SUNDAY
October 20, 1996

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Storm stops
ferries, cuts
local power

By lan Noble
News Reporter

FERRIES were can-
cellzd and power out-
ages darkened parts of
the North Shore during
a storm that brought
heavy winds and rains
to the area on Thursday.

Wind gusts of up to 50 kin/h
(30 m.p.h.) were recorded in West
Vancouver, which received 50.4
millimetres (two inches) of rain
between 11 a.m. Thursday and 4
a.m. Friday.

Strong winds in Georgia Strait
cancelled the 5:10 p.m. and 7:10
p-m. sailings from Horseshoe Bay
to Nanaimo. Bowen and Langdale
ferries were delayed, but not can-
celled.

Blackouts dotted the North
Shore as trees fell on wires. The
longest local outage occurred in the
Gleneagles area, where power was
out from 5:15 p.m. Thursday to
9:30 a.m, Friday.

By Anna Marie D’Angelo ‘
_ News Reporter

REPRESENTATIVES of foreign
kids living on the North Shore
without their parents say public
school officials
are forcing
them to seek
legal guardian-
ship changes
through the
courts.

The — court-sanc-
tioned — guardianship
changes immediately pave the way for those foreign
students to get a free public education in North
Shore schools.

The procedure whereby forcign parents voluntar-
ily give up responsibility of their children has been
almost rubber-stamped in provincial family court in
North Vancouver,

On Wednesday, North Vancouver provincial

“court Judge Doug Moss agreed to 4 guardianship
application from an franian woman who could not

‘speak English.

©The North Vancouver woman, with a friend act-
ing as an interpreter, said during a court hearing that

news on

tailor

Cases before the courts

THE tollowing includes some of the recent
guardianship applications before local judges
around the start of this schooi year.

Or Oct. 15 in North Vancouver provincial
family court, Judge Ellen Burdett raises her
voice slightly and states, “I don’t care what
the school bourd requires.”

The judge talks to a man and woman who
are requesting they become guardians of two
Taiwanese young people standing beside
them in court.

The man tells the judge the parents of the
girl and boy are in Taiwan. The parents, he
says, had to “go back to sell the business.”
They “will come back ata later date.”

The man says he doesn’t Know when, but
the woman beside him says the parents will

See Guardianship page §

she was the aunt of a 16-year-old bey present in
court,

The boy was a refugee claimant, in Canada for
three months. His parents were in Iran. He was living
on social assistance and hoped to anend Grade 10
classes immediately, His aunt said she could not finan:
cially support: the boy, but could) only provide
guardianship,

“Why are you here?” asked Judge Moss,

The woman replied, “The school asked for a
guardianship order ... He is nor going to school yet,
but for registration, they need guardianship from the
court to register.”

The woman said she was a landed immigrant who
had been in Canada for two years.

The boy’s parents had “some difficulties” and
didin’t come to Canada.

North Vancouver District 44 assistant to the
superintendent Keith Denley did not return News
calls last week.

A school district statler answering the phone at
Deuley’s office on Friday said that no one in the
school district building could give out any informa-
tion concerning Where a student had to live in order
to attend public school in North Vancouver.

In West Vancouver, District 45 executive assistant
to the superintendent Chris Zimmer said the school
district requires a student’s legal guardian to live in
the municipality,

“There is no way we can police the guardian the
parents choose,” said Zimmer.

Zimmer said a few years ago before the local
guardianship requirement, young, teenagers were left
alone in houses without their parents.

In Vancouver, the public school district, requires
parents itt theses cases to identify in writing who the
chitd’s adult guardian is and where the guardian lives,

A Vancouver school board) orientation centre

See Education page

WEATHER

Mondax: Periods of rain, windy
High 12°C, low 6°C.

NEWS photo Terry Peters

NORTH Vancouver City fire Capt. Norman Bullock was on Third Street when a tree crashed down on power lines on Thursday.

index

@ Bright Lights.......... sessed

PA BUSIN@SS... eee

BECOMING 0 esesseeenel
Crossword. 54

&@ Health Trends.................57

@ Horoscopes.

4 Mailbox........... esses

@ North Shore Alert

@ Other Voices..................10

AT

@ Talking Personals..........52

BE SPOrts ae scescscssecsees

||) nC
@ Vintage Years.........
WB AWrightt... ceed

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