The Gazette from Montreal, Quebec, Canada • 6

THE GAZETTE, MONTREAL, TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 11, 2001 (Hi A 0 A6 St. Patrick's court action 3 delayed MARCEL DESJARDINS (1941-2003) Assistant publisher at La Presse 'leaves a great void' Prime Minister Jean Chretien remembers journalist's 'extraordinary talent' I i School board cites technicalities ALLISON LAMPERT GAZETTE EDUCATION REPORTER It was to be the story behind the story of the "St. Patrick saga" -the parents vs. school board feud that's outlasted five years of debate and an equal number of court injunctions. The contempt-of-court charges three mothers had brought against the English Montreal School Board would finally be heard in Quebec Superior Court Beverley Boyle, the petite mother of two who's been dubbed "the Erin Brockovitch of was to testify PIERRE OBENDRAUF THE GAZETTE Head Hands youth co-ordinator Giorgio Chatelain (left) talks with teenagers Max Perez (centre) and Gilberto Cordova, who are working together on a project at the agency.

so was responsible for Impact, a current-affairs program on Radio-Canada. "The man was as solid as a rock, physically and mentally. He had an unerring sense of news judgment," veteran television broadcaster Pierre Nadeau told The Gazette. "He also had a fabulous sense of humour. He had a way of handling difficult egos with charm, tact, refinement and strength." Desjardins returned to La Presse as assignment editor in 1988 and worked his way up the corporate ladder.

"He was sharp. You couldn't play any games with this guy," said Julien Chung, designer of special projects at La Presse. "He read people and he read situations. He could see through smoke." Desjardins was one of the founding governors of a new organization set up to administer the Canadian National Newspaper Awards in 1989. "He was gregarious, open, very friendly, very charming and very smart," said Bryan Cantley, Canadian Newspaper Association vice-president (member services).

"He had an insatiable appetite for what was going on in all parts of the country, not just Quebec." The funeral will be held Saturday at 1 p.m. at St. Alphonse church in Hawkesbury ahustakthegazette.southam.ca Desjardins in career, life, Page A26 N.D.G. youth agency adjusts to new terns ALAN HUSTAK THE GAZETTE Marcel Desjardins, vice-president of information and assistant publisher at La Presse, looked the part of the expansive, hard-boiled journalist you see in the movies. But the gruff, bearded, no-nonsense newsman who died in his sleep yesterday at age 61, was also remembered by friends and colleagues for his charm, sensitivity and compassion.

"We mourn one of the best newspaper craftsmen in the country," La Presse publisher Guy Crevier said of Desjardins. "His vast experience as a working journalist and his knowledge of how the wheels in a great newspaper turn, his people skills and his respect for those with whom he worked, leave a great void." Crevier cut short a business trip in the United States to return to Montreal when he learned of his colleague's death. Marcel Desjardins was born in Grenville, across the Ottawa River from Hawkesbury, on April 28, 1941. Desjardins got hooked on the news game when he was 17 and began writing for Le Carillon in Hawkesbury. He moved to Ottawa in 1962, working part time at Le Droit while he took classes at the University of Ottawa.

He married Micheline Danis in 1963. They had three children. Desjardins continued his education at the University of Toronto and in 1967 became Le Droit's parliamentary correspondent. Prime Minister Jean Chretien, who remembered him from his years in Ottawa said he couldn't forget "his dynamic personality and his extraordinary talent "His distinguished career is a testament to his invaluable contribution to journalism and public life," read a statement from the prime minister's office Desjardins first joined La Presse as a reporter in 1970 and in 1974 became the newspaper's legislative correspondent in Quebec City. He left La Presse in 1977 to work as assignment editor at Montreal Matin before moving to Radio-Canada in 1979, where he was in charge of Le Point, a television newsmagazine.

He al TP a' played financial hardball with Head Hands in a manner that, after 25 years, was "completely unacceptable and disrespectful." The new rent is higher On the brighter side: The new digs are more visible, and the upstairs counselling offices more confidential. A co-op housing proposal in N.D.G. could help alleviate the housing crisis for low-income youth in the area The new executive director fills a post formally staffed under short-term arrangements. Fournier Sylvester, who has a master's degree in social work, said Head Hands helped her through some rough spots when she was an N.D.G. teenager.

"There's a reason I came back and applied for this job," she said. "I was treated respectfully, which is a rare experience for a teenager" hshepher thegazette.southam.ca HEAD HANDS STAFF GIVE HOUSEWARMNG New Sherbrooke St. headquarters features more confidential offices for counselling pregnancy, emotional crisis or any of a host of other problems climbed creaky stairs to offices over the old Cinema movie house on Sherbrooke St The theatre has been closed since 1992. But now Head Hands is open for business in storefront quarters a few blocks away at 5833 Sherbrooke St. Fournier Sylvester, 27, admitted it's not all a bed of roses for Head Hands: Demand for its counselling and other services continues to grow.

The range of services is still inadequate. N.D.G. still has no youth street worker, for example. The move from the Cinema building left some hard feelings. Fournier Sylvester speculates the nonprofit corporation that hoped to create a theatrical centre there HARVEY SHEPHERD THE GAZETTE Staff and volunteers at the west-end youth agency Head Hands had plenty to feel grumpy about, had they felt like it.

They did not feel like it "It's really invigorating," Nicole Fournier Sylvester, the agency's executive director, told an early visitor to the house-warming of the new Head Hands headquarters. "There's a sense of new beginnings." Head Hands has provided legal, medical and social services to people age 12 to 25 in the Notre Dame de Grace district for 32 years. For about the last 25, until last falL young people seeking advice on landlord problems, possible "This is really our first chance to make our case," English Montreal School Board spokesman Michael Cohen said yesterday, as proceedings began at the Montreal courthouse. But inside Room 15.06, board lawyer Michel Sylvestre argued why the charges should be dismissed on technical grounds. Among other errors, two injunctions weren't delivered by bailiff to the EMSB, as required by law, said Sylvestre, of Ogjlvy Renaud.

St. Patrick parents say EMSB commissioners are in contempt of court for not respecting two injunctions that kept the Plateau Mont Royal School open. They are also taking the board to court over the EMSB's decision to close St Patrick in 1998. Judge Pierre Gagnon is to decide today whether to allow the contempt case to proceed. Giuliano D' Andrea, a spokesperson for St.

Patrick, accused the board of starting a procedural war that parents have little money to fight The parents have paid for subpoenas out of pocket and are being represented pro bono by lawyer Nina Fernandez. D'Andrea estimated the parents have spent about $100,000 in money and time. In 2001, the EMSB said it has spent about $310,000 on legal fees for all parent-initiated lawsuits since 1998. Yesterday, however, board finance director Robert Stocker, wouldn't give an updated figure. Both sides have acknowledged the battle is no longer about the 55 students now enrolled at the school But Hudson parent Luke Home, who is following the case, said it could set a precedent that would force "school boards to be accountable to the public and the children" alampert thegazette.southam.ca MercedesDenz LA PRESSE Marcel Desjardins died in his sleep yesterday at age 61.

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