The Lucknow Sentinel, 1978-05-03, Page 1Foreign field traveileriikes South America
There is a certain `Charisma"
about the lifestyle In South
America that Wallace Houston,
formerly of Lucknow, finds com-
patible with his own outlook on
life.
"The South American appro-
ach to life is live for today and
plan for tomorrow," says Wally,
"My attitude is to take things as
they come, but, still get things
done."
Wally works as an aircraft
maintenance engineer with Surv-
air . Ltd., Ottawa, an aerial
surveying company.
He returned' to South America
in February to work on the
Atlantic Coast of Argentine, in
Rivadavia and Trelen.
He likes South America best of
all the countries he has w8rked in
or visited, perhaps, because the
e
life style is compatible with his,
and you can have a good time
there for less money than in
Canada. He has worked in
Guyana once, twice in Brazil and
four times in Africa.
In .a recent letter to his parents,
Harvey and Eslie Houston, Luck -
now, Wallace said that they were
having fall weather in Rividavia
with temperatures ranging from
five degrees celsius at night to
15-20 degrees celsius in ' the
daytime. •
"Rividavia is not what exotic
foreign field travelling is all
about," said Wally and he would
like to be moved to Trelen. He
described it as being the same as
"Uranium City, Saskatchewan,
with Frobisher Bay scenery in an
Arizona dry setting."
When he worked in South
America before, Wally worked in
Brazil near Belem, a light
industry seaport, and in the
Spanish architectural area around
Temperatriz, Carolina and Porto
Nacional.
The population of these towns
was about 6,000 people living in a
property area the same as the
town of Lucknow.
The Brazilian people are of
Portugese, German, African and
South American Indian. The area
is semi -forest plains and Wally
flew over areas where the
Americans were working beef
ranches.
Before he took the position with
the surveying company, Wally
did a three year apprenticeship
with the London Flying Club and
then worked as a base engineer
with a small airline and survey
$1O A Year In Advance $14 To U.S.A. and Foreign
company in Frobisher Bay.
Frobisher Bay is a little bigger
than Lucknow; an industry town
with Northern Power, Bell Tele-
phone and supporting govern-
ment services there. They lived in
a high-rise apartment and there
were movies and bars for
entertainment. Isolation is not a
problem because there is a plane
out every day, but Wally did not
like working in the ice and . snow.
He worked in the Sahara Desert
before coming home in mid-Janu-
ary to our Canadian winter. The
African job was in the country of
Maili which is bounded by Niger
to the east, Mauritania to the
north, Senegal to the west and
Upper Volta to the, south.
The survey team of five was
looking for minerals, namely
uranium, about 350 miles north of
Mopti, at Taoudenni. The five
man survey crew included two
pilots, two 'electronic technicians,
and Wally as maintenance tech-
nician.
The survey crew is backed up
by a six man support and data
processing team which worked
out of Mopti and flew fuel, food
and water by airlift to the survey
crew in Taoudenni. The support
crew was an airborne recovery
teamof three pilots, one engin-
eer, and two data processors.
The survey crew flew a DG3 for
the survey work in the desert'
returning to Taoudenni as base.
Taoudenni, an old French Foreign
Legion outpost, looked like the
Fort Apache in the old westerns
said Wally. Fifty soldiers were
stationed there and the only other
CONTINUED ON PAGE 17
1
WEDNESDAY, MAY 3, 1978
Single Copy 25c
32. PAGES
Graham Church of Vanier Public School, .$rockvWc, flys over the box horse to a front roll on the mats
below during a gymnastics demonstration at Lucknow Central Public on Thursday. Grades 7 and 8
students from Vanier, some who have been doing gymnastics for four years, dida gymnastics dispiay and
a gymnastic ballet' to music. The students, under the' direction of Vanier gym instructor Jim 'Vickery; "were
on a 'war to Hepworth ' and Lucknow with their school concert band.
Board won't pay
rebate to parent
A Lucknow area man has
requested a rebate from the
Huron County Board of Education
as reimbursement for tuition he is
paying to send his two daughters
to an Oxford County School as a
result of the recent teachers'
strike. .
In a' letter to the board,
Kenneth Taylor said that he was
paying $68.18 per month for a
total of $204.54 for the remaining
three months to the Oxford
County Board of Education to
send his two daughter, Brenda,
grade 12 and Theresa, grade 9, tc
College Avenue Secondary
.School, Woodstock.
Taylor said in the letter that
Brenda is a fine arts student who
has applications in at the Ontario
CONTINUED ON PAGE 8,
Former Lucknow couple
safe in Afghanistan
Dr. John and Kay Mowbray,
formerly of Lucknow, who have
been living in Kabul, Afghanis-
tan, have been teported safe after
a bloody military coup which.
began last Thursday, ended
Sunday.
Two of the couple's sons, Scott
in Vancouver and Paul, in Saska-
toon, received word from CARE,
New York, that their parents were
listed safe,- after the uprising
which saw President Mohammed
Daoud killed and a new govern-
ment with a veteran Communist
leader proclaimed on Sunday.
John is the son of the late Mr.
and Mrs. Alex Mowbray, Luck -
now and Kay is the daughter of
the late Dr. and Mrs. Victor
Johnston, Lucknow.
Greta Johnston, Lucknow, has
just': returned from California
where she stayed with the
children of Kay's. sister, Nancy,
while Nancy visited with Kay in
Afghanistan.
Canadian external -affairs has
indicated that an airlift to take
Canadians out of the troubled
country will be conducted as soon
as the Kabul airport is reopened.
About 50 Canadians are in the
country.
The new military government
has cut off telephone,' cable and
international telex links with the
rest of the world, however.
Washington has satellite com-
munication with Kabul. CARE,
New York, was able to determine
the safety of Canadians in Kabul
through Washington.
Afghanistan is one of the
poorest countries in the world. A
worker only makes about $160 a
year there.
Ficial exams delayed
old school calendar. The date
for the commencement of
final exams was the latest the
board could have used to
meet ministry of education
reglo . ements to have the
sr:.00lyear-completed by the
end of June.
In a recommendation to the
board, Director .of Education
John Cochrane. said the four
days was all the board could
add to the school calendar. He
saki recent moves by the
board had added 14 more
CONTINUED ON PAGE 8
BY JEFF SEDDON
Huron County's high school
students will have an' extra
four days to studyfor final
exams this June after a move
by the. Huron County Board of
Educatign Monday to make
up time lost due to the recent
31. -day teacher strike.
The board picked up an
additional , week of in..,
structional time on the school \
calendar by delaying final
exams until June 22, what
would have been the second
vast day of exams under the