MaiILBox Course opposition is ‘ill-founded’ Dear Editor: As an avid golfer, | am upset about what I feel is ill-founded opposition to the proposed golf course in the Northlands develop- ment. The Boundary Ratepayers Association made a presentation to North Vancouver District Council on Dec. 4 opposing the modifica- tion of the presently planned hous- ing development, and later stated their position in a letter to the edi- tor of this paper. Their first contention is that the golf course will be a great expense to the taxpayer. This is coinpletely untrue. Public golf courses pay for themselves and are revenue pro- ducers, otherwise private investors would not build them as they do. Secondly, they oppose building the course on rare, lower level flatland when other sites are avail- able. The locations they suggest, however, have either insufficient land or unsuitable terrain. A public course needs to be built on reasonably flat ground so as not to be overly difficult for less experienced players. The North Shore Public Golf Course Society looked at all the possible sites and concluded that Northlands is the best option. -Advantages over the housing development are that traffic prob- lems on the Mt. Seymour Parkway and the Second Narrows Bridge will be less severe,; and a beautiful, green, open space will be preserved. The surface run-off characteris- tics of a golf course are substan- tially better as well, which is im- portant for the sensitive creeks in the area. Finally, they maintain that this proposal is for a public course which they define as being owned by its membership through en- trance fees and annual dues with drastic restrictions placed on public access. This is, in fact, the definition of a private golf course such as Seymour or Capilano. Public courses are either municipally or privately owned and generate revenue from green fees. Neither have memberships nor restrict public access. UBC, Surrey and Mayfair Lakes are among the local privately-owned public courses that allow full ac- cess to everyone. The Boundary Ratepayers con- tend that this proposal is essential- ly for a private course on municipal land built with public money. They do a serious disser- vice to the public and the people they represent in promoting this falsehood. The NSPGCS has always proposed a fully public course preferably owned and operated by the municipality. The North Shore has one of the lowest ratios of public golf courses Per capita in the country. Provin- cial government recommendations of one public course per $0,000 people and consultants reports received by council indicate that at least three public courses are need- ed. We can build another housing development or we can have a long overdue recreation facility that will serve 10,000 people annually. I believe the choice is obvious. Bruce Hamersley North Vancouver Others deserve kudos Dear Editor: Noel Wright’s Dec. 31 column offers personal kudos to myself for the Kiwanis Park enlargement. Kudos belong not to an individ- ual but to all directors and members of West Vancouver Kiwanis Seniors Housing Society. Our rlans for building an addi- tional 75 affordable rental apart- ments on Kiwanis Park have now passed all hurdles except the ultimate test of getting contractors’ bids. Provided we can arrange a building contract within the fund- ing we have arranged, we expect we may be turning sod in April, and that the project, when com- pleted toward the end of the year, will please present and future te- nants as well as all members of the community. John Millard West Vancouver Less 50% ress 5% orF WHEN YOu BUY UP TO 5 BLINDS Less 50% tess 10% orr free ¢ In Home Consultation * Delivery of Blinds Nobody can beat our lew prices!! & draperies nc (43) save-on-blinds Shop at home seruce only . 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We offer: . © Dent Straightening © Parts Replacement © Rust Repairs © Chassis and Frame Alignment State-of-the-art paint finishes, thousands of color choices, oven-baked finish, timely service, and written warranties honored at more than 400 focations. We have a paint service to fit every budget, too. 945 West 1st St. North Vancouver ‘ next to Beaver Lumber Hours: 8-6 Mon.-Fri. 10-2 Sat. 984-4111 —— CAP WEEK Nite Cap Swings in New Orleans Congratulations to Nite Cap and Rejean Marois. Our swing choir was one of only two choirs from Canada performing at the National Association of Jazz Educators" Conference in New Orleans last week. AIDS Awareness Week The Student Society believes education is the key to AIDS prevention. With that in mind, rhey have organized a week of workshops and panel discussions for February 5-9. Come to a panel discussion on “AIDS Awareness"’ in Room N115, Tuesday, Feb. 6 from 12:30-2:30, and find out about subsequent workshops on STDs and AIDS, AIDS and the Family, Women and AIDS, and the Native Community and AIDS. Call 984-4969 for more information. Phone Magic Students in Cap’s new Applied Information Technology program “attended”’ a lecture given by the head of the Communications department at Concordia University last week. Using the interactive technology in B.C.Tel’s television studio, students were able to hear and see what the lecturer in Montreal was doing with his computer equipment, and could converse back and forth with his class. A few spaces are still available in the part-time evening program beginning in March. Call 984-4911 for more information. Personal Investment Take charge of your money with this one-day Extension course. You'll receive a personal financial kit as well as practical dos and don'ts about investment and other money matters. 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