DECEMBER 29, 1599 Bright Lights ooo 12 Business ove 1§ Classifieds occ 27 Crosswerd eco 20 Kalaht 7 Hoth Shore Aisit see & Spats eee 25 Wright o00 § HICN Purtcaton Company, Publisher Petet Speck 1139 Lonsdais Avenue, Noth Vancouver BC V"M 2s Canacian Pubicatons Mad Sales Product Agmemant io 0087258 32 Pages Police prepare “ Contributing Writer WiTH ‘the millennium “fever that has gripped “some people over the . past few months, it seems there’s not much left to say about the arrival of the new year. : : But for one final word, you can “rest assured that your law.enforce- ‘ment Officers are ready and stand- ‘ing ‘by to deal with Y2K and the extended: bar “hours available to welcome in the new year. “: The. RCMP began to prepare for 2000 back in 1994, when they . established a national team to look "at any issues, including computer system readiness. In Nort) Vancouver, there will ‘be: the usual drinking and driving roadblocks, as welf as extra patrols on the street. * Const. Tom Seaman, spokesman for the RCMP, said ere will be increased manpower on the streets on Friday, Saturday and Sunday nights. ‘. “There will be a policeman on every corner,” he said jokingl Leave has been restricted over this riod so ‘extra staff can be on ‘s° The°RCMP’s main concern is that a large number of people will try to use the 9-1-1 system at mid- night. “Ifeveryone does that it will be taxed beyond its capabilities,” Seaman said, ““A’\ West -Vancouver Police *spokesman:said police will also have an increased number of staff on duty for New Year’s Eve. “Our number one focus is going to be to keep’ the’ drunk drivers off the - road,” Const. Jim ‘Almas said. . “We will be out in full force - conducting drinking and driving roadblocks stationed randomly See Emergency page ® Parenting p23 Television series examines virtues and values NORTH Vancouver RCMP investigated what had been reported to be a bomb left on a Victoria Park bench last The Voice of North and West Vancouver since 1969 Bomb scare Food p18 Friendship cake meant to be shared um roli please: Best dining of the century Dining p15 FREE NEWS photo Juile Iverson raday moming in North Vancouver. Four police units responred to the scene. The object turned out to be a clock. Bob Mackin News Reporter BC Rail locked out its unionized employees shortly after they issued limitect 72-hour strike notice on Christmas Eve. More than 1,500 BC Rail employees belong to seven unions under the umbzvella of the Council of Trade Unions (CTU) on BC Rail. The CTU decid- ed to exercise 72-hour strike notice in time to stop the four special holiday trains and the New Year’s Eve dinner tain. But management of the provincial Crown corporation responded by locking out all C Rail, Council of Trade Unions met on Tuesday members and shutting down the railway. This is a regrettable step, and one we take with considerable reluctance after great deliberation,” president and CEO Paul McEliigott said in a news reicase. “The joint council’s irresponsible strike Notice raises serious concerns with both our passen- ger and freight customers about service delivery.” McElligott said the move was made to allow customers to make alternate arrangements and ensure safety and protect the assets of the company. Lance Yearley, a spokesman for the council, said BC Rail over-reacted with the lockout, which-was originally a small-scale strike. / “It’s officially a lockout,” Yearley said. “We gave strike notice in anticipation of targeting a couple of the dinner wains. However, we hadn’t confirmed what we were going to picket. BC Rail over-react- ed from our perspective. They shut down the whole province.” . Yearley said the council sent letters to BC Rail and the provincial government stating that if an expansion of the limited strike was to happen, then a er 72-hour notice would be issued to “afford them the opportunity for an orderly shutdown and a storage of their equipment. They're getting a lot See Unions page 4