.6 - Suadsy, kebruury 25, 1987 ~ North Shore News

THE VOICE OF NORTH AND WEST VANCOUVER
Peter Speck

Noel Wight
Barrett Fisher
Linda Stewart

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SUNDAY +» WEONESDAY © FEIDAY tote nt

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North Vancouver, B.C. V7M 2H4

Excellence where?

Us possible that Michael Smith, chairman of West

Van School Board's budget committee, is doing

the provincial education ministry an injustice when
he describes its Funds for Excetleace Program as
“pork-barrel polities’. But the onus is on the ministry
to prove him wrong—which can be done very simply.

Theoretically, the grants are allocated to school
districts to further encourage “excellenee’’ already
demonstrated in their Ceaching achievements. Accor-
dingly, West Van received last year $400,000—a tidy
budget bonus.

The problem is that there are no explicit rules defin-
ing what a school district must do to qualify, nor how
large the grant will be if made. Moreover, the one-time
handouts are announsed only after the deadline by
which districts must finalize their budgets. At this
point there’s no guarantee that West Van can depend
on $400,000 (or any other sum) in 1987 simply because
it got $400,000 in 1986.

Hence the inevitable ‘pork-barrel’ suspicion. If the
ministry wishes, there’s nothing to stop it from using
the program to reward the Socred faithful in’ ap-
propriate ridings or to woo taxpayer votes in marginal
ridings.

The school board (with only (rusting trustee Margot
furk dissenting) has now voted to press Victoria to
define the grant qualifications in black and white, so
that boards can make accurate and punctual budget
decisions. It’s high time Victoria cleansed itself of the
‘pork-barrel’ charge with a formula confirming that
“excelience’’ means the classroom, not the polling

Entwe contents
1987 Nosth Shore
Free Press Ltd. Alt
nights reserved.

56,287 waeeruine Wednesdiy a

Peutay 8 Sunday DA Lewisit ty

Msgs

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2;

NEWS photo Tom turiey
CENTENNIAL CELEBRATION ... Amy Lee Parnum marks the arrival of the big three digits with son John at

booth.

DINNER DATE with friends
comes Tuesday, Feb. 24, for
former West Van mayor Derrick
Humphreys and Margaret.

The friends, including council
colleagues during his last term, are
getting together for an intimate
evening at the Hollyburn Club to
say a personal ‘thank you’’ to the
couple for their eight years of ser-
vice to West Van. If you, too,
count yourself one of their friends
and would like to be part of the
e ing, call Bill Jackson (922-
2624) or Bill Dow (922-8666, office
682-3865)—like right now, but not
later than Wednesday (Feb. 18).

ane

FOR GRANDPARENTS sadly

‘a :

convinced that human relation-
ships in today’s growingly
tempestuous world are going to
hell in a handbasket, a North Van
senior has news.

It comes in a letter from the
Cariboo country which he received
recently on reaching his ‘‘allotted
span’':

Dear Dad:

Just a note to let you know that
you are ALWAYS fondly thought
of—~not just on special occasions.

The boys really treasure the time
that you spend with them and it is
truly heartwarming to know that
there exists a special, unique bond
between them and you. A grand-

GUESTS OF THEIR FRIENDS ... a dinner date coming up for Derrick

and Margaret Humphreys.

LETTER OF THE DAY

Is tobacco the

Dear Editor:

Your handling (pp 17 & 19, Jan
21) and the medias’ of the smok-
ing problem, concerns me. I have
no interests in the tobacco industry
and the promised benefits for quit-
ting a four-pack-a-day habit four
years ago have failed to material-
ize, So far despite the rhetoric,
there is no real, no true proof that
smoking is responsible for
everything from lung cancer to
missing the bus. One thing is cer-

tain, a 16 lb. weight gain and an
unsightly ‘“‘pot’’; the latter despite
correct dieting and exercise.
There’s no doubt the link between
heart problems and excess weight.
Food tastes no better and there’s
just as much “puffing and blow-
ing’’ when climbing steps.

The stupid, anti-smoking cam-
paign results from government’s
failure, in many cases intentional,
to attack the real problems now at-
tributed to tobacco. One of the

Inglewood Lodge. Also present for the grand occasion were Jamic Parnum from San Jose, California, and

daughter Ruth King of West Van.

Noel Wright

@ Sunday brunch @

parent’s love is really special, and
you are a truly special grand-
parent.

Thank you for spending so
much time in helping them with
their homework, I remember how
you used to help me with my
homework and from the sound of
it you still have that same touch—
the ability to make it all so clear
and easy.

Both Julien and Derek admire
and adore you. When 7 can't
answer their questions, they tell me
to “phone Papa, he'll know!’ |
think it’s wonderful that you show
them the same gentle love, patience
and guidance that you showed me
when I was growing up. It’s sad, in
a way, that we have to be adults to
really and truly realize how terrific
and wonderful our parents really
are.

IT guess what I'm saying here is
that—although it’s never said in so
many words, and seldom shown—I
love vou.

You and Mum are the two most
wonderful human beings I know,
and I thank God that He blessed
mie with you as my parents.

world’s top gastro-enterologists,
Sir Francis Avery Jones, believes
many smokers who die from lung
cancer may have died from it
anyway and many die from the
disease who have never smoked.
Each day we breathe in traffic’s
noxious fumes, so why not ban
cars, buses, trucks, etc., and how
about closing down the factories
which belch their filth into our
atmosphere? When our forests are
decimated, we destroy the

iL hea

Have a stupendous birthday.
Love
ANGELA

Behind all the terror, inhumani-
ty and destructive criticism
trumpeted by today’s headlines, is
it’ nevertheless possible that the
Angelas, Juliens, Dereks and
“Papas”? still form the vast major-
ity of us—though all too often
silent?

Thank you, Alex Worth, for
sharing a thought that makes this
Sunday a whole lot brighter!

see
WRAP-UP: The memory of Ruth
Stott, who died last weekend, will
be honored tomorow by West Van
council for her 28 years of
dedicated community service—as
library administrator until 1978
and later with the West Van
Chamber of Commerce which
named her Citizen of the Year in
1985 Guest speaker at this
Thursday’s noon meeting of the
North Van Chamber of Commerce
in the Canyon Gardens is District
Mayor Marilyn Baker. Her sub-
ject: Where North Van is headed

undergrowth which helps to
change our millions of tons of
carbon dioxide to life-giving ox-
ygen. Should the lumber industry’s
operations be banned? And how
about researching the effects of
junk food, booze, dope and the
other unpleasant aspects of today’s
living.

During the war years in Britain
cigarettes were cheup, without filters
and often unwrapped; they were
smoked ‘like chimneys’. Churchill

lth problen

(who would know better?) ... A
big salute to the latest member of
the ‘100 Club’’—Inglewood
Lodge resident Amy Lee Parnum
who celebrated her first century
Feb.5 ... Taking over as president
of the Coho Festival Society at its
a.g.m. Feb. 26 will be former West
Van alderman Don Griffiths—he
succeeds Dave Bakewell, to whom
extended business travel beckons.
The non-profit society is now sep-
arate from the West Van Chamber
of Commerce ... Many happy
retirement years to North Van City
administrator Ed Raymond who'll
be feted at a Cunyon Gardens din-
ner Feb. 27—and to restaurateur
Joe Troll, the Horseshoe Bay pio-
neer who beat the Brits at their
own fish—’n—chips game.
one .

WRIGHT OR WRONG:
knocked at the door.

answered. No one was there.

Fear
Faith

MAYOR MARILYN BAKER ...
“‘where’s North Van headed?”

?

stated that medically proven facts
confirmed that ‘‘Brits’’ were at their
healthiest. Could it be that the strict-
ly controlled quality and rigidly
enforced rationing had something to
do with it?

By all means deny the smoker
his pleasure, but let’s cut the hy-
pocrisy and find out what really
causes the sicknesses and diseases
now attributed to tobacco.

W.3.L. Gibbons
West Vancouver