Police embark on dog trading card campaign By Anna Marie D'Angelo News Reporter NEED ’em, got ’em, need em, need’em, need’em got’em. If those bon mots have been uttered by you as vou flipped through a stack of worn trading cards, you may be interested in knowing about othe = North Vancouver RCMP’s latest endeavor to help break the ice with the pub- lic. Each card-carrving = North Vancouver Mountie is carrying trading cards. The trading cards depict the canine mugs of four perky police dogs. Nerth Vancouver Mounties are giving out trading cards free to members of the public who are usu- ally under four feet tall or 1.22 metres. “The wading cards allow for positive contact with kids by the members,” said Const. Wayne Knapman. Knapman has been working at the North Van detachment for “more than five years. He spearheaded the police dog trading card idea. Other RCMP detachments and municipal police forces have trading cards with pic- tures of the police officers them- selves. Knapman: preferred the potice- dog-only cards because of his love for dogs. Knapman “got inside each dog’s head” and penned the critters’ personal informa- tion on the cards. For example, Jasper, the shaggy German NEWS photo Mike Wakefield dislikes skunks. Friday, November 29, 1996 ~ North Shore News - 3 Rude is training his handler for a triathlon. The Belgian Shepherd likes to play Nintendo. Chase, the Belgian Shepherd, enjoys barking at people and dis- likes ir when they come near “his” truck. And then there is Hawk who Ukes to fetch baseballs and invest in the stock market. Hawk dislikes tough cats. Knapman said 10,000) police dog cards were printed tess than two months ago through a profes- sional trading card company in Vancouver. The cards are paid for by the North Vancouver RCMP budget. About 1,000 cards have been given to members of the public already. Knapman said children are upset at crime scenes and at the presence of police. “You can give a kid a couple of collector cards and it may take their minds off of what happened for a little bit,” said Knapman. He has given cards to kids he meets on the street in the course of police work. Knapman said the kids’ reaction to the cards was “really good.” “[ think by next summer they will be asking for them, I’ve given them out to adults who like them too,” said Knapman. Knapman also spearheaded the popular Mountie ice cream ticket program. North Vancouver Mounties gave out free Dairy Queen ice cream “tickets” to youngsters wearing bicycle helmets in the summer. NORTH Van RCMP Cpl. George Beattie shows off the glitzy canine trading cards produced by the local detachment. Rude (pronounced Redee), on the other Shepherd, has a favorite hobby of swimming. He _ back of trucks. judget beefs expressed ‘Man charged after stolen guns seized By Anna Marie D’Angelo News Reporter A 38-year-old Vancouver man has been charged in connection with the seizure of stolen guns on Nov. 11 by West Vancouver Police. Gilbert Joseph Bickford was charged with possessing stolen property and possessing an unregistered restricted weapon. He was remanded in custody after appearing in West ~ Vancouver provincial court. , On Nov. JI, a West Vancouver Police. bike patrol officer checked a “suspicious” van at Park Royal Shopping Centre’s south mall during the lave afternoon. The officer allegedly found a .44-calibre pistol under the front-seat of the van. Search warrants were subse- quently issued for the van and for a Cassiar Street residence in East Vancouver. Police seized eight handguns and one semi-automatic assault rifle during the searches. Polices allege the weapons were stolen on Nov. 2 in a bur- glary of a Prince George sport: , ing goods store. Bickford is scheduled to appear in West Vancouver court in connection with the charges on Dee. 2. From page 1 Boname, who’s an executive. member of the Union of British Columbia Municipalities, said many munici- + palities, including West Vancouver, believe they are tak- | ing more than a 3% hit, The UBCM will be asking the government to clarify its numbers, said Boname. Norih Yan District: After owo years of no tax increases in North Vancouver District, 1997 will ring in a tax increase of ar feast 2.05%, And that's before taking into account the provincial grant reductions. The cuts would add 4.4%, or $53, to the average taxpayer tab if the province’s reduction is only offset by a local tax increase. But Don Bell, who will slide into the mayor's chair on Dec, 2, said how the 4.4% will be offset will be determined by council. A final budget decision mast be made by May 15. “It’s a very serious impact on our budget,” he said. The district has already adopted its provisional bud- get for fiscal 1997, Bell chided Miller for his comment thar municipali- ties should be able te absorb the grant reductions with- out cutting services or raising taxes, “What we're really duing is being penalized for hav- ing been responsible,” he said, adding the district has had to absorb wage increases and inflation while not increasing taxes the past Ovo years. In addition to the reductions announced Tuesday, the district expects to lose raihvay revenue of $800,000, The reduction, which follows tax breaks given by the NDP to help Canadian railways remain competitive, will be phased in over the nest four years. Taking those cuts into account, district staff predict possible tay hikes of 6.59% in 1998 and 5.14% for 1999, For the average taxpayer, that works out to $77 in 1997, $79 in 1998 and $62 in 1999 in the unlikely scenario all revenue cuts are offset by tax hikes. Bell also worries that the NDP may totally eliminate provincial grants next year, further adding, to fiscal pres- sures on the district. Bell also had stern words for the NOP government, tt R hand, dislikes people who let dogs ride in the “It would be interesting if the province had to bal- ance its budget the way we do.” He added thar the province knew it would have to cut municipal grants before the Nov. 16 municipal elec- tions but held off on the announcement so NDP-linked candidates would ner be tarred by the curs. Norih Van City: North Vancouver City Mayor Jack Loucks said his municipality would have to raise taxes 4.6% to offset the 3% cut by the NDP government. But Loucks added that a hefty tax increase is not the way 10 go. “We think we can come up with a solution that will help us proceed without any major cuts or major tax increases,” he said. But at the same time, he said Miller’s contention that local governments can deal with the transter cuts without added taxes or reduced services is wishful thinking. He says the city already runs a tight ship. “We've cut our the fat so now we're going to have to cutout the musele and that concerns us,” said the nine-term mayor, Layoffs at the municipality have not been looked at but are a possibility, he said. However, Loucks added that instead of layofts, the city may not replace depart- ing employees. Loucks hopes the answers to the city’s fiscal dilem- ma will be contained in the 1997 provisional budget, which he expects will be ready Dee. 9. Deferring and reviewing all non-essential capital spending is another option, said Loucks. He also expects the need to offier cuts to boost cost-sharing programs among North Shore municipali- ties. For example, he said the city and North Vancouver District are talking about a centralized emergency dis- patch systeni that would cut costs for the city and dis- trict. Loucks took the province to task for not consulting more with the municipalities before the cuts were implemented. The NDP’s $805-million in previously estimated transfers included $287.5 million that went to B.C. Transit and $116.3 million to emergency health. @ Bright Lights Ai Crossword... LT) ee Bi Mitchell. @ North Shore Alert................20 @ Real Estate Nonh Shore News, founded in 1469 ay an indepen- dent suburban newspaper and qualified under Schedule 111. Paragraph TIT ot the Excise Tax Act, is published eaca Wednesday. Friday and Sunday by North Shore Free Preys Lid, and distributed to every door on the North Shore. Canada Post Canadian Publications Mat) Sales Product Agreement No. OU8723%. Marling sates available un request Sexual assault — senience delayed again By Anna Marie D'Angelo News Reporter VINCENT Anthony Ng pleaded guilty to aggravated sexual assault in May. He was supposed to be sen- tenced on Oct. 17 in B.C, Supreme Court, five months after he pleaded guilty to the charge. That date was changed to Nov. 27. . : But on Nov. 27, sentencing was adjourned once again. . The next available date. for the lawyers and judge hearing the case | was Feb. 10, 1997, nine months” after Ng pleaded guilty and almost two years after the crime. “My only concern is that Feb. 10 is an awful long way down the road to when the plea was entered,” said’ Crown. lawyer Greg’ Weber” on Wednesday. 5 Ng’s lawyer Parricia Connor: said Ng consented to the ‘court adjournment to February. Ng was not present’ in court. during the short pro- ceedings before Mr. Justice Bruce Cohen, Ng strangled a 17-year-old woman during a vicious attack on May 20, 1995, thar endangered the woman’s lite. According to the police, the sex- ual attack began in a vehicle in the 300-block of East Esplanade and ended in Ng’s Vancouver residence. About a vear later, Ng told a pro- bation efficer that he had fantasies of bondage and feelings of being out of control, especially when he was drunk, Crown information presented in court indicated that Ng had a histo- ry of attacks on women, He has been in jail in’ the Vancouver Pre-Trial Center since he was charged shortly after the inci- dent. Ny, 32, attended high school in North Vancouver. SENTENCING adjourned for Vincent Ng.