6 - Friday, June 4, 1999 — North Shore News north shore news VIEWPOINT lot issue ORTH Vancouver City coun- N= did well in standing firm Monday on the issue of supporting its hydronic (hot water or steam) heating system. The developer planning to rebuild the Barraclough building —- a Lower Lonsdale heritage structure that burned to the ground last year — wants to heat the rebuilt building with a standard electrical heating sys- tem. But the developer had already agreed to a covenant that would see the building linked to the city’s com- munity heating program. Council didn’t let him back out of the deal. The concept of a central heating system for a community is not new. Ancient Romans passed warm water through open trenches to pro- in Pompeii. In North America a commercial district heating system was intro- duced in Lockport, New York, in 1877. In Canada, a district energy system has operated in London, Ontario, since 1879. Such systems are now common components of municipal infrastruc- ture in many European countries. Canada has among the highest per capita energy use of developed coun- tries. Close to 62% of energy used in homes goes to space heating while more than 55% of energy used in the commercial sector is used to keep businesses toasty. What’s new and welcome is that a North Shore municipality is making some far-thinking decisions about energy consumption. ASTRONAUT, PIANIST, FLUTIST, SOPRANO, TRIATHLETE, SCUBA DINER, JET PILOT. SPEAKS Six LANGUAGES, HOLDS Two ENGINEERING DEGREES...-- Wow ! WHATTA WOMAN/// IT tS AT THIS MOMENT BRENDA CONCLUDES THAT vide heating for buildings and baths mailbox Outraged over actions of N: Shore rescuers Dear Editor: . 1 am writing to express my extreme disappointment with the recent publicity surrounding the search for the unfortu- nate avalanche victim on the Grouse Grind. The behaviour of the North Shore rescue community was inexcusable. Since when has it been the policy of any rescue organiza- tion, professional or volunteer, to pose on the front page of a public paper after a successful body recovery? I may stand to be corrected but is ir the practise in the fire services, the RCMP dive squads, the Coast Guard, the DND SAR techniciass, mountain guides, ctc., to display their personnel in 2, publication after the retrieval of some poor soul’s remains? I think not! So what makes North Shore Rescue any different? The entire “race” to recover this young man’s remains was the worst kind of “tree-marking” I have ever witnessed. It scems to me all parties involved had the same goals in mind yet they let their egos get involved in achieving the only thing that really counted, returning this young man’s y to his parents for grieving and closure. The perception remains that the body recovery was more of a turf war than a humane act. ; The retrieval of human remains is an unpleasant necessi- ty. Up until this point I was under the impression those indi- viduals involved had the dignity and humility to provide a service for the remaining next of kin, who are busy dealing with their personal tragedy. . Apparently I was wrong, I guess headlines and “who gets there. first” takes priority for rescue and media personnel. Take a few steps back all you rescue artists. It’s time to review your mission statements. Keep the politics out of body recovery! Vic Marchi North Vancouver ‘north shore. sf . : Werth Shore fens, Sounded in 1969 25 an Independant suburban newspaper and qualified under Schedele 111, Paragraph 111 of the Excise Tax Act, is published each Wednestizy. Friday and Sunday by North Shore Frae Press Distribution Manager 985-1337 (24) 965-2181 (127) 61,582 (average circulation, Wednesday, Friday & Sunday) DEEP SPACE §S AN IDEAL LOCATION FOR JULIE PAYETTE On fareboxes and fair hearings NOW there’s a scoop I was relieved to have scooped from under my nose. { speak of Kevin Gillics’ report in the North Shore News that Blue Bus driver Susan Falls had been fired — which took me off the hook of an agonizing decision whether to reveal the dismissal and maybe make matters worse for Ms. Falls. Why was she fired? She wrote a letter to the News editor taking issue with former West Vancouver mayor Derrick Humphreys’ transit views. Humphreys didn’t mind. But Blue Bus management called it “insubordination.” Background: The Bluc Bus brass and Ms. Falls have been clashing for the last year or two. Neither side will talk now; a grievance hearing began this week. But I know she was suspended without pay at least once and repeatedly warned after she went public with her cause. ich was? Ironic. Ms. Falls didn’t get the shaft for some form of incompetence or indifference to her dutics. Exactly the epposite. Too zealous. Too conscientious. She believed she had an obligation — which indeed is a statutory obligation — to stop fare evasion. You know — riders who cheat on fares, She cited ways you couldn’t imagine -— including counterfeit wansfers printed offshore for a sly UBC student. Said it was costing the system $15 million a year. After writing about her, I got a Plain of PETER SPECK Publisner 885-2131 (101) Manager 985-2131 (169) Brown Envelope with an in-house round- up of Lower Mainland transit drivers’ complaints, Fare evasion was No. 1. But B.C. Transit, as it was then, mightily downplayed the problem. It also assured me it was installing “smart” fare- boxes — gizmos that count the coins thrown into the box almost instantly and expose short-change artists on the spot — to be _ phased in starting Sept 1. That’s Sepr. 1, 1998. Still waiting. Rack td Ms. Falls. She caught cheaters every shift. Did Blue Bus management praise her? Give her a medal? An Employce-of-the-Month award? Ha. How do you think the other drivers react- ed? Surprise! Ms. Falls was hugely unpop- ular among many. Take it from an old libel-sifter; Some of the stuff that flew back and forth on the bulletin board 3 the barn was actionable, - A cynic might suspect that some of her fellow drivers felt she was showing them up as fax. I’ve talked to some anti-Falls drivers, Decent guys. | liked them. P'm also a great fan of our Blue Buses, CKNW’s Job McComb gave management a right good shor last Monday, but the problens is a tough one on all sides — and I sympathize with all sides. Drivers are reluctant to get into argu- ments with cheats or unruly passengers. Some confide that management won't consistently back them up. Arbitrating between customer and driver is time-con- suming. Assaults involving drivers aren’t LETTERS TO THE EDITOR Letters must include your name, full address & telephone number. VIA e-mail: trenshaw @ direct.ca Managing Editor 205-2431 (115) Entire contents © 1999 North Shore Free Press Ltd. All rights reserved. . » Publisher Peter Speck, from 1139 Lonsdale Avenue Borth Vancouver, B.C., V7 24 uncommon, and are under-reported. (Ms. Falls, by the way, is a tiny little thing. I doubt if she breaks 100 pounds.) So it’s tempting to wink at fare eva- sion. Ne hassle. No brownie points. Now hear this. The union is grieving Ms, Falls’ dismissal. That's automatic. But the blunt fact is thar among the drivers who strongly knocked Ms. Falls was — @ member of the union exccutive. Is that a conflict of interest? Can Ms. Falls get a fair hearing under such circum- stances? We in the media should watch this closely, _ og00 oo North Van District Mayor Don Bell has a point, seeking a municipal share of roceeds-of-crime cash from goods scized y the RCMP. Don’t hold your breath, anyone, : 900 T hear raves for the job that John Pollitt, 33-year employee of West Van municipality, is doing as acting municipal manager. Could it be that Greater — Tiddlycove has a top replacement for Doug Allan right under its nose? QoQ I can’t believe that Greater Tiddlycove’s town hall actually soberly studied Coun. Russ Fraser’s suggestion of a temporary ferry link to Vancouver while the Lions Gate Bridge gets spruced up. I assumed right from the start that the idea was a fugitive from our News of the Weird feature. Q00 - What can I say that hasn’t been said of Jimmy Pattison’s $20 million donation for. prostate cancer research men — and their wives, daughters, etc. — will bless him for it. ; Adnlvistration 985-2131 Display Advestising S8D-0511 Glessified Advertising 965-6222 Bowsrcom 95-2131 Diststhation. 996-1337 Display & Roal Estate Fex 985-1425 Newsroom Fax $25-2104 & Main Office Fax °°-S227 Michael Backer - News Editor OB5-2031 (114) Andraw McLredis - Sports/Commenity Editor 985-2139 (147).