Sexual Predator Tries for Parole
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c ltura renaissance A Scottish jfig Nass culture thriving as more This year's music festival features Local runner marks milestone poles planned and lost artifacts Highland Dance distance over the found\NEWS A5 showcase\COMMUNITY BI weekend\SPORTS B4 'L~v 0 -~ / -? 7 / ~.: 7 • .:..'.'.. ! ..~t} i':~,: ..: | 93¢ PLUS 7¢ GST WEDNESDAY .,~ T T .~; : L .~: !~ ;~ i~ ~ v VOL, 9 NO, 51 APRIL 2, 1997 TE~:f~CE r _, kNDAR Sexual predator tries for parole By JEFF NAGEL parole hearing every year if he wants Kevin Oatway (.previously Willoughby) tional centre near Abbolsford in October, ly disguising themselves for privacy, but in prison, unleashing more protest from fornler are "very likely planning to reoffend Un- TERRACE's most notorious sexual of- one. der another name." fender will get a shot at parole this Last year he turned down a hearing, The two sex offenders are reported to " victims. Sex offenders are very difficult to track month, but this year it's going ahead -- on April have "married" each other in prison and Reform MP Randy White cites the then Stevens changed his name to Oatways' name changes as evidence of after a name change, he said. Robert Roland Willoughby has been in 17. the need for legislation preventing White claims B.C. sex offender Robert prison for ll years for his sex crimes Parole board spokesman Debra Kihara Oatway. violent offenders from changing their Noyes has changed his name as well, but against young children here. said anyone can apply to the parole Bobby Oatway was paroled ~om the authorities won't disclose it. Mountain Institution last March after names in prison. And the Standard has learned Wil- board to observe the heating, which will "All B.C. if not Canada knows of the "Neither Corrections Canada, the loughby has changed his name while in take place at Mountain Institution. sewing two-thirds of a lO-year sentence parole board nor the police will not give for buggery, bestiality, rape and gross in- terrible deeds of Robert Roland Wil- prison. So far the 47-year-old inmate hasn't loughby," White said. the public his new name," ~0~nite said. Now known as Kevin Roland Oatway, been granted release of any kind. decency. "For Corrections Canada to allow him "They say 'We tell each other.' But Oatway was initially released to a he remains behind bars at Mountain In- But victims in the Fraser Valley are and Robert Gordon Stevens to both that's not adequate. What they have to stitution near Agassiz in the Fraser Val- keeping dose tabs on another sex of_ halfway house in Toronto but public out- do is tell the public." rage there forced him to ask to return to change their names in prison is an of- ley. fender named Oatway who has been fence to right-minded citizens out Willoughby became eligible for day released. prison. He was returned to B.C., where he was there." parole in 1989 and for full parole in Bobby Oatway was previously known White said such offenders are not like- Continued Page A2 1991. That means he's now entitled to a as Robert Gordon Stevens when he met released again from the Sumas correc- Minister Repap B.C. unaware separation is complete of threat Failed vote has no effect here 130 protest dramatic By JEFF NAGEL THE DEFEAT of the gepap-Avenor merger doesn't fishing fee increases change a thing for workers and contractors in the north- By DAVID TAYLOR west. WORRIED BUSINESS owners in Terrace Avenor shareholders rejected the watered-down deal by a rallied outside the Access Centre last wide margin last Wednesday, briefly fuelling speculation Thursday to protest a huge leap in fishing that it could change the status of Repap's operations here. licence fees that could result in millions of Hut Repap B.C. remains protected from its creditors by lost tourist dollars. court order. But in spite of the public outcry, B.C.'s And the Royal and Toronto-Dominion Banks ended all speculation on Thursday by exercising their option to take environment minister was somehow bliss- over the shares of Repap B.C. fully unaware of any possible crisis. With those shares completely divested from Repap En- "I haven't been approached with those lerprises, nothing that happens to the parent company now concerns," Cathy McGregor told the Stun- will have any effect on northwestemers. (lard last Thursday. "But I'm willing to sit "They are now the owners of these operations," Repap down with people and talk about it." B.C. vice-president Rudy Schwartz said of the banks. When asked if she was worded that the "Now we can get on with life and start working on the huge increases would drive away tourists, plan." she simply said, "No." Repap B.C. will also be changing its name to reflect the In fact, McGregor insisted she was not change in ownership and separation from Repap, he added. aware of any concerns about potential huge "We're working on it," Schwartz said. "A lot of weird ideas are coming out. Someone suggested we call it Plup, dollar losses for local businesses because of or pulp spelled backwards." (Repap's name came from the fee increases. paper spelled backwards.) And she says there are no plans in the The next step for the company is to work with the banks works to reduce the more than $40 per day and the court-appointed monitor to restructure the compa- it will now cost out-of-province tourists to ny and try to put it back on sound footing. fish in the northwest. "Our focus is going to be to put together a structure that "We wanted to put the interests of B.C. will get the maximum return to the c~editors," Schwartz fishers first," McGregor said. "These clas- said. "Stability and repayment m that's my focus." sifted waters are very special. Non residents Meanwhile lawyers for various creditors will find out on should pay more to fish in world class April 8th whether the Supreme Court will allow the forma- tion of a creditors' committee to participate in the restruc- rivers." turing. McGregor said that reducing the non- Monitor David Bowra is expected to release his interim resident angling fees isn't in the cards right report on the state of Repap B.C. around the same time. now because the price is actually quite rea- The defeat of the merger of Avenor and Repap Enter- sonable. prises is a blow for Repap shareholders, especially compa- "Our fees are very low compared to other ny chairman George Petty. areas like Europe, and there haven't been The original proposal was fought by pension fund and any increases here since 1990," she said. other shareholders since it was tabled in December. "And most of the money from the higher [] Editorial, Page A5 That led on March 3rd to the exclusion of debt-laden fees will go into habitat conservation." [] Letters, Page A6 Repap B.C. from the deal m forcing rite subsidiary to seek But former Steelhead Society president []Tourists leaving, Page A12 bankruptcy protection -- and Repap EnterPrises share- Bruce Hill says the minister must have holders agreed to dramatically slash the number of Avenor known about the cancellations and lost shares they would get in exchange~ But in the end even that wasn't enough for Avenor share- revenues. holders, 75 per cent of whom voted against the deal Wed- "That's horseshit. She has been called, been coming here every summer for 20 nesday. faxed and sent letters by the Steelhead years. This year they aren't." Society, the BC Wildlife Federation and Liberal environment critic Christy Clark ,Continued Page A2 many others," he says. "We've been trying says she also asked the environment minis- to reach her since last week but she's being ter about the fee increases during Question shielded by her staff and she's getting some • Period last week, but failed to get a satis- A wild moose chase really bad advice." factory ~swer. A MOOSE MADE a wrong turn last week, and some- Hill also says the minister was informed "I don't think she has a clue what effect how ended up on Loen Ave., leading RCMP and con- of the protest rally held Thursday in front of this will have on people," Clark says. "It's servation officers a merry chase. the provincial government's Access Centre like she doesn't want tourists to fish in CpI. Ray Griffith was part of the posse, and he says on Eby street. B.C.. I thought it was a good thing to have the moose likely wandered into town on Wednesday About 130 guides, lodge owners and other visitors come here and spend their money." night, then rested in a small wooded area. Heavy traffic on Thursday confused the yearling, business people attended the rally. Lodge Hill, who helped organize the protest, is a longtime NDP member, not normally taken causing him to wander around the Loen area, looking owners complained cancellations had al- for a way out. At one point there was a concern that the ready resulted in losses of hundreds of to protesting against his own government. moose would head towards E.T, Kenney Primary, thousands of dollars. "I voted for these guys and I'm just total- where students were getting out for the afternoon. Other business owners said they had ly flabbergasted," Hill said. "And we can't SPORTRsHERMEN, guides, tackle store Conservation officers attempted to dart the moose, received phone calls from foreign get through to them." owners, motel operators and others milled but he eluded attempts at capture and ran between the customers wanting to know if the rumours Hill told the crowd northwesterners are against angling licence fee increases that-~ court house and the social services building into the were true.