Friday, April 11, 1997 ~ North Shore News — 3 North Van man sentenced for arson spree By Anna Marie D'Angelo News Reporter THREE years ago, Jesse David Tynan went on an $250,000 arson spree in North Vanc saver. A house was destroyed in the 900-block of Broadview near Mount Seymour Parkway. A second home in the 2500-block of Hyannis Point in Blueridge had people in it when Tynan and his friend lit a fire nearby. Over the period of an hour a car was also set on fire in the 2600-block of Panorama Drive and nvo boats were torched. All of the fires were set sometime between 4 a.m. and 5 a.m. on Feb. 13, 1994, The North Vancouver man pleaded guilty last October to nwo arson charges and one charge of committing mischief by the use of fire. He was sentenced on April 2 in B.C. Supreme Court in Vancouver. Tynan, now 21, received a one year conditional jail sentence and three years’ probation. Conditional jail sentences are not served in jail. Such sentences are served in the community with restrictions similar to probation orders. B.C. Supreme Court Madam Justice Nancy Morrison also required the North Vancouver resident to pay $10,000 restitution to the peaple who lived in the Broadview home. Tynan’s friend and arson co-accused cannot be identified as he was 17 at the time of the crimes. The young, man’s identity is pro- tected by the Young Offenders Act. Tynan turned 18 just four days before the arsons. Tynan was therefore charged as an adult (over age 18) and his name can be published. Crown lawyer Mark Rowan asked that Tynan be sentenced to three years of “real” jail, given Tynan’s criminal background and the seriousness of the arsons. Tynan’s defence lawyer Mark Cacchioni asked for a conditional jail sentence. Conditional jail sentences were introduced by the federal Liberal government last fall. A conditional “jail” sentence is “non- custodial.” A conditional jail sentence is not supposed to be issued for a violent offence. Since Tynan committed the arsons in 1994 and while he was on bail, he committed other crimes. Tynan was sentenced to 12 months in jail last vear for a March 6, 1996 break, enter and theft involving a business in the 4300- block of Gallant Avenue in Deep Cove. He pleaded guilty to possessing a stolen vehicle in connection with the business burglary. ‘Tynan was caught by police while attempting to move a stolen safe into a vehicle. Tynan and another man holding crowbars were observed inside the Deep Cove business at 4 a.m. Tynan’s other adult offences include: @ a dangerous driving conviction for an Oct. 20, 1995 incident on West 17th Street and other streets in North Vancouver City; a recognizance breach involving contacr with a male on Oct. 31, 1995. During the arson sentencing, Justice Morrison was shown pic- tures including one depicting a burned room with a crib in it. The Crown may appeal the arson sentence. ity TV celebrates 25th Studios on Pemberton continue to create original North Shore programming By Martin Millerchip Contributing Writer THINK of community cable television and chances are the first image that comes to mind is talking heads. tension on the reels ofan old Ampex one-inch video tape machine as it rewound the tape of a just-recorded show. Other operators used strategic pencils. Payne used her fingers and was horrified to see a finger nail slice through several feet of the only copy of the show. But for all the bloopers (and there are not so many these days), Payne says there is another side to the equa- tion. The jiggle in che camera, the interviewer who runs out of questions are just part of the trade-off for allow- ing community members the opportunity to work on and create their own programming. “We work with people we are constantly training but they are doing it because they want to and because they RIWS photo Brad Ledwidge LESLIE Payne (standing) calls the shots, literally, for a one-hour television show being taped at Rogers North Shore Studio. The Pemberton facility is celebrating 25 years of community pro- gramming this month. The volunteer production team are (left to right): Gord Livingstone, Jim Mufleder, Roman Zimneay and Television comedy has traded on this preconception for years. Saturday Night Live, CBC, SCTV (The Great Witte Nortlis scill responsible for what some Americans know about Canada) and even an original theatre pro- duction at Presentation House called North Shove Live, featuring the inimitable Nicola Cavendish, have all had huge fin with cable television. Leslie Payne, program coordinator at) Rogers Cablesystems* North Shore studios, admits it’s casy to poke fun at community programming. The Pemberton studio where she works turned 25 years old Last week, and Payne has been there for the last 22 of them doing pretty much everything “except sol- dering.” “Tt was a bare bones facility when I started: black and white cameras, no portables and a small two-camera mobile. I remember touring what was to become Presentation House with Anne Macdonald and the only way we could film inside the building was to strap this 60-pound camera on the back of Doug Heal and use him as a human tripod for a day.” Payrie still recalls with horror attempting to keep the want ta be involved,” says Payne. Rogers, which acquired the rights to North Shore programming in an exchange of assets with Shaw Cable in July 1996, presently pays three programmers and a technician to staff the community studio. Programming supervisor George Lacny is looking forward to several innovations in community broadcast- ing. Ps new magazine show, Plugged In, hit the air for the first time last Sunday. A new host will be fearured every week. A similar package will be airing at the same time across the country on other Rogers outlets. “Wherever you are in Canada on Sunday evening you will be able to find a TV magazine that reflects the com- munity you're in,” says Lacny. He is also anticipating the arrival of equipment that will allow Rogers to place permanent cameras in cach of the three North Shore council chambers. Live coverage will still rotate on Monday evenings, but the other meet- ings will air on Saturdays, allowing viewers the opportu- See TV page & Mohammad Zaragaran. Referendum meeting he By tan Noble News Reporter THE lines are being drawn on a $2-million refer- endum to put technology in North Vancouver’s schools. Parent advisory councils and two North Vancouver MLAs support the school board’s attempt to kick start 2 provincial gov- ernment-mandated computer program that is expected to cost $11 million over five years. Others, including. West Vancouver-Capilano MLA Jeremy Dalton, the North Vancouver Teachers’ Association (NVTA) and a few people who raised questions at a Thursday night meeting, don’t. Dalton will vore no on April 19. He said the cost — $1.76 for every $10,000 of assessed house value for the average homeowner in the school district, is an unfair imposition on taxpayers already hit hard by federal, provin- cial, municipal and school taxes. The father of two North Vancouver public school students added he has sympathy for the board’s cause, but said it is unfair for the education ministry to mandate a program that the province does nor fund. The NVTA cpposes, in principle, all referendums as a means to raise “adequate and equitable” funding for education. The association said the beard’s decision to go te referendum potentially undermines the public education system because it pits funding for one program against all others. ; NVTA executives said the decision to go to referendum on teclinology does not result from a substantial analysis of the dis- trict’s needs, but the belief'a referendum aimed at the high-pro- file subject is winnable. Teachers believe a successful referendum will commit the board to a never-ending series of the fund-raising votes in the future. They argue more money will be needed to cover the future cost of the board's technology program and inevitable obsolescence of the equipment. Both North Vancouver-Lonsdale MLA Katherine Whittred and North Vancouver-Seymour MLA Dan Jarvis said they will hold vote yes. Jarvis said that the money for the computer pro- gram is necessary, “I don’t think we can afford to be obstinate with our children’s education system,” he said. A. successful referendum will help children obtain the computer skills they need to compete in the business world, both Jarvis and Whittred said. Parent groups also back the referendum, which was supported 5-2 at a school trustee meeting in February. After a sparsely-attended meeting on the issue organized by the North Vancouver Parent Advisory Council Thursday night at Carson Graham secondary, council co-chair Susan Carson said there is no indication adequate money will come from Victoria to pay for technology. Referendum, she said, is the only way to dis- tribute the fundraising burden across the school district. Parents, who raised $350,060 last year for technology district- wide, are tapped our, she said. At Thursday’s meeting, which trustees and board members attended to provide information and answer questions about the April 19 referendum, there were a lot of questions. NEWS photo Brad Ledwidge THE lack of school board funds for technology was mirrored by a lack of interest in a meeting to discuss the issue Thursday night at Carson Graham secondary. Questioners asked how the money would be spent, if it could be spent in the one year allotted, and questioned whether the support costs and updating for new technology would over- whelm the district. They also wondered if enough had been done to put technology in classrooms through means such as dona- tions and private-public partnerships. A few angry taxpayers said they aren’t pleased to be asked to cough up, as one put it, anoth- er lump of change. Of the $2 million raised, $1.5 million is earmarked for com- puter equipment and materials and $500,000 for technical sup- port and training. If the referendum fails, there will be no oper- ating funds for new equipment and technical support.