Fire boys out for fun From page 1 The charged youth, now 14, pleaded guilty to arson in January. The teen grew up in West Vancouver and attends an exclusive boarding school outside of the Lower Mainland. His mother lives in North Vancouver. The Young Offenders Act prohibits the tcenager’s nanic from being published. The youth was required to pay $250 restitution. The moncy was To go to one woman who lived in a fire- damaged apartment. The money went to cover her insurance deductible. The judge said it was “remarkable” that more vic- tims of the fire did not reply to victim services staff about the impact the fire had on their lives. Grandison also required the youth to perform 50 hours of community work ser- vice. The younger co-accused in the case was required to per- form 40 hours when he was sentenced in mid January. Unlike the older teen, the young boy, age 12, was fined $250 on top of a 12-month probation term. He too had to pay $250 restitution to the one victim who requested reimbursement for her insur- ance deductible. Crown lawyer Mulligan said that on July 3, 1996, the first indication that the boys were involved with smoke bombs became apparent in Paddling sport involves an element of risk-taking injuries suffered on the Seymour iver carlier that day, said police. The kayaking association said that whitewater From page 1 hanging on to his kayak. At 1 p.m., police received a report of a kayak floating down the Seymour River upside down, with no one in “Between the Twin Bridges and where Chang was pulled out is a treacherous section of whitewater called the Canyon.” Riverside Drive and Mount Seymour - Parkway area, approximately four kilometres downstream from the Twin Bridges. Between the Twin Bridges and where Chang was pulled out is a treacherous section of whitewa- ter called the Canyon. An ambulance took Chang to Lions Gate Hospital. He was then transported to St. Paul’s H By Jolanda Waskito Contributing Writer NORTH Vancouver City is going to dou- ble-layer the dead to save the cemetery from an annual deficit of about $25,500. The city cemetery, con- taining the graves of many area pionecr familics, will run out of space in about three years unless alternatives like ‘ospital. Chang died Tuesday night at 8:15 p.m. from kayaking is an exciting, challenging outdoor sport. Despite a tremendous increase in popular- ity, there have been few serious injuries. view, But record rainfall has left the Seymour and other Lower Mainland rivers “in a state of flood. “River hydraulics, combined with other haz- ards make paddling flooded rivers a highly dan- gerous activity. Across North America, paddling flooded rivers has been identified as a common contributor to fatalities involving even. experi- enced paddlers,” said the association, which is financially assisted by the provincial government. Truran said everyone i sion to paddle the river from a kayaker’s point of as to look at the deci- “You're basically making a judgement and what sort of risk you're prepared to accept and balance that against the enjoyment. If it goes wrong, well you can’t say too bad but as they say, (stuff) happens. “It is an exciting sport, so there are conse- “double-depth crypts” are implemented, said city parks and environment manager Bill Granger. Double-depth_ means that the deceased will be buried on top of another deceased. A 5% increase in the pur- chase price of a grave site and fees for burial is also being proposed. “We sell plots nine foot by four foot and it’s a lot of wast- ed space,” Granger said. “We tecommend going to double- quences,” said Truran. “If there weren’t conse- quences, it wouldn’t be that exciting.” Chang was a member of the Vancouver Kayak Club and the Whitewater Kayaking Association, the umbrella organization for whitewater kayak- ing clubs in B.C. up in cemetery depth crypts or we'll run out of space in three years if we keep using nine by four plots.” He said‘risut. not everyone is willing 10 use double-depth crypts, so the cemetery will still reserve a section for sin- gle-depth crypts. Final reading of the bylaw will be adopted once the city receives approval from the Ministry of the Attorney General Coramunity Justice Branch. the 1260-block of Duchess Avenuc. The two boys were seen in the middle of the road huddled over a smoking object. The object was thrown by one of the boys. The boys were observed near Elth and Keith Road a short time Jater by other wit- nesses who reported the boys had a smoking object: which the witnesses described as fire- crackers. One of the youths, according to witnesses, put 2a lighter to a cedar tree which did not catch fire. A short time after, a sev- enth-floor resident of Park Royal Towers at 945 Marine Dr. said she saw the boys light a small round object’ and throw it on her balcony. The woman sew green smoke coming from the object. She called the manager who swept it off the balcony. The last smoke bomb to be lit was tossed on the bal- cony of a fourth floor apart- ment at 935 Marine Dr. The Crown lawyer said that immediately something on the balcony caught fire. Two gardeners caught the boys as they ran away. “At first they denied any responsibility when confront- ed by the gardeners,” said Mulligan. After being arrested, the older boy told a West Vancouver Police officer, “This was a total accident.” The older boy was found with four disposable lighters and one package of matches. The younger boy had six disposable lighters on him. The balcony area where the fire started contained patio furniture and a propane tank. Mulligan said fire investi- gators were “unclear” as to what the smoke bomb ignited near the balcony. The woman who lived in the apartment did not have any insurance. She lost cloth- ing, knick-knacks and irre- placeable memorabilia. “This was a stupid act on the part of the accused,” said Mulligan. He asked for “lengthy” probation consist- ing of two years. The boy’s defence lawyer, Alastair Wade, called the fire ans untortunate — incident whose consequences he did not want to play down. He said that although the fire department’s investiga- tion was inconclusive, the propane valve was !eft open on the tank. Wade said that a photo published in the News during the first report of the arson contravened the Young Offenders Act relating to publishing identities of accused under age 18. The News published a blurry picture of the back of the two youths being escorted away by a West Vancouver Police officer. “There has been a great deal of shame being experi- enced (by the older boy and his parents) with the article together with the photograph published,” said Wade. Wade told the judge that he contacted the News and the newspaper issued an apol- ogy. “Later on, the boy's defence lawyer said the teen could per- haps get a North Shore News paper route so that he could help pay the restitution. The judge asked the boy's mother if there had been any sanctions given by his parents relating to the incident. The woman did not direct- ly answer the question, but said she was always aware of where her son was and that he was a very hard-working, lov- ing and caring child. The boy’s father was not present in court. Said the boy, “We were just trying to have fun and we didn’t want to cause dam- age... I guess we weren't thinking straight.” Assertions addressed NORTH Shore News edito- rial management denies asser- tions made by defence lawyer Alastair Wade during an arson sentencing in West Vancouver provincial court on March 19, The News did not apologize to Wade for contravening the Young Offenders Act as the attorney stated in court. The News does not believe that it contravened the Young Offenders Act. All directly imported and incredibly priced at just a fraction of market values. SAVE 25%-40% A Fabulous Collection - the ultimate luxury - Thousands of hand-knotted, all-wood rugs woven by the most skilled weavers. Enrich yor home with the Beautiful works of art. Delicate floral sprays, elegant French Aubusson patterns, gracious carved plains, and classical, rich Persians-Colour to rival the rainbow CARPETS of Rugs.at). 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