6 ~ Friday, February 10, 1995 - North Shoré News spares buat win z “IN THE wake of the Melanie "Carpenter murder, who © -needs another scare story? . The térrible truth i is: ‘maybe we all do... North Shore... Avtsa “probably” story, -Probably it’s a passing matter, Probably nothing more will‘come. “of it, “Probably theré was over-reac-.. “tion hyped by panicky rumors in. : the. first place.” “ Probably you and your kin can 7 sleep as'safely'tonight after reading: this as you did the night before. : “Probably. My. informant is stil angry. though. ! ..°"Those who are aware of this are altering their lifestyles to . accommodate this idiot,” she said. “He has more rights than we do.” »4.Let’s be clear: The said “idiot” hasn’ t done anything that could make'a charge stick. he “It’s even possible thai he’s an’. “ ‘innocent victim of understandable ‘fear. The horrifying Melanie . _.Carpenter.; and Mindy ‘Tran abduc- _:tions.and murders have’ sent the fright needle right off-scale.: .-, o “There have been three incidents. . One: Last October a couple. of early-morning women joggers said ‘a man passed them ina car, then; ‘turned and parked facing’ them as they ran by. ‘They took his licence umber. 4 “Tw A walker j in a North Shore Trevor -Lautens This scare is right here on the“, GARDEN OF BIASES. park thought a man was s following -her at a careful distance, uncom- fortably close. She too later noted “his licence number. ! . Three: Another woman jogeer ; recently had an experience like the first two. i ‘My informant, a concerned - woman living in the area, said the joggers believed that while watch- ing them the man was, as people:’ ; used to say in prim days, practising self-abuse, ro These stories got. around the “neighborhood, heated up, and - fanned fears. A car was seen slow- ‘ing down as it passed children; the - driver then turned into a driveway. - : ot seems he vas only looking for an..; _ address, and had no connection at ’ back up a charge. CL a payouts — » AD, BAD, bad news from the education front: North Vancouver School District 44, supposedly squeezed for cash when it comes to meeting the needs of its students, has no problem in pouring sizable cash pay- outs into the pockets of four former senior district administraters. Banked sick-day payouts cost. taxpayers close to $300,000 for the four. Former. Assistant Superintendent of Schools Tom Carlile got a really nice chunk of the payout bonanza — $108,750 to be exact. Chris Kelly, former District 44 Director of Continuing Education, got $48,550.23 for his ‘banked sick days. And he’s since gone on to another educrat- _ic fat-cat position as a superintendent with the Richmond school district... Meanwhile, the three early retiring fellows landed a year’s salary plus’ pension benefits. all with the other incidents. I'd have chosen not to pinpoint — the area, but on Tuesday ‘a West- Vancouver Police news release intended to allay “unfounded fears” identified it as Caulfeild. Rumors were already circulating briskly. Sgt. Stu Leishman of the crimi-- - nal investigation division told me -Tuesday that police had inter- . viewed the man. He denied any wrongdoing or wrongful intent. There is no evidence that would ' too.” :» My woman informant — who . has never seen him and was not eo @ On a gentler but important mat- ter, West Vancouver Mayor Mark ’ Sager recently has been made chairman of the Lower Mainland’. Local Government Treaty Advisory - Committee. That gives him an’. ~ They are not hurting. The district’s schools are. It’s a shameful situation. : The two North Shore school districts com- bined obtain more than $135 million from: B.C. taxpayers annually to educate North. Shore children. Parents want more. The needs of their chil- ; dren are not being met, they say. Inadequate |... .. programming, stressed resources, they say. Hey parents: look to the examples ‘set by ° school district leadership and senior adminis- .: trators who waltz away with such ludicrous | payouts. There’s something way out of whack : here. : : For starters banked sick-day money ‘ought to be history. ; ey . It would be an initial restorative goodwill gesture to show the public that concern about education spending effi iciencies starts: at: the Yes, nothing serious happened. But that’s how many serious hap-- penings begin, as we know. One iman told me: “It’s the _ rightful fear that people have when we think of the Mindy Trans.” ._ My original informant said: “I like to think it happens on the other side of the bridge. But it's here “Dear Editor: 8 In the Jan. 29 edition” of. your newspaper, one’ of. your: columnists; Doug ;.:Collins, » gleefully: accepts an invitation. to appear on Internet, 0°. ’ Inthe’ process, . he- quotes from a letter that appeared ini “the Boise Statesman.where the -: _writer proudly admits’ to being a bigot, that. bigotry’ is’ his "(or ~ her): lifestyle arid; that‘ bigots ~ involved in any of these incidents * — flatly gave me the man’s name, address, age, and further identify- ing characteristics. Also the makes ” of cars he drives. / Three weeks ago Caulfeitd ‘school sent a newsletter. to a “The purpose of this fetter i is to ‘alert you, not panic you,” it said. "There was no indication that the man’s activity involved children, it said. Parents were urged “to review safety practices with your children”. , and,report suspicious activity.” _My informant said that an off- : duty policeman who lives in the ©: area — but is not employed in West, - Van — approached the suspicious : oman and told him he knew what he | was up to. The suspect responded rudely : «and, it would appear, with little lin-* “ guistic imagination. There it stands. important role in the coming treaty negotiations among the Indians of | : British Columbia and the srovincial | " and federal governments: ‘The B.C. Treaty Commission’ S° information evening at North . Vancouver's Centennial Theatre |” last Sunday, televised by Knowledge Network, drew more calls and faxes than acting commis- *’ sioner Barbara Fisher and her staff: could answer within the three-hour «: ‘time frame. A lot is at stake. And, shoppers, here’s a sad note, if you had — like me — a soft spot for Buy-Low. The grocery chain's North Vancouver store —_ closed last week, apparently a vic- tim of tough competition from - Save-on-Foods, and a new owner is taking over. Hope he continues to ~ : stock the superb Calabria Bakery loaves that I got at Buy-Low. ° . comprise, it is cl 20% of the ‘population. a -. From the manner: in’ w ich Mr. Collins: has’ embraced these utterings, it would appear ‘that Mr. Collins’ sympathies lie “ fully with these ‘bigots,” which is hardly surprising to’ anyone y who ‘reads his’column: ° -It-is ‘interesting’ to read: . ‘dictionary. definition of.a bigot ‘(the ‘Collins: Concise . English * Dictionary to be exact. SO. Mrs. “Collins should bave ‘no’ argu- ments ‘with -.it) arrow... ‘minded person: who is intoler- ; and races. coe Q : Weare quite happy to leave ‘Doug Collins to demean him- “self with ‘the minority, Peter Kvamstrom © Display Manager”: 980-0517 (103) Valerio Steplionson’ ». Trix! Agrio "Classified Manager. 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