The Berkeley Gazette from Berkeley, California • 29

ijftHrfyp fHnjpititii rn QTiiitrijiijii'nli 30 The INDEPENDENT and GAZETTE Thurs Dec 22 1977 Oyfdoor Dateline British firemens strike still hot issue Waterfowl rewards few GREENWICH England (API John Saunders spends a lot of time helping the neighborhood children build skateboards He used to fight fires and save lives Dave Hayes spends his days checking hoses and water trucks He is a soldier who used to leave home each morning to paint signs for the army Saunders and Hayes are two of the 50000 men whose lives have been turned upside down since Britains first national firemens strike began Nov 14 Nobody really thought it would happen Now that it is in its sixth week no one seems to have any idea when it will end Since the walkout began 119 people including two soldiers and nearly a dozen children have died in fires There have been 22500 fires about the normal number but the number of deaths averaged 31 a day above the pre-strike average of 2 8 The 33000 strikers are feeling the economic pinch of a long siege and many say their families will not have any presents or trees to put them under this Christmas The 16000 soldiers pressed into firefighting service will not get Christmas leave The firemen are demanding a 30 peieent wage hike to increase their average base pay from $115 a week to $149 Prime Minister James Callaghans Labor government says it will stand firm against any immediate increase above the 10 percent ceiling it has set to hold down inflation Callaghan and Home Secretary Merlyn Rees have assured the country the soldiers are coping adequately with the emei gency although they were given only four hours of firefighting training and the picket lines at the fire houses force them to use mostly World War II-Vintage equipment The firemen say they should be exempt from the anti-inflation ceiling because despite the vital service they perform their average wage is considerably below the average industrial wage Angered by the governments implication that untrained soldiers can do as good a job as the specialists they seem more determined than ever to dig in their heels and stay out until they can win a clear victory But many of the firemen concede they have no bargaining leverage left "If we built cars or baked bread or performed some service other than saving your house or your uninsured business wed probably be back to work by' now because youd miss us said Steve Plant 31 one of the 86 firemen on strike at the Greenwich station southeast of London "People only think about the silly men in funny red hats when we lads turn up to get them out of a road accident or their cat out of a tree or their old aunt out of the burning second-floor window The Fire Brigades Union says it has collected nearly $100000 in donations since the strike began "Weve even had folks come by to ask how many of us would be here picketing on Christmas Day so they can bring us plates of turkey said Jack Sprat 29 "And a local restaurant sent up three-course dinners complete with wine for all of us one night Saunders is fairly typical of the Greenwich firemen Most of them are veterans married with at least one child their early 30s enthusiastic about their jobs but disgusted with their paychecks Saunders says his monthly gross is $532 Lance Bombardier Hayes who is responsible with his mates for protecting the Greenwich area during the strike has a monthly gross of about $508 Both men said they chose their jobs because they offered security Hayes and Greenwichs other soldier-firefighters have yet to experience a serious fire that was out of control when they arrived or threatened lives The possibility that they will plagues fireman Sprat "Just because Callaghan and Rees lie to the country and say the soldiers are coping doesnt mean they can lie to me he said as he stared into the flames of a barrel stove in front of the station "Ive got a conscience and it bothers me a helluva lot to think someone might die or somebodys house might burn down because Im on strike Mr SMITHS CHRISTMAS BONUS By Finon Quense With blustery winter-like weather last weekend hunters were out in swarms However their rewards were few There are plenty of ducks and geese spread out through the state but theyre flying high and not working the way hupters would like The Sacramento Refuge has been giving up the best numbers of geese in the state Last weekend hunters bagged 155 along with 332 ducks The scores ran 1 4 and 7 The other refuges in the Sacramento Valley came in with similar average Both Sutter and Colusa hunters managed better than a bird to the gun on Saturday and Sunday Colusa had 13 and 14 Sutter 18 and 16 Gray Lodge hosted lots of hunters and they settled for less than a bird both days A total of 743 people passed through the gates and took only 534 birds including 91 coots In spite of winds going at a steady 20 miles per hour on Saturday things were extremely slow at Grizzly It was 3 and 1 for the weekend 493 hunters downed 132 ducks Hunting perked up at Joice Island for the Saturday shoot Hunters came away with close to three birds around In the San Joaquin Valley top shoot went to San Luis hunters on Saturday with a pair of birds to the gun and half that on Sunday At Merced the average was a bird apiece: Mendota gave up 1 5 and 1 0: Los Banos 3 and 1 2 and Volta 10 and 7 The latest aerial survey flown by Fish and Game showed more geese are moving into the San Joaquin Valley Los Banos is hosting 13000 geese mostly white fronts and Merced shows with 1500 Fog in the Sacramento Valley prevented a count on those figures Recent storms have made most river conditions iffy A typical case is the Sacramento River where the river came up several feet went back down and then remained from murky to muddy different areas Few antlers are out Guide A1 Foster in Los Molmos feels once the river clears it might be worth an effort for winter run salmon Stripers are well scattered in the Delta Theres no special hot spot and anglers are well advised to fish one spot for no more than an hour If you dont score pull up anchor and try a different area At night most bass can be found in fairly shallow water not much deeper than ten feet During the day fishing is best around 20 foot depths Catches of stripers have come from West Island Mossdale Isleton and a few at the Rio Vista Bridge Majority of the catch is made up of females running 18 to 40 pounds Regulars have picked up limits but occasionally fishermen are having a tougher time scoring Sturgeon action has picked up off Sherman Island and catfish to six pounds can be found in 14 Mile Slough In our local bays anglers can now go after bass sturgeon perch or flounder Although larger bass prefer bullheads anglers using either grass or ghost shrimp stand a better chance of scoring on all types of fish Small bass to eight pounds and perch are hitting off the Point Pinole Pier At the Berkeley pier its flounder pile perch and rubberhps An average string will hold four to six fish Bass off the pier and around the flats has been spotty Its been zilch off the Pacifica Pier due to rough water Sturgeon and striper action has been fairly steady off the Dumbarton Bridge Pat Andrews Crockett reports an increase in the catch for sturgeon Best action has been anywhere around the Mothball Fleet in Suisun Bay Its not the easiest of fishing Pat estimates one out of four private boats is connecting with sturgeon to 80 pounds Successful anglers are fishing in 30 to 60 feet of water at the top of the tide Flounder are coming on stronger in this area while the catch for bass is down Mudsuckers are considered the best bait for stripers to 30 pounds in Grizzly and Honker Bays Nightfishermen have the advantage over daytime anglers Theres also fair sturgeon action but nothing very big has been seen this week Although recent rams did help sturgeon get more active it didnt help with the crab problem Crabs are still plentiful bugging fishermen by stealing their baits mm -with your next order of BROOKSPRINTS the softest touch in town VAN HEUSEN Qiana- dress shirts that never need pampering Luxury doesn't always need special handling Van Heusen Qiana' dress shirts feel like silk but wash dry like your favorite sport shirt without losing its luxurious appeal Trimly shaped with adjustable cuff long sleeves in It blue tan brown green white 1750 washable WEMBLEY ties in muted stripes Tie his whole look together with Wembleys fashion ties of washable polyester The finishing touch for his holidays 650 custom photofinishing at the lowest prices in Berkeley COMPARE THESE PRICES 12 Exp Roll $31 9 20 Exp Roll $455 36 Exp Roll $843 Offer expires December24 1977 HILLTOP DOWNTOWN BERKELEY EL CERRITO PLAZA VALLEJO: LARWIN PLAZA.