City celebrates mayo Robert Galster News Reporter robert@nsnews.comt STILE spry after all these years, North Vancouver City Mayor Jack Loucks cele- brated his 80th birthday last Sacurday. White city hall employees marked the event with a surprise party on Friday, friends and family gath- ered at the Loucks residence on Sunday. The city statf party caught even the veteran mayor by surprise. “They really conned me,” said Loucks, who experienced the same thing on his 75th birthday. “1 thought we were going (downstairs) to recognize a staff member who was retiring.” Two days later he celebrated the day all over again. “FT didn’t have time to eat much or drink much,” said Loucks of the backyard gathering. “It was great; it makes you realize how many friends you have.” Loucks was born in Vancouver in 1918 and moved to Howe Sound where the family stayed for six years. [n 1924 they moved to south Vancouver which at the time was its own municipality. On June 13, 1946; he married Olive. “Bur it wasn’t a Friday,” said Loucks of the occasion, adding that he graduated from university « vear later. The young couple then moved to North Vancouver where Loucks had received his first teaching gig — at the now defunct North Star school. He bounced around Rem school to school but never left North Vancouver. He taught for the next 10 years and spent 21 More as an administrator ending with Highlands clementary. Preceding his retirement by six months was his election as mayor in 1977. Ie wasn’t his first caste of municipal politics, bur he certainly wasn’t a seasoned veteran either, He had previously served as an alderman in the city in 1970-°7) and again in °77. “After that (his first run) ] didn’t run again because | was a principal and we had a young family and there just wasnt cnough time,” recalled Loucks. “If T complete this term 1 would have served 25 years.” MAYOR Commission erred, claims court petition From page| Board and West Vancouver municipality in. B.C. Supreme Court earlier this month, . / Mason claims the board and the municipality — wrongfully breached his employment contract by failing to accommodate Mason's return to his constable’s job at the WVPD. — ‘’ He is claiming, damages for breach of employment contract, wrongful dismissal, punitive dam- ages and aggravated damages. In 1$95, Mason made $60,899.97 as a constable. CoG "the WVPD took its ime but finaily responded with its request on ‘Tuesday to have the B.C. Police Commission findings over- turned. While the petition lists several alleged errors of law committed by the comniission in reaching its conclusions, the crux of the WVPD argument hinges on the testimony of one of the partici- pants in the original Block Watch meeting. The commission interpreted a female participant called by Mason’s legal counsel to have stat- ed Mason did not pull out his gun during the fateful meeting. To that end, the WVPD peti- don includes a sworn. affidavit from Insp. Christopher Holmes. “The defence called only one Judy Smith Loucks turns 80. inthe course of his lengthy career, both as an educator and later as a politician, Loucks, together with Olive, minaged fo raise a family of four which has since expanded to include six grandchildren. Mary Ferraby, one of Loucks’ three dauyiiers, followed inher father’s tootmteps and is now a teacher jn North Vancouver, One of her lasung, memories of her father centres around his extraordi- nary ability te listen. Ferraby remembered one instance shortly atter she started teaching. Her class was a particularly dif- ficult ove thar left her scratching her head as she pondered how best to handle it. “He (Loucks) followed me around the house and took notes and then typed ther up. Ifthere was any way he could help me he would,” said Ferraby. North Vancouver City Coun. Stella Jo Dean has been on council since 1968 and remembers first meeting Loucks when he served his inaugural term in the early °70s. “Over the vears councillors and alderman have varied opinions .- but there hasn’t been any confrontation between the council- fors and mayor. They vote differently (but) there’s no contronta- tion,” said Dean of Loucks’ pertormance over the jase nwo decades. “T think thar he as mayor has served rhe citizens very, very well. He’s been conscientious and very seldom has he missed meet- ings.” While Dean said she is in her fast term on council — hav- ing met a personal goal of 25 vears of service --- Loucks is not so sure. Jack . He remains cov on the subject of his future pians, which makes lite difficult for political opportunists and mayoral hopefuls wait- ing in the wings. “Pm not making up my mind this early --- a fot can happen before the end of this year (when his current term expires),” said Loucks of his future plans. “I like to keep people guessing.” Not even family members can claim any insight tate his thought processes on the subject. “T haven’s a clue. He's been in six years longer than { thought he would,” said Ferraby. “Somebody's got to be spontaneous in our family and it’s not going to te me.” JACK and Olive Loucks were married in 1946 and then moved to North Vancouver. NEWS photo Paul McGrath Catch the ball Jimmy lost his first game and his father GRADE 1 students from Lynnmour Elementary watch closely as a backhoe attempts to remove a soccer ball from a pylon. It was all part of the machinery skills competition at North Van District's truck rodeo event held last Thursday at the works yard. Boy chess wiz wins national trophy he'd hit the wall and end up in seventh or eighth resident of 2119 Bellevue as a wit- ness. The witness did not, at any time ir: the proceedings, wake the denial referred to (in) che Reasons of the Commission,” stated Holmes. “Her evidence w ply that she had no recollection thar the respondent, Mason, had shown his gun at the meeting.” On Wednesday, — Mason’s lawyer Ajit Saran’ reserved com- ment on the WVPD petition . because he has vet ro see the doc- ument, Mason likewise chose not to cosmment. Contributing Writer iT was a thrill for eight-year-old Jiminy Peterson to even be going to the Canadian Chess Challenge in Winnipeg. But in only the fifth tournament for the Grade 2 Queensbury elementary school student, Jimmy came in second place against Canada’s best players in his age group. His father Robin, coach and B.C. captain for the tournament, is thrilled too, “Irs beyond amazing. [t is impressive because every other kid’s a winner from their province so there’s no freebies.” thought it was all over. Bur after the boy gor over his fear and distraction at the much larger venue than he was used ro, he came back to win his next six games. “Jimmy was looking around the room saying, “Look at all these people’ and while he was doing thar he lost the first game,” said Robin. It could have been disastrous, but instead Jiramy scutled down and began to focus on the game. And the loss turned out to be a kind of psy- chological advantage for Jimmy. Because he'd lost his first game nobody was really paying attention to him, and he weat about quietly catching all the leaders. “imony was very solid in that crowd. I thought or something.” . After he and his son had returned from the tournament’s finals, Robin got one of the strongest chess players in B.C. to look over the playotf game and he said Jimmy was obviously nervous but he was the best player there. Twelve children from B.C., each of them a B.C. finals winner in their age class, attended the tournament, where they played the age class win- ners from the other provinces. Ontario won first, Quebee was second and B.C. finished third in overall points. Robin said Jimmy won a huge trophy from the final and the week before he left he won $24. “That's not bad for an cight-year-old.”