and money.

their offspring can create.

EASTER WEEKEND was a busy
one for the North Shore’s hardiest
bunch of volunteers. But nothing
new about that. .

They’re the members of the B.C.
Lifeboat Society’s North Shore
Station, headed by West Van’s
Tully Waisman. From 5:45 p.m.
Good Friday to 5:30 Easter Sun-
day they put to sea no less than six
times to help boaters in apparent
or actual distress — twice during
the night or early morning hours,
and several times battling 5 ft.
waves.

They searched for an overdue
sailboat. They responded to.a
report of a boat on fire (but never
found). .They went to the aid ‘of

two other sailboats dead“ in the .

water. with . engine, trouble... They

6 - Sunday, April 6, 1986 - North Shore News

Abortion politics

If governments were able to concern themselves solely
with morality, the world might be a much better place.
Unfortunately, given that their first aim is to stay in
power, the electorate seldom allows them that luxury.

This is the tough truth that must be faced by the Pro
Life movement, members of which recently had their
court action against abortion procedures at Lions Gate
Hospital dismissed by the judge.

Under the law as it stands, the hospital’s aboriion
procedures are virtually unassailable and seem certain
to remain so unless the law itself is changed. In other
words, abortion is a political issue, not a judicial one.

Pro Life has no lack of morality on its side. But on
abortion, as on all other political issues, government
policy is ultimately determined by counting heads —

Like its Grit predecessors, the Tory government has
to keep a sharp eye on the ‘‘liberated’’ women’s
movement, which packs a hefty punch at the ballot
box, as well as the Pro Choice constituency at large.
On behaif of all taxpayers, it also has to consider the
public cost of unwanted pregnancies in terms of child
allowance, welfare and UI payments to single mothers,
plus the longer term social problems which they and

Despite its vigorous lobby, Pro Life has not yet
proved that it speaks for a decisive, or even slim, ma-
jority of the electorate. Until it can, it won’t make any
progress for its morality in the only place from which
change can come: Ottawa — not the courts.

“equipment,
,other expenses from private dona-

chased out to. sea, caught’: and:

handed over to the police a juve-
nile in a dinghy stolen from Eagle
Island. And they rescued a fourth
sailboat minutes before it would
have been dashed to the Eagle
Harbour rocks in a heavy swell.
This year to date they've been
called’ out on more than 50 other
occasions for marine search and
rescue incidents, afl without
costing the taxpayer a single cent.
The unpaid volunteers of the
BCLS — including a team of
dedicated Coast Watchers, in
homes along the waterfront, who
keep a sharp eye on-all* smaller
craft within sight for signs of
trouble — get the money for their
fuel, maintenance and

tions. And they apparently like it

that way. ‘‘We don’t WANT any.

THE VOICE OF NORTH AND WEST VANCOUVER

SUNDAY . WEDNESDAY * FRIDAY
1139 Lonsdale Ave.
North Vancouver, B.C, V7M 2H4

56,893 (cverage, Wednesday a
Friday & Sunday)

SHOWING THE FLAG...(1 to r) lady Legionnaires Neil Morgan, Barbara Bisset, Carol Hodgson and Marie

Cooper.

government funding,’’ says Coast
Watcher Alec McPherson of Cop-
per Cove.

Just why, in such circumstances,
these remarkable neighbors of ours

voluntarily keep their. constant
vigil and stand ready to put to sea
on their missions of mercy at any
hour of the day or night,
regardless of weather, is hard for a
mere landlubber to grasp. But
SOMEBODY has to do the job
and the Lower Mainland’s tens of
thousands of often unskilled, in-

- aw
SNEWS photo ‘ian Smith

POPSICLE ENGINEERS...(I to r) Argyle’ s Wendy Taylor, Mark Johnstone, Tony Doman, Claudia Sadro,
Mike Jones and their ‘‘Physics Olympics"" trophy.

LETTERS OF THE DAY

Mayor never ‘bolted’

Dear Editor: ;

Since this newspaper does not
sell its product, news columns
should have one purpose: explain-
ing North Shore facts to a captive
North Shore readership.

A free paper has no need to
create controversy with inflam-
matory descriptives. Its readers
need only unadorned facts.
Overblown journalism has no
place in a neighborhood paper,

despite its national awards.

Example: to report West Van's
Mayor Humphreys ‘‘bolted’’ from
an Ambleside Park-Indian lands
meeting with Chief Joe Mathias is
trickery. [ know it to be untrue as
well,

Humphreys has never bolted
from a situation in his political
life. Example: never before (in the
past seven years) has West Van-
couver had a municipal governm-
ent so open in its conduct of the

public’s business.

| sought and have read all the
press releases the Mayor has pro-
vided you where all facts of that
overlong negotiation were explain-
ed in laborious, factual detail. NS
News reportage reflects none of
the solid information contained
and readers would be better served
if you used those facts instead.

Herbert L. McDonald
West Vancouver

SDA DIVISION

Noel. Wright

Display Advertising 980-0511 Publisher: . . _ Peter Speck
Classified Advertising 986-6222 Editor-in-Chief! . Noel Wright
j]awsroom 985-2131 Managing Editor Nancy Weatherley
Circulation 986-1337 i :
Subscriptions 986-1337 Advertising Director ... . .Linda Stewart

Marth Shore News, founded in 1969 4% an independent scturban newspaper and quilted undet Schedule MM Paragraph Ul of the
Teeme Tar Act, 1s pubtiahed each Widenisday. Friday and Sunday hy North Shore Free Presa tid and distributed to evary doct on
the North Shore Second Class Mail Registration Number JABS Sutscephans North and West Vancouver, $25 per year Mailing ates
available oo request Submissions are welcome but we cannot aecert responsibility lor unsolicited material nciuding manuscripts
and Dictutas with should be acccmpa id by 4 stamped. addiassed ervnlnge

© sunday brunch ©

experienced. pleasure boaters can
thank ‘their stars that the BCLS
boys make that their hobby.

eee

MORE LIGHTS For The Bridge,
the fund drive launched recently by
West Van’s Robert Pellatt, is still
languishing at the $60 donated by
its sponsor and the five West Van
lady pledgers spotlighted in. last
week’s BRUNCH — but this week
they have moral support from a
heavyweight. North Van MP
Chuck Cook writes: ‘‘You should
enhance, expand and promote in
every way possible the addition of

lights to the Lions Gate Bridge ...

more are needed to. make it an
outstanding centre-piece for the
Lower Mainland.’’ Chuck has
asked lan Hayward, the electrical
expert who installed the original

lights, for an estimate on extra
ones needed to illuminate the
whole superstructure. Seems the

cost of Mr. Pellatt’s idea for thee
and me to finish a job well started
-but only half done mightn’t be too
horrendous after all. So now's the
time to join him as a Charter
Lighter Upper — by mailing or
phonivg a pledge c/o BRUNCH
today! . ,

see

WRAP-UP: Proud flag bearers for

Entire contents ©
1986 North Shore
Free Press Ltd. All
rights reserved.

NEWS photo Mike

tri-zone Legion
church parade at St. Stephen's;
West Van, are color party
members Neil Morgan, Barbara
Bisset and Carol. Hodgson of the
West Van Legion LA with
Sergeant-at-Arms Muriel Cooper
of North Van Legion ... Congrats
to Argyle students Wendy Taylor,
Mark Johnstone, Tony Doman,
Claudia Sadro' and Mike Jones on
their. popsicle bridge which helped
win them’ the recent ‘‘Physics
Olympics’ at UBC against 55
competing teams ... Get new ideas
on flower arranging this Wednes-
day, 7:30 p.m. in Queen Mary
School, North Van, with Capilano
Flower Arranging Club — call
Julia Tibbs (925-2958) for info ...
And meet West Van author Tom
Smith, 7-9 p.m. Friday (April 11)
in the Amber Bookshop, Dun-
darave, at the launch of ‘‘Cry To
The Night Wind’’, his new histori-
cal adventure book for boys about
coastal B.C. in Capt. Cook’s days.

next Sunday's

‘ee

WRIGHT OR WRONG: All you
need to become an expert is to
know tomorrow why the things
you predicted yesterday
happen today.

nr

didn’t

e575 photo Mike Wakallold
LYNN. BONNER...tips.” for
Capilano Flower Arrangers.

Why don’t senators
help jobless youth?

Dear Editor:

Senator Hebert’s protracted
Lenten Fast raises some interesting
questions.

1)What does the good Senator
actually do normally? I mean when
he is dozing vertically in the Senate
and not horizontally in the House.

2)What do any of the Senators
actually work at?

3)Why does not the Senator, if
he is truly interested in a program
for youth, mount a campaign to
have alt Senators, including mil-

lionaire Teamsters, donate
$10,000.00 annually to a youth
fund. This would make everybody
happy. The kids would again enjoy
easier access to each other and to
drugs, the. Senator would be able
to feel more saintly, and to make
up the income loss, all Senators
could seek part-time employment
at something suited to their age
and talents. Security guard, night
watchman, department store Santa
Claus or whatever.

Alan Kenny

North Vancouver