HUMPHREYS PROMISES OPEN CORRIDOR Hikers call for return of Fee % 3 - Friday, March 7, 1986 - North Shore News park NEWS photos Mike THE VARIOUS faces of emotional outcry were seen Wednesday night at a meeting called by the Save Cypress Bowl Committee. Les McDonald (above left) voiced his concerns over the user-pay policies of Cypress Bowl Recreations Ltd., while SCBC spokesman John Beltz (right) presents his interpretation of the issues in the dispute. meeting which was held in the cafeteria of West Vancouver Senior Secondary School. ABOUT 100 wilderness hikers and concerned North Shore residents roared for the return of Cypress Provincial Park Wednesday. “‘We’ve got them on the run,’’ shouted Les McDonald. ‘‘We don’t want an open corridor that snakes through the bushes, we want the land tack, we want uni- versal free access to the park. This is one of the biggest sellouts in the province.’’ : McDonald’s impassioned com- ments followed a promise by West Vancouver Mayor Derrick Hum- phreys to establish an open cor- tidor for wilderness hikers through disputed areas of Cypress Provin- cial Park currently controlled by Cypress Bow] Recreations Ltd. (CBRL). Both spoke in an emotional THE NOCTURNAL brilliance of the Lions Gate Bridge glitters into the North Shore skyline. Vancouver's three-lane bridge burst into il- lumination Feb. 19 when its new string of 100-watt mercury vapor jewelry was switched on. Wednesday night meeting at West Vancouver Senior Secondary School called by the Save Cypress Bowl Committee (SCBC). The meeting followed last Saturday afternoon’s Cypress Mountain ski-in demonstration and the subsequent arrest of SCBC spokesman John Beltz. SCBC chairman Lynn Von Krosigk said the purpose cf the meeting was to summarize the cur- rent situation and to plan further strategy. Headed by Beltz, a West Van- couver lawyer and member of the original SCBC, which fought against the logging of Cypress Bow! in the late 60s and early 70s, the SCBC was reconstituted in ear- ly February to fight for free access to Cypress Park. SCBC spokesmen say the CBRL is obstructing legal free access to the park by charging wilderness hikers $2 to cross groomed cross- country trails, and that Cypress is theatened by creeping privatization of the class A public recreational area. Von Krosigk said there was no argument with CBRL over the company’s right to charge people for using downhill ski runs and groomed cross-country trails, ‘‘but the issue of free access is only part District 44 school trustees grilled North Vancouver Teachers’ Association (NVTA) president Andy Krawczyk on the projected costs of a pro- posal requesting the board give highest priority to recovering education services for 1986-87. Trustee Dr. Ross Regan said the NVTA recommendation to lobby the provincial gov- ernment for increases in the education fiscal framework was “far too simplistic. We have to District 44 School Superin- tendent Dr. Leo Marshall released the figure in a report to the North Vancouver school board Monday night. Marshall told estinll trustées thé” of the larger issue of universal usage of our provincial parks.’’ She said Cypress park, with its wilderness, was as important to Vancouver and the North Shore as Stanley Park. The principle of free public ac- cess, she said, held true for both parks, “I mean how would you feel if you had to pay $1 every time you walked around Lost Lagoon or had to pay a fee to cross the road just to cover liability in- surance?”’ Humphreys told the crowd that West Vancouver Council was ex- tremely concerned about the Cypress situation, He said there were inconsisten- cies in various clauses of the cur- rent permit contract held by CBRL, and that they would have Teachers criticized for money demands NORTH Vancouver teachers were accused Monday night of placing pocketbooks ahead of pupils. Reporter know what kinds of changes you want. To say you just want more money is not enough. As far as [ can see, this is the fairest formula (fiscal framework) we've had so far.’* Trustee Marjorie Goodman asked Krawczyk if, indeed, education was the motivation behind the NVTA’s budget rec- ommendations, ‘‘or is it greed Education initiative will cost $2.3 FIVE proposed education programs for North Van- couver would cost an estimated $2.3 million to imple- ment, according to school board administration. SHAW By TIMOTHY RE? News Reporter costs, compiled in response to education projects proposed by Approximately 100 people attended the to be clarified if a long-term solu- tion was to be found. Humphreys added that he had spoken to Deputy Minister of Lands, Parks and Housing Bob Flitton, who, he said, was willing to meet with concerned residents over the issue. “The solution is a proper free access corridor,’? Humphreys said. “He (Flitton) was in agreement and said that one could be arrang- ed.” But Beltz reiterated: ‘‘We don’t want any crummy corridor. We want the right to free access to the park and we can't settle for anything less.’’ Humphreys also responded to allegations from Saturday’s See Cypress Page 5 on the part of teachers. Is it re- ally the children you are con- cerned about or your pocket- books?” She said salaries accounted for 82 per cent of the board’s budget and pointed to a 1.7 per cent arbitrated increase in District 44 teacher and support staff salaries in June, 1985, which accounted for approx- imately $800,000. Krawezyk agreed with Goodman's statement that North Vancouver had some of See Textbooks Page 5 million trustee Dr. Ross Regan at a March 3 school board meeting, were only rough estimates. Initiation of a comprehensive child abuse prevention plan in 31 schools would cost $13,640, according to Marshall's report. Enrichment of North Van’s See Motivation Pago 4