The Ottawa Citizen from Ottawa, Ontario, Canada • 15

The Ottawa Citizen, Friday, November 18, 1994 B3 ClTYLIFE Navy man off-duty, out of luck TXThilethe COMMENT Simple economics dictate that one of Ottawa's most famous landmarks becomes just a footnote in history. The Elgin Theatre drew neighbors together and brought patrons into local businesses, but X' l) I v. r. ye A I By Pauline Tarn Citizen entertainment writer At one time, you could have caught a Saturday matinee at the Elgin Theatre for 15 cents. Popcorn would have cost another dime.

On Thursday night, the final screenings of Quiz S)ww and Whate Music cost $4.25. Popcorn was another $2.75. Prices have changed and so have the times. Toronto-based Famous Players, which owns the Elgin, decided last week to shut one of downtown Ottawa's remaining landmarks. The theatre's closure comes almost to the day that Ottawa's first twin cinemas first opened at the corner of Elgin and Lisgar Streets 57 years ago.

'It's been a mainstay of the neighborhood," said Harvey Morin, who worked as an usher for 75 cents an hour in the 1950s at the theatre. "We're very sad," said Laurie Grace, who lives on nearby Maclaren Street. "I go to the movies a lot and I moved downtown to be neara theatre. I'm going to miss it." Other patrons, such as Westboro residents John Haramis and Cindy Evans, made a special trip to the Elgin Thursday, just to have one last look at the historic movie house. "I was disappointed when the Elmdale (on Wellington Street) closed, and I think people in this neighborhood will probably feel the same way," said Haramis.

The Elgin's last night also brought Shultz, the theatre's first full-time candy girl, who, brought her husband in regularly during the 1950s to see free movies such as Carmen and Jane Eyre. The Elgin opened on Nov. 16, 1937, as an air-conditioned theatre with 750 seats, state-of-the-art Mir-rophonic sound system, and a ventilation system designed to keep cigarette smoke away from the non i FREE MOVIES: Marion Shultz Details of the group's plans for the building are not yet public. "I don't want to see any kind of competition come in," says Maria Giannakos, whose family owns The Party Palace. "There are more than enough restaurants on this street already." Bob Jones, manager of The Mayflower Restaurant, says a possible plan for Elgin merchants to buy or rent the property and continue to operate it as a cinema would be a better alternative than a restaurant.

military sense of justice is under a microscope because of the Somali torture-murder, somebody might consider turning the magnification up, and take a look at the way the military has handled Brown's Beat DAVE BROWN one of its own members. As a serving member of the Canadian Navy, Ottawa native Kevin McNamara, 28, believed if he was out of his home port, he was on duty and protected by the Canadian military. March, 1992, he was serving aboard HMCS Restigouche out of Victoria, B.C., as a master seaman and sonar operator. The ship was on its way to take part in the blockade of Iraq, and was refu- elling at the United States Rodman Naval Station in Panama. While ashore, McNamara tripped on a lip of broken concrete, fell, and suffered a broken neck.

He joined the ranks of the quadriplegic. He picked the worst time and place in the world to take that The Panama Canal will be turned over to Panama's full own-f ership and control in 1999. Lead-ing up to that change-over, other countries are relinquishing powers. During the Carter administration, the U.S. circuit court for the Canal Zone was withdrawn.

It hasn't sat since 1982. The U.S. Navy, as a property owner, has insurance for this kind of accident on its property. But with no means of suing the insurer, McNamara is at a dead end. His lawyer is Aaron Gordon of Victoria.

He said Wednesday: 'People don understand. Insur ance companies don't hand out money if they don't have to. With no means of being sued, they don't have to." That seems to be an attitude shared by the Canadian military. It took the view that McNamara was not really on duty at the time, but on his way to duty. "I was fired," he says.

"No pension. No gold watch. No handshake. Nothing." Carrying the attitude a step further, there are great savings here for Canadian taxpayers. Had the ship been sunk with all hands on its way to duty, McNamara points out, only a quarter of the crew would have been on duty.

That means compensation payments could be cut by three quarters. Those asleep in their bunks could be considered off duty. "I'm not sure (what to do) about the quarter of the crew who would have been on coffee i break." Gordon and his client learned this week that the appeal they f. made to the U.S. Supreme Court, to order a judge to hear the case, had been rejected.

It happened out of its jurisdiction. Panaman- ian courts can't hear it because it' happened on U.S. property. "We can't sue because there's no appropriate jurisdiction," says-Gordon. "The only way this kid is going to get justice is if the Canadian government and the Canadian people get behind him.

We're going to have to win this in the political arena." McNamara currently lives in a- basement apartment in Victoria, surviving on $2,000 a month. Of -that, $1,300 is from a private dis- -ability policy he carried, and $700 from a government disabili-ty pension. His supporters keep referring to the Somali murder and asking questions like: Was the man who did the actual killing on duty at the time? Will his benefits be lost? Lawyer Gordon wants to sue the U.S. Navy for $1 10 million, His case is that the location of the broken concrete was haz- ardous, and McNamara injuries" were complicated by U.S. naval personnel who tried to help.

McNamara says his face was slapped and he was shaken, in attempts to get him up after the fall. He says one of his toughest fights now is against depression. He was an active man who played golf and soccer, and owned a motorcycle. He was planning to get married. The -marriage is off, and he spends his time reading action novels and 7 watching television.

He ranges quickly between -anger and humor. At one point he was angry that he was "let down by my government" A few i moments later he was kicking -around the sinking ship theory, I and laughing about the coffee break possibility. "I guess if you're on break, you're technically not on duty." He guessed that was the judg-. ment the people in charge of justice in the military would come up with. Ottawa-Carleton results smoking patrons.

The original facade of the building, its jutting marquee illuminated by tiny lights, still hangs as a faded black-and-white photo from 1938 at the neighboring Party Palace Restaurant. Fans of the Elgin have their own lore about the theatre. Employees such as usher Pat Clarke, 27, recall regular customers such as Mr. Popcorn, who made a daily visit to the theatre, just to order a small popcorn and drink, yet rarely stayed for a picture. The Elgin was built as an L-shape in keeping with the architectural traditions for movie houses of the time.

And the original smoking room is now the manager's office. The renovation blueprints for a second cinema, built in 1947, are still intact, stowed in the projectionist's booth. They show that Toronto architects Kaplan and Sprachman designed a short hall that connected the main cinema, affectionately known as The Main Elgin, to Cinema Two, also known as The Little Elgin. The hall, which has since been boarded up, allowed patrons to move freely between the two rooms. But over the years, the Elgin has deteriorated.

During a summer matinee this year, an entire chunk of the lobby's concrete ceiling collapsed because of a broken water pipe, said the theatre's 16-year-old cashier, Joel Charlebois. No one was hurt, but the falling concrete points to the Elgin's increasingly decrepit state. Electrical work totalling $50,000 is reportedly needed to maintain the building as movie house. Famous Players has accepted a conditional offer for the building from a group that includes car dealership owner Don Donnelly, who says he is a "very minor investor." 85 of 85 polls Michel Bellemare Fiona Faucher Chris Bilinsky Ward R12 130 of 130 polls M. Meilleur Laurie Gourlay 3,582 3,389 1,034 7,702 2,055 Ward R13 116 of 116 polls Jacques Legendre 3,317 Julie Taub Joan Gullen George Kelly Ward R14 117 of 117 polls Diane Holmes Dale Curwin Ross Taylor Bill Overall Ward R15 111 of 111 polls Linda Davis Marian Lothian Art Pope Ward R16 124 of 124 polls Wendy Stewart Val Parkinson Ward R17 110 of 110 polls Brian McGarry Nancy Mitchell B.

Costisella Ward R18 142 of 142 polls Peter Hume Rebecca Liff Sean Abdallah 2,348 2,059 1,893 6,496 1,080 742 222 4,071 3,579 3,166 7,315 2,797 5.027 4,660 269 11,142 1,172 1,166 Below are the final, official results Jay Acton 3,595 for the regional races. They were Stan McBride 1,748 released Thursday. Kevin Kinsella 1,592 WardRS Regional chair 113 of 113 pons 1,994 of 1,994 polls Gord Hunter 5,261 Peter Clark 106,786 Richard Stead 3,767 Frank Reid 55,352 Ward RIO Victoria Mason 15,365 108 of 108 polls Jim Jones 5,719 Dan Beamish 6,091 JohnTurmel 4,563 James McMahon 1,484 Ron Parker 2,446 Moe Royer 1,394 Lance Richardson 2,183 Kenneth McCarthy 1,042 Williams Ikkers 1,727 Ward Rll As was the Elgin Theatre's first "A theatre, brings people into the area, people who come here specifically for the movies who wouldn't normally be in the area." Among the handful of supporters on hand at the Elgin's last screenings Thursday was Ottawa councillor-elect Elisabeth Arnold, whose ward includes Elgin She said she would like to see the theatre facade given a heritage designation to prevent demolition, but added any heritage status would not protect the interior uses of the prop If Decision '94 Your vote counts Harris. In 1991, Arnold lost narrowly to Harris and fought unsuccessfully in court to have the results overturned. The margin in Monday's election is large enough that Harris is not entitled to a recount.

He would have to prove that there were voting irregularities to get a recount. Harris's campaign manager, Jim Cornelius, said Thursday that he was still reviewing discrepancies between their results which had Harris winning the race and the city's poll-by-poll results. "We have not decided whether we'll pursue it, and how we'll pursue it," Cornelius said. Harris could not be reached for comment In Rideau Township, official results confirmed incumbent mayor Jim Stewart's 29-vote margin of victory over Bryan Dorling. Although it's not within the range for an automatic recount, township clerk David Ball said Dorling's lawyer had told him a letter requesting a recount was on its way.

Final results released by Bruno Schlumberger, Citizen full time candy girl "I'd definitely like it to stay as a cultural space and I'd like to work with the people in the community to play a role in that," Arnold said. Regardless, as of today the Elgin's 25 part-time staff and one full-time manager will either be transferred to other Famous Play-1 ers theatres or leave their jobs. "To all of us, this job was just a fun way to make some money," says cashier Barbara Tarnaske, an Elgin employee who won't have a transfer. Ottawa's elections office confirmed victories for trustee Ted Best in Zone 3 of the Ottawa Board of Education, who was 19 votes ahead of rival Lynn Laide. In Zone 6 of the Ottawa-Carleton French Catholic School Board, trustee Albert Potvin maintained his two-vote edge over rival Maureen Drouin.

Potvin was one of two trustees elected in that zone, along with Pierre Cantin. Drouin, who is entitled to a recount, could not be reached for comment. In Gloucester, official results confirmed incumbent Judi Lian's 30-vote margin of victory over Bruce Tudin for a seat on the Carleton Board of Education. Although Tudin is not close enough to qualify, he has said he hopes to convince Gloucester council and the CBE to recommend a recount In Gloucester's Ward 6, candidate George Saade's campaign manager, Daryle Hayes, charged that some officials working at an advanced poll told voters not to cast ballots for Saade. He also complained that another candidate, Brent Colbert, was outside the advance polling station at Leitrim arena telling people not to vote for Saade.

Bruno Schlumberger, Citizen BY A WHISKER: Herb Kreling, left, has been declared the Ward 1 winner, by 23 votes. But runnerup Bob Monette, right, plans to seek a recount. Regional Ward 1 vote still up in the air Voter turnout 1994: 39 Regional Wards Ward Rl 90 of 90 polls Herb Kreling 3,275 Bob Monette 3,252 Keith De Cruz 3,118 Bernard Pelot 766 Stan Lamothe 371 Ward R2 83 of 83 polls Richard Cantin 4,245 Ed Campbell 3,800 Ian Campbell 414 Ward R3 Acclaimed David Pratt Ward R4 51 of 51 polls Alex Munter 6,572 MarkGallivan 4,546 M. Wilkinson 3,376 WardR5 150 of 150 polls Betty Hill 6,619 Roland Armitage 6,544 Mike Bryan 3,047 Ward R6 Acclaimed Robert van den Ham Ward R7 138 of 138 polls Alex Cullen 8,009 Betty-Ann Kealey 3,355 Andy Sammon 1,037 Ward R8 127 of 127 polls Al Loney 4,269 Citizen staff Bob Monette hasn't quit his day job yet, but neither has Herb Kreling. The candidates for election to regional council in Ward 1 went from Monette leading election night to being tied as of Wednesday to Kreling being declared the winner on Thursday.

Only 23 votes separated the two in the official' results. That's close enough to allow Monette to ask for a recount, which he plans to do. "This is very strange. The campaign hasn't stopped for me," said Monette, 42, a riding assistant for Liberal MPP Jean Poirier. Several losing candidates in Monday's municipal elections came close enough to winning that they feel entitled to recounts.

Roly Armitage said election officials owe him an explanation why they told him on Monday he had won the election by 211 votes, but then on Thursday declared Betty Hill the winner by 75 votes. If he's not satisfied with their answer, Armitage plans to ask regional council to permit a recount In Ottawa's Ward 6, Elisabeth Arnold won by 86 votes over Peter.