48 pages

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Office, Editorial 985-2131

Rhetoric heats up over
private versus public
operation of Northlands

NORTH VANCOUVER District’s new Northlands Golf
Course will likely be staffed by non-union workers and
become a semi-private club, the president of a union repre-
senting district employees has charged.

Meanwhile, North Vancouver
District Coun. Ernie Crist has
formed The Public Golf Course
Defense Fund. -

Crist attacks council’s decision
to invite the private sector to
submit. tenders for. the design,
construction and operation of the
new golf course, slated to be built
in the district's Seymour area.

But Mayor Murray Dykeman
said he does not understand why
people are now raising concerns
about the golf course.

At an in-camera meeting of
council on Monday, council voted
to reject the five tenders received.

But Dykeman said district staff
have been told to continue the
tender process.

Mike Hocevar, president of
Local 389 of the Canadian Uaion
of Public Employees (CUPE), the

By Surj Rattan
News Reporter

union which represents district
employees, said the golf course
should be operated by CUPE
members.

“Why would the District of
North Vancouver construct with
iis own money a major recre-
ational facility, then hand it over
to a private operator for a cut of
the profits?

“This doesn’t make sense,
especially since the intent of this
Northlands course was to be a
municipal operation, staffed by
municipal employees. Now it'll
probably be staffed by non-union
personnel, who may not necessar-

See Crist page 3

Smaller NV City tops
district in crime stats

THE NORTH Vancouver RCMP are alarmed

at the

escalating crime rate in North Vancouver City. Police say

the trend will continue unless

back against crime.

Even though North Vancouver
City is smaller in population and
size than North Vancouver
District, the city’s crime statistics
exceed those of the district in
several areas.

According to North Vancouver
RCMP statistics, police recorded a
total of 92 vandalism-to-vehicle
incidents in the first 26 days of
July in North Vancouver City.
The district recorded 78 for the
same period.

North Vancouver City crime
figures also show there were 63
thefi-from-vehicle reports during
the first 26 days of July: 52 were
reported during the same period in
the district.

Other statistics for July include:
® Theft-of-vehicles: City: 19;
District: 7;

@ Residential burglaries: City: 31;
District: 27;

® Business burglaries:
District: 5;

@ Bicycle
District: 26;
@ Serious
District: 2.

Const. Marty Blais said some
people pin the reason for the in-

City: 6;
thefts: City: 21;

crimes: City:

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Pre seh ate Nea apse:
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are? residents decide to fight

y Surj Rattan
News Reporter

creased crime wave in’ North
Vancouver City on the fact that
there is a higher population of
renters living in the city.

But said Blais, ‘It doesn’t
matter if you rent, own or are just
passing by. You should report a
crime in progress. Too many peo-
ple in the city fave the attitude
that, ‘1’l! worry about my house
and my car and not anyone
else’s.”

He said one reason the crime
rate is lower in the district than in
the city is that for every 13 Block
Watch programs in the district,
there is only one in the city.

He said that whenever there is a
crime in a certain area of the
district, the police have a Block
Watch contact in the neighbor-

hood to call to inform them of the

ciime,

But Blais said few people from
the city have come to the police to
express interest in joining a crime
prevention program.

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News photo by Cindy Goodman

Good vibrations

TANIA TREPANIER takes her turn in the limbo competition at the Caribbean
Day Festival in North Vancouver's Waterfront Park on Sunday. The all-day
event is hosted every summer by the Trinidad and Tobago Cultural Society of
B.C. ©

ih SR

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