Alberni Valley Times from Alberni, British Columbia, Canada • 3

I i- Thursday, January 15, 1976, ALBERNI VALLEY TIMES, Port Alberni, B.C. 3 NOT ANSWERED YET Some people pray for snow storms I ICvX ryT rZ.t vA 4,11 i.Maea KSL44 i I SfK date for the shut-down here is May 31, eight people unemployed. Port Alberni's Eatons outlet is on the verge of closing its' doors in the wake of an announcement from Toronto Wednesday that that company is cancelling its' catalogue sales country -wide. Scheduled DEADLINE MAY 3 1 Local Eaton's store to close By RICH TerMAAT I've finally got Mike Ketteringham thinking the right Alice Chiko chuckles as she steers the Jeep up the mountainside, I heard him on the radio the other morning saying that it was news that a storm was on its way into the valley which might give us some snow on the mountain. I called him up later and told him that he was starting io think correctly and Id make a skier of him yet.

Anyone who has had anything to do with the Mt. Arrowsmith ski development has had snow on the mind for quite a while now and it seems that it may come after all, What has been so frustrating about it Is that while someone the weatherman, the abominable snowman or some other creature has dumped more than the usual allotment on the Alberni Valley, which is close to sea level, the mountainous heights have been bone dry, comparatively speaking. More often than not, while it has been snowing furiously in the valley and city, rain has 'been the kind of precipitation the ski bowl has been receiving. And anyone remotely familiar with skiing knows that rain doesnt make a suitable surface on which to pursue thesport. The development finally got enough snow over the last weekend to open up the rope tows and chairlift for skiing and the lines were stretched back to the second tower of the chairlift, Mrs.

Chiko happily reports. By the time we get to the lodge, having driven over slushy roads and through rain to finally reach the snow packed roads and falling snow of the higher elevations, the snow is drifting down at a rate to make one optimistic about the skiing conditions. A number of skiers are there and they all seem satisfied with the snow. Add to that the forecast that it should continue into the night and following day and members of the CI)iko party vow to come back day prepared with ski equipment and clothes and give the slopes the once over. A conference with bus drivers from Orient Stage Lines, which is driving buses with groups of housewives and school children up the mountain each day, it held.

The main problem, it seems, is not so much the road, which isnt the regular highway or street on which your average bus driver is accustomed to driving. The big worry, listening to the drivers, is the pretence of cars that make it about halfway up the hill and then get stuck by the side of the road because the driver has thought he could make it up without putting on snow chains. You cant get past a certain point on the highway up to Mt. Baker without chains. If they catch you, youre liable for a $200 fine.

They even go into the parking lots and fine you if you havent got chains on your tires, Mrs. Chiko comments. Someone suggests that the RCMP be called in to check the cars as they make their way from the Cameron Mainline Eatons, Canada-wide, lost more than $17 million on catalogue sales in 1974, precipitating the demise of the catalogue sales department and forcing the closure of many of the smaller outlets Port Alberni's among them. J.C. Barrow, chairman of Simpson-Sears which has the only other major catalogue operation in Canada, said in an interview that company officials have not had sufficient time to assess the impact of the Eaton's action.

I don't know what it will mean to us. I'm as surprised as anyone. I suppose if you're Canadian the Eaton's catalogue is just like the AnglicanChurch." However, he said there is little likelihood that Simpson-Sears will hire many of the Eaton's employees affected. Port Alberni's Eaton's outlet will be closed down ay 31. The announcement of the closure was made Wednesday by local manager John Kotzma in the wake of an announcement from Toronto that Eaton's will phase out their catalogue sales across the country this spring.

Kotzma learned of the closure of the local outlet Monday when he and other British Columbia managers were called to Vancouver. The announcement of the shutting down of Port Alberni's store came, he says, as a shock. Without the catalogue sales, and the people they attract to the Eatons office here, the powers-that-be have decided not to take a chance on leaving Eatons in operation as a retail outlet here. One of the reasons for that decision was the economic climate of British Columbia in 1975. Before that, Kotzma says, sales from the floor of the local store, had been excellent.

Closing down the store will put as many as eight people out of work although Eatons will try to absorb as many people as possible into their retail outlets in larger centers. Not all of those people, Kotzma points out, can be accommodated by the larger stores, however. The eight employees represent five fulltime management and catalogue sales staff and three part-time employees. Kotzma, manager of the Port Alberni outlet, says the shock was worse the day after being informed of the closure and that his reaction was echoed by the Port Alberni Eatons employees when they were Informed of the decision uesday. Snow, blessed.

snow speckles the scene as skiers finally get a go at new ski runs on Mt. Arrowsmith. AV Times Staff Photo A off home after some passengers have taken time to samplethe Attic in the ski lodge, i You go to a place like Baker, and see how smoothly it runsJ and you wonder if youll ever-; get it to that stage, Mrs. says on the way down. But; theyve been in the more than 20 years, too, she adds.

But most importantly, the! snow is still falling outside. Gulf Islands entry fee i suggested for tourists onto the road that leads up to the development, They i wont come out because the road isnt a public highway, someone says. Mrs. Chiko points out that the road has been declared a public way and that the ski officials can ask them to check cars at the junction on that basis. A few more odds and ends are checked into and then its B.C.

COURT BRIEFS fined $300 and placed on six months probation for driving with a blood-alcohol ratio over .08 percent. William Patrick Henry fined $300 and placed on six months probation for impaired driving. Judge William Macleod heard 28 cases in court here Wednesday morning, 20 of them involving liquor. Of those 20, 17 dealt with drinking drivers. Fines rainging up to $350, one 14-day jail sentence and six-month BRIEFS iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiimiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiitiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiitiiiiiiiniiiiiiiHiiiiiiiu vV 1976.

It will leave as many as AV Times Stall Photo Mark Herman Hoffman fined $300 and placed on six months probation for impaired driving and fined $350 for a second impaired driving count. Stephen Carl Kjernisted fined $300 and placed on six months probation on impaired driving. Everett Lauder fined $300 and placed on six months probation of impaired driving and fined $100 for dangerous driving. Howard Andre Lloyd fined $300 and placed on six months probation for impaired driving. Gordon Monty Mearns fined $250 and placed on six months probation for impaired driving.

Govinder Singh Oppal fined $300 and placet on six months probation for impaired driving. Nicholas P. Vandermolen fined $200 and placed on six months probation for driving with a blood-alcohol ratio over .08 per cent. Arthur Wiebe fined $350 for impaired driving. Murray Sutherland fined $300 and placed on six months probation for impaired driving.

Judge William Macleod Friday found there was insufficient evidence to convict Jerry Seaman of charges of impaired driving'and refusing to give a breath sample, on which Seaman defended himself, and dismissed the charges. sion to go ahead with a preliminary hearing in the Davies court. The accused is entitled to the benefit of a preliminary hearing, he said. It gives the defence counsel an opportunity to see what the Crowns case is and judge its strength and weakness. The reason preliminaries take so long and will take longer in the future is the Privacy Act.

There are so many technical provisions for introducing wiretap evidence thats what takes the time, he said. VICTORIA (CP) An entry fee for tourists in the Gulf Islands was suggested Wednesday as a means of raising funds to ensure perpetuation of the islands as a unique public asset. Bruno Meyer of Prince George made the suggestion following delivery of an Islands Trust brief to the B.C. commission of inquiry on property assessment and taxation of which he is a commissioner. Mr.

Meyer thought a charge similar to whaf the federal government collects for travellers entering its national parks could be imposed. Marc Holmes, Islands Trust assistant chairman who deliv--ered the brief, said it was an interesting idea which had not yet been explored. The commission has been A LOOK AT THE POLICY ASKED COQUITLAM (CP) The school board decided Wednesday to ask Education Minister Pat McGcer to outline his policy on discipline. The school board favors the return of the strap, banished by the former NDP government. SHRUM TURNS 80 VANCOUVER (CP) Gordon Shrum, former C.

Hydro chairman and Simon Fraser University chancellor, turned 80 years of age Wednesday. He at WEATHER i 1 4 1 1. Vi vide in a few years time or who bar public access to large areas should not be granted tax relief, it added. For the Gulf Islands, determination of land market value should take inlo account covenants, easements or reserves on the land. For example, the brief said, some areas might be judged by the Islands Trust and the Nature Conservancy of Canada as environmentally unique, fragile or having superior esthetic value or other enduring qualities, and be deserving of lower taxation.

Or if lands have a public recreation value they should be identified in the title and so produce a lower market value. And extending this argument further, some lands may be offered in perpetuity as non-development areas, foregoing the right of development and allowing transfer of that right to a buyer with land more suitable for development. To retain certain recognized values, there could be differential tax rates and a land owner grant similar to the homeowner grant to encourage preservation of significant features, or provision for a contractual arrangement between art owner and the Crown to require maintenance of land in a specified condition qualifying It for extra relief. A recapture provision could be introduced to prevent creation of shelters for land speculators. This would require a lump sum tax payment whenever a parcel of land underwent a change of status raising it to a higher tax bracket.

operations was causing dramatic increases in the costs for the administration of justice. Many alleged heroin couriers, he said, who used to carry large amounts of money on their arrival in this country were now being found without cash when arrested and were applying for legal aid. The preliminary hearing before udge Davies is expected to last four months when it resumes next month following a three-week adjournment. District Judge Darrell Jones said, I wonder if there is not some other way to introduce probationary "sentences were handed out to the 17, Conditions of the probation are attendance at the impaired driver's course. Other cases involved a wide variety of indiscretions.

Alan Bruce Caldwell was fined $100 for false pretenses, Arnold Joseph Frank was fined $25 for public mischief, Keith Lamont Harden and Robert Jorgeson were each fined $250 for Wildlife Act offenses, James Richard Doiron was fined $150 for possession of a narcotic, Daniel William Watts was fined $125 and Peter Tomiyama, James Schut and Herman Walter Schut were each fined $25 for offenses of either motor vehicle regulations or dog by-laws. Cases dealing with alcohol saw Nyles Garnet Walsh fined $50 for consuming liquor in a public place, Derrick Clayton Vossler fined $50 for consuming in a public place, and Mark Owen Spence fined $50 for the same offense. The drinking drivers fined were: Richard Cory Gus sentenced to 14 days jail and six months probation for Impaired driving. Harbert Harris fined $300 and given six months probation for impaired driving and fined $100 for failing to take a breathalizer test Mark Anthony Brett fined $300 and placed on probation for six months for impaired driving. Beverly Anne Carlisle evide in an expeditious manner.

The andency of the Crown is tq produce all the evidence at a preliminary inquiry when all they are required to do is introduce evidence to support the charges. I agree the costs will be astronomical before the three hearings are completed he said. Preliminary hearings can be eliminated by direct indictment whereby an accused person goes directly to trial. But this method is seldom used, Stephen Hardinge, head of the federal department of justice in Vancouver, said it was his deci- hearing briefs on tax and assessments intermittently since September and after leaving here Friday will still have 20 days of hearings over the next two months. Islands Trust made several recommendations for the protection of island land through preservat ion of large tracts and policies for keeping large holdings in their natural state.

Mr. Holmes said islanders do not require a high level of service; basic rural standards in return for low taxation are acceptable. Any tax arrangements must serve to protect open space and island character for the benefit of the whole province, the brief said. Speculators or land owners who might be expected tosubdi- High temperature Wednesday was 2 3 degrees with an overnight low of 16.8 mm of rain fell. Greater Vancouver Lower Mainland, East Vancouver Island: Gate warning ended for Georgia Strait Today and Friday, cloudy with periods of rain or drizzle, mild Highs both days 7 to 9, lows tonight 4 to 6 North and West 'Vancouver Island.

Gale warning ended for adiacent waters Today and Friday, overcast with occa sional rain or drizzle, mild Highs both days 7 to 9, lows tonight 3 to 5 Only two of the accused have retained la'wyers. The others have qualified for legal counsel assigned by the Legal Aid Society, supported primarily by federal and provincial monies. Legal aid lawyers usually receive about $100 per court-day but when a case is a complex one such as conspiracy and divorces the lawyer from other prospective clients, he can command $200 a day. Former attorney-general Alex Macdonald warned in October that the success of the Co-ordinated Law Enforcement Unit (CLEU) In cracking down on large heroin-trafficking NOTICE TO ALL USERS OF FISHERMEN'S FLOATS PORT ALBERNI The Harbour Commission is holding a series of meetings with users of these floats to discuss an extensive renovation proposal to this facility. Please note the following dates and plan to attend.

For all commercial fishermen and recreational vessels, meeting date of January 21st, 7 p.m. at Clutesi Haven Marina. For all tugs, camp tenders, patrol vessels, pilot vessels, waterfront industries such as Fish Companies, Shipyards, Fuel Stations and water transportation companies, a meeting date of January 28th, 7 p.m. at Clutesi Haven Marina. Yours truly, PORT ALBERNI HARBOUR COMMISSION Copt.

D.E. Brooks, Port Manager tended a birthday party at the Centennial Museum-MacMillan Planetarium building, where he is executive director and said its more fun being an artifact than a statistic. OATHS ORDERED I VICTORIA (CP) A cabinet: order released Wednesday re-; quires that every person ap-; pointed to a government job by the cabinet lake oaths of secrecy and loyalty. Previously, only civil servants had to take-the oaths. S.P.C.A.

Shelter. G.A. Wiley Clerk Local weathermen had a little good news and a little bad news for local residents this morning. A high pressure zone building to the south of us has deflected the three weather systems which were to have hit Port Alberni with rain, north, Thats the good news, The bad news is that in place of the system, well be blessed with moist, stable air which means low cloud, fog and smog and a good chance of precipitation in the form of drizzle. Drug case costs may exceed $1 million CITY OF PORT ALBERNI NOTICE TO DOG OWNERS TAKE NOTICE THAT, Dog Licences for the current year are due on January 1st.

Under provisions of the Citys Dog Licence Pound By-Law 1975, all dogs over the age of four months are required to be licenced, and failure to purchase a licence for the current year could result in prosecution ior an infraction of the By-Law. Those persons who have not yet purchased their 1976 Dog Licence are urged to do so as soon as possible as conviction for an infraction of the By-Law could result in a fine of up to $100. VANCOUVER (CP) Court costs are expected to exceed $1 million for three preliminary hearings of a total of 32 persons charged with conspiracy to traffic in heroin, court officials indicated Wednesday. If the accused are committed for trial in higher court, costs there could be considerably greater. One hearing, which started Monday before Provincial Court Judge John Davies, involves 19 persons charged with conspiracy to traffic in heroin.

It is costing taxpayers about $10,000 a day in federal and provincial funds. be purchased at City Hall or the Dog Licences may P.O. 22101.