SAAURANYH a New math. EST VANCOUVER District 45’s sules job on its plan to close Hillside Middle Schoo! and build a new school in the Caulfeiid Plateau area is running into stiff consumer resistance. And the board’s decision to steamroll ahead with the plan regardless of that resistance is raising further questions about the prudence of the move. Already the arithmetic of the whole ven- ture has been questioned by plan oppo- nents. Lot sales from the Hillside site, they have reasonably argued, fall far short of the estimated cost of the new school. The retura from the available land, they have pointed out, will largely depend on the number of fots carved from the Hillside site, and that number will be up to West Vancouver Disirict municipality, not District 45. The instincts of some residents tell them that tearing down a perfectly serviceable 30-year-old school is wrong — especially one that is located well away from com- mercial enterprises that can be so distrac- ting to students. New, they reason, is not always better, especially when the exact cost of new is not known. Residents, in the words of the former premier, ‘‘want to see the numbers.’’ The board thus far has only provided board estimations for a project that has toard blessing. Aa independent report on the viability of selling Hillside properties to generate funds for the new school will be presented to concerned Distric: 45 parents, but only after District 45 isaxs made its decision. That, in itself, does not add up. Don’t can the Cates seawall Dear Editor: +I reacted with some disap- pointment upon hearing of the “almost unanimous” rejection of the idea to build a seawall linking Cates Park snd Deep Cove by those attending a public meeting to discuss this subject. _ - This project would be wor- thwhile for several reasons. Surely logic dictates that. in order to protect completely natu- ral environments we must fully utilize our urban resources. A seawall in this neighborhood would allow contact with the ocean in an area already given over to development and would hopefully allow another natural environinent to be preserved. Publisher Managing Editor . Associate Editor... ... Peter Spack Timothy Renshaw .Noel Wright As well, one need look no far- ther than the seawall in West Vancouver to ascertain the beneficial effect that such an amenity can have on a_ local neighborhood. Health costs would decrease as a result of more peo- ple walking; the spiritual benefits of a siroll by the ocean would ad te 99 increase in our appreci- ation of nature and our ccnnec- tion to it; and our sense of com- munity would be enhanced when all our neighbors have access to the water and the seawall becomes a focus for our area. The construction of a seawall connecting Cates Park and Deep Cove would continue the great democratic tradition of making Display Advertising 980-0511 Real Estate Advertising 985-6982 Distribution Subscriptions Classified Advertising 986-6222 Fax public treasures available to everyone — a tradition that North Vancouver District Council should continue by supporting life- enhancing projects such as this seawall rather than, for example, spending time and money enlarg- ing Mount Seymour Parkway, order to plant trees. Surely the outright rejection of this suggestion by those attending the public meeting is both short- sighted in denying the benefits of such a project and selfish in its unstated intent to deny waterfront access to the majority of the pop- ulation in this area. C. Dixon North Vancouver 986-1337 986-1337 985-3227 § North Shore Administration 985-2431 MEMBER Advertising Director .. Linda Stewart 985-2131 Comptroiler..... Ooug Foot North Shore News, founded in 1969 as an independent suburban newspaper and qualtied under Schedule t11, Paragraph li! of the Excise Tax Act, is published each Wednesday, Friday and Sunday by North Shore Free Press Ltd. and distabuted ta every door on the North Shore. Second Class Mail Registration Numbes 3885. Subscriptions North and West Vancouver, $25 oer ear. Mailing rales available on request. submissions are welcome but we cannot accept fesponsibility for unsolicited material including manuscripts and pictures which should be accompanied by a stamped, addressed envetope. Newsroom 1139 Lonsdale Avenue, ~~~ North Vancouver, B.C. V7M 2H4 Entire contents © 1992 North Shore Free Press Ltd. Al! rights reserved. 61,582 (average circulation, Wednesday, Friday & Sunday) Red faces in the sunset as Britons vote PRIME MINISTER Brian Mulroney dces sometimes get it right. “This is not a great day for pollsters,’’ he chortled last Friday, commenting on U.K. Tory Prime Minister John Major’s dramatic election victory. For weeks, right up to election day last Thursday, the U.K. polls were unanimous in giving Neil Kinnock’s ‘‘reformed’’ Labour Party a lead of anywhere from one to eight percentage points. And why not? Britain, like North America, is still deep in recession. Kinnock had worked hard to give Labour a new image of moderation — no longer the Marxist enemy of business but a ‘‘compassionate,”’ cooperative partner. Major and the Torics were still weighed down with baggage from the Margaret Thatcher era. And no U.K. gov- ernment in a century and a half had even been returned for a fourth consecutive term. Meanwhile, Paddy Ashdown’s . fledging Liberal Democrat Party was widely belicved to be coming on like gangbusters. This led many pundits to predict a hung Partiament — 2 minority govern- ment, almost certainly Labour, and the LDs as the power brokers. Something very funny obviously happencd to Neil Kinnock (and his polister camp followers) on the way to 10 Downing Street. With hindsight it’s clear that a majority of voters still didn’t quite trust Labour — despite its bright new faces — to fight recession without imposing crippling new taxes. And they stil! didn’t quite trust Kinnock himself, until a few years ago a ranting leftwing radi- cal until he decided to set out or the road to Damascus. By and lfarge the Brits also like two-party democracy. They know the stalemates and instability mi- nority parties cause in countries like Italy and Israel. They prefer a clean choice — us and them, But the biggest single factor was undoubtedly John Major himseff. Both mainstrecting and on TV, he came across as sincere, trustwor- thy and genuinely LIKEABLE — everyone's favorite nextdoor neighbor. Even sceptics about his party found the theatrical Welsh opposing him simply didn’t cut it, by contrast, as the leader to de- pend on. The resalt was a very personal triumph for Major — against all the odds his own man at last, no Songer “‘son-of-Thatcher”’ and _- with a working overall majosity of ; a {down peed parsons 101 in - 1987}thar should suffice to keep him in control untii 1997. The red-faced pollsters area JOHN MAJOR... personalit beats poticies. y Noel Wright HITHER AND YON subject for another column. At 12% Brian Mulroney is entitled to find some comfort in their fiasco. But not TOO much. The U.K. quiz-boys lost their way by ana- lyzing policy opinions that ignored the impact of John Major’s per- sonality. Their Canadian cronies are at least avoiding that error with Brian. POSTSCRIPTS: Seeking can- didates for the new North Shore Youth talent contest that’s now replaced the Miss North Shore Pageant (deemed ‘‘sexist’’ by kill- joy fems) is indefatigable survivor Gertie Todd, pageant mistress for the past 41 years, Eligible arc lads and lasses 16% to 2! living on the North Shore for six months or more — call 985-0555 for entry forms before June 28, aud stay tuned ... Unique joint birthday party at 2 p.m. today in Kiwanis Lyan Manor for Amy Sled (104 en Monday, who takes her con- stituiional round the grounds every day and is making a bedspread for grandchildren) and for Helen Fulton who turned 103 on March 8 ... And also today, April 15, happy 42nd anniversary to retired North Van Chamber of Commerce manager Peggy Piti- Brooke and hubby Dick. aoe WRIGHT OR WRONG —- Seon at a Washington State sorvite sta- tion-cafe: Eat here and get gas. NEIL KINNOCK...windbag not quite trusted.