High Profiles: 21

Back to School
special feature: 28

TOM FETTERLEY drags his capsized sailboat Gizmo onto the shore at West Van-

couver’s Ambleside Beac

. Unusually high waves in local waters swamped his boat.

The weather outlook for today, Monday and Tuesday is for continuing sunny skies
and temperatures up to 24° C.

Mothe calls for volunteer watch to deter Lynn Creek divers

A NORTH Vancouver woman is calling for an extraor
dinary meeting of North Vancouver District Council to
implement an emergency ban on diving and swimming in

Lynn Creek waters.

Carole Anne Bertenshaw-Hiatt
and North Vancouver District
Coun. Emie Crist were at the
canyon Thursday afternoon han-
ding out information sheets aler-
ting Lynn Canyon Park visitors to
the fatalities in the canyon.

Said Bertenshaw-Hiatt, “! got
scared. My son (18 years old) fives
in Richmond. ! discovered that he
and several of his friends travetled
here to jump in the pools.

“*1 expressed my usual parental
concern and alarm, and he said,
‘But, Mom, it’s so cool.’ In 1%
hours (Thursday) | spoke to 45

young men between the ages of 19°

5 Ps

By Michae! Becker
News Reporter

and 23. Two of the 45 had last
friends to drowning there.”’
Bertenshaw-Hiatt proposes the
establishment of a volunteer
‘watch commiltee’’ to patrol the
popular canyon diving spots and
attempt to deter divers in a
“peaceful and orderly fashion.”
“One boy walked up to me and
said, ‘You sound just like my
mom.’ [| said, ‘I know, because
your mother loves you.’ I guess
the deterrent has to be fear and

fove,’’ she said.

Meanwhile, a North Vancouver
RCMP spokesman said a
legislated ban on diving and
swimming in Lynn Creek would
be impossible to police given the
rough terrain at Lynn Canyon
Park.

Said North Vancouver RCMP
Insp. Peter Wlodarczak, ‘*There
should not be a legislated ban.
Like any other law you can
legislate what you want, but the
topography here is horrendous.
How do you police something like
this? It’s impossible to enforce.

“‘My opinion is that the solu-
tion is education, but regardless of
what society says there are always
people who will disregard rules
anyway — it’s a very difficult sit-
uation.”

As a result of Lynn Canyon
safety task force recommendations
made earlier this year, the police
have stepped up their presence in
the park. In July alone, 70 foot
patrols were conducted in the
canyon,

Many of the patrols incor-
porated police dogs ‘‘to maintain
a higher profile in the canyon to
deter troublemakers,’* Wlodarczak
said.

Charges Said as the result of
police investigations in Lynn Can-
yon Park during 1991 included
one drug charge, nine liquor
charges, five traffic charges and
one bylaw-related charge.

During 1992 to the end of July,
the North Vancouver RCMP laid
three drug charges, 22 liquor
charges, 38 traffic charges and 12

bylaw-related charges.

Meanwhile, the Canadian Red
Cross Water Safety is backing
RCMP dive-team member Set.
Paul Giffin in his call for cliff
jumpers and swimmers to stay out
of Lynn Creek.

Said Jan Engemoen, director of
safety services for the Canadian
Red Cross Society, ‘If you choose
to dive into the canyon, you’re
inviting disaster. The risk of hit-
ting a hidden obstacle is enormous
and combined with the cold and
fast-moving water, even a minor
injury will likely result in a fatali-

ty.”

For more information regarding
the volunteer canyon watch com-
mittee proposed by Bertenshaw-
Hiatt call 986-5579,

REACHING EVERY DOOR ON THE NORTH SHORE SINCE 1969