A6 - Sunday, October 3, 1982 - North Shore News The sudden ultimatum to West Vancouver by highways-ministry officials — threatening expropriation of the old B.C. Rail. right-of- way at Gleneagles in order to build a new highways works yard — is .arrogant, in- sensitive and unbelievably shortsighted. ‘The site of the proposed yard is in the midst of one of West Van's prime residential and recreational areas. It is directly opposite Gleneagles School which already suffers from highway traffic noise. It also adjoins a complex of exceptionally busy intersections, where heavy highway equipment would add further crossing dangers for the children. | .Meanwhile, the municipality would lose | parking facilities for up-to 200 vehicles, with predictable _ ‘results for the already severe congestion in the area. Also lost would be a badly needed new playing field now partially _ developed by: the municipality. Still worse, Victoria’s threat to seize ALL of the former rail right-of-way could mean the closure of e highly popular Seaview Walk from Ghaiestle, to Nelson Creek. More suitable sites, even for the operation of the yard itself, are almost certainly available — for example, the Westport landfill, the parking area above Eagle Ridge or north of Horseshoe Bay. All alternatives to the ill-considered. Gleneagles location should be thoroughly investigated before any further action is taken. Council and residents alike are in a ‘fighting mood on this issue. If Victoria imposes the yard.on Gleneagles unilaterally, it must be prepared for the political fallout. 4 Power outlet In the regular daily prayer that opens gs of the Legislature a United Church Z minister’ last week ‘asked ‘the Lord to per- er Bill Bennett against holding . an ‘election “few citizens want”. ‘Bill's father, the. late. Ww. A.C, ‘Bennett, “once said he succeeded .-in politics because he was “plugged in with God”. If Bill uses the same power outlet, maybe he should take care not to blow a fuse and short it. sunday ya eV & Display Advertising north shore Classified Advertising 7 ir ews Newsroom Circulation 980-0511 985-2131 "4499 Lonsdale Ave., North Vancouver, B.C. V7M 2H4 Publisher Peter Speck ‘ agit et ill Editor-in-Chief Advertising Director Ro! ‘aham Noel Wright Tim Francis General Manager, Administration & Personnet Mrs Berni Hilliard Circulation Director Brian A Ellis North Shore News, founded in 1969 as an independent community newspaper and qualified under Schedule M, Part Ml, Paragraph il of the Excise Tax Act, is published each Wednesday .and Sunday by North Shore Free Presse Ltd. and distributed to every door an the North Store. Second Class Mail Registration Number 3886 Entire contents ¢ 1982 North Shore Free Press Lid. All rights reserved. Subscriptions, North and West Vancouver, $25. per year Mailing rates available on request ‘ ' i No responsibility accepted tor unsolicited materint inctuding manuscripts and pictures which should be accompanied by a stamped VERIFIED CIRCULATION 53,995 Wednesday; 53.404 Sunday sx & THIS PAPER iS RECYCLABLE 986-6222 986-1337 ' By STANLEY BURKE Publisher of “The. Nanaimo ’ Times Should permission have been granted to capture two more killer whales? My wife and I recently returned from Johnstone ‘Strait where we had the extraordinary privilege of watching these animals close up for an extended period and the experience leaves us even more disturbed: at the thought of displaying them in a bathtub for the amusement of tourists. At one point, we were surrounded by three pods totalling some 30 animals and the sea fairly bristled with their fins sparkling in the sunshine. We spent several hours trailing the pods at close range, a deeply moving experience which it is difficult to express in words. In preparation for the trip, I spoke to Dr. Mike Biggs at the Pacific Biological Station in Nanaimo, one of the world authorities on orcas whose information made me even more uneasy. I was told, for example, that the animals live for some 80 years and their pods have never been known to break up. “We presume,” he said, “that the pods may stay together for a century or more.” A- family unit, | staying together for a century! ‘This may be unique in nature and certdinly it is almost- in- THE FIELD of contenders for Attormey General Allan Williams’ job as MLA for West Van-Howe Sound widened to four last week, according to our: _ usually well-informed spies -- who now have school board chairman Mark. Sager, school trustee Margot Furk, former alderman Mary Kerr and dark horse’ Dan Cum- ming of Britannia: girding to do battle for the Socred nomination. Because he's com- paratively. little known to date in West Van. itself, Cumming is presently the most interesting of the four hopefuls. A’ personable and articulate 49-year-old chartered accountant, married with four children, he has a high profile north of Lions Bay where his, com- munity -activities include six years as chairman of* the Squamish-Lillooet Regional District, two as chairman of the Squamish Hospital Board and founding resident of the local Big rothers. He's also carved his niche provincially as an elected director of the Union of B.C. Municipalities and, for four years, as an elected trustee of the. Municipal Finance Authority. Now ripe and cager for wider political challenges, Mr. Cumming ‘the nomination, conceivable for fickle humans. These whales, of course, have brains larger than ours and they appear to be ex- tremely sensitive. They respond to music, for example, and on one oc- casion gathered at night around a boat in which music was being played. They. mimic sounds projected into the water leading some to. believe that communication’ will ultimately be possible. _ The orcas appear to have a complex language and. it has, been found that each: pod has its own dialect, perhaps because the pods are so closely knit and long lasting. It is also interesting to note that their society ap- pears to be matriarchal with ‘each pod dominated by the mother. The bulls, despite page RE ISTE RRT tnter ae we ee ee een een ce prem mg abe BsP's 1 7 foe wee ee em Re oR RNA UAE SERS TERING SSRN ACR INAESS Ae REECALLIRnpte aiermaecn neere t8 dorsal fins, seem.subservient to those dominant’ females and willingly” follow. _where they lead. The various pods. ‘making up a community appear to be on easy terms with one another and exchange vocalizations but rarely mix. There are 150 animals in the community at the north end of the Island and 80 in the community in the south end. ‘The two communities do not seem to come together at any time, and within each, the pods always retain their identify. What happens, then when one of these intelligent,’ ~ sensitive animals is taken. from its surrounded by strange, alien. creatures? What is it like for animals accustomed to roam the depths of the ocean to be family and” ‘confined in-a pond? What is it like to. be cut off from the sounds of the sea and the sounds of their own kind? Surely it msut be an agony - ‘ and this may explain why the proud dorsal fin always droops in captivity. It ‘should . also be noted that - Sealand has a bad ‘record with its whales, -having lost some five, possibly the worst record of any aquarium. Protests have come from the. state of Washington where we are told a similar capture would not be per- mitted. We. might also note that Sealand’s Dick Wright ridiculed the idea of releasing Miracle when she was first found wounded, an idea advanced by Bruce Bott of Nanaimo.and supported by the Times. Now Miracle is dead, as Bott predicted she ‘soon would be, and Haida is to be released in exchange for two new hostages. Surely, the only: justification for a new capture should be the successful return of Haida to his pod. This has already been done in Washington with a young whale and perhiaps it can be done with the aging Haida. If so, thena . fascinating new relationship a} _might be -established which _ A. would justify captivity — ‘|. provided the , animals are sunday brunch by Noel Wright _ comes across as a man worth . watching. All of which, however, depends a lot on whether Allan Williams. gets — his touted judgeship before Premier ‘Bill. Bennett | pulls the ‘election plug. If -the ermine robe doesn’t arrive in time, the odds still favor Mr. Williams to beat: off the competition and hang on to if only narrowly. And remember West Van-Howe Sound being what it is, the chosen Socred candidate only has to continue breathing to be returned to the Legislature on polling day... Meanwhile, at the local level, watch for Tom Reld — whose ecarlicr tempestuous years as mayor of North Van City were a headline writer's delight -- to enter the West Van aldermanic race. If he makes it, Tiddlycove’s peaceful council chamber may never be the same again... What has U.S. Army Lieatenant-Colonel Jnne Whaun's current lecture visit to China as guest of the Chingse government to do with the North Shore? Just this. June, a UBC grad and naw a pediatrician hematologist at the Walter Reed Army Medical Centre in Washingto,-D.C., “ha pens to be the first "c nese-. Canadian born in West’Van. Accompanying her on the tour is her, father, ‘Thomas _Whaun who, in. 1930, became West Van's first Chinese-Canadian — resident. And June's: younger. sisters, Mrs. Patricia Sia. and Mrs. Gilbert Lee of North Van, were likewise born and raised in West Van. North Shore natives get around... Fecling hungry? Jackson Lew, manager of TraderVic’s at the Bayshore, has just started a Sunday brunch, with the noon hour view over Coal Harbour providing a feast for the eyes to match a mouth-watering 17-inch menu that can save you the cost of Sunday dinner... - * @ FOLK TALES: Welcome to Rev. Brad Newcombe from Rouyn-Noranda, Oue., who'll be formally installed this (Sunday) evening at 7 p.m. in Deep Cove United Church as new minister for Mount Seymour and the Cove where he took up his astoral duties July 1... onored by Industry Minister Don Phillips is Peg Piet-Brooke, tirelesa manager of the North Van Chamber of Commerce, who's been awarded the “given more” room and provided they are treated with a new respect. - ministry's certificate of merit for the dedication with which she runs the Cham- ber's much valued business information centre... Salute ‘2nd Lieut. Mark Zwanski of North Van who recently won his wings at Canadian Forces Flying Training School, Moose Jaw -- but the special item is that they were presented to him = on graduation parade by his father, a World War Two Polish. Army veteran... Wall- brighteners shouldn't miss the paintings and murals by Shirle Klein, on display through Oct. 9 at The Art ‘Cellar, 117 East 1st, North Van, A one-time student under Arthur Lismer of the Group of Seven, Shirle has already exhibited on three continents... Back last week with news of relief work in shattered Lebanon from the annual meeting of the Canadian UNICEF Com- mittee in Montreal was B.C. UNICEF chairman Patricla Tompkins of West Van (if you'd like to help Lebanese children, call Shirley Briggs, 687-9096, or Cathy Stooshnov, 876-4524)... And congrats to Bill Smyth and Helen Knowles of North Van, elected president and 2nd, vice-president respectively of the Certified General Accountants Association of B.C, at its recent annual potlach in Vernon... _* & WRIGHT OR WRONG: Almost all of our faults are better than the methods we dream up to hide them.