6 - Sundays, August 30, (957 - North Shore News Publisher: Editor-in-Chief Managing Editor Barrett Froner Advertising Director {enda Slewart Boa Seed tu bet a Peg Ea eager lat tae UNE awa ta oNety Soot ert Bat fae geet Manta Jee CNY Dudtenal soe babog THAN Peter Speck Noal Wrogist Display Advertising 980-0511 Classitied Advertising 986-6222 Newsroom 985-2131 Distribution 986-1337 Subscriptions 986-1337 North Store Newer. Scntes News Viewpoint SUNDAY « WEDRESDAY «© FRMOAY 41139 Lonsdale Ave. North Vancouver, B.C. V7M 2H4 Company heart WHAT A PLEASURE it is to see that Texaco has a heart. The giant gasoline corporation recently reinstated Edgemont Village gas station operator Mike Gibbins after socal customer outery protested the sta- tion veteran's dismissai. At the executive level it is often too easy to only see the cold, hard facts of the bottom line, the matter-of- fact realities of what works and what doesn’t. Sitting in a cushy, high-backed leather chair in a quiet air- conditioned office with a panoramic view. a top cxec- utive, with a stack of year-end budgets fanned out on an oak desk in front of him, can make the hard, prac- tical decisions to eliminate a store here, upgrade a store there, replace staff here and delete staff there. That is an executive’s job — to make a company reach its preatest potential, to operate in high gear, to realize maximum profits. But at the same time that executive cannot lose sight of servicing customers and meeting their needs — for the public makes it all work, without whose patronage budget sheets would not exist. When an executive can come out of his plush office and come down to street level to hear the buzz of traf- fic and the lull of voices, to make contact with the cit- izens who support the local stores of a corporation, then he has bridged the gap between bottom lines and customer service. Texaco could have ignored the Edgemont Village supporters of Gibbins, writing them off as a minor in- convenience, affecting one store out of thousands of pas station outlets. But no — they listened, and were Entre contents «+: 1987 North Shore Free Press Lid All perved 58.489 average, Medre: ae Caday % Surdisys photo submitted willing to compromise. ear THANK YOU for your open letter to me in last Wednesday’s News. | gather you're a trifle miffed about my IJnly 10 comment on your marked lack of enthusiasm for the proposed film studio and shopping mall on the City’s Park & Tilford site. But Tsk, Tsk, Marilyn! All you're doing is trying to shoot the messenger—a hazard we ink-stain- ed wretches of the media are con- stantly exposed to. You DID raise more than a few eyebrows when you marched into Jack Loucks’ council chamber in person to oppose the P&T project. However strongly you felt, it was an unusual step for a neighboring mayor to take. It made numerous naive onlookers wonder whether your opposition was based solely on concern about traific jams. The proposed Intrawest shopp- ing complex near the Coach House—with which the P&T mall would compete—COULD be a positive addition to North Van District’s economy. That's clear to a lot of folk and, as I pointed out, it’s your duty (o encourage such progressive initiatives on your home turf. Save-On-Foods is earmarked for the P&T development. So Safeway FIONA BROWN...new spurs won for B.C. MAYOR MARILYN BAKER...truth vs, perception? would at least be one very logical choice for the intrawest mall. Nor is there anything sinister about the widely-known fact that your predecessor and good friend Don Bell, now a North Van_ District school trustee, happens to be a senior Safeway executive. There's no conflict of interest between the quality of education and the quali- ty of eggs. Meanwhile, a lot of North Van citizens—both yours and Jack’s—want the P&T scheme to yo through. They figure a perma- nent film industry would be a wonderful thing for the North Shore, and that any traffic pro- blems would be eventually sorted out anyhow. As you well know, Marilyn, such interested, simple-minded cit- izens are always putting two and two together and coming up with five. But in politics i's perception, not truth, that counts—just ask poor Brian and John! So please don’t shoot us for tell- ing you about peaple’s percep- tions. The message can save much grief all round. Warm = personal NOEL, repards— NEW SPURS at Riding Club last B.C. WON Southlands CELEBRATING the $70,000 B.C. Lotteries contribution te ‘‘Piteh-In'', the B.C. clean-up cumpaign...pitching in (tor) Allard van Veen, Outdoors Unlittered president; City Ald. Stella Jo Dean, Pitch-In chairman; White Rock Ald. Margaret Lower; Tourism Minister Bill Reid. weekend as an international sports host, with North Shore types again playing a major role. Following the smash hit scored by July’s Federation Cup tennis tournament at the Hollyburn Club, the first- ever Student Nations’ Cup com- petition to be held outside Europe chalked up a similar success—to the delight of 21-year-old Finca Brown of North Van, chairman of the organizing committee which included several other prominent young North Shore show riders. More than a dozen countries were represented by some 70 indi- vidual competitors, -all of them full-time university students aged 18 to 28 and riding loaned B.C. horses. In the three-day meet featuring dressage and show jump- ing contests Belgium and Germany dominated the six finals—the Belgians taking three first places and a second, the Germans two firsts and three seconds. Western Canada finished a respectable se- cond in team jumping and third (with Christine Taillieu-Huot) in overall individual performance. In addition to the provincial government’s blessing, not the least of the achievements was the impressive list of over 40 commer- cial sponsors which Fiona and her committee managed to line up— ranging all ihe way from local firms like Buckerfields, Edward Chapman and B.C. Toyota Dealers to such corporate giants as Chevron Canada, Labatt'’s and Quantas. Quite aside from their PR perks, their help in putting B.C. firmly on the international sports calendar for the second time within a month entitles them, one and all, to take a bow. WANTED MAN DEPT.: Life is becoming busier than ever for former West Van mayor Derrick Humphreys who's now won rec- ognition from both senior levels of government. Earlier this year he was named to the B.C. Gaming Commission, which is preparing a Noel Wright massive report for the Attorney General on the province’s billion- dollar gambling and lotteries in- dustry. Last week the feds ap- pointed him to a two-year term on the National Parole Board—a job he’s approaching with the tradi- tional Humphreys zest. SCRATCHPAD: Congrats to West Van's Cheryl Lynn Hughes who’s just received her Certificate in Dental Assisting from the Open Learning Institute ... Happy 90th birthday tomorrow (August 31) te frene Doherty—formerly a West Van resident for 50 years, active in © Sunday brunch @ the West Van Boys Band and in St. Christopher’s and St. Stephen’s Churches. Living since 1981 in Viv’ oria near son Hugh 2nd family .. The same again Tuesday (September 1) to Horseshoe Bay birthday girl Wendy Hanna Also Tuesday, happy anniversary wishes to West Van's Maicolm and Margaret Robertson on their 53rd ... And to West Van’s Lestie and Mildred Hughes on their 5Ist. WRIGHT OR WRONG—Mur- phy’s 38th Law: Anything good in life is either iNegal, in:noral or fattening. HEWS photo Noel Wright "53" AND COUNTING... West Van's Malcolm and Margaret Robertson.