The Ottawa Citizen from Ottawa, Ontario, Canada • 34

C2 THE OTTAWA CITIZEN CITY TUESDAY, OCTOBER 14, 1997 Blood: Some hospitals postpone elective surgery Franklin: Mayor lives the Nepean dream in 'old Barr' required daily for some patients with malignant diseases. Ruth Derrick, a spokeswoman for, the Children's Hospital of Eastern Ontario, said the hospital's own supply of blood is low. "We will be evaluating elective surgery to determine whether any operations will have to be postponed," Ms. Derrick said. "Like other hospitals, we always have a small supply of blood for emergencies.

We are running low on blood, but we haven run out." Mr. Saint-Pierre said the Red Cross is asking people to donate blood as early as possible today because it takes 12 hours to test the blood for communicable diseases before it can be shipped to hospitals. The Toronto Blood Centre launched an emergency blood drive yesterday because blood supplies there dropped to a "critical level." Mary Ferguson, director of public, affairs for the Red Cross in Ontario, said public uncertainty about the role of the blood agency coupled with stricter donation guidelines have reduced the number of donors across the country. With files from Canadian Press THE OTTAWA CITIZEN Al Loney is the mayor's friend and golf partner. community were accomplished by his predecessor Andy Haydon, Mr.

Reid said. Chief among Mr. Franklin's critics is former Nepean councillor Sh'ayna Shuster. The one-term councillor sued Mr. Franklin and Mr.

Loney for slander, alleging the two said she agreed to approve a large store in return for future real-estate business. She was cleared of influence peddling and the suit was settled out of court. "As long as he is getting his way, Mr. Franklin is conciliatory, non-confrontational," Ms. Shuster said.

"There are always hidden agendas, things get rumoured even though the face to the public is the jolly, middle-aged man who is doing his job." "I'll put it as nicely as I can. He's an old-style politician. Things are done in the backroom. That's not my idea of what democracy should be," Ms. Shuster said.

"The good quality of life that we do have came by accident, not by plan," she said. When people point to bad planning in Nepean, they point to the commercial ribbons of Robertson and Merivale roads. Even Mr. Franklin grudgingly admits they don't look good. "He has got to take the blame for Robertson Road, Merivale Road, for poor planning," Ms.

Shuster said. For his part, Mr. Franklin calls the roads "good shopping areas" providing "good employment" "I'd like to see anyone do any better," Mr. Franklin said. Without him taking control of the situation, "It could have been chaos." As for his feelings about Ms.

Shuster, Mr. Franklin is very careful. "In my opinion, she was not a constructive member of council and she was defeated." It was not always clash and bang at Nepean City Hall. In fact, the self-ad-mittedly reserved Mr. Franklin I was in high school, I'd get red when I put my hand up.

I'm a bit ran a pretty quiet ship. "He's just Ben," Mr. Loney said. Sometimes people told him, "Ben, you have to look more like a mayor." Not exactly a style maven, Mr. Loney and Mr.

Franklin went on a trip to northern California on city business with the mayor taking only one pair of dress pants. When they were meeting U.S. civic officials, "I was having to stand in front of him a good deal of the time because we didn't want anybody to see the ketchup that was on his pants from the Continued from page Ci Mr. Saint-Pierre said two or three serious car crashes could use up all the blood stored at the Red Cross Ottawa Centre and at local hospitals. He said the local Red Cross can't obtain blood from Toronto or Montreal where there are critical blood shortages or from 15 other Red Cross centres in Canada where blood is in short supply.

Dr. Janis Bormanis, a hematologist at the Ottawa Civic Hospital, said some elective surgery will be postponed, but the hospital had enough blood to meet its needs last night. He added the hospital would be in serious difficulty if people didn't donate their own blood for elective surgery. "This shortage makes life difficult for patients and doctors," Dr. Bormanis said.

"This is bad, period. If there is no blood, it will endanger lives. "It is always a juggling game and never pleasant. We have already juggled things for tomorrow (Tuesday). The most serious cases will get blood first." Dr.

Bormanis said blood has been in short supply in the region since August. He added blood transfusions are Acclaimed: Continued from page Ci Mayors in Vanier and Cumberland are unchallenged. Four regional councillors and three Ottawa councillors won by acclamation. In Rockcliffe Park, the mayor and all four councillors were returned to their seats without a contest. Across the region, lawn signs are being mothballed, and campaign teams disbanded.

For Ms. Hill, whose career as a municipal politician spans 25 years, it's a relief. "This would have been my ninth election campaign," says Ms. Hill. She was first elected reeve of Richmond in 1972, and spent four terms as mayor of Goulbourn Township before jumping to regional council in 1994.

"It's kind of nice to get the acclamation. Especially when you're down with a cold, and feeling kind of miserable as I do." Last municipal election, Ms. Hill won by only 75 votes over challenger Roland Armitage. Ms. Hill suspects opponents were reluctant to run against her because it's expensive to campaign in the huge rural ward, which includes Goulbourn, Rideau, and West Carleton townships.

Alex Munter, the regional councillor for Kanata, says he has mixed feelings about being acclaimed. "It's obviously nice to be re-elected, but I enjoy a good fight." Mr. Munter began organizing his reelection campaign last spring. Everything was ready to go. The campaign office in Beaverbrook Mall opened a month ago, complete with 10 phone lines.

Workers collected $21,000 in campaign contributions. Most of the 16,000 households in Kanata have been given a leaflet. Mr. Munter says he won't stop the campaign, he'll simply switch tactics. He'll still put out a second leaflet, but Rideau Kiwanis Lottery Winners Draw held October 9, 1997 $300 501 Shirley MacMillan $150 614 June, Joe Bill $100 546 E.

Rhoades $100 449 June Peskett $100 198 P. Ryan Lottery Hot-Line 828-31 72 Aficro Dermabrasion Removal fine lines, wrinkles, brown spots, pigmentation, acne scars, keloids, stretch marks Grace 455 Somerset (Near Kent St.) 567-8900 Continued from page Ci "When our taxes were higher, there was short-term pain, but now we're getting the long-term gain," he said. Today, Nepean has $47 million in reserves, enough to do such things as indirectly lend the City of Ottawa money to build its Triple-A baseball park. "The money is all designated. It's not a slush fund," he said.

"It's part of our pay-as-you-go planning. There is money put away for fixing up our buildings as they need to be repaired. Money put away for new fire trucks as they are needed. Money put away for (workers') compensation claims which I am sure there will be. There's money put away for very specific reasons." If you need it, you need not borrow.

"It's a policy all governments should have," he said, and, indeed, many have tried to adopt. But they have done so, due to mammoth accumulated and operational deficits from decades of excess, at much expense to services and citizens. Mr. Franklin is living the full Nepean dream now. His four-bedroom home on a quiet crescent in old Barrhaven (Barrhoovians make these distinctions, the old Barr is big trees and gracious homes, the new Barr is vinyl and pipsqueak lots) takes advantage of the reasonable property taxes and low property costs so far from the downtown core.

He and his wife of 32 years, Sherrell, raised two now-grown children, have two cars (a 1993 Oldsmobile and a 1989 LeBaron convertible), two big, friendly dalmations that look like they came right off a Bells Corners fire truck, and a gaudy bust of Elvis (the mayor is a fan). The home is comfortable, pleasant and well-taken-care-of, much like Nepean itself. It's just these characteristics that drive the mayor's critics to distraction. It's not that Nepean isn't nice, and the city after 20 years is very much the creature of the mayor, it's just that Nepean could be so much more, they say. The community has a well-educated, reasonably prosperous population, a blank slate of open land with which to work and the resources to build something special, maybe something great.

"There's no vision. He was a custodial mayor," said Frank Reid, a member of Nepean council from 1980 to 1991, who was once a close acquaintance of the mayor, but now they "are not on the same Christmas card list anymore." "He should have moved on to another political position halfway through his term," Mr. Reid said. "He got too comfortable." Mr. Franklin always had good staff and bureaucrats on whom to rely and he let them run the community, Mr Reid said.

Thus, Mr. Franklin could concentrate on what he did best, politics. "He was an incredibly good politician in terms of schmoozing. He's a likable person," Mr. Reid said.

Beyond building the Nepean City Hall, which he calls "useful and functional," Mr. Reid said Mr. Franklin's economic initiatives have been failures. In particular, the $6-million South Merivale Business Park has been under-used. Kanata had a better idea of what it wanted to be, Mr.

Reid said, and Mr. Franklin mostly took care of the existing facilities, he didn't add to them much. Most of the great works in the Fringe: Today's Continued from page Ci Let the sun shine in, Face it with a grin Why so-called fringe candidates run with virtually no hope of winning is a mystery that has confounded lesser mortals since the Greeks invented democracy more than 2,000 years ago. Fact is, fringe candidates are unknown, inexperienced and, more often than not, woefully short of cash. That's why they're called the fringe.

But today's offbeat wannabe could be tomorrow's main event. Among them is Chris Jalkotzy, 45, who is the first to admit he didn't have a hope six years ago when he ran against Peter Clark for regional chair. The voters didn't think so either, and gave Mr. Jalkotzy a piddling 4,700 votes against Mr. Clark's 58,800.

But now he's among seven candidates in Ottawa's Capital Ward, which Jim Watson has left to run for mayor. Mr. Jalkotzy says he's got a good chance this time not just because he has a firm grasp on how local government works, but because a crush of other candidates means he needs fewer votes to win. "Much to my good luck, there are lots of people running so it means a lot less work," he says. "I was a fringe candidate when I ran for regional chair.

But did I add to the debate? Yes, I think I did because I highlighted environmental and planning issues during the campaign. "So even though I knew I had no hope of winning, I still contributed. If you try to eliminate the fringe candidate then you're going to eliminate people like me." This little light of mine, I'm going to let it shine At 36, front-running Ottawa mayoral candidate Jim Watson has $100,000 and a legion of 350 volunteers behind his campaign. He has a computet data a THE OTTAWA CITIZEN Frank Reid thinks the mayor should have moved on earlier. first day of the trip," Mr.

Loney said. The mayor put in a call back home to get staff to send him his other pants. The airline promptly lost the package and Mr. Franklin had to do with his one set of trousers. The wayward slacks got back to Nepean about two weeks after Mr.

Franklin. City staff held a party for the pants to celebrate the air miles the clothing had piled up. Despite wanting to run again, Mr. Franklin said, "I feel very, very satisfied and very happy with being mayor of Nepean. I think Nepean is a community that people can look to and say, 'There's a good For his part, when municipal restructuring comes, he would prefer that Nepean remains the way it is.

"Smaller municipalities listen to constituents and create competition between communities," he said. His second option would be a Ne-pean-Kanata merger but he feels the timing of the Nepean merger referendum is a bit off. "I would say, very honestly, if Ben were still sitting there in the chair, Kanata and Nepean would still be working together" on a merger, Kanata Mayor Merle Nicholds said. "Somehow I can't imagine Nepean without Ben Franklin. He was always pushing to find some way of making something work." Had he the power to restructure regional government, Mr.

Franklin would choose the Greater Ottawa model where individual municipalities would be the decision centres and they, in turn, would buy services from a greater Ottawa service board which would handle intercity affairs. On he leaves office, he fears the lack of participation by citizens in the community. "Get more involved in local government. I'm concerned about the apathy that is out there," Mr. Franklin said.

"I mean government and all the volunteer activities that add strength to the community. It may not be at city hall but it may be the cancer society, the AIDS committee. It doesn't matter what, get involved. "That's the strength of the community. The greatest natural resource in any community is its people." Ms.

Shuster said without people participating in the community, citizens don't know the government they are receiving. When speaking about Mr. Franklin and his administration, she said: "We deserve what we get." can only look up. "Nobody wanted to run, so I said I'll do it," says Mr. Gauthier of his decision.

He couldn't stand the thought of Mr. Watson getting in by acclamation. "I have to polish my public speaking, but what the hell? I have nothing to lose. If I lose, it has still been an interesting experience." Smilers never lose, frowners never win Of course, not everyone can win. Perennial candidate and professional gambler, John Turmel, says winning isn't the reason he's trying yet again to be regional chair.

Victory? Fat chance. And Mr. Turmel is the first to admit it. Now an entry in the Ginnness Book of Records for his 40-something failed attempts at public office, Mr. Turmel relishes the prospect of media exposure.

That's why he runs so frequently at federal provincial and municipal levels. He spends no money on his campaigns. Zilch. "That would mean I'd have to hire a bookkeeper and accountant and file papers," says Mr. Turmel, in a telephone interview from where else? Atlantic City.

"The goal was never to get elected. It was always to install LETS." LETS is a local employment training system Mr. Turmel is promulgating to anyone who will listen. He compares it to a barter system using a currency accepted by members of a community, similar to poker chips or Canadian Tire money. If everyone accepts it, then everyone, including the unemployed, can trade their labour for credits.

Yes, but what about the campaign? What about getting votes? "I take every opportunity to explain LETS," Mr. Turmel says. "You won't find me knocking on doors." Rod Eade writes for the Citizen. The anticlimax it will be a survey asking residents for their opinion on issues, rather than soliciting their vote. Mr.

Munter says he'll continue canvassing door to door to discuss issues. Most of the money raised for the campaign will be spent on rent, the leaflets, and a party for volunteers, he says. Ottawa Coun. Diane Deans had already put up 400 lawn signs. They Were taken down this weekend after Friday's deadline for nominations passed and no one came forward to oppose her.

"It's a little anticlimactic," she says. "But it's the greatest vote of confidence a politician can receive. It says that their constituents are fully satisfied, to the point where no one wants to run against you." The lack of competition doesn't mean voters are apathetic or unaware of the issues, says Ms. Deans. In Rockcliffe Park, the entire council was acclaimed.

Voters must be satisfied, said Coun. Gordon Roston, the deputy mayor. Most residents strongly support council's campaign to prevent the village from being amalgamated in the wave of municipal restructuring, Mr. Roston says. That's the major issue within the village of 2400 people.

"The community has really coalesced behind the council to present arguments that Rockcliffe continue to be an independent municipality." He laughs. "The enemy is not the council, the enemy is outside the gates." Rockcliffe may not have a selection of candidates to vote for. But residents participate in public meetings on issues, says Mr. Roston. Because it's a small place, most people know the councillors and don't hesitate to phone them if there's a problem.

There also the matter of the salary paid Rockcliffe councillors. There isn't one, a factor that undoubtedly helps limit the field. Event? Fun(d)Rsiser Lecture Sneak Preview Fax to: 829-7033 Our Town The Cffizenis Outlook on Community Events Information: 829-8093 i OTTAWV I Installed into Masonry Fireplaces cw Liner and 15ft, ofGaslineT-1 basic -black finish flush model starting at 195! included i OPEN JUNUAX NOON TO 5 pm Laurent Shopping Centre FRIDAY A T( 3 SATURDAY ICAMT0 5PM'. NOON 4 1 -1 1 "Mat-: 4 offbeat, tomorrow's main event NO TIL A SEPT. '98 base to tap another 400 workers should he need reinforcements.

After two terms on council, Mr. Watson is moving up to seek the seat being vacated by Mayor Jacquelin Holzman, who has declined to seek another term. Opposition? Nothing too serious a 60-year-old publisher who wheels around town in an electric car; a 36-year-old self-employed computer trainer; and a 35-year -old street musician who seems, well, exquisitely difficult to get ahold of. "I suspect not many fringe candidates actually consider themselves to be fringe," Mr. Watson says.

"If they have some realistic ideas and objectives they can add something positive to the debate. "But if they're not serious, then it can belittle and confuse the democratic process. People want real alternatives, not jokes." However, Mr. Watson tactfully declines to make comments about the sincerity, if not political acumen, of his opponents. Face it, challenger Alexander Saika-ley, 36, didn't exactly wow the voters when he went against Ms.

Holzman for mayor in 1994. She collected 34,117 votes; Mr. Saikaley in fifth place got just 1,677. Today, he's running again for mayor and is not dissuaded by the obvious big-gun competition. "That was my introduction to having public presence.

It was more to teach myself about the process and issues. "I had no false hope at the time," Mr. Saikaley says. "This time it's a serious campaign, in that my objective is to win." So says, too, first-time mayoral candidate Robert Gauthier, 60-year-old publisher of National Capital News. About a week ago he gave himself a scant five-per-cent chance of winning; today, he's upped the prediction to 15 percent.

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