& - Friday, April 26, 1991 - North Shore News Commendations in order: abstinence, not condoms Dear Editor: 1 am writing, as a concerned parent, to commend Noel Wright for his moral leadership on the recent condems in the school washrooms issue. As Mr. Wright noted, ‘76% of Grade 9 and 53% of Grade !1 B.C. students are NOT, so far, sexually active.’’ To place condom machines in school washrooms would be a powerful sociological message to our teens who are al- ready under significant peer pressure to be sexually active. Research shows that saying ‘‘yes’’ to teen sex through condom machines and ‘‘value-free’’ con- traceptive information, while si- multaneously saying ‘‘no"’ to teen sex through abstinence education as ‘‘one option among many.”’ is counter productive. This type of mixed message merely confuses teens. The Louis Harris Poll commis- sioned by Planned Parenthood showed that ‘‘Teens who have a sex education class that discusses contraceptives have a 50% higher sexual activity rate than those who have had a_ sexual education course omitting contraceptives.”’ I would also like to commend the West Vancouver School Board for their responsible decision on condom machines (North Shore News, April 10). As Board Trust- ee Margot Furk said, ‘schools do not have the right to make value decisions on the part of parents, who are always free to give their children condoms if they (the parents) so choose.’’ Few people have addressed the legal quagmire that this could place the focal school boards in. How would they be able to effectively cope with the lawsuits by parents whose children became infected after us- ing a high school-provided con- dom? Research published in the Jour- nal of the American Medical Association shows that even con- sistent condom usage doesn’t stop AIDS transmission. Over an 18- month period, 17% of healthy partners became infected while us- ing condoms with their infected partners. In contrast, the study showed no AIDS transmission in the control group that abstained from zexual intercourse (Margaret A. Fisch], JAMA 257:640 (1987) Is there a healthy alternative to either high school condom machines or doing nothing? The healthiest alternative is consistent abstinence education in high schools where sexual abstinence is Seymour needs another Dear Editor: On the morning of Tuesday, April 9, high winds caused two large trees to fall across Mt. Seymour Road collapsing power lines and bringing traffic to a halt. This incident, in itself, is not newsworthy, but the traffic chaos resulting from it is. The fact is, and I draw this to the attention of District planners, engineers, fire fighters, am- bulances and police, that Mt. Seymour Road is the only access to Seymour Mountain, Woodlands and the semi-densely populated area in between. We have a great deal of moun- tain traffic with constant skiing accidents and we have an elemen- tary school where accidents are prone to happen. The area has built to such a degree within the last 10 years with condos, co-ops and single family homes that we now rate a bus route, but without either access or egress the area is isolated without an alternative route when such an accident oc- curs. The District in this area should, Free Emergency Road Service With Your Collision : Coverage Lorsalue Batiocs. Cali for information on how to qualify for ROYAL AUTO INSURANCE Michele Davies Bonus: $20.00 buys you loss of use on your own car and rental car coverage anywhere in Canada & [ ° | nger INSURANCE United States. FOR ALL YOUR NEEDS 759 Park HKoyal North Melody Jensen (outside entrance) 922-9321 taught as a priority rather than as merely ‘‘one option among many.”’ Many abstinence education cur- ricula are being used in public schools with measurable success throughout North America. The Aanchor course was carefully tested between 1982-1987 with results of higher family strengths and significantly increased awareness of an appreciation for the value of abstinence. The Sex Respect course, used in 1,000 high school districts, showed a drop in the acceptability of intercourse among teenagers from 36% of students to 18% of students. The Sexuality, Committment and Fam- ily course showed a drop of yearly pregnancies in San Marcos from 178 to 20 over a four-year period. In contrast the $2 billion spent in North America on pro-con- traceptive sex education between 1971-1981 (a 306% increase in funding) correlates with a 48.3% simultaneous increase in teen pregnancies and 133% increase in teen abortions. Abstinence education is the healthy alternative to condoms in our teens’ washrooms. Rev. Ed Hird North Vancouver road access instead of devoting every square foot toward 80-90 thousand dollar tots, design and construct another road off Seymour Parkway to service the area for the protection and safety of all. John B. Kerr North Vancouver LETTERS TO the editor must include your name, written legibly, your full address and telephone number. Story correction THE WRONG date was given on a Wednesday, April 26 story ‘“‘Mayors remember Armenians” on page 46. The correct date for the commemorative ceremony at News Mailbox policy Due to space constraints the News cannot publish alf fetters. Published fetters may be edited for brevity, clarity, accuracy, legality and taste. Robson Square is Saturday, April 27, The event, at 8 p.m., will remember the 1.5 million Arme- nians massacred by the Turks in 1915, say organizers from the Armenian Cultural Association of B.C. For further information call 986-5609. MEXICAN SPANISH RESTAURANT “CINCO DE MAYO FIESTA” ‘Pepitas’—the place to party! Join us for a great evening of fun & dancing to the latin sounds of Julio Cabrera and DJ. Raul Cruz “Vallarta Sounds”. Saturday May 4th 9 PM Bring this ad for a complimentary “taste” of Mexico !! Reserve Now call 980-2405 180 W. Esplanade, North Vancouver i UGARO JEWELLERS Capilano Mali Location ANNUAL EVERYTHIN Sale includes all 984-2040 APRI merchandise in store except new orders and repairs. No lay-aways accepted at these prices. Sale L 19-28 Be FEATURE SPECIAL iil 14 KT. 3-stoene DIAMOND RING 1.40 CT. - Total weight. 2 only! eens $2,975°° Reg. Price. . Sale Price. . Price $6,.950°°