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February 24, 1993 60 pages Display Advertising 980-0511

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NEWS photo Mika Wakelleld

The great divide

RUSH-HOUR traffic on the Upper Levels Highway Cut was slowed in all. di- rections Tuesday morning after a semi-trailer truck jumped the highway divider just east of Mountain Highway. A police investigation of the accident continues.

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“@9) Pro baseball scout = Don Shwery: 13

Classifieds 986-6222

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Distribution 986-1337

Group backs Blais suggestion to identify violent young offenders

A NORTH Shore-based group lobbying to make changes in the federal criminal justice system supports a recent statement made by federal Justice Minister Pierre Blais

that young publicly named.

As matters stand, the Young Offenders Act, passed in 1985, virtually guarantees anonymity for teens aged 12 to 17.

While details of an offence or trial may be reported by news media, the names of the accused, victims or witnesses, are off-limits for publication unless:

@ upon request by a peace officer a youth court makes an order allowing the publication of the identity of a young person who

‘poses a danger to the public, if

publication is deemed necessary to help apprehend the young person;

e@ the person to be identified, whether the accused, victim, or witness, requests that a youth court make an order permitting publication of the identity.

Said Noreen Provost, coor- dinator of Citizens United For Safety and Justice (CUSJ), “We've been after them to cither do away with or radically change the Young Offenders Act for years.

“| think it’s troversial act in We're all for the naming gerous young offenders,’’ said.

Provost said the CUSJ has writ-

the most con- all of Canada. of. dan- she

offenders who

commit violent’ crimes be

By Michael Becker and Stephen Wisenthal

ten a letter of support to Blais,

The organization also advocates a change to the age group ad- dressed by the Young Offenders Act, which covers young people aged 12 to 17,

Said Provost, ‘‘We feel that the age should be down to between 10 and 16, Most kids are really nice kids, but those who fall into this category are very often thoroughly streetwise by the time they are 14 or even younger.

“We think that by lowering the age, more kids who commit really serious crimes would fall under the adult form of punishment,” she added.

Meanwhile, last month North Vancouver City Coun. Stella Jo Dean stormed out of council's Jan. 11 meeting when she was ruled out of order early in a debate on the Young Offenders Act.

After Dean left, council voted in favor of asking several commit-

See Belcarra page S

Crash kills NV teen

Two-car collision on Moody Ave.

A NORTH Vancouver teen died Saturday, Feb. 20, fol- lowing an early-morning two-car collision in North Van-

couver.

Nazanin Shafieian, 17, died as a result of massive head injuries sustained when she was ejected from the vehicle in which she was a passenger.

According to a North Van- couver RCMP spokesman, the fatal accident took place at 1:52 am.

The deceased was travelling east on [3th Street in a {996 Chrysler Daytona driven by Sanaz Fazline- jad. Her sister Nooshin Shafician, 18, was a passenger in the front seat of the car.

The police say a Mazda travel- ling south on Moody Avenue went through a stop sign and struck the Chrysler on the driver's side, causing it to spin. The vehi- cle ended up on a nearby lawn,

The impact threw Shafieian out of the car’s haichback.

Said North Vancouver RCMP Set. Don Miller, “The deceased was not wearing her seatbelt,

By Michael Becker News Reporter

which likely would have saved her life.”

Miller said speed, on the part of the driver of the Mazda, is being investigated as a factor in the ac- cident.

The driver of the Mazda has been identified as 19-year-old Colin Worely) of North Van- couver. His passenger was Daniel Mendick.

According to a hospital spokesman, the four who survived the crash were treated for injuries at Lions Gate Hospital and discharged.

The police have ruled out alcohol as a contributing factor in the crash.

Their investigation into the ac- cident continues,

EBS ESET ES a ET

REACHING EVERY DOOR ON THE NORTH SHORE SINCE 1969