The Ottawa Citizen from Ottawa, Ontario, Canada • 15

Otty AROUND THE REGI0NB3 NOTICEB0ARDB4 COMICSB7 i PAGES B1-B8i fao3 Recession, looming Ul changes spur projected increase to 25 per cent Our administrative system is stretched beyond belief. Dick Stewart Deputy social services commissioner omy and expected cuts in federal unemployment benefits. The unemployment insurance changes, which have been blocked in the Senate for almost a year, will shorten benefit periods and make it more difficult for people to qualify in the first place. As a result, more people are expected turn to welfare. Another factor is a continued high rate of migration to the area by people from other parts of Canada and refugees from around the world, attracted by the region's relatively strong economy.

The region helps a backlog of refugee claimants who are not allowed to work until their status is determined. Stewart said the department has saved money by not increasing staff or equipment, despite the additional work. "Our administrative system is stretched beyond belief," he said. Nancy Beauchamp, public education coordinator of the Ottawa Council for Low Income Support Services, said the surging welfare costs will not address the long-term problems of poverty. Benefits levels are still too low, training programs do not lead to permanent jobs and the minimum wage is too low, she said.

Welfare costs make up a quarter of the region's operating budget. Yet regional council has instructed staff to present a 1991 budget holding any tax increase to 6.5 per cent. Regional Chairman Andy Haydon said keeping taxes down will be "nigh on impossible." He said the region will have take a hard look at optional welfare programs that pay for household appliances, dental services, Christmas supplements, community service centres and grants to outside agencies. Stewart told the committee the soaring costs are a result of the deteriorating econ By Doug Yonson Citizen regional bureau Welfare cases in Ottawa-Carleton will jump 25 per cent this year and 16 per cent in 1991, a regional official warns. "We don't know when this will end," the region's deputy social services commissioner, Dick Stewart, told social services committee members Thursday.

Stewart said that although the number of cases has risen more than the 17 per cent that had been anticipated, it should add just one per cent to the region's 1990 welfare bud- Haydon impossible' get or about $450,000. That is because a large part of the increased number of cases comes from welfare reforms that provide for partial assistance to the "working poor." But Stewart said next year's higher number of cases, coupled with an expected five-per-cent boost in payment levels, will drive up the budget by at least 15 per cent. Sabotage alleged in crash By John Kessel Citizen staff writer thi NK FAST! i WELFARE TAB 1990 costs: The total welfare budget for Ottawa-Carleton is $163 million. Who pays? Regional taxpayers pay 25 per cent of the bill. Ontario and the federal government pay the rest.

This year's increase: The local share rose 26 per cent this year to cover an increased caseload and higher benefits introduced in Ontario's reform of the welfare system. Recipients: Regional officials expect 1 8,800 people to collect welfare in December, compared to 14,700 a year earlier. 'lit ultrafast phenomena lab home to DAVE BROWN Citizen staff BROWN'S BEAT Dog trainer owed city explanation An eight-year-old golden retriever named Elsa died Tuesday. She was probably the best-known dog in Ottawa. Owned by professional trainers Vera and Clint McEvoy, of River Road, Gloucester, she was a regular performer in halftime shows at Rough Riders games, competing in flyball races.

These involve highly trained dogs jumping hurdles, popping a ball out of a box and racing back. Elsa was also a regular in the visiting program set up by Bytown Dog Obedience Club. Dogs make weekly visits to nursing homes and seniors' residences to cheer up residents. "Elsa seemed to always head straight for anybody in a walker or a wheelchair," said McEvoy. He believed the dog knew where her help was needed most.

Elsa was injured in an accident in July while taking part in a show at Riviere du Loup, Que. She was in pain and veterinarians were unable to guarantee a solution. Last week, the McEvoys reluctantly made what Clint calls "the toughest decision in 20 years as professional dog trainers." McEvoy drove Elsa to Gananoque -where a veterinary service operates its own crematorium. He stayed with her while she went to sleep for -the last time. He felt he owed an explanation.

"Thousands of people knew Elsa. A good dog. Hard to beat." Smoking confession Recently this column told of how a smudge fire was started in a garage by a man who was sneaking a cigarette, having promised his wife he would stop smoking. That story popped open a mental file drawer for John Walker of Metcalfe. It made him want to tell a story and confess to a friend.

Gary Sutherland, who now lives in Richmond, B.C., received a copy of the confession that landed on this desk. Sutherland and Walker were friends and neighbors a few years ago. In an attempt to quit smoking, Sutherland took the desperate step of making promises to his wife Sheryl. To add to his problems, he was. addicted to those little cigars with the plastic tips.

They stink. When Walker visited his friend, he was usually asked to join Sutherland for' a stroll while he walked the dog. He would smoke. Before returning home he would pop breath mints and spray air freshener on the dog, and on his own clothing. There were also many trips to the garden at the rear of the Sutherland -home, where the cigar addict would show off his flowers, smoke, and add the plastic-tipped butt to a large collection in the dirt under an I azalea.

"I know it was a cruel act on my; part," says the repentant One day he called Sheryl, claiming he wanted to know the name of a certain plant in Gary's garden. There was a name tag on it. And he told her where to look. It was, of -course, the azalea. "She never did call back with the name.

But Gary stopped smoking." Traffic beauty tip At 8:40 a.m. Thursday, while eastbound on the Queensway nearing Richmond Road, I was told to up to catch a new blue Buick. It was; in the fast lane. Sheila Brady, my wife, said she saw something worth a second The Buick was motoring along in -heavy traffic at 70 kilometres an hour. The woman was driving along, using the rearview mirror as she applied mascara.

I didn't want to be beside anyone driving like that, so fell back. "No no," said my co-pilot. "Catch" up again. Maybe we can watch her brush her teeth." The CLOSE-UP 4 the Eighteen hours before a 28-year-old Ottawa man was killed in his truck Wednesday, he received death threats warning him not to use the vehicle, police said today. Daniel Dubeau, of Debra Avenue, died when his truck slammed into another truck on Anderson Road in Gloucester at about 5 p.m.

Wednesday. Five others were injured. i Dubeau's father, Gilbert, said today that he answered the telephone four times from late Tuesday to early Wednesday. On three occasions, the caller, a man, issued death threats, Dubeau said. The caller hung up the first time when the father refused to wake his son.

On the third occasion, the caller told Dubeau his son would be "a dead man tomorrow." The father recalled that during the last call, the man said: "Tell him (Daniel) not to take the truck out he's a dead man." Ottawa and Gloucester police confirmed today that they have identified the caller, but would not say whether he has been questioned. Ottawa Insp. Tony Skinner said police were called by the father about the threats at 1:20 a.m. Wednesday, shortly after the Ifourth call. Police visited the home.

Gloucester police Sgt. Andy Zmi-Ijewski said forensic tests will be Jdone on the brakes and other parts i iof the 1987 four-wheel drive pick- truck owned by Dubeau. i "We won't rest now until we 'know whether the four phone calls 'land Danny's death are connected," father said. When Daniel Dubeau went to i Wednesday morning, he his vehicle carefully, especially the brakes, the father said. i'There didn't seem to be anything 'wrong with it.

Even the Ottawa jofficer looked over the truck." i- I Say welcome to first snow Citizen stall 1 Some Ottawa-area residents Iwoke to the first snowf lakes of the Reason early this morning. I Scattered flakes were reported of Ottawa, in locations such 'as Wakefield, Maniwaki and Mont Cascades. I Accu-Weather spokesman Bob Rod Maclvor, Citizen Flashy layout: Paul Corkum with laser city at NRC's Ultrafast Phenomena Section Laser lab makes short work of super beam mirrors, flashing lights and lasers is hopelessly cluttered. A sign on the door By Shelley Page Citien science writer I verything about this laboratory is The name: The Ultrafast Phenomena boss: Paul Corkum, a quick-thinking 1 latest invention: the most powerful warns janitors away. "The dust helps us see the beams," jokes physicist Donna Strickland.

The beams are pumped through an obstacle course of mirrors, which deflect the beams around and around, speedy. Section. The physicist. Its short-pulse A single femtosecond is to one minute what one minute is to the age of our universe gradually stripping away the background light to create a short-pulse laser. After travelling the circular route that creates the short pulses, the laser is bounced into a city of mirrors, where it is amplified several times.

At the end of its voyage, the laser explodes in a flash. laser in the world. "It's like an invisible pancake flying at you face on," Corkum says of the lightning-fast beam during a quick tour of the National Research Council lab where it was developed. The pulses of light in the beam are so short they must be measured in femtoseconds, which are a quadrillionth of a second long. In a mind-boggling comparison, Corkum says a femtosecond is to one minute what one minute is to the age of our universe (about 15 billion years).

And in its brief lifetime, one of these short pulses is so intense, Corkum says it has the power although very briefly of 20 Candu nuclear reactors. Lasers produce a beam of light which can be precise in color, direction and length of pulse. Some lasers are used to make burns or cuts in surgery. In supermarkets they measure the bar codes on grocery items, in construction they mark straight lines for laying a sidewalk or hanging a beam. But the NRC's short-pulse lasers Mil help scientists measure extremely fast chemical reactions.

"This will revolutionize the way we make measurements in time," Corkum says. Much of the work is theoretical now, and the potential uses aren't clear. But Corkum says when new measuring tools are developed, new discoveries are made. Corkum says they hope to "take pictures" of the movement of molecules in chemical reactions, or possibly change the structure of materials, such as metal, with the quick, high-power pulses. This is the 20-femtosecond pulse, which Corkum describes as an invisible flying pancake.

A longer pulse might look like a flying pencil. The group of physicists first made waves five years ago when they developed the shortest-pulse infrared laser. Since then, the team has been able to make shorter pulses that pack more power. Corkum's comparison to 20 Candu reactors can be misleading. While a power station pumps power for years, a pulse only has power for an "incredibly short time." Other research teams, including one at Bell Laboratories in the United States, have also developed the same type of laser, but a weaker version.

Corkum predicts great advances will come from these powerful lasers. They could lead to an understanding of how materials respond to high-intensity light. And Corkum excitedly predicts this laser will help physicists "rip" electrons away from their atoms to alter the structure of matter. iVislocky said a sprinkle of ram or ia few more wet flakes could fall 'throughout the region before the lend of the day. But gradually clearing skies will Imean that the overnight low of -2 jwon't be accompanied by any Isnow, Vislocky added, j- Saturday is expected to be sunny iwith a high of 8.

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