Citizen ScuOuu/i \ Low tonight: 8 High Sunday: 22 TVcetfAe* cletcUk. fiaqc 2 INCLUDES PLUS! MAGAZINE The Prince George Citizen SATURDAY, JULY 23, 1988 40 CENTS Koffee's back home Jimmy Parent has been reunited with a treasured companion. Koffee is a four-month-oid sheltie owned by Parent, a deaf mute. The dog disappeared more than a week ago from a local residence and his owner has been desperate to get him back. Parent had been training his pet to respond to sign language. The puppy would alert him if a light was left on or if the doorbell rang. The Parents advertised on the radio and in the newspaper but had had no leads to his whereabouts until Friday. A story which ran in The Citizen Thursday detailed the dog’s disappearance and asked anyone knowing of the dog to phone the Parents. “It turned out a family who had recently moved here (Prince George) from Saskatchewan had the dog,” said Marla Parent, Jimmy’s mother. “A small girl had brought it to their place and left it there and they had no idea who the dog belonged to.” “If it hadn’t been for the tattoo we never would have gotten him back,” she said. A friend of the new Prince George residents had seen the dog at their place and read an ad about Koffee’s disappearance but had not made the connection. But when the friend read the story in The Citizen he realized the dog had a tattoo and was the missing pet. He informed tue family that the dog was not a stray and they contacted the Parents. “Jimmy is overjoyed to have Koffee home again,” said his mother. Jimmy Parent, a 24-year-old deaf mute, is happy home again. Koffee, four-month-old sheltie back Citizen photo by Brock Gable Pulp firms 'taking a gamble' VANCOUVER (CP) — Unionized pulp and paper workers in British Columbia have ratified a three-year contract described by one industry spokesman as a gamble for companies facing a traditionally cyclical market. The new agreement which covers about 13,000 workers will cost the industry an additional $200 million over its three-year lifespan, said Eric Mittemdorfer, president of the Pulp and Paper Industrial Relations Bureau, which negotiated the deal. “That will have to come from the customers,” he said. Forest industry analyst Ross Hay-Roe warned that the contract could cut into industry profits if an expected downturn hits in 1991. “The companies are not going to be enjoying such fat margins,” he said. Members of the Pulp, Paper and Woodworkers of Canada and the Canadian Paperworkers Union voted 71 per cent in favor of the agreement which increases the base wage rate to $15.35 an hour from $14.48 in the first year — a six-per-cent hike — and 5.5 per cent in each of the final two years. By the end of the contract, the companies’ pension contributions will rise to $35 a month per union member for each year of service from the current $25. “We also have early retirement at age 60 with no penalty,” said Stan Sewaga, president of the Pulp, Paper and Woodworkers. The last contract expired at the end of June. Before negotiations, Mittemdorfer promised he wouldn’t agree to anything that would lock the industry into high labor costs, in case of another downturn. But he admitted the new agreement gives the province’s pulp and paper sector the highest labor cost in North America. “You’ve got a bit of a gamble,” he said Friday. “You’ve got a lot of things that could work against you. “We have to work that much harder to be a low-cost producer.” Support for the deal was broad among union locals, although workers at the Skeena pulp mill near Prince Rupert rejected the agreement. “A lot of criticism or feedback I have been getting was that there wasn’t enough negotiated in the first year, money-wise,” said Shewaga. “Part of it was that the industry has been releasing wonderful profit pictures and expectations of the membership was high- er than the negotiating team.” “I think it was the kind of contract where the companies feel they paid too much and the workers feel they didn’t pay enough,” echoed John Sketchley, president of the Canadian Paperworkers local at Canadian Forest Products’ Prince George pulp mill, whose members approved the agreement. In 1986, with the industry crawling out of a three-year slump, the unions settled for no wage increase that year and 40 cents an hour in 1987. Since then the industry has posted almost three years of record profits. With markets still strong, Hay-Roe said the new contract won’t cut into the industry’s competitiveness immediately. “It’s influential, but not dramatically so,” he said. What’s more important right now, said Hay-Roe, is the strength of the Canadian dollar against its American counterpart in an industry which buys and sells in U.S. currency. Men who batter women 5 Elvis-is-alive author 10 : ii NFL camps under way 11 Ann Landers.................6 Family......................6 Bridge......................17 Gardening .................P2 Business ..................8, 9 Horoscope..................18 City, B.C.....................3 Movies...............P12, P13 Classified................14-20 New Adventure ............P2 ‘ Comics .....................10 Religion................................7' Crosswords.............P2,17 Sports....................11-13 Editorial..................4, 5 *P — Plus Magazine Entertainment..............10 TELEPHONE: 562>2441 PILOT DIES IN CRASH The world’s smallest jet airplane crashed near Vanderhoof airport about 9:30 p.m. Friday, killing its pilot, Mike Brundage of Grand Prairie, Texas. Wayne Deorksen, Vanderhoof Airshow chairman, identified the pilot of the BD5-J: “I was the one who hired him.” He said Brundage had assembled the airplane that day and had taken it for a trial flight. Deorksen was told by witnesses that the jet took off and began to climb but did not go very high when it appeared to have a flame-out. Brundage apparently tried to re-start the jet because a loud bang was heard and flames shot from the rear of the plane. The plane’s descent was steep, eventually crashing through trees and hitting power or phone lines before slamming into a field next to the airport. Deorksen said although the tragedy was technically not connected with the airshow, scheduled to begin today at 12:20 p.m., there’s no denying Brundage and his aircraft were here to take part in the show. It is the first such incident in the show’s 10 years, he said. “The crew members, his wife — all of us — are devastated,” Deorksen said. “We have suffered the loss of a very fine pilot,” he said. Brundage is survived by his wife, Helen. The air show will continue as originally planned, Deorksen said. “He would have understood and would have wanted it.” Compromise on abortion offered MPs OTTAWA (CP) — The government offered a compromise approach on abortion to MPs Friday, proposing a policy of relatively easy access in the early stages of pregnancy and tougher restrictions later in the term. But anti-abortion MPs are sure to offer their own alternative when debate begins in the Commons next week, and advocates of freedom of choice will probably do the same. The government wants to hold a free vote before the House takes a brief summer recess, but the vote is only intended to establish a general policy. Detailed legislation to replace the law struck down by the Supreme Court of Canada in January will not be drafted until the fall. The whole process could backfire if none of the general policy options can win a majority in the 282-seat House, where there is no agreement among Conservatives, Liberals and New Democrats on what kind of law is needed or even whether one is needed at all. A government motion filed with Commons officers and made public Friday would allow abortion in “the earlier stages” of pregnancy if a woman’s doctor concludes there is a threat to her physical or mental well-being. In later stages, a second doctor’s opinion would be required and abortion would only be permitted if there is a serious threat to the woman’s life or health. No cut-off point is specified between early and late term. Doug Lewis, the deputy government House leader, has said MPs will be free to offer as many amendments as they want. He says the motion is only a device to facilitate debate and does not necessarily represent official policy. But the wording is identical to a proposal that was described by Justice Minister Ray Hnatyshyn as the “government position” when it was presented in May as part of an earlier package of three policy options. New Democrat Leader Ed Broadbent said his caucus will have to study the latest proposal before deciding how to vote and whether to propose amendments. But he offered a personal opinion that no new criminal legislation is needed to regulate abortion, and said if the government believes otherwise it should not waste time with a preliminary free vote. “If something is urgent you bring forward a bill . . . They are now proposing a totally unnecessary step by having this sort of Gallup poll in the House of Commons.” Liberal justice critic Bob Kaplan also slammed the motion, saying the vague wording is sure to produce a flood of amendments. “And every amendment that’s defeated will be moved again when the government brings its eventual bill forward. It’s a serious duplication of effort”. ’I can't see it. Look in your pockets." You'll have choice of sidewalk snacks It’s not haute cuisine — not yet, anyway — but sidewalk concessions will certainly add a cosmopolitan touch to Prince George streets. Downtown strollers already familiar with the wafting scents of hot dogs, french fries and popcorn will soon be following their noses to a variety of cuisines offered at as many as 11 sidewalk concessions. Sitting on a sidewalk bench to eat a leisurely lunch in the sun (and to enjoy the massed rainbows of pansies planted by city workers) has already become a treasured break in the day-to-day routine of many. Third reading of the street vendor bylaw was given approval by city council in May and the first street vendor licence was issued this month. There are currently 11 sites designated for sidewalk vendors and they are spread out over a seven-block area downtown. Sidewalk concessions are expected to blossom on the concrete lilypads of intersections and the first has been in operation since last week. Operated by Jack Ross and his wife Lorraine at Third and Victoria, the food stand is attracting favorable comments. “I love eating outside,” said one woman relaxing in the sun on a bench. “It’d be nice if they could keep this up year-round,” said a passing teenager carrying off a hot dog. Ross has applied to the city to rent one more sidewalk concession. The vendor also currently operates a mobile concession from behind the Prince George Hotel in the evenings, but that operation is separate from the sidewalk vendor bylaw, governed instead by one for mobile vendors. Anyone wishing to try out the life of a street entrepreneur can buy a place in the sun cheaply this year. Greg Anderson, development and projects engineer for the city said because the bylaw was just put into effect, city council has decided to charge street entrepreneurs $30 a month for the remaining months of this year. “Next year sidewalk vendors Lorraine Ross says operating a sidewalk concession with her husband Jack is “a great way to get a tan.” The cheerful cook will soon be joined by others now that street vendor licences are avail* able for designated sites downtown. Citizen photo by Lisa Murdoch will pay an annual fee of $300 for each site,” said Anderson. “We’ve modelled our set-up after the one in Victoria, but it will be a learning year for everyone to see how it (sidewalk vending) will work up here.” The first concession offers three kinds of hot dogs — regular, European and bratwurst — and will soon add com on the cob and shish-kabobs to the menu. “In the fall we want to try something different so we’re going to try numerous spe- cials,” said Ross. The sidewalk vendor mentioned Cajun cooking will be an addition this fall. “I can get fresh shrimp from Prince Rupert so we want to try shrimp creole and jambalaya. We’ll keep it up as long as we can, until the snow flies.” Ross said he has heard of an upcoming vendor who plans to sell hot baked potatoes and mini pizzas. “I think people are really going to like it (sidewalk vending),” he said. A