6 - Sunday, October 16, 1988 - North Shore News INSIGHTS Civic candidates’ main problem: getting heard! “EXCITING” WILL LIKELY be the very last word to describe next month’s North Shore council elections — drowned out from start to finish by the noise and turmoil of the federal election. In North Van City, moreover, it’s an ‘‘off’’ year. So the action is confined to North Van District and West Van — each electing a mayor and six aldermen for two-year terms on Nov, 19. Unlike their federal and provin- cial counterparts, who usually can’t wait to come out into the open swinging, council candidates often tend to coy about their in- tentions until the very last minute. However, both mayors already have their hats in the ring again. Marilyn Baker (NVD), seckitg a fourth term, seems at the moment unlikely to face any challengers. Don Lanskail (WV), going fora second term, is also alone in the field — so far. Rumors about former mayor Derrick Humphreys have been circulating for some time, although to date Humphreys questions on the matter, As noted, however, it’s always wise to wait until the filing deadline (this year, Oct. 31) before finally counting the starters. Two NVD aldermen, Ernie Crist and Bill Rodgers, have already fil- ed their nominations. Three others — Craig Clark, Murray Dykernan and Joan Gadsby — are expected to run again. Mary Segal, howev- er, is apparently retiring. Among outside challengers to date, engineering physicist Patrick Bruskiewich is now firm. Other likely contenders include Kiwanian Norm Vipond and businessman Rick Buchols (son-in-law of former NVD alderman Jim Ball) — both of them candidates in an earlier election. Four of the six WV incumbents ~~ Aldermen Mark Sager, Alex Brokenshire, Rod Day and Pat himself has stonewalled al! direct MAYORS MARILYN BAKER, DON LANSKAIL ...anyone lurking out there in the shadows? Heritage action HE THREE North Shore municipalities need to do more than pay lip-service to heritage preser- vation and speed up their bid to protect impor- tant reminders of the past before they fall prey to modern developments. ; With a recently completed North Shore-wide heritage inventory pinpointing heritage sites and their historical, architectural and social importance, municipalities now have a footing from which they can move te protect those unique assets. They must do so while they still can. In lending moral and financial support to the heritage inventory, many municipal officials may believe they have done enough to preserve architectural history. But with the inventory carrying virtually no weight when it comes to actually preserving heritage — it serves only as a guide to the heritage resources of the community — concrete steps must be taken. Heritage preservation brings with it the prickly question of whether government can or should dictate what owners do with their property. To avoid tackling such a quaim, the municipality could buy end preserve the mest important heritage sites, a limited option given financial considerations. Either way there are difficulties, but to do nothing is to court the loss of a vital part of the communities’ past. With historically significant buildings slated for redevelopment, such as West Vancouver’s Hollyburn Maner snd North Vancouver’s St. Alice Hote! (which may or may not be worth saving from the wrecker’s ball), similar heritage buildings could easily slip away before we know it. The political football of heritage preservation has been sidelined while the inventory was being prepared, but now it is time for local zovernme- nis to again take up the issue and run with it. Boname — will almost certainly run. Alderman Dave Finlay and Gordon Rowntree are still pon- dering. Among outsiders who'll try for a seat on council are said to be personnel specialist Andy Danyliu (who fost last time by only a nar- row margin), business consultant and local Socred president Ron Wood, and Ambleside merchant Billi Howard. And don’t yet count Peace, sworn in nine days ago by Judge Jerome Paradise. tak WRIGHT OR WRONG — Old _ out entirely former alderman Don Griffiths. As long as roads and sewers are maintained, water flows, garbage gets cleared and police and firemen do their job, municipal voters in general remain reasonably content. On Wednesday we'll look at the relatively few big community-wide issues in each municipality. The main problem of civic candidates this year, however, may be simply getting heard at all amid the distracting din and uproar from the federal warriors! kat POSTSCRIPTS: Owed money and can’t collect? North Shore Infor- mation and Volunteer Centre is sponsoring 2 Small Claims Workshop | to 4 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 19, at the Court House, 200 East 23rd, North Van. For $5 it will teach you about starting ar action, the Small Claims Court hearing and collection procedures — call Pearl McKenzie, 985-7138 for further details ... Anyone out there ever serve in the United Na- tions peacekeeping forces, winners of the 1988 Nobel Peace Prize? If so, call West Van dentist Dr. John Strom, 926-5266, who served with the UN in Cyprus in 1967 and is interested in forming a local UN peacekeeper’s club ... And con- grats to Heather Holt, the North Shore’s newest Sustice of the Publisher Peter Speck Managing Editor... . Barrett Fisher Associate Editor Noel Wright Advertising Director . Linda Stewart North Shore Naws, founded in 1969 as an independent suburban newspaper and qualified under Schedule 111, Paragraph Ill of the Excise Tax Act, is published each Wednesday, Friday and Sunday by North Shore Free Press Lid. and distributed to every door on the North Shore. Second Class Mail Registration Number 3885. Subscriptions North and West Vancouver, $25 per year. Mailing rates available on request. Submissions ase welcome but we cannol accept responsibility tor unsolicited material including manuscripts and pictures which should be accompanied by a Stamped, addressed envelope. SUNDAY « WEONESDAY + FRIDAY 1139 Lonsdate Avenue, North Vancouver, B.C. V7M 2H4 59,170 (average, Wednesday Friday & Sunday) SDA DIVISION Chinese proverb for Socred con- vention delegates puzzling how to dispose of Bill without disposing of the party: ‘He who rides a tiger can never dismount." NEWS photo Mike Wakolleld SIGNED AND SEALED ...new Justice of the Peace Heather Holt with Judge Jerome Paradise at her induction ceremony. Vices Foes Git, ‘ih Dispiay Advertising Classified Advertising Newsroom Distribution Subscriptions Fax 980-0511 986-6222 985-2131 986-1337 986-1337 985-3227 MEMBER North Shore owned and managed Entire contents © 1988 North Shore Free Press Ltd. All rights reserved.