WV community group should be commended for Odeon ACTION Dear Editor: I read with interest and growing annoyance the March 18 article by News reporter Evelyn Jacob con- cerning the controversy over the future of the West Vancouver Odeon site. As a relatively new resident of West Vancouver, but one who has fond memories of Saturday mati- nees at the Odeon, I have been in- trigued by the efforts of the “ACTION” community group to maintain that historic structure in a form which would have provid- ed present and future focal resi- dents with something special in the midst of the Ambleside com- mercial district. My interest became such that I attended the West Vancouver Council meeting on Feb, 24, at which four representatives of ACTION addressed the council. Whether one agrees or disagrees with the proposition put forward by ACTION, the representations made to council that evening were articulate and balanced. I read the , 22-page ‘‘Concept Proposal for a Cultural/Multi-Media_ Facility’’ which ACTION produced. It was a proposal which, in my view, had considerable merit. Indeed, in her address to the council meeting Brenda Berck, of the North Shore Arts Commis- sion, as much as said so. She also acknowledged that the concept put forward by ACTION had consid- erable public support. This fact was underscored by the large number of supportive people who attended the council meeting to hear the matter discussed. What these people did not hear was anything sensible in the way of a comment or question concer- ning the proposal from any alderman present. To his credit, Mayor Sager made one or two remarks which clearly indicated he had a good grasp of the issue and that he acknowledged the level of public interest. Given what I have cither seen or understand on reliable authority to have taken place to date con- cerning the activities of ACTION in respect of the Odeon site, I find Ald. Boname’s remarks, as quoted by your Ms. Jacob, to be nothing short of astonishing. Mr. James Hazell and the other local citizens who have shown real public-spirited concern for their community and considerable ini- tiative in advocating their views are to be commended. David O. Marley West Vancouver MAILBOX NEWs TIEM: GorpoN WISN REGUENS FREE Ferry PAGES FoR BEAUTY PAGEANT Aly contest U onder ¢ beat free BC. Ferries should consult WV first Dear Editor: _ _ The recent proposal by the B.C. Ferry Corporation (BCFC) to run the Nanaimo ferry every two hours all night has left me wondering about my voice in a democratic society. What does the BCFC think it is doing by submitting a proposal to Glen Clark, the Finance Minister, without any word to Horseshoe Bay residents or to West Van- couver City Council? Horseshoe Bay is already noisy enough during the daytime without trucks running in and out of the terminal at all hours of the night. And the area needs a rest so the breeze can carry the smog away. Having the terminal open all night will encourage loitering. Do we really want transient individu- als who are waiting to catch a ferry lurking in the darkness in our neighborhood? The police department will no doubt be busi- er than ever answering burglar alarms. The entire North Shore will also be affected from the night sailing proposal as there will be more truck traffic than usual on the highway. Heavily laden chemical trucks regularly travel Highway 99 over the Second Narrows Bridge, through North Vancouver and in- to West Vancouver on their way to the ferry terminal. During the daytime, emergency crews can respond quickly in the event of a spill or accident involv- ing hazardous chemicals. A key factor in dealing with certain chemicals (an example would be chlorine gas) is the ability to see the cloud of toxic gas. At night, emergency crews may be unable to chart the movement of a cloud of toxic gas and many sleeping resi- dents’ lives may be at stake. The BCFC takes so much out of our community. What do we receive in return? We pay ‘‘West Van" taxes and are subject to more pollution, noise and inconvenience from the ferry terminal than the rest of the municipality. Martin Erast West Vancouver N. Shore News Mailbox policy LETTERS TO the editor must include your name, written legibly, your full address and telephone number. Due to space contrasints the North Shore News <2anot publish all letters. Published letters may be edited for brevi- ty, clarity, accuracy, legality and taste. Letters can he faxed to 985-3227, Tyranny and trepidation in Tiddlycove | I DON’T know about you, but I’m really beginning to feel sorry for West Vancouverites lately. There’s just no end to the abuse they’re expected to put up with. First they get viciously jabbed for having the foresight, wisdom —— not to mention cheque book —- to hire a full-time fundraiser for Sentinel High School, whose duty it is to raise $500,000 per year for new boxes of chalk, one or two pointer sticks and the occasional field trip to Tahiti. The unenlightened critics responsible for the scurrilous twaddle against this excellent scheme don’t even have the wherewithal to live on this side of . the water, for Pete’s sake. - Most of them come from pla:es like (ugh) Burnaby, (whew) Cs- * quitlam, or even (omigod!) Sur- rey, where they complain they can’t scare up enough rubber che- ques to buy an eraser. Do they think it’s any easier in the wall safe capital of the world? Well, it isn’t. You can bet the family Ferrari on that one. The March of Dimes isn’t even allowed in West Van until it changes its slogan to the March of Pennies With a Tax Receipt. So how, I ask you, do the crit- ical riff-raff, who live on the wrong side of both bridges, expect Sentinel’s hireling to fare any better? rere 7 HUGHES’ VIEWS I have no idea where the guy goes to beg for booty, although I did see someone who looked a lit- tle like him standing on the corner of Main and Powell yesterday morning. There he was sporting sunglasses, a tin cup full of pen- cils in his hand, and a seeing-eye dog at his feet. Around the dog’s neck was a huge cardboard sign with these words printed in block capitals: ‘‘Save the children of the rich snots on the hill!!’” He was making a killing, by the way. As if all this weren’t humilia- tion enough, along comes the up- pity, lickspittle, lackey govern- ment of the proletariat, with the suggestion that the plebs from the Island should be able to go back and forth on the ferries at all hours of the day and night so they can see the occasional hockey game, for God’s sake. Don’t they have a sport to watch over there, like stick ball or something? I mean, think of the noise! These West Van homes are only built with enough soundproofing to withstand a minor fracas, such as a sonic boom, not the full-scale assault on the eardrums a hockey-goer is capable of produc- ing. . “*} say, Martha, was that a... a --. noise, I heard?’ “Just a Nanaimo person, Reginald. Go back to sleep. I'll see to it he’s flogged in the morn- ing.’” I wouldn’t be surprised if West Vancouverites got militant about this threat of a further intrusion onto their property. After all, you can’t start letting people from Nanoose Bay and Parksville ambie willy-nilly through the area at three in the morning, or first thing you know Chilliwack will want in on the act. Then Hope, or even (God forbid!) Spuzzum. Estate values will go through the floor. Wake up, West Van, before it’s too late. Start a plan of action. Shut the whole damn highway down, for instance, a la Oka crisis. I can see it now: Mark (Lasagne) Sager, standing on the 401 at Taylor Way, shooting his M-16 into the air. : Trevor Lautens might even be found, lurking in the background, shouting, ‘‘Go ahead, Premier Pleasant! Make my column!’’ T wouldn't blame the inconve- nienced sods one bit, would you? ~_ YOU SAID IT! _ SENTINEL SECONDARY in West Vancouver is conducting a pilot project in which a full-time fundraiser works to raise funds for school equipment. The project has been met with controversy. We asked 415 people “Do you think it is fair or unfair for: Sentinet to have a full-time fundraiser?’’ There was support for the project across the North Shore, with 47.7% saying they thought it was fair. 24.8% said it was unfair and 275% had no opinion.