a

24 | Terrace Review — Wednesday, January 29, 1992

Graffiti

by Tod Strachan

One of the first "substantial"
rewards the Vandal Watch pro-

gtam might want to offer will be”

for information leading to the
conviction of the vandals who
destroyed a Chamber of Com-
merce sign last June west of
Terrace.

The sign, a little over a kilo-
metre west of the Kalum bridge,
had greeted visitors to town for
about six.years. After a rash of
incidents last June, however, it
was torn down on the afternoon
ofJune 19% ee

During the previous week,
graffiti had been painted on the

sign on at -least two occasions.

Several plywood panels were
kicked out a short time: later.
And on the morning of June 19,
someone tried to burn the sign
down and firefighters had to cut
away sections of the smoulder-
ing frame. Total damage at the
time was cstimated by the.
Chamber of Commerce to be
$4,000. oe
That was the last development
on the issue until Jan. 23 of this
year, when Terrace and District
Chamber of Commerce President
Sharon Taylor sent a letter to
Terrace crown counsel Paul Kirk
that was more.than a little criti-
cal of the proceedings.
Taylor noted that six individ-
uals had admitted guilt to. at
least part of the vandalism last

year. With a request for restitu- ”

tion for damages totalling $8,000

the chamber had turned the

matter over to. the RCMP.
According to Taylor, she heard

‘nothing more, but when she
placed a phone call to Kirk

-eartier this month she was told
that the six individuals involved.
had been written letters of warn-

ing and that the case had been
"closed".

Referring to the letters, Taylor .

writes: "This letter was a virtual
‘slap on the wrist, with a warning
‘not to do it again, and recom-
mending that each send a letter
of apology to the Chamber of
Commerce!"
- Taylor then says that letters of
apology were never received,
‘and adds; "We have no interest
in *public flogging’, but we
certainly do have an interest in
some form of restitution. There-
‘fore we protest, in the strongest

__-. possible terms, the lack of con- ..
_ v sideration by the Crown to this
-.. She. concludes: “Again, our

‘disappointment is profound. It is

“our sincere hope that this is. not
poling: to be . the standard —
_ “response in future cases."
Taylor's letter,
doesn’t necessarily reflect all the .
circumstances. According, to.
 JRCMP staff sergeant John Veld-_
"mani, the “six. individuals" admit- |
“ted their guilt ina letter'a week |
after one particular incident and |

offered. restitution by. way of

“ semoving their graffitl. |
_. tnformation offered by Kirk
~-paraltéis that offered by’ Veld-.
ais, ‘He. also totes that: while -
ego counsel attempts to keep |

alt victims ‘of crime up'to date |

however,

confession spawr

on matters. concerning them,
anyone can phone crown counsel
as often as they wish for an
update.

From information provided by
Kirk and Veldman, these are the
circumstances in this particular
case. Crown counsel received a
report from the RCMP on Aug.
21, 1991, that indicated six
female Caledonia grads spray
painted some initials on the base
in a.corner of the sign on June
12,1990. Two of them returned
later and attempted to remove
the paint.

When confronted by their
school principal and a teacher,
the girls admitted their guilt and
_agreed to write a letter of apol-
‘ogy to then Chamber president
Doug Smith. .

Their joint admission, dated
June 19, 1991, read in part:
" We are willing to take res-
ponsibility for what we have

done and to cooperate fully in.

the restoration of the sign. The
six of us are very sorry for the
trouble and time we have caused
the Chamber of Commerce.

"However, we feel it.would
be unjust for us to be penalized
for the entire damages because
there was already some graffiti
on it, and subsequent damage
has been done by others."

The girls then offered to repair
the damage, not knowing the
sign had almost been completely
destroyed by other unknown

vandals. These vandals have still
not been named. _
When the girls learned of the
additional vandalism to the sign,
they went to the police — uppat-
ently on their own initiative —
and again admitted guilt for their
graffiti.

The investigator in the Aug. 21
police report suggested that,
‘although a request for full resti-
tution had been made, the girls
were only guilty of a small

‘amount of the total damage and

should not pay for replacing the
entire sign. In the police report,
therefore, “diversion” or com-.

munity. hours were recom-'
‘mended. 2

According to Kirk, diversion is
a program that allews the Crown

to deal with certain offenders -

outside of the court process.
Instead of going to trial, the
offender works with probation in
carrying out a mutually agreed
plan to offer penance for their
their crime. It is designed for
individuals who have committed
minor non-violent crimes ‘and

- take responsibility for their

actions. |
~ Jf this appears to-be the action

‘of choice, the offenders file is
sent to the local probation
- officer fora "Pre-Trial Enquiry".
“This. particular case followed
procedures no different than any -

other. The probation officer
interviewed all six girls and

offered recommendations to, the

ARIES
Mar. 21-Apr. 19

response,
TAURUS
Apr. 20-May 20
company.
GEMINI
May 21-June 20

CANCER

all.

LEO
July 23-Aug. 22

VIRGO
Aug. 23-Sept. 22

LIBRA
Sept. 23-Oct. 22

SCORPIO
Oct. 23-Nov. 21

SAGITTARIUS

Nov, 22-Dec. 21
_ CAPRICORN

Dec. 22-Jan. {9

AQUARIUS ...
Jari. 20-Feb. 18

“PISCES | .
Feb: 19-Mar. 20

‘

Express your feelings to one who means a great
deal to you. You may be surprised at their

Home is key word, this week. Stay in and enjoy
the time spent alone. Look to yourself for

Look before you leap into commitments you
may not be able to handle. Watch out for
troublemaker in disguise.

Your heart’s desire fs about to be received. You
June 21-July 22. may discover that it is not what you want, after

Your energy level is on high. Use it wisely, be
careful not to burn yourself out too soon.

Donate your time to a worthy project. It is your
most precious asset and one only you can give.
Be generous.

You will be expected to search for an answer ta
a perplexing problem. Someone in charge will be
impressed with your ingenuity,

‘Relationship cannot be conducted over the
phone. Face to face contact is essential if it is
to grow more meaningful.

Put on your best for a special social event. Look. .
successful. Someone may notice and your full, |, |
potential will be realized. er
If you are retired, look for a charity that could > |
benefit from your time; It will be you who will -

- recelvethe most. .

An important fesson can be learned this week.

It may be a hard one, so expect a few setbacks.

Prepare for change in family status. Youcanex-
pect an increase in

p 500d aNcrnative numbers soon. Adoption is
Prag
_ Brighten your J anuary

with a deli tray from |
Bert’s Delicatessen! |
- 4@03 Park Avenue, Terrace”

© @BB-5440

giana

Crown. His report was. com-
pleted in late August. 2:
The Crown has sole responsi-
bility as to the course of action
to take, says Kirk, but in this
case the girls fit all criteria. All

had readily: admitted guilt, had

provided complete statements to
the RCMP, and were first-time
offenders. .

Therefore, according to Kirk:
"The claim for restitution for
$8,079.50 was not appropriate
because these individuals did not
destroy the sign." -

Instead, following the recom-

confusion

mendation in a second ‘probation
report, the girls were sent letters
of caution outlining the severe
consequences of a second
offence, noting that diversion
would not be an option.

When asked why the chamber
didn’t act on the girls’ June 19
apology and offer of labour,
Doug Smith, who was president
of the chamber at the time of the
affair, says it was felt by the
crime. It is designed for individ-
uals who have committed minor
non-violent crimes and .take
responsibility for their actions.

acknowledgement card.

A thoughtful way to remember is with an In
Memoriam gift to the Heart and Stroke Foundation
of B.C. and Yukon. Please mail your donation to
the above address and include the name of the
deceased, your name and address, as well as the
name and address of the next-of-kin for an

IMPRO\ “Maggie Park == |
RO NDDS #209-4526 Park Ave., |
AGAINST | Terrace,B.C.
wit. | CANADA'S V8G 1V1
ONT | #1 KILLER 638-1167

Terrace

% Interiors Ltd.
f 4610 Lazelle Ave.

635-6600

“All the supplies you need”
¢Exterior and interior paints
- ecomplete line of blinds.

ACROSS «Large selection of wallpaper ~
. a _ :
4 Intefligance i] a) SE a] oT v] a] See 3] 4) 0 .

2 ee A rae) by eee

- Number one

13 Ahead of time £11) a] NY] Gee Zl a] Hj OO} By]
- 44 Gold. Sp. - a Ul a S| 2 5] OL

15 Pancake mixture . ACE eb BEBEE

He serail Me GEE BEE

20 Ancient I, S| Ni 2 a) 2 § qa

21 Article a| 3] 4] 1) ¥ a d ya

at hee ; SIME) EG a) £] I

ereditary factor Ny a] a| 2] OF oj ¥) 2
a7 Daughters of the AM. . S| a 8] «4 ; Mal al ©! vig
25 feos . CE BRIBE! gol ¥
Ventitalad ai al a! Sin} al Sime alo) ae

30 Ed. Begley, Init. DOWN ° a

34 Cotton cloth, init. 1 Invoice

33 West Indies, init, 2 Fiddler crab genus 26 Revises

34 John 3 Superior 28 Devolee

36 Color 4 Spore 28 Plus

37) Obtain © § Cereal aplke _ 31 Anil toxin

38 Prophet 6 Nancy Raagan, Init. 32 Even

39 Jap. money 7 Cunningly 35 Reduce

40 Vehicles 8 Looked at 37 Vegalable plot

41° Pondered ® Angle 38 Cinch

43° Distant 10 Vasellke vessel 40 Preserve

44 On time 14 Cattle genus 42 Health resorts

48 Robber 16 Head covering 43 Destiny

49 Bunkum 18. Shistd ; 44 Expert

50 Careful Inspection 20 Commanded 45 Brawl

52 Gr.letter - 21° Thoughts 48 Morsel

53 «Ge In debt ; 22° Put aside 47 Inhabltant of, suffix

54 Sudden rush 23° “Feline _ 48 Ballor

85 Sauls grandiather 25. More recent

51 District altorney, init.

e¢ fl