A NORTH Vancouver company has won a lucrative contract to produce approximately 3% million high-tech batteries for the United States Army. By SURJ RATTAN News Reporter Ballard Battery Systems Corp., a subsidiary of Ballard Power Systems, won the first phase of a five-year coniract to supply the U.S. Army with three types of lithium-sulphur-dioxide batteries to be used as the main power source for portable military field 3 - Wednesday, April 11, 1990 - North Shore News Battery firm plugs into $30m contract BALLARD BATTERY SYSTEMS CORP. TO SUPPLY U.S. ARMY WITH HIGH-TECH PRODUCT communication and _ electronic equipment. While the current contract is for one year and is valued at $30 mil- lion, the U.S. Army has an option to increase the contract over a five-year period, which would br- ing the total value to about $80 million. The contract makes Ballard the third largest supplier of lithium- sulphur-dioxide batteries to the U.S. Army and marks the second time the North Vancouver com- Seymour body identified as East End hooker A BODY found April 2 on a bank of the Seymour River has been identified as being the remains of 32-year-old Kate Whalen of 801 East 6th Avenue in Vancouver. While the cause of death has yet to be determined, North Van- couver RCMP and the RCMP headquarters serious crimes section are treating the case as a murder. Whalen was last seen alive Dec. 28 by a close female friend in the 900-block East Broadway area. A known prostitute, Whalen worked the 1000 to 1600-block East Hastings Street according to police. “*We don’t know the cause of death, but we suspect that certainly foul play is there.” ~—North Vancouver RCMP Staff Sgt. Ron Babcock eee Her common-law husband, who moved to Vancouver from Ontario with Whalen in 1988, reported her as missing to Vancouver City Police on Jan. 24. An autopsy has been performed but police are still awaiting lab test results. Said North Vancouver RCMP Staff Sgt. Ron Babcock: ‘‘We don’t know the cause of death, but we suspect that certainly foul play is there.”* The police have no firm indica- tion of how long the body had been by the river, and they are comparing the circumstances sur- rounding Whalen’s death with those of 18 other unsolved murders of women, the majority of whom were prostitutes. Said Babcock, ‘*We haven't anything positive to put her into that category (as to a link with other Lower Mainland Killings). But part of our investigation will be a comparison of other homicides in the Lower Mainland to see if there are any similarities.’’ Bob Hunter Lifestyles Mailbox North Shore Now By MICHAE]. BECKER News Reporter Whalen’s body was discovered by a hiker in the Seymour River area near Charles Sitreet on the afternoon of April 2. The hiker alerted a North Vancouver ship- yard worker who was in the area at the time and on his way to the Lynnwood Inn for a cold beer. Said the shipyard worker, who declined to be identified, ‘‘There was an elderly gentleman I had bumped into who told me he fig- ured he had spotted a body. I detoured and walked off the railroad and up a path about 30 feet and looked down the bank and I said to him, ‘Yes, I believe you have.’”’ The witness said he could not distinguish whether the body was male or female. “FE thought |} was looking at a bald-headed male lying on his back looking up at the bank,”’ he said. But the head of the naked body was twisted around and up. The man saw three, uniform black marks on the forehead. But said Babcock, “I’m not in any position to comment on any marks like that. It’s hard to say whether they were in fact there or not and how they got there is probably another story.” Whalen is described by police as having long brown hair, weighing 120 pounds and having blue eyes. At the time of her disap- pearance, she was possibly wearing a three-quarter-length black silk coat, a two-piece lavender-colored knit shirt and top, and black high- heeled shoes. She was carrying a yellow-colored handbag with a shoulder strap. Anyone with any knowledge of Whalen that may assist police in tracing her movements prior to her death is asked to call North Van- couver RCMP at 985-1311. WEATHER Wednesday and Thursday, cloudy with showers. Highs near 13°C. Second Ciass Registration Number 3885 pany has done business with the army. “We had a contract last year from the U.S. Army for the sulphur batteries as well. It was only for 120,000 batteries, but that sort of got our foot in the door with them,”’ said Ballard market- ing services manager Carol Dergousoff. ‘‘We were really sur- prised at the amount we got this time.”’ She added that nearly all of the 3% million batteries will be pro- duced at Ballard’s North Van- couver plant. Ballard is a world leader in the development of non-polluting fuei cell technology and last month signed two contracts with two ma- jor international firms interested in using the Ballard cells to power their products. The Ballard solid polymer fuel cell extracts hydrogen from liquid methanol and converts chemical energy from hydrogen directly to electrical power without an inter- mediate thermal or mechanical process. Dergousoff said some industry people have doubted whether Ballard has the knowledge to manufacture those fuel cells. But the U.S. Army contract, she said, will now boost Ballard’s pro- file and reputation. ‘Some people said we don't have the expertise in producing fuel ceils, but now we can say ‘look at this, we have another con- tract from the U.S. Army',’’ said Dergousoff. ‘‘!t (contract) definitely has helped. We do business with the Canadian gov- ernment as well, but this has really increased our credibility." NEWS photo Stuart Davis No vote for GST NORTH SHORE residents joined thousands of Canadians to protest the federal government's proposed Goods and Services Tax Saturday by setting up GST “polling booths.*’ North Vancouver School Board trustee Dorothy Lynas (right) joined the protest at Lonsdale Quay by encouraging local residents to fill out ballots protesting the controversial tax. Pictured here with Lynas are Sally Gordy (left), Charlie Perkins and a caricature of Prime Minister Brian Mulroney. At last count a total of 2,105,716 votes against the GST had been cast nation-wide with 251,846 cast in B.C. Woman killed in canyon plunge A 20-YEAR-old Vancouver man survived a 120-foot plunge into Lynn Canyon Saturday because his fall was cushioned by his girlfriend, according to a local paramedic. Stephanie Hoben, 18, of Calgary, died at the scene. Curtis Nea!, 20, of Vancouver, suffered a broken neck and minor fractures. He is listed in stable condition at Lions Gate Hospital. Hoben and Neal had been hiking with two others when tragedy struck at about 7:30 p.m. The fall occurred 200 to 300 yards west of what is known as 30-foot pool. Said North Vancouver B.C. Ambulance Service unit chief Tim Jones, who treated the canyon vic- tims, ‘‘The girlfriend lost her balance after looking over the edge of the cliff. She had grabbed his hand, lost her balance and they both went over into the gorge.”* Hiking partners Wade Alex- ander and Corey Neal attempted to aid the fallen couple. The group was subsequently assisted by the North Vancouver District Fire Department, the ambulance ser- vice, North Vancouver RCMP and the North Shore Rescue Team. A fire department crew set up a MICHAEL KER News Reporte: rope-lowering system, and by ap- proximately 10 p.m. Jones and firefighter Kevin Macauley rap- petled down the east side of the steep, V-shaped canyon. Jones determined that was dead at the scene. He found Neal hypothermic (with a body temperature of 33 C versus the norm of 37 C) and suf- fering a broken neck. A cervical collar was applied, Neal was fitted with a special extrication jacket. Hoben Intravenous and hypothermia therapies were initiated at the scene. North Shore Rescue Team member Richard Foster rappelled down with a hypothermia bag for Neal. Said Foster, *‘The hypothermia was something that was concerning us because we knew it would be a delayed extrication. What it (the bag) did is it bought us time.”* Neal was lifted up the cliff hori- zontally to avoid further trauma to his neck. He was removed from the canyon by | a.m. Said Foster, ‘‘Trying to bring a horizontal piece of equipment through a V-shaped gully is dif- ficult. We worked it up slowly and then two guys working with the fire department had to rappel down about halfway up to give assistance getting over some of the small roofs (in the rock).’”” North Vancouver District Fire Department Chief Rick Grant believes that while local people are aware of the canyon danger, many visitors to the park fail to use cau- tion. “The park is there to be enjoyed but it should be respected. People should note the signs and stay back,’’ he said. Added Foster: ‘*People should stick to the main trails. Do not deviate too close to the sides. In that particular area, all of the rocks are moss-covered and they're extremely slippery. They weren't on a trail. They had deviated off the main trail on the east side. It’s easy to go to the edge there.””