NEWS ie Neil Tacente

So long, Christmas

CHRISTMAS SEASON is officially over when the Lions Club
sets up its annual Christmas tree chip-up at Ambleside Park.
Tie Lions Club has been sponsoring the event for the past 10
years. The Tree People volunteered its time, manpower and
equipment for the event held fast weekend. The tree chippers
Processed a steady stream of about 250 trees every two hours

at this year’s event.

Emergency crews
need to know facts

**THERE’S A fire in my
kitchen! Come quick!’’ ...
Click.

Sometimes when we're frighten-
ed, it’s hard to ‘“‘take it easy.’
But when you report a fire or
other emergency, remember — the
person answering the phone at the
emergency dispatch centre doesn’t
know the nature of your problem.

If a fire starts in or near your
home, you must first escape safe-
ly. 1f anyone else is at home with
you, or if you live in an apart-
ment building, call loudly to alert
others as you leave the building.
Go a safe distance from the fire
and call the fire department.

On the North Shore the number
to call is 9-1-1.

When the emergency personnel
answer the telephone, tell them, in
as calm and distinct a voice as you
can manage, the facts:
ethe nature of the emergency
(fire? medical emergency?)

* the complete address where the
fire or other emergency is located,
including the apartment number
and floor, in a multi-family build-
ing

¢ your fullname: and

ethe phone number from which
you are calling.

Then, don’t hang up. The
dispatcher may need to ask one or
two questions in order to send the
right response crew.

Then wait for help to arrive.
When fire officers arrive on the
scene they will want to talk with
you for more details.

To be sure you and your loved

HOT TIPS

North Vancouver
District Fire Department

ones will be safe in case of fire,
remember these tips:

Always use caution with smok-
ing materials, appliances, cooking,
portable heaters, candles and
fireplaces. Don't leave young
children unattended. Keep your
home tidy so fires don’t have a
place to start. Be sure you have
smoke detectors, test them regu-
larly and change batteries once a
year. Keep the telephone number
for reporting emergencies next to
every phone and ask neighbors to
do the same — you'll need their
phone if a fire crupts at your
house.

Make a family plan for escaping
a fire, and practise it, including at
least two exits from each room in
case the normal exit is blocked by
fire.

And remember. false fire alarms
are no joke. By tying up emergen-
cy phone lines, they can prevent
reports of real emergencies.
Emergency personnel responding
to your false emergency can be in-
jured or even killed — all for no
reason. And it’s breaking the law.
Our community tapes can
trace all emergency reports.

For further information contact
the District of North Vancouver
Fire Department non-emergency
number 980-7575, or your local
fire department.

Friday, January 11, 1991 - North Shore News - 43

Houseplants look sad?
Could be root rot

TWO WEEKS ago, I began
a discussion on the pest
problems of indoor plants.
It started with the basics on
bugs and promised to con-
tinue with a look at some of
the more common diseases.
After all, what better way
to idle away the snow
bound hours than to read
about aphids, mealybugs,
mildew and root rot?

Have you ever wondered why
probiems such as these tend to
manifest themselves during the
winter months? Were these prob-
lems there all along and were we
too overworked to notice? Or, are
the Gods of the Garden trying to
ensure our idle thumbs maintain a
proper shade of green?

None of the above. The en-
vircnments inside most of our
homes during winter are not quite
as inhospitable as the surface of
the moon, but close. Weak winter
sun combined with hot, dry inside
air is not conducive to the promo-
tion of good health in your plants.

Some of us will now crowd our
plants on to the sills of those few
windows offering some semblance
of sufficient light. Now we have
some reasonably well-lit plants

Geoff
Tobiasson

OVER THE GARDEN GATE

freezing to death on the side
nearest the window while those
inside are broiling in centrally
heated air.

Plants generally develop pest
problems over the winter months
because they are too weak to fend
them off. To complicate matters,
most of us begin a process of
over-care as they show their first
signs of distress.

How many of you can say you
are keen on the idea of a big steak
dinner when you are under the
weather? The same lack of ap-

OCCASIONAL
CHAIRS |

SOLID OAK
ROLL TOP

The old manufacturer's tax
has been removed and
we've reduced our prices
accordingly..plus we wir
reduce the price equivalent
to the GST for this SALE.

Aubrey
Furniture
Expert

petite is true for your plants. Add
this to the fact that the five major
requirements: light, water, fertil-
izer, temperature, and humidity,
must remain in balance.

As the amount of available light
and temperature decreases, your
plant's growth will siow. While
they are not actively growing, they
do not require as much water or
fertilizer.

It is easy to see why we could
be considered as plant public pest
number one when you see how
most of us handle the sight of a
few wilting leaves. Though your
plant is probably drooping in
resentment to having wet feet,
many of you will take this as a
cue to add another couple of
gallons to an already soggy root
ball.

This then is the number one
group of diseases of indoor
plants, root rot. In fact, the term
root rot encompasses many dif-
ferent diseases. They may be
bacterial, fungal or viral in
nature, but the primary method of
treatment remains the same: hold
back the water and fertilizer. Do
not go to extremes, just try to
wait an extra day or two if you
begin to think the plant really
needs a drink.

If you are

in doubt as to

See Treat page 414

FURNITURELAN

111 E. 3rd ST., NORTH VANCGUVER 986-1361