Girls clean up in wake of cemetery rampage by I1- year-old students ALMOST EVERYONE, including an !1-year-old, would be disgusted by the des- ecration of a grave last. week at North Vancouver Cemetery. ,By Anna Marie D’Angelo News Reporter Seven. | 1-year-olds toppled ‘tombstones, smashed vases and destroyed flowers at the Liliooet Road cemetery on March 2. _Adornments on dead children’s graves were ripped off during the trashing. The incident took place while schools were closed for School Community Interaction » Day. . .. A pink elephant on a six-year- :, old's grave was tossed in the “garbage and not recovered by “police. ‘A> dieart-shaped tombstone befonging to the dead child was. later recovered from one of the cul- prits. » Jennie Faraci, 11, heard her “schooltnates brag about the vandal- ism..; “We basically went up there to NEWS photo Mike Waketlald GRAVE CONCERNS. Jennie Faraci (left), 11, and Dana Younge, 12, along with another gir!, spent more than an hour last Wednesday cleaning up the ’aftermath of vandalism done by their schoolmates at the North Vancouver Cemetery. see what they did, and it was like, ‘Oh my gosh,” so we decided to clean up,” she said, Jennie Faraci was accompanied by two friends, including one who CO re drilling OK NV backyard A'NORTH Vancouver District man who is drilling for gold “and copper in his backyard i is entitled to do so because his . mother owns the property's mineral rights. _. Kate. Zimmerman "News Reporter: According to the Ministry of Energy, Mines and Petroleum - Resvurces, mining isn’t a notion that any Komeowner can pursue. “The owner of said property received the mineral grants as part and parce] of a Crown grant in the late 1800s," said Candace Kenyon, manager of communication projects for the federal depart- ‘ment. Although Ron Austin did not have to prove he had reason to sus- ‘pect the presence of mineral deposits behind his house at 2233 Windridge Dr., he did have to convince the government that he had the mineral rights to the land. The property is part of an original 125-acre (S0- hectare) lot pur- chased by Joseph Burr in 1888. After that, said Kenyon, “t's called minimal exploration w. He's " totally within his rights.” Austin, who told the News he is “involved in matters of trade, commodities” and has a “background in the construction business,” “has a permit to drill two to four 1-1/4 inch (3 cm) holes approxi- mately 1,000 feet (300 m) down, between Feb, 10 and May 10. ; A cement plug is to be inserted in the bore hole after the project is completed so that ground water tables will not be affected. A Cancor drill, a trailer and a latrine are currently sitting on the property. An operator works there each weekday from morning until evening. _ Kenyon said deciding who has the mineral rights to a particular piece of property can be a complicated process. On Vancouver Island, in particular, she said, there are all sorts of cases where someone owns the surface rights to aa area, and someone else owns the sub-surface rights. “In most places the mineral rights are owned by the government." Austin not only owns the mineral rights to the property on which he and his mother live, but also to the rest of the original !25-acre lot. Complaints by a neighbor about the noise of the drill sent North Shore Health out to Windridge Drive to investigate fate last week. Austin was told the drill would have to be muffled. Austin’s neighbors don’t need to be alarmed that their usually quiet suburban street will soon be transformed into a working minc. If he does discover something it becomes a completely differ- ent process that's a lot more complicated,” Kenyon said. ‘CALL US: 983-2208 “se : : a ee was involved in the vandalism spree. The trio spent more than ain hour straightening downed flowers and picking up scattered toys from chil- dren’s graves. Said Jennie’s father, Richard ’ Faraci, “The thing that really stands out in my mind is that she went out and picked up all these Jittle ponies that were on a child's grave and put them all back.” One of the vandals directed the cleanup group to where cemetery items were originally placed. , Richard Faraci alerted the police about the incident. He said his daughter's actions impressed him. “Jo have nothing to do with it, to take the initiative and to go that far, surprised me,” said Faraci. “She was late getting home and that’s not like her. She got in and said, “I'm sorry I'm late 1 was try- ing to clean up some of the mess that they made,’ ” be said. Jennie Faraci said the first thing the young vandals said to her after- wards was, “How come you tald on us?” Jennie Faraci was treated to din- ner by her parents the next night as a reward for her actions. “It was such a kind and humane thing to do, She is such a giving | person, except maybe when it comes to her brother,” said her father. All of the children involved in the vandalism were under 12, so they cannot.be charged with any offence. A police investigator spoke to the vandals involved and their par- ents about the incident, according to an RCMP spokesman. School Community Interaction Days have been criticized by some parent groups as another, and unnecessary, non-teaching day. Rail right- of-way down-zoned WEST VANCOUVER District Council adopted a bylaw Monday night to rezone the controversial BC Rail right-of- way lands in the Gleneagles- Eagleridge area and reduce development density on the property. WEST VANCOUVER DISTRICT COUNCIL by Maureen Curtis The motion passed without debate. The new bylaw, which was pro- posed by council, down-zones the property to a uniform density requiring a minimum lot size'of 20,000 square feet (1.858 sq. m) and will reduce the number of lots that can be developed on BC Rail’s easement lands along West Vancouver's Seaview Walk. Areas of the property were already zoned to that size; others were previously allowed 9,000- square-foot (836 sq. m) lots. The rezoning was contested last weck by BC Rail at a well-attended public hearing held at West Vancouver senior secondary. BC Rail had also asked the B.C. Supreme Court to rule the zoning amendment null and void. The new zoning will only apply if BC Rail’s current application to the subdivision approving officer for a 40-lot subdivision on the easement property fails. BC Rail officials contend that the down-zoning will adversely affect the value of the property, part of which the Crown corpora- tion had planned to donate to the municipality for park purposes. Last week, BC Rail offered to reduce jts residential development to under 30 lots in exchange for property or financial compensation from the municipality. “BCR Properties Giensagie Right of Way , 26. 8 acres (10.7 hectares) Marling Drive 12 IRFILL SINGLE-FAMILY LOTS 2.5 ACRES (1 HECTARE) © minima! impact an seaviaw wall * coad access already existing * buildable torraln * contorms wiih axlsting zoning BE Classified... cscs A FB Cross WOT w..cscseseeseeseerer AD Cuisine Scene secs RESERVED FOR SALE oy TO BC FERRIES ; | 2.5 acres (t hectare) 28 SINGLE-FAMILY LOTS 7 Acres (2.8 Hactares) * canlarms with existing zening © common rear driveway accacs A © golf course views © minimal impact on neighbors * no negative impact on views PRESERVE SEAVIEW WALK 14 Acres (2.4 Hectares) * continuous walkway » potential for enhancements + viewpolnts = fest areas - recreation activitlas - link to other park areas NEWS graphic David Biggar § North Shore NoWesesesccessnee I 9 SPOMtS.....sesscsseecssrssssssvseeee ED FBT V Listings... cesses Canadian Publications Mait Sales Product Agreement Number 0087238 THIS WEEK’S QUESTION: Is an $11 million cost justified for a new NVD municipal hall?