Townhouse manager Anna Marie D'Angelo News Reporter adangclo@nsnews.com GERRY St. Laurent can inake no promises about running into a burning townhouse again. On Friday night, the manager of the Mount Seymour Lions Housing Alliance Plaza did just that. “My girlfriend said that if I had collapsed she would not have been abie to haul me out of there,” said St. Laurent on Monday. “She said, ‘Promise you won't do it again? ‘No, I won't promise’,” he said adding, “You just do what you have to do. When it happens, it happens so fast. St. Laurent said a t tin the 27-unit complex on Apex off Mount Seymour Parkway came to him on Friday night with a report of smoke. “When [| opened the door (of the townhouse) it was full of smoke. You couldn’t see anything. And the heat was so hot, every- thing was just melting,” said St. Laurent, 52. The fire deparement was called. St. Laurent looked in the townhouse again and noticed fire. He grabbed a garden hose and crawled into the townhouse. “It took about four tries (to put out the fire),” said St. Laurent, who has been manager of the complex for 14 years. “There was a lot of the plastic smell. You just couldn’t breathe.” St. Laurent soaked the burning couch. North Vancouver District firefighters were “right behind” him as soon as the fire was " put out. A cat was killed in the fire. It was found in an upstairs bed- room, North Vancouver District Fire and Rescue Services Deputy Fire Chief Brian Stegavig credits the actions of St. Laurent in See NV page & NORTH Vancouver RCMP Sgt. Rod Carison, of the serious the Bank of Montreal on Marine Drive on Friday shortly after a holdup. Carison is shown with bags of recovered bank money. The money was stained with red dye and found flying around busy Marine Drive. crime unit, was at . 2000 — North Shore News - 3 Traffic stalls escape Anna Marie D’Ange!o News Reporter adangelo@nsnews.com A bank robber didn’t consider traffic conges- tion in his getaway plans on Friday. According to the North Vancouver RCMP, a man walked into the Bank of Montreal at 1120 Marine Dr. and demanded money at 3:30 p.m. He did not use a note or show a gun during the heist. The robber fled the bank with a “substantial” amount of cash and headed west along Marine Drive as after- noon rush hour was under way. “He got stuck in waffic. He was arrested at that point with the money,” said Const. Heidi Hoffman. Hoffman said a red dye pack was with the bank’s money. - The dye pack exploded a short time after the robber left the bank. Police say the bank robber had escaped in a stolen green 1994 Plymouth Voyager van. The robber’s getaway came to a stop after the van rounded the cloverleaf from a See Bank page & WV council holds to 1983 position on pubs From page 1 a motion to abandon Wiechold’s a. plication. The motion was put forward by Coun. Ailan Williams, who also said the Liquor Licensing Board in Victoria should be informed immedi- “vately chat residents did not favour a pub in + Dundarave. “Those who say they would fike a pub show little concern for the impact on local tsidents,” said Williams. “This demonstrates pessenal satisfaction, not public interest.” Williams said council’s policy since 1983 had been that there would be no pub in s. Dundarave. ~ . Since -Jiquor. licensing control had been - transferred to Victoria, Williams said, “the only ‘control we have is the power to rezone.” “Wiechold said he could ‘not understand the Nose broken in WV school fight _ Katharine Hamer. News Reporter A West Vancouver secondary student ended ‘up with a broken nose after a schoolyard rumble Monday afternoon. West Vancouver Police Sgt. Jim Almas said offi- cers were called to the scene at around 1 p.m. '| “Paramedics were already on hand to tend to the boy’s injuries, which also included a concussion and a bleeding face. The youth, who was transported to Lions Gate Hospital, was knocked unconscious. Almas said the ~ boy’s injuries were not life-threatening. "Te appears a fight had been pre-arranged between the rwo students — both 16 and in Grade 1] at the school. Almas said they were fighting over a $10 debt, and that an audience of other students had gathered to watch the boys throw punches at cach other. ‘The fight took place in 1 wooded area just cast of the school. ~ Police arrested a 16-year-old boy who had cuts to his face. decision of councillors to support Williams’ motion despite their admission that a public survey on the issue had been tainted, that no schoo! children would be harmed in the estab- lishment of a pub, and that B.C. Tax Assessinent authorities had said no property devaluation would occur. As a self-confessed pub-going Englishman, Coun. Victor Durman said he thought going to the pub was “certainly a community activity. I always thought Dundarave was a pretty good location for a pub.” But he also supported Williams’ moticn, because “residents have a right to rely on the policy set by council in 1983. People paid a lot of money based on the fact there would be no pub in Dundarave, and 1 chink it would be wrong of us to go back on council’s policy.” Katharine Hamer News Reporter kbamer@nsnews.com AFTER an extra week of holiday time, North Vancouver students Coun. Jean Ferguson said council had received a petition from the staff and parents of nearby Erwin Park elementary school in support of the pub. One of the key reasons given for opposition to the pub application has been the proximity of Dundarave Cafe to the school. Opponents to the application emphasized the 82% polled in a survey who said they didn’t want a pub. John Wiechold suggested after the results of the survey were made public that opinions had been skewed by the Friends of Dundarave Improvement Society, fronted by Erwen Smith. Coun. John Clark spoke of Smith’s “hard- sell techniques” and attempts to exert “undue influence” on the survey. He said he had even received a visit at his own place of business to try and convince him not to support the pub CUPE supp legislated back io application. He supported Williams’ motion. Dundarave residents and those from other parts of West Vancouver honing to gather at a new pub will now have to s.:nd another venue. “It’s a little disappointing for the community of West Vancouver,” said Milos Indic, manager of the Black Bear neighbourhood pub. “They're missing out on a fabulous place. (Dundarave) is like a ghost town in the evening.” Black Bear owners Ron Slinger and Dave Raht were co-applicants with John Wiechold for the Dundarave rezoning. ; ‘ “If you want to meet new friends,” said Dundarave resident James Hemphill, “there are. community centres and various night school courses available.” : Said Indic, “Yeah — upholstery 101 or ° small engine repair — how you doing buddy?”. . ~ CUPE called the commissioners’ report “inadequate.” . . . Declared CUPE B.C. president Barry O'Neill, “Free collective bargaining is dead.” . The government’s action was also NV students hit the books — rt staff ” were back at school on Monday morning. CUPE (Canadian Union of Public Employees) members, representing school support staff, had been. picketing schools and administrative buildings since March 27, after the failure of collective bargain- ing. They were ushered back to. work by “the public education support staff collec- tive bargaining assistance act” — other- wise known as Bill 7. The bill was introduced by Finance Minister Paul Ramsey and rushed through an emergency sitting of the provincial leg- islature on Sunday. Under the. bill, CUPE members were required to report for work Monday morning, and are forbidden from taking any further strike action unt July 31. Employers are not permitted to lock staff out for the same duration of time. Existing contracts will remain in effect work on Sunday until a collective agreement is reached with the assistance of an industrial inquiry commission. Premier Ujjal Dosanjh said last week hg wanted kids back in school by Monday. Two labour negotiators were appointed to come up with recommendations by the weekend. : In their report, labour mediators Vince Ready and Irene Holden said that signifi- cant progress had been made on most major issues, but they suggested contin- ued negotiation for a period of up to 45 days to help resolve local issues. The mediators recommended that in the meantime picket lines be lifted so that schools could be reopened. . “In the absence of a final agreement,” said Dosanjh in a weekend statement, “the legislative assembly must now take action to ensure our kids are back in school on Monday.” ; . immediately condemned by cther unions, - including the B.C. Teacher's Federation, - the Hospital Employees Union, and the - B.C. Government and Service. Employees’ Union. 0 : The Industrial Inquiry Commission, .° made up of labour mediators Ready and Holden, said in its repurt that CUPE and the B.C. Public School Employers’ Association (BCPSEA) were “at polar extremes as to how collective bargaining should occur in the K-12 education sec- ~ tor.” CUPE has been secking province-wide bargaining on what it calls “common issues” amongst its locals — while. BCPSEA has determined - bargaining. should take place between locals and their respective individual school districts. = ©... To press time, representatives from .. both CUPE and the North Vancouver school district were unavailable for com- ment, eels