hieves snatch art Jade carvings, paintings taken from NV gallery Anna Marie D'Angelo News Reporter dangelo@nsnews.com THREE years of work by North Vancouver artist John Pesklewis were stolen in minutes early Saturday morning. The carver lost five pieces of work when thieves broke into The Morgan Dawne Gallery in the 200- block of West Esplanade. “They left one base behind and that was only because they dropped and broke it. For all intents and purposes, everything is gone,” said Pesklewis, 36. Pesklewis was one of seven artists who had pieces stolen in the heist. Among the stolen artwork made by Pesklewis was an exquisite car- rara marble carving of a mother polar bear and two cubs called “Anna, Sofia, Alexci.” The large, heavy carving was priced at $21,000. North Vancouver RCMP Const. Tom Seaman said an esti- mated $100,000 worth of artwork was taken. “There is a huge market in the Asian countries for these items,” said Seaman. He said the unique, expensive artwork could easily be sold on the black market in Asian countries. Seaman said a witness saw three males loading goods out of the gallery’s front door into a beige Nissan Multi at 1:20 a.m. The witness did not get a licence plate number. The thieves had drilled the luck out of the gallery’s front door. Police said the thieves used a picce of wood to keep the door ajar. Onc of the thieves cut a wire to a ringing alarm in the art and gift gallery. “They just did the big grab,” said Seaman Glen Powell, whose wife Dawne Bringeland owns the gallery, said Saturday’s theft appeared to be a professional planned heist. Powell said the gallery has been open for jess than six thieves who broke into The Morgan months. It represents approximately 40 artists, most of whom are from B.C. One previous burglary involved a smash-and- grab style crime. Powell said that insurance covers the artists costs, bur the gallery is not compensated for not being able to sell the art- work or for the costs of any lost business. Powell added that the insurance company can take up to a year to compensate the artists. The artwork taken included mostly sculptures and four large paintings. Ironically Pesklewis lives wo blocks away from the gallery in Lower Lonsdale. Said Pesklewis, “Uve tried not to get too stressed about it, but obviously I’m sad. You teel violated. You feel all those things.” Besides the polar bears sct'ipturc, Pesklewis also lost three B.C, jade pieces: two relief disks depicting a bear face and a falcon along with a dolphins sculpture. A carrara marble bel- uga whale carving was also stolen. Wednesday, September 23, 1998 — North Shore News — 3 ART and gift gallery owner Dawne Sringeland hoids the wire from the audible alarm that was cut by N Dawne Gallery on Saturday and stole $100,000 worth of art. Inset photos and photo r'ght depict works by North Vancouver artist John Peskiewis that were stolen. . Pesklewis has been involved in art alj his life and has worked on his own for three years as an artist. The stolen pieces represent the j majority of his work from the last three years. Pesklewis apprenticed with a jade carver for six years. He said that he has mixed feclings because in a perverse way his ego has been stroked by this. “Obviously my stuff is in demand by somebody, but unfor- tunately it is not a legitimate paying client,” said Pesklewis. He said artists are already targets of government cutbacks and reduced arts funding and don’t need to be targets of criminals. Anyone with information about the gallery burglary is asked to call North Vancouver RCMP Const. Scort Simpson at 985-1311 or Crime Stoppers at 669-8477. Callers are asked ro refer to the case's file number: 98-3265]. use eyed for Olympics SAM Hunter struck it rich with a coo! million-dollar win. North Vancouver man an instant millionaire Robert Gaister News Reporter robert@nsnews.com THE North Shore’s millionaire population grew by one last week when Saniuel Hunter won a $1 million BC/49 iottery jackpot. __“¥ou don’t believe it, you keep looking at it (the ticket) but you don’r believe it because you've been piaying so long,” said Hunter. The North Vancouver resident has come close to winning the big one before but his latest win cclipses past jackpots by a country mile. The last time around, Hunter matched five out of six numbers in a 6/49 game and came away with $1,803. The 44-year-old is separated and has one son. He said the money “was really needed right now” though he has yet to make up his mind on exactly how to spend it. The only thing he is looking forward to now is getting some rest. “I hope it’s not a condition you get, insomnia. because I can’t slecp I’m so excited,” said Hunter. He plans on taking a vacation and eventually buying a house with his win- nings, but so far the money has not gone to Hunter’s head, He said, he noticed a downward trend in housing prices and will likely wait to sce if they’ve reached rock bottom. “And I’m going to give a little to charity but I don’t know which one because last time I gave (to a charity) I found out they were a bunch of crooks,” said Hunter. Andrew McCredie Editor andrew@nsnews.cam IF Arthur Griffiths gets his way, North Varicouver will be to bobsledding what Whistler is to skiing. The chairman of the Vancouver-Whistler 2010 Winter Olyinpics bid unveiled a proposed venue map on Monday morning in downtown Vancouver wh luded Grouse Mountain as the sire for a $36-million bobsled-luge run. Calgary is the location of Canada’s sole bob- sleigh-luge track. It was built for the 1988 Winter Olympics. The combined Vancouver-Whistler bid is up against Calgary and Quebec City to host the 2010 Winter Olympics. On Nov. 21 the Canadian Olympic Committee will select one of the three bids ta support, Grouse Mountain president Stuart McLaughlin was approached in the spring by the Vancouver- Whistler bid committee to see if the resort was inter- ested in hosting an event. “We thought we could host some of the snow- boarding events here,” McLaughlin said yesterday. “There couldn’t be a split venue with athictes and coaches so all that is sec for Whistler.” Ski jumping was another event McLaughlin feit would be ideal for his facility — “It would be spec- tacular sceing them fly off the peak with the city below” — but unstable wind conditions made Grouse unsuitable as a ski-jumping venue. However, the resort’s rolling terrain proved ideal for a bobsteigh-luge track. According to McLaughlin, track engine tlect- ed a location and layout that fits in perfectly with the mountain’s ski runs. “Expo is the only run that would be impacted, and there we'd just elevate the track so skiers could go under it,” McLaughlin said. Said Canada Bobsleigh and Luge executive direc- tor Larry Ring: “A second track in Canada would be outstanding. The legacy left fron; the Calgary Games was great for our sport.” : Prior to the construction of Calgary’s track — which Ring said is regarded as “easiest in the world” — aspiring Canadian sledders had to train in Lake Placid, New York, And while the concrete track in Calgary should hold up for many years to come, Ring said it would benefit the sport and Vancouver if a new facility was built at Grouse Mountain. Chris Lori, the 14-year Canadian bobsled veter- an who retired this year following the Nagano Olympics, was the main consultant on the preposed Grouse Mountain layout. According to McLaughlin the experienced sledder’s input was invaluable. “He liked the site in terms of its accessibility to the Athlete’s Village (at UBC) and also the room we have to build a proper practice-warm-up area,” McLaughlin said. The proposed concrete track would start near the top of the Blucberry chairlift and run towards the ee Ski Club Cabin. At the midpoint of the Blueberry Chair it would cut towards the Centennial run. “Essentially it’s perfect for us because it follows the old Mountain Highway switchbacks which we were planning to decommission anyway,” McLaughlin said. The Grouse president said his company has not been asked to contribute any of the estimated $36- million to construct the track. All agreements with the bid committee so far have been agreements in principle. If indeed the Vancouver-Whistler bid gets the nod on Nov. 21, the funding situation will become more clear. The McLaughlin family is no stranger to the Olympics. in the 1970s Stuart’s father Bruce was a Canadian equestrian delegate to both the Munich and Montreal Games. In 1976, the family’s Blueridge Farms north of Toronto hosted pre- Olympic events.