INCLUDES
The Prince George
. • VW
Citizen
FRIDAY, JULY 11, 1986
50 CENTS
Reckless skier gets jail 2 Little hope for summit 9
Franchises for farms? 17
......18-21
.10,11
6,8,12
.25-36 ......20,21
...28 ......13-16
PLYWOOD MILL STRIKE LOOMS
Citizen photo by Brock Gable
A telephoto lense compresses distance, accenting waves in quarter-mile-long steel rails which will eventually tie the province together.
Long rails The ra^s’ being inspected by BC Rail welder Vic Greco at the BCR ^ industrial site, eliminate the rhythmic click that causes wear" on
rail wheels when hauling lumber south and finished products north.
CONTRACT KILLING
Buxbaum wants to wed
In the province as a whole, the actual unemployment rate is 11.4 per cent, but is adjusted to compensate for seasonal patterns, so is considered to be 12 per cent.
The national unemployment rate edged down to a seasonallv-adjust-ed 9.5 per cent in June from the 9.8-per-cent rate it had been stuck at for the previous three months, thanks in part to the fact that almost 40,000 Canadians were working at counting other Canadians.
In Prince George, 70 people were employed in the recent census, and 4,500 were employed in the province as a whole.
British Columbia has improved its national standing, moving up in recent months in rankings among provinces.
In June, Newfoundland had a 19.1-per-cent unemployment rate. New Brunswick stood at 15.3. Prince Edward Island had 13.2. The rate in Nova Scotia was 13.5. The rate increased in Alberta by 0.3 to 10.5, with Quebec one-tenth of a per cent better at 10.4. The rate was unchanged in Saskatchewan at 7.9. Manitoba was second best in the country at 7.3, while Ontario, especially southern Ontario, did best with a 7.2 per cent seasonally adjusted unemployment rate.
Statistics Canada reduced the sample size of its jobless survey in major cities last month, resulting in an overall reduction of 10 per cent in the sample size nationally to 48,000 from 53,000.
In B.C., the only cuts in sample size were in Vancouver and Victoria.
The impact on the reliability of the unemployment figures for the country as a whole and for the provinces will be virtually nil, said agency official Ray Ryan.
But because the smaller the sample size the greater the margin of error, the reduction will have a noticeable impact on the reliability of the jobless figures for some cities.
If the level of unemployment in Saint John, N.B., Ottawa-Hull or Regina is reported as 100,000, it in fact could be as much as 16.5 per cent higher or 16.5 per cent lower — 116,500 or 83,500, for example.
Horses
CALGARY (CP) — Five horses were destroyed and two outriders taken to hospital Thursday night following a spectacular crash in the second heat of the Calgary Stampede’s chuckwagon races.
Mike Whittle, Stampede public affairs manager, said two horses died on the track and a third was destroyed soon after. The other two horses were destroyed later in the evening.
An outrider’s horse had to be destroyed following a separate incident in the fifth heat, raising the death toll for the horses to six.
The crash in the second heat involved three of the four wagons in the heat and occurred at the top of the backstretch as they were racing to cross the finish line along with their outriders.
The outriders, who are on separate horses, ride along with the rigs after placing a small stove and tent in the wagons at the start of the race. The objects act as re-
LONDON, Ont. (CP) - Five months after being sentenced to life in prison for arranging the murder of his wife, Helmuth Buxbaum is asking for permission to marry a London woman.
Buxbaum, 48, is imprisoned at the maximum-security Millhaven Penitentiary in Kingston, Ont., and will not be eligible for parole for 25 years.
Prison spokesman Denis Curtis refused to confirm or deny the report, but other sources in the justice system told the London Free Press on Thursday that Buxbaum has applied to the Millhaven warden for permission to marry and the application is being considered.
The name of the prospective bride is not being released, although sources said she was not connected with the millionaire’s
sensational four-month murder trial.
The former nursing home operator’s dealings with prostitutes and drug use culminated in his hiring killers two years ago to murder his wife beside Highway 402, his trial heard.
Curtis said Thursday that before a prisoner can marry, the penitentiary warden must first ensure that the marriage “would not prejudice justice.” A marriage should not affect any appeal of Buxbaum’s murder conviction, since a wife can’t be forced to testify against her husband.
In order to marry, Buxbaum must also to get permission from the prison chaplain and the assistant warden in charge of socialization. After that, Curtis said, a community assessment will be done to
ensure the woman wants to marry Buxbaum and why.
None of Buxbaum’s children or their guardian, Pastor Douglas Da-kin, were available for comment Thursday. But Dakin’s son, Bill, said Buxbaum’s plans to marry were news to him.
He said he visited Buxbaum at Millhaven on the July 1 weekend and the matter was not mentioned.
Once married, Buxbaum could begin applying for conjugal visits with his new wife. Curtis said prisoners with wives or common-law spouses can apply for weekend visits every three months in one of two fully-equipped house trailers located on the penitentiary grounds.
Buxbaum was sentenced last February for arranging the murder of his 48-year-old wife Hanna on July 5, 1984.
Her estate is suing him for $1.6 million for arranging her shooting death and for his handling of the family assets after her death.
Curtis said Buxbaum was not interested in being interviewed at this time. He said Buxbaum has settled into prison life. “He’s doing okay, as far as I know.”
.. .and in tomorrow's Citizen...
An article in The Saturday Forum examines three leading candidates in the B.C. Social Credit Party leadership race, Bill Vander Zalm, Grace McCarthy and Bud Smith.
Also planned:
■ A BMX competition in Prince George this weekend is one example of the growing popularity of the sport.
■ A look at Stevie Ray Vaughan, a white star who plays black music.
killed at Stampede
minders of the days when pioneers trekked across the Prairies with only a covered wagon to carry food and household supplies.
Wilf Desjarlais of Coronation. Alta., driving the Hughes Oilfield rig, was the only driver to cross
Logging mishap victim identified
Police have identified Fred Taylor, 64, of Chetwynd as the logger killed in a logging accident Wednesday.
Taylor, who was working as a faller on contract in the Burnt River area, died instantly when the tree fell on him, Chetwynd RCMP said today.
He was located immediately by fellow workers.
The Workers’ Compensation Board is still investigating the accident.
the finish line with his outrider. Both the four-horse rig and the outrider must cross for the race to count.
The drivers of the other rigs — two from Alberta and one from Saskatchewan — were not seriously injured.
The two outriders who were taken to hospital where Randy Robinson with a fractured jaw and Grant Smith with a deep gash on his knee.
A third outrider, Randy Evans, was also injured, but did not go to hospital.
In the fifth heat, another outrider, Gary Mahan from Ron David’s Royal Bank rig of Airdrie in southern Alberta, went down. He was not seriously injured, but his horse had to be destroyed.
Spectators said it appeared Des-'jarlais’s wagon fishtailed coming around the second turn. The lead horse of the four-horse rig following then ran into the leader.
by DIANE BAILEY Staff reporter
Workers at North Central Plywood could be on the picket lines as early as next Thursday, after the union asked the mediator to book out of negotiations with the company.
Ernie Dougan, president of Pulp, Paper and Woodworkers of Canada, Local 25, said lack of progress was the reason for the breakdown of talks Thursday, after two days of mediation.
He said the mill, a subsidiary of Northwood Pulp and Timber Ltd., wants to pull out of the pulp industry pension plan and set up a local plan in its place.
“That seems to be their sole aim and objective. They are not getting anywhere with that so they are just running around in circles. We aren’t prepared to do that any longer.”
The union has said it is concerned about the period of time it takes a new plan to get established and about the transfera-bilty of pension points earned under a local plan to other plants.
Don Cadman, manager of industrial relations for Northwood’s timber division, said the company offered to extend the current contract for one year with the agreement that both sides study the pension proposal further.
“The company is disappointed. We had hoped to conclude an agreement and had moved considerably in trying to achieve that.”
But Dougan said the extension was a “rehash of a proposal we made before we even took a strike vote.”
When asked why the union rejected a proposal it originally made, Dougan said, “Why wasn’t it acceptable when we made it?
“I don’t want to get into trying to negotiate an agreement in the newspaper,” he said.
He added a membership meeting will be held this weekend where members will be given the details of negotiations and the union position.
The union will not be in a legal strike position until the mediator books out and files his report with the minister of labor. Cadman said the company expects that will happen by Thursday.
“We will be talking to the union about an orderly shutdown.”
Dougan said a strike can be averted if the company shows a willingness to hold “meaningful discussions” to reach a collective agreement. —.
The 230 workers at the mill voted 95 per cent in favor of strike action last week. Their contract with the mill expired June 30, 1986.
Area job picture getting brighter
"When are you people going to get that elevator fixed?"
Citizen news services
The unemployment rate in the Central Interior, including Prince George, dropped to 14.8 per cent in June from 15 per cent in May, Statistics Canada reported today.
This means about 82,000 are employed and 14,000 are looking for work among the 135,000 persons 15 years old and older who live in the area.
The highest unemployment rate in the province is in the Columbia-
Princess
by Canadian Press
VANCOUVER — Princess Margaret, making her first trip to British Columbia since 1958, arrived in Vancouver Thursday afternoon to begin a five-day visit.
Unlike the hectic schedule of Prince Charles and Diana when they opened Expo 86 in May, Margaret has a light schedule of luncheons, civic functions and tours of Expo pavilions.
Her visit overlaps that of British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, who is to arrive today and is scheduled to take part in various events Saturday during Britain’s national day at Expo.
The only function they will attend jointly is Saturday night’s performance of the Royal Ballet at Queen Elizabeth theatre. The princess accompanies the ballet frequently, .attending their perfo-mances whenever she can.
She is scheduled to go backstage after the ballet to talk to the cast and then go back to her hotel. At
Drunk driver suing police
VANCOUVER (CP) - A Mission man is suing police because they didn’t stop him from driving drunk.
In papers filed in B.C. Supreme Court Thursday, Guy Armand La-fieur says two years ago he was sitting on his motorcycle outside the Sasquatch Inn in Aggassiz.
He was waiting for a friend when police arrived about 5 a.m. He claims he was impaired and they should have prevented him from driving. They didn’t.
Lafleur got four kilometres down the road before he crashed into an oncoming truck. He broke his arm, fractured his pelvis and destroyed his prostate gland. He spent three months in a coma and lost his leg.
Shuswap-Central Kootenay area where it’s 17.9 per cent.
The best place to go job hunting in B.C. is in metropolitan Vancouver, where the unemployment rate is 9.3 per cent.
These numbers are actual figures from Statistics Canada surveys. The government agency considers the samples — less than 300 for the immediate Prince George area, for example — too small to adjust.
g reeted
the same time, Thatcher will be hosting a party for 300 quests — a party to which the princess was not invited.
“I’m sure there are many things for her to do here,” said British commissioner-general Ted Allan. “She has many friends in this part of the world.
“When she comes to the British pavilion, we’ll give her a great welcome. She’s a great girl.”
Margaret will tour the British, West German and British Columbia pavilions on Monday and the Canadian Pacific pavilion Tuesday.
Today, she will attend a reception and lunch with members of B.C.’s business community before visiting the Canada pavilion.
Sunday booze not sure thing
VICTORIA (CP) — Permanent Sunday openings of bars and nightclubs in British Columbia are not being considered at this time, says Elwood Veitch, minister of consumer and corporate affairs.
Veitch announced in April that hotel lounges, beer parlors, pubs and cabarets across the province could open Sundays for the duration of Expo because tourists expected that level of service at international expositions.
Allan Gould, general manager of liquor control and licensing in B.C., said this week the order could remain in effect because of a favorable response from the public and the private sector. But he said a final decision would have to come from cabinet.
“The statement I made at the outset (of Expo) still stands,” Veitch said Wednesday. If there is to be a different decision “it will have to be made by government at the end of Expo.”
CittyeK ScuOulcA,
Low tonight: 8 High Saturday: 18