Calgary’s Telus workers first to hold strike vote
   CALGARY (CP) — About 600 Telus workers in Calgary held a strike vote Saturday as part of a regional bid to jump-start contract negotiations with the phone company.
   About 17,000 Telus workers across Alberta and British Columbia — including operators, clerical workers and
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plant workers — are voting until Nov. 15 on whether or not to strike.
  Results of the voting won’t be released until then.
  “After two years of bargaining, Telus hasn’t changed their position and now they want to start bargaining from scratch,” Rod Hiebert of the Telecommunications Workers’ Union said Saturday.
  “We’re just not going to accept that.”
  The workers’ last collective agreements expired in December 2000, and negotiations have been ongoing since November 2000 on issues from contracting out and seniority to scheduling and overtime, Hiebert said.
  A strike would be the union’s last resort, he said.
  “With this strike vote, we’re trying to tell Telus to get back to the table and bargain responsibly,” he said.
  Telus spokesman Nick Culo said evolving technology and the changing needs of customers are the key issues the company is facing and it needs its employees to adapt accordingly.
  “We’re absolutely committed to achieving a new settlement and a new agreement, but it has to be one that balances the needs of our employees with the flexibility to meet customer needs,” Culo said.
  Although bargaining dates had been scheduled into 2003, the union has told Telus it would be cancelling all sessions until Nov. 18.
  In turn, Telus informed the union that it would be applying to the minister of labour to appoint a federal conciliator.
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owners dealt blow
 Pet
                                                                        Changes to Tenancy Act have SPCA worried
                                                                              Citizen Staff
 The local SPCA is worried changes to residential tenancy laws will force renters to give up their pets, leading to overcrowding at animal shelters and more pets being put down.
 Recent amendments to the Residential Tenancy Act allow landlords to charge pet owners an extra deposit to cover any damage that might be caused by pets. The provincial government said the option should encourage more landlords to accept pets, while protecting them against possible damage.
 However, North Cariboo SPCA executive director Jeannine Woodhouse said the changes will worsen an already difficult situation for pet owners looking to rent housing. The vast majority of landlords won’t rent to tenants who have pets, and most people who give up pets to the local SPCA are forced to do so because of landlord rules, she said.
 “Now, people will be surrendering pets because they can’t afford to pay the extra damage deposit,” Woodhouse said. “It will be even more detrimental and a big discouragement” for people wanting to own pets, she said.
 Already, she said one local resident was forced to give 10 animals away because of the new law.
A pomeranlan cross stares out from waiting to be adopted.
  Woodhouse said there’s currently a huge population of pets with no homes and the local shelter is constantly overcrowded. The shelter receives an average of 400 animals each month and normally houses well over 100 pets at any one time. ‘With fewer and fewer available homes the numbers are going to continue to rise. Euthanasia may have to rise because of overcrowding and disease” caused by overcrowding, she said.
  She said she also worries that some
                                                                                                                                                                                                          Citizen photo by Brent Braaten
                                                                                                                                                                                        his cage at the SPCA shelter, while
 seniors and disabled people who own pets for companionship will be forced to give up their pets or move to poorer quality housing so they can afford to pay the extra damage deposit.
   The amendment to the Residential Tenancy Act is the reverse of what the B.C. SPCA had been lobbying for, she said. The provincial organization had sought a ban on no-pet clauses in tenancy agreements. “Unfortunately, they went in the opposite direction.”
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PRINCE GEORGE
Citizen
  Serving the Central Interior since 1916
  Locals come through for family
                                                                                    Citizen Staff
    A Prince George family who lost their home in a fire last week is getting back on their feet, thanks to an outpouring of community support.
    Teresa Balatti, and her children, aged 15 and 18, lost everything when a fire tipped through their Gunn Road trailer Wednesday, destroying all their belongings as well as the next month’s rent money. The family had recently moved from Terrace and did not have insurance on their belongings, said Balatti, a single mother and full-time college student.
    The Yellowhead Rotary Club has donated $1,000 to the family, and Balatti is using the money to pay the rent and damage deposit on their new home in Blackburn. “Once I found the house it was a really big load off my mind. Once you’ve got a roof over your head you can start building from there,” she said.
    Con Nostwold, a past president of the Yellowhead Rotary, said the club was glad to give something back to the community. “We were touched by the story and felt we wanted to act immediately," he said.
    Balatti said she’s received about 50 calls from people offering to donate necessities, and her family has received a lot of clothing as well as some furniture. “People have been so generous. I didn’t think we’d get this kind of response,” she said. In fact, she said they’ve gotten so much clothing that they plan to donate the extra items to charities.
    However, the Balattis still need more furniture, including two more beds, and some pots and pans. Balatti is also looking for a large men’s ski jacket and a men’s size 12 to 13 boots for her 15-year-old son.
    Meanwhile, the cause of the blaze remains a mystery.
    Anyone who wishes to help can call Balatti’s sister-in-law Barb at 963-6640.
80 CENTS (HOME DELIVERED: 54 CENTS A DAY)
 Russell takes centre stage
 Dance studio owner wins top honour at business
 awards
                                                                                           by KAREN KWAN Citizen Staff
    When Judy Russell began teaching dance from a shoebox studio in her parents’ basement 24 years ago, she never dreamed she would one day run a major performing-arts company.
    On Saturday, the owner and artistic director of Enchainement Productions Inc. was named Business Person of the Year by the 2002 Prince George Chamber of Commerce Business Excellence Awards. The awards, presented at the Ramada Hotel, recognize outstanding achievements by companies, organizations and individuals in 12 areas of business.
    “I was very, very surprised,” Russell said Sunday from her Opie Crescent studio, where she was overseeing ballet exams. “It means a sort of coming of age. I never, ever expected to be in this position, because 1 look at what I do as more of a lifestyle and a passion rather than a business venture,” she said.
    After graduating from high school, Russell, an accomplished dancer and performer, had planned to become a radio broadcaster. But after a brief stint at a radio station, she realized she had to pursue her passion, and in 1981 she started a full-time teaching business.
    Enchainement Productions now runs a dance school, a production company, and a retail dance store.
    What’s the secret to her success? “I have an incredible love of what I do, and I’m always supported by the people around me. 1 have incredible sup-
                                                                                                                                                                                                                 Citizwi photo by Brent Braaten
Dance studio owner Judy Russell was all smiles after being named the Chamber of Commerce Business Person of the Year Saturday night at the Business Excellence Awards.
  port from my family and staff that have been with me for a very long time,” Russell said.
    She also credits the community for helping her achieve her goals. “The key is living here, because of the community’s willingness to get involved and the constant support fve felt,” said Russell, who moved to Prince George from Richmond with her parents in 1978.
    Her message to young people: “Never let anybody tell you that you can’t
  do it. Never try to get too big too fast.”
    Other winners of the Business Excellence Awards are:
    ■ Newsmaker of the Year - UNBC-UBC medical program
    ■ Community Booster (business) -Goode’s Catering Ltd.
    ■ Community Booster (non-profit) -Family Y of Prince George
    ■ Customer Service Award - Monkey Forest/Lizard River
    ■ Green Award - The McMillan Creek Stewardship Group
    ■ Home-based Business Award -Cakes of Splendor
    ■ Manufacturer of the Year Award -Northern Capital Wood Products Ltd.
    ■ Retailer of the Year - MediChair of Northern B.C.
    ■ Technology Innovator Award -Noratek Solutions Inc.
    ■ Tourism Excellence Award - Railway 8i Forestry Museum, Prince George and Region
    ■ Corporate Citizen of the Year -Coast Inn of the North
MONDAY, NOVEMBER 4, 2002
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