Winnipeg Free Press

Winnipeg Free Press (Newspaper) - January 7, 1994, Winnipeg, Manitoba Call the rent line 958 rent see Apex realty and in today classifieds Winnipeg free press local Section Brian Cole 6977232 b1 january Lindor Reynolds thank from the backs of our buses in usually wary of any sentiment that is expressed on a Coffee Mug or a bumper god is my make not happiness is a warm theres nothing like trivializing sincere thoughts and feelings into a marketable and mundane is there now we have a new thousands of people worldwide performing what they Call random kindness and senseless acts of the originator of that a California writer named Anne says she didst intend to have people opening soup kitchens or giving All their Money to the the she was to have individuals everywhere planting daffodils where there Are my first reaction to the kindness and Beauty folks was that if we need a official movement in order for people to act like decent human were already then i spoke to some people at Winnipeg transit and changed my it seems Treyve nudged our City gently into the random kindness business and now there gratefully reaping the youre no doubt aware that some people get into a car and turn Complete they grasp the stare straight ahead and let you into their Lane if you hopped out of the car and gave them an official letter of imagine being a bus Driver and spending your entire Day dealing with these Roadway n theres actually a Law that you have let buses says transit spokesman Nick i was really reluctant to say thou we wanted to do it a different the Way Winnipeg transit chose was a Campaign designed to persuade Drivers to engage in a gentler method of sharing the triangular decals were stuck on the Back of each bus in stickers that simply said please thank Large License plate lockups were attached to buses that read thank simple you sophomoric successful without the Drivers have noticed a marked says we had one Driver who was on vacation when the Campaign he drove his first Day Back and figure out Why All these cars were letting him he wondered what the Heck was going the Campaign works Best in the Early morning mid afternoon and at 5 we could All still apparently use a Pinch More random Lafolla says every Driver who yields to a bus is actually helping 40 or 50 other maybe those soothed by someone else will be inspired to do a Good deed during the go be cynical and say maybe i just wonder Why car Drivers had to be reminded to let buses How for years they somehow managed to miss those Large Orange objects with their turn signals Why did Winnipeg transit have to spend the Cash on decals and signs to get us to cooperate Lafolla says Hes not examining the just applauding the youre not supposed to question random even when you had to give a Little push to get it just As soon As it warms in going to get those daffodils have a Nice i Hsc eyes scrapping licensed practical nurses by Paul Samyn legislature reporter the future appears Bleak for 60 licensed practical nurses at the health sciences As part of the health Reform pro the hospitals work restructuring groups Are suggesting lpns be dropped in favor of nursing Assis Hsc spokesman Jim Rodger said its very sad that a valuable part of the health care team that has been around for years woke up this morn ing and were told that they Are no longer Randy president of the nurses Union local representing the Rodger said the recommendation is based on the fact that the kind of care lpns provide is no longer needed at the he stressed the recommendation has yet to go to the hospitals management and would also require the minister of Healths health minister Jim Mccrae ref used to say whether he would adopt a proposal to Cut the but also didst offer them much i would have no Choice but to look very seriously at these recommendations generated in such an open Mccrae he said there May be some Chance Laid of f lpns could find work else where in the health Boniface general Hospital eliminated All 116 of its lpns last fall in a move to shave million from its Rodger said Hsc does not yet know whether there would be any Jeff free press u of m students set for 20th annual great Concrete Toboggan race 29 in whats fast and scary the Kamikaze engineers by Stevens Wise staff reporter they Are going to sit on a slab of Concrete and go Down a ski Hill As fast As they can with nothing to protect them but Winter Coats and Hel meet the University of Manito Bas Kamikaze engineers Stu dents preparing to risk life and limb in the 20th annual great Northern Concrete Toboggan race in Edmonton on there Hast been a fatality in 20 said an optimistic Muffy a fourth year civil engineering Stu but there have been a few Bro Ken Bones in past said her teammate Joel also a fourth year civil Engi the chances of getting Hurt Are really very Wortley said which May be hard to the students intend to go hurtling Down a 133metre ski at speeds of up to 55 Kilometres per hour on a slab of Concrete rein forced by with a re movable fibreglass nose Cone in the Toboggan weighs 270 pounds just under the upper limit of 300 manually operated steel brakes 30centimetre Blades that bite into the Snow will bring them to a the adrenalin really gets you said who will be in the Competition for the third consecutive in previous its happened so you dont know its All of a sudden you Are across the finish line and suddenly the brakes come with four people sitting in front and one Hardy Engineer standing up in the two woman team will take turns sitting on the with one spare Engi Cost savings attached to eliminating its 45 full time Len Hsc Laid off about 25 lpns Early last Kilpatrick said the Union May Grieve any Rodger said that in the event of lpns would be Welcome to apply for the Lowe paying nursing assistant nip health critic Dave Chomiak said eliminating lpns would be a backwards move for Chomiak blamed the proposal on health care consultant Connie saying the woman guiding the provinces health Reform pro Cess has no experience with the nip used news of the Poten tial Layoff of lpns to promote pro posed legislation which would re quire government to provide More accountability on health the Dps proposed health re form accountability act would re quire the health minister to file quarterly reports outlining the Sta Tus of the report urges More contracting out for savings on City construction jobs private builders cheaper by Dan Lett City Hall reporter the City should Cut Back its construction Branch because it cant match private contractors a civic report recon a study by the works and operations department found the City overpaid by million six per cent on about million Worth of work from 1974 to 1990 by using its own construction Branch instead of contracting works and operations commissioner Rod Mcrae said that right now a slow time for contractors civic construction Branch Cost on any project is about 30 per cent higher than that of a private con the construction Branch now handles Only 13 per cent of the cites to Tal it has about 12 full time employees and another 180 seasonal Mcrae the to be presented next week to the works and operations compared work done by the construction Branch to comparable work done by private contract Mcrae said the study shows the City May have to reduce the amount of inhouse especially during times when the Pri vate construction Industry is starved for there would be Merit in cutting Back now while its a buyers mar said but we should re Tain some resources so we could get Back into it if it becomes a Sellers Market Paul president of Cupelo Cal 500 which represents workers in the construction said the City would be foolish to tamper with its inhouse moist said the construction Branch provides a window to the private construction Industry by creating a without inhouse construction ser the City would be at the mercy of private contractors who could set higher prices without fear of having the City turn to its own people to Complete a moist a construction Industry spokes Man said the study has underestimated the savings the City could achieve by using private contractors theres no bloody Way on this Earth the civic inhouse Branch is within six per cent of private con said former councillor Chris now spokesman for the Manitoba heavy construction that report is doing nothing More than justifying the continued existence of the construction Lorenc said the City has never included All its costs for fulfilling a construction contract when it com pares prices with the private dental fees take Small jump the Manitoba dental association has boosted dental fees by two per cent for this Barry chairman of the associations economic said the rate increase Means dentists will receive a raise of about one Quarter of one per cent in their Sala Ries after we kept in mind what is happen ing in Manitoba in terms of Roll backs and Small wage increases when we set the Rayter there Are certain costs dentists May incur in 1994 that Are not Cov ered by this there will be no increase in the Cost for procedures such As clean Den crowns and Root but the Cost of fillings and extractions will go up by about five per the Cost for one commonly used for will climb from to a Cost Rayter said is More in line with what is being charged elsewhere in the two percent general in crease is arrived at by averaging the Price changes in All the procedures in the fee guide and factoring in the number of times those procedures Are Jan president of the said dentists face increasing costs As new standards Are adopted for infection control and the disposal of dentists Are not bound by the but Rayter said about 95 per cent of the 550 dentists in the prov Ince follow despite the Manitoba dental fees Are still the lowest in he according to statistics the average salary in 1990 for a Manitoba dentist working full time was watchdogs satisfied jets frugal with tax dollars by Paul Samyn legislature reporter the Winnipeg jets Are not carelessly throwing Money around despite the Purchase of nearly on Luggage for players and say government appointed watchdogs of the hockey clubs past chairman Art Mauro and member Matthew Jones of the interim steering which approved the teams operating budget this said the jets expenses Are Well within the limits required under the Deal that sees taxpayers cover any Mauro and Jones said they we rent aware of the Luggage Purchase in the teams but maintained the jets operations Are among the leanest in the neither men would comment specifically on the Wisdom of the Purchase of 60 garment bags at the bit of Christmas cheer the jets gave their employees has angered politicians who will be signing the cheques to cover an estimated million operating loss the team will suffer this finance minister Eric Stefanson had planned to meet with the interim steering committee today to discuss the Issue but was unable to do Glen Murray said the Luggage gift will Hurt the teams credibility among its political baggage that the jets dont need to be carrying around said Murray who sits on a three member Council committee monitoring the stressed the team is paying attention to the Bottom theres been no change in our operations since the Public began paying for losses because we Felt we have been doing a More than adequate Job of being Ohearn said the Public is holding the bag for team losses because of an agreement signed Between the hockey clubs the province and the City to keep the jets in Winnipeg until at least june in Exchange for the jets commitment to stay in the two Levels of government agreed to coverall operating losses on a 5050 basis until the agreement also allows the interim steering committee to approve the jets budget each As of the City and province have been billed a total of million for the expected ;