6 - Friday, SECRETE. % Li Ld Le NX \ SN ; AS . S ISS: Yipey Yip DD. SS L wxaians, SA AR ‘a LiBEROL BeeR / cry DRINKING SLOBS / PENTHETC “> a a . NOP'es ws 7“ x F wrasnionaple. BEER DRINKING cant Saat ONAT HTS AN ~ RRR LAS WES y we “ // SPTHETIC __/ CONADIGNS ae oF tHe Ree me (P NGUISTICALLY,- =", POFACY 7 / CHOLENGED | - NA . RNa 7 nore arate KS RARE : ) canapians ‘“ SS ome Yeuupemos / AM. ' - . ora e P ? RQ - SSAA NWN RN wen oe - ~ RAWAM S SIANEAN ANS ° WS SS SSNS So id [eres (pues ig on bikes © OPS ON bikes spokesmen. ; The $14,720 cost to initiate a local RCMP bicycle squad is money well spent by. the two North Vancouver municipalities. _ With policing resources increasingly _Stressed by funding shortfalls and a grow- ing demand for services throughout the community, a human-touch level of con- tact between the public at large and local police officers becomes increasingly prob- lematic. _ Polee in cars bounce like pinballs from call to call. . Police om bicycles .are approachable. make good They move through the world relatively slowly. You can walk or ride. your bicycle up to them and talk to them. They are less threatening without the squat cruisers and the flashing lights. And they do not pollute. RCMP bicycle patrols will prove to be an invaluable public relations vehicle for the local police force. | The stealth and flexibility. afforded by the mode of transport will also increase the range of police coverage in difficult local park areas. fo It is good news'that the North Van- couver RCMP will hit the streets this year with a four-member. bicycle patrol squad. —_ Eo Residents oppose development’s density _ Dear Editor: - This is in answer to the letter about the Wagg Creek seniors’ housing proposal, by Mrs. Trudy Clark. . The Wagg Creek area residents are opposed to the development because of its density, not because the project is being marketed to seniors. ; If approved as proposed, the project would place a four-storey -§2-unit apartment building zoned residential.” Spot zoning of this site would be in contravention of the com- munity plan, which provides an orderly and even transition be- tween the Lonsdale corridor of commercial and high-density zon- ing and the single-family zoning to the west. These units, if built, are for sale to owners who can afford high- end prices, and are not com- munity-assisted housing. such as the Kiwanis Garden Apartments on Haywood in West Van. The developer and the City of North Vancouver each have five lot assemblies in the vicinity of this proposal which have been suggested as alternative sites for seniors housing. Both of these sites are closer to the higher-density Lonsdale cor- tidor, the bus routes and the seniors’ centre. Mary Weir North Vancouver ‘overlooking a park in an area .. . Peter Speck Timothy Renshaw . Noel Wright Publisher... .. Managing Editor Associate Editor... . Sales & Marketing Director Linda Stewart Comptroller . . .Daug Foot North Shore News, founded in 1969 as an independent suburban newspaper and qualified under Scheauk:.111, Paragragh Il of the Ercise Ta* Act, 1s putisiied each Wednesday, Friday and Sunday vy North Shore Free Press Ltd. and disttibuted to every voor on the North Shore. Canada Post Canadian Publications Mail Sales Product Agreement No. 0087238 Mailing rates available on request Subrnisstons are welcome but we cannot accept responsivity for unsolicited material including manuscnpls and pictures which should be accompamed by a stamped. addressed envelope Newsroom ih V7M 2H4 Display Advertising Real Estate Advertising 985-6982 Classified Advertising 986-6222 SUNDAY + WEONESOAY « 1139 Lonsdale Avenue, ~ North. Vancouver, B.C. oC) § This newspaper Distribution 986-1337 £¢ Subscriptions. 986-1337 Fax 985-3227 j contains Administration 985-2131 Prey ‘cycled fibre North Shore managed 980-0511 985-2131 Fninay 61,582 (average circutalion, Wednesday. Friday & Sunday) Entire contents © 1993 Nortn Shore Free Press Ltd. All rights reserved. ARE NORTH Van District taxpayers being fooled by council members anxious to Jook as good as possible by the time this fall’s election rolls Coun. Ernie Crist says that is exactly what’s happening with the recent budget calling for an average 6.25% tax hike this year — when honest accounting would show the need for a much bigger increase. Since even a 6.25% tax hike is unwelcome, you may be tempted to wonder whether a tittle less- than-honest accounting is all that bad. That's if you’re the type ‘who's happy to raid his pension fund today to buy a CD stereo and doesn’t give a damn about his kids or his own old age tomorrow. But most of us know that cooking the books always brings a costly bill later. We're talking here about the two municipal budgets — operating and capital. The former covers district’s day-to-day running expenses — all ONGOING items from police and fire protection to garbage disposal and the upkeep of roads, sewers and recreation facilities. The B.C. Municipal Act requires those ongoing costs to be balanced by ongoing revenue from taxes and other sources. Deficits are not permitted, : The $30 million capital budget — $22 million from land sales — is the district's piggy bank. It represents future district assets in major new construction and land development projects. But Ernie claims that $2.67 million has been quietly siphoned off this year to the ailing operating budget to prevent it winding up in the red, Under the capital budget heading of ‘‘street construction, ’’ ERNIE CRIST... unanswered. questions COLIN EVANS... Saturday birthday boy. . around? iid y fers HITHER AND YON the money, he says, is actually be- ing used for routine pothole- mending and new batteries for portable radios — both strictly operational. Moreover, he suspects this year’s $2.67 million may be only the tip of the iceberg, He com- plains of stonewalling by municipal staff — backed by Mayor Murray Dykeman and a majority of councillors — when he tries to unearth other budget ‘details. He cites council’s refusal to hold budget discussions in public. Often seen by colleagues as a maverick, Ernie may simply have found a new windmill to tilt at. But his public charges of ; budget-mixing and coverups at least demand a response from the mayor and his allies. Government budget deficits have already land- ed us in far too much trouble to be ignored at any level. And living briefly on fast-diminishing capital is a fool’s way to bankruptcy. Only six months from the elec- tion, district taxpayers should keep on asking the hard questions until they get a hard answer. WRAP-UP: Help Cap College library, meet Jackson Davies, Terry David Mulligan and other celebrities Saturday, May 29, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the Fun Fair and Celebrity Auction in the Sportsplex, 2055 Purcell Way. ... Not too far away, let the kids take in the ‘‘Hansel and Gretel”’ pro- . fessional marionette show from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. at Mt. Seymour United Church, 1200 Parkgate Ave. — tickets at the door. ... Sunday, May 30, enjoy bingo, games, prizes, food, crafts, enter- tainment and family fun from 11 : a.m. to 5 p.m. at the Maplewood | School Carnival, just across from the Maplewood Farm. ... Many happy returns of tomorrow, May 29, to retired West Van fire chief Colin Evans, celebrating his 60th birthday. ... Wish that again to ‘ former premier Bill Vander Zalm, notching up his 59th year on this planet. ... And more of the same tomorrow to indestructible Bob Hope who will turn a neat, round 90. WRIGHT OR WRONG: Shoot for perfection — remember, haif right is always half wrong! Eten pri