6 - Wednesday, April 22, 1987 ~ North Shore News News Viewpoint | Why still no 9117 I nal, The rejection of the project five years ago as ‘too costly’’ is nonsense when you consider the millions of public money we spend annually on rescue operations for victims of air, sea, road and mountain accidents, A life is a life, whether threatened afloat, in’ the wilderness — or at home. Heart atlacks, fire, swimm- ing poois and domestic mishaps kil} many people every year because of vilal minutes lost in contacting the nearest help. ““Nearest’’ is the operative word. The only central number presently available to North Shore residents is 872-5151 — highly forgettable in a stress situation — which reaches Provincial Emergency Services. Precious seconds or longer can then be lost while the remote dispatcher contacts the appropriate service in’ the caller’s community. Delays can be even greater if there’s any borderline confusion. For example, the’ Woodcroft apartment towers, located in West Van with a North Van address. In most cases urgently needed help comes from the local fire department with its four to five minute response time anywhere in the community. So what, today, stands in the way of simply programming the prefix digits of all community phone numbers to con- nect 911” callers directly to their own fire hall instead i Display Advertising 980-0511 Publisher: Peter Speck Classified Advertising 986-6222 Editor-in-Chief Noel Wright Newsroom 985-2131 Managing Editor . Barrett Fisher Distribution 986.1337 Subscriptions 986.1337 Advertising Director Linda Stewart “ " ‘ ef in Pvagest whe a tte re dar THE VOICE OF NOTH AND WEST VANCOUVER SUNDAY « WEDNESOAY + FRIDAY 1139 Lonsdale Ave. n this electronic and still relatively afflvent age the North Vancouver, B.C, ¥7M 2H4 delay in providing the North Shore with a 911 emergency phone number is Jitthe short of crimi- Err ety VOB! Lior Shore Free Press Lid Ab rights reserved 56,287 (average, Vlednesday . Friday & Sundays Cote DIINO SURE, WELL CLEAN UP ACID RAIN, AS SOON AS CANADA CLEANS UP THOSE UNSIGHTLY TREES AND SMELLY ROTTING FISH. of to a ‘‘messenger’’ source of help? switchboard miles away from the As to the bill, Toronto’s 911 system, serving 2.5 mil- . lion people, costs $1.5 million — hardly an impossible price for the many lives ihat speed can save. ‘Noel Wright @ wednesday world ® THE LONELIES ‘T PLACE in the world (they used to say before the days of female gas jockeys) is where a lady has a flat. Jean Trilby Higinbotham (of West Van has a warm little story on the subject. A couple of Sundays ago, setting out to meet her daughter at the Tsawwassen ferry, she found herself standing beside her flat in the rain on the Upper Levels with cars’ galore speeding by heedless. She was just about to start walking to a service station when a gent with his -young daughter stopped and ‘offered to put on her spare — saying he hoped someone would do as much for his wife. While he was busy, Jean stepped backward and fell over the tire lying on the road. ‘“*l was so worried about missing my daughter's ferry, embarrassed for my womanly incompetence and altogether flustered,’’ she says, “that I neglected to get specific in- formation so that I could properly thank these very kind people at a later date.’’ Talking to the young girl, however, she did discover that her name was Shahesi Lalani and that they lived somewhere in the Mountain Highway area. Jean made the ferry in the nick of time and she'd still like to thank her rescuer again in person. Over to you, Mr. Lalani — if you care to call me at 985-2131, we'll put you in touch. -_* FAVORITE MUSIC GUYS of North Van celebrate this weekend during the wind-up of North Van Youth Band Week. Friday and Saturday see a reunion of some 130 present and former NVYB members from 1970 onward at the International Plaza, followed Sunday (April 26) by a 7:30 p.m. concert in the Centennial Theatre — tickets from any band member or at the door. Two years from now, incidentally, they’ll be comb- ing the woods in search of all sur- viving members from 1939 onward — for the band’s big 50th birthday party. a LETTER OF THE DAY Dear Editor: I have just once more received in the mail a batch of columns writ- ten by your ‘star’ writer, and let- ters respecting him both pro and con — mostly con. Being a long- time backer of Mr. Collins, it always amuses me that his detrac- tors seem invariably to concentrate on a given column which par- ticularly irritates them. Rather than judge the ‘whole’ man and the great body of his work, they see only isolated comments. Also, many seem determined to have him : t ‘fired’. This too is amusing because those who shout ‘bigot and racist’ the loudest are themselves guilty of the same thing. It is very simple — if they don’t like Mr. Collins, don’t read him! For my own part, Collins’ pithy style of writing, his keen sense of humor, his individualistic ap- proach to controversial matters, and his continuing search for the truth as he sees it, always gives me great pleasure and is delightful- ly refreshing when compared to a IBS lll,” VOLUNTEERS UNLIMITED — for everything from office assistance and the coffee bar to daily phone calls to the house- bound and driving to medical ap- pointments — might be a better name for West Van Seniors Activi- ty Centre. Honored for 1986 activ- ities at a lunch earlier this month chaired by Ald. Pat Boname were no less than 240 members (sorry, no space to list individual names!), with a special tribute from Rec Superintendent Ralph Ferstay to Fred Titcomb for his six years as caairmas of the Seniors Advisory Committee. ee WRAP-UP: Wear a red rose tomorrow in your buttonhole (or wherever) for St. George of Merry England, the late William Shakespeare (born April 23, 1564) and North Van birthday girls Joan Gemmell and Penny Metcalfe ... Wedding bells ring next Saturday (April 25) at St. Clements Anglican Church, North Van, for the | p.m. vows to be exchanged there by Freda Judd and Alan Horne, \iceaia Tins Guster. followed by a reception at the church hall ... Meanwhile, there’s help at hand for those whose per- sonal problem is a_ problem drinker. A North Shore support group for family members and others close to a p.d. meets regu- larly to swap experiences and help one another. Call Joyce at 929- 2781 for details. et WRIGHT OR WRONG: A flashlight is something you carry dead batteries in. NEWS photo Torry Peters WINNIE THE POOH lives on!...When Upper Lynn School chose a bear as its mascot this month, students like Amanda Davie and Iain McCaan (above) brought in over 300 teddies of their own for the bear awareness week display. most of the dull, witless and staid columnists in other papers. I hope you, the editors, always continue to give him your support, He is worth every penny! The following are a few verses which I think may be timely in view of the rash of pit bull stories. Perhaps they may amuse those of your readers who have a sense of humor — and even Mr. Collins himself! THE PIT BULL Now the pit bulls they are everywhere And with their strong jaws do bite They’re intransigent and ferocious And grab anything in sight! There’s a pit bull too on the North Shore, He writeth for the North Shore News. But this pit bull does not bite, He merely doth amuse! He hath a sense of humor And great wit to boot. But because he is a pit bull tho’ Some him would like to shoot! Many letters they do scorn him But he merely shows his teeth. Unlike the other pit bulls It’s the truth that he doth seek! So here’s to this North Shore pit bull, May he live forever. And continue to write his stuff, Which to me is so darn clever! A. Groves New Westminster