6 - Wednesday, July 10, 1997 ~ North Shore News

VSP: SCIENTISTS WRN CORTH SIN THE
MDDLE OF AN aSTERODD SHOOTNG

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INSIGHTS

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NEWS VIEWPOINT

Smoke on the water

E have finally been caught with
our hoses down.

Since Vancouver City Council
decided to decommission its firepoat three
years ago, the port has been playing with
fire — taking the calculated risk that the
big waterfront blaze wouldn't hit until new
quick-response fireboats were in place
some time next year.

But fuck ran out on Sunday.

Courageous action narrowly averted the
catastrophe of having a fuel barge located
next to the flaming Kits Coast Guard base
bicw up.

And while resgonse to the inferno cer-
tainly verged on the heroic, the seaborne
equipment firefighting crews had to work
with was woefully ad hoc.

West Vancouver Fire Departsient

brought in two inflatable Zodiac boats.
North Vancouver-based Cates and Seaspan
responded with a tug each. The North
Shore Lifeboat Society was on scene to
assist the Vancouver Fire Department with
its Fisherman’s Cove-based 20-foot Boston
Whaler.

Four years ago North Vancouver fire
chiefs voiced apprehension over the im-
pending curtailment of waterfront
firefighting capability as the Jan. 1, 1988
deadline loomed to pull the plug on the
Vancouver harbor fireboat.

There is no satisfaction in being proved
right. The job now is to put in place as
quickly as possible the firefighting
coverage realistically needed for a complex
and busy port.

LETTER OF THE DAY
Collins is right, justice is screwy

gosh, he also was ‘‘otherwise a

Dear Editor:

1 would like to express my sup-
port of Doug Collins’ article titled
“Tee-time: the new corrections
philosophy.”

I could not help but be
dismayed at the comments made
by the judge who served on the
trial of Inderjit Singh Reyat, the
man recently convicted of building
and then planting a bomb on
board a commercial airliner. A
bomb that, when exploded, trag-
ically killed two baggage handlers
in Tokyo. The comment that

Publisher
Managing Editor
Associate Editor
Advertising Diractor
Comptroller

Peter Speck
Timothy Renshaw
Noel Wright
Linda Stewart
Doug Foot

Stands out is when the judge refers
to Mr. Reyat as ‘‘a devout family
man and hard worker,’’ a man
who is ‘‘otherwise a decent per-
son.’* Yes, and other than being a
serial rapist-killer, Ted Bundy was
“otherwise a decent person.’’ Just
ask his friends.

Hitler was a marvellous chess
and bridge player who likewise
was misunderstood and was deep
down an “otherwise decent per-
son.’’ And did you know that
Atilla the Hun was a great polo
player? Granted, he slaughtered
peasants by the thousands, but,

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Newsroom 985-2131

Tied VORCE OF NORTH AND WEST MANCOLVER

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decent person.’’ The books of his-
tory are filled with the names of
murderers, rapists, tyrants, thugs
and thieves who were all ‘‘other-
wise decent people.”’

Reyat’s actions belie his
“decency."’ His actions put his
decency in doubt. However, the
one thing that cannot be doubted
is the decency of the men he kill-
ed. Once again, justice in this
country has taken a leave of
absence.

Vince Waring
Burnaby

988-1337
986-1337
985-3227
985-2131

MEMBER

Norin Shore
managed

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distributed (o every docr on the North Shore
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Subscriptions North and West Vancouver, $25 per
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ubmissions are welcome dul we cannot accept
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Entire contents ‘: 1991 North Shore Free Press Ltd. All rights reserved.

(| Norm who? set

to play role
as queen-maker

ONLY TEN days left until B.C. gets its summer premier
— who'll also lead the Socreds into battle this fall against

the socialist horde.

The crazy American-style
Socred leadership convention July
18-20 at the Vancouver Conven-
tion Centre is the worst way to
pick cither. Nonetheless, it’s a
great spectator sport, titillating the
gambling insincts of us helpless
onlookers who have to suffer its
results.

Time, then, to bet on the run-
offs and the final. So today
Wright sticks his face out for any
eggs that may later be lobbed at
it.

The big story wilf be the role of
former social services minister
Norm (Who?) Jacobsen as
queen-maker — by default.

Backbench super-optimist
Duane Crandall will drop out on
the first ballot with only a
double-digit handful of votes.
Moving upward, former finance
minister Met Couvetier will trail
dull, sound good-guy Norm —
mainly because nobody any longer
understands just where Mei is
coming from. Passibly not even
Met himself.

At the top of the pile that
leaves Rita Johnston and Grace
McCarthy, virtually neck-and-neck
and either one of them with a
hairbreadth lead. The Stop-Mc-
Carthy movement is stirring.

The second ballot eliminates

“Mel. Norm is still firmly in third

place. Grace, now with Duane’s
couple of dozen or so votes, takes
a slim lead —— or slightly lengthens
an existing one — over Rita.

Mel, no boy-friend of cither
lady, moves his support to Norm.
The Stop-McCarthy movement

af

NORM JACOBSEN... forcing
delegates to face the moment
of truth,

REMEMBERING COLIN...

award-winner Shyla with (left)
Monica Nelson.

Noel
Wright

HITHER AND YON

shifts to high gear. Nevertheless,
the third ballot dumps Norm,
covered with glory but not quite
enough of it.

So finally, the vital questions:
for the knockout round where do
Norm's forces g0? Do his Stop-
McCarthy allies go with him? And
for that matter, how firmly are
Norm — whichever way he moves
— and Mel still in command of
the 500-plus votes now up for
grabs?

How many delegates will sud-
denly get down to basics when
facing the moment of truth: Do I
stick with tribal loyalties or pick
the woman with the best slim
chance of returning the party to
power?

By denying either front-runner a
solid early lead, Norm’s strong
showing will be the catalyst for
that moment of truth which
decides who is crowned Queen of
the Socreds 90 minutes later.

For my money — Grace.
Though maybe only a length
ahead.

Wright or Wrong, why not save
your eggs for breakfast anyhow?

TAILPIECES: If you’re fluent in
Farsi, French or Chinese and en-
joy meeting the public, or are in-
terested in publicity work, you're
among the numerous peapie West
Van's Aug. 12-18 ‘*Harmony Fes-
tival’’ — celebrating culture in the
life of the community -- needs as
volunteers during that week. Call
North Shore Community Services,
985-7138, for details ... Latest
winner of the Colin Nelson Me-
morial Award for academic ex-
cellence is Upper Lynn Elementary
student Shyla Janzen. Presenting
it to her late last month was
Monica Nelson, widow of the
well-loved North Shore teacher
who died in 1987 ... Congrats to
West Van Secondary grads
Monika Tang and Robertina
Burgers, awarded $500 West Van
Arts Council scholarships ‘‘for
accomplishment and commitment
to the arts”’ ... And on a perfect
day for ‘‘fun golf,’’ reports Ger-
trude Gibson, the low net winners
in the recent fourth annual Gor-
don Gibson Golf Tournament at
Gleneagles were West Van's Jessie
Hunt and Geoff Snelgrove.

WRIGHT OR WRONG: If at

first you DO succeed, try some-
thing harder.
|