Residents debate key issues needed to improve West Van Marcie Good Contributing Writer HAVING seen hundreds of scribbled i images of what people imagine as their ideal community, Dr. Trevor Hancock noticed one thing missing from _ those drawn by West Vancouver residents. At Rockridge school on Saturday to lead a conference on building a healthier community, Hancock asked small groups of participants to sketch a perfect West Vancouver. _.° Among the rypical images of schools, happy neighbourly + people, car-less and well-lit strcets, lush trees, lavish re centres, and sailboats, not one of the 130 conference partici- pants thought about improving the weather,” _, “The sun doesn’t feature in any of vour drawings. That makes you -unlike almost apy conununity ve been in,” * Hancock noted, : .Bur that doesn’t mean West Vancouserites are not looking for a brighter future. The‘ one-day event, called Building a Heaithy. and Caring Community: Across. the Gencrations, - involved parti pants from many local organizations, inchiding schools, “seniors’ “groups; West ‘Vancouver -Palice Department, . Family Services of. the. North Shore, West “Vancouver District and several service groups. Working with a dozen themes identified in their scribbled drawings, partici- pants came up. with ways to address volvement: < the West Vancouver District 45 school board to iook at prob. -lem:'of violence in the schoo ta egan to realize that it’s not a school i issue alone,” said } director of the schoo! board. and chairmian.c “The response needs to go beyond the class- layground. and add the life of the communi- ublic health’ phys ian rked' on hi rt hy community Proj nets to facilitate the event. a-Uniqu * noted that. West tificd ‘for. smali-group. discus- “most people was improving tartight:dinner and brunch 0 $430 a ticke s al s issues including housing, . “transportation, the ¢ environment, F racial Aarmony, and commu- ° Vancouvérites also havea keen interest in the: app :*in electing a slate of its endorsed ‘gle-issue: ith of its Wednesday, December 1, 1999 —- North Shore News - 3 community John McMahon, vice-principal of Eagte Harbour school, discusses how to get people’ more Involved in the community during the opening session of an event heid on Saturday at West Vancouver's Rockridge school. have them around more often.” «Suzy Easton, a Grade 12 studene'at West Vancou er sec- ondary, agreed. : While she and some of her friends have volunteered to serve food at sehiors’ events, she said she would like the ; ‘. chanee to get to knas o - They suggested billiards, movies, walks, potiuck, dinners, hiring: students for odd jobs (“students are altvays looking for older people. work,” said Easton), ittusic, and working on computers. “Teenagers aré so good at that stuff, ” said Lauric Graham, . ‘member of the senior centre board. They alsa discussed how to organize € events and how to get the, word out,’using bulletin boards ar. the senior ‘centre, announcements at high schools Yellow. Pages. id they agreed that building new relatio hips will cake . id effort.:Wanda Phillips, a youth worker, pointed our “that it is-difficult te.get young people out for events ‘unless they’ are encouraged by someone they “already know. athering at the end ‘the ministry look’at the. acti North hore Conc me campaign joyed singwar romotional mate distributed. at “the she’sai Mayor “agi closest to its heart,”. a report to council.::-"