@Z Friday, September 29, 1989 - North Shore News INSIGHTS _ Community's ‘ugliness’ printed in the paper Dear Editor: It has come to my attention that the North Shore News, while being on the whole a good paper, has become the somewhat less-than- subtle voice for some of the more ignorant, biased and otherwise socially-archaic members of the community. For example, printed in. the Mailbox section of your Sept. 3 issuc were two extremely misguid- ed and offensive tetters. The first, with the prepasterous headline Teenagers should curb sexual desires, portrayed sexual in- tercourse amongst young people as some sort of evil act, to be frown- ed upon in the same manner as drug abuse or pornography. This is a seriously warped and regressive attitude. The natural, French should not be limited to France Dear Editor: I am writing in response to the North Shore News Sunday, Sept. 3 Mailbox tetter written by Douglas W. Haigh of North Vancouver entitled French sign criticized. I seriously wonder about Mr. Haigh’s comments concerning an im- mersion schoo! having a French and English sign. Has Mr. Haigh not been informed that the French Janguage is rot only limited to France as the English language is not only limited to England? Our tax dollars are not supporting ‘‘subtle racism’’ as he puts it, but .the interest and openness that parents have in encouraging an education for their children that will give them the opportunity to function and to communicate with the world around them. Learning a third useful lan- guage would also be beneficial. Limiting ourselves and our children to one language and one culture implies more than ‘‘subtie racism.”’ The schoolboard caters to a demand which answers to a broader perspective. The purpose of immersion is to teach students the use of both languages. In addition I would like to inform Mr. Haigh that parents who have French as their mother tongue can enrol their children in a program other than immersion called Programme Cadre which is an all-French educa- ‘tion. . Being ‘completely bilingual in French and English I can sincerely add that there are tremendous advantages in knowing these two languages in Canada. Johanne Howard-Sornitz North Vancouver Versatile waterfront Shipyards fac. lands the provincial govern- AR stinyars: OF whether Versatile Pacific ment’s $300 million contract to build two new super ferries, the shipbuilding future for the com- pany’s Nerth Vancouver yard will remain bleak at best. And that is more than sad for the North Shore and its shipbuilding industry. It could have far reaching social and economic consequences for both. Versatile’s new ownership plans to concentrate new shipbuilding construction at its Victoria yard. The company’s North Vancouver shipyard, which in and practically inevitable sexual activity of young people can in no way be compared to the harmful and illegal worlds of drugs or porn. The second letter took an in- credibly simplistic view of bilin- gualism in B.C. It referred to the French sign hung outside a North Vancouver French immersion schsol as a form of racism, simply because the majority of North Vancouver residents are not Fran- a cophone. Such a sign seerns more like a simple attempt to enhance the learning experience of students in French -Immersion than some elaborate racist plot. I am very concerned about both the misguided views of many resi- dents of the North Shore and the integrity of the community paper which publishes these views. With the long-awaited retire- ment of Doug Collins, many fair and informed readers had hoped to ltews has Dear Editor: See, there is proof. 1 have felt it all along. Doug Collins did not “retire”? voluntarily. I knew it, I knew it. There he is, as large as life, smil- ing away, on page 18 of your Wednesday, Sept. 6 edition telling us that he is now writing for the Elder Statesman. Good for you, Doug, welcome back. I somehow was sure that we didn’t have to be without your columns for very long. As for you, North Shore News, I must say that your paper has Leave languages Dear Editor: I see where Capilano College is offering courses in several Asian languages. Js this for our benefit or to accssumodate an expected influx of Facific Rim so-called refugees? I’m sure they wouldn't be giving courses in English to accommodate us if we were invading their coun- try. You would either have to ask for anythine you wanted in their see the end of “the reactionary, racist, bigotted material in the North Shore News. Obviously, we were overly optimistic. Such ugliness, it would seem, stems directly from a certain por- tion of our community, and finds an outlet in the editorial section of your paper. I can only hope then, that you have the courage to print my letter in the same section and prove me, at least partially, wrong. J. Moss , West Vancouver lost zest reverted back to what I would now call the North Shore Wimp. It has lost its zest; it has lost what made it exciting and provocative. It has lost Doug Collins and with it a sane voice among us who seem to be inundated by ‘wimps, whackos and women of both sexes.’”? You have lost what made you stand out for five years. What is the Elder Statesman’s number again? 683-1344? Is that it? Let’s phone right now and subscribe, Rudi G. Winter West Vancouver to missionaries language or go without. The only ones who need to learn a foreign language are mis- sionaries. I took French in schol 60 years ago and haven’t used it since. It was a waste of time and money when I should have been learning more about The Three Rs. J.H. Cocley West Vancouver its heyday employed thousands and was the centre of West Coast shipbuilding, will be reduced primarily to ship repair and industrial manufacturing contracts. While it is true that Versatile is currently enjoying a minor boom ia ship repair work at its North Van- couver yard, ship repair, by its very nature, is unreliable and short-term. And the future of industrial manufacturing for Yersatite is still very uncertain. A shipyard that does not build shins is not a shipyard for long. While Versatile sits on some extremely desirable waterfront property, the reality remains that North Vancouver City’s prosperity is directly reliant on the good health of the shipbuilding industry. The North Shore is blessed with a waterfront that is both industrially functional and recreationally accessi- ble. Sacrificing one in favor of the other will perma- nently change the area’s financial and economic char- acter. 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