Star-Phoenix from Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada • 16

B6 LOCAL The StarPhoenix Saskatoon, Saskatchewan Thursday, March 17, 2005 Business basics don't change: Apprentice winner 66 think if people can master the fundamentals of business and use that as their foundation, they can build upon that anything they Bill Rancic, The Apprentice winner W.J.au,4i.-i.,- IP pun-urn. 6 I By Brad Brown of The StarPhoenix The same factors Bill Rancic says led him to victory on The Apprentice are just as important to a successful business in Saskatchewan as they are in the United States, he said in Saskatoon Wednesday. "The message that Im going to really deliver is why did 1 win? What separated me from the 215,000 people (who) wanted this job?" he told The StarPhoenix before speaking at the Saskatchewan Professionals Entrepreneurs conference. "If people can walk away with that and apply those to their everyday life they'll hopefully find themselves in a better place," he said. Rancic believes the ability to take and successfully manage risks, alter business strategies when needed, and perhaps most importantly, execute those strategies, are the keys to a successful business.

"So many people talk a great game in this world," said Rancic. "They're going to do this, they're going to do that, they're going to go to the moon, but they never can execute, they never get anywhere, and they're not successful." Even with 20-plus years of business experience behind him, it's been Rancic's experience on and as The washing and waxing business and started up Cigars Around The World, which has evolved into a successful Internet and wholesale cigar distribution company. He also sits on the board of directors for Loretta Foods of Toronto. "The one thing that I'll walk away with from this is that business isn't a lot different at the highest level, which is where Trump is at, than what it was like at Cigars Around The World or my boat business," he said. "The numbers are much larger but the fundamentals of business, they never change, and I think if people can master the fundamentals of business and use that as their foundation, they can build upon that anything they want." It's those fundamentals that Rancic says can help a business owner overcome any number of obstacles, no matter where they operate.

"I don't think (Saskatchewan) is any different than anywhere else, it's just a different set of challenges," he said. Other speakers included Kelly Hrudey of Hockey Night In Canada, Saskatchewan Party Leader Brad Wall, Robyn Regehr of the Calgary Flames and Canadian Idol runner-up Theresa Sokyrka, as well as entrepreneurs LuAn Mitchell-Halter, Russel Marcoux and Gerald Grandey. Apprentice, working for Donald Trump, that has influenced him most. "He's taught me an amazing amount about business and about life, and about what life's like at that level," he said of Trump. "It takes people a lifetime to learn what I've learned in the last year." Rancic, 33, was certainly qualified to speak at the conference.

His career as an entrepreneur dates back to when he was 10 years old, selling pancakes out of his grandmother's house. "My parents were rather surprised when they found out what I was doing," he said with a grin. Since then, Rancic has been involved with a boat SP Photo by Richard Marjan The Apprentice's Bill Rancic Woman dodges big bill for scam out for. This cheque was made out for dollars and cents," said Romanuck. "She did deposit the cheque.

After a few days, the bank gave her the green light to spend her money. She spent her 10 per cent, fortunately that's where it ended." She tried to make contact with the company, called South Export Trade International, to ask where to deposit the money, said Romanuck. "She asked enough questions that it gave time for that cheque to eventually come back to the bank saying it was a i 1 1.. i was mentioned," he said. He used a hypothetical example to explain the cheque cashing process.

'The bank normally only freezes a cheque for four to five business days, and a lot of times after this cheque is deposited it may be sent to a bank in Tokyo, who in turn sends the cheque to Nigeria," said Romanuck. When the Nigerian bank doesn't recognize the cheque, it sends it back to Tokyo, which sends it back to Saskatoon, leaving the depositor accountable for the money. "By the time it is discovered that this cheque was actually counterfeit, these people have got their money." A Saskatoon woman was the latest victim of the scam this week, but it could have been a lot worse, said Romanuck. The woman was asked to deposit a cheque for $42,375.66. and she was told she could keep about $4,200 for her commission.

"Frauds are recognized a lot of times when everything is done in even dollars, that was at one-time kind of what to look Cheque scheme resurfaces in Saskatoon By Chris Zwick of The StarPhoenix The Saskatoon police commercial crime unit is investigating several incidents involving a new version of an old scam. People are contacted via the Internet about an opportunity that is literally too good to be true. They are sent a cheque and asked to deposit it into their personal account and then transfer the money to an international account. They are told they will receive a commission of about 10 per cent for their services. The cheques eventually come back NSF.

The latest scam has not been traceable because it is international in scope, but there are some leads, said Staff Sgt. Wal-ly Romanuck of the commercial crime unit. "Right now, I can't put my finger on the country of origin, but Africa ujuiiieneu uieque. nau sue scm uui uiai balance of the $38,000, she would have been out the entire $38,000 plus the $4,200 she chose to spend." Organized crime is likely behind these scams, which change on a regular said Romanuck. "There are similar types of scams going on, but they change all the time.

The a 1 I 1. 1 'gXi l7 mm La Aw'', 1 I fc-Tj 4 A Jj j-V- criminal element is tairly creative. Urga-nized crime is big and it's out there but it's hard to combat because these oeoole are dealing internationally." Sask. Party nomination meetings set While Wall has speculated the NDP may call an election for; 2006 in an attempt to capitalize on lingering good will from this-year's centennial celebrations, Serby said the government plans; to be around for a four-year term. Wall said the Saskatchewan Party isn't trying to help Kerpan out by the timing of the constituency meeting.

He said it is likely each nomination except his own will be contested. Kerpan doesn't think he will get an advantage, pointing out he will be spending most of his time between now and the end of May in Regina tor the legislative session. Kooin Bellamy, wno Deat Kerpan tor tne tsastview nomination in 2003, said he will not run again, but he has been contacted by a number of rjeoole who sav thev know Dartv members interest By James Wood of The StarPhoenix REGINA The Saskatchewan Party is declaring a start to election season. Five nomination meetings are set for the coming months, beginning May 4 with the Swift Current riding of party leader Brad Wall. It will be followed by Carrot River Valley on June 13, Saskatoon Eastview on June 20, Saskatoon Riversdale on June 27 and Saskatchewan Rivers, where the date has not yet been announced.

"We want to get ready early. So you're going to see us moving in this direction in a number of constituencies," Wall said Wednesday, adding the three Saskatoon constituencies the party captured in the 2003 election saw early campaigning by its nominees. But the NDP has a different take on the situation. The current Saskatchewan Party MLA for Carrot River Valley, Allan Kerpan, announced last month he would seek his party's nomination in Saskatoon Eastview. NDP deputy premier Clay Serby said the Opposition is holding the nomination meeting for Eastview as quickly as possible so that Kerpan's potential rivals will have little time to prepare.

'This is their attempt to try and protect him," he said. "The other nominations are simply a smokescreen." ed in the nomination. urmlH hp chnrkpH if thprp uncn't mn-nff in Fnctvipu Pivp SP Photo by Richard Marjan A Scotia Bank customer peers in the window at his 33rd Street branch after it was robbed by a gunman Wednesday afternoon Bank robbed at gunpoint of us ran last time," Bellamy said in an interview Wednesday. i. -i i 1.

auMUiiuicwaii isjvcis, liieunwiuie, is uie uwy cunsuiuciicy where an incumbent Saskatchewan Party MLA lost in 2003. Wall said he understands former MLA Daryl Wiberg is one of three people in Saskatchewan Rivers selling memberships in an- ticipation of the nomination fight. Riversdale is one of the safest NDP seats in the province, currently held by Premier Lome Calvert and formerly by the last premier, Roy Romanow. jwoodthesp.com Police are searching for a male suspect after the Scotiabank branch at 218 33rd St. West was robbed Wednesday afternoon: A lone male entered the bank dressed in a black jacket, grey sweatpants and a black nylon covering his face.

Police said the suspect showed a shiny, revolver-style gun and fled in the north lane of 33rd Street, heading east with an undisclosed amount of cash. He later abandoned the money after a red-dye pack exploded inside the bag. Police have recovered the money and are not sure whether any is missing. Police are unsure if the suspect had any dye on him because he may have been wearing gloves. The red-dye will stain skin for several weeks, police said.

Anyone with information is asked to call Saskatoon' police at 975-8300 or Crime Stoppers at 931-8477. Tories ban Orchard from convention Man retrieves long-lost wallet Orchard rejects the suggestion that his membership wasn't valid because his' brother sent the e-mail and said even then, he offered to pay his $10 in person upon arrival. That offer was also rejected. "The council decided that it was in the" interests of the party that they didn't want him to be a member of the party any longer," said Brodie. Sources say, however, that a number of" court battles between Orchard and the party are at the bottom of this problem.

Orchard launched a court battle in 2003 to get the party to pay him the $70,000 in expenses he said he was owed from the leadership race. Sources say an agreement had been reached but Orchard reneged at the last minute. Orchard said the only reason he refused to go along with the settlement was because the party attempted to make him sign a "sweeping waiver" at the last minute never to sue anyone in the old Tory party or the new Conservative party again. "We said no to everybody who didn't have a valid membership," said Brodie. Orchard is best known for the deal he struck with Peter MacKay in the 2003 PC leadership race.

MacKay secured the leadership after promising Orchard he would steer clear of merger talks with the Alliance. MacKay later reneged on his promise and Orchard subsequently failed in his legal attempt to stop the merger. Orchard said he paid $540 months ago to attend the convention as an observer He was subsequently advised by party officials that his $10 membership had expired at the end of 2004. Orchard's brother, who handles all his business dealings, renewed the membership online Feb. 4 using Orchard's credit card.

Orchard said he has a confirmation number from the party to prove it. However, three days ago he said he was notified by Brodie that his observer registration was being cancelled because he didn't personally renew his membership. CanWest News Service The federal Conservatives have banned David Orchard from attending the party's policy convention in Montreal for failing to have a valid membership. The Borden-area farmer, a twice-failed leadership candidate for the Progressive Conservative party, has accused Conservative Leader Stephen Harper and his tight-knit group of officials or trying to "pick and choose" who they want at their convention despite their claim to be a "big-tent" party opn to all. "This is absolute nonsense.

They now appear to be saying only certain people are welcome. I don't see how that's going to fly anywhere in Canada," said Orchard, who arrived in Montreal Wednesday night. But Conservative executive director Ian Brodie dismissed Orchard's allegations, insisting he's being treated like any other individual attempting to attend the convention as an observer without a valid membership. phone work and get (my boss) to describe me to them before they cashed the cheque," Multon said. The long-lost wallet and contents were history until Tuesday when Moose Jaw resident Bob Carney re-, turned all to him.

"When he handed it to me I was just shaking, I couldn't believe it," Multon said. "It had my driver's licence, my birth certificate and my bar card with a picture that everybody laughs at now. It also had $120 in there an old $100 bill, a $2, some ones and a $5. I never thought I'd see my social insurance card again I just had to remember it by heart all this time and now I've got it back." left a message on Multon's answering machine Tuesday after he pulled a coat out of a bag to try on and felt something in the pocket. Reaching in he found the wallet.

"I phoned (Multon) up and he came over last night, but it wasn't even his coat and I don't know how it got in my closet this is a real quality coat, but it's not the colour I'd ever buy. I'm honestly baffled and that's the truth and I've never taken a thing in my life." In fact, as soon as Carney found the wallet there was no question in his mind that he would return it, he said. "I'm really glad I did it that's the way I was brought up," he said. "You only receive in life what you give." (REGINA LEADER-POST) Saskatchewan News Network REGINA When Terry Multon's wallet was lost 27 years ago, he thought it was gone for good. He should have been a bit more optimistic the long-lost billfold was returned this week with money intact.

A spring day in 1978 turned gloomy when the 19-year-old lost his wallet holding $120 and all his ID while having coffee at Eaton's cafeteria in Moose Jaw. The grocery store employee panicked because he'd just cashed his paycheque and needed the money to renew his vehicle's licence plates. "When I got back to work, I realized my wallet was missing so I went back to the restaurant and asked the girls if anyone saw a wallet, but nobody had," said the Moose Jaw resident. "The funny thing is that I ended up marrying one of the waitresses that worked there. I was telling the story about six years after we were married and she said she'd been working that day and found a wallet on the floor." Multon's future wife recalled asking a restaurant patron if the wallet belonged to him.

She gave it to him when he claimed it was his. Meanwhile, when the distraught teen told his boss what happened he wrote Multon a cheque so he could get his licence plates. "The bank wouldn't cash the cheque because I had no ID so they had to Gov't plans to hold line on wages: Nilson The three-year wage increase applies to all public-sector unions. Opposition MLA Don McMorris challenged Nilson on the government's plans to retain nurses during question period Wednesday, saying the province has the worst retention rate in the country. He said Saskatchewan has the lowest salary for nurses outside of the Atlantic provinces.

While roughly 200 nurses are leaving the province each year; to work in other provinces, Longmoore said several hundred more are ready for early retirement. While the key may be to recruit new graduates, Longmoore said there are no full-time jobs or appealing salaries to keep them in the province. "The wages to the west of us are more attractive," said Longmoore. Longmoore said SUN has a comprehensive proposal it will bring to the table when talks begin March 23 with the Saskatchewan Association of Health Organizations, which takes the lead in bargaining with health-care unions. (REGINA LEADER-POST REGINA (SNN) Health Minister John Nilson says the government's public-sector zero, one and one per cent wage mandate will apply to the provincial nurses' union, which begins contract negotiations later this month.

"Basically that's the plan for the negotiations. What people do is they sit down and work at the table and see what kinds of things they can address that are of concern to the overall members," said Nilson. "We know that in many of the workplaces, agreements have been arrived at that respect that mandate." But Rosalee Longmoore, president of the Saskatchewan Union of Nurses, said the mandate won't meet nurses' needs and keep them in the province. "There isn't any way the mandate will retain nurses," said Longmoore. The mandate was brought in by the provincial government in last year's budget..