& - Wednesday, July 26, 1989 - North Shore News INSIGHTS if they can’t grasp it, that is their problem I DON’T KNOW HOW good a shot my old ex-buddy is. But had Doug Collins lived a century and a half ago, he’d have to have been pretty handy with a pistol. Every couple of weeks or so in those days a Preston Manning, an Aziz Khaki, a UBC professor or some male supporter of MP Mary Collins would have demanded to meet Doug and his seconds at dawn in the park. Doug might have been silenced quite soon — with a quarter of an ounce of well-aimed lead. Today, duels have been replaced by furious letters to the editor, “thereby enabling the rest of us to have enjoyed both Doug AND the letters for 35 years. Since his retirement last month almost everything that can be said about Doug’s colorful contribution to the democratic process has been said — culminating in Saturday’s “roast”? attended by nearly 700 of his devoted fans. As editor-in-chief during his first three years with the News, I can only add a couple of personal tributes. Firstly, Doug is a true profes- sional. He’s a glutton for homework and his research on any subject he tackles is meticulous. You may love or loathe his conclu- sions, but you never have to worry about his facts. Admirers who praise him for ‘‘telling it like it is” are usually talking about his opi- nions. They may not always realize how literally true it is of his in- formation. In working relationships he’s equally responsible and conscien- tious. From Day One he never gave me a single extra grey hair — thanks, among other things, to his monumental knowledge of every fine line in the law of libel! Once in a while we debated the odd word or phrase in his column. Doug always listened and consid- ered carefully, and I returned the compliment. In the end we never failed to reach an amicable agree- ment. med DOUG Collins ...gut values. It might all still have come to nothing, however, without the steadfast support of publisher Peter Speck who -— never once flinching — stared down in turn Press Councils, noisy sidewalk demonstrations and fanatics trying to intimidate our advertisers. Peter knows more about press freedom IN ACTION than most of his kind will ever experience. Tough-talking Doug is ‘‘tough love’’ in action: a fearless champi- on of those gut values shared by most Canadians —- straight deal- ing, fairness and decency — which Halt herbicides _ JZ NOR DIRECTION as to whether it should aban- don its policy of regularly spraying school play- ing fields with herbicides, North Vancouver School District 44 need look no further than to West Vancouver Schoo! District 45’s policy of limited spray- ing or to BC Rail’s recent decision to curtail herbicide use along North Shore rail track beds. Chemical spraying, on private and public lands, is unpopular with the public, an¢ rightly so. __ As we close out the 20th century, it is becoming painfully obvious that our world is a finite entity. We can no lunger afford to regularly discharge toxins into the biosphere siad expect nature to take it aii in stride. In District 44’s case, the policy of annually spraying gravel playing fields with simazine or Roundup has staff and trustees caught between the rocks and a hard place. Regular users of the fields want a weed-free surface and herbicide opponents would like to see the playing surfaces herbicide-free. - ‘The answer lies in developing a reguiar maintenance program that doesn’t depend on chemicals. Mechanical weed control may be more labor intensive, but the ap- proach offers a benign solution to a perennial prob- lem. A school board decision to drop the regular her- bicide spraying program would see trustees scoring points with both the public and cur beleaguered Mother Earth. ; ; up to now-have made our society so Widely envied. World War Two, in which he won the Military Medal, taught him how fragile such values can be. If his critics can’t grasp the vital need to keep on defending them, that’s THEIR problem — not Doug’s! kak TAILPIECES: Those melodious North Shore maidens, the Sweet Adelines, have vacancies for some additional songbirds. If you’d like to exercise your Jarnyx and share the fun at their Wednesday evening rehearsals, call Jo Webster, 922- 0476...Well worth seeing are Kai Opre’s oils of North Van on exhib- it at City Hall, 141 Vest 14th, 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. weekdays...Oniy three days left to get your tickets ($10) from Eaton’s, Park Royal, for Sunday’s 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. tour of eight Award Winning North Shore Gardens...And then there was Kent Peterson of Bur- naby who — visiting on Sentinel Hill the other day with Mickey, his pet Macaw bird — wound up at © the top of a 90-ft cedar. Mickey had accidentally got loose and gone exploring. After an hour and a half he was still up there on the crown of the tree, admiring the view of Lions Gate Bridge and forcing Keni to start his hair-rais- ing climb. Both eventually got down in one piece, maverick Mickey tightly wrapped in a jacket! zeke WRIGHT OR WRONG: We got where we are by talent. All the others got where they are by sheer luck. 4 ; Wawra Fis Gest, Publisher Associate Editor suburban newspaper and qualified under Spat Paragraph Ii of the Excise Tax Act, is publisned each Wednesday, Friday and Sunday by North Shore Frez Press Lid. and distributed to every door on the North Shore. Second Class Mail Registration Number 3885. Subscriptions North and West Vancouver, $25 per year. Mailing rates available on request. Submissions are weicome bul we cannot accept responsibility Peter Speck Managing Editor... Barrett Fisher Noel Wright Advertising Director . Linda Stewart Nosth Shore News, founded in 1969 as an independent Schedute 111. See column item. THE VONCE OF NORTH AND WEST WANCOLVER ews SUNDAY © WEONESDAY - FRIDAY 1139 Lonsdale A senue, North Vancouve:, B.C. V7M 2H4 59,170 (average, Wednesday Friday & Sunday for unsolicited material inciuding manuscripts and pictures a sed which should be accompanied by a stamped, addres: envelope,” Entire contents © 1989 North Shore Fr. SDA DIVISION Photos submitted STILL A LONG WAY io the floor...Kent Peterson edges cautiously down the 90 ft. cedar, hatding Mickey (inset) tightly wrapped in a jacket. Display Advertising . Classified Advertising Ne.vsroom Oistribution Subsciptions Fax ——-—— MEMBER North Shore owned and mariaged ee Press Ltd. All rights reserved.