A7-Sunday News, February 24, 1980 Se Dear Editor: ft am writing this letter on behalf of the Save the Parks Committee to express our appreciation for the coverage your community newspaper gave to the SeyLynn Park-Fire Hall issue. Except for your continued coverage of this issue, the people of the North Shore would not have been as fully aware of the situation as it really was. Crist a Dear Editor: Alderman Crist must be congratulated on his stand that the Beak Report be released. In the event disaster similar to Mississauga, and another recently in a_ British chemical plant, resulting in the largest evacuation there since the last war, it is not difficult to imagine the chaos that would result here on the North Shore. of a local “small’’ ‘ se " — The final act to the drama has not been concluded, but it appears that the North Shore residents have made the elected representatives of the community aware of their desires. It should be made clear that no one person, whether an individual citizen, an elected alderman, or a potential candidate for office, was instrumental in winning this battle to save a breath Whilst we are all hiking the mountain trails and swimming across the inlet to escape, nobody is going to be thanking Alderman Crist for sitting quietly on council and not expressing his strong feelings on the subject Those offended by Alderman Cnists’ action are missing the point entirely and creating a smokescreen. The point is that we have the right to see the Beak Report (if only because we paid for those park. It was the combination of all concerned, par- ticularly those women and children who walked the picket line around the park and who attained over 1,500 Signatures on a petition, that made the effort a success. To coverage by the North Shore News, the job would have been much more difficult. repeat, without the Therefore, on behalf of all people concerned fresh iti) and council should not be’distracted by walkouts in debate on a etiquette. point of The present attitude of the majority of council towards the citizens of the District leads to inevitably con- frontation. This has been demonstrated recently by their cavalier treatment of the users of SeyLynn and Bndgman Parks. about saving the park, “thanks for your concern”, The entire scenario can be summed up as one little six- year old girl did at the public meeting in SeyLynn Halli on February 12, 1980, by saying to the Mayor and Aldermen, “I don't want you to take my park away”. Frank Kennedy, Chairman, “Save the Parks Committee” Gi I am thankful that at last we have someone on council with enough courage to stir things up to the point where the citizens of this com- munity are beginning to reahze the impact made on their lives by the decisions of local government. Alderman Crist is indeed a much needed breath of fresh air. A.C. Simmpnds North Vancouver Platonic chestnut masks incompetence Dear Editor: The comment of Trustee Ernie Sarsfield (Feb. 6) on the North Vancouver Teachers’ Association's advertisement which quoted a comment by Socrates on the behaviour of youth in the Athens of his day, was timely, if restrained. What escapes me is the connection the Teachers’ Association seem to. see between these days of highly privileged students of this school district and _ the conditions in a beleagered city fighting desparately for democrative principles against enemies both within and without, and bubonic plague ravaging. Of course there was a breakdown or moral and social values, and youth behaviour reflected it! I have seen this Plato Socratic chestnut trotted out several times before and invanably it seemed to intent to mask the incompetence of those teachers who did not possess the personality and An assortment of Quality used and out of print titles in ART & ARCHITECTURE Pacific Books 1135 Lonsdale North Vancouver 980-2121 firmness to keep ordinary discipline within’ the classroom. Peter Speck’s “Teachers, Tears and Laughter” has even more validity now than when he wrote it a year ago, and is worth a reprint without amendment. He | said, “They (the B.C. Teachers’ Federation) have the strongest and most militant union around. (It) is a well financed and well-organized pressure group, and a teacher who goes against it article, simply becomes unem- ployed.” Let me add to _ this regarding the N. Vancouver S.D. arm of the association. It would seem they have learned all the tricks of some of our labor unions especially feather-bedding and taking care. that redundant teachers are not released. The. almost three million dollars for teacher and aide salaries in the present budget is a fearsome figure to pay for so much mediocrity in our teaching system and, as | am beginning to suspect, downright incompetence, after observing the = end product in knowledge of basic subjects., My thanks and I'm sure those of many other pen- DRAPERY CLEANING Let the specialists at drapenes Our Roy s handie your large votume valuable lets us charge com petitivety low prices and we guarantee no shrinkage. We take the ‘worry’ out of drapery cleaning. 987-3431 ROY’'S DRY CLEANING 987-3233 648 Queensbury Ave . North Vancouver sioners to Mr. Sarsfield for his courageous stand against the adoption of the budget. Arthur L. Piatt North Van. nn. concern appreciated Public must decide about threat Dear Editor: Alderman Ernie Crist, speaking in District Council or writing to newspapers, has raised the question of the right of the public to know the contents of the Beak report. I want to know. I'm shocked by many things: taxes, interest rates, prices of gasoline, groceries, hydro, clothing, building matenals. But when I buy those items I have a right to know the price I have to pay. H JI have to secure my family’s safety, I want to know the price that has to be paid. No public body or individual has the right to obscure my knowledge on that point. A recent newspaper ar- ticle claims that Mayor Don Bell refuses to release the Beak report because “it would just alarm the public.” Hasn’t Mayor Bell learned anything from the incidents at Mississaugua and Three Mile Island? Let the public decide for itself the value of the Beak report on Hooker Chgmical. C.B. Keely North Vancouver No industry worth 20,000 lives Dear Editor: Alderman Ernie Crist’s open letter to Mayor Don Bell of Dist. of North Vancouver should awaken all North Shore residents. Am 1 to understand that the true, ever-present threat, and its enormity, of chlorine spills, as a result’ of derailment of rail cars from Hooker Chemicals, has never been openly exposed to the public? We have been told that 50,000 people could not be evacuated. Have any steps been taken to move Hooker Chemicals? Can anyone’ guarantee that an accident of chlorine leakage will not occur? Is any industry worth 50,000 lives? Just who holds the responsibility for these 50,000 lives in their hands? A worried home owner North Vancouver VE BUCK FORD -SayES Lio. APPLY TO oss Buck 0-2411 RD CENTRE THE FO SUITE TN NE ST