Winnipeg Free Press

Winnipeg Free Press (Newspaper) - September 16, 1981, Winnipeg, Manitoba Winnipeg free september Ducharme on librarian says by Joe Rubin Winnipeg chief librarian has Dis missed accusations he mismanaged the cites Library budget and ran the sys tem prompting 15 senior librarians to resign during his in an interview librarian John Russell charged Al Ducharme with misrepresenting the Library saying the chairman of the civic recreation and social services committee has undermined the Library administrations there has been an attempt to Deni grate the work and Effort of the Library he who is leaving his position at years singled out Ducharme As the reason for his retirement at age one cannot escape the feeling that councillor Ducharms mind is made up and that he is More interested in conducting a Witch Hunt and in pursuing his evident personal dislike of me the cause of which is quite unknown to me than in resolving whatever con budget cuts for Parks considered the cites six Community committees have been asked to respond to a pro posed eight percent Cut in the Parks and recreation departments 1982 Bud about million would be trimmed from the departments with 31 permanent and 132 temporary staff positions eliminated As a a 300page report by the Parks department identified programs and activities where the budget could be but called the proposed reductions very severe and in some cases Unwar ranted and unwise at this among the consequences of the Bud get cuts would be decreased Park sur closure of cemeteries on Shorter zoo visiting an increase in dutch Elm a reduction in tree elimination of Boulevard mowing and closure of the Sherbrook Pool and three outdoor As the Parks department predicts increased a decrease in staff morale and a reduction in recreational and Leisure the recreation committee has asked the Community committees to respond to the proposed cuts by Harvey Smith also asked the Parks department for a study on the Impact of a 10percent reduction in the departments administrative if were cutting programs we should also look at cutting the adm Nistra said staff is Way too heavy on the administrative he Evelyn Reese supported Smiths saying the cites administration is too often considered a sacred asked when he would be Able to have the study on administration cuts before Parks department general manager Swail said he want to comment on the departments study on program cuts took six months to Cerns he has about the rus sell wrote in his letter of Ducharme said yesterday the recreation committee has accepted the res ignation and will be advertising nation ally and inhouse to replace both Russell and assistant City librarian Roy who left in the City Hopes to have the positions filled by the end of the its a shame russells Resigna Tion became a personal Ducharme adding the actions which supposedly prompted his departure were taken by the entire recreation Russell contended that a committee decision in May to order an operational audit of his department was an insult to him and senior Library administrators who were not consulted on the common Courtesy would have compelled him Ducharme to Lay his con Cerns before i would have been ready to answer said committee members maintained that Russell should have made them aware of any problems which required an Ducharme said his committee asked for the audit in response to concerns about budget staff resignations and an insensitivity to the Community we were basically trying to protect the tax dollars of the he one of the reasons for the said was that Russell had Over spent on at one Book publishers had to be contacted and orders withdrawn because funding haunt been he denied most emphatically that there were any Over others left Ducharme also cited the number of resignations under Russell As a cause for fifteen librarians in Middle or upper management have left during russells Ducharms an assistant reference librarian at the main left Only prompting speculation she was forced while Russell would not comment on Ducharms he said most Library personnel have left the system because they returned to school or their spouses were the operational audit of the Library system was called off eventually when the City auditor informed the recreation committee that City Council would have to approve we really didst want to throw the problem of the Library on to the floor of Ducharme we were afraid that would inflame the so we decided to Back Russell was asked to appear before the by that he had already submitted his letter of the chief librarian said yesterday he is still prepared to discuss any concerns with the Ducharme said russells mistake was that he fought against Library guidelines set by City John the chief librarians a reduces had the same inability to accept the cites but he had the graciousness to say so and walked the councillor the recreation committee has struck an and hoc committee to examine the situation with a View to strengthening ties Between itself and the Winnipeg Library Manitoba Fleet of school buses have been equipped with convex mirrors to give Drivers an Allaround better school bus safety record Cosens says Manitoba school buses chalked up an enviable safety record last education minister Keith Cosens said Cosens said the Fleet recorded 118 accidents in which 36 Drivers and pedestrians were injured while travelling 45million Kilometres to de liver students to we have an enviable record in school bus he said in announcing school bus safety according to department school buses Are safer than private Manitoba safety record compared favourably to National figures in 1979 when accidents occurred in the prov Ince for each Kilometres the National safety Council reported 20 accidents for every lion Cosens said motorists can help re Duce Accident statistics even More by making sure they do not pass school buses when the telltale lights Are school buses this year have been outfitted with four wheel disc brakes for greater stopping con vex mirrors for greater visibility and fuel system integrity to protect fuel tanks from pop out wind High Back seats and three Riser Ste Wells Are among the other safety 6 fined for lying about criminal records realty licences granted despite false information on applications by Ritchie Gage six applicants for real estate licences were fined this year for lying about their criminal records to the Manitoba securities the commission granted realty licences to five of the six applicants despite the offence and their previous which ranged from indecent exposure to break and enter with in Jim provincial registrar for the real estate brokers said the Law does not preclude the commission from granting a licence to someone with a criminal record if it feels it would not be contrary to the Public the commission looks on the act of lying on the licence application form As More serious than disclosure of a past criminal Storslee the registrar said the six applicants answered no when asked by the fou member commission have you Ever been convicted under the Law of any state or country he said All six told the commission that they Felt the convictions had been expunged from their records and were no longer factors in their but Storslee said a criminal record can Only be wiped out by a Pardon from the Federal department of jus he said one applicant who failed to report a 10yearold conviction for inde cent exposure told the commission he consulted a lawyer before applying for a licence and had hoped to gain a Pardon from the Federal Justice depart a 28yearold woman applicant failed to Tell the commission that she had seven Oaks Hospital administrator links bed shortage to Lack of funds by Maureen Brosnahan seven Oaks Hospital has the Capaci but lacks the funds necessary to reduce a citywide bed according to Hospital administrator Gud Munda Myrdal said yesterday seven Oaks will hopefully open 40 new Beds by the end of the administrators at other City hospitals doubted the Beds will ease occupancy As High As 100 per cent at some Myrdal said seven Oaks will open five new psychiatric Beds today and five More psychiatric and 10 medical Beds on ten surgical Beds and 10 geriatric Beds should be opened by the end of the the new openings will bring to 144 the total number of Beds available in the new which began accepting patients in seven Oaks is designed to handle 336 Beds but while the room and space is others will Only be phased in gradually As staff and finances Myrdal it is All based on available he weve got the we can make them if that was the criteria we could fill them up Peter president of the health sciences said theres no Way to predict the effect of the new Beds on his certainly the Beds Treyve seven Oaks opened up to now have not reflected in our he at Midnight last swerhon said there was Only one adult surgical bed available and no medical Sig executive director of con Cordia said new Beds at seven Oaks Nave no direct effect at his Enns said his overburdened which has no psychiatric but sometimes is forced to accept psychiatric May Bene fit from the new psychiatric Irene administrator of Grace where the operating and medical wards Are operating at 98 and 95 per cent said past experience indicates the new Beds will have no effect at the Dieter executive director of Victoria Hospital in the cites South said the Beds May be More of a help to people in the North and North West end of but he doubted it would have much effect on the people in the South end of the been convicted of Public mischief 10 years earlier when she and companions removed display furniture from an apartment Block lobby As a the woman was ordered by a Provin Cial court judge to pay the minimum for the offence under the real estate brokers she later appeared before the commission and was granted her a who had 10yearold convictions for break and enter with intent and Possession of stolen As Well As a later conviction for aiding in a also failed to report his record and was fined in he too was later granted a licence by the commis a fourth Case involved a Man who had been convicted of stealing from his employer 12 years before applying for his he was fined for failing to report but later received a another applicant a who had been fined in a conviction As a juvenile for dangerous driving and failing to remain at the scene of an he was fined for not admitting it on the application but was later granted a the commission refused to Grant a licence to a Man who lied about several convictions for theft under in 1977 and two in Storslee said the securities commis Sion is concerned about the six cases and has issued a written reminder to real estate agents that lying on the form is a criminal although the realty licence form Doest warn applicants that failure to answer questions correctly could Lead to a criminal Storslee said the Issue is discussed at length in All real estate gasoline savings predicted from traffic Light changes Winnipeg free press City officials estimate it costs a year in fuel to transport a person using the Street system by Brian Cole Winnipeg motorists will save time and Money As the City improves its traffic Light a member of the cites streets and transportation department said George Dyck said studies conducted in the United states show traffic signal improvements have a greater effect on reducing transportation fuel consumption than any other Urban transportation As traffic signal including computerization and refine ment of signal Are some of the most cos effective Mea sures which can be he it was estimated that each Dollar invested would return Between 38 and 56 litres of fuel Dyck told about 40 people attending a seminar at the Road and transport association of Canada traffic flow can be improved two Dyck said coordination of Sig nals by using either interconnection or a highly accurate Tim based and use of a computer to Analyse traffic Load and regulate Dyck said larger cities already use computers to regulate in Winni arterial traffic is regulated by a Tim set interconnection system in which traffic lights on main thoroughfares such As Henderson Highway Are preset to accommodate the Peak traffic Load during Rush hours and the Low traffic Load during the rest of the about 90 per cent of Winnipeg signalized intersections Are on main traffic traffic actuated system isolated traffic those located on intersections away from the main operate on a traffic actuated this Means traffic is regulated by a radar like device attached to the signal which indicates when a car is in the Dyck Winnipeg will increase the number of interconnected intersections and improve traffic signal eventually the City May even use computers to regulate traffic Dyck noted not All municipalities were willing to take that the continuing maintenance of Sig Nal timing optimization requires highly skilled traffic operations staffs and a continuing concentrated he in too Many Day today pressures impose on a limited Engi Neering reducing the signal Tim ing policy to one of set it and forget where this practice out Date or poorly conceived signal timing re the arterial Street network in Winni Peg covers about 443 vehicles use this network to travel about Kilometres and consume about 720million litres of fuel at an estimated Cost of million an officials estimate it costs about a year in fuel costs to transport each person who uses the Street studies show that traffic signal improvements can result in fuel Sav Ings ranging from eight to 25 per but while the actual total saving May be Dyck no Energy efficiency action is too Small to mat i i i ;