Trail closed since Jan. 27 avalanche Bob Mackin News Reperter THE Grouse Grind will tentatively reopen June 18. Officials tron the Greater Vancotver Regional District, Grouse Mountain, North Shore Rescue (NSRo and Narth Vancouver ROMP met Wednesday to discuss the fate of the popular 2.9-kilometre hiking trait, It has been closed since Jan. 27 when 24-year-old Rory Manning suffocated in an avalanche that also injured: four others, : Manning's body was found buried under four feet of snow on May 24 by North Shore Rescue valunteers. GVRD watershed manager Ken Juvik said June 18 was chosen because it's estimated most of the snow that covers the trail should be melted by then. When hikers are allowed on the Grind again, Juvik said they should hike with caution because some snow may remain near the top, They should also be care- ful because the snow may have eroded some parts of the trail’s beaten path, He warned that the opening may be delaved if the weather does not co- operate, “For the most part, people have been very helptil and respected the closure since the avalanche took place,” Juvik said. Cpl. Denis Boucher of the North Vancouver ROMP recommends hikers call the Grouse Grind hotline at 990-7488 for updates. The future of the GVRD-owned trail may be affected by the outcome of an investigation by chief coroner Larry Campbell. Campbell is conducting a standard examination of Manning's death to determine whether there should be a full inquiry. Campbell said he could ree- ommend measures be taken to ensure that a death of like nature does not hap- pen again. That means he could recommend scheduled closures during winter. Campbell said his investigation will not deal with the duelling recovery operations that sought to find Manning's body. “I can’t stop anybody going in; there was no way of sealing off that moun- tain,” he said. “I won't be dealing with that issue.” The victim’s father Dr. Bert Manning paid an undisclosed sum to a private, Abbotstord-based search group called Canadian Amphibious Search Team to find his son. He hired CAST Feb. 2 when NSR and RCMP indetinitely delayed the search because of avalanche danger. Campbell said CAST neither helped nor hindered the recovery, but “CAST was not in there with my blessing,” he said. “My difficulty was ] know how dangerous it was in there. My biggest worry was that we would have to send in NSR to bring out people in there who were searching. As a father, I certainly understand the father’s anguish, buc I went in and helped recover the body. I walked up that avalanche. There were sink holes there directly into a river. There were some very dangerous little spots there.” NORTH Vancouver RCMP Cpi. Denis Boucher stands in a two-metre snow trench next to a tree on the Grouse Grind. The Greater Vancouver Regional District hiking trail reopens, weather permitting, June 18. MEWS photo Paul McGrath ALLSTAR Sports manager Greg Johnson was on hand as workers replaced a bro- ken window on Tuesday. The window was smashed by a van or truck during a bur- giary on May 24. The culprits have not been caught. Cops investigate B&E THE damage from the latest break- in to North Vancouver’s Allstar ' Sports has cost about $5,000 to repair. On May 24, a van or truck was driven through the store’s window during an carly morning break-in. Tennis racquets, sports watches and sun- glasses were stolen. The window, which was barred, was replaced on Tuesday. “Iv’s a bit of a p-off. I can give you harsher words,” said Chris Johnson, an Allstar Sports staff member. . . . Johnson said that it was che fourth break-in in seven months at the store, which is located at 1410 Marine Dr. Thieves threw a car battery through the window in the first two smash-and-grabs. A rock was likely tossed through the window in the third incident. Johnson said that after the first break-in, bars were placed on the windows. Johnson believes insurance will cover the $5,000 damage to the store in the latest break- in Anyone with information is asked to call the North Vancouver RCMP at 985-1311 or Crime Stoppers. —Anna Marie D’Angelo Friday, June 4, 1999 — North Shore News - 3 _N. Shore Junior A bid fails Bob Mackin News Reporter WEST Vancouver’s Tracy Godoy lost her bid to buy the Cowichan Valley Capitals on Wednesday night. But she’s not giving up. The ex-stackbroker, who also tried to buy the Powell River Kings Jast month, applied for an expansion fran- chise in the junior A B.C. Hockey League on Thursday morning. Shareholders of the Dunean-based Capitals voted against an offer made by Godoy and Bill Muckalt of the Vancouver Canucks to buy the team and move it to North Vancouver’s Lonsdale Arena next season. Capitals’ president Dr. Ron Smith cited 2 commitment to the community as the share- holders’ reason to nix the deal and keep the team in Duncan tor the 1999-2000 season. More than 80 people rallied outside the meeting, which was held at the Cowichan Community Centre. According to Godoy, retired Vancouver Canuck Greg C. Adams lobbied share- holders to vote against the offer. She said she’s disappointed, bur remains in the hunt for a team. She’s planning to attend See Ex-broker page $ NEWS photo Mike Wakefield pmputer ins fight company with ci Pinc packs it up; considers move to U.S. Kevin Gillies News Reporter THE battle may > won but the war is over and the troops are mov- ing on in disgust. Computer company Pine System” victory over North Vancouver City in B.C. s. preme court Wednesday did little to prevent the com pany from taking its business elsewhere. “I was basically in a defending position and I rake great pride in succeeding at mv cndeav- ours,” said Pine owner Frank Preckel of the case. The city had taken Pine to court in an effort to stop the former Brooksbank Avenue company from selling computers out of its store. The city’s case hinged on allegations from a competitor that Pine was using more than 20% of its floor space as service and retail sale “of non-houschold or non-personal goods or things” in contravention of its M3 industri- al zoning. Pine Systems assembles computer hardware for business clients and uses 20% of its floor space for demonstrations and retail sales. The city wanted a court order preventing Pine from retailing computers. But, as Preckel pointed out, “There’s noth- ing personal about a computer. We don’t take it to our bathroom. “When you think of a personal good or item it’s a toothbrush, a hair brush, maybe somebody's underwear,” he said. . The court agreed with him. In her decision Madame Justice Wendy Baker said: “The city has not proved that com- puters and computer components of the type offered for sale and sold by Pine Systems are not non-houschold or non-personal goods or things.” She said the city couldn't prove that Pine was using its premises to sell household or per- sonal goods and awarded Pine with its court costs. But Pinc has moved out of town, despite the fact the case was out. “Dve already moved,” Preckel said. He has ovened up a shop nearby for local clients — he guldn’t say where — but is looking south of the © order, “\Ye are considering opening up in Seattl-,” Precke! said. “We've found a tempo- rary lorsiion tor the interim until we serve up a better locution,” he said. “We're still in busi- ness, doing well.” . : lawyer Jonathan Baker said the whole case was ludicrous. “What was interesting about the story, from my point of view, was that this entire action by the City of North Vancouver was simply preposterous,” he said. “Ie was a paro- dy of municipal government. It had no merit from the outset. | sent them a letter which basically said to them that whar they're really doing is zoning against Windows °95.” The whole issue came down to definitions of “non-personal goods” and “non-houschold goods.” Said Baker, “The dictionary definition of non-person is one who is basically ignored by the government — Webster’s New World. Our client, who proposes to move his business to the United States to avoid your insanity, would not mind being a non-person vis-a-vis the city.” City officials were unavailable to press deadline.