BUNDAY - WEDNESDAY + FRIDAY

6 - Sunday, December 8, 1985 - North Shore News

Editorial Page

Ls |
Hold your fire!
ropertry (axes are going up again next
year. That was the unwelcome message
for North Shore property-owners last
Monday when the three councils unveiled their
provisional 1986 budgets.

West Van and North City are suggesting in-
creases of 7.6% and 11.6% respectively. North
Van district, 10%.

All three mayors stressed that every effort
will be made to pare down these figures by wie
time the final budgets are adopted next spring.
Even so, it seems likely that revised increases
— especially in North Van —- will still be higher
than the current 4.1% inflation rate. The ob-
vious question is WHY?

Part of the answer lies in certain aspects of
a municipality's ‘‘cost-of-living’’ index that dif-
fer markedly from those affecting average
wage-earners.

In general, personnel and material costs rise
in step with inflation. But in at least one vital
and expensive area — insurance — costs have
have recently skyrocketed, due to soaring settle-
ment awards. Meanwhile, municipal income is
actually DOWN as a result of cuts in senior
government grants, low interest rates and the
effect of the recession on business licence and
permit fees.

Add to that the ongoing need for capital (as
distinct from operating) expenditures each year.
Just as any homeowner periodically needs 4
new roof, new plumbing or 4 new fridge, so
city hall must regularly improve roads, develop
parks and revitalize seedy business areas.
Otherwise, gradual decay of the community’s
physical assets eats away at private property
values.

Such are the tough facts of life for councils
at budget time. Usually, they wind up giving
a good deal better value for money than their
Victoria and Oitawa masters — and they’re
easier to fire.

So don’t shoot the painist yet, while he’s still
Striving to play your tune!

ew Democrat MP Margaret Mitchell

a f a
Ladies’ rights?
N objects to the Speaker of the Com-
mons calling her ‘‘the honorable

Jady’’. Says it’s archaic and sexist, presumably
meaning it discriminates against non-ladies. But
once a majority of females insist on being non-

‘ladies like Margaret, won’t that discriminate
equally against the minority of ladies? What
notices, for example, will they put on the
restroom doors?

THE VOICE NORTH AND wast wakcouver
north shore;

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North Shore Free Press Lid All nghis reserved

Member of the B.C. Press Council

alg 56.245 (average. Wednesday
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sx. G

SA OMISION

980-0511

IF YOU MARCH to a dif-
ferent drum, the best one is
your own. [t's given Al
Johnson, a North Van resi-
dent for 26 years, 7a exciting
and rewarding life to date, a
loyal mate and now a nice
litte Christmas present as a
bonus.

Alt, well known
throughout locat music cir-
cles, needs littl introduction
to the nightspot crowd of the
sixties and early seventies. In
fact, when he arrived here in
1959 from The Cave in his
native Winnipeg, he can
claim to have been B.C.’'s
first real show drummer. He
played at the Quadra Club
and with Lixace Harrison at
Expo ‘67, but he’s best
remembered as the longest
resident drummer at Van-
couver’s former Cave Sup-
per Club -— where he pro-
vided the beat for such stars
as Tony Bennett, the Mills
Brothers and the Ames
Brothers, Roy Clack, Dizzy
Gillespie and the Mod-
ernaires, to mention but a
few.

It was the first time Tony
Bennett came here without
his full rhythm — section.
Count Bassie had told him
he needn’t bring a drummer
to the Cave because Al
Johnson ‘“‘played and read
music around corners’’.

With the closing of the
Cave and the passing of the
old supper club scene in
Vancouver, Al had to seek
fresh fields for his beat. For
the pasi seven years he’s
been drummer at the Har-
tison Hot Springs with
Charlie and Mary Young,
thythm-makers for the
nightly dancing in the Cop-
per Room since 1956.

This month the Youngs
finally retired and Al has
now taken over as leader of
the orchestra — a rare
distinction for any drummer,
but then he's not just ‘‘any”’
drummer.. Equally at home
with everything from ballads
to soft rock, from the sym-

IDA PADDOCK ... a bonus
from beer.

THE LOST UNIT FOUND ... (1 to r) West Van Cancer

Noel Wright

© sunday brunch °

photo submitted

A DIFFERENT DRUMMER ... the orchestra new follows

Al Johason.

phony to jazz (his first love),
he’s very much a ‘“‘musi-
cian’s drummer’, always
popular with fellow in-
strumentalists because he
never overshadows sensitive
renditions.

For the time being he’ll
continue to commute back
each weekend to North Van
for a couple of days with
wife Helen. ‘He's made a
good living from drums,”
she says. ‘‘It’s been a good
life for us and not everyone
married to a musician can
say that!”?

Helen should know. On
December 22 there’li be a
special roll of drums for
their 34th anniversary.

ee 8
NORMA SHARP has a
slight geography problem.
She’s 1986 Campaign
Chairman of the West Van
unit of the Canadian Cancer
Society but almost nobody
now knows where to go find
it. And that’s hampering
Norma’s drive for volun-
teers, who are more urgently
needed than ever with no
Terry Fox or Steve Fonyo
around io bolster next year’s
fund drive. The unit was
kicked out of its original
home in Pauline Johnson
School a couple of months

ii OATH

NEWS photo Nost Wright

campaigners Norma Sharp, chairman; Garfield Alexander,
unit president; Margaret Bulling, treasurer,

or so ago by the French im-
mersion crowd and is now
housed in the closed-down
Cedardale School. ‘*Where
on earth's that?’’ folk ask
with a glazed look.

Perfectly simple. Turn
EAST off Taylor Way at the
Inglewood traffic light and
immediately fork RIGHT
along Burley (not Inglewood
itself). The school’s a
quarter of a mile down at
the bottom of Burley. Nor-
ma and her, volunteers are
at work there from 10 to 2
every Tuesday and Thursday
(phone 925-1952), and if you
can spare a little time to help
them in their fight against
The Monster, they'll wel-
come you like a long lost
sister or brother.

A NAVY FOR CHRISTMAS
brush of Robert Banks.

EATING CROW, our
apologies to West Van's
Brian Hunna for a recent
News story describing his
professional colleague David
Weiser, design consultant
for the Horseshoe Bay
revitalisation program, as
“the sole Horseshoe Bay-
based architect’’. Brian has
been practising architecture
in the Bay for years past
and, among other jobs, is
presently in charge of the ex-
tensive rebuilding project at
St. Monica's Church there.
Back to the drawing board,

reporter...
see

SCRATCHPAD: Noted
North Van artist Robert
Banks has produced an iceal
$¢ gift for collectors and
ship enthusiasts — a quality
poster featuring 20 of his
paintings of naval vessels
from 1910 to £985 to com-
memorate the Navy’s 75th
anniversary. For further in-
formation or to order, call
980-8811 ... Happy news for
North Van Christmas
Bureau chairman Ida Pad-
dock from the famed North
Van Beer Drinkers and
Loose Change Society,
which next week will be
presenting her with a four-
figure cheque. Wonderful
what drops out of pockets
when the lads hoist a few
together! ... And to round
off on the same festive note,
carolling is definitely ‘‘in”
this year, with 60 North Van
Guides and Brownies enter-
taining at LGH 6:30 p.m.
Tuesday ... A family carol
singalong at Capilano
Library 7 p.m. Thursday ...
on Saturday, the North
Shore Chorus at City
Library 11:30 a.m. and the
May McCaskell Singers at
Lynn Valley Library 2 to 4
p.m, ... And our own North
Shore News Carollers also
warbling their way round
children’s and seniors’
homes during the next two
weeks ...
nee

WRIGHT OR WRONG:
Education DOES make fife
easier, especially at
Christmas. If you hadn't
learned to sign your name,
you'd have to pay cash for
everything.

NEWS photo jan Smith
«. 75 years at sea from the