The Granite Newsletter

Welcome to the June edition of the Granite Newsletter. John Scott is here with us as usual, and this time he is Takin' Care of Busyness. With us this month is Dave Blais with some neat tricks for you. Check out his Cheap Tricks in this months edition. David, Granite's Network Manager has his usually interesting statistics available for you in the Network Managers Report. Enjoy the read!

Come Visit Us at the Beach!

Come visit the Granite Internet booth on June 12th at the Grand Marais Trade Fair. Meet some of the people behind your Internet Access, browse the Internet, get your questions answered, sign up for your account and enter to win some valuable prizes while you're there!

While some of the Granite staff have been thinking this is a great chance for a trip to the beach, we really will have a brand new site to unveil. Without giving too much away, Granite is hoping the new site will excite all businesses in the regions around Lake Winnipeg beaches and give the Granite staff ever more reasons to head off to the beach themselves.

Hope to see you there!

AECL, Whiteshell Labs and Why All Canadians Should Care

Atomic Energy of Canada Limited (AECL) owns and operates Whiteshell Labs in Pinawa, Manitoba. They have done so for the last 35 years or so, creating an economic boom to Eastern Manitoba, building and supporting the entire community of Pinawa, creating high tech jobs in Manitoba and conducting important research necessary to support the safe operation of the Nuclear Industry in Canada and throughout the world.

Recently AECL has undergone some economic woes of their own. Government funding was cut drastically several years ago, making the operation of several research facilities undesirable. The solution AECL deemed necessary was to close down operations at the Whiteshell Labs and focus the energy and financial resources on one site in Chalk River, Ontario. On the surface this seemed like a good idea. Chalk River couldn't be shut down even if they wanted because of the problem of decommissioning that older more contaminated site. Transfer the jobs, transfer what equipment they need to continue on with work in progress and walk away from Whiteshell Labs.

It really does appear that the only people who should have a gripe about this are the few people not offered transfers to the new location or who do not find themselves in a position to accept the lucrative Early Retirement Incentive package offered. This actually turned out to be a small handful of people directly affected with job loss through this plan of turning the key and walking away.

So why should you, a Canadian tax payer, care? What is all this nuclear stuff anyway? Here in Manitoba we have abundant hydro electric power. We have no need for nuclear research. Hardly any jobs were actually lost in the grand scheme of things. We may feel a bit of a pinch when the economic spin-off of $200 million from the site, as well as the $11.6 million dollars in provincial tax paid by AECL annually is lost.

Putting local economic issues aside, the effect of this closure is of National concern, and Canadians should be made aware of why. There is no financial gain to closing down those Whiteshell Labs. AECL could operate there until the end of time and still be ahead in the dollar signs. The problem is the site is contaminated. That doesn't mean its Chernobyl or anything all that forbidding. What it means is that the nuclear reactor that used to operate on that site, as well as 35 years of nuclear research have left behind waste. One whole area of research there was to determine how to safely dispose of that site, but the scientifically proven, safe, reliable method of disposal proposed after years of costly research was quickly, and rather quietly, dismissed for social, rather than scientific reasons. So the waste is there and it cannot be ignored.

AECL would like to walk away and let you, the Canadian taxpayer, pay the bill. That bill is going to be huge. The current estimation of $100 million dollars will be the tip of the iceberg. The argument now is who will pay that decommissioning bill, but if AECL can't afford to run Whiteshell Labs, they certainly won't be paying the decommissioning, will they?

The story doesn't end there. There have been research projects ripped out of the Whiteshell Labs and moved to Chalk River and never rebuilt. The RD5 Loop is one such experiment. Moved to Chalk River with an estimated budget cost of $5 million, it has so far cost $10 million and its not finished yet. Another loop, the RD14, is scheduled for move with an estimated cost of $14 million.

Great minds, our technical expertise, have been transferred to Ontario and just decided not to go. US and Europe have been the big winners in that race. There have been facilities, like the Proton Accelerator worth over $1 million, shut down in the middle of crucial data collections. The physicist scattered the world and the equipment left for spare parts. Gone are years of data collection, completely lost just months away from a conclusion.

So what are those Hot Cells you may have heard about? Hot cells are a facility used to manipulate radioactive materials. During the operation of a reactor, or the decommissioning of a site, hot cells are necessary whenever hot or radioactive material needs to be handled. In just a few months, the hot cells at AECL will be dismantled. New ones, at an estimated cost of $100 million, will be built in Chalk River. I have to keep using that word estimated, because the track record here is to double the estimated cost to reach some actual useful number.

There is still one more project that needs to be addressed and that's the new reactor AECL is planning to build. A joint project between the National Research Council and AECL has been formed to build an Advanced Materials Research Reactor. The economic spin-off from the project has been estimated, in the North Renfrew Times (a Chalk River Newspaper), to be 353 direct jobs created, 189 indirect jobs and over $2.2 million dollars into the coffers of the local municipal government pockets, wherever that reactor is built.

A Leaders Group has been formed to ensure Whiteshell Labs is decommissioned properly before AECL leaves. This group is apparently no longer pushing AECL to remain at this site. The many years of negotiations and logical debate over illogical decisions, has worn down this group and they no longer see any chance of seeing any part of AECL remaining as a possible outcome. They have decided to concentrate their efforts on short term, attainable goals.

There is one obvious and logical solution to this problem. Forget the fact that you don't know what Hot Cells or RD5 Loops are. Forget the fact that anything radioactive is scary. So is living next to a coal mine, a Virlogy Lab or even railway tracks. AECL has to stay. They need to leave those facilities that will cost millions of dollars to move, here at Whiteshell Labs. They need to release the area of the Whiteshell Labs site that are safe and profitable for other industries and let the government organizations like the Economic Development Authority of Whiteshell go about their mandate of making good economic use of the space. AECL must then get back to doing business here with the valuable facilities they want to destroy. They need to build the new reactor here, at Whiteshell Labs where there is space and technical expertise available to them.

This cannot be left up to AECL. This cannot be left up to the nuclear physicists whose minds are, and should be, on the scientific process and not the politics behind this. If Canada wants to compete in the Nuclear Industry, we must have these facilities somewhere and Canada cannot afford the $1 billion dollar price tag attached to the trashing of one site to rebuild it in another, more politically correct province.

That's why you should care. That's why all Canadians should care.

Contacts:

Name	Title	Fax	E-Mail
Dennis H. Cleve	Man. Gov. PC	204-945-3977
Donald Leitch	Man. Gov. PC	204-945-8390
Mervin Tweed	Man. Gov. PC	204-945-4882
Gary Filmon	Man. Gov. PC	204-949-1484
Darren Praznik	Man. Gov. PC	204-268-2717
David Iftody	Fed Gov.	613-995-1049
Gary Doer	Man. Gov. NDP	204-948-2428
Jon Gerrard	Man. Gov. Lib	204-956-2192
Lloyd Axworthy	Min of Foreign Affairs	613-996-3443	axworl@parl.gc.ca
Don Boudria	Leader House of Commons	613-952-4936	boudrd@parl.gc.ca
Claudette Bradshaw	Min of Labour	819-994-5168	bradsc@parl.gc.ca
Jean Chretien	Prime Minister	613-941-6900	pm@pm.gc.ca
Ron Duhamel	Western Economic Diver.	613-990-4056	duhamr@parl.gc.ca
Ralph Goodale	Min of Natural Resources	613-996-4516	goodar@parl.gc.ca
John Manley	Min of Industry	613-992-0302	manlej@parl.gc.ca
Marcel Masse	Pres. of Treasury Board	613-990-2806	massem@parl.gc.ca
Len Simpson	Pinawa Mayor	(204) 753-5104	mayorp@granite.mb.ca

Takin’ Care of Busyness

Its here. Some of us are ready for it. Some not. Some just don’t care. But the so called new world has arrived. As Governments and corporations strive to put clients online rather than in line we have grown to expect instantaneous service in most things we do. And why not? It sure suits our lifestyle!

We rush here . We rush there. Most of us are always on the run. And if the stress of it all finally kills us we are referred as the late so-and-so. Old joke but you know what I mean…….given the obvious benefits of the high tech automation that surrounds us, why are we running around more and more. There just seems to be something wrong with this picture.

Part of the answer is that we all have to stop once in a while and just take a little time out for ourselves. Everyone handles stress differently. Some run. Others do deep breathing exercises. Still others take time to simply smell the roses. In a recent magazine article in Big Picture- the survivor’s guide to wired living, one of the writers moans Where will I find people (to interview) who are rushed? Will they be too busy to talk to me? He did find someone though. A Toronto financial worker who often put in 100 hours a week and who gets a rush out of being stressed. Whew! I bet he’d be an exiting guy at a party – laptop and cell phone in hand.

One of the magazine photographers had a good comment though. Whenever he felt stressed he would hop into the car and head to the small towns north of Toronto for a break. Well, we sure have our share of that right here in towns like Beausejour, Lac du Bonnet, Pinawa and Pine Falls and in places like the Whiteshell, Nopiming and the Winnipeg River system. Now if small towns and picturesque countryside is the recipe for relaxation we must be the most relaxed people in the world. Or at least we have the opportunity to be.

I’ve actually taken this natural medication myself more than once in Eastern Manitoba. I remember once after a particularly stressful day I put the kids into the car and rushed off to a beach right at the mouth of the Winnipeg River. As I watched the kids having a great time in the sand and water I could feel the relaxation soothing in. And as I witnessed a most spectacular Manitoba sunset I realized there was no one else on the beach. We had it all to ourselves. I couldn’t help but think that most anywhere else the place would be packed – (likely increasing my stress level).

I guess we complain about the cold weather in winter and bugs in the summer but it does mean one thing. We have more of this beautiful land still in its natural state for ourselves and our neighbours to enjoy. This is the big issue I guess…..On one hand we’d like to share this part of Canada with more and more people but on the other hand the way it is today is sooo good for the soul.

Oh well. I guess I’ll just email my article in, then go outside, watch the Mallards chase each other around and not worry about it.

Cheap Tricks

Maximizing and minimizing windows may seem straightforward — you just click on the little boxes in the upper right corners. But in Windows 95 we can always find better ways of doing everything. Here are a few tricks on going to the max — and to the min:

• You don't have to position your cursor on those tiny boxes at all. Just double click on the bar across the top of the window anywhere left of the buttons. The window will immediately jump up to full-screen size if it's not already at its maximum. Or, if it is already at the max, it'll shrink to its tiled size.
• The DOS window opened up with MS-DOS Prompt can be made so large that Windows’ usual buttons and bars disappear off the screen. To max it out, while in the DOS window, hold down the Alt key and press Enter. The same key combo will return the window to its smaller "maximum" size.
• Have a Windows 95 keyboard? To minimize all your open windows at once, hold down the Windows key and press M. Several other useful Windows 95 key combinations: Use it with E to open Windows Explorer, R to Run and F to Find.

by David Hnatiw

LAC DU BONNET - A new UPS was installed.

WHITEMOUTH - No changes.

PINE FALLS - The modem firmware was upgraded on Friday May 28, 1999 to a new version. Granite and Cisco Systems are still looking into the problem with some modems dropping calls. Granite would request that all users using the Pine Falls POP that are have problems email support@granite.mb.ca with their modem type, manufacture, computer brand/model and any other information about their modem/computer. This will help us compile a database to look for a pattern.

LAC DU BONNET - Mail will be moved to a new mail server thus reducing the load on the current server. This is scheduled for June 5, 1999 between 10:00 AM and noon.

WHITEMOUTH - No planned maintenance.

PINE FALLS - No maintenance planned; just continual monitoring and work with Cisco and MTS to solve unresolved problems.

Modem pool usage

Lac du Bonnet Digital Modem Information:
    Highest Speed

Sample based on 9750 calls

Pine Falls Digital Modem Information:
      Highest Speed

Sample based on 701 calls

Check out our previous newsletters:

• May '99
• April '99
• March '99
• February '99
• January '99
• December '98
• November '98
• October '98
• September '98
• August '98
• July '98
• June '98
• May '98
• April '98
• March '98
• February '98
• January '98
• December '97
• November '97
• October '97
• September '97