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ST VANCOUVER

Pal
vaeoe

THE VOICE OF NO
Reet eae eat 7

July 7,1985 News 985-2131 Circulation 986-1337 40 pages 25¢

TWENTY-THREE North Shore high school stu-
dents face the loss of a full school year and
possible expulsion as a result of using stolen

Grade 12 exams.
By TIMOTHY RENSHAW

In a Friday news con-
the Ministry of Education,

ference, Dr. David
facecs:a_ barrage of media

Robitaille, spokesman for
the provincial Board of Ex-

quesijons concerning exams
stolen from St. Thomas

Aquinas school.

Reading from a prepared
press release, Robitaille said
media speculation about
cheating on exams has not
been ‘borne out by the
facts. Much of the informa-
tion in the media has been
based on hearsay. Unfortu-
nately, many schools have
been unfairly tarnished in
the process.”"

aminers and Jerry Mussio,
executive director of the
school program division for

Vandals

PAGE 3

Robitaille said that reports
of {0 Lower Mainland high
schools having access to the
stolen exams were specula-
tion. He confirmed that only
St. Thomas Aquinas and
Carson Graham Secondary
have been identified as hav-
ing prior access to the ex-
ams, and a total of 23 stu-
dents, 15 from St. Thomas,
8 from Carson Graham,

Hit

Car Finds

have since admitted to using
the exams,

No other students or
schools, said Robitaille, have
as yet been confirmed as be-
ing involved.

Mussio said the ministry is
still investigating how far use
of the stolen exams spread.
“Four or five schools in the
Vancouver area and one in
the Interior are currently be-

A VANCOUVER man is to be charged with impaired driving after a pedestrian was struck near the intersection of Lonsdale and Sixth early Thursday
evening. North Vancouver RCMP say the vietim, a North Vancouver woman in her 50's, was struck by a vehicle heading south on Lonsdale, The
woman was faken to Lions Gate Hospital and treated for minor injuries. A 64-year old male driver is 10 be charged.

Fashion

PAGE 13

ing investigated.’’

Questioned as to why it
had taken so long for the
Ministry to become aware of
the theft of the exams, which
took place June 9 at St.
Thomas, Robitaille said,
“Details of the break-in
were such that it was not
apparent that a break-in had
taken place.** He said an
anonymous June 18 tele-
phone call to the Ministry
had initially tipped educa-
tion authorities to the theft.

The ministry press release
stated that initial reports
from all Lower Mainland
schools had indicated no
break-in or breach of esam
security, and though high
school examinations had
begun June 13, no reliable
information concerning the
allegations was obtained be-
fore the last exams had been
written on June 21.

The Ministry was able to
trace the source of exam
thefts to St. Thomas by June
27 as the result of the Car-
son Graham school ad-
ministration’s identifying a
student who had prior access
to a history exam.

Asked if the heavy 50 per
cent value of the exam
results in student’s grade
totals had anvthing to do
with driving students to steal
the exams and, if so, was
this not a weakness of the
provincial examination
system, Robitaifle conceded
that the exams would not
have been stolen if they had
not been worth something,
but said the provincial
system was ‘good. Evidence
we have indicates this il
small, localized problem."

Robitaille added that
quick Ministry action into
the matter and indication
that “we are taking it as
seriously as owe are will
hopefully discourage — this
kind of thing in the future.’

See Theft
Page 11

Red tape fight continues

the District
department,
the bank
morning,

is 7 directed from
s Hy BARR ; engineering
were cleaning
Wednesday
Hartley said, and Bastion
Construction, the company
developing the old Wosk's
site Which refused ta take re-

JACK HARTLEY
gaining ground in the
rat battle, but the war
isn't over yet.

The Narth Vancouver
man, who Jaunched a one-
man fight to have ries clean-

the fiutered em-
below fis €7th
has received

ed out of
bankment
Street home,
seme action,

Parks Raagid workers,

sponsibility for the bank,
has paid the District $500 as
their contribution.

Vector control
Bert Engelmann vistted
Hartley Wednesday nieht,
and said the bank was not
adequately cleared, and that

inspector

he would talk to Parks su-
perintendent Jim Slater, who
would vet back to Hartley,
“My Hfesavings are in this
hause.”’ Hartley said, and |
feel these guys are
depreciating its value wd great
deal Jim not going to xive

up. [HM use every resource |

have. As a resident caxpayer.

knifing through District

bureaucracy is) virtually an

impossibility. Ht really wears

you out, TI almost gave up.
See Complaints