a FANS :ERS “ARAL UNION 218 Ue NEWS photo Mike Wakefiald ‘DISPATCHERS AND office staff employed by North Shore Taxi walked off the job Monday when ' contract talks between the union and company management broke down. Employees picket taxi co. Contract talks break off at North Shore Taxi A GROUP of North Shore a. Taxi’ employees: went on _ Strike Monday after con- tract talks between the -company and the union : broke off. The workers are employed as _ dispatchers and office staff and _ are represented by local 213 of the Teamsters union. Drivers for ’ North Shore Taxi are not involved in the dispute. ... Nosth Shore Taxi was still ‘operating its fleet of cabs on Tuesday, despite the presence of a picket line in front of its Pember- ton Avenue office in North Van- couver. A union news release stated the union has been attempting to teach a new collective agreement with North Shore Taxi for months and that management has applied for mediation services. “The three days spent in media- tion ended with management tabl- ing a rather disturbing proposal in which management refused to in- clude any of our key issues which include training, seniority, shift and job security and employees’ rights,’ stated the news release. The union added that mediation efforts broke off as a result of Management not being willing to discuss these issues. “it is our position that, in an ever escalating manner, the board of directors and their appointed manager have dealt with staff in a confrontational and unreasonable manner. “Cn more than one occasion they have broken our current con- tractuel agreement, resulting in hardship for several employees,’’ said t!:c union news release. North Skore Taxi management representatives were not available for comment to press time Tues- day. |Atsuko and the Aussie tells story of wartime sacrifices ‘ALMOST 50 YEARS ago, ‘Douglas Mancktelow made a wartime decision that forever changed his life and the life of a young . Japanese woman. By A.P. McCredie News Reporter After serving in New Guinea with the Australian army for six years, Mancktelow volunteered with the Australian army in 1945 for duty in occupied Japan. After reliving the horrors of war during two tours of duty in ‘| Korea, he returned to Japan. -The country and its people had captured his heart amidst the cruelties of war. ; It was then that he met At- suko, a young woman with a proud samurai heritage. Her family business was ruined dur- ing the war and her two brothers were killed in action. From her family’s farm in the country she saw the formation of the deadly mushroom cloud over Hiroshima. Liaisons between Japanese girls and foreign soldiers were not a rarity during this period, but Mancktelow’s desire to marry his Japanese sweetheart posed a majer problem. Australia’s all-white immigra- tion policy ruled out the couple's desire to Jive in Mancktelow’s homeland. Other obstacles stood in the way. Atsuko’s mother had the secret police drag her daughter away from the Aussie on numerous occasions, forbidding her to see the young soldier. While courting Atsuko in Japan, Mancktelow would see Japanese brides returning alone from Australia, shamed by Aussie society into leaving their husbands. In a move right out of the pages of a romance novel, Man- cktelow joined the Canadian army. Canada, unlike Australia, did index @& Lifestyles @ North Shore Now TV Listings @ What's Going On Printed on 10% recycled newsprint not have a policy against soldiers returning home with Japanese brides. But the sacrifice of jcining the Canadian army was a dear one for the 32-year-old soldier. “J hadn’t seen my father for 13 years, my sister for 16 years and a brother for 25 years,”’ recalls the North Vancouver res- ident. ‘‘My father was sad to hear I would not be coming home after all those years.” Atsuko had also made a tremendous sacrifice. Her mother disowned her over her decision to marry the Aussie. “‘Afrer all those years in bat- tle, we were fighting again — to marry the ones we loved,’’ said Mancktelow. The couple were married in Japan in a secret wedding. In 1987 they began their life as man and wife in Canada. The story of Atsuko and the Aussies’ life together was possi- ble because of the ultimate sacri- fice made by those we honor to- day. Weather Thursday, showers, High 10°C, Low 3°C; Friday, rain, High 12°C, Low 5°C Canadian Publications Mail Sales Product Agreement Number 0087238 Wednesday, Nov. 11, 1992 - North Shore News - 3 Council seeks new approach to youth issues Support youth initiatives in wake of dance club rejection SENDING A message that the city is not against youth was the order of business at Monday’s North Vancouver City Council meeting. By Layne Christensen Contributing Writer Council unanimously supported a motion forwarded by Coun. John Braithwaite to direct staff to work with community and youth service agencies and ‘‘identify a tange of possible activities for youth which could be promoted in cooperation with the community.”’ The motion came in response to ‘San outpouring’? of negative public reaction te council’s Oct. 26 decision to reject a proposal for a teen dance club in the Lower Lonsdale area, said Braithwaite. “I wanted the public to know that this council in general is for youth,”’’ he said. ‘‘Just because we turned down the issue (of a teen dance club) twice doesn’t mean that we’re not supporting youth.”’ Braithwaite told council the community must rally in support of youth activities and specifically youth dances, just as it did fol- lowing the ‘Halloween Riot"’ of 1966, when ‘thousands of kids coming from all over’? crossed the Lions Gate and Second Narrows bridges and gathered at Edgemont Village in North Vancouver. At that time, Braithwaite said, he and others worked to hold a series of community youth dances on a weekly basis. Coun. Bill Bell, who told coun- cil he had participated in the Hal- loween Riot ‘‘at a very young age’’ and had benefitted from the dances, said he was ‘‘ecstatic”’ over Braithwaite’s motion. “There has been a tremendous outpouring from the young people a NORTH VANCOUVER CITY COUNCIL in the community ... who are very upset at this council because this council, regardless of its inten- tions, sent the wrong message,”’ he said. Coun. Stella Jo Dean also sup- ported the need for council to reaffirm its position in support of youth activities and added that the North Vancouver Recreation Commission (NVRC) has been “very remiss in not doing more for young people who want to have a dance ... when the City and District (of North Vancouver) are putting up about $3 million’’ for the NVRC. The idea of community-based youth dances also appealed to Coun. Barbara Perrault who said she preferred to see youth activi- ties taking place ‘in a controlled local environment where youth are not at risk’” and where ‘‘transpor- tation systems can’t bring in peo- ple from outside who could ... somehow undermine everything that their parents and community are irying to teach them.”’ Coun. Barbara Sharp questioned whether the motion duplicated the efforts of the North Vancouver Youth Services Committee which just last week had formalized a work plan and budget for 1993. “So it’s not as if these kinds of things aren’t already being looked at,”’ Sharp pointed out. But Mayor Jack Loucks called the motion to direct social plan- ning staff to work toward a solu- tion with the NVRC, the youth services committee, and other youth agencies, a good sign. ‘ Through ‘‘working together on the same problem ... we may be getting a solution faster than some of us anticipated,”’ he said. Increase in development cost charges considered A PROPOSED change to West Vancouver’s current schedule of development cost charges could hit de- velerers heavily in the pockeéibook. By Maureen Curtis Contributing Writer The changes would affect the charges that developers are asked to pay when developing new lots. “These are the first proposed changes since 1983,’’ said Coun. Ron Wood. The proposal was in- troduced at the November 9 meeting of West Vancouver District Council. “The purpose of the develop- ment cost charges is to have the developers assist the municipality in recovering the cost of develop- ment to the community,’’ said Director of Finance George Hor- wood on Monday. The proposed increases are significant, Horwood admitted. They vary from 163% to 300%. Horwocd did not consider the in- creases unreasonable considering the rate of inflation since 1983, WEST VANCOUVER DISTRICT COUNCIL Since then, the cost charges have lagged behind the actual cost the municipality must bear to put im the water, sewer, drainage, parks and the other amenities needed to service a new develop- ment or meet the needs of an ex- panding community. “It is important to note that many other capital facilities that are necessitated by new develop- ment are not included such as rec- reation, library, schools, fire, police, park development and parking,’’ Horwood said in his report to council. The charges are collected at the time of subdivision or during the issuance of a building peymit. Where a developer provides park land or services (beyond the land being developed) the cost charges can be reduced. According to Horwood, the charges have fallen far short of the actual costs, with the re- mainder being paid by aii tax- payers.