Incident at Garibaldi Park BY KEN WEBER Sept. 30, 1997

THE MYSTERY | THE SOLUTION: Constable Sheaf's report makes clear that all the tires on Eugene Packet's tractor-trailer were slashed, and Packet is claiming replacement costs for 16 tires. No semi combination (aka tractor-trailer) has 16 wheels. It has two wheels on its very front axle, one at each end, and all other axles have duals, two at each end. Thus a typical semi has 10 wheels in total, or 14, or 18 and so on, depending on the number of axles. The number goes up by four with each increase in size. This is easy to check the next time you are on the highway. Eugene lost all his tires in the incident. Since it's a safe bet he doesn't have an 18-wheeler and is generously asking for only 16 tires, he must have a 14-wheeler (maybe even a 10!) and is trying to scam extra tires out of the Access Claims Department. Either or both Vern Duffy and Shelagh Vaughn-Widmer may be lying about who threw the first rock, not to mention where the rock in question was aimed. And given the likelihood of sympathetic witnesses on both sides, it's easy to understand why Morris Freedmann doubts the charges against them will hold up. In their statements, however, both have lied to Constable Sheaf. Vaughn-Widmer said her side was confused by the sun in their eyes. Yet the time was daybreak; the truck was facing west, and the SOS group was on the south side of the road. That means they were facing north. Not exactly into the rising sun! Duffy said two of his people recognized the truck driver. However the BFW group was on the north, or passenger side, of the truck. At the time, the sun was at horizon level, behind the truck, putting the cab and its tinted windows in shadow. They probably didn't even see the driver, let alone recognize him. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Congratulations to Jim Barrett, who was the first person to correctly solve the "Incident at Garibaldi Park" mystery.