2 THE DAILY VOICE, WEDNESDAY, NOV. 26, 2014 EDITOR DAVID LA RIVIERE Cws Investigation renewed one year later VPD are asking for info from public on a British tourist who went missing in Vancouver By NICH JOHANSEN n the one-year anniversary of Tom Billings disappearance, the Vancouver Police are still urging anyone to come forward with in- formation on the case. The 22-year-old British tourist was last seen near the area of Broadway and McLean Drive last November. He had been travelling solo throughout the United States and had been in Van- couver for just two days before his dis- appearance. The Vancouver Police Department held a press conference on Tuesday, the one year anniversary of Billings disappearance. Brian Montague, VPD media rela- tions officer, said they are urging any- one who knew where Billings may have been prior to his disappearance, to come forward. “We believe there are individuals out there that saw Tom that day that could have information that could be helpful to investigators and to the fam- ily,” Montague said. VPD investigators found informa- tion on Billings’ computer that suggest- ed he had been looking at hiking routes around the Lower Mainland. “We did receive some pretty credible information at the time of his disap- pearance that led to some pretty exten- sive searching of the North Shore,” Montague said. “But unfortunately [it] turned up nothing.” Mike Danks of North Shore Rescue said that over 2000 man-hours were put into the search for Billings. He said Billings was not reported missing until seven days after his dis- appearance and the area they believe he went missing in, Hanes Valley, is extremely vast. These two factors have made the search very difficult. Billings was staying at someone’s apartment in East Vancouver, that he had found through a couch-surfing website. Billings was travelling by him- self and had no friends or family in the Vancouver area. “He travelled on his own and appar- ently had done so quite often,” Mon- tague said. Montague said they have found nothing to suggest foul play was in- volved. Danks said that it is important to prepare for the worst when going into the mountains, and always layer cloth- ing. Billings is described as 5-foot-7 inch- es and approximately 160 pounds. He was wearing a black jacket and grey military style pants at the time of his disappearance. To report any informa- tion, call the VPD missing persons at (604) 717-2530. The Voice is also online SCAN THIS QR CODE Or to find this story online visit http://langaravoice. ca/ NICH JOHANSEN photo Constable Brian Montague providing updates on the status of their investi- gation of the disappearance of Tom Billings at a press conference, Tuesday. CHARLOTTE DREWETT photo Captive breeding at the Vancouver Aquarium has garnered a lot of attention from activists. Captive breeding will continue at aquarium Park board commissoners failed to pass a new bylaw at a meeting on Monday By JAMES GOLDIE surprise decision by outgoing Aes board chair Aaron Jasper as disappointed animal rights activists and at least one Vision Van- couver colleague. On Monday night, the Vision-domi- nated Vancouver parks board passed up its last chance to approve a bylaw banning the breeding of whales in cap- tivity. Next Monday, Dec. 1, the new parks board commissioners will take office, only one of whom is a member of Vision. “T feel like we missed an opportunity in the public interest,” said outgoing parks board commissioner Sarah Blyth, who spoke in favor of approving the bylaw. “[Jasper] thought that we shouldn’t be voting on this at our last meeting of the board, but I disagree because I think we did all of the work that was needed to come to that decision. It was extremely thoughtful.” For months the parks board received letters scientists and ordinary citizens alike, supporting a ban on cetacean breeding in captivity. Similar calls for a ban also came from organizations like the SPCA and the Vancouver Humane Society. Marley Daviduk, a volunteer with the Vancouver Animal Defense League (VADD), expressed frustration with the motion’s defeat. “Why would they go through this whole process if they knew there was a possibility that Vision might not get elected in the park board as a majori- ty?” she said. Daviduk said that her organization will continue to challenge the Vancou- ver Aquarium. “T don’t think we’re gonna put too much effort into trying to change the minds of the NPA.” 66 I feel like we missed an oppor- tunity in the public interest SARAH BLYTH OUTGOING PARKS BOARD COMMIS- SIONER Youth engagement Is strong in Canada A recent poll revealed that many young adults feel a per- sonal responsibility to improve their communities By SHANNON LYNCH activism and community engage- ment does exist in B.C., according to a survey and youth activism groups. In a poll conducted by Ipsos, Cana- da’s leading survey-based marking re- search firm, “75 per cent of young adults said their community is impor- tant.” It also said that “85 per cent of young adults agree that young adults have a personal responsibility to make their communities better.” PeerNetBC is a Vancouver-based non-profit organization that offers workshops and training for young peo- ple to get engaged in the community, learn about injustice issues, and take on leadership roles. Romi Chandra Herbert, co-executive director of PeerNet, said one of the im- portant things the organization does is getting young people to understand the importance of volunteering as opposed to paid work. “Groups need to recognize young people’s contributions while still allow- ing volunteerism to also flourish, be- Gers to popular belief, youth cause the balance between paid work and volunteering is kind of getting blurry,” he said. “It becomes important for organizations to determine what those differences are.” Langara theatre student Jaime Piercy said she thinks community en- gagement “can definitely help with so- cial skills” in young people. “T think that if you go into volunteer- ing knowing you’re going to volunteer . .. then it’s OK. If you go into it expect- ing to get paid then that’s a different story,” she said. Kalpna Mangat, who is facilitator for another youth organization called the Art of Living, said their focus is on em- powering the individual first by intro- ducing youth to yoga, meditation and breathing exercises. “It helps the individual become stress-free and empower them,” she said. “If they can overcome personal challenges then they can help someone else’s life.” Once volunteers have worked on personal issues, they do community in- volvement things such as donating to the food bank and sock drives. PEERNETBC SUBMITTED photo Youth facilitators take part in a discussion at a PeerNetBC workshop.