. heads i in.agreement at this mysterious | Master minds take NV kids exce} at Odyssey of the Mind competition Deana Lancaster News Reporter deann@nsnews.com DESPITE strong personalities and differences of opinion, a team of North Vancouver prob- lem solvers is taking on the world. “Nobody gets along all the time,” says Nikki Bernhardr. She’s nine. “Yeah,” agrees 10-year-old Marine Hardy. “We were together morning to night so sometimes we gor on each ‘other’s nerves.” “Actually,” adds Joey Bernhardt, 11, “two people on the team don’: get along’: § and it’s, like, famous that they don’t. So it wasa huge mistake that they are on the team together but then i it turned our to not be a huge mistake.” All of the children gathered nod their Statement.. The team they speak of is the Odyssey Vof the Mind (OM) team from North _ Vancouver elementary. school Ecole ’. Aridré Piotar. And as for the team’s members, : agreed that no one’s participation is a mistake. In fact, in only their second OM competition ever, they won their division. it can certainly be Odyssey of the Mindi isa world-wide program chat challenges : students of all abilities to think eritically and imaginatively. Teams work-for up to six months on long-term problems and * are also challenged by spontaneous quéstions during the com- petition: © The: André Piolat team began working: together: in comber.:. Their challenge? To build a weight- bearing balsa Wood ‘structure no higher than 8.5 inches and ‘no heavier than . NEWS phote Mike Wakefield ECOLE André Piolat’s Odyssey of the Mind team with its winning structure. From left to” right, Patrick McDonald, Joey Bernhardt, Nikki Bernhardt, Amanda Ghahremani, Marine Hardy, Arielle Bernhardt and Nicolas Janosy. / ; could hold, the team had to perform a play. At their first competition the team was almost disqualified. Their structure weighed too much, only held 14 pounds, and they hadn’t had much time to prepare their play. T hey came sec- 6nd out of nvo teams, Bur because the reams thar place first and second in each division go on to the next level, the kids from André Piolat advanced. This time they were better prepared. The structure held several hundred more pounds than the first time around (the actual weight can not be revealed here because it is the answer for a school- wide fundraising contest). And the ream lost no points, not even when they admitted they received sonie help from their adult coaches. Instead, the judges Friday, April 24, 1998 ~ North Shore News — 3 on worl praised their honesty. The team placed first, ahead of six other teams-in their division. They now qualify to compete in the world finals, to be held in DisncyWorld in Florida at the end of May and are the only North Shore: team to qualify for the Florida competi- tion. There are seven team members — in addition to Marine, Nikki and Joey there is a third Bernhardt sibling, seven- year: old Arielle. She carries her gold medal from the regional competition in her pocket. Patrick McDonald and Nicolas Janosy are 10, Amanda Ghahremani is nine. Dunng aw heated discussion about the difference berween one-way and. return plane tickets, she offers to give up her return ticket. . Her cyes widen, : “Ail those rides and no school. I can’t wait.” . Unfortunately for Amanda, as well as. admission to DisneyWorld,’ the Florida competition is to include: large educa ; tonal component. Patrick admits he has been less than enthusiastic about participating, with the team in the past. He’s busy with sports, but-he has: cemmitted himself to the. _ work ar hand, preparing for the finals. Which is a good thing, because “we kind of need him,” says Marine gracious- “ly. “He' s réaily good ar the spontancous questions and at putting ; the weights on the strucrure.”: It’s clear that despite the. volatile ‘dynamics of the group, : _ when it coms to the crunch, they can pull together. The judges = 2": at the regional competition, “which was held at Centennial sec-.: ondary school in Coquitlam, commended their teamwork. wats And the children enjoy it. _ : “QM is more learning than school, ” Says Nikki. “In ‘school yeu All asleep — like math, 2+2, you add ji it up. That’s it. You: don’t really use your mind. Tr’s ‘way more fun learning in OM.”. ‘The team must now raise $9,000 in just afew weeks to pay for the trip to Florida, and they are hoping for community sup- port. If you wish to help, call Julia Bernhardt at 986- 4990; There’ Ss a 0. 12% per + mitlion chance of being k killed by lightning... There's a.0.5% per million chance of -., being accidentally killed in a storm... “Your chances of dying ina & plane crash are about 41 in a million.. Riding your’ r bike gives you a 7 per million : “chance of death... -_ Living hear 1 Canadian Occidental gives “you 10 chances per million of accidental eath... ! - There are 1 chances per million you will poison yourself accidentally... There are 20 chances per. million that you'll tase your life in a house fire... And if you drive a motor vehicle, there are 170 pern million odds you ll die in a crash. NEWS graphic “PROPOSED: land uses near ‘the Canoxy chlorine Plant are allowable risks. But how do you quantity them? From page 1~ Maplewood.” : Nevertheless, discussion was intense ay 5 neighbors of Canadian Occidental Petroleum Ltd.’ (CanOxy) struggled to define what they would prefer to see if << ::,Co redevelopment of Can Oxy land is approved. Jt The proposal to reroute the Dollarton Highway further south onto land owned by CanOxy would ~ allow development of 30 acres of f presently bare land. The district would also gain improved access to municipally-owned land cast of Riverside Drive ear- marked for a long-avzaized business park., Maplewood residents hope the plan will spark a revitalization of their dilapidated area. John Walkley got a hugely appreciative chuckle when he projected a picture of Edgemont Village and pronounced, “We want our community to look - just like that and we don’t think that’s all chat much to ask,” He and Tom Young, chairman of the Maplewood . Community Association,’ pressed for’ “non-toxic, non-polluting, odor-free” Dollarton Highway and the Maplewood Business Park. Others agreed that this type of business should, ideally, be a high-employer generating substantial revenue and taxes. Many speakers talked of “high tech” industry or “research and development” but acknowledged such a concept could easily be wishful chinking. Robert Burns was applauded when he said, “No more recycling plants. We've got six. Diversity. Move them to Edgemont or Deep Cove.” The Maplewood residents made it clear that they want their area to becume more of a people place by allowing residential housing to be built above smalf- scale retail shops servicing the new Dollarton busi- ° nesses. 5% of the adjacent. development appeared dashed when district planning director Irwin Torry said the . amenity allowances required under the Municipal Act would likely serve only to protect the creek bed | area a the business park. Wednesday’s meeting was called on April.t when :, council adjourned a qwo-night public hearing of the rezoning necessary for CanOxy’s development pro- businesses for the new - Bur their hopes of gaining a small local park from posal, The delay i in ‘the public. hearing pr process came’: after some Seymour residents argued that the type of developments Proposed ‘slongside the :re-aligned Dollarton_ had ‘never been discussed because’ of pros. longed focus on related safety issues. : ess would ‘give: staff. and ‘CanOxy~an opportunity” to determine whether ‘amendments -to the zoning proposals could accommodate some the local Maplewood residents’ wishes. It was also hoped that the Seymour re dents wh ‘ had expressed dismay ard anger that the rezoning process had been allowed ‘fo start at all would involved. a, Council heard several 3 arguments that the CanOxy . proposal should have been referred to the volunteer“: community. groups : discussing «the update of the’ “ Seymour Official Community Plan.” The prospect of building closer ta-the chlorine: plant and the porential loss of life in the event’of'a- catastrophe ‘such as an carthquake forced an earlier version of the same development proposal: off. the. ras, However, proponents now say that a prolonged investigation of risk factors at the plant have made it" | safer and that the land ‘uses Proposed should be atlowable. 7 Maplewood residents are. more interested i in get- a ting their crime-infested location revitalized. The majority do not feel there is a risk i in creating new" businesses closer to CanOxy. ws “I've had more chlorine fits in Ron Andrews pool : than T ever did in Maplewood,”. said one to applause. ».: But Corrie Kost expressed disappointment at. a what was not discussed Wednesday. =: - . “Four years of safety studies were forgotten or. ignored. People have stuck their heads in the sand as“: 5 if this plant didn’t exist,” Kost told the News. a Plans are also in the works to rebuild the nwo-lane =. ' Dollarton Bridge bordeneck into a four-lane affair in’ - an attempt to reduce the rush- hour traffic jam out of ‘Seymour every morning. ». The new bridge will cost at feast $6 million over. and above the $3.75 million thar the the district and. ~~ CanOxy have each pledged to the re-routing ‘of the: © Dollarton. . Issues surrounding funding for the... bridge, traffic and access will be discussed at another public meeting at district hall April 29 at 7 p.m. decided ‘that ‘a. break. from the * public ies