Cassiar Courier the Voice of Cassiar Country JUNE 1982 -10cents _ Jade trial takes two days.... Ray Joseph Empereale and Clark Montieth were tried on charges of theft over $200 and possession of stolen pro- perty valued over $200 at a two day trial held in Cassiar on May 19 and 20. These charges arose when the accused together with Salvatore Latorre were apprehended while loading approximately thirty tons of jade on a truck, on Hwy. 37 near Mr. Empereale’s cabin in the Pinetree Lake area. The crown prosecutor called witnesses who testified that jade appears in the mine approximately every two years and the last occurrence was approximately March to October 1980. Some witnesses explained that during this period geology people came up during the day after a blast and marked found jade pieces with a J or Jade ora circle, with red fluorescent paint to enable the mine peo- ple to identify the jade. It was then taken to the cirque where it was stored until it was brought down the hill. When jade occurred during afternoon and night shifts, the mine foreman and crew were responsible for picking out the jade. Several of the witnesses stated that they had seen both the accused, on different occasions, loading jade on- to the blasting truck by hand, and also with the aid of a cat and the Kal Tire Hi-Up, and that this was not part of either of their jobs at the mine site. _ Mr. Leaming. who has a Masters Degree in geology, was declared an expert witness and testified that a charac- _ teristic of the Cassiar jade was that it contained a large quantity of chrome garnet specks or streaks. Although hat Ps ©0000 00000000000000000000 0000000000 00CCCOOODOOOCOOOOCOODOOCOLOSOCOOOCOOOOOOOOEOOOOCe this occurs elsewhere, he stated that if he saw a boulder with 10 - 15% chrome garnets that there was a 60 - 40% chance it had come from the Cassiar mine. The defense lawyer, Mr. Jensen, called witnesses to establish that the blasting crew for Cassiar Resources Ltd., of which Ray Empereale is a part, had been told by their foreman that if they saw jade they should pick it up and take it to the storage place in the cirque. He also called witness John. Brown, who stated that he and Mr. Montieth were horseback riding down the old Shell road when they found these piles of jade there. Mr. Mon- tieth and Mr. Empereale then gave testimony. They stated that they felt this jade had béen abandoned and that it had been on the old Shell road for some time as veg- etation was growing around it. They, together with Sal- vatore Latorre, arranged to salvage it. They used two 4x4 vehicles with winches and it took them three weeks to bring this thirty tons of jade to the area on Hwy. 37, » near Ray Empereale’s cabin, where it was put in the ditch and covered with bushes, etc. In his summation the defense lawyer, Mr. Jensen, stated that the accused had an honest belief that the jade had been abandoned. They had no intention to commit a crime. He also stated that he felt that the Crown Prose- cutor had not established beyond a reasonable doubt that the jade in question was the property of Cassiar Resour- ces Ltd. He stressed that the accused felt it was their jade - they found it. Mr Kennedy, the Crown Prosecutor, stated that be- Recreation lots available Mr. Chabot, Minister of Parks, Lands and Housing, has announced 42 recreational lots have been surveyed on Simmons, Cook, Vines and Lang Lakes. However, 4 of these lots have cabins on them so only 38 lots will be offered at a Public Lot Draw in the Gym, Cassiar Commun- ity Centre, on Tuesday, June 22, at 7:30 p.m. The lots are for recreational use only and not to be used as permanent residences. Ap- plicants for thése lots must be Canadian citizens, 19 years of age or over, and have been a resident of B.C. for 2 years immediately preceding the draw. Only one lot may be acquired by a family unit: Further information may be obtained from the Government Agent’s office in Cassiar. Mr. Chabot also stated that work is being done to provide residential lots in the Cassiar area. The biggest problem, however, is that all the land is mineral-staked but officials of the Ministry are looking into this and he hoped to have some answers by the end of June, at which time he will probably make a trip here to ex- plain the situation. During his February visit to Cassiar a num- ber of people brought up problems they had re- garding land acquisition, cabins, etc., but he has not received any follow-up letters from these people, as he had requested. Therefore, he has - not been able to do anything about the indivi- dual problems brought up. It certainly is gratifying to see that some of the concerns raised during the recent Cabinet Ministers tour of this area have been acted on so promptly. Cassiar Hospital Takeover Since the written announcement by Mr. James A. Nielsen, Minister of Health, that notwithstanding some minor modifications to the agreement be- tween the Cassiar Society, Brinco and the Govern- ment of B.C., all agreements will be signed by the parties involved. The signature to these agree- ments will begin the phased transfer of the oper- ation of the Cassiar Hospital from Brinco to the Society, who eventually will be totally respon- sible for the every day operation of the Cassiar Public Hospital. Although the exact date of the phase over has not been stated, a Brinco spokesman expects a con- clusion to the negotiations during the third quar- ter of 1982. COURT NEWS MARTY FUGERE — Charged with unlawfully transporting a firearm. Given an absolute dis- charge. . RICK DIXON — charged with impaired driving. Fined $450. RICK DIXON — charged with taking an automo- bile without consent. Given a suspended sentence, 9 months probation and 50 hours community work. JOHN STURROCK — charged with impaired driv- ing. Fined $450 and given a 3 month suspension. ALLAN MASSIN — charged with driving an un- licensed motorcycle. Fined $250. PETER WHALEN — charged with driving an un- licensed motorcycle. Fined $250. cause of the propinquity of the site where the jade was found, to the Cassiar Mine, and the fact that blasted jade in the quantity found could not have been brought by road from any other mine in the area other than from Cassiar Resources that the jade was in fact Cassiar jade. The fact that the jade was found during a period when Cassiar was mining jade, contributes greatly to establish- ing that the jade was Cassiar jade. There were no cut faces or drill holes on any of the jade, a practice followed by all other jade mines in the Province before shipping their product. He also felt that there was no rational explanat- | ion for some of the markings the accused testified that they made on the jade. ee Mr. Kennedy pointed out that Mr. Zememchik had testified that he had driven the entire road in 1979., and there was no jade there at that time. He felt that Mr. Zem- enchik, who had worked for 10% years for Cassiar, in the pit area, would certainly have recognized the piles of jade if they. had been there, particularly as Mr: Montieth, who testified that he knew absolutely nothing about jade, no- ticed the piles of ‘rock’. He stressed that the accused did not make any attempt to establish ownership of the jade prior to police questioning. ; and he questioned wheth- __ er these were the actions of honest men. The case was adjourned until July 28 1982 in Van- couver, at which time Judge Campbell will hand down a judgement. SPER aR Grandma Emma 102 years young j @ ae . : " . ~ * GRANDMA EMMA MAY 10th On Monday, May 10, at the Telegraph Creek Community Hall, Mrs. Emma Brown celebrated her 102nd birthday. Her life span goes back prior to the 1898 gold rush and the first of the White missionaries. Those in attendance at the celebr- ation were many of her fellow Tahltan people, as well as the teachers and Bishop Ron Ferris of the Anglican Diocese of Yukon. Chief Ivan Quock was the master of ceremonies. He began the cele- bration by asking her grandchildren to make speeches on her behalf. After grandson Mr.Kenny Frank gave a short speech on her behalf, Bishop Ferris said the blessing. After supper,Mrs. Brown sliced her birthday cake. Mrs. Brown has several children: Mrs. Mary Lou, Mr. Willi Brown, Mrs. Violet Carlick and Mrs. Catherine (Kitty) Larson. Mrs. Brown has a num- ber of grandchildren, great-grandchildren and at least one great, great grandchild. She takes part regularly in Anglican Church worship and is still perfectly fluent in the Tahltan language. She is an inspiration to those who spend time with her.