G — Wednesday, August 71, 1999 — North Snore News north shore news Licence ATURDAY night’s tragic boat- ing mishap was an accident wait- ing to happen. The Benson & Hedges Symphony of Fire fireworks display at English Bay traditionally attracts hundreds of boaters to the bay area. It is lamentable that five lives were lost so needlessly. Anyone who had a general view of the movement of boaters on Saturday as they jockeyed for prime viewing areas on the water could see the potential for trowbie. Easily 1,000 to 1,500 boats moved into the bay and its vicinity for the big show on the weekend. A minority of pleasure craft opera- tors have any real marine training. You don’t need a licence to skipper a boat the way you do to drive a car. Although there are certain rules to matibox VIEWPOINT neeqcet abide by, many boaters remain igno- rant of the safety basics. As is the case with motor vehicle traffic on our roads, there are varying degrees of expertise and plain stupid- ity shown by those at the wheel. The margin for error at night in a harbour crowded with commercial and pleasure traffic is slim to none. Unseen logs and other detritus float- ing in the ocean add to the danger, yet a number of boaters choose to take unnecessary risks. In the case of Saturday’s fatal accident off Point Atkinson, the skipper chose to come between a barge and a tug. New federal laws are being phased in to establish a licensing system for powerboat operators similar to that of the one in place for drivers on land. Such regulations are long over- due. Brits, to Citizen leaves city hall feeling mocked Dear Editor: On Monday July 26, I attended the city council meet- ing in support of Councillor Braithwaite’s motion to defer construction of a soccer field at Sunrise Park for three months, in order to study all options and possibilitics. The motion, 2s presented by Councillor Braithwaite, was extremely well thought out and attempted to achieve Ja win-win situation for both the Cloverley residents as well as the soccer association At the very least, it gave the Cloverley residents some -hope that after 27 years, the promise of a park might pos- - : sibly,. maybe, come -to fruition. While Councillor _ Braithwaite was readirig out his motion I coulda’t help but notice: the actions of Councillor Fearnley and “Councillor Mussatto: Both men were engaged in eye con- - tact. : .”.+ Councillor Fearnley held his clasped hands in front of | his face. From my. vantage point, I could clearly see that. he was smirking. Councillor Mussatto shared in that srnirk ‘- "from across the room. Mr. Mussatto was not as subtle as »..) Mr. Fearnley and unabashedly rolled his eyeballs while his ‘fingers twittered and jiggled, signalling to his pal Fearnley mocking derision for the motion Councillor Braithwaite “was presenting. A motion Councillor Braithwaite was pre- enting on my behalf and on the behalf of over 300 citi- ens of the Clovericy area. — : These two men were mocking my rights as_a citizen. They.were mocking my needs, my concerns, my time, my. - efforts.:They were mocking my affection for Sunrise Park. These two men were mocking me and it hurt! . =. As sad as I was about the outconie of Sunrise Park, I ~ awas sadder’still at. the quality of these two men, our rep- : resentatives. : ~. Suzanne Ristic . *. North Vancouver. ; Kortt: Shore News, founded in 1969 as 2n lndependent suburban newspaper and quafified under Schedule 111, Paragraph 111 of the Garise Tax Act. is published each Wednesday, Friday and Sunday by North Shore Free Press + Ltd. and distributed to every door on the North ‘Shore, Canada Post Canadian Publications Mai ‘Sales Product Agreement No. 0087238. Moding retes available on request. Eabara Emo Distribution Manager ‘906-1337 (124) Ceative Services Director 985-2131 (127) Gt 52 (average circulation, Wednesday, Friday & Sunday) "COOL Britannia” — UK Prime Minister Tony 3lair’s push to harmonize Britain's identity with the Spice Girls — is getting 2 bit too cool for comfort for tradi- tionalist Brits. His Labour govern- ment now plans to have British history taught in a new, sanitized way in the nation's schocls. In the same way, it seems, as Canadian history has been taught latterly in our own schools — with depiorable cffects on - students’ pride of country and sense of ‘ national identity, Hitherto, British history has been taught in chronological order of its land- mark personalities and events. A millen- nium-long story from King Alfred to the Gale of Hastings, followed by Kin John: and Magna Carta, the Wars of the Kos