~ TERRACE ald + 0c 2 / VOLUME 71 NO. 152 One of the busiest departments in town must surely be that of the _ City of Terrace snow removal. The: heavy equipment operators - work. THURSDAY, DECEMBER 8, 1977 one shown above on Greig Ave are literally “snowed under” with Approximately 28 “On Call’ = non-permanent staff employed by Skeenaview Lodge, the 150. bed pschogeriatric insUtution in Terrace are said to have received notices within the last 24 hours thelr services will likely be less needed in the immediate future. The telephone rang in the trailer home of one such employee, where a ‘HERALD staffer was visiting, at ap: proximately & p.m. Tuesday. The “On Call” woman was told that she would not likely be called for duty for some time, and the impression gained was that she would be well advised to visit the U.I.C. office to register for wunem- ployment insurance benefits, A telephone call to Brad Gee, Skeena Lodge administrator Wed- nesday afternoon elicited the following explanation of the current situation - }keenaview On an involved situation that has grown progressively complex and difficult over a number of years and for which htere seems no ‘‘simple'’ Skeenaview Lodge costs British Columbia Taxpayers ap: proximately $2,500,000 to $2,700,000 per year to provide institutional care for 130 patients. ‘This averages roughly $20,000 per occupant per year. Despite the drop in the number of patients from 300 fifteen years ago to 120 taday, the staff has remained fairly constant . solution. . especially the professional nursing employees. The wooden buildings are deemed unsafe and unfit from both a health and fire safety stand- point. Temporary repairs are no longer sufficient and needed repairs would amount to a prohibitive cost. A 60 bed intermediate care facility is due to openina month's time at Smithers, that will serve much the same region as Skeenaview. A 150 bed similar facility is slated ‘for Prince Rupert and plams approved for its construction adjacent to the Regional Hospital there. It, too, will draw from the same region. Just two weeks ago 8 or 9 patients from Skeenaview were moved to the Kitimat Hospital as extended care cases, Because of the dif- ficulty of keeping: a sufficient number of professional nurse (R.N.s and R.P.Ns) it was felt necessary to refuse any new ad- missions to Skeenaview back in September. Attrition from natural causes (death) and transfer (as to Kitimat) has seen the bed oc- cupancy drop from 146 to 130 in two and a half months. When the shortage of Undertaker Admits Mass Baby Burials NEWARK, N.J. (AP) — Anundertaker charged with burying 1,531 infants and stillborn babies in mass graves while under contract to Newark's public welfare division says he was following a practice common since the turn of the century. Carmine Berardinelli, 34, was charged Tuesday in an administrative complaint with burying as many as 40 infants in one. coifin, The burials took place at three northern New Jersey cemeteries during a 6- year period until August 1973, the state charged. “Not one of the 1,531 individuals entrusted to Berardinelli was buried in a manner befitting the dignity of the deceased,” the state said. No criminal charges were filed, but a hearing on the possible revocation of his undertaker’s licence was set for Dec. 21 before the state Board of Mortuary Science, which filed the 30-count complaint. Burial of infants and stillborn babies of im- proverished parents in mass graves has been “common practice” in Newark since the earl 190s, Berardinelli said. STARTED WITH FATHER “My father, Joseph Berardinelli received authorization in 1961 from the city division of public welfare for multiple burials and 1 continued that practice,” he’said. He said .* the authorization was,verbal. . “In those days, véry little was said. “In my mind, there’s nothing wrong with it,’’ he said. “Multiple burials would be wrong “for adults, but for infants, .1 think it’s beautiful; Every one of them was biiried with dignity.” put on paper,” he “I was doing a service for the city,’ Berardinelli Said, “We received $19 per child and, believe me, T lost money.” Berardinelli is the second Newark un- dertaker accused of performing mass buirals of poor people. He says he is being victimized because he gave state officials information about the ‘first un- dertaker, Former undertaker Richard Iacobucci last year admitted burying the bodies of 163 poor people in 32 graves while under contract to the city ‘from’ 1973 to 1976, Adults and babies were buried in the same coffin, authorities siad. Tacobueci has been ordered by a Superior Court judge to disinter the 163 bodies at his own expense and bury them “with the: dignity befit- ting the deceased." C professional nur st reached ihe acute stage, last - September, the administrator Brad Gee phoned the Registered. . Nurses Administration Office in Ontario which was reported to have a surplus of R.N.s. Only recently have there been any applicants to inquire - and then, only a couple, within the last week or two, says Gee. Advertisements in’ Alberta, Saskatchewan and Ontario by the Public Service Recruitment Program, he _ said, brought “zero” number of recruits. A minimum of 10; more preferably 15 (to allow for normal emplo y¥ an professional nurses are needed to hold the line at the present level. - Mr. . Gee reiterated that, providing the professional staff can be located, the decline in patient numbers will cease. He Is hopeful a new institution will be’ built in Terrace as soon as the Skeenaview phoning - all Staff lit , - _ derstood and agreed that Seciety in consultation with the B.C. Deparmtent of Health decides on the . plans, size and location. During the construction period the present buildings will be kept in operation, and there should be no decline in the employment of local staff and in the overall * payroll, the -- ail- ministrator felt. Meanwhile, the issue has resulted in emotions running high; concern by those who have been informed their -hours of employment at the Lodge may be drastically cut - (especially over Christmas) - and general -uncertainty by the patients themselves. For the 130 mostly psycho-geriatric patients whose futures are being debated, and who have seen picketters bearing placards parading past and hearing talk of their being “shipping out” and “Flown South” - it is a most difficult and up- setting experience, in- deed! c Legion Backs Unity OTTAWA - The Royal Canadian Legion’s Executive Council has unanimously approved a three-phase program to throw the weight of its 500,000 members behind national unity, Dominion President Doug Mc- Donald announced today. No issue has so aroused the Legion since the Second World War and the Legion believes constitutional. .changes are needed to serve the best interests of all Canadians. The first ~- phase, Battle Unity, ' will specifically recommend development of an amending formula for the constitution and its patriation; the guaranteeof the rights of all Canadians, where practical, to deal with their governments in either of the two official languages, with children being educated in the official language of their choice; the elimination of disparity in economic opportunities between regions in Canada, and the provision of full op- portunities for em- ployment. already under way, will - inform Legion members of the dimensions of the crisis through Legion Magazine. The second phase, to be outlined in a brief to the Task Force on Canadian The third phase will send a special task force to every province to discuss with Legion members, the vital factors affecting Canadian unity. PRIVINCIAL LIBRARY VARLIAMENT BLDSS — VICTORIA BC er ee B.C. Prisoner Gives Up SAANICH, B.C. (CP) — Arazor-wielding prisoner at the Vancotver Island Regional Correctional Centre here gave himself up today to guards after holding them at bay outside his cell for about 12 hours, a prison spokesman sald. Harry Bacon, acting director of the centre, said in a telephone in- terview that the 23-year- old male prisoner climbed to the top of 15- foot bars outside his cell at 10:30 p.m. Tuesday to protest his isolation from the general _ prison population. He said the incident began when the prisoner bolted from a line of fellow prisoners heading to a washroom for their th nightly shower, and then climbed the bars. Bacon said the prisoner had a razor blade and a broom handle, but was not. threatening anyone with them. He said the prisoner “nicked himself in the wrists” at about 4 am. today to show the sincer- ity of his protest, but there was no serious injury. “IT really don't think he threatened suicide,” said Bacon. ‘‘His heart wasn’t in it.” NO PROMISES GIVEN The prison head said the man, who was not identified, gave himself up on his own accord, and was not given assurances his grievance would be acted on. “T think he was tired,” said Bacon. Bacon explained that e prisoner wanted to get back into the general population, from which e had been segregated after two recent hostage- taking incidents at the jail in this municipality adjacent to Victorca, “TL told him to improve his conduct and he could get moved,”’ said Bacon. When asked if charges would be pressed against the prisoner, Bacon said: “We'll take same action . - - but what, I don't know.” ; The prisoner is being held on remand at th centre, ; Bacon said there were 14 other prisoners in the celiblock during the in- cident, but they remained peaceful, He said guards could have rushed the mann- soon after the incident began, but it was decided such an action must lead to injury. On the whole, said Bacon, “it was just a small incident." Charges Against Vander Zalm Dropped By Welfare Recipient VANCOUVER (CP) ~— A 19-year-old welfare recipient who was denied assistance by human Resources Minister Bill Vander Zalm because the woman he lived with had a job, Tuesday accepted an out-of-court set- tlement with the ministry. . Leo Krebs, who was granted $125 assistance by an appeal tribunal in October but found that Vander Zalm had stopped payment onit, said he has accepted the proposal made by Peter Leask, lawyer for the ministry of human resources. The payment of $125 was made upon Krebs Signing a release that he would not pursue any action against Vander , Terry Pyper, regional director for the ministry or the Van- couver Resources Beard in connection with the application he made for waar on Sept,19.. ‘Tt is: further wn- the payment of the aforementioned sum of money be made with a deniat of liability and that nothing herein contained, nor the said payment, Shall be construed or shall constitute an ad- mission of liability by the said William Vander Zalm, Terry Pyper or the Vancouver Resources Board,’’ the- settlement said. The appeal tribunal that awarded Krebs assistance under the Guaranteed Available Income for Need Act ruled that a welfare recipient could live with an income earner and still receive government money if the recipient was not financially dependent on the income earner. LIVING WITH MALE Vander Zalm brought in a new regulation to the act that specifically prohibited the payment of welfare under such circumstances. . -. In the meantime, Krebs sequently lost it. He said Tuesday he is now receiving welfare while o,f fhe mean rebs__ binding all. obtained a job but: sub-- baat living with another friend who is an income earner and sharing the rent, but the friend is male and “that seems to make the difference with the government.” The appeal tribunal, chaired lawyer Dorothy Jaques, was scheduled to reopen the appeal hearing on Friday in order to receive new evidence from Leask, on behalf of Vander Zalm. Supreme Court was earlier dismissed pen- ding the action of the appeal tribunal. Ms, Jaques said: ‘‘The importance of the pur- pose of the governing statute cannot he strongly stressed and the assumption must surely be that the legislature did not intend to confer un- bridled power on the minister 50 as to permit him to refute the man- datory Janguage of the act and the regulations ‘Krebs, who intends to return to school January, said he now considers the case closed. Coal Strike Spreads CHARLESTON, W.Va. (AP) — Non-union coal mines in the United States are closing in the second day of a United Mine Workers (UMW) Strike, either in sym- pathy with the union or in reaction to determined union pickets. UMW president Arnold Miller cailed the strike at 12:01a.m. Tuesday, when the union's wage contract with the Bituminous Coal Operators Association expired after 60 days of fruitless bargaining. The union has demanded restoration of full health benefits, a limited right to go on strike over "local Grievances and a wage increase to $114.46 a day from the current $60 during a proposed three- year contract. By Tuesday evening, non-union mines had closed in Ohio, Maryland and Kentucky. In West Virginia and Virginia, UMW members met to B.C. Tel OTTAWA (CP) — A British Columbia MP asked the federal government Wednesday to introduce legislation to end a labor dispute between the Tele- communicatioris Workers Union and the British Columbia Telephone Co. Stuart Leggatt (NDP— New Westminster) made the request in the Commons, saying that the company is unwilling to settle the 14-day strike with its 10,000 workers. A conciliation report was accepted earlier by the union and rejected by the company. Labor Minister John Munro rejected —tthe request, saying a con- ciliator appointe Tuesday needs time to unravel the dispute. Leggatt said the dispute is becoming in- creasingly bitter and revolved around the central point of job security. plan picketing at non- ’ union mines to try to stop all coal movement during the strike. The effects of the strike were already obvious in asthe railway industry, where about 3,500 em- ployees have been laid off, The contract with the coal operators covered 130,000 union members — about 70 per cent of the miners in the U.S. who produce about 50 per cent of the coal mined in the country. The union’s health funds, financed on the basis of production: and man-hours, have been financially weakened by wildeat strikes and in- flation in medical-care costs. Reductions in benefits, announced in June, led to a wildeat strike that lasted 10 weeks, All medical, death, and retirement benefit ceased when the union went on strike; the UMW maintains no strike fund. The bargaining sessions have been recessed until Thursday In’ Washington, Miller said Tuesday the union has presented all its demands. “We asked: thm the operators to come back with a complete counter. proposal," he said. “I’m not optimistic about any real movement at this particular time.” Dan Fields of the West Virginia Coal Association estimated that the 130,000 meners employed by members of the coal operators group will lose more than $12 million a day in wages during the strike, and mroe than 1.5 million tons of coal production will be lost, The Golden Rule Office on Kalum Street near B.C. Tel building, for the seventh year in suc- cession is undertaking the distribution of gifts from private and public donors for the un- fortunates and unem- ployediM#Bhe gifts go out to those who would not receive otherwise looked after or taken care of by other organizations, Juanita Hatton, coor- dinator for The Golden Rule says this year there Isa very special need for warm clothing, toiletries, fruit and vegetables. Espeecim o cl e would be tins of meat or nuts (good protein). All donations may beleft at The Golden Rule office, 3238 Kalum St, If necessary, phone 635-4535, for further in- formation, ries. Ck?