by parents, students and area merchants. NEW GROUP FORMS TO BEAUTIFY BRIDGE A NEW community group is calling on all three municipalities to make the North Shore more beautiful. The recently-formed Lions Gate North Project (LGNP), composed of members of the North and West Vancouver Community Arts Councils, has targeted the area at the north end of Lions Gate Bridge to be beautified. “Most people will share the view that the Lions Gate Bridge interchange zone, between Taylor Way and Capilano Road, re- quires a much stronger and more aesthestic visual image,’’ said honorary chairman of the project Don Lanskail at Monday's West Vancouver Counci! meeting. “In a word, the northern en- trance should be brought up to By DEAN CUMMER News Reporter the higher standard of the southern entrance at the edge of Stanley Park,” said Lanskail. RAISE STANDARD Monday's presentation was the first of a series of proposals the group will make to North Shore councils. The group wants broad com- munity support to raise the stan- dard of the north end of the bridge and is hoping for coopera- tion from the provincial gov- ernment, the three North Shore NEWS photo Terry Peters LARSON Elementary School students Ann Louise Olsen and Gordon Brown display examples of much-needed books and electronic learning equipment the parents’ association is hoping to buy with money raised through an auction. Scheduled to take place on March 13 at Holidays nightclub, the auction will feature services and goods donated ateway needs fla municipalities and the Squamish Indian Band. Lanskail told West Van counci: that Highways minister Alex Fraser had a positive attitude towards the project and that the treason for the organization’s presentation to council was to at- tract council’s interest, understanding and support of the project. Council was also asked ta par- ticipate in the committee by ar. pointing an alderman to the LGNP. NOT COHESIVE Details of the proposed bridge improvements were given by Judy Dennis, vice-president of the North Vancouver Community Arts Council. 3 ~ Wednesday, February 19, 1986 - North Shore News LARSON ELEMENTARY WEEDS BOUKS, MAPS PARENTS’ GROUP SAYS PARENTS of Larson Elementary School students are tak- ing education funding into their own hands. Faced with Larson’s dwindling financial resources and increasing need for such basic items as books and reference maps, the Parents Association of Larson School (PALS) is organizing a full-scale auction of everything from baked goods to windsurfing lessons. PALS vice-chairman Rob Darl- ing said Friday, ‘‘I don't like the idea of having to raise money for textbooks, because it’s something we never had to do when I was in school. But what it all comes down to is should we leave it up to the government or should we do it ourselves?"’ Darling said the auction is scheduled to take place at Holidays nightclub, 135 West First Street, North Vancouver on March 13 from 6:30 to 10 p.m., with a preview between 6:30 and 7:30 p.m. MERCHANTS HELP In addition to goods and services to be effered by the school’s parents and students, Darling said area merchants are being solicited for donations to the cause. Each merchant who makes a contribution will be acknowledged in both an auction catalogue, which will be sent out to auction ticket holders prior to the event, and with their business’ name beside what has .been donated, Darling said. As with auction items donated by parents and students, donations from merchants can be anything from goods to services. VOLUNTEERED TIME John Poser, owner of Good Stuff Games Corp., has volun- teered his vocal chords and per- sonality as the evening’s auc- tioneer, “We've never asked retailers for anything before,’' Darling said, “but as approximately 300 families and regular customers, we are ask- Dennis said that to date the North Shore ‘gateway’ lacks a cohesive plan because the re- sponsibility of the area falls under a number of jurisdictions. The result, she said, is no sense of entry to the North Shore; a weak visual image; poor circula- . tion for pedestrian bicycle traffic. Dennis added that the tourist information booth is too small and gets overlooked because of inadequate signs. SUPPORT Froposed improvements in- clude better circulation patterns to and from Lions Gate Bridge, teplacing the Capilano River bridge, planting and landscaping, improving signage in the area and removing clutter. News Reporter ing for their help now."” Because Larson school is one of four North Shore centres for French immersion, and the only designated centre for Program Cadre de Francais on the North Shore, the school's student popu- lation has ballooned from 197 to 425 over the past two years. Demand on library and other school resources has intensified with that population explosion to the point where ‘‘after three years of cutbacks, we are faced with 25 grade five students sharing nine books,’’ Darling said. “And teachers are using maps that were published in 1957. The school library has a book colfec- tion adequate for about 150 stu- dents and Larson has a population of over 400.”" SUPPLIES NEEDED The total annual library budget for English books at the school is $1,040. At $4 annually per student for its 170 English students, Lar- son is currently allotted $700 an- nually for textbooks. Total annual book budget for all text, library, and supplementary books for Lar- son is $12,000. ; Apart from books, Darling said Larson is also badly in need of audio visual and computer equipment, “No, J don’t think Larson is any worse off than other schools in the district,’’ Darling explained. ‘‘We just have very dedicated parents here, and we don’t want to see our children suffer.”” After raising close to $2,000 for Larson in the 1984-85 school year, PALS has raised $5,000 thus far in 1986 and is aiming to quadruple that total by year's end. Darling said the association hopes to raise $10,600 through the March auction. For ticket or donation information call Larson Elementary at 980-0447. ir} The area for improvement focuses on the bridge ramp, the North Vancouver approach, the West Vancouver approach and the traffic circle. West Vancouver council was supportive of the proposal, Ald. David Finlay said he hoped the committee would “move heaven and earth" to convince Victoria to replace the old truss bridge across the Capilano River. Mayor Derrick Humphreys said the idea was a good one but reminded the committee that the majority of the land which they want improved belongs to the Squamish Band and the Ministry of Highways and so their coop- eration was essential.