8 - Wednesday, May 14, 1997 — North Shore News Columns on pedestrian safety lauded Dear Editor: On behalf of the North Vancouver detachment traf- fic section members, I would like to compliment one of your staff writers, Mr. Shaun Conlin, on his recent series of articles regarding pedestrian safety. Mr. Conlin’s comments in the North Shore News speak well of his genuine concern for public safety. It also bodes well for your newspaper, as the voice of the North Shore, to endorse his work and remind all of us to take a moment cto ponder on the implications of traffic safety in general and pedestrian safety in particular. We, along with the engi- neering department for the City and the District of North Vancouver, the North Shore Safety Council, the school board and various other community groups spend a considerable amount of time tcaching road safety to our young people and our seniors, These concepts are: edu- cation, enforcement and engineering. Mr. Conlin in his com- Ments most adequately reminds pedestrians that: “you have many rights over cars but you are not their masters.” Our members in the traf- fic section have been and will continue to campaign intersection enforcement, in an effort to reduce the num- ber of intersection viola- tions. Amber lights, red lights and stop sign viola- tions are the main contribut- ing factors in pedestrian and vehicular collisions. Our traffic members on motor- cycles have been tasked with this specific goal. You will also find our members working on foot at intersections where driving and pedestrian violations are - a significant cause of person- al injury and vehicular colli- sions. If you observe our mem- bers at work on a particular intersection, take note: we are there because of the “historical data” generated by the pedestrian and vehi- cle activity at that location. Mr. Conlin gives very sound advice when he states: “Take nothing, for granted.” In fact, any traffic law enforcement _ professional will be quick to point out that the secret of our abiliry to survive the many traffic situations that we encounter daily, is to establish eye con- tact with the people that we deal with and to read cach situation properly. Again, my compliments to Mr. Conlin and to you for contributing to the commu- nity policing efforts and for making our North Shore a safer place to live. Sei t Bob Beaudoin Traffic Section North Vancouver RCMP north shore news MAIL BOX Opinions never wrong Dear Editor: The Canadian Constitution’s Charter of Rights and Freedoms are clearly stated under section 2b © (Fundamental Freedoms) that every Canadian has the right to “freedom of thought, belief, opinion and expression, including free- dom of the press and other media of communication,” Thus I find it extremely offensive that this charter should be completely ignored, as is the case with Doug Collins. Many people hate Collins; I take pride in the fact that although F do not always agree with his views, I accept that he, as every other Canadian, has a constitution- al right to write and publish his beliefs. Whether the majority of the people agree with these belicts or not is a difter- ent point and does not concern me. Good parenting values are not dead yet Those who do not agree with them can simply avoid reading Collins’ articles. They have no right to waste other peo- ple’s time and money with irrelevant law- suits. Doug Collins likely angers these peo- ple; their form of retaliation is not intelli- gent, structured debate, but plainly stu- pid and disorganized contradiction. There is a letter to the editor in the April 15 North Shore News which states that Collins’ views are antiquated and he should retire. The writer makes no attempt to put up valid arguments against Collins’ points. Mr. Collins has a constitutional right to express his feelings. Other people have an equal right to express theirs. However, the latter does not have the right — legally and morally — to make the former shut up because they don’t agree with his views, Opinions are always controversial, some more than others. We've had enough of people of different cultures, religions and beliefs bitching about being “discriminated against.” These people must realize that this is Canada. We are a multicultural commu- nity. We pride ourselves on that, and espe- cially on the fact that ours is a free coun- try, in which each citizen has the right of expressing his or her feelings without repression on behalf of any other group, person or community. Cristiano Papile Forza_Roma@compuserve.com they will want the same for their children when their turn at parenting comes around. Dear Editor: Re: “Home Life Today Comes Up Short” April 6 Vintage Years column. Take heart. We are still out there: mothers (and fathers) who stay at home and raise their families with the old- fashioned values that you fear are slipping away. I “retired” from a career in the fast-paced world of televi- sion production to raise my first child cight years ago Our family has sirze grown http Panne LOOK FOR US ON {1 \ t//wwvensnews.com to three beautiful, intelligent, curious, high-energy children. I may not be Mrs. Cleaver, bur F am here for my family, and yes, I do knit and bake cookies, too. When my eldest child started school, I thought that } would be a “rare” breed but U found that there are many stay-at-home mothers like me out there. Some stay home full-time, while many moms (anu 2 few dads, for that mat- ter), work part-time to sup- or B™% Park Shore BMW y 1500 Fell Avenue plement the family income, while arranging their sched- ules carefully to be there for their children before and after school. I was raised in a loving, atrentive home by a stay-at- home mom (who is now enjoying life as, according to her five grandchildren “the best grandma in the whole world”). T hope that, by showing my children this example of parental commitment, that ib PMTER MET E-mail: trenshaw @ direct.ca My husband and I will be there for them, as supportive grandparents, one of good Parenting’s greatest assets. Yes, Mrs. Godley, we are stilt out there. You may not see us casiiy, you see we are busy driving for a field trip, helping in our school, taking our children to the library, or just buried under a load of laundry. Holly Wawzonck North Vancouver BEDDING AUTHORIZED DEALER FOR ors: SIMMONS MAILBOX POLICY ; wine bi eali . ; LETTERS to the editor must be legible (preferably typewrit- Heart pounding, spine tingling exhilaration. ten) and include your name, full address and telephone number. fo, Lg a ae an ‘ Due to space constraints the North Shore News cannot pub- ee a! : wos ; lish all letters. Published letters may be edited for brevity, clari- ty, accuracy, legality and taste. Submissions can be faxed to 985- 2104 but still must be signed and fully addressed. » Mantresses, Box Springs Wil You Be Cooking This Summer? fi ~ Pleated & Honeycomb Sky Shades Sole ends May 31/97 '. Specializing in-windaw ra yr BLEVOLOR & BlouverDape verings for over10 years wvon 98424101 - And that’s just the lease rate. e The BMW 328i. 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