peac WARNING SIGNS have been posted at Deep Cove's Panorama Beach after sumples taken from the chronically-polluted Deep Cove harbor area showed unacceptably high levels of fecal coliform in the water. fH COLLINGS s Reporter The four signs posted Wednes- day state that tne water does not meet Greater Vancouver Regional District health standards — for swimming oF wading. Bill Kimmett, director of en- vironmental heatth at North Shore Health, said it was the first time this year the beach has had to be posted. The fecal coliform count, Kimmett said, had risen to 274 parts per 100 millilitres of water, exceeding the maximum = accept- able limit of 200. Potential health risks faced by Versatile to repair Soviet factory trawlers NORTH VANCOUVER- based Versatile Pacific Shipyards Inc. has signed what could be a lucrative deal to dock and cepair Soviet factory trawler vessels operating in the Pacific Ocean off the coast of B.C. Versatile commercial manager Dick Chappell said all of the repair work will be done at Ver- satile’s North Vancouver yard. The contract with Sovrybflot, an umbrella organization repre- sertting fishing companies in the Soviet Union, was signed last week as a Soviet fishing delegation representing Sovrybfiot, Kam- chatka Base Ocean Fishing Co., and Zapriga Baltic Fishing Co.. paid a visit to Versatile. Chappell said Versatile had been negotiating the deal since last October. He added that the shipyard hopes to dock up to four vessels this fall, which is the end of the Soviet fishing season on B.C.’s west coast, and several additional vessels during the next year, He added that it is difficult to say what the economic benefits to Versatile wili be until both sides assess the success of the one-rsur contract. “‘fe’s a new agreement. They’re feeling us out and we're feeling them out,’ Chappell told the News. He added that Versatile has a similar agreement in place with a fleet of Polish fishing vessels. The two fishing vessels repre- sented at the Vancouver negotia- tions, Kamchatka and Zapriga, Operate more than 30 vessels in the Pacific out of the Vladivostok and Baltic areas. . “This initial contract is ex- pected to lead to a continuing relationship with the Soviet fishing fleet similar to that experienced in recent years with) the Polish fleet,”* said Chappell. h unsafe for HIGH COLIFORM COUNTS A. Priday, fuly G. 1900 North Share News swimming FORCE HEALTH AUTHORITIES TO POST WARNINGS AT PANORAMA BEACH the beach disorders Intestinal sin oin entene and who taclude diarrhea those WAler such ous upsets. Kimimett also advised residents, especially children, against wading at the beach, because of the danger of accidently swallowing contaminated water. The waters at Panorama Beach and the creeks Teeding into Deep Cove have been the subject of an intensive investigation undertaken by North Vancouver District since February to discover the source of the chronic pollution at the beach, John Bremner, the district's director of engineering services, said that thus far the testing, which includes daily samples from the creeks and the cove, have proved inconclusive. Results have shown that al- thouvh the fecal coliform level Tises suddenly tor a short period in: most of the creeks aiter the “first flush’ oor rain after a dry spell, the level quickly, drops oft awain. Parkside Creek is the only creek lo have shown consistently high coliform readings, and Bremaer is now focusing investigation on the adjacent Summerside Lane te try to discover the pollution source. He said he suspects it may be a leaky sewer ling coming from an area hottse, But the high coliform reading for Panorama Beach on June 2S was not accompanied with cor- respondingly high readings from the creeks that) drain into” the cove. The creek samples did not show a rise in coliform until June 29, after heavy rain. Under arrest “Phe conelusten from this Bim finding overs ditticult ta work out” Bremner said, adding that the podlution may been it result of boating adeusvity or a storia sewer, “Tes ao svery frustrating esxperi- ence having to post the beach but not being able to) locate the source,” he added. A studs conducted in 1988) by Dayton ind Koight and EWS Consultants concluded that thy beach pollution came from two primary sources urban area runott, including contamination from dogs and storm sewers trav- elling down the creeks. and boating activity in’ Deep Cove harbor. The cove’s relatively poor natu- ral flushing action compounds the pollution problem. Dayton and Knight's study found that the cur- rents flow onto the shares of the beach and boutine areas on both meing and tailing tides. Past sear, Panorama Beach was viosed trom dune 1A to July 13 because ool high seal coliferm counts: im TOSS air was closed twice, oce for 47° consecutive days. The beach’s history of high col- iform counts dates back to 1076, Bremner said the district will continue testing throughout the summer until they find a definitive source of the pollution or unul they have exhausted all avenues of investigation, If the source can’t be pinned down, Bremner suid Deep Cove tesidents may have to accept the pollution as a fact of urban de- velopment. Meanwhile, Eagle Harbor Beach, an area in West Vancouver that also suffers chronic pollution problems, remains open. A sample taken from Eagle Harbour last week contained 94 parts of fecal coliform per 100 millilitres of water. soto Paul McGrath NORTH VANCOUVER RCMP arrested tw-> men Sunday after a vehicular and foot chase ended on VWest 24th Street, omestic degs blamed for some pet deaths Bobcats, Olsen said, do prey on From page 1 ing the day,"* Samuda said. In January, a 15-year-old pet centre customer came into the store crying because she had witnessed her golden retriever be- ing attacked and caten by a coyote. “They had let it out to relieve itself at 10 p.m. in their own yard with a six foot fence,’? Samuda said. ‘The coyote jumped over the fence and onto the dog und proceeded to maul it and cat it. That must’ be the most horrific thing to witness." Samuda suggests that pet awners put bells on the collars of their pets and advises that pets should not) be left unattended outdoors far extended pertads of time. To deter prowling raccoons, which also attcact coyotes, Samuda said it's also a good idew to lock up garbage and avoid keeping pet food outside. According to a Ministry of En- vironment official, coyotes tend to feed on smaller rodents. But cats and small dogs can be regarded as a potential fuod source. Coyotes tend to be nocturnal animals and fearful of people. But said conservation officer Rod Olsen, ‘Rarely when we ac- tually investigate do we find it's actually coyotes. So many other things take the cats. It could be owls, hawks — raccoons can kill cats and small does. A lot of them go missing and people want to point the blame right to coyotes." Coyotes are efficient: feeders. But over the winter, conservation officers found two dead bobcats in both North and West Van- couver, “They're not usually seen, but maybe they're slowly working their way back in,” he said, house cats. But he added that, “something shredded up and inef- ficently killed is usually indicative of domestic dogs. Domestic dogs kill a lot more than what people think."* When # group of dogs joins together the pack instinct takes over and the pack will chase and Kill smaller animals. Olsen said his department has ‘ta real problem on Bowen Istand’? with packs of dogs killing animals. “They'll go and chase whatever, the old instincts come back, and then they'll come home and they're regular house pets again, We go to Bowen Island to ook for packs of wild dogs and we find good old Fluffy. You'se got to catch them while theyre doing it. The bear or coyote evets the finger pointed at them first and usually that's not the way itis,” Olsen said. Automotives.... Classified Ads. . Ecolnfo......... Editorial Page... Home & Garden. . Mailbox........ Paul St. Pierre .. What's Going Sn. WEATHER Friday and Saturday, cloudy with sunny periods. Chance of showers. Second Class Registration Number 3885