UPDATE - JANDA co Stat 0 seek ee raped ne eee ws se meunne & wt sant aeeer tin Avera pr meennl Guiano’s LISA Murl wants her group to oppose a legal chal- lenge t ‘the “said, referring to CMHC's bylaw challenge. 2: “We feel that the public should decide the forest's future — not a Crown corporation,” said Muri in a ‘Tan. 15 press release. “Who is running: this country anyway?” - Muri thanked the provinciai “government for récently creating ‘large numbers of parks, such as’ Indian Arm, but noted Mountain ‘Forest is far more accessible to le. “iv. She’ s: upset Victoria supports "CMHC’s position, but is not sure “that decision : has been made by politicians. - “I don’t think Moe Sihota knows what's ‘going on. A lot of this: is bureaucrats ‘pushing - but. “tons,” she said.” jihota, cuzrently on a trade ‘mission to India, was not available for comment. _. ‘ »., However, North Vancouver- ‘Lonsdale NDP MLA _ David “Schreck; who supports efforts to keep the Jand as parkland, said he ‘Bylaws preserving Mountain Forest. ~ will meet with Sihota next week to discuss the issue. Saying Sihota's ministry is enormous, Schreck added he’s confident Sihota has now been briefed on the Mountain Forest issue. “As the guy responsible | for cre- ating 126 parks in this province, he (Sihota) would be sympathetic to citizens’ views,* said Schreck. He added that he wants to see the three levels of ‘government meet to resolve the issue, without | throwing money away on legal and court costs. GUARD initially geared up the successful campaign to preserve the heavily trailed Mountain Forest . and Cove Forest lands. - : _The group's efforts were rewarded in October when council, with the solid backing of Seymour residents, voted to preserve the Tony Tse, CMHC senior pro- ject manager, said CMHC is wait- ing for the district’s statement of defence. At this time, it’s difficult to pin- point a court date, he said. over pay ii Issue turned over to public committee ALTHOUGH POLITICIANS are paid to make decisions, North Vancouver City coun- cillors are reluctant to make a decision when it comes to their own pay. NORTH VANCOUVER CITY COUNCIL By Robert Galster During councit's Jan. 8 meeting, council members voted 6-1 to defer making a decision on their 1996 pay ‘scale and in favor of setting up a citizens’ committee to provide input on appropriate raises for council members. City councillors currently receive $18,712 per year, while the mayor gets $56,136. Coun. Stelia Jo Dean represented the sole vote against the establishment of the committee saying it was unnecessary because councillors are already “at the top of the scale.” The motion to establish the committee was moved by Coun. Barbara Sharp and calls on city staff “to provide ‘terms of reference for a committee of the community to establish each year reasonable levels of increase to the mayor and council indemnities.” The motion also states that “such terms must take into consideration: skills, knowledge, impact of decisions, savings, and hours spent at council and appointments.” The directive represents council's abandonment of a formula established by the city in 1991 to do just that. The formula was devised to replace the councillors’ ability to negotiate their own compensation packages. _ It came under fire last year when councillors voted themselves 11% raises that had been derived through $16,704 the formula. During council's discussion of the proposal, Coun. Bil} Beli hinted at his intention not to seek re-election in the upcoming municipal elections later this year. “I'm going to miss seeing all the council members sguirm every time this comes before us,” said Bell. With the exception of Coun. Dean, all councillors and mayor enthusiastically supported Sharp's motion. Coun, Barbara Pesrault expressed her thanks to. Sharp for bringing forward the motion and compared it - to a committee set up in Ottawa to study politicians’ incomes during her husband's, Senator Ray Perrault, tenure, a “The committee came up with some rather outra- geous raises,” said Perrault, stressing that it is not a new concept. The conclusions reached by the committee will pre- sumably deflect any criticism aimed at councillors should it recommend raises. “There is a lot more work involved than people real- ize," added Mayor Jack Loucks, addressing the public’ s . Feluctance to accept council pay raises, ice rink deadline stretched is delayed further, it will i impact var-) THE NORTH Vancouver Recreation Commission is extending the “drop-dead date” for development plans on the Burrard Band ice rink until March 15. By Richard Ostler Contributing Writer ' Ata Jan. 11 meeting of the recre- ation commission, it was unanimous- ly decided that an agreement with the North Vancouver. Recreation Commission, Takaya Developments, Native Strategic Investments and the District of North Vancouver be extended another two months. In October, plans were put in place to build an ice facility on Burrard Band land. An agreement among the four parties was to set up working guide- lines for the development of the pro- ject. This included establishing a board of directors and a policy for the ice rental agreement. At the time of the meeting, those requirements had not been met. The ice arena has been on a tight deadline to meet a September open- ing. Although the schedule is tight, the committee responsible for the development of the ice arena is con- fident it can be completed | by September or October even with the agreement extended. if development rth Van Sex assault 1 tri. A NORTH Vancouver hotel owner's plan to take a female employee into the bushes behind Eaton’s at Park Royal was foiled -when his girlfriend at the time, a prominent ° BCTV newscaster, called on his car phone, a B.C. Supreme Court judge heard Monday. By Brent Mudry, Contributing Weiter “Oh hi, Pamela,” ‘the woman recalls Kenneth '. Hutchinson. the owner of North Vancouver's _. Avalon and Lynnwood hotels, saying when he picked up the phone. . ..The woman claims Hutchinson asked her to help: him. map out an upcoming fun run, but his _. real intentions became clear as soon as he drove s-his beige Mercedes coupe out of sight of the Avalon. ° “want to f** you,” Hutchinson is alleged to have said. “*He mentioned he had a good relation- “ship with Pamela Martin, but he still needed a bit, on the side,” the former employee, her voice light- ly cracking, told Mr. Justice Howard Callaghan. “The testimony came at the opening of a sex assault trial in Vancouver. Hutchinson is charged with four counts of sexual assault involving four of his former employees, all fernale. Hutchinson opted for a trial without jury. Crown prosecutor Allan Flanz told the judge that he intends to present the four women’s testi- mony as “similar fact evidence,” to show Hutchinson’s alleged pattem of preying on his female staff. Defence lawyer J.J. McIntyre told the court that Hutchinson’s identity is not an issue in the trial. The first witness, whose identity is protected by a standard court order, claims Hutchinson lured her to his new West Vancouver house, trapped her and raped her four years before the Park Royal incident. The woman testified that Hutchinson's first sexual attack came about two years after she start- ed working at the Avalon. She claims he phoned at 1:30 in the aftemoon and asked her to bring an important document to his house. She recalls he was wearing Adidas shorts and a muscle shirt. After giving her a quick tour of his house, Hutchinson lured the woman into the master bed- room, then blocked her exit, the court heard. “4 told him I had to leave ... he said, “No, you're ‘had the woman testified. Oe grabbed on to my arm... he started to hug me very tight and kiss me and feel my breasts,” the woman said, as Hutchinson stared at her from the prisoner’s box. : “He pushed me on to his bed,” the woman tes- tified, her voice starting to tremble. “1 said no again; he pulled my skirt up and my nylons and panties down,” recalled the witness, as tears rolled lightly down her face. “He looked mad and out of control.” The woman recalls the alleged assault lasted about 10 minutes. She testified Hutchinson said nothing until he got up. “He looked at me and said ‘That was great’, she told the court. The witness says she quickly got up and ran away. The woman told the court she retumed to work and told a co-worker, but never reported the inci- dent to police until more than four years later. She claims Hutchinson also lured her into the Avalon's accounting office, behind the front desk of the hotel, at 7:30 one morning and started to molest her before the phone rang. The alleged victim quit her job after the Park Royal incident. The trial continues. on” ious. organizations © ‘including - the, minor hockey league. : : |. The new facility is budgeted for. $5. 5 million and will offer a similar... theme to Planet’ Ice. in’ Coquitlam, -which was also under tight construc- tion deadlines. It offers four ice rinks, ' a restaurant, a fitness centre and a. physictherapy clinic, a If a board of directors and an ice’. rental agreement ‘are. not settled by. the new deadline, it is unlikely. the * recreation commission will continue . with the project. At this time though, . the commission is not responsible for any casts. The commission is committed’ to buying 2,000 hours of ice, but has yet to negotiate aprice... / NORTH VANCOUVER’ hotel. operator ,.Ken Hutchinson ... on trial in B.C. Supreme Court.