. Page 2, The Herald, Wednesday, December 5, 1979 No snow a concern By JIM POLING VANCOUVER (CP) — It’s not even beginning to look a bit Bke Christmas to some Yukon and northern British Columbla residents. In fact, it's possible that Santa's sleigh runners will be throwing sparks when they touch down in places Ike Whitehorse, Prince George and Fort Nelson less than three weeks from now. There simply has not been encugh snow yet to cushion an overloaded sleigh and an overweight pilot.- No snow at this time of year ls almost unheard of in the North. However, some communities have been shattering long-standing drought records, In Prince George, 800 road kilometres north of Van- couver, die-hard duffers were still firing white balls around the golf courses last weekend. Some snow fell Monday, but only a meagre one centimetre remained Tuesday. There wasn't a flake to be found at Fort Nelson, the far northeastern B.C. com- munity that is the tinal jumping off polnt to the Yukon. If that's not startling, con- sider the Yukon capital of Whitehorse. That city, just down the road from where a snowy and frostbitten Sam McGee was eremated in Rovert Service's famous poem, ia HAM CATS WANTED UPPINGHAM, England (CP) — Cats have been in- vited to audition for a part in a drama production to be staged by Arts Theatre in Uppingham: The producers have advised that the suc- cessful cat must be docile, snowless, The weatherman says only flurries — no major falls — are In sight. “Yea, it is unusual,” said the Whitehorse weatherman. “We usually get 23 cen- timetreas of snow in November alone,” He's lived in Whitehorse 25 years and has never seen a green Christmas there. Theskiers and snowmobile enthusiasts are upset. But to pass time, they can go skating on smaller lakes that have frozen clear as glass, The weatherman says the absence of snow has left the ice so clear that ‘fish can be seen awimming below.” November was the fifth consecutive month of below- normal ‘precipitation in Prince George. Total precipitation during No- yember was 2.8 millimetres, the lowest since 19241, when recordkeeping began. A normal November in Prince George sees 19.1 millimetres of rain and 39.4 centimetres of snow, for a total precipitation of 54.9 milli- metres. “We've got a real drought gelng here,’ sald the weath- erman., Other. northern com- munities do have snow, but not much. Dease Lake northwestern B.C. an Watson Lake in the southern Yukon had reported one centimetre of white stuff on the ground. Weather forecasters say the situation is starting to look grim for the spring runoff next year, However, the immediate concern for northern folks, especially the little ones, 1s that heavily-laden sleigh. Not to worry, says one forecaster, “The odds are always with Santa. [t might take a while, r= liquid-measure é The bug division Legion team of the Terrace Minor Hockey League are presented Saturday with new uniforms valued at $500. From left toright: Mary Ann Burdett, president of the Royal Canadian Legion branch 13, Brian Piwek-team captain. coach Don Piracy with paint now BEIRUT (AP) — The pirates of Lebanon fly no Jolly Roger and clench no knives between their teeth. The tools of the modern pirate are paintbrushes and a fat cheanebook. Under paintbrush piracy, old freighters are sald to new owners after leaving for their destination. While the ship is still at sea, a new name is painted on anda new flag is hoisted, Its cargo is resold and unloaded at an more that 50 lost freighters have been sighted off Lebanon's 155-kilometre- long coast. Samir Baroudi, a lawyer for several shipping in- surance companies, says he knows of more than $150 Taillion in illegally seized cargo thathasbeen unloaded _ at illegal ports in Lebanon, The ports and the pfracy Sprang up after the civil war because government authority was all but Maitland, Cory Killoran-assista nt captain, and Kelth Trask sports officer for the Terrace Legion branch. Unhappily, the bugs lost their match on Saturday 3-1 to the Elks. the Middle East, was prac- tically paralysed because of disputes between Christian militla forces and Syrian peace-keeping troops. A Beirut banker said legitimate importers cannot compete with the paintbrush pirates — a 26-inch West German color television set costs about $2,e00 {ff pur- chased legally. A smuggled set costs less than half that, The tale of the Betty is a typical case of paintbrush piracy. The Betty, originally owned by Pero Shipping Co. Ltd. of Cyprus, sailed from Yugoslavia on Aug. 16, bound for Jidda, Saudi Arabia, Instead of golng to the Suez canal, the Betty stopped at Pilos island in Greece for repairs and fueling. > It stayed at Pilos until the ‘end of August. During that time, Pero sold the Betty to another Cyprus-based Canadian dollar up MONTREAL (CP) — The Canadian dollar took a ginger step above the 96 cents U.9, in opening trading on North American money markets Tuesday, but retreated into the 85-cent range by the day's close. The dollar opened at 86.07 cents U.S, Tuesday, ‘traded at a steady 85.98 throughout the morning and slipped steadily to close at 85.90. Monday's close was 65.93. Phote by Don Schaffer shipper, It was renamed the Five Stars and given a Panamanian flag. On Sept. 3, the old owners telexed an Italian company that had chartered the ship to say that the FiveStars had sailed from Pilos Sept. 3, destined for Jidda. Saudi authorities were told to expect it around Sept. 14, But by Sept, 4, the Five Stars was well on its way to one of 20 or so illegal ports in Lebanon, | The ports, usually ringed by barbed-wire, consist of a roughly-built pier, a couple of rowboats, a crane and a few trucks. Armed teenagers usually stand guard, Shipping sources said the captain and his crew were bought off for $350,000 and the cargo -- cast iron, tex- tiles, ceramic tiles, timber, scrub brushes and locks — was sold far half-price, $3.5 millions. 2 0 4 Uae In mid-October, Baroudi asked the Lebanese government to seize the ship, but the Five Stars slipped out to sea. A few days later, a ship named the Aires docked at Piraeus, Greece. Inspectors discovered traces of ‘the name Betty on the bow. Closer examination disclosed the outlines of other names — F'ive Stars, Black Eagle ‘and Malaga. Officials in Piraeus arrested three Greeks, in- cluding the owner of the Betty and the owner of the Five Stars, but Baroudi said the Lebanese involved have little to worry about — Lebanon's courts have been crippled since the war. good-tempered and fond of hy¢ there'll be plenty of snaw _ illegal port. destroyed. The port of bright lights. for Christmas" 9 Since the 1975-76 civil war, Beirut, once the busiest in WEDNESDAY 5 p.m. to midnight KING CFTK BCTV KCTS 2 (NBC) 3 (¢cBCc) 4 ctv) 9 (PBS) 1 1 cBUFT a ae 1 a 7 . oa oO | Carol Happy" So Cont‘d Alster Cosmos 315) | Burnett Days Coni’d Rogers 1999 30s. News Hourglass Contd Electric Cont'd 145 | Cont'd Cont'd Cont‘d Company Cont'd : Cont'd Wed. 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DeLeuw Cather CONSULTING ENGINEERS Mr. S.J. Cunliffe, Chalrman of the Beard of DeLCan, Is pleased to announce the election of R.S. (Ray Cunliffe) and Bruce Tait as Directors of the Company. Cunliffe is Vice President Operations for Willis, Cunliffe, Tait & Company, and View President Operations, or responsible for the coverage of engineering services of the merged companies throug fhe 9 Branch Offices in the region. Mr. Cunliffe’s office will be continued at 313 Columbia Street, New Westminster. Bruce Talt Operations, Nanaimo, B.C. He will continue to maintain his offices at 321 Wallace Street, Both Mr. Cunliffe and Mr. Tait bring to the DeLCan Board approximately 30 years of varled engineering and management ——_ Willis Cunliffe Tait & Company Ltd. Bruce Talt, P. Eng. DeLCan. He Is Is Vice President ” NEWS BRIEFS MONTREAL (CP) — A milllonaire veteran’ of the Quebec publishing industry and a new arrival to the business are in a winner take-all race to launch a new English-language tabloid here, ; The veteran is Pierre Pe- ladeau, president of Quebecor Inc. whose publishing interests include the racy and highly- ‘ profitable Journal de Montreal and Journal de Quebec. ‘ The newcomer is Nick Auf der Maur, a part-time radio broadcaster and former columniat at the Montreal Star, whose demise in September left a gap in the market and prompted the race for a competitor to Montreal's only English-. language dally, The Gazette, “There's only room for one (more),” Auf der Maur said Tuesday, “It's a question of who gets off the mark first and who has the most credibility with the readership,” he said. “We have a much better -chance of producing a much better product,” Deportation cancelled NABLUS, Occupied West Bank (AP) — Israel can- celled a deportation order against the militant Palestinian mayor of Nablus today and allowed him to return home in triumph. The decision marked a turnabout for Israel, which was strongly crillcized by the United States, Egypt and the United Natiens for mooving to expel the 48-year- ald mayor, Bassam Shakaa. Shakaa, who had been jailed since Nov. 11, was greeted by thousands of celebrating Nablus residents and pelted with rose petals when he returned home. Israel's military governor, Brig.-Gen. Binyamin Ben- Eliezer, in announcing the decision, said Shakaa was freed on condition that “his functions will be limited to municipal matiers.” Mosque raiders face trail . JEDDAH (Reuter) — After 15 days of bloody fighting with Saudi treops in which about 135 people died, the surviving allackers of the Grand Mosque at Mecca now face the prospect of going on trial for their lives. The siege of Islam’s holiest shrine was officially declared over Monday following a fina! assault by Saudi forces in which the last of the armed Moslem rebels were either killed or .cap- tured. Late Tuesday, Saudi tele- vision showed film of the ex- hausted survivors of the group, many of them wounded. The leader of the attack, Juhaiman al-Oteiba, was seen glaring at the camera from a hospital bed, looking filthy and disheveled. Interior Minister Prince Nayef ibn Abdulaziz sald about 60 Saudi soldiers and 75 of the rebels were killed in the two weeks of fierce fighting at the mosque. Dead rock fans mourned CINCINNATI (Reuter) -—- As a shocked city moummed the deaths of 11 rock music fans trampled in a stampede into a concert by the British group The Who, city leaders met Tuesday to decide how to prevent such a catastrophe in future. "People are stunned,’’ ‘said one Cincinnati police ‘official::: “They just can't believe ‘it ‘really happened the way it did, people engulfed in a crushing human wave. “They read about such things happening in other countries, but they never imagined people could be trampled to death here in America.” The Who continued ita tour Tuesday night with a per- formance in Buffalo before 17,000 fans that was dedicated to those killed Monday, “We're totally shattered,” the group's leader, Roger Daltry, fold ‘ Tuesday's night’s audience. ‘But life. goes on. We lost a lot -of family yesterday. This show's for them.” Carter a candidate WASHINGTON (AP) — President Carter's re- election campaign is off and running, but without the candidate, who says the crisis in Iran made it diffi- cult for him even to an- nounce his candidacy, much less campaign. But Carter's wife, Rosalynn, Vice-President Walter Mondale and a corps of surrogates were hitting the campaign trail today after Carter's sombre East Room = announcement Tuesday, followed by an equally subdued and brief television address. “My campaign travels must be, for a time, post- poned,” Carter said. ‘‘While the crisis continues, [ must be present to define and to lead our response to an ever- changing situation of the greatest sensitivity and im- portance,” ; Carter even passed up a fundraising gala at a Washington hotel only a few blocks from the White House, sending Mrs, Carter and Mondale in his place,. Natural foods not really MONTREAL (CP) — Several ‘‘natural’' food products on sale here contain the same chemical additives found in ordinary foods, the Quebee Order of Chemists has charged, President Jean-Claude Richer told a news cou- ference Tuesday that chemists from the order had analysed the natural food- stuffs last month and found they contained preservatives or monosodium glutamate while their labels claimed they were free of chemicals. Among the products tested, Richer said, Vogel brand peanut oll and blomargarine and Le Naturiste margarine and sunflower oil contained two anti-oxidant preservatives: Lesser amounts of the pre- servatives were also found in Rain sesame oil, Eréwhon corn ofl, Golden Harvest soya oil and Canasoy soy butter although the labels said the contrary, the president said. , Island bought for eagles SEATTLE (AP) — A national conservation organization has bought an island off the north Washington coast which pro- vides a nesting place for bald eagles, and hopes to raise funds to buy another. Sixteen-acre Sentinel Island is one of the most important remaining natural areas in the San Juan islands, said Elliot Marks, director of the Washington field office of the Nature Conservancy. The purchase price is $250,-000, Marks asald . Tuesday, The conservancy alsa hopes to ralse another $175,000 by a May 15 deadline to buy it-acre Yellow Island, also in the San Juans, he said. Sentinel Island “is par- licularly significant as an active bald eagle nesting area and alsa contains nesting habitat for other important bird. species, as well as exceptionally un- touched flora and intertidal life," Marks said, : South Africa expelled | NEW DELHI (Reuter) -— South Africa was expelled today from a conference of the International Atomic Energy Agency in New Dethi. The conference voted 49 to 24 in favor of a Nigerian resolution to reject the eredentlals of the South African delegation. ' There were nine abstentions. Sutth Africa's chief delepate, JW.J. Villiers, described the conference action as blatantly illegal and politically motivated. The Vienna-based IAEA, whose annual conference opened in New Delhi on Mon- day, is an autonomous body. of the United Nations and Teports ta the General Assembly, South African delegates had left the conference hall by the time the vote result Was announced,