A VANCOUVER provincial court judge rejected the testimony Feb. 22 of North Vancouver RCMP Const. Steve Melling and found him guilty of assaulting his estranged wife and threatening his brother-in-law on two occasions last May and June. By Anna Marie D'Angelo News Reporter “It’s obvious of course that one of the two has lied,” Judge Kerry A. Smith said of Melling and his estranged wife, Lesley Melling. Steve Melling's lawyer, Jay Straith, said he planned to ask for a discharge on the charges during sentencing proceedings on Tuesday. To press time Tuesday, sentencing details remained unavailable. Melling has been on sick leave for several weeks, according to North Vancouver RCMP Insp. Jamie Graham. Graham said Melling, who worked in the burglary section and has been at the detach- ment for five years, has been assigned to administrative duties. Melling, the inspector said, is the subject of an “ongoing internal process” at the detach- ment. Meanwhile, Judge Smith said it was “sad” that Steve Melling, a member of the RCMP, and Lesley Melling, a deputy sheriff, were themselves embroiled in the criminal justice system. Lesley Melling testified that her estranged husband had grabbed her by the arms and punched her in the face during an argument over money. Lesley Melling had bruises on her face and upper arms from the assault. BRITISH PROPERTIES Folk on the hill want . a re a tiay, ‘BRITISH PROPERTIES Area Homeowners _ Association (BPAHA) members want beefed-ur ‘ylaws to deal with untidy homes, mega-houses and view-blocking trees. WEST VANCOUVER DISTRICT COUNCIL By Maureen Curtis On Monday, BPAHA president Jim MacCarthy. asked West Vancouver. District Council when rewritten versions of bylaws covering the areas of concern would be ready. . ‘The association says some British Properties yards and boulevards are not being adequately maintained. Overgrown lawns and piles of debris are among the association’s complaints. “Over the years it has become a matter of increasing con- : cern, "said MacCarthy. .... Meanwhile, — large —_ British ’ Properties lots tend to support the “ construction of large homes, As a result, the building of so- ; celled “monster” or bulky houses is livable place common in the Properties. BPAHA members hope that the bulk housing bylaw which the munic- ipality has been working on over the years will work to protect the charac- ter of the existing community. Coun. Rod Day indicated the bulk house bylaw could be returning to council for consideration by the mid- dle of the month. The association has never been fully satisfied with West Vancou- ver’s tree policy. The policy attempts to solve conflicts between those who have lost their views due to the growth of healthy trees, and those who don’t want to cut or alter those trees. The municipality hired arborist Dr. Shirley Nicolson to assess trees and work on mediating wee-related disputes between owners. Parks and Recreation Director Kevin Pike said the tree policy should come to council in April. “But don’t expect substantial changes. We have experienced suc- cess in most areas,” said Pike. MacCarthy asked that the BPAHA be kept apprised when the rewritten bylaws return to council. Wednesday, March 6, 1996 — North Shore News —3 court for ass: Officer on administrative duty The assault took place on May 26, 1995, at Lesley Melling’s North Vancouver house, where Steve Melling, 30, once lived. The judge quoted Steve Melling as saying before the assault, “Next time I see your f****** brother, he is going to be hurt... or dead.” According to Crown lawyer Mark Levitz Lesley Melling’s brother, Bill Jeffrey, works as a sheriff in North Vancouver. The second threatening charge concerned a call Lesley Melling received at work on June 15, 1995, at youth court in Vancouver. Lesley Melling testified that the RCMP officer said, “I hate Bill ... I'm going to get your brother one day ... He won't know when it's coming, but he is going to be frt**** dead.” Steve Melling, the judge said, testified that nothing remarkable happened on the day his estranged wife said she was punched. The North Vancouver RCMP officer also denied he made the death threats over the phone. Levitz suggested to Melling on the stand that the officer disliked his brother-in-law because he blamed him for his marital prob- lems. Melling disagreed with the suggestion dur- ing two days of testimony which included sev- eral witnesses. The judge went on to quote Steve Melling’s feelings about his brother-in-law in a police interview conducted on Sept. 8, 1995, by North Vancouver RCMP Sgt. Jack Saunders. Steve Melling was quoted as saying in the police statement, “I don’t like the guy (Bill Jeffrey) ... I'm going to kill him some day ... I'm going to ... rip his throat out.” The judge said Lesley Melling had no apparent reason to lie despite the ongoing dis- putes with her estranged husband over money, debts and child custody. Comfort in crisis AN UNIDENTIFIED woman Is comforted by a North Vancouver RCMP officer on Monday after her estranged husband threatened to kill himself with a sawed-off rifle in the 500-block of West Queens. Police say the woman and three youngsters in her day care were unharmed. : eformer fires back Fired - Reform roots eroding according to former party administrator _-A DISGRUNTLED Reform B.C. member is lamenting what she calls the demise of the party’s direct democracy principle. By Ian Nobie News Reporter West Vancouver resident Decima Neumann, who was fired from her job as party administrator _,in October 1995, claims the party has tried to '. keep meniber disenchantment a secret. -Neumann herself sees the party moving away froin its roots as a party that gives members a say as to who runs as a candidate and what policies are set. “tm not disillusioned with the Reform Party,” she said. “I’m disillusioned with what has emerged under the Reform banner. It’s a facade.” Neumann said Reform members treasure direct democracy. Now, however, Reform grass- roots members are kept in the dark about Reform policies, she said. “I read it in the Vancouver Sun. That's how I find out what is going on in Reform,” she said. ' But Reform leader Jack Weisgerber, who .Neumann terms an opportunist. rejects her criti- / cism. He told the News the party is open and con- ‘ tinges to canvass members through quarterly sur- i.-veys on party policies. Neumann’ called overtures made by Weisgerber to failed Liberal candidates to run for Reform a scheme to win votes, not an attempt to lure people to the party who support Reform poli- cies. “What are your principles.” she asked, “if yes- terday you're a Liberal and today a Reformer?” Weisgerber said he’s actively “reached out” to people to seek nominations, but added it’s up to constituency members to decide who to elect. Neumann said that Weisgerber has brought in the people to operate the party's administration and campaign offices. “It's no longer a Reform Party,” she said, claiming thousands of others think the same way and are “not the least bit happy.” Neumann worked for 10 years as a volunteer for the federal and provincial Reform parties. She began her $!.500-a- month administrative posi- tion in Reform's downtown Vancouver office in June 1995. Constituency funds which were supposed to support the constituencies were often held up for three to five months, said Neumann. That upset constituen- cies, which didn't have the funds to pursue their pro- jects, said Neumann. She citimed that while the office was out of membership forms and information pamphiets, other endeavors which Neumann didn’t support, such as an Internet pres- ence, received funding. She said leading party members would not answer when she asked why she was fired. Weisgerber would not comment on_ reasons for her firing, saying he did not have anything to do with the decision. Neumann said she was fired for providing information peaple asked for. She pointed to the case of Art Crossman, who said he was the candidate for a New Westminster riding. Neumann told the media he couldn't be the candidate because the riding did not contain a constituency asso- ciation. “Is there anything wrong with telling the truth?” she asked. ~ Bill Stuart, the president of Reform’s West Vancouver- Capilano riding association, said there's no problem or stress in the party. “Decima has a right to say anything, but { don’t think it has any foundation now,” he said. JACK WEISGERBER ... rejects criticism that party’s focus eroded. @ Around Town.............14 8 Bright Lights............ ry Classifieds..................34 @ Crossword.................37, @ Food.................... sssseseunes 20 B insights... B Mailbox... BN. Shore Alert @ Sports. @ Table Hopping.......... MTV Listings................ 26 theatre & Play memory — Celebrating the life of Florence Goodwin: 13 . sports ; 8 Tourney fever — North Shore hosting | hist school finals: 31