Cars bought in exchange for post- -dated cheques

“WHEN A North Vancouver

“auto broker tried to offer

Cameron : Bailey’ more
-money than he. was asking
“for his 1993 Mazda. RX7,
the West. Vancouver resident
turned the deal down

“because he thought it was
“too good to be true.

By Surj Rattan

“News Reporter

Bailey was apparently right.

in. that

4&4 The money they were offering
me was way above market value. 99

‘tions when contacted by North

Vancouver City officials ‘‘ex-
pressing concerns over how they
did business.’’

“They never had a_ business
licence. They had been operating
location. for about a

The North Vancouver RCMP month. We're starting to get a lot

-Uniglobe Auto Brokers, located
von Marine Drive in North Van-
~ecuver City.

>The company, which does not
have a business licence, bought
vehicles-.in “exchange for post-
dated: cheques. But the operators

of the business are nowhere to be

found. ‘The police say as many as

-? are-investigating the operations of of calis now, the phone has. been

ringing off the hook,’ said
Fookes.

He said the police do not know
the names of the people who
operated Uniglobe.

But Bailey said when he placed
a classified ad to sell his car, the
first telephone cal! he received was

from someone who. said he. was

: unsuspecting people. may: now with Uniglobe Auto Brokers.
be: left -holding : worthless. post-:

hequies ‘received -

cin, ex-..

‘North, Vancouver RCMP” Const.”
Todd: Fookes. said: Tuesday that.

the‘police™ are beginning to ‘receive: asking . $35,000. for
compiaints ‘from: people who have: Uniglobe told him they would pay ‘

-. He said that. he then went to
. Uniglobe’s office and spoke with a
‘person who: explained Unigiobe’s

’ offer.

While Bailey ‘said. he was ‘only
his. car,

done business with Uniglobe Auto him $37,400 if he agreed to wait

for.

45 days before cashing a_post-

‘ookes said that the police were dated cheque.

firs! alerted . to Uniglobe’ $. opera-

If he waited 60 days, Bailey ‘said

RESIDENTS of. Bowen Islands Queen Charlott: Heighis
eighborhood should not panic about the. relatively high
levels ‘of arsenic recently discovered in their water supply,

rut "they... should avoid ingesting it;

g outside the neighborhood.
The department ‘issued. a Dec.
6public. health ‘bulletin to resi-
dents’ OF the .area, warning them
that arsenic levels as high'as .275
mg/L (milligrams per, litre) had
been recorded in the area... ~
The: new. : Canadian : Drinking |
Water, Quality: Guideline for ar-
senic le Is is 025 mg/L...

-North®:Shore -Health is cur- -

rently’ investigating the problem
and hopes‘ to’ havea comprehen-
‘sive: ‘package ‘available to cesi-.
dents soon, said Bill: ‘Kimmett;~
‘the. community” health director
West. Vancouver, Howe
- Sound and Bowen Island.
The department has initiated a
sanitary. survey of. Queen
‘Charlotte Heights.
It is also mapping the area and
“getting residents to complete a
questionnaire _ to determine

: ra Budget Beaters .
BB Business sees
BB Classified Ads...
“RA Crossword. :...........41

CALL US:

says North Shore

By Kate Zimmerman
_ Contributing writer

‘ whether’ each household gets its

water supply from individual or
communal deep wells, shallow.
‘wells or streams.

Kimmett said the arsenic con- |:

tamination problem appears to
be in deep welis. Dy
Rain, he said, “Appears . to be
leaching inorganic arsenic pres-
ent in the area’s rock strata into
‘the “groundwater, which then

: becomes contaminated.

The affected liquid is depos-
ited. in the underground water
table,, and when deep wells are
dug,” it winds up in the water
supply.

Approximately 85 homes are
currently ‘being targeted by
North Shore Health in its arsenic
investigation.

The department is also in-
vestigating filtration systems so it
can recommend locally available

_ angle,’’ said Bailey.

Uniglobe had ‘offered to pay him
$38,400, and $39,000 if he agreed
to wait 90 days before cashing his
post-dated cheque.

He turned down the offer.

“The deal was that I would sign
a contruct and | would turn the
car completely over to them in
exchange for a post-dated cheque.
1 thought it was just too good to
be true.

“If I signed. the contract, then
\’ve lost the car,’’ said Bailey. .

He said he told Uniglobe that
he would be interested in: doing
business with the company if the
money he was to. receive for his
car was put in trust with a lawyer.

Bailey said Uniglobe refused.
1 “The money they were offering
me was way above market value. |
just couldn’t ‘figure out the

On Friday, Dec. 17, police
seized a tractor-trailer loaded with
16 .cars bound. for Ontario from

Uniglobe’s North Vancouver of-

fice.

The police investigation con-

NEWS photo Mike Wakelleld

Dancers perform —

MEMBERS OF the North Shore Acaclemy of Dance recently
gave a Christmas performance for the staff and. students of

Lynn Valley elementary school.

‘said.

BILIL KIMMETT, community
health director for West
Vancouver, Howe Sound
and Bowen Island. '

systems to homeowners.

Kimmett estimated that the
price of the systems might range
between $600 and several thou-
sand dollars.

He said they would be the fi-
nancial responsibility of the
householder,

Residents who are sharing a
water supply might. split the cost
of the system between them, he

“Index

W Cuisine Scene..........35
Mi Insights.........
BB Kids’ Stuff ......

& Lifestyles........

News of the Weird .
North Shore Now .

HATY Listings
& What's Going On .

Canadian Publications Mail Sales Product Agreement Number 0087238

a _ ‘THIS WEER’S QUESTION: a
$83- 2208 What do you leave for Santa Claus on Christmas Eve?

‘Water Quality
““‘precautionary conservative,
limit.”’ :
The effects of the arsenic de-
_ pend on the length of time a

. water,

Kimmett added that ‘the water :

is safe for bathing, but should
not be ingested. .
According to Kimmett, boiling

makes no difference to the arse- ~

nic levels. /

The long-term consumption of
low doses of arsenic is believed
to
cancer. ; ;

Kiramett says. the Drinking
Guideline is) a

person has been drinking the
how. much water they
have ingested, and the water’s
levels of arsenic.

It’s difficult for North Shore
Health to tell at present how
long the water has been con-
taminated, because tests to
determine arsenic levels had not
been routinely done before now.

“We're investigating all the
options,’’ Kimmett said.

“We certainly don’t want to
have a panic, but we do want the
water within guideline limits. so
people can feel comfortable
again.”

Weather

Thursday and Friday, mainly.
; cloudy. °
- Highs 7°C, lows 2°C.

increase the risk of skin ;

| | to rescue
3 divers

TWO RIVAL North Van
couver tugboat companies
may be in. competition with’
one another when it comes

-ship- docking
but. the

to -securing’
contracts,.

teamed -ap- early ‘Sunday . :

morning and helped save the::
lives of three divers who had
been tossed. into’ the: chilly
waters of Burrard Inlet.

By Surj Rattan
News Reporter

The accident and rescue opera-’

tion occurred at about 12:35 a.m.
on Sunday.

Jack Bishop, manager of marine
services for Seaspan International
Lid., said. the trio ‘were. on the
16-metre (33-foot) :aluminum-

hulled dive boat Mr. Fission just |

west of. the Lions Gate: Bridge
when their vessel was struck by a

170-metre (558-foot) freighter.’

The collision sent the three

divers into the waters of Burrard ;

Inlet.

Bishop. said that .one of
Seaspan’s -tugboats, the Seaspan
Planet, had been following the

freighter into the harbor when the.
tugboat’s crew witnessed the’ acci-

dent.
North Vancouver-based C,H.

Cates and Sons Lid. also had.a
tug in the area, the Cates 3, which

two -

.

‘See Firms page 5 |