VIEW POINT— Deadly jump HE arrival of high tempera- tures and blue skies is usually a cause for celebration on the wet coast. We ditch the Gore-Tex and gum- ‘boots, slip into shorts and sandals and make the most of our spectacular natural environment. But at Lynn Canyon Park the sea- sonal change brought nothing but tragedy last Sunday. For North Shore residents it was _ the return of that sinking feeling — lemming-like teens looking to make a ‘. big splash leaping into unforgiving waters. Some make it through their _ extreme sport trials by water and live on to tell the tales: The trouble is that all too oftea, some don’t. It was 19- year-old Paul Maheeya Moran’s turn to become the latest grim statistic on June: 25. oy st ot censors nioney is cing spent foolishly a and © wisely. as the hospital desperately needs new equipment. 7 ch’as an’ MRI. machine. : Since 1976, Lynn Canyon has been host to at least 17 accidental deaths and three possible suicides. Rescue agencies and North Vancouver District have done their best to draw attention to the dangers of the waters in our North Shore canyons. Fencing and signage are in place, and in the case of Lynn Canyon Park, district park rangers patrol a two-mile stretch of Lynn Canyon in alternating shifts from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. daily. Ultimately we're all responsible for our own fates. If we choose to risk death recklessly, so. be it. The conse- quences are broader, however. The lives of rescuers are put at risk and the lives of families and friends left behind are changed forever. The message is out: don’t jump into Lynn Creek; it’s a killer. . _ Preston 1M convinced the pundits are 4 reading Preston Manning’s min _all wrong — iike a foreign lan- guage of which they know little Soot “Hasta la vista” or “Voulez- vous coucher avec mo?” | “Stiinned” was a. - favourite Punditland - _word ta.describe \ Manning after Stockwell - Day opened up an cight- rcentige-paint gap in fast ‘weekend's a _ Alliance leadership race. A CBC television wentevsevevsnvesotovcocorerscase: - cum-Central- Canadian establi Early Ed ion Pro ecky” Ross _ $50, 060. ‘government grant 's ‘she received to pro-.: ok mn. Str «artists. was: j tified | because. ... announce . them day-to-da » mind-reader declared there was a big “H” in Manning's head when the results were - for “Hurt.”. + Man, what would we do without the -- CBC’s extrasensory insights into /a condi- tion canadienne ? _ The good grey. Globe and Mait has been a study in itself,-Its relentlessly negative coverage of Reform’and now Alliance has utterly stripped away its pretense of being “Canada’s national newspaper” and . “mocked its frantic attempts to ingratiate itself with the West. The voluminous bulk of Globe com- o ment has been borne by John ibbitson —: . “who, all bur a a Queen’s Park re “means (a) Ibbitson was -Alliancer its editors could dredge up in the ~ peculiarly, is not an Ottawa staffer at’ rter. This surely» ¢ most ‘rabid anu- office, and/or (b) they assigned an off- Ottawa pundit free to slag Alliancers unstintingly because he won’t be facing hereafter.: ~ ; “National affairs”. (i.¢., ‘Torontocentric) “co umnist Jeffrey Simpson sees Day as “a ACTUALLY, ITS THe CHANCE OF A WILDCAT STRIKE THAT HAS ME WORRIED... throwback to Social Credit, that ‘amalgam of evangelical Christianity, political pop- ulism and conservatism that governed [Alberta] for three and a half decades.” Simpson is silent on how infinitely better , Alberta’s governance was, and under still is, than Ontario's .. fiscaholic debtophiles - ~ Liberal David Peterson. and New Democrat Bob: . Rac. ; But I digress, though enjoyably, don’t you agree? I've seen Manning _. up close going back to: . 1988 (remem When. the panicky “liberal”- himent por stand the whole man better than’ the" Ortawa media’s status-quo-ters. It’s obvious the smart Manning knew ". what a great personal gamble he was taking when he stepped down from his comfort: . able perch as Opposition leader to mother- ~ hen the new party. But more than that: P'd bet he knew there was an excellent chance’ ~: /. he'd be beaten for the Alliance leadership, \: -now to be decided in the July § run-off. And more again: I’d farther bet that in ~ his heart of hearts Manning mused that his losing the race would be no bad thing — because he truly believes that the party and Canada’s future direction come first.’ - Only in stick-figures Medialand do we “ cOristruct a man this smart'as not anticipat-':.~ ”” Ving that he would be up against the Fresh- .) : Face: “Factor. Surely he grasped ¢ thar thar 3 alone would give any half-attractive competitor @ fe" percentage points’ edge over hins. And tha LETTERS TO THE EDITOR must include your. _ Conservative Ralpn Kicin _if he, Manning, did: win; meat to the cynical pols and media hi followers who would A chon that,