sary of the battle. oeracially” as ‘delegates to the 1996 AIDS conference planned for Vancotiver. By: Kate Zimmerman News Reporter ; if it ‘werent for such conferences, the HIV- nfected baby Meredith ‘and her husband took into their North Shore homé as a permanent fos- child migti not, have survived past his third birthday. Meredith says the’ fact that. her child’s “doctor, Dr’Jack Forbes, has. attended numerous “AIDS ‘conferences has probably provided him with the knowledge required to keep the little boy happy.and healthy. Forbes, a pediatrician who. coordinates the Women and Family HIV Centre and is responsi- -. -ble for the treatment of children with HIV in *. B.C., said conferences like the one scheduled are “essential to furthering understanding of the dis- ease. They provide an opportunity for doctors, scientists and researchers to meet and exchange views and ideas with the people on the front ' lines of the battle with AIDS — ine patients ‘themselves, Forbes was appalled by the recent call from BE Business... eeecseeeee : a CUSSfEM.srssrsrcrnererneene SD mm requiring Reporter... FZ Canadian Publications Mail Sales Produci Ayr CALL US: 983-2208 NEWS photo Cindy Goodman “LEADING SEAMAN Chris Blunden (left) and Leading ‘Seaman Laurel O’Neil cbserve a moment of silence . during the Battle of the Atlantic memorial service ‘Sunday at Waterfront Park. It was the Sist anniver- THE THREE North Shore municipalities and the North Vancouver Commerce held a violence prevention cunpaign awards ceremony al Carson Graham secondary school on Thursday, April 28, By Bruce Methven Contriuing Writer Awards were presented in three categories: individual, group and special recognition, Carson Graham secondary school drama teacher Michael. Reid won the individual category award. He received recognition for his work with Grade 9 and 10 students who wrote and produced an award- winning play, Random Acts. The play, gives, a teen's perspective on the causes of violence, sexism and racism, and explores the roles played by television, peer pressure and family communication, “ST feel proud and honored to have had the chance to work with the students on this project,” Reid said, The play was seen by more than 500 studeats, teachers, parents and counsellors and provided -a catalyst for student discussions about vio- lence, according to Reid. Franca Bertoncin of North Shore Health accepted the group category awird on behalf of the Together Against Violence Committee. Hs November 1993. Together Against Violence campaign was organized to raise awareness about the causes and prevention of violence. “IT think it’s very positive that - the municipalities and the chamber Chamber of Wednesday, May 4, 1994 - North Shore News - Awards recognize N. Shore violence prevention efforts EWS photo jel hue! NEWS MANAGING editor Timothy Renshaw accepts an award recognizing the newspaper's coverag2 of the Novembor 1993 Together Against Violence campaign from North Van City | Mayor Jack Loucks. West Van Mayor Mark Sager looks on. are awarding these initiatives,” said Bertoncin. North Shore News maniging editor Timothy Renshaw aecepted a special recognition award for the newspaper’s coverage, of the November 1993 Together Against Violence campaign. The News also received a spe- cial award ‘from the Together Against Violence Committee in appreciation of the newspaper’s role in raising local awareness of - violence issues, during the ‘Together Against Violence campaign. The: BB CrOSSWOFK ee ccssenesseee sense OF BB Bob Hunter cscs cesar member of the federil Reform party for either the cancellation of the conference or the barring ‘from Canada of HIV and AIDS-infected dele- gates from outside the country. He was also perturbed by suggestions that visitors to Canada be tested for HIV before being « admitted to the country and refused entry if they tested positive. Reform party logic suggests that if the visitors get sick their medical care might. - end up costing the taxpayer money. “i personally think that’s a ridiculous © stand....” Forbes said. .“By that same reasoning we should say to visitors that they have to have an ECG (Electro-Cardiogram) because they ‘might have heart attacks while they’re here and will be a drain on the healthcare system.” Anyone who comes to Canada could poten- tially become ill and require treatment, he added. “It’s a sign to me of the'sort of ridiculous dis- crimination that people with HIV have to suffer.” “It actually could jeopardize the whole con- ference,” he said. “It’s totally unreasonable.” Meredith (not her real name) believes people with HIV or AIDS should be admitted to Canada and that they pose absolutely no danger to any- one. She remembers one doctor saying. to ber, “Education is the best immunization. Ignorance is death. “fm not intimidated by AIDS,” said the index BB [Sightseer seers BB Lifestyles vss DD BB North Shore NOW wise 2B aement Number 0087238 woman, who has worked for years with people who have AIDS. S Meredith also harbored “Timmy’s” cocaine: addicted, AIDS-infected mother and cradled ‘her in her arms as she lay dying, last year. “She weighed 50 pounds: by the time she died,” said Meredith. “She was’a lovely girl... . You should have seen her. when she died, though. It was just ‘pathetic.” Lopes -“Timmy,” who is: asymptomatic, is enrolled in childcare and is the star of his gymnastics class; school administrators know his status but other parents do not. : “It’s illegal for them to turn’ someone away from any school,” said his foster mother. “1 know of several children in the school system that nobody knows about.” She's certain that if other parents did know their sons and daughters were sharing a class- . room with a child who has AIDS, they would pull their kids out because they’re frightened of the disease. “There isn’t anything that anyone is going to get from this child," said Meredith over the phone as “Timmy” hammered happily on some- thing in the background. “It’s just ignorance, that's all. “L made a commitment to this boy's mother that he would never take 4 back seat to anyone,” said Meredith. PA SPOIts ne cases TA WA TY Listings ccc What's Going On............47 THIS WEEK’S QUESTION: Should visitors and immigrants to Canada be screened for HIV? | award recognized the quality of the newspaper's coverage of ihe events organized by the committee and the stories generated from the various .- public meetings held during. the campaign. ‘Reashaw said the News was honored to receive the awards. But’ he said the Together Against Violence Committee deserved the lion’s share of the recognition for» its efforts in organizing the cam- paign and raising the profile, of some extremely important commu- nity issues. . concerns: THREE IN 10 people o on the North Shore say that - they or a member of their family have personally experienced. - violence, : according to-a: January "1994 research report. By Bruce Methven ‘ Contributing Writer A local telephone survey, of 500 randomly chosen adults was conducted for the North’ Shore Together Against Violence Project. : Dealing. with violence among youth was of greatest concern to the respondeutts. . : Suggestions on how to deal with that violence included: Wl providing more things for young people to do; ; Mi making parents responsible for their children; Ri reducing the amount of vio- lence on television and in films. The survey was carried ‘out to determine local awareness levels of the Togcther Against Violence campaign. The November 1993 community project included a wide range of activities, events and pro- motions. According to the sur- vey’s respondents, the North Shore News was the most fre- quently used (65%) source of information about the cam- paign.