owen arsenic tainting NORTH SHORE Health announced Dec. 22 that 13 of 86 homes identified as being affected by arsenic contaminated drinking water on Bowen Island have safe drinking water. North Shore Health spokesman Bill Kimmett, community health director for West Vancouver, Howe Sound and Bowen Island, said the homes with safe drinking water are mainly serviced by shallow wells _ containing surface water. . ve Ten of the homes .are in the _Dorman Brook development. Kimmett said the remaining 73 6 Higher arsenic levels are believed to be associated with ground waier from deep wells, 9 "homes. ‘in the Queen’ Charlotte : “Heights area have not been tested ; "further after arsenic “levels ‘were : initially found to exceed Canadian -. Drinking | Water. Guidelines. °°. Levels ‘as high as’ 0: 275 mg/L | milligrams. per litre) were detected | ‘Quality. ‘in the area::The acceptable arsenic | vel. is “currently: set. by govern: ent at 0.025 mg/L: | : Kimmett’. said ‘North’ ‘Shore: Health: will: publicize. through the: local. Bowen ‘Island newspaper and’ ther: locations ‘recommended , siitiativ re t Memorial Library.- pe Council proceeded Dec. 20 to give second and third readings on Tas bylaw to take the money from he Capital Facilities Fund. » ‘The. library. project. faced .criti- cism in ‘past months over the way he expansion. was carried out and | “the design that was adopted to cut ‘ costs ona ‘project that more than * doubled the size of the library.’ Said’: West’ Vanco.iver “Mayor "Mark Sager at° the council ymeeting, ‘‘Although there are hose who will say , that not nough was done, this: is an un- »-precedented ‘success in terms of -Eboard, the Friends of the uerry : and‘ the Library Foundation and ‘clude By Anna Marie D'Angelo News Reporter The price of the systems to the ‘homeowners may range between $600 and several thousand dollars. “People on the island have been very. understanding about this whole process. There has not been any paranoia developing. People ‘have been sitting back logically waiting for the next step,’’ said Kimmett. He said a long-term solution to the drinking water problem may involve a water main hookup to the Cove Bay Water District. The Cove Bay water supply comes froma Bowen Island lake and services the Snug Cove area, said Kimmett. He said officials, including representatives of. Vancouver Regional District, have met to discuss the feasibility of hooking up the high-arsenic area to the Cove Bay water supply.- Kimmett said the higher arsenic - levels are believed to be associated with ground water. from deep wells in the area. He said North Shore Health : would test water samples -for arse- nic in other areas of Bowen Island : in the new year. Kimmett. said there’ have: been | no’ reports. of illness ‘associated “with the elevated arsenic levels in drinking water.. Arsenic is a poison. At low dos- ages, long-term ‘effects “may. in-_ tisk of skin increased cancer. _ Elevated arsenic levels were first detected in the Queen Charlotte Heights area after a. subdivision. _ applicant. conducted "testing of water quality. required ride $600,000 to.cover extra costs associated ine "361 ‘million expansion of. ‘the West Vancouver , 4 WEST | VANCOUVER DISTRICT COUNCIL -by Maureen Curtis its fundraising team. Sager acknowledged several of ‘the’ key people involved in the fundraising effort, including Joanne Houssain, John Eluim- phries, Molly Murray and Jim MacCarthy. Said MacCarthy. of council’s acknowledgement, ‘‘It was a very appropriate and well deserved rec- ognition of the “hundreds public-spirited individuals who contributed volunteer efforts and financial donations to make. the library expansion possible.”’ - the Greater’ of . Away she goes “ANNA MCKILLIGAN goes. fora Christmas holiday slicte at Cypress Bow! while her mother ‘and. nd. sister watch her race down the hillside. . EIGHT ‘MONTHS after a "prolonged trial ended, a ‘Lions on a Pender Island ferry. The award was disappointing -for Mario Eugenio Szijarto, a de- signer and supervisor of high-end construction projects.’ William: McLachland, Szijarto’ $ lawyer, sought $665 ,000 from ICBC in the fawsuit. The mishap occurred five’ years ago. : : Szijarto, 62, was. ‘reaching . into his truck after boarding the Queen of Nanaimo on May 29, 1988, when the vehicle behind him jerked forward, jamming him between the bumpers. He suffered soft-tissue injuries to his right knee, hip and shin, and neck and back injuries. No bones were broken, ‘finishing -stages’ of ».West Bay man has been awarded $78,000 in damages after. being. ‘pinned for 30 seconds between the bumpers of two vehicles By Brent Mudry Contributing Writer At the time; Szijarto was in the Van- couver mogul .Edgar “Kaiser Jr.’s doomed- Point Grey’ mansion, dubbed Belmont If. , The $18 million project was in: its tenth month of construction on , Christmas Day 1988, when the sprinkler-less ‘mansion ‘burned to the ground after a Christmas tree: in the house caught fire. A collection of international art was desiroyed in the fire. . Kaiser’s massive lawsuit against - “THIS WEEK'S QUESTION: he best t hangover remedy you can share with us? North Shore. Plumbing. and Heating,. the City of Vancouver, the tree decorator, anda cast: of countless others is set to start trial on Jan.'31. Szijarto claimed ‘the: ferry. acci- dent: cost him. a--shortfall .of $31,000 on: the Kaiser job, for: - which he’d signed on full-time for $7,000 per month, with a $15,000 conditional bonus on completion. ' The ‘seven-day ‘trial dragged on for over one year, running ‘from March -11,: 1992, to* “April 1 of this . year. 3: ‘Mr. Justice. Sherman - Hood, ‘awarded Szijarto $35,000 for general pain and suffering. dam- ages and $13,000 for pre-trial.loss - of income on six projects reviewed in court. . : Lawyer McLachlin claimed $422,000 for loss of future i income and earning. capacity, but the judge awarded only $30,000. :