ae * ES, NEWS photo Paul McGrath ‘THE WEST Vancouver Lawn Bowling Club (WVLBC) greens were the target of vandals over the weekend. Club representatives Brian Arnoid-Jenkins and Tom Reid surveyed the damage on Sunday. happy: faces smiling: back at: the. West ‘Vancouver -Lawn- Bowling: Club’ “(WVLBC) ‘grounds. on Sundzy, J uly 4. ‘By Anna Marie DrAngelo ‘News Reporter During ° the’ previous night or early: morning, a happy. facé had been-gouged out of the well-kept grass ‘at’ the club during’ a van- WEST VANCOUVER DIST RICT COUNCIL The: “provincial government Jans to have a system of 22 egional. health boards in ‘place’ by 996... The’ North" Shore will be epresented by one. A-recent B.C. heaith care royal “commission determined that the. 6 billion provincial health budget hould . be spent more. wisely. teducing the ‘duplication of ser- ices offered is seen as one way to The local ' steering committee “will lay the groundwork for a new regional health ‘board that will unify health services on the North: ’ administer the entire $125 million ‘Shore. : ; ‘We are-hoping that the board will servicé -us better and fill in some'of the gaps — at least that’s - ‘the ‘intent,”” said Hutchinson, who also. represents West Vancouver ‘Council on the Greater Vancouver Regional ‘District (GVRD) hospital committee and. the Lions Gate, v7 We think they used a knife or possibly a machete. a9 — WVLBC president Tom Reid. have something drastically wrong with their thinking,’’ said WVLEC president Tom Reid. Reid estimates the damage at. approximately $2,000. - He said the 240-member club chad, -insurance, . . but members | were attempting, ‘to fix. the van- ‘dalized grass themselves. “We think: they.used a knife or possibly a machete,” said Reid. ; Tree ‘limbs in a nearby park . “were “also cut during the van- WV COUN. Diane Hutchingon... current . North Shore health board will likely be dismantled. Hospital board. : According to, ‘consultant Geoff Rowlands, who, is organizing the steering committee for the provin- cial’ government, the. North Shore’s regional health board will the province now allocates to the tegion. That budget is currently allocated in fractured chunks through a myriad of local agen- cies, , ranging from Lions Gate Hospital to seniors’ groups and drug and alcohol services. - dalism attack, he said. Reid said the’ greens, located just north of Marine Drive at 20th Street, are used not only by WVLBC members, but also by lawn bowlers all over the Lower ‘Mainland and elsewhere. around the province. “A Jot people are going to ‘suffer, not just members of our club,’ said Reid. The: West’ Vancouver am Police are investigating the incident. ' Proactive policing to focus: on combating youth crime THEY ARE quick, quiet and sneaky. By Chris Wong Contributing Writer Even though the word police is prominently displayed all over. the uniforms of members. of . the Tecently established North Van- couver RCMP. bike squad, people don’t immediately recognize the RCMP cyclists as police officers, said Const. Marc Sylvestre. The police officer is one of two full-time members of the bike. squad. It seems the image of the patrol car, dating back to Adam-12, still looms large." But things are changing. Bike squads-are already well-establish- ed in Vancouver and Surrey. The success of those squads in con- tributing to effective law en- forcement prompted’ the North Vancouver RCMP to start its own squad, Sylvestre said. Sylvestre and his bike. squad partner, Const. Wayne Knapman, believe their biggest contribution can come in “proactive policing’ — preventing crime before it hap- * pens. . . In particular, the squad, which is part of the North Vancouver RCMP’s special projects ‘unit, -is focused. on combatting youth crime. The public’s general unfamil- iarity with seeing when trying to stop a crime- in- Progress, Sylvestre added. | 7 an The idea is to bring ‘closer to the people, more accessible. 99 — WV Coun. Diane Hutchinson Rowlands told West Vancouver Council at a recent meeting that one third of the future board’s members will be elected, one third will be taken. from other elected bodies such as school boards and municipal councils, and one third will be appointed by the provincial health ministry. “The idea is to bring health care closer to the people, more accessible,”’ said Hutchinson. Under each regional board there will be a number of community health “councils, each servicing about 100,000 people. The North Shore will have up to three such councils and would receive some sort of block fund- ing, but it is not yet clear how users or agencies could petition for more money or how labor negotiations would be conducted. Hutchinson said a -lot.: of unanswered questions remain. “Will the board. become another level of government? Will it have taxing authority?” she — said. Hutchinson said the current North Shore health board would likely be dismantled, but she add- ed that no other agencies, would be lost. | Shie said she is pleased that the Tainistry has recognized that good health is not just the ‘absence of disease,”’ but a state that depends on such issues as education, eco- nomic status, self-esteem and en- vironment. ; “There will be an emphasis on disease prevention and health promotion,’’ said Hutchinson. - Rowlands will be conducting a series of meetings to. gather responses from local residents to the’ proposed changes to the health-care system. He can be reached at the Health Management Resource Group in Vancouver, 734-5973 (local 2419). two-wheeling .. police officers can be a big plus. In fact when Knapman, 26, and Sylvestre, 31, were in basic train- ing for the bike squad, they helped make some arrests in downtown . Vancouver. ‘‘There was a drug transaction going on and 10 of us on bikes arrested four guys. They weren’t even looking,’ Sylvestre said.: cme, Since the bike’ squad* wel duty in North Vancouver, it. has been responsible. for a several ar- rests and liquor seizures, ‘Knap- man said. The squad has also assisted in the search for the body of. missing North Vancouver resident ‘-Lyan Duggan, who police fear. has: been’. murdered. As part ‘of the. search the. cyclists covered | ground on Mount Seymour.” Community reaction to.the bike : squad has been positive, Sylvestre: said. ‘‘We’re a lot more accessible to people on the bikes.” Knapman, Sylvestre,’ and- the’ two. auxiliary. officers on’ the squad’ get around on ‘souped-up : mountain . bikes.. The 21-speed - bikes come with. sirens: and high- beara lights... : Right. now the squad ‘members carry’ standérd issue police’radios. | But soon “hey will: be “wearing helmets . equipped |: with.’ swivel microphones:and speakers. As. for. the rest .of “the.: bike squad uniform, it includes’ lycra shirts, . polyester pants «. and knecpads. Both” Sylvestre and Knapmian, who bike . between.” 40 » to".:50 ~ kilometres. during a shift, said it’s”. a challenge: to travel’ North: Van- wok couver’ s ubiquitous hills: _ Q | excellence THE NORTH SHORE. News: has - been | recognized’. for overall newspaper ‘excellence’ in a 1993 Suburban Newspa-..| | pers of America (SNA). com-= *} petition. “ ‘The News finished- third overall in. the ‘competition’s general. excellence category. for’ newspapers with circula- tions between 50,000 and 125,000. Entries in the competition _ were received from all over North America... The News finished behind Today’s Spirit. newspaper from Fort Washington, Pen-" nsylvania, and the: Reston Times from Reston, Virginia. © According | to the SNA’s SubPub newspaper, competi- - tion judges ‘“‘commented on. the attractiveness of. large, colorful front-page photos, reader-friendly classified sec- tions, creative. display ad layouts, well-written and _rel-" evant local editorial coverage; -strong headlines and a good balance of advertising and ed- ‘jtorial’’ they found throughout the top finishers in the -general excellence | ' competition. ; it -on. >: