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WEWS photo Neil Lucente

sing their heads

MARK REID from the Capilano Blues goes elbow to head in a fight for the ball with
a Fraser Valley Cascades player last Saturday. The physical and defensive style of the
Cascades wasn’t enough to stop the Blues who posted 2 2-0 victory on their home
field. The Blues are enjoying 2 3-0 record so far. Tomorrow they meet the BCIT

| Cougars at BCIT.

3

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News 985-2131 Classified 986-6222 Distribution 986-1337 88 pages 25¢

PETITION CALLS FOR CRACKDOWN

15th

ot.

merchants

to drugs

DRUG BEALING in the 15th Street and Lonsdale Avenue
area of North Vancouver has driven area residents, mer-
chants and their customers to petition the city to clean up

the streets.

Approximately 200 signatures
were collected last week by a 15th
Street merchant fed up with loiter-
ing, drug peddling, traffic conges-
tion and disturbances associated
with illegal drug sales.

Police have stepped up en-
forcement in the area. But as soon
as manpowe: dedicated to the area
is reduced, drug sellers and buyers
return to do business in and
around an alley behind the 1600-
block Lonsdale.

Many of the petition signatures
were collected at the I5th and
“Lonsdale Toronto Dominion Bank
braach.

Branch manager Michael Busch
has watched the trade flourish
behind his place of business as
police, aided by area businesses,
made life a little less comfortable
for dope distributors elsewhere.

“They’ve been moved across
here for a couple of months now,”’
Busch said. ‘‘First they moved
from the pool hall to a bench near
a bus stop. That bench was
removed by the merchants, 1
believe, and then they moved back
towards the pool hall by a retain-
ing wall. That was removed and
then they moved over here. If it
weren’t so damn sad, it would be
humorous —— They're so blatant
about it."’

The bank is planning to remove
a retaining wall flanking the lane
behind the branch so that drug
sellers have one fess place to hang
out. The wall is a popular place to

By MICHAEL BECKER
News Reporter

City Ald. Barbara Sharp will in-
troduce a motion Tuesday asking
council to consider establishing a
youth task force to identify and
tackle the causes of the local drug
problem.

“We need a task force or a
steering committee,"’ Sharp said.

I ’vye had people
close their wccounts
here because of (drug
dealing in the area).”’
— Toronto Dominion

branch manager
Michael Busch

ieganitenmniienakinam 9 iaaaiti sets
“You get loca! business, police,
licensing people, the appeals peo-
ple, parents, teens, educational
people and the community involv-
ed in it. And you've got to increase
your police, at least temporarily.””

Said Ald. Bill Bell, ‘‘I'd like to
see it started as soon as we can get
the people on board. It’s urgent
that we start on this.

“We're probably not going to
get at the hardcore kids. You have

NORTH VANCOUVER POLICE BATTLE PUSHERS: 3

sit and sell.

Said Busch, ‘I’ve had people
close their accounts here because
of this. We had a small business
account with us where the wife
was making the deposits and she
felt threatened. | don't blame her.
[t's a pretty hairy gauntlet to run.
I've talked to the police. They're
here daily, but it’s a little like seat-
tering crows in the field.”’

Meanwaile, North Vancouver

to go at it from two fronts. You've
got to provide positive alternatives
for the kids. From talking to the
kids myself, a lot of them do care
about what the community can of-
fer them,"’ he said. *‘Most of them
don’t have a very high self-esteem.
We have to work at building their
esteem and giving them things to
do. But you also have to make it
uncomfortable for them to keep
doing what they're doing."*