Two rescues in one day By CHRIS LLOYD TWICE on _ Saturday evening, Deep Cove resident Merla Donovan answered calls for help. And each time she was. in- strumental in saving a life. The first call involved her taking a 12-mile trip up Indian Arm to help rescue a woman buried in a_ rock slide, trapped in icy waters. Three hours later she was on the scene again, fishing out a woman swimmer from another spot on the inlet. Merla’s action-packed evening of rescues begah at 5:45 p.m., when she heard a distress call come over the VHF radio at her waterfront home. She and her husband Jim Donovan are Coast Guard auxiliaries and she monitors the emergency channel about 18 hours a day, ready to respond on “a dashboat situation”. The call she heard was made after a Saskatchewan man had hailed down a powerboat near Wigwam Inn having just dug his way out from a rockslide where his wife was still trapped. The couple and their nine- year-old son had gone up Indian Arm in, a_ small powerboat with relatives from Vancouver. The couple had _ gone ashore at a spot known as Granite Falls and climbed a huge landslide created by a raging river. Ill-equipped for the climb, with the woman wearing clogs, while her husband was in street shoes, they had climbed about 600 yards up when disaster struck. 2 The man grabbed hold of a boulder to pull himself up and it came loose in his hands, shifting huge boulders above. He became pinned by a 300-pound slab of = rock. while his wife became trapped bencath a similar sized boulder which kept her submerged from the shoulders down in the glacier-fed water. Eventually the man managed to struggle frec But no matter how he tried he could not get his wife out He came down the slide screaming. His brother-in law and the crew of a nearby runabout the Betty L, ralhed Sbak vx to help. The message which Merla heard in Deep Cove came from the Betty L. The Denovans sprang into action. Radio operator Merla and her husband who operates their boat got into their cruiser, together with medic Jim Gates who lives in the basement suite of their home. About 25 minutes later they had completed the 12 miles to the accident area. They clambered over, the rocks and Jim Gates took one look at the injured woman, who had finally been freed after more than half an hour in the water beneath the boulder, and declared she would have to be moved by helicopter. He found her left leg was broken in two places, her ribs also appeared broken and her blood pressure was alarmingly low. One call after another for a helicopter received the same response: Each was being used to fight forest fires. Finally the Provincial Emergency program located a medical helicopter which was dispatched from Squamish; Merla lit a flare and help was on hand. It took about eight men to carry the woman down the slide on a stretcher board and by the time she was in the helicopter it was about two hours after she had been injured. Though the Donovans go out on about 20 Coast Guard calls a year, most of them are comparatively low-key compared to Saturday's — boaters running out or gas or overnight hikers who have failed to return on time. “SCARE Y” “We don't get into many scarey. situations,”” said Merla. “But this one was scarey for me because there was a serious injury.” The Donovans returned home to drop off Jim Gates and then proceeded to Bedwell Bay, where they had originally intended setting off for at 4 p.m., mecting friends there about 9 p.m Even after their eventful delay though, there was still to be no break for them They were siting up on the bridge talking with (heir friends when they noticed a fully clothed woman swimming about 100) yards CONTINUED ON PAGE A4 ULY CLEARAN é e e Revitalization gets cash and r e ° local input LOCAL MERCHANTS and property owners will now be represented on the North Vancouver City Downtown Revitalization Committec. City council has approved the new committee com- position, as well = as authorized spending $10,000 on preparing a_— design concept plan of the revitalization areca The North Vancouver Community) Arts Council will also have oge representative on the committe, along with the one merchant and one landowner nominated by the Chamber of Commerce Council also approved recommendations {rom the committee which called for developing the concept of a facade treatment only in the plan. FASHION PARTMENTS 0%-50% OFF ON SELECTED ITEMS Park Royal South 7505 _MONTARA FREE ESTIMATES GLADLY GIVEN Voss A3 - Wednesday, July 14, 1982 - North Shore News HANGING AROUND, several feet up, Glen Ishii plods away at the seemingly en- dless job of painting the connecting cables on Lions Gate Bridge. The idea of the work may be enough to turn some people dizzy but Glen doesn't see any danger in the work. “Not at all, ” he says. “It’s quite safe.”(Eric Eggertson photo) the outdsor boot or Money retunded GREAT OUTDOG 201 LONSDALE draperies by S. Laursen Draperies spreads Venetian, Vertical and Wooden Biinds “In-home Service All blinds 20% off list Labour per pane! $5.50 (unlined). $6.50 (ltned) FOR THE FINAL TOUCH Ham to6pm Monday thru Saturday call 987-2966 MONTANA One-piece upper of water-repellent Gallusser Montan leather, padded leather tongue and inside collar, D-rings plus reinforced Al- pine lace hooks, Vibram® Montagna sole Distinct- ive in looks, wear and comfort! WE GUARANTEE 980-3313 Salmon a storm moving FIT! 4 Automotive Classified Community Round-up Entertainment Food Hayden Stewart Malibos Bporte Travet TV Time What's Going On PAGE C18 Dancing up Thrift shop PAGE Al4 Wheeling to Whistler PAGE BI Scrumptious . Me