Winnipeg Free Press

Winnipeg Free Press (Newspaper) - April 23, 1990, Winnipeg, Manitoba In ii Winnipeg free press april 1990 Brian City editor train injures woman walking on Quebec separatists branded huh Bari we Ujj pfc multiplex Norrie says local children Are More amused by spraying water than they Are with a fire in a William Avenue grass fires add to Busy weekend for City firefighters Winnipeg firefighters were Busy yesterday fight ing More than 10 grass fires and blazes at a commercial two garages and two four pumper trucks were needed to put out a grass fire on Balaban behind the Cross roads shopping a fire official another three pumpers were used to fight a grass fire at Moray Street and Saskatchewan fire Crews also extinguished grass fires near Kildonan theres All kinds of grass fires a Winnipeg fire official said that pretty common at this time of it was two times unlucky for ten ants at 415417 William Avenue As the second fire in two Days gutted their forcing them a fire official said saturday nights fire was with a pot of food on a stove being the but the fire yesterday afternoon in the suites basement caused no one was injured in the Blaze which is under the fire official but firefighters we rent finished with the because they were forced to go Back a third time last night when another fire broke the fire official said they still Arent sure if the third Blaze was rekindled from the second one or whether somebody broke in and set a third electrical wiring sparked a fire causing damage to businesses at 121 Osome Street yesterday firefighters said the which started above a basement electrical was quickly put out but caused structural damage and in smoke damage to businesses in the vandals set two garages ablaze on Maryland Street yesterday the fires caused damage to the garages at 635 and 637 Maryland faulty wiring was Given As the probable cause of an Early morning fire yesterday at 925 Alex Ander which caused tracking system under study governments consider program to follow Domestic violence by Catherine Mitchell the Federal and provincial governments Are studying the feasibility of tracking Domestic violence cases Here from the initial com Caseb Case tracking would help measure How the system handles spousal assault and other Domestic said Janet provincial coordinator of wife Wikstrom said the Justice system cannot respond to complaints on How cases Are handled by in court or after sentence is imposed because there is a Lack of data collection is sporadic and badly she the provinces women Assis Tance program tracks a Case once it reaches the but has no information on what happens after a charge is disposed she certain parties Justice department and Proba provide certain Statis but there is no coordination for a system wide View of the prob for Wikstrom the system cannot show How Many com plaints result in evaluate Success she said the Justice system cannot take an overview of spousal assault to determine weaknesses because there is a dearth of if a tracking program is set the province could use it to see How successful the Justice system is in How it deals with family the news was welcomed by one director of an abuse crisis Darlene Hall of the native women shelter said gathering comprehensive statistics could result in reforms Neces sary for the adequate Protection of battered Hall said Many women still feel there is no Point in calling who Are often slow to be cause their lives will be endangered further by a system that released threatening men on bail hours after charges Are ramp Gary in charge of provincial said a track ing program giving Caseb Case profiles or system wide statistical readouts on various elements of Domestic violence could pick up on Duff said in the area of restraining or other restrictive if similar problems were being seen in in a review of cases could show where tightening of legislation or procedures might the feasibility study will be car ried out by Prairie research this said Candace a provincial Justice department re search and policy Minch said the study will look at How much information is available on Domestic violence who is collecting data and where the holes Are in data that information will put the provincial and Federal governments in a better position to decide if a tracking program is she noting All participants Are optimistic it will the Federal government is paying for the she by Radha Krishnan Thampi a sports multiplex is being consid ered to replace Winnipeg existing stadium and mayor Bill Norrie said the Multi combining a football stadium and a hockey is one option being looked at by a five member committee studying the need to replace existing a source at City Hall claims the Winnipeg enterprises will Likely announce the construction of a multiplex consisting of an football base Ball concert Hall and convention Centre before the next civic election in its going to be a the source quoting an enterprises director who is privy to current but Norrie said it is too Early to draw any conclusion from the negotiations which Are proceeding he noted the joint committee rep resenting the enterprises and Winnipeg jets president Barry Shenkarow has Only concluded the City needs to replace the existing Arena and football Norrie said the committee recognizes theres a need for an the question is Norrie said his administration supports that but its subject to the jets remaining in Winni although Shenkarow has said he wants the Arena decision by june the mayor said there is no we Are Only looking at the Type of Structure and the he adding the question of a site will be considered Only after Norrie said the province is not represented on the but he suspects Shenkarow has approached it while the province is expected to contribute to a the City Hopes to convince the Federal government to fund the proposed convention the argument is that the Winnipeg convention built in the Early is the Only one of its kind in Canada built with out Federal its going to be a and not just an the source adding enterprises Hopes to recoup some of the costs by Selling the Arena and stadium As a modern convention Centre will replace the existing downtown facility which loses million a till Cost about million and till be at the Forks Between York Street and marys Avenue Jon free press one boy show Howe cd displays some of his Watercolours at the Manitoba museum of Man and has been painting for two he came to Canada last year after being taught by Painter Liu Peter Wong shows off some calligraphy at the chinese Kite workshop and Art better equipment to Cut Road Salt report says by Janet Mcfarland the City could Cut Back on the amount of Salt and Sand dumped on Winnipeg streets each Winter if it bought better spreading a civic report the report to be considered Tomor Row by councils works and operations committee states that 20per cent less Salt could be used on streets during the Winter if the City spent to its it says Salt and Sand would be spread More efficiently by providing trucks with automatic Hydraulic the Sanders currently Are adjusted manually and distribute the same amount of salted Sand the report said the City would use 15to 20percent less Salt if new spreader controls were installed in the cites 27 Salt and Sand making the new equipment pay for itself within two Roger Young Pem Binari a member of the works said he thinks the proposal sounds weve got to do something be cause this mess weve got outside right now is just he if we end up using less then i think its Money Well the civic report also recommends applying salted Sand on residential streets Only at controlled intersect pedestrian and railway Cross inclines and the report rejects a proposal to switch to a chemical that is environmentally safer than Salt be cause it is too works committee chairman Chris Lorenc Sisler said the City pays a tonne for but would have to pay a tonne for Calcium magnesium a biodegradable compound that Lowers the freezing Point of the administration was asked to report on the feasibility of using the Calcium compound because it would cause less damage to roads and no corrosion to cars and less pollution of unlike which is blamed for the poor Quality of grass on City it also would not harm the administrative re port says the chemical even helps restore soil damaged by theres a horrendous difference in Lorenc in at this prepared to support that kind of an increase unless there Are some other alternatives we can look the City often uses straight Salt on key Bridges and underpasses when the temperature is above it mixes Sand who five percent Salt for general Street spreading All Winnipeg uses about tonnes of Salt a which costs about using the same amount of Calcium magnesium acetate would Cost More than the source adding businessman Martin evas proposal to put a new Arena across from the current convention Centre is almost Norrie said the proposal before the committee is similar to evas with a slight evas plan called for a Arena on a site across from the Winnipeg convention the source said enterprises will own and run the project which would be financed by the three Levels of enterprises and the private sector through Concession and other exclusive sales the source said a civic will run the new facility As it does the Arena and football stadium he said enterprises will strike a Deal with Shenkarow under which the jets would receive a Good por Tion of Concession revenues so the hockey club can cover increased building activity Withers in City by Radha Krishnan Thampi residential building construction was Down 23 per cent in Winnipeg last a civic report the cites latest quarterly news from the environmental planning department shows new residential building permits were issued last year compared with the year declining new construction per mits reduces licence and property tax it will bankrupt future tax levies Reserve which has got Only Al Golden Glen Lawn adding the City uses the future tax levies Reserve to pay outstanding judgments against assessment Golden quoted civic finance officials As saying the City has a million liability in this without we cant pay the he adding it could Lead to increased property taxes next the City builds the future tax levies Reserve from property taxes collected on new buildings completed after the june 30 civic tax if you Start to build a building in March and it is completed in the City will tax it from August 1 to 31 this the new Revenue will go to that future tax levies Golden he said the future tax levies Reserve which stood at about million a few years now has Only More appeals the account was depleted partly because of heavy Appeal judgments against the City involving the North Portage property acquisition and partly because of former councils decision to Transfer Money to Gener Al funds to keep property taxes Golden there Are going to be More appeals this year because of the changed assessment he but the future tax levies re serve account cant meet its respond he said Winnipeg construction Boom of the mid1980s has levelled he also suggested the out i Gration of people from the soaring taxes and High interest rates have also contributed to the Golden said the in an Effort to stall paying assessment Appeal judgments against is going to higher the cites decision to go to the supreme court of Canada to Appeal a court of Queens Bench judgment involving Grant Park shopping Centre is an example of this stalling Golden but Well end up paying several thousands of dollars in Legal he the environmental departments report said apartment construction in the City was Down 31 per cent last year to 994 permits issued for Semi detached and Row housing units were Down by and 70 per cent respectively last year to 20 and the City issued non residential permits last a four percent increase Over the permits issued last ;