JUSTIN CASE You WAD ADVANCING... 6 - Wednesday, March 21, 1990 - North Shore News THOUGHT CIVILIZATION NE enti MANA AMARURNORAY DeearTIRvnanineee ‘ Neen nemnnennanne SAANAAUN AION ON “ii LGH faces tobacco reality ers’ lounge at Lions Gate Hospital can hardly be applauded but it can nonetheless be defended on various T= DECISION to build a smok- grounds. While smoking is a known killer, con- tributing to the death of an estimated 35,000 Canadians each year, LGH can- not be expected to single-handedly lead the North Shore population along the road to non-smoking salvation. The devastating effects of smoking and the lunacy of becoming involved in the habit should be addressed long be- fore peopie arrive at the doors of LGH, whether it be as patient, employee. And without the lounge, the hospital’s front doors are about as close as many smokers are able to get to LGH. As a drive past LGH’s entrances wili Save old trees. for our children OPEN LETTER TO WEST VANCOUVER DISTRICT COUNCIL It is with regret and horror that I read the report on the fate of $00-year-old trees in the Upper Caulfeild area of West Vancouver. I came to the North Shore in 1962. After looking around the Lower Mainland for a place to set- tle and raise a family, this area appealed more than any other because of the way in which it had been deliberately planned to try to retain the forested character of the hillside. The homes were at that time unpretentious and mostly fitted in well with their surroundings, pro- Publisher Associate Editor Snote Second Chass Mu . Peter Speck Managing Editor Timothy Renshaw Noel Wright Advertising Director Linda Stewart North Shore News, tounded in 1969 a5 an independert suburban newspaper and qualited under Schedule Patagtaph 11 of ine Excise Tae Act. is publisted Wednesday. Friday and Sundsy oy Nanh Snore Press Ltd and distibuted $0 every door an tte Notp V7M 2H4 Trahan Meurer ae pursuing their pital. from staff and But @ personal or visiior or illustrate, smokers have been relegated to addiction outside the hos- The situation has raised complaints visitors, who find running a gantlet of smokers unpieasant and, perhaps, ridiculous. Rabid non-smokers will argue that nicotine addicts should be forced outside to suffer for their sins. a more charitable view would allow that many of these addicts are people forced to visit the hospital during family crisis and iikely under great stress. The LGH smokers’ lounge is not an endorsation of smoking, but rather the non-smokers. mie viding an atmosphere that was both restful, private and coun- trylike. Progress cannot be halted, but planned and carefully choreographed progress can help to retain both character and en- vironmental sensibility. The trees in question are, we are told, in the way. What nonsense is this? Cannot the planners of de- velopments realize that these are the very essence of what makes a development beautiful and attrac- tive? These giants cannot be replaced, nor can they be valued in dollars and cents, but their very existence has helped us thus far to retain the air we breathe and are proud of it. For a municipal manager to bleat “‘there is nothing that can be done because the trees are on private land’’ is at worst cause for his resignation and at best enough 1139 Lonsdale Avenue. North Vancouver, BC 59,170 (average. Wednesday hospital board’s recognition that the all-out smoking ban in the hospital was unsatisfactory for both smokers and to make us want to scream at such inanity. If West Vancouver is to retain its character and appeal, let the council draw bylaws concerning the preservation of the elements that make up that character, with sufficient ‘‘teeth’’ in the clauses to which developers must conform. The rape of the Caulfeild Plateau (Sahalee), etc. was the biggest blunder this municipality ever allowed to happen and is an eyesore for ali who approach from the west. It should never have been toler- ated, let alone extended, and now to ruin 500 years of growth for the sake of one road, when carefui planning could have avoided tiis tree, is yet another nail in the cof- fin of the West Vancouver appeal. Ralph Meyer West Vancouver nT Display Advertising 986-0511 north shore. Classified Advertsing 986 6222 : 1 f Newsroom 985-2134 news. Orstnbution 926-1337 Salient = Suiscrptions 9861337 Fas 985 3227 MEMBER Matlng tates tv. QUEST SUbINEQIONE ACD welcome cannot acceph responsnlity unsolicited mal INCI MARUSCApS APA pe ny whch Shaul be ACCOM puted Oy a SIIB GUTEN Send envelope Friday & Sunday} SDA DIVISION North Shore owned and managed Entire contents ‘«. 1990 North Shore Freé Press Ltd. All rights reserved. ° hither and yon © School funds NA | don't grow in the forest THE MONEY tree is ns ionger just a myth. It has become a religion, attracting more and more disciples. Generous souls, all of them, especially when it comes to spending other peopie’s dollars. Among them, it seems, are West Van Schools Superintendent Doug Player and numerous other readers who've slapped my wrist sharply for suggesting ‘‘user-pay’’ refer- endums to raise extra cash for local schools might be a sound idea. All the Wright-bashers cite the supposed analogy of health care costs. What I’m saying, charges Peggy Snelling of North Van, is equivalent to saying each B.C. pa- lent should receive a set amount of funding for health care. If more is needed, a referendum should be held to ask family and friends if they agree to financing the extra care. Excuse me, madam, | am saying no such thing. What ! AM saying is that socie- ty, just like any family or individ- ual, has to distinguish between the things that are desirable — even highly desirable — and the things that are essential. For individuals the essentials are pretty obvious: minimal shelter, food, warmth and sufficient clothing to protect against the elements. In short, anything which, if lacking, would impair physica! well-being and could sooner or later become life- threatening. By the same token you can’t rigidly ‘‘cap’’ the cost of firefighters, clean water or lifesav- ing medical treatment, to mention just three absolutely vital services. If they go over budget, so be it. We must then economize on some- thing desirable but NOT absolutely vital. Quite clearly, education is ex- tremely desirable in today’s woyld — alike for the future of the stu- dent and the future of of society. But suppose little Johnay’s teacher wants more money to buy a new car which he can’t afford on his share of little Johnny’s annual $5,000-plus from Toxy Brummet. When it comes to funding, is the teacher’s pay hike now equal in importance to heart surgery for a patient who'll die without it? Never mind, you say. Simply make EVERY taxpayer pay for teacher’s new car if it will make Johnny’s school a happier place REFORMER Manning ...$30,000 worth of food for thought. 1 ‘ fi EDUCATION Minister Brummet ..-$5,000-plus for Johnny. where he'll learn better. Otherwise, let Victoria cut something less desirable. Welfare, maybe, or the homeowner grant, or seniors’ housing. How about that — jobless single moms trying to feed two toddlers, young first-time homeowners grappling with a $1,000-a-month mortgage aod widowed grans struggling to survive on the OAP? The point, dear fellow taxpayers (put here p«rhaps a trifle bluntly) being that essentials we MUST have, no matter the cost — and for everything else, however desirable, the choice ultimately is between budgeting and bankruptcy. If we think government budgeting is haywire, we can always elect another government. But that won’t help either —: as lorg as folk keep on believing that dollars grow somewhere in the forest! att DATELINES: If you get mad about the GST, Meech and Moun- tie turbans, phone Helen Steven- son, 921-9250, pronto for a ticket to the $30,000 Reform Party fund- raiser March 31 at the Westin Bayshore, starring leader Preston Manning, Reform Party caucus Deborah Grey, MP, and senator- in-waiting Stan Waters. At $125 a plate (tax deductible) it’s not the cheapest Saturday dinner ont — yet some 230 of the 300 tickets had been snapped up by last weekend and the rest are reported to be go- ing fast ... You can always economize the night before the RP splurge with a $15 buffet dinner at the March 30 spring charity auc- tion of the North Shore Counsell- ing Centre in West Van Secondary — call 926-5495 to book ... And meanwhile any old Gilmoreans hereabouts are invited to contact Jerry Triggs, 298-3244, re the up- coming 75th reunion, June 9, of Burnaby’s Gilmore Community School. nae WRIGHT OR WRONG — Overheard on the PR cocktails cir- cuit: ‘When baiting a mouse trap with cheese, always leave room for the mouse.”