FERRY TERMINAL ACCIDENT SENDS FOUR TO LGH

3 - Friday, July 21, 1989 - North Shore News

Driver charged after beams fail off truck

WEST VANCOUVER Police have charged a truck driver,
21-year-old Stephen Sabyan of Port Coquitlam, with having
an escaping load, following a freak accident Monday night
at the Horseshoe Bay ferry terminal.

Drivers waiting in their vehicles
to board the Nanaimo ferry were
just inches from death when a load
of heavy stecl beams shifted on a
passing tractor-trailer rig and
struck half a dozen cars.

Four injured people were sent to
Lions Gate Hospital and later
released. According to. in-
vestigating officer Const. lan

By MICE

Craibe, the accident, reported in
the July 19 edition of the News,
occurred just before 9:30 p.m.

The load, two eight-foot wide,
25-foot long beams and miscella-
neous items, shifted as the truck
drove down the hill into the ferry

tecminal. The truck was on its way
to the Langdale ferry.

Kirsteen Cameron, 26, of
Paiksville, was among the injured.
Cameron was sitting with her
mother Margaret in a half-ton GM
truck. ‘lt was very frightening.
We're thankful we're alive. Ef it
had been three more inches, we
could have been killed,’’ she said.

The two had been in Vancouver
visiting Cameron's sister and were
on their way home to Parksville.
She watched in horror as the truck
approached. ‘‘We heard the honk
of a truck. | see this truck just

Conservation officers go
bear hunting in N. Van

PECKISH BLACK. bears,
drawn into North Van-
couver residential areas by
the pungent odor of
carelessly stored trash, are
keeping Environment
Ministry conservation of-
ficers: busy on the North
Shere.

By MICHAEL BECKER

News Reporter

“Lately we've been averaging
five or six calls a week from North
Vancouver,”’ said Ministry conser-
vation officer Ralph Krenz. ‘‘Peo-
ple are usually calling us first thing
in the morning or fate in the even-
ing when they are secing their gar-
bage being torn apart by a bear."

According to Krenz, the prob-
lem areas tend to be on properties
bordering wilderness areas and
wooded creeks in the upper areas
of North Vancouver. West Van-
couver has been comparatively
bear-trouble free to date this year.

The annual bear bother peaks in
July. When ripe wilderness berries
are not in ready supply, young
bears and old bears will make bold
forays into the urban areas to feast
on the exotic refuse of humans.

The four-footed garbage gob-
blers average 200 pounds in
weight. Trapping a problem bear
entails Juring the animal into a
corrugated metal pipe on wheels.
The anima! is enticed into the
enclosure with a sweet and savory
combination of molasses and can-
ned sardines. ‘Bears have an ex-
cellent sense of smell. The sardine
and molasses scent trail lasts for
about a week,” Krenz said.

Once inside the cage, the bear
teaches for a suspended bag of
sardines and molasses, triggering
shut a trap door.

Said Krenz: ‘‘We try to take
every opportunity to relocate the
bear.’? But he said, bears that have
been habitually cating garbage,
bears that can't fend for food in
the wilderness, or bears deemed to
be an “immediate threat to public

ENVIRONMENT MINISTRY conservation officer Ralph Krenz (above)
lures sweet-toothed hears with a sticky trail of molasses. A simply ir-
resistible serving of sardines is prepared for an expected diner (top left
photo). The trap is set and ready to be triggered by a hungry bear (cight).

safety” are destroyed.

So far this year, ane North Van-
couver bear has been destroyed.
None have been trapped and
relocated.

Krenz advises residents living
near wilderness areas fo store gar-

bage in a locked shed or garage.
Compost piles should be covered
with plastic and rock, to minimize
compost odor.

“Just putting Jids on garbage
makes no difference. They just
fear through the stuff," he said.

barrelling around the corner anc it
slowly lost its load. It struck a@ car
and ripped the side of a mobile
home. At that time I knew it
wasn't going to stop so I jumped
into the passenger seat with my
mother. The car behind us slamm-
ed into us and the truck few right
by us," Cameron said.

Cameron suffered neck and
ankle injuries and a bruised hip.
Her mother suffered minor inju-
ries.

Robert Fenty, of Nanaimo, was
injured when the passing steel
beam ripped into his arm, which

Union concerned over new Versatile direction

From page 1
Shipyards modernize and ra-
tionalize its facilities.""

Versatile’s seven-bectare yard in
North = Vancouver one — third
of which ts already closed, could
be sold as part of that rationaliza-
tion process once the Polar 8 has
been built.

But in a letter to Quinn, Seou
says reported statements that Ver-
satile plans to get out of ship-
building after completion of the
Polar 8 ‘tsends a signal to Ottawa
that Western Canadian  ship-
builders need not be considered
when allocating future federal
procurement contracts, and to Vic-

toria that, apart from the Polur 8.
Versatile...has no lasting commit-
ment to build ships in British Col-
umbia.""

Scou says the situation will feave
the federal government free to
allocate contracts to castern
Canada ‘tas their political needs
require.""

“These are very damaging
statements.”’ he said, particularly
in light of provincial government
plans to have two jumbo ferries
built for service in 1994 as part of
a $550 million capital expansion
and maintenance program.

Scou said ferry construction
would be a good “practice

ground’ for Versatile’s new own-
ership, which has no previous
shipbuilding experience, to prepare
for the extremely complex Polar 8
project.

But in a notice distributed cartier
this week to Versatile workers,
Quinn stated that had Shieldings
not bought the shipyard it *twould
now be a part of a real estate de-
velopment.”

Quinn said in the notice that he
had received a number of offers
for Versatite's North Vancouver
property, but had turned them
down.

“We need this snipyard for the
construction contract for the Polar

S icebreaker. | look to you) for
support”? Quinn stated.

But Score said unionized ship-
yard workers know they will be
bargaining their last contract: in
upcoming negotiations, “tand he is
asking for our support?™*

The current (wo-year contract,
which was ratified last October by
a fess than overwhelming 60) per
cent majority of the Joint Shipyard
Conference, has still not been
signed by the member unions
because of a dissatisfaction with
final contract wording.

It expires at the end of August.

Quinn was unavailable for
comment to press time Thursday.

he had resting out the window of
his car. Elizabeth Bramble, of
Cumberland, was injured when her
car was struck,

Said Const. Cruibe: ‘*Had_ it
been five minutes earlier, with the
traffic from Langdale coming off,
it would have been a pretty
frightening accident. Six more in-
ches and heads would have been
taken off.”

Investigation by police and pro-
vincia) Motor Vehicle Branch in-
spectors continues. Tne truck has
been seized for mechanical inspec-
tion.

Home & Garden.
What’s Going On

WEATHER

Friday, cloudy with a chance
of showers. Saturday, sunny
with cloudy periods.

Second Class Registration Number 3885