The record, 22 juillet 2003, mardi 22 juillet 2003

THE • • •• RECORD The voice of the Eastern Townships since 1897 .——M——- 4-Hers show their stuff in Ayer’s Cliff 70 CENTS WWW.SHERBROOKERECORD.COM Tuesday, July 22, 2003 Post office workers looking for more By Nelson Afonso Sherbrooke "Y A rhether Townshippers get their mail today or \/\/not, the union representing over 48,000 V V postal workers nationwide is disappointed with the way the government has treated its members during negotiations.“Canada Post’s profits hit $71 million in the last (fiscal) year, and that’s after spending $100 million to construct a new building for its headquarters,” alleged Canadian Union of Postal Workers (CUPW) Sherbrooke chapter president Pierre Avard on Monday afternoon.“We want Canada Post to stop belittling our workers by making their working conditions worse." The Sherbrooke chapter of the CUPW represents about 250 postal workers in places such as Sher- brooke, Richmond, Windsor, Asbestos, Coati-cook, Lennoxville and Magog.The key issues continue to be wages, workload, safety, benefits and job security.Avard said workers average 28 years on the job.Injuries among mail carriers is an especially worrisome problem, he added, which in turn leads to an increased number of work absences.The union, whose full-time and part-time members are based in rural and urban communities, had originally set a 12:01 a.m.Friday deadline for a strike.That was pushed back to Sunday, and then this morning.The union also represents temporary workers.Please see strike Page 3 PERKY BEATON/SPECIAL Postal workers could strike as early as today.165th Anniversary of St.Andrews >- jmm STEPHEN MCDOUGAUVSPEOAL Members of the St.Andrews’ congregation show there is still strength in numbers as they line up in front of their church.Over the years, the congregation has banded together to find solutions to threats posed to their small community church.On Sunday, they celebrated 165 years of survival.Please see story Page 4.Maple producers plan to discuss new sales system By Maurice Crossfield Disgruntled maple producers will be meeting in early August to look at the possibility of breaking away from the provincial federation, and selling their syrup independently.“People always brought their syrup to me and up until last year everyone was always paid,” said syrup dealer Arnold Raymond.“Then they had no choice but to join the federation and now they’re not getting paid, they’re getting bills.” In 2002 the Quebec Maple Producers Federation established a single desk sales system.Operating like the Canadian Wheat Board in the west, the new system sees all syrup sold through the Federation.While Raymond still takes on syrup and then resells it, the producer is paid by the federation.The QMPF also buys, warehouses and sells syrup.In its first year of operation, the QMPF paid producers 80 per cent in the summer of 2002, another 15 per cent in the fall, and the remaining five per cent was paid out in March 2003.But faced with a surplus and lower than expected prices, the federation discovered it had overpaid producers.Instead of getting the last five per cent, sugar -bush operators got notices that they had been overpaid, with the amount owed to the federation taken off the first cheque for the 2003 crop.In one case Raymond said a producer was expecting a cheque for $500, but ended up with a bill for $700.Please see maple Page 3 page 2 Tuesday, July 22, 2003 RECORD Bromptonville ‘Super Champ’ shares advice Staff Growing up as a multiple amputee presents special concerns.Melissa Michon-Beaulieu, 22, of Bromptonville, had some of those concerns and questions answered by attending The War Amps 2003 Multiple Amputation Seminar last month in Trois-Rivières, for children across Québec missing multiple limbs.Melissa was enrolled in The War Amps Child Amputee (CHAMP) Program, through which she is eligible to receive financial assistance for the cost of artificial limbs, travel costs to rehabilitation centers for fittings, counseling and seminars.The War Amps also covers the full cost of recreational limbs.A key seminar session showed Super Champs the latest developments in artificial limbs and devices and allowed them to demonstrate their own.Other sessions benefited all age groups.For younger children, Just The Way I Am showed how to handle problems like teasing and staring; Teen Talk covered learning to drive, education and body image, and Parent Counseling dealt with the concerns of raising an amputee child.Sessions also focused on JUMP-START, through which The War Amps provides multiple amputee children like Melissa with computers, software and computer devices to help with COURTESY WAR AMI’S Melissa Michon-Beaulieu, 22, of Bromptonville, talked about meeting the challenges of being an amputee.school work now, and later to compete in the workforce.Another seminar highlight was the Ask Us Q.1 have a child 7T““ with a speech problem.Are ASKED Us there any English Townshippers’ speech therapists Association in the Estrie re- - gion?A.There are excellent speech therapists who work with English-speaking children.In the Estrie region, services are offered at the CHUS in Fleuri- mont.These services are available in English, so don’t be afraid to ask for them.If you have problems receiving English services, you can contact our Information Service for help.Do you have a question?Would you like a prompt, courteous, confidential answer in English?Simply give Townshippers’ Association a call at 566-5717 or toll free 1-866-566-5717 and ’Ask Us!’ special presentation by Melissa who talked about how she has traveled the road to independence.She told the Super Champs and their parents how, with the help of the CHAMP Program, she has overcome her amputations to lead a successful life.This seminar was an example of War Amps key tags at work across Canada.CHAMP and all War Amps programs are funded solely through public support of the Key Tag and Address Label Service.The Association receives no government grants.For more information, use E-ZEE ACCESS: call toll-free 1-800-250-3030, fax toll-free 1-800-219-8988 or visit The War Amps Web site at www.waramps.ca ïét»ï* haft .Vï St' pfti ,ppi Industrial Show The region’s industrial giants will once again descend on Sherbrooke this year between Sept.16 and 18 for the Salon industriel de TEstrie.Made possible by Promotions André Pageau Inc.and the Maison régionale de l'industrie, the industrial show will bring some 200 employers of all sizes, local organizations and government agencies from that sector into contact with products and services buyers, and potential workers looking for new opportunities.It will be held at the Expo-Sherbrooke building behind the Palais des Sports on Parc Street.Weather Today: Showers.Risk of thunderstorm.High 23.Wednesday: Showers.Low 15.High 23.Thursday: Showers.Low 14.High 23.Friday: Cloudy.40 per cent chance of showers.Low 11.High 25.Ben by Daniel Shelton f IT'S A COMPUTER GAMECALLEP ’WHEEZE"- HE SHIP ALL HIS FRlENPS ^ HAP IT! > GREAT/HOW AM I EVER GONNA GET ANV WORK PONE NOW?/ WHATS THIS?.IffpON'rA /U/0RRY./ rr i proW U ewcP = , ppooP f SEE7 WHAT PITEU- \ ( YOU?'I CANT GET ANY \ A WORK PONE' .HE'S onlyallowep TO PLAY FOR FIFTEEN MINUTES4 PAY -WELL MAKE SURE THE COM-PUTERlSFREE ^____OTHERWISE/ y BtOoi? JŒCom Tuesday, July 22, 2003 page 3 Construction in Sherbrooke on the rise Uoi ypH I > f I > f v'r* mill k IS SS SS gBprg ipCTTW PERRY BEATON/SPECIAL This new home in Lennoxville is one of dozens being constructed to meet demand.v -.%¦¦¦ WÊSM ¦ -, ¦¦ .'|,R_ By Kate Shingler Residential construction in the greater Sherbrooke area continues to grow, according to a recent report by the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC), Canada’s national housing agency.CMHC is a body geared to helping Canadians purchase their own homes, creating affordable housing, and researching housing issues.Low interest rates and the shortage of rental units are responsible for the current construction boom, according to Hélène Dauphinais, a market analyst with CMHC Sherbrooke.“One of the main factors is the present low interest rates,” she said.“A lot of people can buy a new house right now.It is a choice people would not have made under other market conditions.” From April to June 2003, CMHC reported 393 new dwellings under construction, up from 367 during the same period in 2002.“The seven per cent increase in the second quarter is all the more significant in that, last year, housing starts had reached their highest level since 1994,” noted Dauphinais.“The scarcity of homes for sale and the lack of available rental dwellings continue to stimulate the construction of both houses and apartments.” The increase reflects both single-family home and apartment construction, as work began on 214 houses and 179 Maple: Cont’d from Page 1 “Not one pound of that syrup went through the federation warehouse,” Raymond said.“It’s all pre-sold, so why aren’t they being paid?” Raymond said a group of angry producers have been meeting in recent weeks.While they agree to continue paying for inspection fees and union fees, they want the choice to be able to sell outside the new system.“We don’t want to divorce them, but if they want to make a commitment to us, then pay us,” he said.But selling outside the system could be potentially costly: Producers can be fined $1 per pound for selling privately, and buyers can be fined $1 per pound for buying privately.The group is also looking at forming an association of producers who tap less than 10,000 trees, tentatively named the Eastern Townships Maple Producers Association.Raymond said these are producers who don’t make a living from syrup, but are responsible for 72 per cent of the sweet stuff Quebec produces.“Two dozen of my customers produce less than six barrels," he said.“Why should they have to wait to get paid?” A further wrinkle on the horizon apartments in the second quarter, for respective gains of six and eight per cent.In early 2003, there were fewer than 400 existing homes for sale through the Multiple Listing Service, and the num- comes next year with the introduction of a quota system for syrup.With the federation saying too much syrup is being produced, it wants to introduce controls on how much each sugar bush operator makes.A tricky proposition considering the up and down nature of maple syrup production.Raymond said he and some producers have already met with Brome-Mis-sisquoi MNA Pierre Paradis to discuss the situation.Paradis has been invited ber of vacant rental apartments hovered around the 440 unit mark.Housing choices are more limited than ever and people are turning to the new home market to meet their housing needs, according to Dauphinais.“There to the Aug.4 meeting, as have members of the maple producers federation and the Union des Producteurs Agricoles (UPA).The meeting is scheduled for Monday, Aug.4 at 7 p.m.at the sugar house of Henry Garrick, at 4329 Symington Road in Dunham.Raymond said a petition against the new system will be made available there as well.“Something has to be done.” is a scarcity of rental apartments on the existing market, same thing for existing apartments,” she said.“But, it should not be forgotten that the low mortgage rates are the key factor allowing this shift toward the new home market.” People who do not have the income to purchase a house are particularly impacted by the lack of availability of affordable rental units.“Choices are limited for people who can’t buy a house - they only have what is available on the rental market.(With the increase in construction) choices for low-income families are increasing.” The standard cost of an affordable house for low-income families is pegged at less than $90,000, she added.In spite of Sherbrooke’s continuing growth (a 16 per cent increase since the beginning of the year in comparison to the first six months of last year) construction has started to slow down for Drummondville and Granby, with posted decreases in activity of 28 and 34 per cent respectively during the second quarter, compared to the same period in 2002.In Drummondville, the slowdown in construction essentially resulted from a smaller production of apartments.“In 2001 and 2002, an exceptional number of apartments were built compared to previous years, so many housing needs were met during this period.” Strike: Cont’d from Page 1 In the event of a strike, the union has said it will continue to deliver social assistance and government pension cheques.Avard, who believes Canada Post is looking to slash payroll, said that in the case a deal is not worked out, employees will strike, although he was unsure whether the action would be widespread or on a rotating basis.The last Canada Post strike was in December, 1997, and ended after 12 days when the federal government introduced emergency back-to-work legislation.Avard says that despite the increase in transactions being done on-line, Canada Post still plays a major role among people who would rather send their bills through the mail, and not cyberspace.“We provide a valuable service to Canadians,” he concluded.“Experts were wrong when they predicted the fax machine and the Internet would run us out of business.There is no significant decline.” Canadian business leaders have warned a strike could further harm the already weakened economy.The employees, including letter carriers, drivers, clerks and sorters have been without a contract since Jan.31.They recently voted 92 per cent in favour of a strike CAROUNE KEHNE/ CORRESPONDENT Maple sugar producers will meet next week to discuss a new sales system. pa'gé4TuésbXY,'jüir n; ^RECORD; St.Andrews celebrates 165 years in Inverness STEPHEN MCDOUGALL/SPECIAL ¦ ¦ ' jT- AÏ mmk a® Reverends John Vaudry and Ross Davidson are flanked by church organist Lise Fallot and volunteer Lorraine Learmonth.Presbyterian congregation struggled to keep church By Stephen McDougall Special to The Record Reverend Ross Davidson was hoping to have a quiet service last Sunday to commemorate the 165th anniversary of St.Andrews Presbyterian Church in Inverness.But when members of the Inverness congregation, along with members of two United Church congregations he ministers to in Kinnear’s Mills and Thetford Mines heard of the anniversary, the quiet service plans were thrown out the window.“Some of us wanted the event to be low-key, then it just grew,” he said.“The people at St.Andrews Presbyterian Church in Sherbrooke, where I am a moderator, also got interested in the celebrations and asked to be included.I couldn’t exactly say no to them either.” The result was a full house of close to 100 worshipers at St.Andrews Church in Inverness last Sunday.They listened attentively for close to one hour and a half to sermons by Rev.Davidson and invited guest Rev.John Vaudry from Montreal.They later retreated to the Oddfellows Hall to continue the celebration with an elaborate home-cooked buffet lunch.The St.Andrews church started out as a small log cabin for the religious needs of the incoming Scottish and Irish pioneers that settled in and around Inverness in the early 1800s.The congregation dates back to 1838 and the log cabin was replaced in 1862 by the present building on Dublin Road.Today, it serves the needs of both Presbyterians and United Church members.For member Grace Cox, the sight of every pew being filled surprised her.“Most times, we get about 20 or so worshipers on Sunday,” she said.“It’s good to see the church filled once in a while.” Cox got “hooked” on the congregation when she was a child attending Sunday school.She said it was filled with her family members and friends and created a community feeling for her.“I have been going to this church for 65 years,” she said.“This was my mother’s church and after years of Sunday school, it became my church.” She said the use of the church by both Presbyterian and United Church members has not caused any problems because the two doctrines are similar and the congregation is tightly knit together.“We have known each other all our lives,” she said.“If there were any problems of faith, we worked them out.” Maxine McCrea, a member of the church since she was a child, said it was “quite spectacular” to have a congregation this old in the Inverness area.“As the English population diminishes here, we wonder how long it will last,” she said.“We have few, if any, younger members coming here, and there is no longer a Sunday school.I don’t see many options in the future for us." But McCrea was upbeat about her congregation, given the attendance at the anniversary.She said the members of the three churches under Rev.Davidson’s care still form a strong community, even if many of them are in their retirement years.“This community keeps the church going.When our church closes down for some Sundays in the wintertime, we go to the United Church in Kinnear’s Mills, and then some of their members come to St.Andrews in the summer.” Marion Annesley, a native of Inverness now living in Lennoxville, could not stop thinking of the hard work the congregation did over the years to keep their church open.“It makes you think what has to be done to support your church,” she said.“I guess people don’t think about it as they go about their work year in and year out, but you wonder about all the collective effort done over all those years here.” For Rev.Vaudry, the efforts of the congregation to keep their church active is the real proof of their faith.“The community is the most valuable part of a church, much more than any doctrine or theology,” he said.Vaudry, who has preached in many small Presbyterian churches in Quebec, Ontario and Nova Scotia, is accustomed to seeing small congregations in isolated, rural areas struggle for survival.But he admitted his surprise at seeing such a large crowd on Sunday.“I didn’t think all the pews would be filled, but this community did it,” he said.Rev.Davidson, who has been the minister for the three area churches for the past seven years, believes the strength of his flock lies in their commitment and their spiritual development.He does not think about the future of the congregation, but more about what he is blessed with now.“The church and the congregation is only as old, or as young, as the people that form it,” he said.“Its age is not important.” Sturtevant wastes no time in filing appeal Judge’s decision denied right to challenge TBL zoning By Maurice Crossfield The lawyer representing Lloyd Sturtevant has already filed the papers to appeal a decision handed down last week denying the Foster businessman the right to challenge the zoning of his property.“It’s going to appeal, period,” Sturtevant said.Last week Quebec Superior Court judge Raynald Frechette handed down a judgment saying that Sturtevant took too long to bring forward his challenge of the zoning of a property he bought in 1999.Sturtevant wants to change the zoning from public to commercial, so he can transform the former Gables School into an auberge and marina.In the judgment, Frechette said Sturtevant was challenging the zoning six years after it had been put in place.In response Monday Sturtevant noted that he bought the property four years ago, so ".how can I wait six years when I’ve only owned it for four?” “Then he said I waited from May to October to challenge the bylaw,” he said.“I was waiting for the democratic process (a referendum on a zoning change).Only when I knew I lost could 1 go ahead.” Along the way Sturtevant said the case was amended twice, once to widen the challenge to include the previous zoning bylaws, and once to change the ownership of the property from his wife, Hope Coulombe, to him.“We transferred it so i'.would be me standing in front of the court, not her,” he said.“Each time we did this we had to wait months for a court date,” Sturtevant said.“And then he waited 210 days to make a decision.” As for the appeal, that will mean yet more delays.Sturtevant said his lawyer told him it could take up to 200 days simply to have a date set.That date could be many months later, potentially dragging the process into 2005.Sturtevant said Brome Lake’s Master Plan, a major revision of the entire municipality’s zoning regulations, could have regulated the problem, but has not yet been passed.“The Master Plan could straighten all these things out,” he said.“My goal is to be allowed to operate." : ¦ ¦ ¦ T Ht: ¦ ¦ RECORD Tuesday, July 22, 2003 page 5 Former BU prof gets research grant Staff A former Bishop’s University professor, now at the University of Alberta, was recently awarded a grant to study the impact of war on children.Andy W.Knight of the University of Alberta will receive funding of $98,840 for a research project entitled, “Children and Armed Conflict: Impact, Protection and Rehabilitation.” The real victims of wars and civil conflicts are children: they are stripped of their innocence and denied the protection they need to develop physically, intellectually and socially.Their exposure to, and sometimes participation in, armed conflict can fuel a continuous cycle of violence.In studying the impact of violence on children, Dr.Knight seeks to improve strategies to protect and rehabilitate children who have suffered the horrors of violent conflict.“SSHRC-funded research is about improving the way we live, learn and interact with each other,” said Health Minister Ann McLellan.“This funding will allow researchers to explore new ideas that will help us develop a better understanding of the most pressing regional, national and global issues.” “The world we live in is very different from the one in which most of us were born,” said SSHRC president Marc Renaud .“To succeed in this fast-forward world, we have no choice but to adapt to constant change.The projects will develop the strategies our schools, businesses and communities need to keep pace with this change.” “The knowledge gained through these grants will continue to fuel our progress as individuals and as a nation,” Renaud said.“The funding allows researchers to build the knowledge we need to maintain our reputation throughout the world as an exceptional place to live, work and learn.I congratulate these researchers and wish them well in carrying out their projects.“The grant is part of a $6-million federal investment in social, economic and cultural research projects based at Alberta universities.To qualify for SSHRC awards, researchers at Athabasca University, the University of Alberta, the University of Calgary and the University of Lethbridge succeeded in rigorous national peer-review competitions.They will draw on the talents of hundreds of students to help carry out a total of 71 research projects.SSHRC is one of 15 Government of Canada departments and agencies which make up the Industry Portfolio of Industry Canada.Together these departments and agencies support the Government’s Innovation Strategy and help build a culture of innovation in all parts of Canada.COURTESY U OF A Dr.Andy Knight University of Sherbrooke gets stamped By Liam Roberts Canada Post announced this week that it will be unveiling a new postage stamp in honour of the University of Sherbrooke’s 50th anniversary next year.Cindy Daoust, media spokesperson with Canada Post, confirmed Monday that the stamp will be unveiled in the Spring of 2004, serving as part of the Crown corporation’s ongoing series of university-themed postage stamps.“We’ve been doing the university stamps for two years, and they’ve been enormously popular with alumni, people in the community, and current students,” she said.She added that Canada Post looks out for university anniversaries as obvious times to launch the commemorative stamps, which go on to become well sought-after collectors items.“We try to incorporate the school’s colours, important or historic buildings or scenes from the university," she said.“We certainly work in close co-ordination with the university to determine what’s relevant.” As Canada Post has only just announced its decision in favour of the 49-cent University of Sherbrooke stamp, Daoust explained that no design has yet been confirmed.She said that a design team would be developing the image over the course of next season.The news means that both of Sherbrooke’s universities will soon have had the honour of gracing a postage stamp, with the Bishop's University COURTESY OF CANADA POST Bishop’s University had a stamp unveiled to mark its 150th anniversaty.stamp launched last January in commemoration of that school’s 150th anniversary.The Bishop’s stamp is still available at Canada Post outlets throughout the country, at the 2003 domestic price of 48 cents.Brief Fête du lac attendance surpassed expectations It was thanks to acts such as Martin De-schamps, April Wine, Garou and Daniel Bélanger that Sherbrooke’s Fête du Lac des Nations broke records earlier this month by attracting close to 156,000 people for the six-day event.Matching a variety of pop, rock, jazz, R&B and symphony performances with the presentation of daily fireworks, organizers were able to surpass their goal of 150,000.Alberta’s Fireworks Spectaculars won the Grands Feux Molson du Canada fireworks title for the second consecutive year, while local firm Feux d’artifice de TEstrie took the silver.Audi SHERBROOKE AUTOHAUS We are expanding! Due to our fantastic success here in the Townships we are expanding to better serve you.We must make room for the new models! Save yourself time and make your way today! You don't have to read between the lines - Our offers are clearly the best! YES INCREDIBLE PRICES! The Audi experience: always one step ahead Audi SHERBROOKE AUTOHAUS www.audiusa.com 4421 Bourque Blvd., Rock Forest (819) 564-AUDI (2834) f page 6 Tuesday, July 22, 2003 RECORD Community Forum Letters to the editor Argument against same-sex marriage is flawed Dear Editor, It is not my intention to drag this debate out all summer, but the latest letter from Jean-Claude Lefebvre presents a final inconsistency that must be addressed.He repeats his argument that marriage is about reproduction, and so concludes that marriage should be reserved “for those who have both the appropriate biological equipment and the will to make and raise babies.” This would deny marriage, not only to gays and lesbians, but to a number of heterosexual couples.And then comes the inconsistency.He calls for a referendum, not based on the principle he has just established, but based on the exclusion of gays and lesbians.His question would be, “Is a gay union equivalent to a heterosexual union and deserving of being called a marriage?" What happened to excluding non-procreative heterosexuals?I suspect Lefebvre fails to follow the logic of his own argument because he recoils, rightly so, from the idea of Big Brother poking and prying into the intentions and reproductive capacities of people who wish to marry.And it is at this point that his whole argument unravels.First, this shows the fundamentally prejudicial nature of his argument.He does not propose a referendum question that would exclude some heterosexuals, even though by his logic they deserve to be excluded, because his real aim is to exclude gays and lesbians, whatever it takes.Non-procreative heterosexuals are people like him; he can understand them, and sympathize with them.But gays and lesbians are so foreign to him that he cannot see us as real people deserving the same consideration.Second, this inconsistency shows that his argument is about symbolism, not the actual facts of reproduction and child-rearing.But why should real gay fathers and real lesbian mothers, and their very real children, suffer for the sake of an outdated symbol of what a family is?Third, this inconsistency calls into question the whole premise of his argument, namely, his assumption that marriage is primarily about reproduction and children.In its ruling in favour of gay and lesbian marriage, the B.C.Court of Appeal noted that people marry for many different reasons, including such factors as “love, reinforcing family support, ensuring legal protection, religious or spiritual commitment and strengthening their commitment to the relationship.” Can anyone demonstrate that these goals do not apply to same-sex couples?Lefebvre says we should “work at revitalizing marriage.” 1 agree.I think the news reports about hundreds of gay and lesbian couples rushing to apply for marriage licences is the best shot in the arm marriage has had in a long time.Daron Westman Lennoxville A satisfied ACI employee Dear Editor, I just had to reply to Alice Mar-cotte’s letter.She obviously does not have the whole picture.Not everybody can be a telephone sales representative (TSR).Alice Marcotte sounds so negative.I wouldn’t buy from her either! I get the impression that she hasn’t worked for more than three years.That’s a permanent job to me and I’m not the only one still here.im TM k ¦¦ ' RECORD P.0.Box 1200 Sherbrooke JIH SL6 or 1195 Call E, Sherbrooke JlC 1V7 Fax:819-569-3945 e-mail: newsrooms shcrbrookerecord com Website: wwwsherbrookerecord.com Randy Kinnear Publisher .(819) 569-9511 Sharon McCully Editor .(819) 569-6345 Jamie Zachary Corresp.Editor .(819) 5696345 Richard Lessard Prod.Mcr.(819) 569-9931 Serge Gagnon Chief Pressman .(819) 569-9931 Francine Thibault Prod.Superv.(819) 569-4856 DEPARTMENTS Accounting .(819)5699511 Advertising.4SI9) 5699525 Circulation.jtl9) 5699528 Newsroom .(819)5696345 Knowlton office 88 Lakeside, Knowlton, Quebec, JOE 1V0 Tel: (450) 242-1188 Fax: (450) 243-5155 MAIL SUBSCRIPTIONS GST PST TOTAL Canada: 1 year 114.40 8.01 9.18 $131.59 6 MONTHS 59.00 4.13 4.73 S67.86 3 MONTHS 30.00 2.10 2.41 $34.51 Out of Quebec residents do not include PST.Rates for other services available on request.The Record is published daily Monday to Friday.Back copies of The Record are available.The Record was founded on February 7,1897.and acquired the Sherbrooke Examiner (est.1879) in 1905 and the Sherbrooke Gazette (est.1837) in 1908.The Record is published by Hollinger Canadian Newspapers L.P.Canadian Publications Mail Service Product Agreement No.0479675.Member ABC, CARD, CNA, QCNA There are a lot of students that get their first job here.Then they move on to a better paying job in their chosen field.This explains the turnover in employees.Would you work as a TSR for the next 40 years?She complains about the pay.We have a starting salary of $10.What about the sales commission, cash incentives, paid days off, etc?When she applied, she knew it was an American company.The important issue is that we are well paid for our work regardless of where the money comes from.Obviously she does not understand how the campaigns work.She complains of being sent home after three hours.That is because there are only so many calling hours per day, for that campaign, per month.Other campaigns may have more calling hours per day, for that campaign, per month.Other campaigns may have more calling hours per day, therefore they have more people calling which is why there are new people being hired.We usually have less calling hours in the summer because the customers are away on vacation.This explains why there are less hours in the summer because the customers are away on vacation.This explains why some clients come and go.We have all gone home after three hours at one time or another.Employees have even volunteered to go home early.She could have asked about coming in on another day to make up her missing time.ACI is very accommodating.As for the harassment, if you don’t perform well enough - the supervisors are doing their best to help us get sales which means sales commission on our pay cheques.You have to produce no matter who you work for.Alice Marcotte never worked in a sweatshop 7 to 5, on her feet all day long, wearing sweat-soaked clothes even in the winter.How many have been fired at The Record because they didn’t produce?We are very lucky at ACI, an air-conditioned building, comfortable chairs, and a few minutes between calls.ACI is nice enough to let us do other activities, including homework between calls as long as it doesn’t interfere with our work.Happy relaxed employees equal more sales.We all know that an unhappy customer will tell a hundred people about their experience whereas a satisfied customer will tell only a few people.The Record just happens to be in the first group.I am just one of the many satisfied employees working at ACI.On behalf of all happy employees at ACI, Christian Mosher Sherbrooke DBM W LATKT mm CAim ISSHlUCaffiWTU \im W0N& NHLers Stéphane Robidas (left) and Yanic Perreault (right) will help raise money for Noémie Côté and Maude Quirion at Perreault’s annual all-star fundraising tournament.Habs’ centreman to raise funds for cerebral palsy kids By Scott McLean Sherbrooke Watching the parents of Maude Quirion and Noemie Cote, you would think that everything was normal.They dote on their children like proud parents often do, smiling and laughing as they hold their young toddlers in their arms.But both Maude and Noemie have been diagnosed with cerebral palsy, a disorder that affects the brain and causes a host of symptoms including seizures, difficulty with motor skills, deafness and problems with vision.Treatment through provincial hospitals is available, but parents of those children affected by cerebral palsy would argue that it’s not enough.Both Maude and Noemie are undergoing a relatively new type of therapy, which involves being placed in a compression chamber to foster better oxygen movement to the brain.The treatment lasts one month, and averages two sessions a day for a total of 40 sessions, costing $5,000.Both Maude and Noemie’s parents would like nothing more than to give those treatments at least three times a year.That’s where Montreal Canadiens forward and Sherbrooke native Yanic Perreault steps in.His annual all-star hockey tournament, which begins Wednesday at the Eugene Lalonde Arena, will help raise the needed funds for those special treatments.“It is so good that (Perreault) does this tournament," says Noemie’s mother Mar-ick Tardif.“It’s so expensive for the treatments, but we have already done one treatment and have seen such incredible changes in (Noemie) already.It will cost us roughly $10,000 to $15,000 per year until the time where the treatments don’t make any more improvements.” This is the 10th annual tournament for Perreault, who will be joined by some 30 NHLers including Rock Forest native Stéphane Robidas, Vincent Lecavalier, Brad Richards, Daniel Briere, Jose Theodore and Alex Tanguay.As it has in the past, the tournament will feature two divisions.The Rogers AT&T division will feature eight teams filled with the NHL players, while the Sport Wellington division will feature junior, university and senior level players.But Perreault, who will donate $2,500 to the cause, has added a twist to this year’s tournament.For every goal the he scores during the tournament, he will add $100 to the donations.“It’s great that the tournament is doing so well, but it’s still hard to believe that it’s the 10th year,” says the Habs’ centreman.“It’s such a good cause because we are helping sick children.I have three kids myself, and I am very fortunate that they are all healthy.Still, I understand what these parents must be feeling.” Perreault adds that he is continually pleased with the tournament’s organization.He says players are even using it to gear up for upcoming training camps.“A lot of players know about this tournament.The buzz is around the league.“It’s become a part of their off-season training.They have been treated really well when the come to Sherbrooke, so more and more keep coming back.” Tickets are $5 for adults, and free for children under 10 who are accompanied by an adult.The first game on Wednesday night will take place at 6 p.m.Sunday’s final is scheduled for 6 p.m.U of S alumna drive spike for Canada at Worlds Canada drops one to Chinese in close game By Nelson Afonso Sherbrooke Despite losing their first preliminary round game to the powerful Chinese at the 2003 World Grand Prix volleyball championship on Monday, three women's national team members with strong ties to the University of Sherbrooke were satisfied with their experience on the international stage.“It was a positive experience, despite the loss,” Team Canada libero Annie Lévesque told The Record from her hotel room in Matera, Italy."We lost a tough first set (22-25), and then managed to stay cool and collected for two difficult sets.We never stopped fighting." The national women’s team, which also features middle blocker Mélissa Raymond and setter Anne-Marie Lemieux of Sherbrooke, lost to the world’s second ranked team in straight sets of 25-22, 25-14, 25-15.The 23-year-old Lévesque, who like Raymond and Lemieux attended the University of Sherbrooke, said her young team made too many unforced errors against a much quicker and experienced squad.Lemieux, the team captain who played professionally last season in Portugal, said that China was surprised by Canada's determination in the first set, but quickly regrouped to handily defeat the 23rd ranked team in the world in just 71 minutes.“We surprised them, but that didn’t last,” added Lemieux, the team’s main setter.“They kept having four-or five-point spurts before we could answer.Unfortunately, we just couldn’t make up deficits like those against one of the world's top teams." 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