province's release of its sustainable
development strategy before deciding
its next move, said McCallum.

ower

COOL WATER . . . Now that school's out, the main

for some C

is finding ways to cool off in the heat. Lisa Stewart (left), Jill Carlson (centre)
and Janice Beaudry thought the rocky shore of Zuckerberg Island was a good place
to start last week. — cosnews Photo by Guy Bertrand

Shortage cited in
Soviet buying spree

LONDON (AP) — A Soviet deputy
prime minister said she ordered 50
million pairs of pantyhose and 1.7
million pairs of women’s shoes on a
shopping spree in Britain to replenish
her country’s shelves.

Those and other items ordered by
the Soviet trade group she led cost the
equivalent of about $200 million Cdn.

The shopping spree came as an
economic report in the Soviet Union
told of shortages in a wide range of
consumer goods in the country

Alexandra Biryukova, 60, the Soviet
Union’s top-ranking woman
politician, then topped off a week-long
trip with a visit to Marks and Spencer,
the department store chain favored by
Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher and
millions of budget-conscious Britons.

Biryukova, who met with Thatcher
earlier in the week, is leading a
delegation of five ministers to promote
Soviet-British trade

She said the group had visited more
than 20 firms since arriving Monday,
reached agreements on joint ventures
and ordered goods from coffee and
toothpaste to the pantyhose and shoes

Biryukova called the trip ‘‘very
useful and effective."”

She and the accompanying ministers
said their purchases were influenced by
shortages, and are to be delivered by
the end of this year.

MILLIONS OF PANTYHOSE

Along with $133 million in pan
tyhose, toothpaste,
razor blades, cassette tapes, soap,
women’s clothing and other goods, the
Soviets said they purchased $67 million
in various drugs. They did not. give
specific values for other goods.

Meanwhile, a report on economic
indicators released Friday said Soviet
consumers suffered increasingly grim
shortages of food, clothing and basic
household items in the first half of the

shoes, coffee,

year

The failure to generate real im.
provement in living standards and jolt
moribund Soviet agriculture into
greater productivity are the most
serious threats to Soviet
Mikhail perestroika
reforms.

Demands for improved supplies of
food were at the centre of a two-week
strike this month involving up to half a
million miners who agreed to return to
work only after receiving assurances
Prime Minister Nikolai

President

Gorbachev's

from

Ryzhkov

The six-month showed
growth far behind targets, wage in
creases far outstripping production
and increases in money supply likely to
fuel inflation

INCREASED SALARIES

It said workers! average monthly
salaries had increased to the equivalent
of about $450 Cdn from $410 but
savings also increased by $33.5 billion
Cdn — an indication of empty store
shelves

The report, released Friday by the
official Tass news agency, said that
despite a two-per-cent rise in food sup-
plies, there were still serious shortages

report

with rationing imposed on many
staples

*In many regions, meat is being sold
through coupons or other forms of
rationing,” it said

“Supplies of fish, cheese and tea are
irregular, though the situation with
baked goods has improved somewhat.
In some areas, there are serious shor-
tages of bread, Not everyone is assured
of supplies of potatoes, fruit and
vegetables.”

The situation was no better for gon-
sumer goods, with clothes and foot-
wear still far short of demand despite a
five-per-cent increase in goods
provided.

Polish top job
battle may be on

Poland is suffering from 100 ri
cent inflation, falling production and

WARSAW (Reuter) — Poland’s
Communist party Central Committee
began a closed-door session Saturday
amid signs of a battle to succeed Gen
Wojciech Jaruzelski as party chief

In the 230-member committee signs
of a succession struggle have emerged
between Prime Minister Mieczyslaw
Rakowski and ideology chief Marian
Orzechowski, tipped as front-runners
for Jaruzelski's job.

Jaruzelski is believed to
Rakowski, a 62-year-old ex-journalist
and personal friend who says the party
must be turned into a vigorous, self
confident political force:

But Rakowski has come under at-
tack from moderates for Poland’s
dramatic economic slide
became prime minister 10 months ago
and hardliners were also reported to be
massing against him

The economic reality is worse than
our worst dreams,’’ Orzechowski said

favor

since he

massive food shortages
fears of strikes and riots next week
when huge food price rises proposed
by the government are implemented.

There are

Rakowski also came under attack

from Politburo member Wladyslaw
Baka who offered to resign as party

secretary responsible for the economy,

saying he had failed to curb the gover-

nment’s inflationary policies.

Officials declined to speculate on the

outcome of the struggle or the extent of

leadership changes. They would not

confirm stategents by Communist
sources that Jaruzelski would resign all
his party posts to concentrate on his
new role as president of Poland

Party sources have forecast a Polit-

buro purge today to satisfy rank-and-
filers angered by the Communists

defeat by the Solidarity independent
trade union movement in last month’s
parliamentary elections. They also say
one-third of the Central Committee
may be replaced to bring in new refor-

in a clear assault on Rakowski. Or
zechowski is a moderate who presents
himself as the man to reunite the party
after recent political reverses

Developments in the past months pists

show it was a mistake to ignore
opinions formulated in our ranks,’
Orzecowski told the meeting. ‘Had
they been sharp
deterioration in the market and sup-
plies could have be

respected, the

avoided

However, officials said Friday there

was less criticism of the leadership than
expected on the opening day of the
two-day meeting and it was premature
to say what changes would ake place.

lranian speaker wins
in landslide victory

TEHRAN (AP)
Speaker Hashemi Rafsanjani, whose
election to the
foregone conclusion, captured more
than 91 per cent of the vote based on
partial returns, official Iranian media
said

The Islamic Republic news agency
count in

Parliament

presidency was a

also said that an initial
dicated that 97 per cent of the voters
approved constitutional amendments
that call for giving the president greater
powers.

Rafsanjani, $4,received-4,175,005
of the 4,567,495 votes counted, the
news agency reported. It did ‘not say

how many votes remained to be coun
ted

The breakdown would give Rafsan
jani about 91.4 per cent of the vote.
The news agency said the partial totals
did not include returns from Tehran,
the largest Iranian city, with about six
million people

WASINJAIL

Rafsanjani’s. only
Abass
parliament and
minister. He was a student activist
against-the-monarchy_in_the 1940s,
spent 13 years in prison and was a can
president in 1981

opponent was
Sheibani, member of

former agriculture

didate for

Sheibani, 58, has no national
political base and was generally con-
sidered a token opponent

‘Iranians overwhelmingly vote for
Rafsanjani,"’ read the headline of the
Islamic Republic news agency's urgent
dispatch on the early results

Its English-language dispatch said
that although Rafsanjani had been ex-
pected to win, “this massive victory
will give greater confidence to his ad.
ministration

Almost all voters questioned by
reporters_in Tehran during Fridays
balloting said they supported Rafsan.
jani