The Ottawa Citizen from Ottawa, Ontario, Canada • 11

Otty AROUND THE REGI0ND3 N0TICEB0ARDB7 SECTION PAGES B1-B8 HH .7 staff to DAVE BROWN Citizen staff "I Committee OKs hikes for region's bosses By Doug Yonson Citizen regional bureau BROWN'S BEAT ministrative officer of Metropolitan Toronto, which has more than three times the population of Ottawa-Carleton, is $114,225 to $139,360, said an official with Metropolitan Toronto. Regional Chairman Andy Haydon said the region's pay scales have been "considerably lower that anything you want to compare it to. We have to be fair to our employees." The region is negotiating a 1990 contract with the Local 503 of the Canadian Union of Public Employees, which is seeking an 8.3-per-cent raise Union president Jim Robillard said he had po objection to the pay increases for senior managers because union members have already received similar raises thanks to job evaluation. The region has already completed a comprehensive job evaluation program, designed to identify inequitable or inconsistent pay classifications, for most of its 3,200 unionized employees. The job evaluation program incorporated Ontario's pay equity legislation for jobs occupied predominantly by women.

That process produced average onetime pay hikes of 6.5 per cent for union members in 1989 or 1990, in addition to inflation adjustments each year. But that meant senior unionized employees were being paid as much as some senior managers, said Rick Anderson, the region's personnel commissioner. The proposed new grid is the result of a job evaluation process on the senior managers' jobs, Anderson said. The 1990 wage rate for the chief ad Under the proposed pay grid, the Otta-wa-Carleton regional solicitor and commissioners of environmental services, finance, social services, and transportation will earn between $94,267 and $112,472 in 1990. The equivalent jobs in Metro Toronto pay $95,437 to $116,589.

At the city of Ottawa, the top commissioners earn between $94,363 and $107,616. The region's raise has two parts: a 5.2-per-cent across-the-board increase to offset inflation, and an average 6.5-percent increase to reflect the first comprehensive review of senior managers' wage rates since the region was formed in 1968. Seventy-one of the region's top managers are in line for wage increases averaging 11.7 per cent in 1990. The new pay scales will bring the salaries of the region's department heads into line with comparable jobs at the city of Ottawa, and make them nearly as well paid as Metropolitan Toronto senior managers. Regional Council will be asked Wednesday to approve a new salary structure for the managers, whose average 1990 salary will exceed $79,850.

The proposal has already been approved by the executive committee. upport Wayne Hiebert, Citizen Kerr-Wilson and Tott Handmade hitchhiker gets to Hill hitchhiker arrived on Parliament Hill recently to deliver messages, having 'gone without food and water grows for Triple-A 4 opposing aldermen may now back east-end project By Jack Aubry Citizen city hall bureau Ottawa Mayor Jim Durrell's dream to build a Triple-A baseball stadium appears on the verge of becoming reality. Several aldermen who opposed the project in December may be ready to support the latest proposal, to build a stadium just off the Queensway at the Vanier Parkway. Council voted 9-7 against similar proposals at Bayview Yards and Rideau River Park. Only the reversal of two votes would be needed to change the verdict.

But four former opponents Dal-housie Aid. Michael Janigan, Canterbury Aid. Michael. McSweeney, Queensboro Aid. Mark Maloney and Britannia Aid.

Jim Jones said Monday they are more comfortable with the latest site than the ones proposed in December. "I've got an open mind. I've always been a supporter of Triple-A baseball it was just the sites that were being proposed that I opposed," said McSweeney. McSweeney and Janigan said they could not support a stadium in the Lebreton Flats area and were concerned about the cost of removing buried garbage at Rideau River Park. "It's a better package this time.

I expect it to get Maloney. The seven council members who sup- Proposed park: Ottawa committee will decide Wednesday whether to back $21 stadium ported baseball in December remain committed to the project. Most aldermen said they will not take a firm stand until they are briefed on the proposed deal with the federal government to obtain the 21-acre site. Jeff Polowin, the mayor's aide, said the new site eliminates some uncertainties which existed when the first two sites were rejected. He said council was concerned about moving the city's equipment yards from Bayview Yards.

And the city had yet to negotiate a deal for the federally-owned Rideau River Park. Another plus for the proposal is that the cost of planning the stadium is down to $800,000 from $1.3 million in December, Billings Aid. Joan O'Neill said. She said that's because there are not as many studies to perform for the site, which is cleaner and ideally located for transportation. The city's total contribution is set at $4 million which would be recovered over 15 years from the baseball team, which promoter Howard Darwin is trying to bring to the area.

O'Neill said the project will still have several other hurdles to clear, including raising $13 million from the private sector. Darwin said he assumes the Montreal Expos offer to move its Triple-A team to Ottawa still stands. He said 1993 is probably the earliest a team could be brought to the city. The sports entrepreneur, who is still enthusiastic about bringing a team to Ottawa, said he will travel to the major leagues meeting in Las Vegas July 7 if council gives its approval. The land deal, which will be discussed in private by the two committees, will likely involve little city-owned land.

Instead, in exchange for the proposed stadium site worth more than $10 million, the city would agree to take over a number of federal roads to reduce operating costs for the National Capital Commission. CLOSE-UP Controversial ARMX to build new home at Carp Airport I think the main object of the inwove- ments is to respect the privacy and dignity of the people I don't think anyone likes to Share all the time. -Gabrielle Laviolette Residence Saint-Louis resident, pictured right By Jacquie Miller Citizen staff writer V. for the 14 days it took to catch eight rides from the Toronto area. He's tough.

His name is "Tott" and he's made of plywood. It started when 35 Grade 5 and 6 students from Tottenham Public School, north of Toronto, decided to protest directly to Prime Minister Brian Mulroney. Each wrote a letter giving a thumbs down to the proposed Goods and Services Tax. When it came time to bundle them up and deliver them, they came up with the idea of a special messenger. They built Tott of Tottenham; a hitchhiker four feet tall.

He was dressed in a bright red rain jacket and grey baseball cap. His right arm was raised with the thumb perpetually in the "going-my-way" position. He was given a packsack containing the letters, plus directions to drivers, and a diary in which they were to enter details of their help to Tott. He was placed on a highway near the school June 8, with a sign around his neck: "Please help me get to the Ottawa Parliament Buildings." It was a long, tough ride. He rode in trunks, was abandoned and left four days with a pile of garbage, and taken on rides in the wrong direction.

"Our father is a police officer and he saved you from the garbage," wrote one girl. "We hope you make it." That was when he was abandoned with the garbage at a service station near Orillia. He was going north instead of east. Ten days after he started, Tott turned up at Miner's Lake Lodge north of Lake Simcoe. Minden newspaper reporter Jay Kerr-Wilson picked him up and turned him over to a school in Minden.

But the journey of the wooden messenger started to nag at Kerr-Wilson. "The thing spent two weeks going 100 miles in the wrong direction." He made room for Tott in the back of his hatchback, drove him to Ottawa, helped him deliver his letters to the Prime Minister's Office, and drove him home. Sponsor-a-kid Some kids face a long tough summer as their mothers adjust to new and independent lives after breaking away from abuse and violence. St. Matthew's Harmony House is a second-stage shelter.

After being cleared through emergency shelters, like Interval House, the next step is adjustment through a place like Harmony. It's still several steps from independence, and while the adjustment is made the children can only wait it out. The job of creating a healthy atmosphere for children at this stage has fallen to Lynn Young, summer co-ordinator for Harmony House. She has come up with "Sponsor-a-Kid" in which she hopes individuals or businesses will for $50 become a sponsor. She's open to donations of sports equipment, or perhaps a day at a cottage.

There are currently at Harmony House 14 children, ranging in age from five months to 14 years. Call 233-3386. A la cart dads Like most fathers, Daryl Poirier of Henry Farm Drive, is constantly surprised at the unexpected puzzles he has to solve. One of his latest was to, at the last minute, find three shopping carts for 18-year-old daughter Suzanne's drama class. He explained his dilemma to Art Simmonds at Robinsons Foodmarket, Merivale Road.

Within minutes he had the necessary props, no deposit necessary. Art Simmonds is a father too. A Residence Saint-Louis residents like Alma Chenier, above left, await renovations ARMX has found a home at Carp Airport for its controversial weapons trade show. ARMX organizers said today they plan to construct a $5-million building at the airport, in West Carleton Township, to house the bi-annual military equipment exhibition. The building will also have permanent aerospace and technology exhibits, and host other trade shows relating to airports and airport construction.

Ottawa banned the exhibition from city property after disarmament groups protested the May 1989 ARMX show at Lansdowne Park. Three of the last four ARMX shows have taken place in Ottawa on city land. The other was in St-Hubert, Que. But West Carleton township and airport officials say they welcome ARMX because it will give a boost to the local economy. "I see it as being a tremendous thing for our region," said West Carleton Mayor Eric Craig.

Craig said he expects protesters, but the ARMX fair is not "a criminal act or illegal." Peace activists say they'll continue the fight against ARMX '91. The Coalition to Oppose the Arms Trade was to hold a press conference today at noon to denounce the military equipment trade show. ARMX spokesman Rob Kloppenburg said the West Carleton site is ideal because it's near Ottawa and easily accessible to federal government officials who are expected to attend the fair. In December, organizers warned the exhibit might be moved to Calgary or Montreal. The new building, to be called the Ottawa-West Carleton International Aerospace and Technology Centre, is expected to be complete in time for the ARMX 1993 show.

The 1991 ARMX will be held in existing airport buildings and some tents. The airport is owned by Transport Canada, but responsibility for managing it is being transferred from West Carleton to a seven-member airport authority. Peace activists will likely demonstrate at the trade show and will continue trying to educate the public about the "immoral, unethical and evil side" of the trade show, said coalition spokesman Richard Sanders. About 13,000 people attended ARMX '89 to view displays of everything from tiny explosive mines to chemical weapons, protective gear, handguns and battle-ready helicopters. Critics say the show puts arms manufacturers in touch with repressive regimes that will use weapons against their own people.

In 1989, organizer Wolfgang Schmidt said he regretted having invited diplomats from countries like South Africa and Chile, which are human rights violators, to the show. Seniors' homes forced to listen to desire for private rooms By Dave Rogers Citizen staff writer anada's oldest nurse sits in a natrhwnrk armchair near her tiny bed at Residence Louis and keeps asking for a room of her own. Alma Chenier. 101. and hiinrirpHe nf nthor One of the region's government homes has already made improvements.

Carleton Lodge on Hwy. 16 completed a building a year ago. And Island Lodge plans to replace its Porter's Island site within five to 10 years with two smaller buildings somewhere in Ottawa that will give residents more privacy, while the French-language Centre d'Accueil Champlain in Vanier will build a $10-million addition within five years to give its 116 residents private rooms. But privacy has a high cost about $80,000 to $100,000 for each new room. The main factor in the cost is the price of plumbing to install private bathrooms.

Construction prices and special equipment to monitor certain patients add to the price. The basic fee for shared and private rooms is the same: $75 a day at regional government homes and $41 to $66 a day at "charitable homes." Most residents are responsible for at least $25 a day after provincial subsidies. There are five charitable homes: Bronson Home, Hillel Lodge, Glebe Centre, St. Patrick's Home and Residence Saint-Louis. St.

Patrick's Home on Riverside Drive built an Please see PRIVATEB2 residents of seniors' homes that are funded by the province are telling home administrators they want private rooms. And home administrators throughout the region have been forced to listen. Competition from private retirement homes, increased awareness of human rights, and the residents' desire for privacy have forced at least five of the area's eight homes to construct new buildings or plan renovations to accommodate them. The province has no waiting list for those who want private rooms because few are available, especially in older homes. The majority of residents share rooms ith one to three strangers.

Statistics from area homes show 535 residents have private rooms and 744 live in shared rooms. For the past two years the province has paid half the cost of improvements that will give 80 per cent of residents private rooms. The region or the charitable groups that operate the homes pay the remaining costs..