Ss) -Bb od et oe wy} Pees! 3 - Friday, April 28, 1989 - North Shore News PROVINCIAL GOVERNMENT INCREASES EDUCATION CONTRIBUTION NV school tax lowered slightly NORTH VANCOUVER residents will pay slightly lower school taxes than what was earlier projected by the school board, because the province has contributed more money and the school district has reduced its needs. During Thursday’s School District 44 board meeting, chair- man Don Bell said he and the trustees aimed for an eight per cent increase, but the median taxpayer with a homeowner grant will pay only 7.5 per cent more in school taxes this year. By ANNA MARIF D'AN Contributing Writer “When you take into account the difficult year we have had with the budget and the new teachers’ contract. we've come out quite well with a 7.5 per cent increase,”” said Bell. NEWS photo Neil Lucente Tub gets too hot FIRE GUTTED a jacuzzi room April 21 at a home located in the 700-block of Southborough Drive in West Vancouver. West Vancouver District Fire Department firefighters managed to contain the fire to the room. The house was unoccupied at the time of the fire. Investigators say the fire was caused by an electrical malfunction. Dam- ages are estimated to be valued at $60,000. ee eeaee beveeueees 23 Classified Ads.......... 23 Doug Collins.........- Editorial Page...... sae Home & Garden.........13 Mailbox ...... waccceeee 7 What's Going On........21 WEATHER Friday, sunny. Saturday, mostly sunny. Highs near 18°C. The provincial government's contribution for education was $900,000 more than initially budgeted, and, after revising its in- terim budget, District 44 came up with $405,000 in additional reve- nues and a further $308,000 in budget cuts for an cverall added $713,000 in savings for taxpayers. Improved homeowner grants to DESIGN DEEMED seniors will mean they will pay five per cent more in school taxes, ac- cording to the revised budget. The 1989-90 school budget is $76 million. Taxpayers in North Van- couver City will pay $9.2 million, while taxpayers in the District of North Vancouver will pay $23 mil- lion. The balance will be paid with provincial government revenues. INCONGRUOUS NV firearms castle scheme crumbles HOLLYWOOD NORTH can still get its supply of firearms in North Van- couver — but not froin a ‘castle’? as proposed by one North Vancouver man. By ELEZABETH COLLINGS Contributing Writer North Vancouver District Coun- cil defeated a motion Monday night that would permit Tom Bongalis to build a storage unit for guns at 1496 Rupert Street. Bongalis rents blank firing guns to local film studios. Ald. Joan Gadsby said that al- though the design of the proposed building was innovative and cre- ative, it was incongruous with the residential character of the area. “I find from an architectural standpoint it really stands out like a sore thumb,*’ Gadsby said. Also commenting on the unique castle-like design, Ald. Bill Rodgers said, ‘'Distinetive ar- chitecture is a welcome change in our community, although ['m not sure a square box is the zenith of architectural design.’ But concerns about noise and safety voiced at an April 10 public hearing could be put to rest, Rodgers said. Neighbors of Bongalis said in a letter they had not been disturbed by the test firing of firearms in Bongalis’ house. The plans also provide a boa for the functional fa & NORTH Vancouver District Ald. Joan Gadsby ...‘‘it really stands out like a sore thumb." testing of firearms, Rodgers add- ed. Furthermore, Rodgers said the sale of firearms is permitted in other stores in the district. *'The RCMP has reviewed the proposed safety and storage facilities and approved them.”' Bongalis —- who runs a similar operation out of his house at a dif- ferent location than the proposed castle, and who will continue to do so — said he wanted to move his business for security reasons. He said there had been ‘‘strange happenings’’ in the past month, and he had received anonymous phone calls. Sea lion sightings amuse, confuse NORTH SHORE residents gazing across the inlet this week have been puzzling over mysterious sea-mammial sightings. Argyle Avenue resident) Mary McLean was among a group of West Vancouver residents stroiling near Dundarave Pier Tuesday night who spotted a large animal partially submerged in the water just offshore. “Some people thought it was a whale. There seemed to be a dorsal fin flipping,”* she said. But according to Vancouver Public Aquarium staff, people are likely seeing sea lions cavorting in local waters. After the spotting, MeLean called West Vancouver Police and police called for water-borne assistance, but by the time a boat arrived to investigate, the creature had disappeared. She spied the animal again Wednesday morning from her Ocean-view apartment window. “The seals were barking quite noisily and | saw a dorsal fin again. If it was a whale, { didn’t see it blow. If it is a hurt animal it should be helped or it should be put out of its misery.”’ But) John Ford, Vancouver By MICHAEL News Reporter Public Aquarium’s curator of marine mammals, said there has been a recent furry of sea lion sightings reported to the aquarium. “People have seen them at the foot of Lonsdale and in West Vancouver. The California sea tions tend to rest with a black flip- pe: sticking out of the water. It Icoks droopy and it’s easy to misinterpret as a whale. Some of them just cruise in and rest in little clumps with their flippers sticking ou: of the water. People think they're seeing whales or an ogopogo or something,’’ Ford said. Approximately 300 of the large bull California and Steller’s sea lions have migrated to the mouth of the Fraser River to feed on the seasonal oolican run. The Califor- nia sea lion grows to four metres long and weighs up to 300 kg. The Steller’s grows to three metres and weighs up to a ton.