{ TIME. TRAVELLER: 1903

Photo courtesy of North Vancouver Museum & Archives

HIKERS posing at the top of Grouse Mountain take In the view and
enjoy the snow and each other’s company.

GRAND BOULEVARD

KATHY Campbell thanks the man-
agers of the Lynn Valley IGA Plus and
the Extra Foods store on Lonsdale at
17th for their donations of refresh-
ments for an event held to collect dona-
tions for the food bank and The North
Shore Harvest Project.

Said Campbell, “We were able to
offer tea, coffee and cookies to those
who responded to the plea for food.

“I would like to publicly thank them
for their generosity and encourage all
shoppers to support these fine business-
¢s on the North Shore.”

LOWER LONSDALE

SANTA will be spreading good tidings

and cheer on the SeaBus Saturday.
Santa will be travelling the Burrard

Inlet crossing from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.

CRYSTAL Saunders, Outreach Family
Support and Youth Workers Supervisor
for North Shore Neighborhood House
sends a big thanks to the people who
supported the program through dona-
tions to a recent youth poster display on
the theme of A World Without
Violence.

Forty-eight students from Keith
Lynn Alternate secondary school and
Sutherland secondary school entered
their colorful and thought-provoking,
art.

Clifford Framing mounted the
posters free of charge. Prizes for teens
were donated by the Bagel Street Cafe,
the Body Shop in Lynn Valley, Jim Fike
at McDonalds, the North Vancouver

Recreation Commission, Seylynn teen
committee and Southwall teen commit-
tee.
The poster display is available for
viewing at North Shore Neighborhood
House, 225 East 2nd St. in North
Vancouver.

NORTH VANCOUVER

B.C. Transit bus operator Susan Hunt,
who works out of the North Vancouver
bus ‘depot is spearheading a Christmas
event for the less fortunate among us.

Project Love is in need of support to
realize a goal to feed up to 1,000 street
and homeless people on Christmas Eve
between 5 p.m. and 10 p.m. at 952
Granville St. (The Poster Shop).

Said project coordinator Hunt, “My
vision is to sce these people experience
the truth that I believe; that there is no
shortage or lack. All we need to do is
focus on assisting cach other in the life
experience and walk our brothers and
sisters home in dignity and with
respect.”

Call the Love Hot Line at 878-4003
to volunteer.

We'd like to share information
about the folks who are making a dif-
ference in your neighborhood.

Forward all information, including
your name, address and telephone
number, to Neighborhoods c/o
Michael Becker. E-mail to
trenshaw@direct.ca Fax to 985-2104.
Mail to Nerth Shore News, 1139
Lonsdale Avenue, North Vancouver,
V7M 2H4.

Parents’ frantic
search finds
strong city heart

NORTH Vancouver resident
Jennifer Bell shares with News
readers how she recently came to
receive the best Christmas gift
ever.

IT is easy to become cyn-
ical in today’s world of
increasing crime, poverty,
and apparent apathy
towards our fellow
human beings. However,
on Friday, Dec. 6, my
family and I were shown
in very real terms that
caring, compassionate
individuals still exist.

That evening, while enjoying
the carol ship festivities at
Waterfront Park, my husband
and I experienced what every
parent would consider their
worst nightmare: we lost our
four-year-old daughter in the
crowd,

We pride ourselves on being
extremely vigilant in watching
over our two daughters, and
Friday night was no exception.
We were in a group with two
other families standing at the
water side, eagerly awaiting the
arrival of Santa.

My older daughter begged
me to take her up to the bonfire,
which I did, and when [
returned, Sarina, whom I had
left with the group, had van-
ished.

Any parent reading this can
imagine the sickening sensation
of absolute terror that was now
gripping both my husband and I:
hundreds of people, utter dark-
ness, freezing water, and a hun-
dred directions in which to trav-
el, As the seconds ticked by,
sceming like hours, I knew in my
heart that any search would be
fucile.

As we ran through crowd,
screaming frantically for our
child, our miracle began to hap-
pen. All over the hill, people
were stopping us, asking for a
description, and then darting off
to help in the search. In a matter
of minutes, throngs of people
had joined in the search. One
person brought one of the fire-

at Lonsdale Quay eariler this month.

men who had been attending the
fire over to me, and immediately,
there were two more to help.
There is a God, I know,
because he had placed Sarina in
the hands of one of the parents
whom we were with. His
announcement that he was going
had gone unheard over the
noise, and in our panic we had
not noticed his absence. The
firemen found him, Sarina, and
his own daughte: standing in a
very long balloon lineup.
Afterwards, many families
came over to show their concern,

Some would say we discriminate: “Why not let a
tragically ordinary glass bowl

sit itself inside your store?’

9

they ask.

and I could see in the faces of the
parents, they all understood the :
15 minutes of debilitating: fear:
we had just experienced): 2“
It is for the firemen; and all of :
those E

thank them. all. for. their: help,
compassion and concern for our.
Sarina. They gave_us the: best.
Christmas gift : we . could ever
receive. cy
Sincerely, and. with. heartfelt
gratitude, Jennifer, Jim, Vanessa -
and Sarina Bell. :

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