6 -— Wednesday, November 28, 1990 - North Shore News “YY YY INSIGHTS NEWS VIEWPOINT Friends flood in HERE IS hope for us after all. i In a world where the darker side of human activity tends to draw in- ordinate attention, it is heartening to know there are those among us who are willing to lend a helping hand. When the Seymour River first flooded Friday, many homeowners and families living near the river were initially buoyed only by the immediate imperative to pro- tect their own property and the quick response of municipal crews, who brought in gravel and sandbags. But as the river flooded in, so too did the many volunteers — wearing ouly gumboots and smiles, as one Seymour Boulevard resident put it. And a tip of the rain hat is in order for North Vancouver District Mayor Marilyn Baker who arrived to assess the situation and ended up hauling a few sandbags herself, according to one flood victim. But a question presents itself: If we are demonstrably able to rise to the occasion with ample goodwill in the face of adversi- ty, why do we tend to go about our business with relative indifference to the lot of others when the challenge of crisis is absent? Humans, it seems, are good-natured at heart. The ‘strangers’? who flooded in to help hold back the Seymour River Friday even- ing proved that well. LETTER OF THE DAY 3 solutions to highway problem Open letter to the Hon. John Reynolds: I am sure you will have a great many suggestions how to deal with the road closure to Squamish and Whistler. 1 believe that a permanent solution requires three phases: 1. Continue to present highway. 2. Build an adequate ferry dock at Squamish or Britannia. improve the Publisher Associate Editor .... envelope Peter Speck Managing Editor Timothy Renshaw Noel Wright Advertising Director Linda Stewart North Shore News, founded in 1969 as an independent suburban newspaper ang quatihed undet Schedute 11), Paragraph fil of the Excise Tax Act. is published each Wednesday, Frday and Sunday by Norlh Shore Free Press Lid and distributed to every door on the North Shore Second Class Mail Registration Number 3885 Subscriptions North and West Vancouver, $25 per year Maikng rates available on request Submissions ate welcome dul we cannot accept responsibdity for unsohicited matenal including manuscripts and pictures, 2 which st ould be accompamed by a stamped, adaressed . 3. Repair and upgrade the loge- ing road through the Capilano route for use only when the high- way is blocked. Those who oppose the water- shed route would surely agree to ‘its use for a few days every five years or so in an emergency. It should be kept unpaved and only made safe and passable at slow speed much as the two escape routes from Pemberton are THE VOICE OF MOLTH AND WEST VANCOUVER ‘north shore SUNDAY « WEDNESDAY + FRIDAY 1139 Lonsdale Avenue, North Vancouver, B.C. V7M 2H4 59,170 (average, Wednesday Friday & Sunday) i Ley SDA DIVISION Display Advertising Classified Advertising Newsroom Distribution Subscriptions today. There are hundreds of log- ging roads throughout the pro- vince that are quite acceptable to motorists when necessary. These ideas could be im- plemented quickly at little cost. A new highway, in contrast, would take years, would run into very considerable opposition and would be too expensive. D.H. Graham North Vancouver 980-0511 986-6222 985-2131 986-1337 986-1337 985-3227 MEMBER North Shore owned and managed Entire contents © 1990 North Shore Free Press Ltd. All rights reserved. Only one way to solve our ‘unity’ woes THE UNITY road show which Brian Mulroney hastily slapped together four weeks ago to find out how we think Canada can be kept in one piece has a daunting task — for more reasons than the obvious. One is that the ‘‘Citizens’ Forum on Canada’s Future’? must report by June 30, 1991. A mere six months to solve a riddle that’s remained unsolved for 123 years is asking a bit much — despite the lively gadfly intellect of the Forum’s chairman Keith Spicer, former official languages commis- sioner and now on leave of absence from bossing the CRTC. The other hurdie is likely to be simply getting anglo Canadians — facing a deepening recession and disillusioned with the Meech Lake fiasco — to focus on unity prob- lems at all at this point. As Ontario premier Bob Rae says, what concerns people now is whether they’ll have a job tomor- row, how high taxes are and the quality of life in their local com- munity. Tinkering with clauses in the constitution comes a poor se- cond. In addition, the Forum has a lot of competition. Quebec’s commis- sion on its future is already mak- ing powerful waves nationally. Meanwhile, Alberta, New Brunswick and Ontario are all launching “‘unity’’ commissions of their own. The best thing about Keith Spicer’s !1-member body — one of them our own no-nonsense Jack Webster — is that it contains no politicians. But it suffers the same flaw as all the others. The final decisions on whatever it discovers still rest with federal and provincial politicians whose inept, self-serving efforts at constitu- tion-fixing to date have made their very name a dirty word. A nation’s constitution — the law thet governs all other laws — is far ‘oo vital to entrust to politi- cians. I1’s a job for a special con- Stituent assembly. Thai body, elected by the same system as MPs, would consist of respected, knowledgeable, politi- cally independent citizens from all walks of life. Since it would be dissolved on completing its task, its members would have no personal axes to grind. Like the Supreme Court, it would be immune from interfer- ence in its work by Parliament. And its eventual draft would be put to a national referendum for approval. If Keith’s salvation squad could get the country demanding THAT solution — the only feasible one —- to our unity woes, it would more than earn its keep! ee ! N i Hl Fat f KEITH Spicer ... a salvation squad with problems. Noel HITHER AND YON eee WEST VAN’S annual mutual admiration evening, the Civic Dinner, drew a record 225 guests Saturday to Gleneagles Golf Club, due partly to several new bodies among the boards, commissions and other volunteer groups tradi- tionally honored — among them the Youth Advisory Committee, Recycling and Computer Task Forces. The event also brought tributes to several soon-to-be “‘dear departeds,’’ including Aldermen Alex Brokenshire and Carol Ann Reynolds, Municipal Manager Terry Lester and Mayor Don Lanskai!l — the latter praised in a king-length eulogy read by developer Bob Annable. Finally, mayor-elect Mark Sager presented His Worship with a farewell gift that may yet land him in bylaw trouble on his beloved SeaWalk: a touring bicycle! eee SIGN-OFF: Among special guests on the War Amps float in the Grey Cup parade was North Van’s Nikki Krizovensky, 20, a member of the War Amps Child Ampnitees Program (CHAMPS) ... In the same key, wheelchair warrior Bill Oin is selling those unique Christmas cards — painted by local handicapped people — all this week at Woodward’s Food Floor, Park Royal ... Get-well- soon cards to West Van’s Bill Jackson — convalescing at home after a repair job in the big Heather service bay overtown ... And happy 31st anniversary tomorrow, Nov. 29, to North Van's William and Verna Smelov- sky. MAYOR Don Lanskai! ... watch out now on the seawalk! WNT CoN rs