News Morch4, 1987 REAL ESTATE COLLAPSE at TY BUSINESS HURTS ALBERTA EDMONTON (CP) — The Alberta government has lost well over $1 billion in the col- lapsé of the province's real credit unions, and trust com- panies. Much more has gone to the Alberta government's own housing corporation. Alberta Mortgage and Housing Corp. and its predecessor compan- jes ate up $964.7 million in provincial subsidies in the last five years, and will likely need help for years to come. The disasters continued earlier this month. Treasurer Diek Johnston announced the province will take over North West Trust Co. and Heritage Savings and Trust Co. Ltd. of Edmonton. One way or another the province has put money at risk in attempts to bail out every major Alberta-based financial institution that's run into trouble in the last four years. House prices have slumped by about one-third since Al- berta property values peak ed in the summer of 1981. Speculative property has dropped more. As real estate went sour so did the mort- gages and loans issued dur- ing the oil and gas boom of the late 1970s. LOSSES MOUNT The results: more than 25,000 home foreclosures in the last five years; hundreds of millions of tax dollars lost; a government which effec- tively owns 6,700 homes and is taking over another $290 million in property from North West Trust. A number of financial in. stitutions had built their as. \ sets oh western Canada real estate. When high interest rates, a slump in the Alberta energy industry and a worldwide re- cession hit simultaneously, their multi-billion-dollar hove of cards began to collapse. Some small Alberta-based mortgage brokers disappear- ed first, with Peter Pockling- ton's Fidelity Trust Co. the first big casualty — and one of the last Which Alberta es caped without a direct loss of money. The Canadian Commercial Bank of Edmonton and the Northland Bank of Calgary both collapsed in September 1985. Bad real estate loans were among the leading causes of death. The Alberta government had put $60 million into an abortive bailopt attempt for CCB and had bought $13 mil- lion in CCB debentures from trust companies. It had also joined two other investors to buy a $16- million debenture in North- land. It's unlikely the money will be recovered. Heritage Trust was a small case. It had about $10 million in bad loans it wanted the province to assume. North West. Trust had all the classic Alberta weakness- es, and in large measure. It owned 8.5 per cent of the CCB. It owned 4.2 per cent of the Bank of British Columbia, which was taken over re- cently by the HongKong Bank of Canada with virtu ally no return to investors. The province owns 99.4 per cent of a reorganized North West Trust, whose 91,000 depositors now have their 5 Herd of Ponies low-priced car sales By STEVE MERTL Canadian Press . The auto industry has been conscious of the low end of the car market ever since Henry Ford offered his basic black Model T for about $100. Although recent interest has focused on pricey. prestige yuppie-mobiles, increasingly the action is in low-priced transportation. Once populated by a few stripped versions of ic and along with a forlorn clutch of east bloc offerings like the Soviet Lada, the low-priced market segment began growing two years ago, led by a herd of Ponies. PONY GALLOPED ‘ South Korean’s Hyundai established a beach-head in Canada with the Pony, an aging Japanese-based design which sold for about $6,000. In its first year on the market, Pony sales were almost triple the company's projection of 25,000 cars. Hyundai's follow-up models, the Stellar and Excel, are more expensive but still average under $10,000. Hyundai's sales have flattened a little, but its suecess got the auto industry's attention. Jon Rideout, a manager in Ford of Canada’s sales division, says the under-$10,000 market now amounts to about 30 per cent of all Canadian car sales, double what it was a few years ago. Car makers’ ‘marketing strategies tended to pay scant attention to the low end, until Hyundai's breakthrough. “We all have to react,” Rideout says. TRACER FLARED The domestic auto companies reacted in different ways. Ford tried to add the Taiwanese-built Tracer to the lineup, but by the time the car reached North American shores last fall exchange rates and added features boosted the price to about $12,000. So Ford's low-end offerings remain stripped versions of its North American-built Escort and ‘Tempo-Topaz models. Rideout said there would be no attempt to introduce a new, domestically built car in the under-$10,000 price range. “It’s not worth our while to get into that, other than to look offshore.” CHEVETTE FADES General Motors likewise has given up fighting imports with domestic models, discontinuing its 13-year-old Chevette subcompact. GM strategy is to import a range of models built by Isuzu and Suzuki of Japan, and sell them under Chevrolet and Pontiac badges with prices ranging between $8,000 and about $10,500 Suzuki, which entered the North American car market with its Samurai four-wheel-drive, markets the me model it sells to GM as the Suzuki Forsa. Chrysler still fields the Japaniese-built Colt but this year introduced yet another ion of the ubiqi K-car, the design that saved the company in the early 1980s, The domestically built Shadow and Sundance models start at just under $10,000, Denis DesRosiers, a Toronto-based automotive industry analyst, divides the low-priced market into two segments — traditional and “niche.” WHEELS CHEAP Traditional low-end buyers have always accounted for part of the market. They include students and low-income earners looking for cheap, basic transportat- tion, as well as families needing. second cars who often prefer a low-priced new car with a warranty to the risks of a comparably priced used vehicle. For them, price is usually everything and, as a group, they are fickle, says DesRosiers. A few years ago they snapped up obsolete but sturdy-looking $5,000 Ladas, but sales evaporated over dealers’ poor service, the car's inconsistent quality and fallout from Soviet political problems. Lada's Canadian importer has reorganized .and is fielding the more up-to-date Samara, a front-drive car designed with the help of Porsche's engineering boffins and priced at about $6,500. BACK TO BASICS Japanese ers have also re-entered the market. Flagging sales of higher-priced cars have allowed them to fit more basic models into their import quota allotments. Another major player is also returning. Volkswagen, responsbile for opening up the “econobox” market with its legendary Beetle, has begun selling its Brazilian-built Fox with a starting price of $8,300, about $4,000 less than its upseale Golf and Jetta cars. DesRosiers is more excited about a segment he calls the North American niche market, which he says has grown to more than 500,000 cars from almost nothing three years ago. These cars, often smaller than the original Honda Civic, are labelled minis by the industry. The two and four-seat runabouts, often -with three-cylinder engines, have been sold for years in countries where engines under one-litre displacement benefit from tax breaks. ’ MINI SPORTY GM's imports from Suzuki and Isuzu both fit the mini-ear bill. Japan's Daihatsu is negotiating with Bombardier Inc. of Montreal to build a mini-car in Canada. . ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING Castlegar Rontosdetel Benevolent Assn. Mon., Mar. 9—7:30 p.m. ,767-11th Avenue ut OMEGOODS FURNITURE WAREHOUSE } Tues.-Sat., 9:30-5:30 China Creek “Drive a Little to Save a Lot” co MODERNIZATION PROJECT Public Information Display WHERE: WANETA PLAZA WHEN: THURSDAY, MARCH 5TH THRU SATURDAY, MARCH 7TH Drop in any time during March Sth through Mar- ch 7th to obtain detailed information. Examine plans and talk with our Public Relations officer about Trail’s Lead Smelter Modernization Project. We would like to hear your comments and concerns. FOR FURTHER INFORMATION PLEASE CONTACT: COLLEEN KENDALL AT 364-4332 money by the government. Answer to Sunday Crossword Puzzle No. 250 CATT TAICIE IR} [AIL A (a4 BIR! tic LADO} ASmcs GIAIDIO} me] ATE! BEL! RIL! NINE! lay, Mar. 1 Cryptoquip: ARE POPULAR ALTHOUGH DESIGNERS TRIED TO SKIRT THE memorable stay mountains after Oct. dst 1234 Wharf St 1-800-663-7472 USA Victoria‘s Only Downtown Waterfront Hotel Stay at the Regent, Victoria's fine new hotel on the scenic Inner Harbor. Outstanding accom modation. Moderately priced. 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Now you can turn your Shell gasoline purchases into sub- stantial cash discounts on over 60 items you'll find in the on merc Shell Vantage Club catalogue Save on personal care products, home entertainment items, The Castlegar Chamber of Commerce wants e oy ea en coe are) he is one 3 MBIA, SUNDAY, MARCH 8, 1987 March is Education ¥ th and to help kick it two school features, ., BS at 2 Sections (A & B) 6/49 draw were bonus number was 8, six winnir ae By iy ‘s 4 ‘ ‘The $500,000 winn mber ‘in Friday’ Provincial lottery pena, "706962. i + also subsidiary prizes, Selkirk Coll There ore’ thal rapher Forestry Days s Forestry Department cel forestry Friday and CasNews Mike lesniko was ther: FOR RICK HANSEN : Salmo summi to be renamed By RON NORMAN Editor mak. sporting goods and much more from such top, name-brand manufacturers as Braun, Hitachi and Wilson. Save by the Tankful = A CHIP OFF THE BLOCK . . . The chips fly when forestry student Barry Kolodychuk takes on the obstical pole. Barry did manage to complete the cut but didn’t quite it back to the other end of the pole. The obstical pole was just one of the many events at Selkirk College's Forestry Day. —CasNewsPhoto by Mike Kalesniko The District of Central Kootenay board agreed unanimously Saturday to ask the provincial’ gov- ernment to rename the Salmo-Creston summit Rick Hansen Summit. Nelson-Creston MLA Howard Dirks, _who-made a brief appearance at Saturday's regional board meeting, told directors he spoke last week to Hansen in Edmonton, A2 change “He rather liked the idea,” Dirks” said. “He certainly felt something had to be done.” However, Dirks said Michaels sug- gested the request come from the regional board. Dirks added that the idea for naming the summit after Hansen came from Dave Douglas of Creston. Hansen plans to tackle the summit Traffic top pri . By, jews Stall.” “ Traffic en’ ment will continue to be the RCMP's top priority, the Re- gional District of Central Kootenay board was told Saturday. “My number one priority without question is traffic enforcement,” said M.-F. “Torchy” Torresan, commanding officer of the Nelson subdivision. Torresan and Nelson subdivision operations officer Insp. Jim Druchet spent about an hour Saturday with regional directors discussing policing concerns. Torresan, who was born and raised in Trail and took over the top post in the Nelson subdivision on Dec. 5, said the RCMP invites more input from local communities. “Police will be much more sensitive sometime next month as part of his Man in Motion world tour. However, he may have to bypass the challenging route and take the ferry across Koot- enay Lake to Balfour, depending on advice from his doctor. Area A director Charlie Wilson was the only director to question renaming the summit. Wilson said a lot of thought was given to naming the pass. The name was chosen from as many as six put forward, he added. “It's a name that's there,” he said.’ “How about Terry Fox?” x But Dirks said there is already a mountain in B.C. named after Fox, the one-legged Marathon of Hope runner. “We've had very few heroes in the last 15 years,” Dirks added. Kaslo Mayor Jack Morris called the renaming “appropriate.” “It's been a disabled highway for so long,” he said. The lake beside the summit will not “continued on poge A2 to your “needs,” he said. Torresan said the RCMP plan to be “as visible as we can” and pointed out that crime prevention and community relations will also be top priorities. He said traffic movement through the Kootenays was up 50 per cent in 1986 — primarily due to Expo 86. However, the number of fatalities dropped 15 per cent from 39 to 33. ‘Traffic charges also dropped, Torre- san said, by five per cent. However, he said police contact with drivers jumped a whopping 70 per cent, and many of those were warnings. He said the drop in charges and increase in warnings is part of the RCMP’s focus on “quality rather than quantity.” And in response to one y question, Torresan denied police have a “quota” Meanwhile, Druchet said his officers will focus their attention on drug traf- fickers rather than the “street user” or those who have drugs for personal use. Druchet said the RCMP also plan to increase awareness programs in schools and elubs to help stem the illicit drug problems. He said that while the Kootenays don’t have a problem with heroin, cocaine is available here. He called cocaine “the blue collar drug.” Druchet said there has been only one case of crack, a cheap cocaine deriva- tive, in the Kootenays. As well, Druchet said it is common to find young people involved in drugs as “entrepreneurs.” WEATHER RECORDS C ardinal \ Your membership in the Shell Vantage Club is free. Just ask your local Shell dealer for complete details. 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FOR COURT BATTLE Hydro fund $115,000 By CasNews Staff The Regional District of Central Kootenay has built up a $115,000 war chest in the event of a legal battle over B.C. Hydro's tax exempt status, regional board chairman George Cady said Saturday. Cady said the regional district's legal fund was recently bolstered by con tributions from three other regional districts. The Regional District of Kootenay Boundary agreed to put up $30,000, the Columbia Shuswap Regional District $25,000 and the East Kootenay Re gional Distriet $10,000. Fruitvale youth given 5'2 years VANCOUVER (CP) — An 18-year. old Fruitvale youth was sentenced Thursday to 5% years in prison for the 1985 strangulation death of an 11-year- old boy. Even though the case was heard in adult court, there was a ban on publication of the youth’s name. The youth, who had been raised to adult court, originally was charged with the second-degree murder of Cale Clarkson. He pleaded guilty Thursday in B.C. Supreme Court to a reduced charge of manslaughter. In another case in the same court Gary Hemmons, 34, was sentenced to life in prison for drowning an 18-year: old Grand Forks girl after he sexually assaulted her. Hemmons pleaded guilty to second degree murder in the death of Tracy Horkoff but no reason was given for the’ “senseless and callous act,” said Justice MacKinnon. The judge ruled Hemmons must serve 18 years before being eligible for parole. Hemmons, who lived in Lethbridge with his wife and three children, was in Grand Forks for a family reunion. On July 29, 1985, he went rafting down the continued on pege A2 Combined with the Central Koot- enay regional district's $50,000 contri bution — $25,000 last year and another $25,000 this year — the fund totals $115,000. But Cady is hoping the regional dis. trict won't have to spend that money. He told the board that Energy Minister Jack Davis and Municipal Af- fairs Minister Rita Johnston are still studying an RDCK/proposal to tax Hydro dams on the Columbia and Peace rivers. Under a 1968 order-in council, B.C. Hydro is exempt from paying taxes on its dams and related holdings on the two rivers. Cady is hoping Davis and Johnston will approve some form of equitable grant-in-lieu of taxes. If the proposal is rejected, the re gional districts are prepared to go to court over the issue, Cady said. The regional district has already filed a petition against the province and B.C. Hydro serving notice that the re- gional district intends to take the case to court. However, the regional district would like to avoid a court battle if possible, because it would probably take several years and cost hundreds of thousands of dollars. TOPPLE By CasNews Staff Though it may seem time to blow the dust off last year's bottle of suntan lotion, the Castlegar wea- ther office suggests you keep your shirt on. The first week of March has been a record breaker, both for warm temperatures and rainfall. A new, high @f 12.7 degrees Celsius was set Wednesday, shat- tering the old mark set only last year of 11.3. Thursday faired almost as well, setting a new record of 12.5, up from 1977's old record high of 11.8. On the other hand, Monday set a new daily record for precipitation. The total for the day was 23.6 mm of rain compared to the previous high in 1980 of only 8.4 mm. Jim Fishwick, spokesman at the Castlegar weather office, explained that the high temperatures were due to a warm air flow from the southern Pacific. “The flow was particularly warm and particularly moist,” he said. “It happens on a regular basis so that isn't entirely out of the ordinary.” But Fishwick also pointed out that the normal rainfall for March is some 58.6 mm. So far this month, - the total is already 44.6 mm. - “That's only a little bit below $OAKING IT IN _ Normal (for the month) and it's only moment to don six days into the month,” he said sunbathing, Pauline admitted she would rather be skiing. Pauline Orr of Snowpatch sporting goods takes a and soak in some sun. Though she likes —LontiewsProte