o, Harbour high 28. . The pair apparently missed a steep curve, causing - Youth ambassadors at Caledonia can claim a provincial first \COMMUNITY B1 . Approval sought Airline officials hope creditors will give thumbs up to repayment plan \NEWS Ato Heptathiete Caledonia sports star continues her winning streak in multiple events \SPORTS B4 $ 1.00 Plus 7¢ GST ($1. 10 plus 8¢ GST outside of the Terrace area)’. e 7 By! MARGARET SPEIRS HUNDREDS OF people crowded into the REM Lee. Theatre June 4, to remember 17- year-old Jason Mattenley who passed away May 29 after a bicycle he was on tumbled down a bank at the intersection of Johnson Road and Merkley Road in the Bench area north of town. Mattenley and another youth, Joel Manning, 17, were doubling on the bike after leaving a post-prom party at a private residence on Merk- ley Road in the early morning hours of May a them to go down a 10- to 15-foot embankment. Manning, a Caledonia Secondary School grad, and Mattenley, who had one more semester of high. school, went undiscovered until being noticed by a Both were taken first to Mills Memorial Hospital and then flown by air:ambulance to Vancouver be- cause of the severity of their injuries. Manning was reported to be recovering from sur- gery to his arm in Vancouver late last week but the ‘extent of his head injuries wasn’t known. - Terrace RCMP Staff Sgt. Eric Stubbs said police believe that alcohol was a factor in the accident. So far, RCMP are not drawing a direct link be- tween the accident and the party. The party, which drew approximately 200 young people, was not an officially sanctioned event, was attended by parents and, on occasion, by the RCMP. It took place after the May 27 Caledonia prom, which - is one of the key activities marking graduation. , _ “Obviously the owner allowed it,” Stubbs said. ‘He did say. parents at the party worked to ensure ' the young people didn’t drink and drive. . Parents and taxis shuttled people back and forth during the night. “They (parents) attempted to try to minimize the risk,” said Stubbs. “There were a lot of cars left there overnight as — well. It’s a good sign having the parents there at the gate and having taxis come and go.” It’s possible Hegal drugs may have been used there. “You'd be naive to say there weren t drugs.at the party,” said Stubbs, adding he wasn’t sure if police _ seized any illegal drugs. _ By MARGARET SPEIRS TIPSTERS who have: possible leads about the missing women along Hwy16 are critical of how police handle their information. “Some feel that they are not getting the correct response,” said Surrey private investigator Ray Mi- chalko, who was:here recently to follow up on leads he received after advertising for information. One woman, said Michalko, found a tree planting shovel leaning against a tree while hiking in a heav- ily wooded area between Hwy16 and the Skeena River. She returned home to call police immediately as she believed the shovel could’ ve belonged to Ni- cole Hoar, the treeplanter who disappeared while hitchhiking just west of Prince George in 2002. " passerby around 9:30 p.m., hours after the accident. ° . Tipsters tell Pl. “Not only was she not allowed to personally talk ~ held,” said Stubbs. to a police officer, but her call was dismissed out- right, by the civilian employee that answered the telephone,” Michalko said. He determined the shovel didn’t belong Hoar. Michalko also said a man called police after see- © ing a vehicle similar to one described as being of interest in the case of one missing woman, only: to be told by the civilian employee who answered ~ the phone that the particular detachment he called — was not handling the case and that he should call a long-distance number of another detachment to re- lay the information. The man called the number, left messages on the answering machine and still hasn’t heard back from police four years later, the investi- gator continued. “Police knew about the party the day before. “Whenever there’s a big party, we usually get wind of it. We try to discourage parties from m being DO alcohol but the reality isthey do.” . Officers did put up a road block the night of the party to tell people what. was going on and.to tell | lice’ 1ot liste - He believes RCMP’ detachments along Hwy16 ; need a designated officer to take calls about the . “There’ s more examples like: that,” Michalko said, adding that these two people seemed to be “normal, honest people.” These people will never call police. again if they have a problem or witness a crime, he said. “If you talk to anybody who’s had.a problem or even wants to report a problem, it takes an awful lot ers expect to get a positive response from police:" “T think they’re making a judgment.call that the call is not important. You can’t have a bunch of peo- ple determining what's important,” he said, adding that a lead with the potential to take an investiga- tor in the right direction to solve a case might never - be received. “Until any case is solved, all tips could have value.” ““We do not condone young people consuming -a valuable clue in a case, she said. STUDENTS gather at the location on Merkley F Road where Jason. Mattenley and Joel Manning crashed down a ravine > while doubling o ona a bicycle after a graduation- “related party nearby May 28... Mattenley later died of his injuries while Manning underwent: surgery é and remains.in serious but stable condition. Below, a tribute j is left to Mattenley. ot : s teen’s life MARGARET SPEIRS. PHOTOS _ them not to drink and drive. Police have talked to party- goers to try to o deter- mine what the boys did that night, Stubbs said. Caledonia principal ¢ Cam MacKay § said the school ..doesn’t sanction parties... “...: “We knew there was going to be a party. ‘There’ 's always a party,” he said. . “Parents are fairly aware. of what’s going ‘on,’ MacKay. added. _ ' As of late last week, he said Manning was doing - better and improving. He suffered a skull fracture at ‘the base of his skull where it meets the spine. : A surgical procedure | was done on Manning’ s left arm to reduce swelling, he said. RCMP Constable Rochelle Patenaude ‘said the fF’ accident is being treated asa separate event from the . ; _ after-prom party. - Patenaude did not confirm ‘if underage drinking went on at the party, but did say police were called - ~ there to deal with a very ‘intoxicated young woman _ a who \ wasn’t known to the owners of the private Prop erty where the party was held: _», The young, woman, who was so incoherent she _— _couldn’t give police her. name. or birthdate, “was taken into custody for her own ‘safety as police. of-. ten. do ‘when people drink.too much, can’t care for . themselves and could be a danger. to themselves or others. ° 2 ‘Patenaude said police did not look for intoxicatéd. - youths or.tell the owners to shut down, the party. be- cause they don’t go into private. residences and: tell the owners what to do... Tf a party. host calls to'say that a gathering i is get- , 7 ting out of control or-a neighbour. reports a ‘noisy party and requests are made: for, police assistance; $ officers will gladly respond | to help keep the: ‘Peace, ‘she continued. a But police won’t just show up.to. shut “down a - party at an adult’s house, said Patenaude.: - Provincial coroners will also be looking. into the teen’s death. ob , Shane deMeyer, acting regional coroner fo the - north, says a young person’s death undergoes . ferent scrutiny than that of an adult... 9.08, .°°: 3 “Tt gets a different scrutiny : for. sure,” he: said, adding that a young ‘person — anyone, under. the age of 19 ~is considered tobea child from the ¢ coroner’ s point of view. Local coroners handle cases of child: death aid will look‘at what can be done to prevent child deaths, he said. In every case, except for homicides, the cor-. oner’s office takes the lead in the investigation and: _ the RCMP assists the coroner, he said. inc missing. women, record the messages accurately and pass them on to the lead investigator without making ~ -any judgment on whether the tips have any merit. ~ Terrace RCMP. spokesperson Const. Rochelle Patenaude said she isn’t aware of any complaints lo- , to actually call the police,” he said, adding that. call- oe cally about passing on information. .- . “The person at the other end of the phone doesn’ t _ make a determination of whether the information is valuable or not,” she said, adding that tips are writ- ten down and given to the investigator in charge of a case. A tip that doesn’t seem ‘important, when put to- gether with other tips, could link together t¢ to become ry dif-