News

Hiring spree expected

Twenty-nine per cent of Greater Vancouver businesses plan to hire more staff in upcoming months, according to a national job-market survey released Feb. 24.
That's up from the 13 per cent who were as optimistic at this time last year.
The survey, accurate within three percentage points, is conducted quarterly by Manpower Temporary Services, a global temporary-employment agency with 35,000 employees in Canada.
"This is one of the strongest surveys we've seen in any quarter since 1990," said Tammy Johns, Manpower's vice-president of Canadian operations.
While 29 per cent of businesses in Greater Vancouver said they would be hiring, only eight per cent said they would be cutting staff. About half said they foresee no changes.
Johns said the surge of employer confidence is likely a result of several years of slow employment growth.
"Hiring has been extremely cautious, and it's been status quo for so long that there's starting to be some movement," Johns said.
Unemployment in B.C. was down to eight per cent in January from 9.1 per cent in January 1996.

Management jobs should be chopped first: union

If any more jobs are to fall from the budgetary axe, the city should chop from the top first, says the head of the city's unionized workers.
Lorraine Bissett, Canadian Union of Public Employees local 718 president, said city hall has too many highly-paid non-union department heads. And as the city looks for ways to cut costs and improve efficiency, it should cut more of those top-heavy brass positions rather than axe lower-paid union jobs, she said.
Five managerial positions were chopped last month. City officials have stated more workers could be laid off.
Union members are expected to meet with city administrators in the next couple of weeks to discuss the budget troubles.
One city councillor said he agreed there were too many senior staff, but he added the five managerial positions let go may have solved that problem.
"That's exactly the conclusion we came to," said Coun. Harold Steves.
That's why the city embarked on a restructuring program three years ago to deal the overloaded bureaucracy, he said.
"We had too many bureaucrats for the number of employees we have," he said.
When union jobs were being laid off more than a decade ago, the number of top managerial staff grew, Steves said, leaving the city with the over-loaded bureaucracy.
Salaries for unionized workers in Richmond start at around $30,000 a year and top out at $50,000. Wages for non-unionized managers begin at about $60,000.
Richmond has three employees who earn more than $100,000 a year. The highest paid position in Richmond is the city manager, who earns $133,000 annually.
Vancouver has 34 civic employees who earned more than $100,000 in 1995. The highest paid employee in Vancouver was the city manager who earned $157,660 in 1995.
Six city workers in Burnaby earned more than $100,000 according to 1995 figures from that city. The highest paid salary in Burnaby is $124,337.
Only one city official in Coquitlam broke the $100,000 mark. The city manager in that city earns $119,028.
Delta has two staffers who earn more than $100,000 a year: the city's top manager and police chief.
Surrey has 13 employees who earn more than $100,000 a year. The top paid worker in Surrey was the city manager who earned $172,000 in 1995.

Hockey check lands player a law suit

Richmond hockey player Randy McDonald received more than a penalty for allegedly back-checking an opposing player; he's getting sued for it.
McDonald and Gordon Gibson, of Maple Ridge, are both being sued for allegedly checking Vancouver's Robert Edward Jones from behind during a game at Vancouver's Kerrisdale Arena last April.
The hit pushed Jones, head and shoulders first, into the rink's boards causing him serious neck and head injuries, according to a statement of claim filed by Jones on Feb. 21.
"They were going for the puck and (they) pushed him into the boards," Jones' lawyer Anthony Vecchio told The Review Tuesday. "He was paralyzed for a few minutes... and he still has limited movement in his neck."
That type of check is illegal under the league's rules, he said.
"There is no hitting allowed," Vecchio said. "This is a recreational league."
Jones claims he suffers pain in his back and neck, headaches, fatigue, insomnia, depression and anxiety, Vecchio said.
There is a chance Jones won't ever play hockey again, he added.
Jones is seeking general and special damages as well as other costs for the pain and suffering caused by the hit, including loss of enjoyment of life, permanent physical disability, loss of wages and future income.
McDonald could not be reached for comment. Gibson, however, said he wasn't involved in the on-ice collision. He was chasing the puck when the alleged hit occurred behind him, he said.
"There was some kind of contact and the next thing I knew this guy was on the ground and the paramedics were called," he said Tuesday.
Hockey players are well aware of the risks on the ice, but the looming challenge in the courts is new, he said.
"People are going to say `well gee can I afford to play hockey and get sued,'" he said.
Jones, a Ladner Bruins player, is also suing McDonald and Gibson's team, the Coquitlam Ambassadors. He has also named as co-defendants the Greater Vancouver Oldtimers Hockey League, and the national association governing the league, the Canadian Adult Recreational Hockey Association.
The league and association are also named, Vecchio said, because they were negligent in failing to enforce the game rules and didn't adequately supervise and train referees and linesmen.
Bill French, the Vancouver Oldtimers Hockey League president, said he wasn't at the game, but added "two referees were right there and they didn't call it."
The league doesn't allow hitting, body-checking, cross-checking, slapshots, high-sticking and spearing, French said.
"We've got a set of rules. You cross-check someone, you get (suspended) 12 games," he said.

Independent spirit drives bookstore owner

Janice Barnes is independent in spirit - a quality essential in operating a successful independent bookstore.
She's modest and appears easy-going, and when it comes to her business, Mallard Books, she'll quietly reveal a strength in character.
That strong personality probably earned her the position of President for B.C. Booksellers Association, as well as the Ethel Tibbits award for business.
She's currently in the middle of a battle brewing between a small independent in northern B.C., and some big industry players who are changing the rules of the trade. Her concern is that fewer and fewer small shops will survive, as huge chains and superstores continue to gobble up the market, throwing small booksellers out of business. But Barnes continues to remain optimistic.
"We (independents) will persevere, doing what we do best. We're smart with our business sense; we order our titles carefully."
She also believes Mallard Books will survive. In fact, she's doing much better than anticipated. She attributes her success to focusing on customer service and specialty books.
"I'm a good business woman. What I do, I do well. I have to be positive."
After spending many years mothering two children, Barnes decided she wanted to test her business acumen. She opened her shop seven years ago at Blundell Centre, realizing her keen interest in the publishing industry.
"I was always searching out bookstores, and it didn't seem like a risky business to get into," she said.
Today, her store is flourishing, and many have benefited from her work: she hires special needs students to work part-time in the shop; fund-raises for charities such as Literacy B.C.; and gives generously to her community by budgeting a portion of her earnings to local charity.
She developed a community bookstore with her own personality. It has a large selection of children's books, one of Barnes' favorite genres. This is the strength of the small shop owner, says Barnes, to provide the community with a unique product.
"A lot of it is your own personality, it's not just stock out there. Those books have all been hand ordered by me. It's not done by a corporate decision in Toronto... I make the decision," she says. She admits her shop is a lot of work, and is constantly reading reviews, listening to the CBC, and gathering information.
Another strength of the small booksellers is providing a forum for local, first-time authors. Mallard Books often hosts and promotes in-store author events.
"It's only going to be us small independents who can (market) for them. The large chains aren't going to risk it. This is the complaint in the book industry. Because there's going to be more superstores, we're going to lose those (first-time) authors who are self-publishing."
In addition to running a successful operation full-time, Barnes is currently judging fiction titles for the B.C. Book Prize in May.
She loves a good mystery, and when she has time she delves into a good book. Her interests have spilled into the community; she is often found assisting in hosting author events at the Richmond Public Library.
She is also on the board of the National Bookselling Association; secretary and member of the Trade Book Alliance.
Barnes was pleasantly surprised and honored to receive the Ethel Tibbits Award. She believes such recognition provides support and encouragement for women in business.
"It (the award) gives us strength. Women are really flourishing now. Men could learn a lot from women," she says brazenly, "like how to balance everything. I really admire (single) women who are doing it all on their own."
For now Barnes says she'll keep doing what she's doing until it no longer is enjoyable.
"This is a really good business to be in," she says, "you really feel good about your product. I love it. It's a challenge everyday."

Work in performing arts a labor of love

Richmond can tip its hat to Trudy Morse, the Ethel Tibbits award winner for her contribution to the arts.
Morse introduced the musical community to a high level of performing arts. Now young, ambitious pianists have exposure to world-class musicians, right in their own backyard.
Musicians like the distinguished Canadian artist Janina Fialkowska, who is the featured performer and adjudicator for the Third Annual Pacific Piano Competition, held at the Gateway Theatre this past weekend.
Morse was instrumental in starting the competition with project manager Dorothy Lau. Three years later its popularity is soaring, and students are gaining insight into the musical brilliance of performers such as Fialkowska, touted as one of the leading pianists of her generation, and protege of Arthur Rubinstein.
Advanced pianists between the ages of 12 to 28, compete for a $1,000 prize and a rare chance to play a full-length recital at the Gateway Theatre. The Pacific Piano Competition was a large undertaking for Morse, but she wanted to take it on because she saw the need for a higher level of artistry in the community.
"I go about doing these things just for the satisfaction of watching things happen," says Morse, always looking for more opportunities for students. She even holds musical gatherings at her house so learning isn't such a solitary activity, and young pianists can practice.
Morse has made a difference throughout her 20-year career as a piano teacher in Richmond. She grew up with the piano, later earning a Bachelor and a Masters degree in music at the University of British Columbia. Her mother taught at U.B.C.'s music department, and was a role model for her young protege.
Morse is passionate about music, and believes strongly that the best education for young people is hands-on experience at live concerts, performances or competitions.
"Live concerts are an inspiration. There's magic in a live performance and it's very important for students to experience that."
She paired up with colleague and local author Jackie Lee-Son to launch the Community Concert Series in 1985. The public now has access to world-wide talent on an ongoing basis. Morse and Lee-Son brought on board Columbia Artists of New York, one of the largest management firms in the world. Columbia draws from an impressive base of talent located around the globe. Locals can now enjoy four to five concerts a year of live, high-calibre entertainment.
Through the effort of people like Morse, the arts are alive and well in Richmond. The Richmond Orchestra survives, adding to the already high quality of cultural life in the area. The orchestra was another project Morse was involved in as a board member of the Richmond Orchestra and Chorus Association.
In addition to coordinating projects such as the Pacific Piano Competition and teaching full time, Morse is on the board of the Gateway Endowment Fund, which provides funding opportunities.
However, Morse says her most cherished activity is teaching.
"I demand a high standard. I try to get students to want to play. I want to install a love of music in them as a lifelong pursuit."
Music is a lifelong passion for her. She embraces her work with passion and energy, and appreciates this gift of music, even though it is sometimes a heavy workload.
"I look around me and people are changing careers out of necessity and I'm just working harder and harder. There are so many students out there. Even with the ups and downs of the economy, people still make music a priority."

'Powerful woman' a voice for people with disabilities

As a child, Francis Clark spent most of her time checking in and out of the hospital. She was born with osteogenesis imperfecta, a brittleness of the bones that challenged her from an early age.
Though restricted to a wheelchair, Francis Clark refuses to let her disability slow her down.
Many people in Richmond have experienced a better quality of life, largely due to the vision of Frances Clark. For instance, special needs children enjoy the healing benefits of a therapeutic horseback riding program; the community gained a large resource facility which impressively stands at the corner of Granville Street and Minoru Boulevard; and people affected by AIDS proudly walked down the streets during Richmond's first-ever AIDS walk.
Anyone who has worked with her can vouch for her strength in character, like James Sullivan, who nominated Clark for the Ethel Tibbits award for community service.
"You forget she has a disability," says Sullivan, a graphic designer, who worked with Clark on the AIDS walk project. "It's Francis first, and the handicap is way down the list.
Clark chairs the AIDS Outreach Committee, and was pivotal in organizing the walk. She rallied the support of city council, the mayor and local businesses. Adds Sullivan: "It was something they said couldn't be done, and yet it happened."
"She's a very powerful woman...," says Norma Suarez-Jordan, Special Needs Coordinator for the City of Richmond, who asked Clark to chair Richmond's Therapeutic Equestrian Society and establish a horseback riding program. There was a need to create a local program so families wouldn't have to travel to Langley, the closest available facility.
"(Frances) has committed most of her life to volunteering for Richmond. She is very strong. She's not afraid to raise the (important) issues," says Suarez-Jordan.
The Richmond Caring Place stands as a local landmark and evidence of how much Clark has given to the community. After two arduous years of tense relations between the city, a developer, and the Richmond Community Centre Society, the first board of frustrated directors resigned, leaving only Clark to pick up the pieces.
Clark laughs while recalling a conversation with the lawyer who was disbanding the doomed project. "Doesn't the constitution and bylaw say that any vacancies on the board be filled by the remaining board?" Clark asked. "Yes," he replied. "Fine," Clark said, "I am the remaining board."
She vowed to rebuild the project with fresh faces and renewed working relationships. A decade later, Richmond witnessed the completion - The Caring Place, a Western Federation of Individuals and Dog Organizations, which became an internationally acclaimed charitable organization. It provides human-animal bond programs for the sick and elderly, and trains dogs for the deaf or physically disabled.
Clark worked hard to make community services and facilities more accessible, improving the quality of life for the disabled. She currently chairs the Richmond Committee on Disability to affect change and has vice-chaired the Community Services Advisory Council task force, which produced a report outlining recommendations, and consequently Richmond earned a five-star award for addressing accessibility needs of disabled people in the community.
Clark rarely backs down from a challenge. When people said she couldn't breed dogs, she was determined to prove them otherwise, and did so, operating Hi-Hopes Kennels in Richmond for 34 years. But dog breeding was more than that for Clark; it was an introduction to the real world.
"My determination to breed dogs put me into a normal world. I'm not quite sure where I would have ended up without them... I was born at a time when people with disabilities were not out in the mainstream. I couldn't even go to school... I had to take my education by correspondence."
She realized the need to take control over her life through her work as a volunteer and dog breeder, and strongly believes in the healing benefits of the human-animal bond.
Frances Clark is a woman who has learned from her lifelong struggle to never say "I can't."
"Concentrate on what you can do... it's amazing what you can accomplish once you focus."

Winning not in the big picture

Don't play to win, just get in the game.
That's Gayle Guest's motto for playing sports, and she applies it to the game of life as well.
The McNair secondary school teacher firmly believes in sport as a tool for educating, especially teenagers in those fragile years when their self-esteem is most vulnerable. For 18 years, she has promoted and encouraged students to embrace sports for a lifetime of learning.
Her administrative and coaching positions in Richmond have earned her the respect of many, including those who nominated Guest for the Ethel Tibbits Award for achievement in sports.
She completed a Bachelor of Physical Education at the University of British Columbia, and has held an elected position for the past five years as president of Richmond secondary school's athletic association; she is also vice president of the Vancouver & District inter-high school athletic association.
Her leadership will influence the lives of young people in Richmond - especially young women - for many years to come.
Guest credits the work of the athletic association as having made a difference in the community.
For instance, they've witnessed a 50-per-cent increase in student participation in the district for the last five years and a 100-per-cent increase in female participation.
"Over the years we've seen a dramatic increase and growth in the number of sports, school teams, and participants, and specifically the number of female participants," she happily reports.
Guest volunteers her time because she feels the pressure of providing opportunities for young children is a sometimes thankless task. She says the association's mandate is to provide as many opportunities as possible for young adults. And she has particularly worked hard to provide equal opportunities for women.
In sport, the focus has traditionally been on male sports. She recalls a volunteer teacher in her teens who generously gave a group of girls, including herself, the opportunity to play volleyball when no one else would. This teacher was an inspiration to Guest, she says.
"I've always looked at participation, and the development of those other things - positive self image, discipline, opportunity to play and be a part of a sport - (as important). By doing that they learn so much," she says.
She doesn't preach winning, nor is she fiercely competitive. That's just not the point. She wants the average girl to have a positive experience, enjoy sports, and be the best that she can be.
"I have never focused on winning as being the ultimate and the end result."
In the last few years, there has been a surge in popularity for girl's field hockey. Guest played a significant role in making that happen. One year several girls, who didn't make the volleyball team, approached her to sponsor and coach a field hockey team. Guest agreed and volunteered her time. Together they borrowed, scrimped, and saved, and managed to locate a dusty box of 20-year-old skirts from a Canadian women's field hockey team.
"Some of the skirts were in pretty bad shape, but some of them were great and they had a lot of history behind them. The players felt honored to wear them," she laughs. They borrowed pads and goalie equipment from a community team, and had to buy their own hockey sticks. Despite financial hardship, it was a success story. The team made it to the provincials in its first year!
Guest remains ever-confident in her belief that sport is a powerful tool in teaching the skillful art of playing the game of life.
"We have to look at the big picture here (like) providing for students on the whole, instead of looking at a very narrow focus of excellence and winning. My focus is yes, pursuit of excellence, but that isn't my only focus... not at all."

Truck smashes thru mart

A 49-year-old Merritt woman is facing an impaired driving charge after she crashed her Ford pick-up truck into the front door of the 99 Mart grocery store on No. 5 and Kings Roads last Saturday around 6 p.m.
A witness at the scene said the woman appeared to be intoxicated and was leaving the parking lot after using a phone in the store when she struck a 1986 Volvo. The woman then apparently lost control of her vehicle, and rammed into the front of the store.
The woman was later arrested at the scene. None of the five customers in the store were injured.
RCMP Cpl. Dan Painter said police have recommended the woman be charged with impaired driving.
In an unrelated matter, police have charged 20-year-old Ronald Keith Rickman of Vancouver with three counts of robbery involving a spree of purse snatchings in Richmond. Rickman is an associate of three other people that were arrested in connection with a purse snatching at Lansdowne Park Shopping Centre.

Eaton's jobs could face cutbacks

Jobs are likely be axed at Eaton's department stores as company officials embark on a restructuring plan to save the struggling retail chain.
"Clearly the company will have to downsize," company spokesperson Michael Daniher said of the need to cut jobs. Just how many jobs will be affected is not yet known, he said.
"At present, it's business as usual," he said in an interview from Toronto.
All 85 T. Eaton's Co. Ltd. stores across the country - including Richmond's outlet at Lansdowne Park Shopping Centre which employs 50 - will remain open. Company president George Eaton told reporters in Toronto that some stores will have to close.
Analysts have predicted as many as 30 outlets could be shut.
Store officials hope to have a restructuring plan in place by June, Daniher said. The 127-year-old family-run private company received court-ordered bankruptcy protection on Thursday.
"It's been a difficult, challenging time for retailers in Canada and Eaton's found it didn't have enough capital to upgrade," he said.
The restructuring move is viewed as a temporary setback because the chain could see sales improve with a switch to a new marketing strategy - one that emphasizes big brand-name products, better customer service, and store renovations, he said.
Stores in B.C., particularly Vancouver's Pacific Centre location, have outperformed stores in other parts of the country.
According to some reports, store sales have fallen over the past five years.
Eaton's stores totalled $1.7 billion in sales last year.

$62M paid to companies by Richmond school district

Richmond school district shelled out $62,207,446 to several companies for various services and supplies in the 1995/96, according to a district report.
The largest expense in that year was a $7,293,761 tab for the teachers' pension plan.
Other expenses include payments for items such as stationary supplies, books, computers and software, playground equipment, and paint.
Several architectural and constructions firms were also paid to design, renovate and expand schools, the report states.
Included in that figure was a $14,000 retirement dinner held June 5 at the Executive Inn. The dinner tab included a $3,175 bill for a banquet room and meals, and $11,938 for engraved gifts from Russell Jewellers for 44 retiring workers.

Couple friendly neighbor says

The death of a retired couple who regularly chatted with neighbors as they tended to their front-yard garden has shocked a quiet suburban neighborhood in East Richmond.
Gladys Chui Kum Wu, 57, and Jacky Lup Wu, 61, were found dead in their 5200 Rowling Pl. home by a family member on Wednesday.
Police are investigating their deaths as a possible murder-suicide. An autopsy was performed Thursday but the results have not yet been released.
RCMP Sgt. Willy Laurie said the couple likely died sometime between Monday evening and Tuesday afternoon. He could not elaborate on how they died.
No signs of forced entry were found at the home, and there was no evidence to suggest firearms were used, police say.
Residents in the subdivision just north of Highway 91 and in the heart of Hamilton were not yet aware of the fate of their neighbors. Residents told The Review they remembered the couple as pleasant and friendly.
"We are shocked to hear that something like this could happen," said a neighbor who didn't want to be identified. The man lives across the road from the Wu's off-white colored home which had its outdoor lights still on at mid-day Thursday.
"Everything seemed fine," he said of the couple. "They were really nice people. In the summer we would talk with them when they were out gardening."
The couple moved to Richmond from Calgary in the summer. After they settled in, they tried to mix with neighbors.
"They were very open, not quiet, not shy," he said.

New law will not boost earnings: cabbies

The promise of hourly wages was supposed to make life better for B.C.'s cabdrivers. Instead, new legislation could mean fewer taxis for hire on cold, rainy days and less money for cabbies struggling to make ends meet.
Legislation passed by the province this week guarantees cab drivers minimum wage, overtime pay, hours of work notices and time off between shifts. The new regulations follow the Employment Standards Act and were announced Monday by Labor Minister John Cashore.
Cabbies say the new law, which will not be enforced until Oct. 31, 1997, will restrict their ability to earn a living. They also predict business will suffer as companies are forced to hike meter rates in response to the new rules.
Ernie Baliss has driven a cab for 21 years. He says it's hard enough to make money from five- and 10-minute rides. The new law means the maximum number of hours he's allowed to work drops from 60 hours to 40 hours per week.
"The amount of cabs available will be dropping, the service level will be dropping.... Our money comes from our customers, right? We could ask for the meter rate to be increased but then people will have to pay more and they won't take cabs."
Baliss said taxi business dropped in the early 1990s after the Goods and Services Tax (GST) and a meterage raise came in close succession, hiking the starting price of catching a cab by 14 per cent.
Frank Dawson, who's driven cabs for 17 years, says drivers feel helpless because they believe proposed changes mean they'll lose money.
On a good week, drivers can earn $600 and on slow weeks, about $400. If drivers are paid $7 per hour for 40 hours, their weekly income drops to $280.
"There's a lot of worried drivers out there," Dawson said. "We don't know what we can do."
Taxi companies are nervous as well as to how they'll implement the changes and keep business healthy.
Peter Ho, operations manager for Richmond Cabs Ltd., expects his company's profits to tumble with the new ruling.
Currently, Richmond cab drivers lease their vehicles for $70 to $80 per daily shift and pocket all the money from fares and tips.
Ho, whose company hires out 53 city and 20 airport cabs, worries drivers will take advantage of the new law and cheat the company.
"How do you regulate what they are doing? They could be sleeping under a tree for two hours and they still get paid. They could go to the doctor and still say they were working."
Cabdriver Dawson agrees it will be difficult to regulate the drivers' earnings, especially if the new law means they'll earn less than before:
"If a driver is starving, it's hard to keep honest."

East Richmond development will boast private community centre

An east Richmond townhouse developer is taking some of the strain away from the city's coffers, and providing residents in the new Hamilton-area complex with a 255-square-metre private community centre.
Although supplying space for daycare and senior activities is not unusual, the 90-unit Hamilton Gardens development at 22231 Westminster Hwy. also promises to deliver English-as-a-second-language classes, tutoring, music lessons and a private shuttle bus for adults and students.
"It certainly sounds good, doesn't it?" said Richmond city planner Millie Chu. While all developers are urged by the city to provide amenity space, Chu said she's never heard of a development providing such a wide range of services.
Hamilton Gardens marketing manager Charlie Hingwing said the developer's intention was to meet the needs of residents in east Richmond, where there's a shortage of community centre space.
"No one's ever done this," said Hingwing. "It makes economic sense."
And judging from early sales figures, the development is proving to be a big hit. Pre-sales of the units began Feb. 1, and already 20 of the 90 three-bedroom units - which start at $189,000 - have been sold.
"If you're asking me if I think it's a good thing, yes I do," said Mike Kirk, Richmond's manager of social planning and programs.
A survey completed by a Richmond city council-appointed child care development board determined that east Richmond was underserved in terms of providing child care space, he said.
Kirk said he'd like to see other developers follow the lead of Hamilton Gardens as long as the provided services are efficiently utilized.
There are some areas in Richmond where there are gaps in services, he admitted.
Services at the Hamilton Gardens community centre will be provided by the Home Mutual Aid Society (HMAS), a non-profit group based in Burnaby. Residents in the development will help direct what services will be provided, including which languages will be taught. Since more than two-thirds of the 20 units have been pre-sold to buyers of Asian descent, Mandarin lessons will be provided, although other language services will be arranged based on residents' demand.
The day-care facility can accomodate 24 children, Hingwing said. But if space is available, the private community centre will also cater to residents outside the development.
The first phase of Hamilton Gardens, including the community centre, is expected to be completed this September.
Since a non-profit group is providing the services and furnishings in the community centre, Hingwing said user fees will be competitive and monthly maintenance fees for Hamilton Gardens residents will be reasonable - between $80 and $100.
HMAS has also made arrangements to shuttle residents to malls, schools and the SkyTrain in a 12-passenger minivan.