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March 15, 1992

44 pages

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Office, Editorial 985-213

Commercial vessels denied access
to stop local gypsy moth spread

ACTION

AGAINST a threatened

local infestation of

Asian gypsy moths escalated this week with the an-
nouncement of a North American ban on commercial
vessels originating from the eastern seaboard of the former

Soviet Union.

Said Jox Bell, a biologist and
spokesman for the B.C. Plant
Protection Advisory Council,
“It’s the largest non-military
banning of shipping in world his-
tory — this has never been done
before.”

The moth was brought to the
West Coast and the North Shore
aboard freighters originating from
Siberian ports.

The Asian gypsy moth can cat
more than 400 types of plants and
trees, including oak and some
needle-bearing trees.

The shipping ban, implemented
by Agriculture Canada and the
U.S. Department of Agriculture,
is set for April 1 to July 31.

Said Bell, ‘‘We know that lar-
vae blew from vessels that had
been in Soviet ports the previous
summer. We knew they were in-
fested with eggs. We know that
this spring ships will be coming
into the port of Vancouver.

“They will be contaminated
with egg masses, and we will be
right back to where we were with
larvae blowing from the vessels.”’

By Michael Becker
News Reporter

Bell said 17 vessels were banned
from Vancouver port access last
year. The general ban targets
vessels originating from ports in-
cluding Vladivostok, Vostchnyy
and Nakhodka.

Bell said more than 200 com-
mercial ships had visited the Asian
ports last summer. Although
many are coastal vessels, at least
50 grain and coal freighters as
well as container ships would be
covered by the ban.

Agriculture Canada continues to
inspect ships for gypsy moth egg
masses,

As of Aug. } vessels originating
from targeted Asian ports will be
permitted to anchor at Constance
Bank near Victoria, where they
will be inspected. If moths are
fuund aboard a vessel, the ship
will be banned from port access
until Oct. 15,

See Plan page &

Kidnap sentencing delayed

THE PRE-SENTENCE hearing for two men who
had pleaded guilty to various charges in connection
with the Dec. 21, 1990 kidnapping of West Vancouver
millionaire Jim Pattison’s daughter ended dramatical-
ly Friday in B.C. Supreme Court as the pair apolo-
gized for what they had done.

Mr. Justice K.E. Meredith
deferred the pair's sentencing
to Thursday, March 19, after
Crown prosecutor Sandra Wat-
son urged the judge to mete
out the harshest sentences
possible.

Chadwick Shayne Mulvahill,
22, of no fixed address, and
Christian Snelgrove, 20, of
North Vancouver originally
pleaded guilty Jan. 20 to
charges of kidnapping, extor-
tion and unlawful confinement
in connection with the abduc-
tion of Pattison’s daughter,
Cynthia Kilburn.

In her closing statements on
Thursday, Watson told the
court, ‘‘These are horrific
crimes."’ She asked the court
for a life sentence for
Mulvahill and a 10- to 18-year
jail term for Snelgrove.

But defence counsel argued
on Friday that Snelgrove’s role

in the kidnapping was sub-
sidiary to the role played by
Mulvahill and the young of-
fenders who actually abducted
Kilburn.

Defence counsel also argued
that the pair had expressed
genuine remorse for their ac-
tions. The defence asked the
court for a 12- to 15-year
sentence for Mulvahill and a
five- to seven-year sentence for
Snelgrove.

But Watson asked the judge
Friday to reassess the accuseds’
psychiatric assessments, which
she found ‘‘carefully word-
ed”’ and devoid of any con-
clusive statements that would
see rehabilitation take place.

When asked if they had any-
thing to say before sentencing,
both Snelgrove and Mulvahill
made emotional apologies for
their actions.

ST VANCOUVER

Carol Crenna on
stylish solutions

Fashion: 14

Classifieds 986-6222

y

Into the shop ——-

THE QUEEN of Alberni is towed into Vancouver Shipyards Co. Ltd. in North Vancouver after
the B.C. Ferry Corp. vessel collided early Thursday with a Japanese coal freighter near the
Tsawwassen ferry terminal. Vancouver Shipyards, which built the ferry in 1976, expects to
take about five days to repair the damage. See story page 3.

REACHING EVERY DOOR ON THE NORTH SHORE SINCE 1969