New overseas route WHEN IT rains, it pours: Motorists plunge through couver. Slushy sidewalks and slick streets made for enormous puddies caused by melting snow and adventurous heavy rain Wednesday on the Upper Levels Highway this week. near the Westmount highway exit in West Van- Retired major urges others to support forces in the Gulf A RETIRED North Vancouver Royal Canadian Artillery major is calling for the public to support Canadian Armed Forces personnel serving in the Persian Gulf. For the past few weeks Ian Newby has been distributing pos- ters asking people to write letters or send small items such as books, cards, games or reading material, “that would relieve the boredom” for Canadian troops. The posters include the mailing addresses of the Canadian Navy, Army and Air Force. Said Newby, ‘‘I’ve been overseas with the military when I was serving and you can feel quite isolated, especially with the type of scenario they’re heading into over there. It’s always nice to know that the public is standing behind you.”’ Newby served with the army and air force from 1958 to 1985 in Canada, Germany and England as an artillery man. He says the public is supportive of his initiative. ‘It’s been very, very good. We’ve been giving it Board to study condom machines By Michael Becker News Reporter out to our customers at our ( In- ternational Military Surplus) retail stores.”” Added Newby, ‘“‘As a result of one of those posters, I had the mother of a United States marine serving in the Persian Gulf come in. She’s a Canadian. He joined the U.S. Marine Corps, and she’s worried because she hadn’t heard from him. She knew I had the addresses of the Canadian con- tingent and she wanted to know how to get a hold of the United States marine contingent.” Newby says he ‘‘absolutely’’ supports the Canadian military role in the Persian Gulf. “*The military only follows na- tional policy. They don’t make national policy. The military goes NORTH VANCOUVER District 44 School Board will follow its West Vancouver counterpart in responding to a letter from a West Vancouver parent that urges the school districts to install condom-dispensing machines in second- ary schools. District 44 school superintend- ent Robin Brayne said the North Vancouver schoo! board will discuss the letter at its“ Jan. 22 meeting. In an open letter to North Shore parents and school districts, Gleneagles Elementary parent Janie Robinson quotes statistics that 24 per cent of Grade 9 stu- dents and 47 per cent of Grade 11 students are sexually active. “The health dilemma facing our young people must be acknowl- By Elizabeth Collings News Reporter edged, their sexuality accepted and provision for preventive behavior implemented. Condoms must be made readily available to students in middle and senior secondary schools,’* Robinson said in the letter. West Vancouver District 45 School Board responded to the letter in December, acting on the recommendations of District 45 Retired Royal Canadian Ar- tilery major lan Newby ... Armed forces can feel isolated abroad. where the politicians want them to go. Therefore, they deserve all the public support that they can get, because I don’t think that too many of them — given the choice — would want to be there,’ he said. The mailing address for the Canadian Navy is: Commanding superintendent Doug Player that feedback be solicited from the parent advisory groups in both elementary and secondary schools in West Vancouver. Player also recommended that the board investigate the responses of students in the seven B.C. school districts where condom machines have already been in- stalled. North Vancouver school board chairman Marg Jessup said she will recommend to the board that copies of the letter be sent to parent advisory school groups to get their opinions. Jessup said she would also be in favor of getting input from stu- dents. She added that a compo- nent of the family life program in Friday, January 11, 1991 - North Shore News - 3 riving and walking on the North Shore Officer, HMCS Protecteur, Terra Nova or Athabasca, Canadian Task Force, Fleet Mail Office, Halifax, Nova Scotia, B3K 2X0. The mailing address for the Canadian Army or Air Force is: Commanding Officer, 409 Tactical Fighter Squadron, C.F.P.O. 5056 Belleville, Ontario, KOK 3R0 (409-CA Squadron, Baden}. Meanwhile, B.C. peace coalition End The Arms Race (EAR) is hosting a conference tomorrow at Christ Church Cathedral, 690 Burrard St. in Vancouver, to op- pose military escalation in the Middle East. The conference begins at 9:30 a.m. at the church and concludes with a 1 p.m. demonstration at the steps of the Vancouver Art Gallery fronting Robson Street. **People are upset with the an- tagonistic position of the Cana- dian government and are not will- ing to sit back while the leaders of the world bring us closer each day to an unnecessary war,”’ said EAR president Frank Kennedy. in schools schools called Learning for Living teaches students about AIDS. North Vancouver school trustee Rev. Roy Dungey said education at the appropriate age is the key. “I am not for or against con- dom-dispensing machines in schools, I just don’t see that it will make a difference without the education,’’ said Dungey. According to North Shore Health medical health officer, Dr. Brian O’Connor, as of August 1990, 113 AIDS cases of the 806 reported over the past five years in B.C. have involved people under the age of 20. On the North Shore, there have been 35 known cases (all age groups) of AIDS, said O'Connor. Islanders demand BC Hydro answers NEARLY 100 Bowen Island residents demanded answers to their recent power prob- lems at a public information meeting held Tuesday night at the Bowen Island Com- munity School. By Barry Forward Contributing Writer BC Hydro scheduled the meeting after residents complained that they were not getting straight answers to their questions about the problem that left many homes and businesses without power for nearly a week. BC Hydro, which spent approx- imately $500,000 restoring power to Bowen Island and areas of the North Shore during the series of prolonged outages that began Dec. 17, claims the week-long outage was not its fault and placed most of the blame on trees that came down during the severe storm that hit that week. But residents who attended Tuesday night’s meeting say they want to know why the tree prob- lem and the island’s chronic low voltage conditions have never been adequately addressed by Hydro. They said that most peopte know about the tree problem, and asked why Hydro hasn’t come up with a solution, such as putting powerlines underground. But according to BC Hydro manager of customer services for the North Shore, Brian Demerse, buikting underground powerlines is cx:remely costly, up to 10 times moe expensive than installing overtiead powerlines. He said powerlines would only be moved underground if the islanc’s bylaws change and devel- opers are willing to foot some of the bill. But Bowen residents also wanted to know who is going to pay for Gamage caused to appli- ances, TVs and computers during the power outage. Damage from power cuts and surges caused by BC Hydro is siormally covered by the utility, but in Bowen’s case Hydro is refusing to take responsibility. While Hydro officials took the brunt of the criticism for their handling of power outage com- plaints, Hydro field crews were applauded for the extra hours they put in and the concera they dem- onstrated for the community while the power was out. At Tuesday night’s meeting, BC Hydro informed residents that their power will be turned off Jan. 16 for up to 12 hours, starting at 7 a.m., to allow crews to install new lines and reinforce existing lines where many of the problems occurred. RBC Uydro is also looking into long-term solutions to Bowen Island’s power problems. Bn index B® Automotives @® Classified Ads @ Ecolnfo @ Editorial Page @ Home & Garden 8 What's Going On....11 Weather Friday and Saturday, periods of rain. Highs near 7°C; lows near 1°C. Second Class Registration Number 3885