Winnipeg Free Press

Winnipeg Free Press (Newspaper) - April 27, 1981, Winnipeg, Manitoba Kirkfield hotel stripped to rafters during auction by Nelle Oosterom the Kirkfield hotel once a favorite watering Hole for horse racing buffs was stripped Down to the rafters during a weekend auction which saw buyers carry away everything but the Walls. Hundreds of people bid on the re Mains. Some of them were former patrons who remember the Days when he 35-year-old St. James landmark stood alone on the Edge of a two land Portage Avenue. Today the building is lost in a sea of six Lane traffic Muffler shops fast food restaurants and convenience stores. In Consumers criticized As apathetic by Shirley Muir Canadian Consumers become Apa thetic and confused about their Pur chasing Power during inflationary Peri ods according to panellists at the Consumers association of Canada s cac annual meeting saturday. Consumer activism has waned considerably As Consumers become Apa thetic in the constant fight against inflation said Sally merchant District manager of consumer and corporate affairs Canada. We complain if the Price goes up on a product and then we turn around and buy it said merchant. As Consumers we can t control inflation but by refusing to buy those products that show constant Price increases we can put a lag on Consumers Are easily persuaded Price increases Are Worth it or that nothing can be done to reduce them if it is a result of inflation merchant told 50 cac delegates at the University of Manitoba. She also advised Consumers to be wary of products which regularly Are High priced but often on Sale. If they can be on Sale so often they probably do not warrant the original Price and Are not products of High inflation she said. Habits attacked Consumers must continue to exer Cise their rights and purchasing Power by changing habits and choosing lower priced products she said. Panellist Vic Savino a Winnipeg Law yer identified inflation and politicians As the greatest obstacles for Canadian Consumers. Public enemy no. I is inflation and Public enemy no. 2 is politicians who refuse to do anything about he said. The tendency to believe that govern ment can do everything for you in t responded Gary Filmon minis Ter of consumer and corporate affairs. People must become rational Consumers so they Aren t left in the position of being totally unprotected. Don t Lull Consumers into the idea that govern ment is there and that they need t be he told delegates. How Consumers use their rights in questioning prices and Quality is determined by the individual said Mer chant. The Power of consumerism is Only As Strong As people believe it is. The final vote is in the hands of the consumer and How they spend their Dollar added cac past president mar Garet Soper. A few Days it will be levelled and in a few months a Burger King restau rant will Rise from the rubble. Still there were few tears As item after item fell to the auctioneer s Gavel. The hotel actually helped build the Community. It was the major Industry Here but the whole area has changed and it s not the same Community any said Jack Dangerfield presi Dent of the Kirkfield hotel co. The Cost of modernizing the Structure in order to comply with updated liquor commission regulations proved too High and was the reason for levelling the hotel he said. It has ceased to serve its Pur asked whether he had any sentimental feelings about losing the Semi historic Structure he said none. None the Kirkfield s history goes Back to 1945. When the owners built they anticipated it would serve a Veteran s hos Pital which was slated to go up across the Street. The footings for the Hospital were Laid but then they did t get As Many casualties from a Day As they thought they would get so it was never White elephant meanwhile the Kirkfield already had been erected and was on its Way to becoming a White elephant because of its isolated location. But instead it became a favorite stopping off place for the patrons of Assiniboia Downs. The Horsey set was a faithful clientele until the 1960s, when two other hotels were established nearby. Our dining room had a Good reputation but a hotel dining room can t compete with the pizza places the chinese restaurants and All the other fast food outlets. Times have the problems of the Dangerfield fam ily which owns the property Multi plied because the building never was Well constructed. It went up right after the War when it was difficult to get a lot of materials and consequently it was somewhat Jerry built. It Cost a Fortune to heat the the hotel has been renovated three times and each time the old thrown out in favor of something More the current contents were a treasure trove of Early 1960s Arboite and Vinyl. There s nothing Here which be longed to the original building. If you saw a picture of what it looked like when it was first built you would t recognize said Dangerfield. Be sides Over the years we be had people buy up a lot of the older stuff and so there s nothing like that a cracked Mirror went for free. Sev eral As a toaster supposedly not working auctioned off for someone walked away with an entire men s washroom for sprinkler systems fluorescent lights carpets nailed to the floor All were snapped up by the end of the Day. The Kirkfield s replacement Burger King expected to be in operation sometime this summer. A newer hotel and beverage room which was constructed behind the old hotel in 1973, will remain in operation. Dangerfield said leasing the property for the Burger King is part of an Over All development plan for the family property which includes an Automo Tive Centre next door. Flying like an Eagle Winnipeg free press monday april 3 Canada breakup forecast Kevin Prokosh if the supreme court of Canada rules prime minister Pierre Trudeau s constitutional plan is Legal the country will cease to exist in five years Douglas Christie founder of the Western Canada concept warned last night. If that package goes through within five years Canada As we know it will no longer the 35-year-old Law yer told a rally to promote Western separatism. After that happens i would suggest there Are two possibilities one that two Western provinces will secede and the other is that All four provinces Christie enthusiastically received by the predominantly Middle aged Audi ence of about 70, said Trudeau s Patria Tion plan is no More than a grab for Power and labelled the charter of rights a Trojan the Constitution includes within it self the vehicle for the absolute control of Western Canada. It contains within it As did the Trojan horse the vehicle of our privacy s and our Liberty s destruction knows result when the prime minister puts the proposal to the supreme court i think he knows what the result will be. I think he knows it will be he said he bases his opinion on a court which consists of three judges from Quebec three from Ontario and Thrett from the rest of the country. The judges he noted Are not elected or accountable to anyone and Are appointed by the Federal government. The constitutional proposals Are unacceptable to Western premiers and to the people both of whom will lose when the package inevitably becomes Law he said. The Western premiers Are boxed in because they will lose on every he told the rally. They will lose politic ally because the Central Canada Media will portray them As unpatriotic and greedy judicially because their opposition in the courts will never succeed and in London where no parliament in Britian is going to oppose what the supreme court says is All the premiers will face the Choice of capitulating to Ottawa or advocating treason by refusing to obey the Law he said. Christie said Western separation is inevitable. Although Western canadians Are tied to the country emotionally in practical terms there is no reason to be part of Ami Kotler 10, had his Eagle Kite soaring yesterday As he and Many others enjoyed Kite Day held by City Rouge Parks and recreation Branch at fort Rouge Leisure Centre. Sturgeon Creek Bridge May Cost City More the City has both Good and bad news for commuters who Cross Sturgeon Creek at Portage Avenue. The Good news is favourable weather and Low Spring Runoff Levels have put construction of a new Bridge Over the Creek eight weeks ahead of sched ule and City engineers Hope they can finish it by year s end. The bad news is that Cost of the Bridge which was originally estimated at More than million could carry a higher Price tag. However City officials refused to reveal How much More. Civic works and operations commit tee is to consider the matter at its regular meeting today. Construction of the South half of the Bridge has started and traffic is using the North four lanes of Portage at the Creek a City spokesman said. The City launched the 20-month project to end problems of flooding and backup at the Culvert under Portage Avenue at the Creek. Mercier apologizes Roger Young has received a writ ten apology from attorney general Gerry Mercier Over a court Case involving Young s daughter. But Young says he would still like his daughter Kristine 11, to meet Mercier to discuss the dismissal of a charge against a Winnipeg Man of committing an indecent act. The charge was Dis missed because a Justice of the peace failed to sign essential court papers. Young said the letter to Kristine is just a Bunch of words and he would Jike his daughter to see Mercier in person following the end of the Legisla Tive session. The important thing in my mind now is Kristine be very clearly aware someone in a position of authority has addressed the error Young said. Kristine sought Refuge in a fire Sta Tion last May after a Man accosted her. Police later charged a Man 19, with attempted abduction and commit Ting an indecent act. The accused was discharged on the attempted abduction charge and later the summary charge of committing an indecent act was dismissed and could not be Laid again because a six month time limit had expired. Young said Mercier apologized for the error and wrote that he has taken Steps to ensure it does not happen again. The matter is ending on a positive Young added. Dog owners charged about 12 people have been charged with allowing their dogs to defecate on private property under an addition to the City s Pound bylaw which took effect last june. Update a weekly follow up to the news bringing readers up to Date on stories that have appeared in the free press. The City s supervisor of Pound ser vices said he is not aware of the City losing any cases taken to court under the bylaw amendment. Previously the bylaw Only allowed for prosecution if dogs defecated on Public property. However John Mcconkey said the main difficulty with laying charges against owners who allow their pets to defecate on private property is the pet must be caught in the act. As Well if the dog s owner cleans up the mess no charge will be Laid he added. However the owner May still be Haroph allowing his dog to run at Large if that is the Case he pointed out. The incidents that led to convictions under the act were witnessed by police Pound employees or the general Public he said. Murder still unsolved police have no new leads in the unsolved murder of Donna Hale con non despite a Reward posted recently by the woman s Mother. The woman s Mother posted the re Ward two weeks ago in an attempt to find new information on the brutal murder of her daughter in october 1975. The Reward offer expires oct. 1. Connon s body was found in the Bath tub of her Home on Blue Spruce cres cent. She died of severe brain damage after being struck on the head several times with a Hammer. There was no evidence of sexual assault. Jackson seeking work Bill Jackson former Manitoba government employees association presi Dent says if he does not find work in the next three months he May be in a bit of a financial in a Telephone interview from Ottawa he said he would like to find work in labor relations or Public relations in Manitoba or Ottawa but preferably in Manitoba. Jackson said he has been doing Volunteer work for several organizations in Ottawa. Jackson resigned As president of the National Union of provincial govern ment employees last fall after he announced his candidacy for and then withdrew from the Manitoba Liberal party leadership race for personal Rea sons. At the time party sources said he was their Choice for the leadership currently held by Doug Lauchlan. Jackson resigned As president of the Mega in 1979 to take the nudge Post in Ottawa. Easter Bunny s Surprise will help reopen co operative Kaitlin Brown sits beside Cash Register which is now Richer thanks to an Anonymous donor when two year old Kaitlin Brown tottered out on to the Doorstep of her Parent s Home More than a week ago she was looking for an easter egg but instead found an envelope containing she told her Mother Pat Mccollough. A letter from grand the handwriting was shaky and obviously belonged to an older per said Mccollough a coordinator for the Sunflower natural foods co operative an association which recently went out of business but is reopening thanks partly to the Anonymous donor. We have no idea who actually sent it but we were just amazed when we found it. We were going to try to reopen in any event but this certainly is going to make it a lot the Sunflower Coop 668 Corydon Avenue opened in september when about 140 members formed the store in an attempt to combat High food prices. However a fire three months ago believed to have been caused by vandals damaged the Interior and forced the Coop to close. Since then members have been waiting to raise enough Money to clean up the mess and begin again. Donation a Surprise there was insurance coverage but it did t cover said Larry Allen a Coop member and lawyer for the group. This Anonymous donation really caught us by Surprise. We suspect it was the easter the Coop members believe the easter Bunny is a senior citizen who May have been impressed with the Aims of the organization and decided to try to help it out. A week before i was speaking at the civic charities endorsement com Mittee and there were a lot of older people Allen said. Then later on i got an Anonymous Call from one of the ladies who was there who was saying How impressed she was with the Coop. It might have been her or it have been someone at the senior citizens Home near the Coop is reopening thursday and welcomes new members. Mem Bers pay a fee and Man the store four hours a month on a voluntary basis. Members can Purchase organically grown vegetables grains and other foodstuffs associated with health food for up to 25 per cent less than at a retail store. The markup is five per cent. The Coop is also a social focal Point said Allen. It s really a Community organization. It s composed of people who have similar ideas about nutrition. We run socials and have seminars on various topics such As Massage Oriental philosophy naturopathy the Coop relies on regular food suppliers and local Farmers and gardeners. It ;