Body
recovered

THE BODY of a four-
year-old Surrey boy who
went missing in
Garibaldi —__ Provincial
Park: last week was
recovered on Saturday
in Rubble Creek.

‘Eagle Brown was last

seen on March 13 near
the raging creek. The
boy’s mother, two-year-
old sibling and the moth-
er’s boyfriend bad been
-at the park for a picnic.
© On Saturday, excava-
‘tors: Giverted water in
the ‘creek and reduced
its flow by half. The little
.boy’s body was. found
; lodged against a boulder.
+ Squamish RCMP

: have sent a report to the

coroner for further
: investigation.

received 'a complaint
“that the. 2988 Corvette
as: travelling errati-
cally tear Larson Road
Westview Drive at.

A North’ Vancouver :
CMP officer attempt- |:

ed. to. pull: over the
stolen Corvette, but the
car deiver tr tried to elude’

‘according’ to

lice.’ ..

The. Mountie decid-
ed to: abandon the
chase in heavy traffic.

. The. Corvette was
later - found near
‘ Arborlyna Drive. Police
‘combed the area and the
_ Suspects were. arrested,
‘according to a North
‘Vancouver RCMP

Stolen property from
. a North Vancouver bur-

giary earlier in the day
‘was recovered, Charges

& Clacsifieds......32
& Crossword
G Fashion .

GOH BALLET dancers Johnny Chen and Masami Kaga perform for students at Boundary Community School.
The company’ 's May 11 performance of The Fairy Doll at Centennial Theatra will mark the 20th anniversary of
rector and West Van resident Choo-Chist Goh's arvival in Vancouver from mainland China.

artistic d

Wednesday, March 20, 1998

W. Van |
supports
Caulfeiid
heritage

WEST VANCOUVER
moved to protect Lower
Caulfeild’s quaint ambi-
ence Monday night.

By lan Noble
News Reporter

Council passed a bylaw to
designate the Lower
Caulfeild area a conservation
area. The designation caps a
decade-long attempt to pre-
serve the unique character of
the heritage area without
sparking major objections.

In 1899, Francis Cauifeild
bought land in the area. He
designed the subdivision with
lots conforming to the land’s
topography and created a
pedestrian-oriented road lay-
out that contributes to the
area’s charm.’

Most of the waterfront has
been preserved as public park

as a result of the original

development and subsequent
purchase of waterfront lots.
Two objectives of the con-
servation bylaw are io keep
development compatible with
the natural - setting - and
enhance the * pedestrian-ori-

But West Vancouver Communi: y Arts: ‘Council

~- North Shore News .- 3

ALTHOUGH AN arts and theatre centre part-
nership for the post. Gffice. site in West
Vancouver is dead, the district will continue
its longtime pursuit for arts space.

'BylanNoble

News Reporter

The district received six proposals for the former
post office site at 17th and Bellevue, but the public-
private parmerships required too much density, said
West Vancouver Mayor Mark Sager.

“We did our best,” said Sager. “I was disappoint-
ed, but what came back was found by council not to
be ‘acceptable to the community, mainly in the
amount of density required.”

-. The search for theatre space continues; said Sager:

That sentiment was, echoed by Coun. Pat
Boname. “We've been looking for.a site for quite
some time,” she said. “I don’t think we'll stop.”

Council members had envisioned marrying the art
and theatre centre with a private development.

That and a donation frorn a West Vancouver resi-
dent were to make the centre viable. ;

The municipality had taken an option to buy the
property for $5 million. In 1956, said Boname, the
municipality sold the site to the post office for

Space for municipal
centre on West Van
wish list a long time

Proposals: were received from Cressey
Development Corp., Degelder Construction, Grand
Adex, Mitchell Kime Thompson Inc., Bosa
Development Corp., and two from Millennium
Development Corp.

The six proposals called for theatres holding 200
to 225 people and residential towers between 11 and
18 storeys high.

_ Five of the six sites also contained commercial
space. Three of the Proposals did not contain enough
parking spaces. ~

Even though the post office proposal won't see
fruition, demand in West Vancouver for an arts and

_theatre space is there, said Boname.

A 1992 facility study by the North Shore Arts
Commission in 1992 documented the need for a per-
formance theatre for plays and music and a public
meeting place, she said.

Theatre West Vancouver has a production house
on Argyle, and is now looking at converting the
1950s house into a theatre. “People get desperate,”

administrator Page Samis said that jdea is noi a good
option. The stairs are too steep for seniors. and there
is no wheelchair access. i

West Vancouver, she said, needs a theatre.

She had pinned her hopes on the joint partnership. :
But with its demise, “the tubble burst on the arts ;

dream,” she said. a

“There's been many proposals over -the ‘years, and ‘

they’ve all been tumed! down. It’s the wealthiest
place in all of Canada and we don’ t “ven have a the-
atre.”

The history of West Vancouver’s ‘efforts &) get an
arts centre and theatre extends ‘back to the mid-
1960s, when a proposal for a facility surfaced for a

site on 21st Street, where the | ‘Seniors centre. now.

stands, said Boname.

Samis said West Vancouver: loses out on perfor- :

mances because there is a lack of venues. She points
to a play on the passions of Emily Carr. that i is being
held in Deep Cove. “They. want. to do it in West
Vancouver, but there is no theatre.”

She said she cannot accommodate all the parents
“desperate” for arts classes frr their children. Classes
at the recreation centre an¢ “tk Purse don’t meet
demand, she said. oe

Canada Post real estu:: manager Gordon
Anderson said the West Vancouver Property is sur-

iV death case del

- sions in the halls of the house. The

Manslaughter
court sentence
set for April 4

THE CROWN is seeking to send
out a strong message against
elder abuse when a West
Vancouver man convicted of
manslaughter in the death of his
elderly mother is sentenced next
month.

By Brent Mudry
Contributing Writer

“I consider general deterrence as a
most important guiding principle,”
prosecutor Joe Bellows said at an
abbreviated hearing held March 14 in
B.C. Supreme Court.

Boname added.

sentencing of Michael
MeCere, 56, was postponed to April 4
due to a mix-up of lege} correspon-
dence. Defence jiawyer Michael
Bolton won an extension after he
missed receiving a packet of informa-
tion on a prosecution expert witness
sent by the Crown several weeks ago.
McCune was convicted on Feb, 13
of kiliing his 83-year-old nother
Barbara at her home in West
Vancouver on Jan. 29, 1993. It took a
jury less than a day to convict McCune
of the lesser charge of manslaughter
instead of second-degree murder.
Barbara McCune died due to Jacer-
ations to the liver. Bellows contended
the injury was caused by stomping on
the victim. A defence pathologist
rejected the scenario, pointing out that
none of the victim’s ribs were broken.
The jury heard evidence that
Michael McCune, an eccentric, kept
stacks of newspapers and other posses-

plus and will be sold.

layed

clutter posed a serious hazard as he
assisted his incontinent mother on fre-
quent trips to the washroom. At trial,
McCune testified he had slipped and
fallen twice when he was guiding his
84-pound (38 kg) mother from behind,
falling forward with his full weight
145 pounds (66 kg) on her,

In court, Bellows told Mr. Justice
Wally Oppal that he intends to call Dr.
Elizabeth Pittiway, an expert in the
field of gerontology, to provide evi-

‘ dence on the problem of elder abuse in

Canada. Dr. Pittiway, a resident affili-
ate of the University of Victoria’s
Centre on Aging, recently published a
$00-subject study of the elderly in
Canada and the physical abuse perpe-
trated on them by their children.

Dr, Pittiway, an associate professor
of social work, is expected to offer
expert testimony that elder abuse is an
important social problem in Canada.

eer rere A

&& I consider

general deterrence
as a most important
guiding principle. 97

— Prosecuter Joe Bellows on
manslaughter sentencing.

Bolton told the court he was unpre-
pared to argue‘on the issue of elder
abuse. He claims elder abuse was not a
key issue at trial.

McCune devoied himself as the
sole caregiver for his mother. Barbara
McCune’s death came several weeks
after government social workers tar-
geted her as an urgent priority for
placement in a nursing home.

Bellows told the court that similar
cases resulted in a wide range of
penalty, from more than two years in
federal prison. to lesser periods in
provincial jail or probation.

AER RE AR EO TAT OR IE ae oN