St. Lucie News Tribune from Fort Pierce, Florida • 32

CIO The Tribune Saturday May 26 1990 Border hardly noticed in mill town High mortgage rates hurt the sales of existing homes John McClain TM ASSOCIATED MUSS Existing Home Sales AP Laserphoto Paper mill managers stand on pipeline that connects mills nations bited a self-governed area about four times the size of Rhode Island Ever since from both rides of the border have viewed themselves as one people The mayor of Edmundston retains the honorary title of president of the of Madawaska Still differences between the two communities are apparent Street and store signs on the Edmundston side are in French in English on the Madawaska Bide Each side also offers its particular amenities Clothing is of superior quality and a better choice of restaurants and night spots on the Canadian side Soucy said But many Canadians head south to buy milk and gas cheaper on the US side Voss said While the border itself may go unnoticed the time difference it represents is a constant source of confusion even to longtime residents Maine is in the Eastern time zone an hour earlier than the Atlantic time zone in New Brunswick Separate national holidays are marked on each side of the border Voss said his family celebrates both the Canadian Thanksgiving in October and the American holiday a month later Others celebrate Canada Day which falls on July 1 as well as the Fourth of July Dealing with two tax laws is not bo simple Dual regulations can bedevil people living in one country and working in another Voss has to hire an accountant to sort out his- tax paperwork before he files Glenn Adams THS ASSOCMTIP P1US8 MADAWASKA Maine A bright turquoise pipeline spans the St John River between northern tip and Canada linking two halves of a pulp and paper mill a mile apart The pipes carry wood pulp and steam but they also stand as a symbol of a union between two towns that see themselves as one despite the international border that separates them you could put blinds on for a minute forget an international said Bert Martin manager of the Fraser Inc pulp mill in Edmundston New Brunswick really two towns in two countries but one For the most part people in Madawaska and Edmundston work for the same company shop in the same stores speak the same language French and share a common Acadian background Children ride their bicycles across the bridge joining the two countries to play with their friends on the other Bide workers who cross the line daily address immigration officers by their first names With no hospital nearby on their ridenfthe border many Madawaska women choose to go to the Edmundston hospital to have their babies one reason why so many children grow up with dual citizenship Also mixing the pot are Americans who marry Canadians and Canadians who become American WASHINGTON High mortgage rates continued to dampen sales of existing homes through much of the nation in April although-the Northeast posted its first gain since last fall a real estate trade group said Friday The National Association of Realtors said overall resales of single-family homes slipped 21 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 333 million units It was the third drop in four months as mortgage rates remained in double digits Sales were unchanged in March The Federal Home Loan Mortgage Crop said rates ranged from 1025 percent to 1056 percent in April They had dipped back to 1033 percent by Friday Rates also have affected sales of new homes which fell for four consecutive months through March The Commerce Department will release the April sales figures Wednesday Although mortgage costs remained high sales of existing homes in the Northeast increased for the first time since October Purchasers bought at an annual -rate of 520000 units in April up 4 percent from the 500000 units sold the previous month Norman Flynn Realtors president said inventories have risen while prices have fallen and the market caused by supply exceeding demand attracted SaunKtMBtwHkMOcMonammhon AP citizens after working on the US side Job transfers and promotions add to tiie mishmash of citizenship and sense of homogeneity a Canadian working in the US married to an American working in said Barry Voss manager of the Fraser Ltd paper mill in Madawaska not unusual" Another case in point is A1 Soucy a Canadian-born Madawaska mill worker who is now an American Soucs oldest daughter is also American but his son and twin daughters are Canadian He describes Madawaska-Edmundston which have a combined population of 17500 as safe day and night and nice place to bring kids Things were peaceful even when the area wedged between northern rich potato fields and New forested hills was at the center of a bitter international border rivalry From the late 1700s until the present lines were agreed upon in 1842 the British and American governments each claimed a large chunk of land along the SL John It was the site of a colony that had been settled by Acadians ousted from their eastern Canadian homeland along with French Canadians and Yankees The groups formed their own little melting pot and peacefully inha buyers despite the high rates The median price of an existing home in the Northeast was down 54 percent to $140700 compared to the national median of $95300 The median price means half of the homes cost more half less In the high-cost Western market sales plummeted 79 percent to 580000 units despite a 49 percent drop in its median price to $134900 The median price had been $147100 as recently as November Deficit From C6 Police department sells guns to raise money Massachusetts Police Chiefs Association sure that they will certainly be careful who they sell them The 49-gun collection includes a two semiautomatic 9mm pistols a 306 bolt-action hunting rifle and a 1940s Daisy air rifle Some are old police guns no longer in use some were confiscated and some were even willed to the department when their owners died A national handgun control spokeswoman said she sympathized with money woes but found the idea of police selling guns unusual is a little ironic that the police department is putting more guns on the said Glen Fitzgerald of the Washington-based Handgun Control Inc The group is headed by Sarah Brady wife of former presidential press secretary Jim Brady who was seriously injured in the 1981 assassination attempt on Ronald Reagan Acting Chief Joseph Loglisd said police had no worries about the gun sale more guns out there than you can shake a stick he said not the guns that are lolling Town officials who need $900000 to balance their $77 million budget for next year said they expecting too much from the gun auction that is sitting around occupying space in a sufficient quality to get rid of it is just good business said Grace Makepeace executive secretary to the town of 8000 about 15 miles east of Springfield $500 or a $1000 or $2000 some money we have and it will do something toward helping the Massachusetts gun control laws passed in the 1960s require that buyers apply to their load police chiefs for permits to carry a handgun or a firearms identification card for rifles and shotguns Michelle Locke TUB ASSOCIATED PHKSS MONSON Mass In a small town strapped for cash police have unveiled a rather unusual fundraising weapon: auctioning off extra guns The weekend sale has caught the interest -of local gun collectors while drawing virtually no opposition in a state that has some of the toughest gun laws think what's happening these days it makes no difference the size of ybur department I think we're all looking for innovative ways to help our fiscal said Raymond McKeon chief of the The increase in consumer spend- ing was the biggest gain since January and was double the 03 percent rise in personaTmOmies last month Analysts said the strength in consumer spending coupled with the strong grins in export sales were good indications for future economic growth The decrease in sales of existing home was the third decline in the past four months with high mortgage rates blamed for the weakness The first-quarter trade performance marked the second consecutive quarterly improvement in the deficit In the fourth quarter the gap between exports and imports had fallen 35 percent to $287 billion Exports of machine tools industrial supplies and consumer goods climbed 4 percent to a record $851 billion in the first quarter More than one-half of this increase was attributed to a rise in civilian aircraft shipments after the end of the Boeing strike Exports of farm products were up 7 percent to $11 billion son to the Japanese yen could start showing up in rising imports of Japanese products Cynthia Latta an economist at DRI-McGraw Hill said her forecasting company was still expecting only a small improvement in the overall trade deficit when compared with 1989 For the first quarter US exports rose 47 percent to an all-time high of $9604 billion Imports were also at a record level reflecting the surge in oil demand They climbed 16 percent to $1224 billion The report Friday on merchandise trade as calculated on a balance-of-payments basis confirmed trends already noted in the monthly merchandise trade reports They Bhowed a first quarter deficit of $289 billion The disparity in the two figures comes from the fact that report excludes military sales hy the US government and makes other minor adjustments to the monthly figures THElTIMElTOlBUYJISlNOWlDURINGlOUR MfElllEH-SEia CKSIDRASTICALLY Food From C6 INS 0RDJESC0RTWAI lOOO CHRYSLER LeBARON Convertible 698000 Turbo and -10QQ Rebate much morel fi2Tort ksotfaf lorej 5980 CHEVROLET NOVA CL Automatic 699000 Air Cond and -1000 Rebate TOYOTA PICK-UP 19000 miles 868000 Air Cond -1500 Rebate and morel tqdAAQO im morel 00 5999 always readily available and remains cheap at about 32 cents a loaf In the Ukraine long known as the Soviet breadbasket the prime minister said his government would fight Ryzhkov's plan Ukrainian activists reported Miners in the Ukraine's Donetsk coal region will consider calling for a countrywide coal strike to protest the plan when they meet June 11 according to the Rukh Press an arm of the Ukrainian popular front Supreme Soviet deputy Mikhail Bronstein warned that the entire country would need a ration card system to make it through the transition period Ryzhkov indicated after his report Thursday that increased rationing might be needed Most regions of the country already have some form of rationing Radical economist Pavel Bunich told the Supreme Soviet the government had rejected more severe reforms only to offer therapy without the reforms that will hurt without leading to a real market system Bunich proposed putting the whole plan back on the government drawing board Ryzhkov acknowledged that the country will to live through a pretty hard as the market reforms take effect s83UNC0LNC0NT1NENTAL are we going to Ryzhkov told the Supreme Soviet parliament that must approve his economic plan The premier who bears responsibility for the economic program indicated that if it led to a vote of no-confidence against his government he would abide hy the out- borne there is no confidence in the government then whatr he asked new government will Opposition deputies in the Supreme Soviet have already demanded a no-confidence vote alter the legislature votes on the economic plan They have said they expect it to fail but believe they have to make the political gesture Deputy after deputy both conservatives and radicals took the podium Friday to attack the government plan Ryzhkov said the criticism had helped the government see The weak of the program and should continue into next week but urged a quick decision on whether bread prices should rise as planned have to decide because this question is so difficult for us and for the he said Bread is the staple of the Soviet diet virtually the only product jaaMBoows find much pm IA A A AAA This Week's Special PLYMOUTH VOYAGER TPMMiWr 1345000 1500 Rebate and more CHEVROLET MONTE CARLO Automatic 669000 Air Cond 1000 Rebate and morel tPAAAty) MERCURY CAPRI 50 Litre 799000 Automatic -1000 Rebate Air Cond and more 6999 00 Only CHEVROLET SILVERADO 41S0Q12380 T88 MITSUBISHI STARION ESl-R-Sivlt98000 1000 Rebate teethe tdfiAAAMf morel MERCURY COUGAR LS Air Cond and much morel 1500 Rebate wtce From C6 and much Ti i is ii I DODGE SPIRIT MAZDA RX7 SE Automatic 972000 Air Cond -1000 Rebate and morel FORD AEROSTAR 7 Paesenaer -1500 Rebate and morel I'ivi'tf i 1 Alffl 'ft OVI 4 Door Air 1248000 Cond -1500 Rebate '19989 providing local educational programming to the people of the Treasure Coast during the morning The station currently broadcasts from 5 am to 8 am Originally Palmetto had intended to operate its own public television station in Fort Pierce airing some locally-produced programs The station was supposed to start broadcasting Treasure Coast-oriented public television shows beginning in late November 1989 But fiscal woes put an end to those plans While the station is broadcasting three hours a day it would need to boost that to eight hours a day to qualify for a public broadcasting affiliate Palmetto intended to sell the station to Paul Crouch disappointed that we're not going to be able to bring public television over the air to Fort Dooley said The foundation which owns Channel 2 a public broadcast station in Miami does reach Fort Pierce viewers via cable Brian Brightly Palmetto's president could not be reached for comment But the press release said Broadcasters has a program agreement to continue atm a KuH7GUIIS3G1 461747(70 287f261'l.