2 — The Prince George Citizen — Monday, July 18,1988 Provincial Highway FROM PAGE 1 bulldozers cut through the 300-me-tr6-wide mudslide to rescue southbound tourists in 300 vehicles. They had been stranded since Wednesday between the slide and a washout in the isolated area of the southwestern Yukon. The rescued travellers streamed into this community to fill up on food after being cut off without supplies for four days. Although the stranded tourists shared what they had, one woman reported her family was down to cheese and crackers. Continuing heavy rain had re-. stricted attempts to clear the highway, a key route linking Alaska, the Yukon and British Columbia. Sunny weather returned today after the worst downpours in 20 years, said Eftoda. The Alaska Highway in British Columbia north of Fort Nelson was also closed for 1V2 days, swelling the community of 5,000 with 1,500 recreational vehicles. That section reopened last Thursday. There were no estimates yet on the cost of the massive cleanup. “It’s going to cost quite a bit of money,” Eftoda said, adding much of the equipment used — including a dozen bulldozers — was rented. “I think we’ve got every ‘dozer there that’s in the Yukon,” he said. SUPPORT THE BLOCK PARENT ASSOCIATION Supported by The Prince George Citizen B.C BCGEU demands 'costly' VICTORIA (CP) - The B.C. Government Employees’ Union ha£ tabled non-wage demands which would cost taxpayers almost $100 million, the government’s chief negotiator said Sunday. Bob Plecas said the union has not yet made specific wage demands in its contract talks, except to indicate that it will seek “catchup” increases. Union president John Shields said earlier that five years of fiscal restraint have put his 29,000 members an average of 17 per cent behind their counterparts in the private sector and other levels of government. Plecas said talks, which began six weeks ago and resume here today, have become bogged down in discussion of non-wage proposals. The contract expires July 31. “It has been frustrating not knowing what their total package would cost,” Plecas said in a news release. “The proposals they have presented so far, in areas like benefits and job security, are already incredibly costly.” For example, said Plecas, the union is demanding severance pay for any worker affected by privatization. He said the government expects those employees will be doing the same job in the same location, except that they will be working in the private sector or for their own companies. “But the union is demanding severance for them,” he said. “This form of double-dipping would cost more than $70 million over the next year.” Dealership fund? KAMLOOPS, B.C. (CP) - Consumer Affairs Minister Lyall Hanson says he wants to beef up regulations protecting consumers from dishonest car dealerships. Hanson, himself a former car dealer, says dealers are currently required to take out a $5,000 bond. But he says cars often cost much more than that today. Hanson says he would like to see a global fund put together by car dealerships which would pay out claims made by consumers who feel they’ve been cheated. Attacker shot NORTH VANCOUVER (CPI - A 42-year-old man was recovering in hospital Sunday after he was shot by an RCMP officer whom he had stabbed during a fight. A police spokesman said Const. Carl Cavaco stopped a man in North Vancouver’s business district after residents reported seeing a strange man in their neighborhood. S.Sgt. W. G. Roberts said Cavaco approached the man, who pulled a knife and stabbed him twice, in the shoulder and the arm. Cavaco then backed away and shot the man in the left side. Cavaco was able to radio for help and the two were taken to hospital in this Vancouver suburb. Cavaco was treated and released but the man stayed in intensive care after undergoing surgery. Roberts said the bullet deflected lodged in the man’s kidney. Roberts said the incident was being investigated and charges were expected. Drugs seized CASTLEGAR, B.C. (CP) - Two men were in custody Sunday after Canada Customs officers seized an estimated 7.7 kilograms of hashish at the Cascade border crossing in southeastern British Columbia. A customs spokesman said two Spokane, Wash., men are being held — one in Washington state and one in Grand Forks, B.C. — following the seizure Saturday night. One of the men tried to flee when customs officers discovered the cache while checking a car at the border crossing. He was arrested later in Washington state. Customs superintendent Ken Gressly-Jones said officers also seized a station wagon used by the two men. Gressly-Jones said he was surprised by the size of the seizure. |T^) Direction and speed of system motion A A A. A Cold front 0 Rain or snow showers Warm front r —7 —?■ Upper level front Stationary front (Temperatures are maximum and minimum for past 24 hours) Weather Immediate Prince George area: The forecast calls for clear skies overnight and Tuesday with no likelihood of rain. The temperature is expected to rise to near 23 today. dropping to near 6 overnight and rising to near 25 Tuesday. For the next 24 hours there is no probability of precipitation. Sunday's high was 18. the overnight low was 4. there was no precipitation and 3.4 hours of sunshine was recorded at the airport weather office. • A year ago today the high was 26. the overnight low was 10. there was no precipitation and 15 hours of sunshine. Sunset today is at 9:30 p.m. and sunrise Tuesday is at 5:05 a.m. Chilcotin, Cariboo. Central Interior: Sunny. Highs near 22. Tonight, clear. Lows near 7. Tuesday, sunny. Highs near 25. Probability of precipitation zero per cent, zero per cent tonight and zero per cent Tuesday. Greater Vancouver: Sunny. Highs 23 near the water to 28 inland. Tonight, clear. Lows near 12. Tuesday, sunny. Highs 25 to 29. Probability of precipitation zero per cent, zero per cent tonight and zero per cent Tuesday. Greater Victoria: Sunny. Highs near 25. Tonight, clear. Lows near 10. Tuesday, sunny. Highs near 29. Probability of precipitation zero per cent, zero per cent and zero per cent Tuesday. Sunshine Coast, East Vancouver Island: Sunny. Highs near 27. Tonight, clear. Lows near 11. Tuesday. sunny. Highs near 28. Probability of precipitation zero per cent, zero per cent tonight and zero per cent Tuesday. Lower Fraser Valley, Howe Sound-Whistler: Sunny. Highs near 27. Tonight, clear. Lows near 10. Tuesday, sunny. Highs near 28. Probability of precipitation zero per cent, zero per cent tonight and zero per cent Tuesday. North Vancouver Island. West Vancouver Island: Mainly sunny. Highs 18 near the coast to 26 inland. Tonight, clear. Lows near 9. Tuesday, sunny. Highs 19 near the coast to 27 inland. Probability of precipitation zero per cent, zero per cent tonight and zero per cent Tuesday. Northern Mainland: Mainly sunny. Highs 17 along the coast to 24 inland. Tonight, clear. Lows near 9. Tuesday, mainly sunny. Highs 18 coast to 25 inland. Probability of precipitation zero per cent, zero per cent tonight and zero per cent Tuesday. Queen Charlottes: Mainly sunny. Highs near 18. Tonight, clear. Lows near 10. Tuesday, mainly sunny. Highs near 18. Probability of precipitation zero per cent, zero per cent tonight and zero per cent Tuesday. ^Thompson, Okanagan. West Kootenay: Sunny. Highs near 30. Tonight, clear. Lows near 11. Tuesday. sunny. Highs near 31. Probability of precipitation zero per cent, zero per cent tonight and zero per cent Tuesday. East Kootenay. Columbia: Sunny. Highs near 26. Tonight, clear. Lows near 10. Tuesday, sunny. Highs near 28. Probability of precipitation zero per cent, zero per cent tonight and zero per cent Tuesday. Tourist alert The following persons, believed travelling in British Columbia, are asked to call the person named for an urgent personal message: Gord and Marie LeBlanc of Kingston, N.S., call Brenda LeBlanc. Bill and Diane Fowler of Bar-riere, B.C.. call Kathy Corrigall. Vera May Benjamin of Petaluma, Calif., call daughter Debbie. Phillip Innes Fraser of Anchorage, call your parents collect. Williams Lake 19 7000 0 North Battleford 23 8001.0 Temperatures Prince George 18 4 000 0 Winnipeg 27 14 000 0 Mackenzie 20 6 000 0 Brandon 25 11000 0 Fort St. John 20 12002.5 Churchill 23 11 000.0 TORONTO iCPi --- High-low Fort Nelson 20 14 000.0 The Pas 23 12 000.4 temperatures and precipitation Dease Lake 19 6000.0 Kenora 25 16000.0 in millimetres for the previous 24 Peace River 19 13 000.6 Thunder Bay 28 12 000.0 hours issued today by the Whitehorse 21 8 000.0. North Bay 26 17 000.0 weather office: Dawson City Misg Toronto 31 16000.2 Vancouver 22 13 000.0 Yellowknife 22 11000.0 Ottawa 25 17000.0 Victoria Misg Inuvik 19 5005.9 • Montreal 24 18 000.0 Comox 25 14 000 0 Resolute Bay 8 2000.0 Fredericton 25 18002 6 Port Hardy 20 7000 0 Eureka 12 6000.0 Charlottetown 21 16 003.6 Prince Rupert 16 8 000.0 Alert 14 7000.0 Halifax 20 14 002 6 Stewart Misg Cambridge Bay 18 8 000 0 St. John's 19 13001 6 Terrace 19 9 000 0 Calgary 19 10002.4 Seattle 26 14 000.0' Penticton Misg Edmonton 21 11 000.0 Spokane 28 9 000.0 Kamloops 28 13000 0 Lethbridge 24 9000.4 Portland 27 14 000 0 Abbotsford 24 11 000.0 Medicine Hat 26 8000.8 San Francisco 41 15000.0 Cranbrook 25 10000 0 Swift Current 23 9005.2 Los Angeles 23 18000.0 Revelstoke 26 10 000 0 Regina 26 14 000.0 Las Vegas 45 27000.0 Blue River 19 5000 0 Saskatoon 24 9000.0 Reno 38 16 000.0 Puntzi Mountain 22 3 000 0 Prince Albert 24 11000.0 Phoenix 43 30000.0 Two injured in accident Three people received minor injuries in a two-car collision on Highway 16 west at Sykes Road Sunday morning. Prince George RCMP said today. A car driven by Glen Nathan Phielmann. 19. of Prince George was turning from Sykes Road onto Highway 16 when it was in collision with a car driven by Fernand Prince. 33. Prince, of Vanderhoof. and passengers Georgina John. 22. and Denise Marie John. 5. were taken to hospital where they were treated and released. Police said the occupants of the Prince vehicle were not wearing seatbelts. In a- separate accident, a 24-year-old city man received minor injuries when he was thrown from his motorcycle on Highway 97 south Sunday afternoon. Ivan Peter Mushaluk was southbound on the highway, about 3 km north of Sintich Road, when he lost control while going over a patched dip in the centre of the highway, police said. Mushaluk was taken to hospital with minor injuries. He was wearing a helmet at the time. Problems for B.C/s by STEVE MERTL Canadian Press VANCOUVER — It was a bad week in a string of bad weeks for Bill Vander Zalm. The premier of British Columbia was facing a calls for a leadership review from within his Social Credit caucus, stirrings in party grassroots, more flak aimed at his principal adviser and, out of left field, suggestions that he was consulting a numero-logist on government policy. But Vander Zalm let his anger show only briefly, when word got out that his office had a $1,500 contract with a numerologist. The agreement with Jud Cyllorn, who said he was hired to advise the premier on immigration and economic policy, was promptly withdrawn. “I am a practical kind of guy and I don’t believe in that kind of garbage,” said Vander Zalm, who then attacked the Vancouver Province for running the story. “I can stand a lot of flak but not a fabricated attempt to destroy me, my family and my office,” he said. But otherwise, Vander Zalm kept a stiff upper lip above the turmoil swirling around him. He seemed unfazed by the idea that, less than two years into the Social Credit government’s mandate, senior party members wanted to review the leadership of the man who gave them a convincing electoral victory. Vander Zalm faced more fallout from his cabinet mid-term cabinet shuffle about 10 days ago. Executives from the five Vancouver ridings met him on Friday to complain that the city of more than 450,000 didn’t get one seat in the new cabinet. “We have many cabinet members who are almost within walking distance of the city limits, including myself,” the premier said after the meeting. “So there is darn good representation.” But the Socred officials left the meeting unhappy. Regional director Jim McLean pointedly refused to say whether the Vancouver executives still supported the premier. “They support the party and they’re behind the strengthening of the party and anything that can help us to get re-elected,” he said. The shuffle brought a lot of discontent to the surface. Economic Development Minister Grace McCarthy resigned on the eve of the restructuring which increased the cabinet to 22 members from 17, but eliminated her ministry. She joined Brian Smith, who quit his attorney general’s portfolio the previous week, echoing his complaints that the premier’s office was interfering too much in their ministries. Socred caucus chairman Carol Gran, who hoped in vain for a cabinet post, joined the growing list of party members questioning Vander Zalm’s leadership. “There is no question that we have a problem with leadership,” said Gran after reports that McCarthy had been working quietly behind the scenes for weeks to tackle Vander Zalm. McCarthy denied she was angling for a leadership review at the party’s October convention but said she “wouldn’t want to miss a chance to be part of a (leadership) review or decision,” at a caucus meeting next month. Gran, who stood by Vander Zalm after Smith’s resignation, said she was hurt when she was passed over for cabinet. But she was more upset by the fact that no one called to explain the decision to leave her out of the cabinet, which now has only one woman — Municipal Affairs Minister Rita Johnston. Russ Fraser, who served in cabinet under former premier Bill Bennett but was dropped by Vander Zalm, became the first backbencher to publicly call for a leadership review last Tuesday. “I think that the premier has problems and a number of issues must be put to rest, and I think he can do that best if he called a leadership review him- piling up premier PREMIER VANDER ZALM self,” said Fraser, who claimed the Socred backbenches held a “group of eight” dissidents. Alex Fraser, another former minister consigned to the backbenches, also promised to work to unseat Vander Zalm. “I’d do anything to get rid of Vander Zalm,” he said. Most of the fuss centres on the continuing influence of Vander Zalm’s principal secretary, David Poole. Smith and McCarthy complained the Poole and his staff were interfering in their ministries. “The people have lost confidence in the premier partly because of his ludicrous devotion to David Poole,” said one party insider in an interview with the Vancouver Province. Poole came under fire again last week with word that he had arranged a meeting for another prospective buyer of Crown property with the head of B.C. Enterprise Corp., the agency assigned to sell off large parcels of Crown land. Peter Brown, former chairman of the corporation, said Poole told him in a breakfast meeting last year that Vander Zalm wanted a bid by a party supporter to prevail on a parcel of land in the Vancouver suburb of Burnaby. “I don’t recollect making that statement to Mr. Brown at that meeting." Poole responded. Brown said Bill Langus, who wanted to buy the property, was also given details of competing bids by Poole. The land was eventually sold to another buyer because the corporation refused to met meet certain conditions demanded by Langus. Poole was under fire earlier this year for going to bat with the corporation for Peter Toigo. a millionaire friend of the premier who wanted to bid for all of the corporation’s land assets. Toigo, who gave a rare interview last week, said his connection with Vander Zalm has turned out to be a major disadvantage. It has made him into a media target and dragged him into a “political cesspool.” “I had no idea that just becoming a friend with somebody could ever cause this much goddamn trouble,” he said.