se CANE TMAH UMMER COLLECTION Hr rig -setelete NEWS photo Neil Lucente NORTH VANCOUVER City Ald. Bill Bell (left) took to the street recently tc talk to youths in the [5th and Lonsdale area of the city. Bell and city Ald. Barbara Sharp are pushing for the establishment of a youth task force to address the problem of drug trafficking in the community. |IPOLICE STEP UP PATROLS IN N. VANCOUVER DRUG MART far on drugs WHEN PUSH comes to shove in the cat-and-mouse game played out between North Vancouver RCMP and young local drug pushers, police inveriably increase their bust statistics and the drug-trade problem invariably shifts to another area of the community. Right now, the 15th and Lons- dale area of North Vancouver City is known throughout Lower Mainland drug circles as a good place to buy and sell drugs. Said North Vancouver RCMP Insp. Dave Roseberry, ‘‘There’s f a core of local sellers there. And there are some that come from outside of our focal area — as far away as Richmond. It is known that if you want to sell drugs ona lower scale, you can go to that block in North Vancouver. And they come over.”’ On an average day in the drug zone, anywhere from $500 to _ | $1,000 changes hands in trans- | actions involving the sale of marijuana, hashish or cocaine. Police have responded to the problem with increased man- power. Drug busts, in general, are up f about 300 per cent in North Van- couver this year compared with last year. At 15th and Loi:sdale in particular, there have been over 130 drug investigations and seizures since January. A bust may.invoive a charge of possession of a narcotic. But if a suspect is found carrying, for ex- ample, five or six grams of hashish or half a dozen small plastic bags of marijuana and money in the pocket (as much as i $5,000 in one case), the charge changes to possession for the purpose of trafficking. If sufficient evidence is avail- 1 able, then police charge for traf- I ficking. When the drugs are dit- { ched, police have to settle with simple drug seizures. f In the past two weeks more than a dozen busts have been made in the area. The squeeze on the trade at 15th and Lonsdale comes in part as a response to complaints by area merchants and residents. But according to Roseberry, police have also changed their game plan in the war against local drug dealers and users. By MICHAEL BECKER Ne eporter ‘For the last five years or longer, we've been trying to hit the big pusher,”’ he said. ‘‘Now we’re changing that. We want to hit the demander. We just weren't successful in getting the big boy. We weren’t prepared to put out the money and man- power to get him. It was all words and no action. Now we’re NORTH Vancouver RCMP In- sp. Dave Roseberry ...‘‘It is known that if you want to sell drugs on a lower scale, you can go to that block in North Van- couver. And they come.”’ getting the demander.”” The detachmeat’s five-man drug squad is responsible for street-level enforcement and larger-scale trafficking, and the detachment is also dedicating other officers to drug enforce- ment in an attempt to push dealers out of the area. Said Roseberry, ‘‘At any given time a maximum of eight men are dedicated to the area and never less than two. Since Jan. 1, we’ve probably put 90 man-days in there.”’ But police do not have the manpower to keep up the pressure daily. ‘“‘We have other respon- sibilities. If we're over there busting a guy for some marijuana and they get a call to go toa family fight, they have to leave,”’ Roseberry said. ‘‘It’s just a fact of life that police officers have more to do than sit in a square block. When they go there, they work it until it dries up. They go back two days later and do the same. These people (dealers and buyers), once they know the police are there, they go away. We're just pushing them out to go somewhere else.” Eighteen months ago, the drug zone was concentrated near the Lions Gate Hospital parking lot. “The next push will be across the street into the courtyard near the city hall. This is basicially what happens. We’d move them into the inlet if we could,’’ he sart, Local courts have stiffened penalties meted out to repeat drug offenders, and have been handing out jail terms of up to two months to young offenders for second offences. Said Roseberry, ‘‘In the fast three months they've been hitting them far heavier than they ever have. That’s truly because of the volume coming before them. The courts are now giving jail terms, which is the only way we can deal with these people who have been picked up by us from the same area two or three times.’”’ But Roseberry agrees with local politicians when it comes to consideration of long-term solu- tions. “Tt starts with a complete community concern,’’ he said. It’s got to be the politicians, the courts, the police, the community and the parents. There are certain businesses in that area that draw these people there. They’ve got to be part of the solution. More recently they’ve been helping us very much. Once there’s a prob- lem, not one particular agency can take care of it themselves.”’ 3 - Friday, October 6, 1989 - North Shore News WV COUNCIL DEFERS MGORAGE DECISION Eagle Harbour swimmers and boaters face off FACED WITH over 100 Eagle Harbour residents and Eagle Harbour Yachr Club (EHYC) members and the compelling arguments from each group’s representatives, West Van- couver District Council has deferred to Nov. 20 its decision on the proposed legalization of 15 harbor moorage spots for the club. Following lengthy presentations Monday night, the matter was referred to council’s parks and recreation committee, which is led by Ald. Pat Boname, and assisted by Aldermen Carol Ann Reynolds and Rod Day. Representing what he called ‘‘a small club’’ of about 120 members, 77 from West Van- couver (and about 35 from the Eagle Harbour area), Jim McJanet asked council to legalize the 15 buoy moorage spots that the organization has maintained in public waters ‘‘with municipal ac- quiescence’’ for the past 20 years. ‘We have no intention of ex- panding our facility or the number of vessels moored in the bay,”’ said McJanet. He said the EHYC applied for formalization of its 20-year lease arrangement for the 15 spots at the insistence of West Vancouver municipal staff. McJanet, in answer to the letters of protest that have flooded municipal hall over the proposed formal legalization of the 15 moorage spots, maintained that the EHYC inembers are cautious when manoeuvring their boats in the bay and are always watching for swimmers. “4f there were no buoys, there would be easier access for transient vessels which would be travelling at higher speeds,”’ said McJanet. He denied that the club prevents access to the bay and pointed out that other users of the area use the club’s parking lot. McJanet also denied that the club’s structural additions hamper the flushing action of Eagle Har- bour, or that club members are responsible for the pollution and high fecal coliform counts that have plagued the harbor in the past. “We all have children who swim in that bay and the club has a no- flushing policy that Is policed. Few boats have holding tanks and none are pumped into the bay,’’ said McJanet. He argued that removal of club vessels from the 15 contentious moorage spots would only lead to their use by uncontrolled squatters who would leave access dinghies on the beach. While agreeing that club members are cautious and con- siderate, local residents’ repre- sentative Steve Dejari emphasized that the real issue under discussion was the continued illegal trespass on a public water lot. “The club is occupying one of the few remaining swimming areas Auto..... cece cece ee 2d Classified Ads..........33 Editorial Page.......... 6 Home & Garden... Mailbox ...... What's Going On........32 UREEN CURTIS ‘ontributing Writer on our foreshore,’’ said Dejari. The encroachment of the 15 boats on public water could not be compared to the encroachment of a driveway or an overhanging tree, he said. “And it results in financial gain for a very few,’” Dejari argued. He contended that 80 per cent of the EHYC’s membership come in- to the Eagle Harbour area for no other purpose than ito use and maintain their boats. The fact that club members pay approximately ‘‘one third of the going rate’’ for their moorage, he said, amounts to a ‘‘considerable They have been squatters on public waters Jor 14 years... The public waters of Eagle Harbour should be preserved for the use of the public.”’ — local resident Kurt Brause gain to the members — especially over a length of time.”’ Dejari showed documents in- dicating that part of the agreement with the municipality stipulated a gradual reduction of the 15 moorage spots, which he again called for over a 20-month period. “They have been squatters on public waters for 14 years,’’ added local resident Kurt Brause. ‘‘The public waters of Eagle Harbour should be preserved for the use of the public.’’ But yacht club member John Nielson said the use of his boat at one of the 15 spots, which amounts to about 50 days a year, is far more frequent than the har- bor’s use by local swimmers. “Hundreds and hundreds of people swim in that bay all the time,’’ protested Dejari. One resident charged that the club’s recent reconfiguration of the floats and boats, while benefiting club members, endangers swim- mers because it forces boats to make a wider sweep to get access to the area. Another resident said the presence of the club's facilities ‘‘provides a safe harbor for swimmers and a catch-all for debris that would normally wash up on the beach.”’ WEATHER Friday, sunny. High near 17°. Saturday, mostly ciaudy. High near 14°C. Second Class Registration Number 3885