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SATURDAY, MAY 22, 2010
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◗ MYSTERY
◗ SCHOOL IN CHINA
Does city man hold key to a fortune?
Company expects a profit of $100,000
He says he knows where massive treasure is located in the Arizona desert
BY NIKI HOPE REPORTER
nhope@royalcityrecord.com
BY ALFIE LAU REPORTER alau@royalcityrecord.com
By day, Mark Clayton is a highrise window cleaner. But when he’s on vacation or relaxing, he’s thinking about the billion-dollar hidden treasure he thinks he’s found in the Superstition Mountain area just outside of Phoenix, Arizona. “This is a project that started in 1997, and this may be the largest hidden treasure find ever,” said the uptown New Westminster resident. Now before every Johnny-come-lately starts booking flights for Arizona, the treasure is underground and on U.S. national parks land, so anybody caught taking anything from the land will be subject to some tough American laws. Instead, if you want to learn about the treasure, you can pick up a copy of Clayton’s recently released book, The Conclusion to the Original Peralta Stone Maps: The King’s Royal Treasure. The 73-page book is filled with neverbefore-revealed secrets and factual information that promises to electrify readers. The pictures and maps also show where the treasure is located, deep in the mountains just outside of Phoenix. Clayton’s book is built around the mysterious Spanish legend of King Fernando VI’s Royal Fifth, a treasure that has been sought for more than 150 years. Using maps and pictures taken by Clayton and his friends during their 13-year journey, the quest for the hidden treasure involves ancient maps, sun symbols, Spanish Mountain monuments, Spanish trail markers and the Arizona desert.
Jason Lang/THE RECORD
Treasure hunter: Mark Clayton with a copy of his recently released book, The Conclusion to the Original Peralta Stone Maps, which tells the story of a treasure related to Spanish King Fernando VI. In addition, Clayton provides a history of the culture of this fascinating area over the past 300 years, which include the Apache Indians, the Mexicans, the Spaniards and the U.S. Calvary. Clayton’s quest began when he met
Phoenix resident Dave Ramirez in a prospecting shop. “Dave was telling me about all the gold, diamonds and emeralds that were part of this lost treasure, and I was
The New Westminster school district’s business company, which oversees a school in China, expects to make $100,000 this year. The business company is in a position to be profitable this year, said school trustee Brent Atkinson, who is CEO of the company, which charges students in China for the B.C. school curriculum. This is the third year in a row that the company will bring money into the district to offset the almost $1 million the district has invested. The audited financial statements for 2008 showed net earnings of $36,649, and $157,365 for 2009. But earnings are down from last year. Atkinson wouldn’t say why. “I will wait until the audited financial statements are out and the business company reports back to the shareholder, that is the district,” he said. The business company has been a controversial endeavour for the school district. Parents have argued that it has drained time and money from the district. Since Atkinson took over the business company about three years ago, it has turned a profit. Still, the business company can’t seem to appease its critics. A recent front-page Vancouver Sun article on the poor financial showing of school district business companies, described New Westminster’s as “the most controversial.” Atkinson takes issue with the article and wrote a letter, outlining his concerns, to the Sun. The letter was never published, he said. ◗Schools Page 4
◗Treasure Page 4
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