NEWS photo Brad Ledwidge

RCMP divers took the  plinge on Friday near the Seven. Seas restaurant to try to solve

Id raystery. The divers were looking for clues in the disappearance of Hiroko

Kobayashi. She was last seen in June 1995. The 38-year-old woman was moving to North
fan from Vancouver. Her car was found fn the restaurant’ 's parking lot.

City, Friday, that ae movie crews: will no
ger, be Permitted to film i in ithe Lillooet Ro: d ceme-

Steryes

“There are ots of good reasons not to keep it open
film site,” said Hawkshaw. He said the cemetery is °

place of-'sanctity and grieving people should not have
to'deal with film crews at a cemetery... i

‘ast Sunday, the News published a story concert-

North Vancouver man who visited his’ parents?

prnits and’ was hassled by an-X-Filesjsecurity guard.

J Mare Har

ay tombstone props placed ‘near people’s graves..A week

. 37, Was angered: when he saw plastic.

‘be ‘allowed to work i in the cemetery any. more.

“That is what I wanted, Let’s stop it,” said Harris.

» An X-Files spokesman was unavailable for comment
to press ume.

~ Hawkshaw said the city earned abour™ $100, 000
from permit fees and other charges to film companies
.in 1995. He said 1996 has been substantially less busy.
Cannell Productions, which operates at North Shore
Studios, has been less active'this year. -

Hawkshaw said a filming permit costs $300. In
addition, che city charges $500 to rent a park Gr, in pre-
’ vious times, the cemetery. To use a stretch of street for
parked cars, the charge is $50 for 30 metres (100 ft.).

Hawkshaw said film companies must also pay for
police to direct traffic near scene sites, and for.North
Vancouver City firefighters who stand by! for shots
involving explosives.

“We want to encourage this industry without goug-
ing them,” said Hawkshaw. The cemetery was used by
filmy crews about five times a year.

By Martin Millerchip
Contributing Writer

A three-year professional
exchange program between
the District of North
Vancouver and Nonthaburi,
Thailand, appears to be wind-
ing down with less fanfare
than when it started.

And while those involved with the
project’s administration defend it as
successfully meeting its goals, one dis-
trict councillor labels the entire exer-
cise as a waste of time and money.

“The best you can say about the
program is that it’s unimaginative, but
what it really demonstrates is a lack of
vision by our mayor and the last coun-
cil. Show me where the economic spin-
offs have occurred,” said Coun. Ernie
Crist.

But Mayor Murray Dykeman says

the benefits for the community. arc,

very real and that he is proud. of the
commitment to the project by the
senior managers involved.

In 1992, after at least three years of

lobbying by Crist, council established:
an Economic Twinning Committee to
investigate ovinning with a suitable
community in the Soviet Union, China
or Thailand.

Crist had argued chat the district
could benefit both from its portside
location and as a Pacific Rim gateway.

He pushed tor council to take the
initiative in aggressively. pursuing a
twinning relationship with the Russian
far east or China, arguing that. munici-
pal involvement had to precede private
contracts in countries where’ all deci-
sions are made at a political level.

He pointed out that other western .

countries were benefitting from
_Russia’s push to exploit ‘the natural
“Tesources of Siberia and that shipbuild-

ing and ship repair opportunities beck- ,

oned.

Crist believes some “cold- -war cau-
tion” swayed council’s decision not to
get involved. i

Dykeman disagrees, arguing that
the municipality is not in the. boat-
building business and that an invest-
ment in Russia's struggling free-mar-
ket economy “could easily have cost us
a million dollars.”

In late 1992 the Federation of
Canadian Municipalities (FCM) invit-
ed the district to participate in its
Municipal Professional Exchange
Program funded by the Canadian
International Development Agency
(CIDA).

With federal funding availabfe,
council, including Crist, endorsed

_ twinning with Nonthaburi, a suburb

of Bangkok approximately the. same

; later, Harris wis s pleased to hear that film crews, won "t

_ index Investigation ongoing

From page 1

done everything reasonably
possible to prevent the spill.
On June 24, provincial

Environment Minister Paul’
Ramsey was at Cove Cliff

» ¢lementary school .to. pro-
mote oan urban stream
renewal program) and
announce a $12,500
Parkside. Creek salmon
enhancement project. That
day a Norch Vancouver resi-
dent was’ fined $250. for
dumping silt into the same
creek system,

La Rock said his agency
was - alerted . to the
Wednesday spill. by a 9:30

"p.m. “Phone call’ from a

neighbor, While he was. at
the scene, the liquid leaking
from the ruptured pipe filled
a hole approximately 1.5
metres deep and six metres in
diameter. The toxic brew
drained into’ a culvert: that
feeds Parkside.

Whether the district will
be charged for Wednesday's
spill is still up in the air.

Environment — Canada
senior investigator Vivian
Chamberlain said it’s-her job
to determine if an. offence
has been commirted and
gather the evidence neces-

‘sary to prove an offence. I's

up to the federal Department
of ‘Justice to determine

whether charges will be laid,

‘he said, The pipe that broke

who will be charged and
what with, said Chamberlain,

Chamberlain is investigat-
ing: the Deep Cove sewage
spill bur, she won't discuss
investigations while they are
ongoing.

District “environmental
protection officer Mel Koryk
said that in the four years
he’s been with the district,
it’s the first’ time he’s heard
ofa pipe breaking. “J don't
see how we could prevent or
foresee any of the pipes
breaking,” he said. The pipes
are buried se there is nu way
to inspect them, he > said.
Workers contained. the flow
from the pipe by 11:20 p.m,

was constructed of asbestos
and concrete. The district is
replacing similar pipes.

killed aftet”
evening.’

NVD Mayer “Murray: ‘Dykema
says link with Thai municipa
partner has brought benefits. :

size as the district but having a popula :

_ tion of well over 250,000.

Courtenay, B.C., Slave Lake and -
Taber, “Alberta also’ entered Partners io
ships i in Thailand as CIDA embarked “:
on “transforming «the Thai-Canada ”

relationship. from one based’ upon’

development: assistance to a-new one,
based ‘on. cooperation between. part.
ners for mutual benefit.”

In practical terms, this ‘meant: that
technical staff from both municipalities
would work: to identify a’project tha

the district’s expertise could: assist

Nonthaburi to address.:

An exchange of senior official .
kicked off. the program,;: with’ ihe
mayor, vice-gvernor and’ health’ and
environment ‘director of - Nonthaburi

: visiting } North. Vancouver in October,

1993,
Dykeman and municipal ‘manager

* Mel‘ Palmer: paid a return visit.to

Nonthaburi for 10 days in early 1994.

In November 1994, the first tech
nical exchange. took, “place. -after’.
Nonthaburi, had_ identified ‘financial
management; solid waste management:
atid recycling as high priority areas fe
the program.

The district’s finance and engin
ing, directors went to Nonthaburi! for
two weeks, returning with a picture of
a cash: “strapped. municipality working”
with ‘chronic. staff shortages.: “

But. John Bremner, at least, came
back “very much buoyed by the com
mitment demonstrated te addressing
the problem” of solid waste: manage-
ment,

Two Thai sanitation superinten-
dents:and two financial officers subs
quently visited North Vancouver
April this year.

af

; See Prograni page 5 -

NEWS photo Mike Wakefield A

AT feast 40 fish in Parkside Creek i in Deep Cove’ were