G — Sunday, October 3, 1999 — North Shore News

ET’S get one thing clear. An
- adult crossing guard standing on
the crosswalk outside oi Lynn
Vailey elementary school would not
have prevented 10-year-old Elias Brant
from being his by a passing car.
Young Brent darted into traffic
from between parked cars. He was not
using the crosswalk. But in the wake of
‘the accident have come renewed cries
for someone to fund an adult crossing

guard program.

"We could be throwing the baby out
with the bathwater here.

;A pilot project. involving School
‘Disteict 44, the RCMP, funding from
BCAA‘and students from Upper Lyon
Sper school has resulted in that

tt seers 5 to me ti thar they have their heads buried in

"a meal togeth

mnerth shore news

VIEWPOINT

ents and educators feeling nexvous.
But the RCMP are not giving them a
reflector vest and pushing them into
the traffic. Training wakes place and
ongoing monitoring continues.

Had such a program been in cpera-
tion at Lynn Valley elementary ail the
children in the school would have
received instruction as to how to obey
theix peer safety patrol. Net cne, but
four pairs of eyes weuld have been
looking for potential trouble (the chil-
dren work as a team) and perhaps
Brunt’s leg might not have been bdro-
ken in a needless accident.

Is it not curious that school district
chairman Doug MacKay-Dunn and
Mayor Don Beil are now advocating
adult (read union) guards after sharing
er hast week. Could it be
that CUPE support in the upcoming
eR cpal election is a factor?

“DEMOCRACY?” is on the

“as of manure”

efirsal to 3 low the widening of traffic hanes | in:

y. (From a Sep 39 News story.)

iieyearold son E
near Lynn Valley elementar on

it if Russ Fraser was asleep a at che switch

commie Ais a be G
aN 7

y awards for inteltigence.””
: Sut. Jim: Almas, after a search of a
” of marijuana produced a joint, wo grams
‘The’ man had gone to the
essay on the harmful effects of
viarijuana use: (From a ‘Sept. 29 News story) 5

or ? idlay, after i issuing ~

an order to appear in court on charges of supplying,
hi friend, with @ alcohol. (rom § ;

‘minors, her: brother and hi

‘undes Schedule 111, Paragraph 114 of the
| Excise Tax Act, is published each Wednesday,
“oy Fiiday dad Sunday by HON Publications

Company and detidusted to every Gaor 29 the

> dates’ da
‘Royal, wh lereall the contenders will have

their own tables at which to meet voters

works like a charm. Rejection byt

_ Kingmaker democracy in West Van

- march again in West Van, along

with its 150 or so participants.
More on that in a moment, but
first a little back-

ground to the :

upcoming Nov. 20

elections. -

Judged by voter °
turnout, Tiddlycove
clectors are an encrgctic,
involved. buach com-
pared to the sluguards in
the other North § Shore
municipalities. :

, At the 1996 munici-.
pal elections, 34% cast

. their ballots compared with a lax 28% in.
North Van District and a shameful 19% in.

North Van City. The pattern has been’.
broadly similar over the past 15 ycars.

Miuch more inti viguing., » however, is the.

question of exactly IW West

Vancouverites decide where to mark their ;

Xin the polling booth,

. West Van campaign higblig ATS tiadi- .
tionally include the all-candidates meet- _
ings sponsored by the Chamber of

‘Commerce, expanded this year from
_ three full evenings to six, nvo'edch for

ouncil and school board hope-

Chaiting the Nov. 2 to 12 series —.

which alternate between West Van “we ;
e

rae

rovation will be a 2 candi-
s-& Saturday, Nov. 6 —- at Park

and answer questions one-on-one, Add
individual advertising and publicity, and

yau'd think West Van voters would have |

no trouble at all making up their own
minds about their

choices, Bur then you'd | =

be forgetting che
WVCGG. . _.. .
It stands for West Van
Citizens for Good =.
Government (who

isn’t?) — formerly the’ ~

West Van Electors

Association
appointed clique |
“some 150 subscription

members which has.

; largely determined the
results of all West. Van municipal elections
over the past 20 years.

The CGG kicks off ca
its own all-candidaies meeting to whic
the general publi is kindly invited, Since
every candidate for mayor, council end

“school board — possibly totalling as,
“ ” imany as 15-20 -— has to be dealt w th in
‘_, a single evening, obviously'n none gets t

niake more than a passing impression

Later, each candidate is grilled by CGG -

directors in a private interrogation.
Finally comes the’ endorsati

"where the paid- up membership votes t

support the 12-candidate slate (mayor, :
council members and five school trustees

. recommended by its directors. Each’

selected candidate. must then ante
$400-$500 to be i inel i

” advertising.

Rather: amazingly ce
independence of outlook for. which

> Tid Hlycovians are ‘usually famous

kingmaker club, or failure
normally the electoral kiss
rer mayor. Humphreys, who sw
victory in 1978 after politely,zelli
to jump in the take, being one: 6
few. survivors). :
“In every electiori since the la
the WVEA ind late

: has been largely,

wo things
miracle, t

Agi ant
rinN rth: Ve