KWOK TRAGEDY $1.5m suit launched against B.C. Ferries OPENING statements for the plaintiff were presented Monday in George Kwok's $1.5 million B.C. Supreme Court suit against the B.C. Ferry Corp. The suit was launched following the tragic Aug. 12, 1985 collision between Kwok’s 10-metre Kimberley pleasure craft and the B.C. ferry Queen of Cowichan in waters off Whyiecliff Point. Kwok’s wife Kim, 46, and sons Martin, 12, and Michael, 3, died in the collision. Kwok, 47, and his 10-year-old son Nelson survived. Lawyer John Laxton told the court Kim Kwok, an accounting assistant, was the family bread- winner. He said experts will testify that damages arising from her death alone will exceed $$.2 mil- lion, The collision, the court was told, also crushed Kwok’s dreams of operating a tourist charter business and prawn fishing fleet. Laxton also said that medical experts will testify that Kwok’s ability to work has been impaired by back pains and depression resulting from the collision. He said evidence presented will show that the ferry’s officers failed to take the required precautions as the ferry closed in on the Kwok boat. Negotiations continue From page 1 Buildings in the city that are over 30 years old cannot be moved without special approval from council. The Riste building is 32 years old. Riste, who has owned the building since December 1960, called North Vancouver-Capilano MLA Angus Ree ‘‘a skunk’? who had used the announcement of the overpass to win votes in the Oct. 22, 1986 provincial election. He added that he has _ been harassed by Department of High- 3 Weather: Sunny with cloudy periods. Highs near 24°C. INDEX Auto..............33 Business...........22 Classified Ads.......49 Doug Collins........ 9 Comies............ 49 Editorial Page....... 6 Bob Hunter......... 4 Lifestyles .......... 43 Mailbox............ 7 Sports.............93 TV Listings.........41 What's Going On... .34 ways representatives since the overpass project was announced Oct. 24, 1985. Mrs. Riste said she and her hus- band had worked ‘'24 hours per day, seven days per week’’ to secure the building and build up a decent business and had ‘‘lost thousands of dollars over the past 17 years because of the highways people and all their different plans for this area. It’s been surveyed about 20 times. It’s absolutely disgusting.” Department of Transportation and Highways spckesman Charlie Shave said Tuesday, ‘‘We are stili negotiating (with the building’s ownership).”” Ree said the provincial gov- ernment could be forced to ex- propriate the Riste property if the current stalemate is not resolved. He said he was unhappy with the continued delay in the construction of the overpass and accused Riste of stalling. ‘*You know, we hate to have to force everyone to relocate,’’ Ree said, ‘‘but for the good of the rest of the community it has to be done.” When it was first announced, the project was scheduled to begin in the spring of 1986 with con- struction of a $15 million eight- lane interchange spanning the Up- per Levels at Lonsdale. A second $15 million overpass was also tentatively planned for the intersection of Westview Drive and the Upper Levels. Construc- tion on that overpass was sched- uled to begin this year. Invest in your N. Shore News REASONS for investing in a North Shore News subscription go far beyond the chance to win prizes and help News carriers. Elizabeth Hendricks, who has subscribed to the News for the past seven years, said the newspaper needs the support of the communi- ty. vas a good local community newspaper,’’ Hendricks said. “‘People should support it.”” The News subscription drive runs to June 15 and gives North Shore residents an opportunity to invest in its co..tinuing quality, help its over 900 carriers earn more money and help themselves to some of the over $25,000 in mer- chandise and services being given away in the drive. Carriers get $2 and a chance to win a host of prizes for each $25 annual News subscription they sign up. The grand prize for the draw for new subscribers is a one-week Alaskan cruise for two aboard a Holland America luxury liner. ‘Tt (a subscription) is not ex- pensive,’ Hendricks said. ‘And we enjoy the paper. It is well reported, with lots of community stories, the classifieds are excellent and we like reading Doug Collins, though he goes overboard some- times.” With a circulation of 59,000, the News has been delivered twice weekly to every door on the North Shore since 1977, when the paper’s Sunday edition was launched; and thrice weekly since 1984, when the first Friday News was published. The original Wednesday News has been delivered since the news- paper was established in 1969. In that time, the newspaper has won over 50 national and interna- tional awards for advertising and editorial excellence. A $25 one-year subscription to the News works out to approx- imately 17 cents per issue. New subscribers must sign up by June 15 to be eligible for the various prizes that will be drawn, Ss aes WEST VANCOUVER 75th anniversary committee member and auction organizer John Pozer k eeps the bids rolling in fast and furious with a little help from some beautiful friends at the recent 75th anniversary TV auction. Over 3,000 calls were fielded by 15 phone volunteers ducing the evening auction. items snapped up at W. Van TV auction OVER 3,000 CALLERS jammed the phone lines at Shaw Cable Thursday, bidding for 140 items and adding ap- proximately $26,000 in seed money to the West Van- couver 75th anniversary legacy fund. “*We didn’t get all the prices we would have loved,”’ said 75th anniversary committee member and auction organizer John Pozer. ‘‘A few people got some bargains, but we did get over 60 yy MICHAEL BECKER News Reporter per cent of our listed prices, and that’s good for this type of event. “IT hope we can do it again now that we’re all rehearsed. Shaw did an unbelievable job with the resources they had.’’ Surprise hit of the auction was 25 West Vancouver Sketch Club drawings of West Van yesteryear which were snapped up by bid- ders. Reflective address property markers made by the ‘rocking horse boys’? woodworking group at the West Vancouver Seniors Centre also sold well according to Pozer. . Disappointment of the evening came with the lacklustre response from bidders for a signed Wayne Gretzky hockey stick. ‘The stick was going for $51, but~ Pat Boname (the stick’s owner) bid $70 to keep it. We were shocked that the captain of the Stanley Cup winning team didn’t draw more intcrest,"’ said Pozer. Approximately 70 people — including a small army of Kiwa- nians, local politicians and media, with representatives from the News — filled the Shaw stu- dio to help auction off everything from Robert Genn and Toni Onley art to a $1,000 Park Roya! shopping spree. NEWS photos Mike Wakelleld ART JONES and News managing editor Barrett Fisher, above, share anecdotal reminiscences of West Vancouver past during a break in the bidding at West Vancouver's 75th birthday TV auction Thursday. News editor-in-chief Noel Wright, top photo, explains the workings of the good old days in Tiddlycove courtesy of Bruce Ramsay's West Vancouver history book, A Place of Excellence.