Winnipeg Free Press

Winnipeg Free Press (Newspaper) - March 22, 1996, Winnipeg, Manitoba A4 Section editor Maureen 6h7 7 email citydesk8ireepress my local Lindor Reynolds Belarus Appeal for help ring false Sud Zikowitch has Beautiful which he uses to Tell his sad this is handwriting you just dont see anymore each letter perfectly formed each word neatly written and each line with a distinct this is a school arms his letter is written on a Long Sheet of both sides covered with a sea of Blue the missive is actually writ ten to the More it was written to readers of the which is where Sud Zikowitch sent his news of the trips demise Hast reached his Vil Lage in a Republic in the former soviet Union where our new pen pal Canada Post was kind enough to for Ward the letter to the free Sud Zikowitch tells a wrenching he is writing in great shame and bitter he he is unemployed because of a chronic aggravated ulcer Ous his wife is a penniless pensioner suffering from a Goit Erous their daughter is also in a poor health Sud Zikowitch needs an operation but cant afford a Pri vate the operation performed free of charge will mean practically my death because in this Case it will be performed either by an ignoramus or a he the Dudnikov bitches life is hard their diet poor their needs their needs Arent Actu ally that there pretty Sud Zikowitch needs he would like you to Send it to i am convinced that most of you Are humane and merciful people who believe in he apparently never having heard of Mike Ralph Klein or welfare that is Why May i ask you to kindly help us who have got into trouble through no fault of he promises to share anything he receives with other needy people in his Sud Zikowitch int entirely unaware of the outside he has a Bank account at Bankers Trust new Minsk he provides his account number and a request that donations be sent in he offers a per Sonal address for copies of Bankers Transfer he suggests Cash not be sent through the he also requests a copy of any newspaper articles written about his the loud ringing sound you hear is a warning Walter Bergen directs the mennonite Central committees activities in the former soviet Bergen confirms that conditions in Belarus Are that sunni Kowitch letter is accurate in that he also expresses Surprise that the person making the Appeal uses a fairly sophisticated English and has Access to funds through a Bank the fact that he is asking for a copy of the newspaper article where his Appeal appears also makes Bergen wonder if he Hast done this kind of thing a shocking and one that would never have crossed my am i going to give you sunni Kowitch address not a much As id like to Reward someone still practising the Art of pretty Penman i dont think ill Start when he gets his email we can Ken free press fall arrested ramp Serge Raymond shows his technique for getting Down the outside of build Ings by he was participating in an open House at ramp Headquarters on Portage Avenue yesterday to Mark International Day for the elimination of racial police end search for youngsters body by Wanda Chow staff reporter police divers called off their search yesterday for a seven Earold boy who was swept beneath the ice of the Assini Boine River on duty Roy Smith said the divers braved Strong currents and murky water to try and find the body of Anthony but they gave up around noon it was so bad Down there they see their hands in front of their he they finally had to give meters fell into the icy water wednesday afternoon just West of the Maryland Bridge where police say he and three friends were Pok ing at a bottle on an open Patch of water near a sign warning of thin divers searched the area but had to Call off their search at wednes Tom Legge said the search will not be renewed until the ice has we just have to wait for the Anthony a free spirit Spring thaw to recover the said meters 32yearold step a Rob after giving up his Vigil on the its a waiting the boys Rickie described Anthony As a spirited child who loved he was a free spirit and he lived his life to the there Are two other children in the a Twoy Earold girl and 10monthold Dale principal of Mulvey where Anthony attended Grade said he was a neat Little very Bright and he was very proud of his he noting that a Mas Ter Corporal in Princess Patricia Canadian Light Laid a Wreath with Anthony at his school remembrance Day Many students were crying and were upset by the incident and Anthonys teacher is having a very difficult social psychologists and counsellors have been made available to teachers or parents needing to talk about the Scott said the schools 300 Stu dents were told about the incident yesterday most during an Assembly in the we told them we hoped that if there was anything they would budget is wrong again abandoned Rollback tax appeals leave City with Hole by Treena Khan City Hall reporter mayor Susan Thompson got her property tax but the City May still be forced to carry a deficit this year or Cut Back on the services Thompson promised to with this weeks withdrawal of the request for a wage Rollback for City and with three huge assessment appeals coming the City May have at least a Hole in its current Bud you can Only trim expenditures so said Garth Steek River chairman of the finance and those assessment appeals May Force our City treasurer Keith Dowdall said the City did not budget for a potential million in property tax refunds to Centra in rail and up which will Appeal their taxes at the municipal Board this administrators told Council they simply dont believe the City will but if they a deficit is a Dowdall the City is prohibited by Law from budgeting for a although it can turn in an unexpected if the City is saddled with another shortfall this Steek said he sees services being but added layoffs would be a last he said the current financial situation should provide an Opportunity for the City to become More aggressive in luring business to town and take a closer look at privatization of services like Winnipeg Thompson said earlier this week that the City would look at vacancy management not filling jobs when people leave or retire As an area where More Money might be a member of councils vacancy management which must approve any new Hir said there Are currently about 250 full time positions and about temporary jobs the City has already budgeted Mil lion in savings from unfilled positions this Paul president of local 500 of the Canadian Union of pub Lic said the vacancies amount to a service Cut you cant say there Are no reductions in service and then not fill vacant said whose Union represents most City work and there Are other budgetary one Day after City councillors voted to dip into reserves and util Ity Billing accruals to cover the million originally estimated last month for assessment Dowdall said the refund number is still the City had budgeted for million in tax refunds for 1996 assessment but a Caseby Case review of the appeals filed this year now shows they will Cost million to Marc free press Murphy said the search has become a waiting remember about this other than the fact it was a very sad was they have to remember to stay away from that he if anythings to come out of we want the kids to understand that it could happen to Rickie meters encouraged the school to use her sons death As an example to he was very but one Little mistake i dont want this to Ever happen to anyone children often underestimate just How dangerous something can said Caroline a developmental psychologist and professor of family studies at the University of adults can Tell them playing on the River ice is risky but Many kids wont see the risk As life threat ening or they wont believe it could happen to Winnipeg harbormaster Joe Petracci said his department has put up 800 thin ice warning signs on the cites Rivers in the last three months but every couple of Days he still gets Calls reporting kids on the no parts of the Rivers Are considered totally Safe As the Rivers Are swelling and warmer temperatures next week could cause the ice to Start breaking we drink and breathe diving officer by Doug Nairne police reporter the police dive unit has come a Long Way since 1970 when a group of police offi cers took out a Bank loan and bought their own the underwater search and Rescue unit has 12 members and boasts some of the most advanced equipment in North America As Well As a highly trained group of diving obsessed we drink and breathe div 1 said Ken a senior member of the we love diving so much we do it at work and then we go out and do it again on our own five of the units members Are so enthralled with diving that Treyve joined the Navy Reserve and became combat divers on top of their qualifications As dive masters and the unit works out of the 6 office on Pembina and All of its members Are Volun Teers who work full time at other police who usually works As a uniformed patrol officer in the downtown said the team is called together whenever it is needed an average of about 40 times a the most frequent Job done by the team is assisting in the recovery of stolen but it is also called out to help search for evidence such As weapons for major and then there Are the searches for bodies like yesterdays Effort to find seven Earold Anthony meters who fell through the ice on the Assini Boine River wednesday toughest it starts to tug at the divers after a Day of especially if we dont find Lugg the team works so closely that the members have to vote on any new applicants before they Are allowed Lugg said the cites Rivers Are a dangerous work filled with a Century Worth of junk ranging from Trees and rocks to shopping vehicles and bed there is literally tons of debris All Over the Rivers and most of it is he said 4 the last time we were out we found a Safe sitting on the Bot the murky River water is so dark that the divers have to search by touch and pull them selves along the Bottom the team itself has never had a serious but an average of three divers from police ser vices and fire departments Are killed every Lugg said one of the reasons for the impressive safety record is the fact that the team is not a rapid response and strictly adheres to safety ;