Cooling-off pericd ordered by CIRB Jan-Christian Sarensen News Reperter farcisen@nsnews.com STRIKING TELUS workers throughout the province have been ordered back to work by the Canadian Industrial Relations Board (CIRB). Over 1.000 workers in TELUS cat centres across B.C. including the com- panv’s Tith street facility in’ Nerth Vancouver ~ walked off the job in ave separate wildcat stokes in the past week. Workers first walked off the job last Thuesday atternoon but returned to work shortly after noon on Friday when management threatened to fevv fines against both individual employ the union. Approximately 75 worker in the North Vancouver centre involved in the initial strike. Employees again took to the streets on Tuesday. In response, TELUS applied to die CIRB Wednesday afternoon for an injune- ston, The workers are part ofthe B.C. Teleconumunications tion to end the strike Workers Union (TWU}. TWU director of communication Myron Johnson said the strike was sparked by a dispute over job classifications which resulted in suspensions at the TELUS call Teen not guilty of Steudie’s murder Oeana Lancaster News Reporter dlancaster@nsnews.cant THE female teen accused of pushing a 17-year-old boy from a West Vancouver bridge in 1997 was acquit- ted yesterday. A B.C. Supreme Court jury in Vancouver found the 18-year-old woman not guilty of the charge of second- degree murder and the lesser charge of manslaughter. The teen, who cannot be named because she was charged under the Young Offenders Act, was 15 when the murder of Ladysmith res- ident Zach Steudle took place. His badly decomposed body was found on Sept 22, 1997 under the Nelson Creek Bridge on the Trans-Canada Highway near Horseshoe Bay, He was believed to have died on Aug. 30, 1997. Undercover police obtained a confession from the teen in which she said she'd pushed Steudle off the bridge after becoming enraged that he had made a pass at her fesbian partner. But in her testimony to the court, the teen said Steudle was kicked out of the car after he made the pass at her partner, and the two » young women drove away. Of her. confession she said she'd told the officers “what they ~ wanted to hear.” After the verdict was ren- dered defence lawyer Phil Rankin told media the Crown's case fell, apart * beeause it relied on a shaky undercover opetation. He said his client was manipulat- :-ed into making the confes- sion. Ys and were STRIKING TELUS workers relax outside the company’s North Vancouver call centre on Tuesday after a second short-lived strike. centre iy New Wesominster “The issue was that work traditional Ie being done by service representa tives Was being assumed to poeple i “Lotus sales.” said: fobnson. “The rea son that was ar issue was that the ser Vice representanves are in a higher wage chasitication. What cmanage ment) was doing was having work done at atower wage chissiiadion.” Jobnson sad the wildcat strike was not sancti oned by the union, hew- ever. In its decision handed down on Wednesday the CIRB ordered a "15 day cooling period” and recom: mended that the parties meet in an attempt to resolve the issuc. Jebnson said the union will adopt a wait-and-see approach regarding the Negotiation process. “At this point we're fooking at (the cooling-off period as a real productive ... posi tive thing and we're hoping that will work it out.” TELUS media relations manager Doug Strachan said “Thursday that NEWS photo Paul McGrath the company had the right to assign work to other eniployees. “Our position is that the company has always had the ight to assign work and the employees were qualified to do the work,” said Strachan. He also added that employees would have been beuer advised to use the dis- pute resolution clause that fs contained in their contract to sete the matter instead of taking, job action, “ggatact the D. |. ge, Shses Blac NEWS photo Julle Iverson BLACK Bear Task Force member Betty Carrington (right) and friends with one of the “bear warning” signs Carrington heiped put up in Wickenden Park. The signs give advice on what to do if you encounter a bear. Province drafting bear strategy From page t year as part of a pilot program by Whistler RCMP officers. No bears have been shot in Whistler this year. Whisder RCMP Set. Warne Mossman said the community- led effort to drive bears away without using lethal methods had been highly effective. “It’s like giving a bear a spanking when you run it out of town, instead of shooting it,” Mossman observes. “In most cases they get the message not to come inte a populated area — to stay in the bush.” All 21 officers at the Whistler RCMP detachment have been trained in non-lethal techniques by conservation officers. The municipality also entorces a $150 fine for residents who fail to dispose of their garbage in a manner which deters bears. Rick Hahn, senior conservation officer for the Greater Vancouver area. said the environment ministry was in the process of drafting a province-wide strategy on bear management. Until then, he and his staff are unabie to provide training for RCMP officers. Hahn said the Whistler bears had not been tracked sufficient- ly to provide evidence that hazing had a significant impact. He said the bears that were shot were deemed as “problem bears.” which repeatedly came to fook for food in residential neighbourhoods. One conservation officer — Surrey-based Fred Barnes — is available on a full-time basis to deal with bear complaints across the Lower Mainland, including North Vancouver. Beuy Carrington would like to see more involvement from the District of North Vancouver parks department. She’s been working with thent throughout the summer to put up “bear warning” signs in areas where the animals are most likely to be found. : The signs give contact numbers for Carrington and the dis- trict parks department, as well as advice on what to do if you encounter a bear. The smell of fruit, meats and birdseed draw bears to garbage cans. Cans should always be kept firmly sealed. and if possible, Carrington says, garbage should not be put out until collection day, She suggests storing cast-off bones, skin, and fruit husks in the freezer — or having one large multi-layered garbage bag in the shed — until pick-up day. ; The smell of composts and birdseed (in feeders) also attract bears and taking these down can help keep the animals away. “Things have improved but it’s not good enough. We have to find ways to learn to live with bears, because the North Shore is one big forest.” WEST Vancouver United Church minister Tom Thurman Oliver W. Van United minister passes Jan-Christian Sorensen News Reporter porensen@nsnews.comt WELL-LOVED and respected West Vancouver United Church minister Tom Thurman Oliver passed away on August 14. He was 83. Oliver was a minister in the Methodist Church of England and the United Church of Canada for 37 years. He led the congrega- tion oat West) Vancouver United Church from 1960 to 1984, when be was named minister emeritus. “He shaped the personali- “ty of this congregation in that generation,” said = Don * Collect, current: minister of West Vancouver United Church. “He helped to estab- lish the importance of preach- ing to United Church mem- bers ata period of time when preaching was on the decline in the United Church of Canada and considered less important, He kept it in the forefront.” Born in North Portal, Saskatchewan in 1917, Oliver moved with his mother Rachel to England in 1921 following the death of his father, who was also a preach- er. Ic was during his final year at Kingswood School in Bath, Somerset when he was influ- enced by a popular religious movement called the *Oxford Group” and decided to answer the call of the Christian ministry. Oliver served in the Royat Arny Medical Corps during World War Hl and two weeks after the war ended, married his fongtime sweetheart and second cousin Eileen Rouse. The Oliver clan came to Canada in 1952 when Tom accepted a post at St. James United Church in Vancouver. His association with West Vancouver United began when as chairman of the Presbytery he officiated at the opening of the church’s Christian Education Building. He leaves behind his wife as well as four children and a number of grandchildren. During his tenure at the pulpit West = Vancouver United grew from 400 mem- bers to nearly 2,000 and became the largest United church = across Western Canada. See Pastor page §