Sunday, October 2, 1994 — North Shore News - 3 NEWS photo Holl Lucente GRAD PRANKSTERS left their mark early at Cleveland Dam in North Vancouver. The job to dismantie the statement was a bit of a stretch on Friday morning. council orks Hebate Bylaw would end backyard displays BACKYARD FIREWORK displays could be a thing of the past in North Vancouver District if a new fireworks bylaw as pro- posed by Director of Fire Services Rick Grant is adopted by council. NORTH VANCOUVER DISTRICT COUNCIL By Martin Millerchip The draft bylaw contains regulations that pre- vent the sale of fireworks in the district, rules for the safe display of fireworks and a permitting system designed to regulate the display area and to limit the use of fireworks to thase who can demonstrate sufficient knowledge of the safe handling of fireworks. In a report to council two weeks ago, Grant said he had no intention of eliminating con- trolled, public fireworks displays, but was con- vinced of the need to ban the sale of fireworks within the district. Asked by Coun. Janice Harris whether family backyard gatherings, cither on Halloween or Guy Fawkes Day (Nov. 5), would be eliminated by the new bylaw, Grant replied, “It is going to limit that and limit it drastically.” Grant proposed permit conditions that would not allow fireworks to be ignited within 10 m (33 feet) of a building and would also require an open area of 30 m by 20 m (99 feet by 66 feet), effectively eliminating most single-family yards. But council asked staff to bring back a report halving the distance to buildings. Grant told council two weeks ago that NORTH VANCOUVER District is considering the following bylaw restrictions for fireworks: f@ no person may sell or dispose of fireworks to any person; § no person may explode fireworks without a permit or contrary to a permit; @ an application for a permit shall be made to the director of fire services and be accompanied by a letter from the owner of the land upon which the fireworks are to be used giving permission to use the land for that purpose; @ a permit may be withheld or cancelled when, in the opinion of the director of fire services, the exploding of fireworks would be contrary to the safety of the public; Hi a permit may be issued only for the observa- tion or celebration of a special event or festival; & a permit only entitles the person named in the application to explode the fireworks described in the permit; @ violations of the proposed bylaw could result in fines ranging from $50 to $2,000. a motion to be debated at the UBCM (Union of British Columbian Municipalities) annual meet- ing would seek to ban the sale of fireworks throughout the province. He said that if such a ban were to be intro- duced it might be possible to persuade First Nations Bands to stop selling fireworks on band lands. He admitted that the proposed bylaw was a “broad brush” but said without it “the things that fall through the cracks give us trouble.” However, Mayor Murray Dykeman said that last week’s UBCM meeting voted against any province-wide restrictions on firework displays. “My sense of the meeting was that the small- er communities, especially, felt there was enough regulation in people’s lives,” said Dykeman. See Fireworks page 8 N. Shore News pub! NORTH SHORE News pub- lisher Peter Speck has won a special award for entrepre- neurship from the 1,100-mem- ber Suburban Newspapers of America. By Kate Zimmerman News Reporter Speck flew to San Diego last week to accept the Dean S. Lesher Award for “outstanding service and invaluable contribution to the advancement of the suburban news- paper industry.” The award was presented at a banquet attended by 60 people at the Hotel del Coronado. Speck founded the North Shore News in 1969 with 50 borrowed cents and a pocketful of optimism. He started out as the paper's ad salesman, copywriter, editor and publisher, distributing the Narth Shore Shopper from his landtady’s garage. He also built some of the production and display equipment still in use at the News. By 1972. Speck had managed to parlay his free-distribution monthly North Shore Shopper into a bi- monthly newspaper called the North Shore News. The paper was seven years old before it made any money. The North Shore News now employs 125 people and is still dis- tributed free to every door on the North Shore.Over the years it has won numerous awards for both edi- torial and advertising content and has become one of the most finan- cially successful community news- papers in Canada. Last week at the 1994 British Columbia and Yukon Community Newspaper Association Awards competition the North Shore News was voted the No. | community newspaper with a circulation of 25,001 and over. Speck, a resident of West Vancouver, said he had prepared a serious speech and a number of jokes for the Dean S. Lesher award presentation.But when it came time for the presentation he threw away the serious speech and went with the jokes. He told the gathering that he had gone to San Diego to drown his troubles, “but the guy from Revenue Canada won't go swim- isher honored NORTH SHORE News pub- lisher Peter Speck ... present- ed with prestigious Dean S. Lesher award. msicie the news fashion E Basic black comes out at night: 17 & Body acceptance is the answer: 18 auto @ Jaguar unvoils new XJ sedans: 33 @ Listings fer new and used cars: 34 @ Business... 23 & Classifieds. EB Cocktails&Caviar...... Doug Collins Community. @ Crossword....................43 & Horoscopes..................30 Bob Hunte 7 & inquiring Reporter... 1 @ insights............ secsscegssssesenes @ Lifestylos.. BE MaiNDOX. 000. eee ceecssesane 8 Travel 8 Vintage Yoare.............28 Weather Sunday and Monday: mainly sunny Highs 17°C, Lows 8°C Canadian Publications Mail Sales Product Agreement No. 0087238