Page 4, The Harald, Tuesday, August 21, 1979

é TERRACE/KITIMAT

daily herald

Published by
Starling Publishers

Genaral Gtfice - 635-6957
Circulation - 635-4357

GEN. MANAGER - KnoxCoupland .

EDITOR - Greg Middleton

CIRCULATION - TERRACE - 695.4357
; KITIMAT OFFICE . 432.2747
Published every: weekday at 3212 Katum Street!
Terrace. B.C. A mamber of Verlfled Circulation.
Authorized aa second class mall, Registration number -
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’ NOTE OF COPYRIGHT

The Herald retains full, complete and sole capyright In
any advertisement produced and-or any editortal or -
photographic content published in the Herald,
Reproduction Is not permitted, ie

EDITORIAL

Judge Darral Collins, who presides
over provincial court In this area, has
declared war on impaired drivers.

Be warned. His honor has decided to
put aside what can only be described as
a very lenlent attitude toward drunken
drivers.

- Collins, In announcing that he fs not
satisfled with the effect fines levied in
drinking and driving offenses are
naving,is putting area drivers on notice.
; If you drink and then drive; be
prepared to pay a heavier penalty than
mas been seen here In the past.

: With the-costs both In damages to
vehicles and other property and in the
yersonal tragedy of serlous Injury. and
Heath that is chalked up to the drinking

Hriver, Judge Collins has a respon-
Bibility to see to It that the penalties he
metes out deter those who might drink
. 9 The number of cases we see In the

Court News of this paper In which Itis a.

second or even third offence indicates
shat some are not hearing the judge’s

ords. That breathalyser readings for
ampaired drivers here are frequently .30

and above demonstrates that those.

are. not just slightly over

ating thelr capacity: °° |.

judge who finds there are some times
mitigating circumstances in the oe-
casional case, the trend |s toward higher
penalties to emphasis that drunkeness
and the operation of a motor vehicle will
mot be tolerated. . oo

& The Herald endorses the judge's stand
mgainst the drinking driver and this

mewspaper will continue to ‘print thé.

mames of those who violate this law,

lie we can ‘sympathize ‘with: a.

| EDITOR'S
JOURNAL
BY |
GREG
MIDDLETON

SHIP NEEDS BAILING

The Callistratus sitting idle in Prince Rupert harbor

Phola by Greg Middiston

.

Dream now a nightmare

PRINCE RUPERT, B.C.
(CP) — The costly dream of
four fishermen in this north
coast British Columbla city
could collapse unless the
federal fisheries department
bails them out, , .

The $4. million factory
trawler Callistratus, the

. largest fishing vesse) ever

registered in Canada, has
been tied up in the city's
harbor since J

January from a Japanese
shipyard,

Aone million pound catch
of hake is still is on ice,
unsold because of a glut on
the world market,

"We've aold some but it’s a
drop in the bucket,” said Ken

, general manager

of Prince Rupert Fisher-:
* men's Cooperative.

“Unless we can come up
with something in the next
three or four months, there
will be serious problems, but

1. It has |

; completed Owo fishing
we its delivery last

‘ Union, the Prince

we're still hoping something
will Taterialize ” .

Owners of the 50-metre
Callistratus are hoping the
federal fisheries department
will charter the vessel to
conduct needed research

* into fish stocks In Canada's

S2i-kilometre offshore zone
and to give them Ume to

solve thelr marketing
problema.
Despite verbal promises

before the last election;
government restraint ap-

. pears to have killed. the

charter plan, although a last-
ditch appeal will be made
soon to Fisheries Minister
Jamea McGrath, -

The four fishermen in-'

volved — Sid Dickens, Alan
Hemmons, Dave Lorette and

- Hans Elfert,' all of Prince

Rupert — put up $500,000,
The principal Hnancial
backers — the B.C, Credit

Credit Union, the Taber.
men's co-operative and the
Canadian Co-operative

Credit Society of Toronto —
have ref to pour any
more money into the project.
Jointly, they are owed §3
million,

The vessel's hull alone cost
‘ minjon and an additional

million was ape equip
it with the latest techn:

“ acquired from all over
world... -

Fish can be cleaned, proc-

essed, ft zen and packaged.

on board-within minutes of

being caught. Tha boat can:

stay at sea for a month or
more and is in telex com-
munication with major
world markets.

Performance exceeded ex-
pectations in {te inited shake-
down cruise, but. Harding
said the world hake surplus
has forced the price down to
alow of 30 cents a pound for
small hake of ‘the type the
Callistratus has been cat-
ching, And even at that price
there are no takers,

The fisheries department

says the veasel could go after
lu

equid. But the market for

squid is not fully developed

and the rock cod quota was

quickly taken in northern

watera.

In addition to the
marketing problems, the
financial backers. blame
fisheries department inertia
for: not ane nes Sah
stocks in the 3%-kilome
zone.

“We're not anking for the:

government to ball us out,"
said William Ciark, business

loan co-ordinator for the B.C, .

Central Credit Union,
“There is a great need for
research in the 200-mile

tone,
“If the boat was a lemon

we could understand (thelr

attitude), but if there's one

thing It cando, it’s fish, It's a

very foot veasel, there's no
ag

of that, but it's
crowning in red tape,"

~ Official Dispute

~ manufactirer's ‘instructions ‘an

2 Ididn't think I was too drunk todrive. All I had was

ahOv
i

at is, a couple or four, oe

e It wasn’t until I was out of the car.facing the
FMountie, a man a little younger than hie and a few
cpounds lighter, but wearing that wilform and with the
‘keys to a police car in which he couldcart me off to the
a ammer, that I began to take the’ whole thing
pseriously. . :

I wasn’t all that confident that I remembered

,exactly how many beer [ had consumed, sitting there-

sore concerned with the conversation than my blood-
micoho) level.

{A couple of years before,however, Ihad participated
fan an exercise to see what a half dozen bottles of the
pest would do to the average college student.
gs Over the course of half an hour to 45 minutes we
ssopped back half the half-pack and then over another
etnree-quarters of an hour put away the other three
porown rockets.
 . Before we started drinking though, yweran through a
mimulated driving experience in a computor:

monitored tester. I drove fine at first, showed a very.

pelight slowing down in reaction time. at the second
Srial, three beer later, and after the sixth would have
yun Over a pregnant woman and three children had-
ey ttepped out in front of me at once.
le I criticized the test for not taking into account
Sthat I would have driven more carefully with a

ullmy confidence was shaken a little. It wasn't
Pwhaken enough that I volunteered not to drive to the
police station where we underwent a breathalyser,

ms Hows le .

& A half a dozen beer in the three hours put my then
wa-pound self at the limit. The officer in charge said
mie wouldn-t have charged me. I was assured that I
was only borderline. Idoremember the film I saw of
he woman and children stepping off the curb in front
eof me as I sat at the controls in the computerized
cdriving simulator.

Something to thimk about.

ar

Fa couple of beer in the pub after work. Well, you know

LONDON (AP) — It has
almost ceased to be a
sports event. Fifteen
yachtsmen dead, 21
yachts broken by the
Atlantic gales, at least $5
million worth of damage.

Where does the Fastnet
race, the world’s moat
famous oceanracing
contest, go from here?

Will the Royal Ocean
Yacht Club really allow
men to sail slim craft into
the teeth of the Atlantic

with no radio tran:
smitters and little or ‘no
stewarding of the course?

The Fastnet contest is
held every two years, a
970-kilometre race from
Cowes, down the English
Channel and out into the
Atlantic, round the Fas-
tmet Rock and back to
Plymouth,

The irony is that in 1975
and’ 1977 yachts wera
becalmed. Sailors thir-
ating for adventure
complained the western
Atlantic was too quiet.

This time they got it —
4 100-kilometre-an-hour
Bale and waves 50 feet
high.

again in two years time,

By

The race became an ex- - .- nothing

pensive and worrying’
rescue operation. Some,

GEOFFREY: MILLER

_ A re-evaluation of races
comes in wake of

H . .
ing could have been
done. ot

«¢-Qnce the race has

15) men were lifted to ~ started, there is ne micans
safety by ships and. -of

helicopters. a Th ie

As broken hulls ands +:

spars bobbed about onthe. ¢-.|

Atlantic in calmer con-~

ditions Wednesday, and™.,( Qceamracing yacht

rescuers continued the
search for victims, the
race organizers were on
the efensive and
cautious.

Lessons may well be
learned, but these will
come later, said Alan
Green, the evackt club seec-

First warnings of ap-
proaching gales came
Monday night as the fleet
of more than 300 yachts
big and amr'!. batted
acroas th “sntic
"Nothing was ‘do

wan dom
guide the fleet to sate,
and Green argued that

ways on their
competitors in any other
com any r
rt. Many of the yachis
d not have radio
tramumitters, sald a race.
official. Almost all of
them had radio receivers.

But they didn't want to
Unten a radios. ite the
na a sport, They
head out into the ocean to
. do battle. with the ele-
ments and they don’t
want contact with

anyone,
Stephen Colgate, a 43-
year-old New Yorker,

_ Balled his yacht Sleuth

with a 12-man crew over
the finish line at

inow a thin
accidents and loss of life.
"Thad a radio and I

disaster

.& particular boat in the

ebut it off,” Colgate anid,
“I didn't want to hear it,
All we th about was
trying to the race," _
the disaster
mounted and more and
more yachts were
unaccounted for in the
rising storm, com-
munications were at
times almost nil.

it is much like this at
the best of times during
the Fastnet race. Even
when its just a sport and
death and destruction are
out of sight. It is always
difficult to find out which
yacht is leading, and
usually impossible to
track down the position of

Test.
Issue only the
reports of

300-8

Officla
vagueat
progress.

Stewarding this race is
next to impossible. It
would mean having 100
observer boats strung
across the western ap-

ches,

The competitors are out
of sight and out of reach,
That's the kind of race it.
ls, If a gale catches them,

_ ‘progr

they are helpless.

~ CONSUMER |
COMMENT |

Have you ever received an especially high electric .
or gas billing which prompted you to wonder about the ;
accuracy of your meter? —* a

Under the silectricity Inspection Act and the Gas;
‘Tnapections Act, all meters used in the billing of gas.
and electricity are inspected for accuracy before
being put into service, and once’ verified, carry a.
Government of Canada seal, This legislation is ad-.
ministered by the federal Department of Consumer’,
and Corporate Affairs, and its basic purpose is to
protect consumers by ensuring that thelr gas and.
electricity billing is determined on the basis of ac-
curate.moters, = 2°. ;

Inaddition to pre-inatallation meter inspections, the
ges and electriacal inspectors.also conduct testing in
cases where there. is a dispute between a consumer.
and a uillity over-the accuracy of.a meter. The:
Department charges a nominal fee for such dispute :
testing, which is refundable to the. consumer if the.
disputed meter is found to be not within the legal
limits of calibration accuracy. In addition, a utility
‘may charge a service fee if the meter is found to be.
registering within the legal limits. This fee ls usually.
added to the customer's nex.t.bill, The majority of
dispute tests prove the meter to be acceptable, and the
cause of the higher billing can generally be traced to
increased consumption. So, if: you are concerned
about the accuracy of your meter, first ask yourself

. thé following questions. Then, if you still feel that the-

oblem may be with the meter, you ahould lodge and
Of pute ‘Request with your local District

Ottice of Electricity and Gas, Consumer and Cor-

porate Affairs Canada. . ‘

Is your meter meae an estimate? Inaccurate or.
eatimated readings usually be corrected in your’
nex

_ Are you familiar with the utility's rate structure?
Moat utilities charge a minimumi fee and generally the
cust of the first block of-kilowatt hours is higher than

the next block during each billing } pineal iat in
of ‘en! iD-

turned down at night and when you're out?

Is your hot water tank properly insulated, cleaned

and adjusted, and is it located away from drafts? Is

the temperature set too high, or do you have leaking —

taps?

to seasonal use of eletricity, such a8 Christmas lights,
block heaters, or space heaters in winter, or air
conditioners or fans in summer? ™

Have you had recent house guests? Visitors can
increase consumption through. increased: coking ,
‘lauridty; hot water’ udage,-etg22 5 geeaee ay

Whether you doubt your meter or not, asking
yourself these questions is in your own best interest
and should become a regular habit for you and your
family. Keeping tabs on where the electricity and gas
is going may help you decide that you can reduce your
consumption and thus not only save you money, but
conserve energy at the same time, And that is in the
best interest of all of us. ; .

‘For more information on household energy con-
. Sumption and how to reduce it, contact your neareat
office of Energy , Minea and Resources Canada and
ask for the publication ‘‘ 100 Ways to Save Energy and
Money in the Home" ; '

ATRILL THINKS

By THOMAS ATRILL

I getcomments, . -

A recent column which referred to social protest,
has generated a great deal of discussion, pro and con.
Teither know what I am writing about or am an utter '
fool, depending on who is doing the .

To continue the theme, I tell you something
about the United States’ SST or Supersonic Transport.

2. .

For various reasons, incl military necesalty,
the SST was promoted and partially financed by the
U.S. government. It was to be the largest, fastest and
best and, let us not forget, the costliest plane ever
built, But costs would be outweighed by the ad-

' vantages, @ perfect troop carrier in wartime and a

giant cargo and passenger carrying aircraft for
peivate commercial use. It would place the United
States many years ahead of Russia, Britain and
France and would have been a model, ideal aircraft
for all to copy.

‘Then the protesters struck. -

Since this aircraft would place the United States ata _
distinct advantage in the Russia-U.S. rivalry, it was
up to the activists to do in the program as soon as
possible, employing the usual tactic, a public. scare
‘am.

The American SST was depicted as a destroyer of
the atmosphere and a major cause of some form of
hysteria in humans. It was unnecessary, they sald,
and caused untold pollution and other back effects. It
should be cancelled, according to the protesters, and
the money saved should be spent on such other
benveficlal Programa as alum clearance and welfare,
ete,

To make a long story short, the SST program was
cancelled, after hundreds of millions had been spent
and a mock-up model built, Thousands of valuable and
well trained and experienced employees of the air-
craft industry. were thrown out of work. They scat-
tered and tried to find similar work elsewhere,
presumably in the British and French Concorde
works, or retired from that type of work altogether, as
did a few who settled in our area, The losa to the U.S,
was and is incalculable. ;

It ls interesting to note that the Russians have been
flying an SST for years and the British-French Con-
corde now has permission to use at least two U.S.
airfields, Obviously these are acceptable SSTs.

And, get this, not a whisper of protest from the
otherwise vocal left!| .

Are you accounting for increased consumption due

*