. 8.., ‘, i Harbour Youth ambassadors at Airline officials hope Caledonia sports star Caledonia can claim a creditors will give thumbs continues her winning provincial first up to repayment plan streak in multiple events \COMMUNITY 61 ,, ’ \NEWS AI0 \SPORTS 84 (2 outside of the Terrace area) I STUDENTS gather at the location on Merkley Road where Jason Mattenley and Joel Manning crashed down a ravine while doubling on a bicycle after a graduation-related party nearby May 28. Mattenley later died of his injuries while Manning underwent surgery and remains in serious but stable condition. Below, a tribute is left to Mattenley. MAhGARET SPEIRS PHOTOS - 11 Tragic acc ent claims teen’s life By MARGARET SPEIRS them not to drink and drive. Police have talked to party-goers to try to deter- HUNDREDS OF people crowded into the mine what the boys did that night, Stubbs skd. Caledonia principal Cam M REM Lee.T$eatre June 4 to remember 17- doesn’t sanction parties. - year-old Jason Mattenley who passed away “We knew there was going May 29 after a bicycle he was on tumbled always a party,” he said. down a bank at the intersection of Johnson “Parents are fairly aware, of what’s going on,” MacKay.added. Road and Merkley Road in the Bench area As of late last week, he said Manning was doing north of town. better and improving. He suffered a skull fracture at Mattenley and another youth, Joel Manning,’ the base of his skull where it meets the spine. 17, were doubling on the bike after leaving a A surgical procedure was done on Manning’s left arm to reduce swelling, he said. post-prom party at a private residence on Merk- RCMP Constable Rochelle Patenaude said the ley Road in the early morning hours of May accident is being treated as a separate event from the 28. after-prom party. The pair apparently missed a steep curve, causing Patenaude did not confirm if underage drinking them to go down a 10- to 15-foot embankment. went on at the party, but did say police were called Manning, a Caledonia Secondary School grad, there to deal with a very intoxicated young woman and Mattenley, who had one more semester of high who wasn’t known to the owners of the private prop- school, went undiscovered until being noticed by a erty where the party was held. passerby around 9:30 p.m., hours after the accident. The young woman, who was so incoherent she Both were taken first to Mills Memorial Hospital couldn’t give police her name or ,birthdate, was and then flown by air ambulance to Vancouver be- ‘ taken into custody for her own safety +s police of- cause of the severity of their injuries. ten do when people drink too.much, can’t care for Manning was reported to be recovering from sur- themselves and could be a danger to themselves or gery to his arm in Vancouver late last week but the others. extent of his head injuries wasn’t known. Patenaude said police did not look for intoxicadd Terrace RCMP Staff Sgt. Eric Stubbs said police youths or tell the owners to shut downlthe party be-’ believe that alcohol was a factor in the accident. cause they don’t go into private residences and tell So far, RCMP are not drawing a direct link be- the owners what to do. tween the accident and the party. If a party host calls to say that a gathering is get- The party, which drew approximately 200 young ting out of control or a neighbour reports a noisy people, was not an officially sanctioned event, was party and requests are made for police assistance, attended by parents and, on occasion, by the RCMP. officers will gladly respond to help keep the ‘peace, It took place after the May 27 Caledonia prom, which she continued. ,I is one of the key activities marking graduation. But police won’t just show up to sh “Obviously the owner allowed it,” Stubbs said. party at an adult’s house, said Patenaude. He did say parents at the party worked to ensure Provincial coroners will also be lookin the young people didn’t drink and drive. teen’s death. t ’ Parents and taxis shuttled people back and forth Shane deMeyer, acting regional cor0 during the night. north, says a young person’s death unde “They (parents) attempted to try to minimize the ferent scrutiny than that of an adult. risk,” said Stubbs. “It gets a different scrutiny for su “There were a lot of cars left there overnight as adding that a young person - anyone under the age well. It’s a good sign having the parents there at the of 19 - is considered to be a child from the corone gate and having taxis come and go.” point of view. It’s possible illegal drugs may have been used Local coroners handle cases of child death dd there. will look at what can be done to prevent child deaths, “You’d be naive to say there weren’t drugs at the he said. In every case, except for homicides, the cor- party,” said Stubbs, adding he wasn’t sure if police oner’s office takes the lead in the investigation and seized any illegal drugs. the RCMP assists the coroner, he said. Tipsters tell PI. police not listening - By MARGARET SPEIRS “Not only was she not allowed to personally talk “There’s more examples like that,” Michalko He believes RCMP detachments along Hwyl6 to a police officer, but her call was dismissed out- said, adding that these two people seemed to be need a designated officer to take calls about the TIPSTERS who have possible leads about the right, by the civilian employee that answered the “normal, honest people.” missing women, record the messages accurately and missing women along Hwyl6 are cqtical of how telephone,” Michalko said. These people wiU never call police again if they pass them on to the lead investigator without making police handle their information. He determined the shovel didn’t belong Hoar. have a problem or witness a crime, he said. any judgment on whether the tips have any merit. “Some feel that they are not getting the correct Michalko also said a man called police after see- “If you talk to anybody who‘s had a problem or Terrace RCMP spokesperson Const. Rochelle response,” said Surrey private investigator Ray Mi- ing a vehicle similar to one described as being of even wants to report a problem, it takes an aw€d lot Patenaude said she isn’t aware of any compIahts lo- chalko, who was here recently to follow up on leads interest in the case of one missing woman, only to actually call the police,” he said, adding that c cally about passing on information. he received after advertising for information. to be told by the civilian employee who answered ers expect to get a positive response from police. “The person at the other end of the One woman, said Michalko, found a tree planting the phone that the particular detachment he called “I think they’re making a judgment call that the make a determination of whether the information is shovel leaning against a tree while hiking in a heav- was not handling the case and that he should call a call is not important. You can’t have a bunch of peo- valuable or not,” she said, adding that tips are writ- ily wooded area between Hwyl6 and the Skeena long-distance number of another detachment to re- ple determining what’s important,” he said, adding ten down and given to the investigator in charge of River. She returned home to call police immediately lay the information. The .man called the number, left that a lead with the potential to take an investiga- acase. as she believed the shovel could’ve belonged to Ni- messages on the answering machine and still hasn’t tor in the right direction to solve a case might never A tip that doesn’t seem important, when put to- cole Hoar, the treeplanter who disappeared while heard back from police four years later, the investi- be received. “Until any case is solved, all tips could gether with other tips, could link together to become hitchhiking just west of Prince George in 2002. gator continued. have value.” a valuable clue in a case, she said. c The War AmDsI Davs.. tribute to &adas Military II would like to congratulate 1 II Heritage To see a IisUng 01 our CanadIan Mllllary Heritage documenlrrier, vltH our Web sHe at ww.wrrampt.ca or order a pJIIti?hld n receiving your Chartered Accountun- , cdll~1400-250-3030. A Temp Temp, Precip 26 20.5 5.5 2.2 26 28.0 10.4 0.0 27 23.1 7.9 0.0 27 26.4 9.8 0.0 20 18.0 7.5 ‘T l 28 27.0 10.0 0.01 29 17.2 7.4 0.0 29 24.2 12.3 0.0 30 15.4 9.2’ 0.8 30 24.6 9.9 0.0 31 21.2 9.8 T 15.4 11.2 0.6 ~ 31 1 19.8 11.5 2.0 I I 19.9 10.2 0.0 control and delays. Please watch for and obey a11 YOUTHS CROUCH at a memorial at the scene of a May 28 accident which took the life of Caledonia student traffic signs and Traffic Control Persons. For current MARGARET SPEIRS PHOTO information regarding delays on routes you may be Jason Mattenley, 17.