NEWS photo Stuart Davis A GROUP of Brownies look on just before the Maypoie event at this year’s Lynn Vatiey Day. The annual celebration was held on May 25th and this year also commemorated North Vancouver District's centenary. NV teachers consider appeal IRC ruling allows exemption from union; dues still have to be paid TWO NORTH Vancouver teachers are considering appea!- ing an Industrial Relations Council (IRC) decision that allows them to opt out of the North Vancouver Teachers’ Association (NVTA) and the B.C. Teachers’ Federation (BCTF) but requires the couple to continue paying union dues. And the NVTA said it too is considering appealing the IRC judgment that was handed down this week. The IRC ruling allows Nancy Wasilifsky, a teacher at Argyle Secondary school, and her hus- band Justin Wasilifsky, a teacher at Carson Graham Secondary school, to opt out of both the NVTA and the BCTF because of their religious beliefs. The Wasilifskys are devout Roman Catholics who are oppos- ed to abortion, and have battled for the past three years to be ex- empt from the two unions because of what they say are the unions’ **pro-abortion’’ policies. This week, an IRC panel, which included RC commissioner Ed Peck, +: cd 6-1 to allow the Wasilifsky: to opt out of the NVTA and BCTF on _ religious grounds. But the panel also said that the couple must continue to pay union dues because it found no evidence that the two unions were using dues for abor- tion-related issues. But in an interview this week, Nancy Wasilifsky said she was unhappy with the IRC decision that requires her and her husband to continue paying union dues. **We can’t tolerate the decision. We’re very happy about the larger decision, but not happy about having to pay union dues,’’ said Wasilifsky. ‘‘The reasons for re- questing an exemption from the union are the same as requesting exemption from paying dues.”’ BW Automotives........... 29 MiEcoInfo............... 23 M Editoria! Page ......... 6 G@ Home & Garden ....... 19 By Surj Rattan News Reporter IRC commissioner Ed Peck She added that the decision to appeal the ruling is in the hands of their lawyer, Randy Kaardal. He could not be reached for comment to press time Thursday. NVTA president Linda Watson said she will have to consult with BCTF officials about appealing the IRC judgment. Watson said the ruling may be precedent-setting because it goes against the Straub decision, which stated that exemption from a union was justified if a person ob- jected to all unions in general rather thar a single union policy. “On the surface it (decision) index ® Mailbox .............. 7 G Paul St. Pierre... 9 @@ Trevor Lautens ........ 4 l@ What's Going On ...... 26 Second Ctass Registration Number 3885 seems to be saying that people who object to trade unions can opt out and that’s what the Straub decision said. But this certainly widens that interpretation because of the fact that it is based on their religious beliet's,’’ said Watson. “We're pleased that they still have to pay dues for the people who bargain on their behalf and who get them the salaries and benefits they have, but we're con- cerned that they’re allowed to opt out of the union. “Tt’s certainly an interesting decision, to say the Jeast.’’ The Wasilifskys are opposed to BCTF policies stating: “That the BCTF support the right of females regardless of age, marital status, income or geographical location to have ac- cess to a full range of informa- tion, counselling and medical ser- vices with respect to their health and well-being; to decide whether or when to have children and that the CTF (Canadian Teachers’ Federation) should seek to have abortion removed from the Crim- inal Code of Canada.”’ The Wasilifsky case has been before the IRC for three years. The IRC’s original 1988 ruling said that the couple could not be exempt from union membership. But that decision was overturned in 1989 when an IRC reconsid- eration panel found that exemp- tions were allowed on religious grounds. The NVTA and BCTF then ap- pealed the second ruling and the matter went before a third IRC panel. The IRC panel found that the Wasilifskys are so opposed to abortion that they will refuse to receive medical treatment from a hospital that performs abortions. “They have entered into a pact with each other, Each promises to refuse medical treatment for the other when the latter is incapable of making such a decision," the panel wrote. Weather Saturday, cloudy with showers. Sunday, sunny with cloudy periods. Highs 21°C. Friday, June 7, 1691 - North Shore News ~ 3 West Vancouver tackle droughts WEST VANCOUVER District is studying a three-part water supply plan that would bolster Eagle Lake reservoir capacity and provide alternative water sources for West Vancouver during droughts. The plan‘s first phase involves the construction of a cross-country watermain that would link the Eagle Lake water supply system, which serves residents west of Cypress Creek, to the eastern part of West Vancouver, which draws water from the Greater Vancouver Regional District’s (GVRD) Capilano reservoir system. According to Doug Wylie, assistant director of operations at West Vancouver District, the con- nection would make the municipal water system more flexible. During water shortages in the summer, water could be pumped from the GVRD system west to areas served by the Eagle Lake reservoir, In October 1987, the level of Eagle Lake reservoir was so tow that it had only a two weeks’ water supply left; all out- door watering was banned in West Vancouver at the time. The cross-country watermain, Wylie said, could aiso potentialiy save the district some of the cost of purchasing water from the GVRD. During times of water abun- dance in Eagle Lake, water could be diverted from the lake to serve parts of the eastern West Van- couver community, saving the municipality the cost of purchas- ing water from the GVRD. GVRD water system pumping costs could alsc be reduced with the eastern diversion because Eagle Lake water, which is at a higher elevation than Capilano Lake, would not require pumping. According to Wylie, water from the GVRD system can require pumping as much as three times to travel to the top of the British Properties. “So that’s a lot of hydro for each drop of water,’” he said. During times of high turbidity in the Capilano reservoir, Eagle Lake water, which does not suffer from turbidity, could be diverted io residemts in the eastern part of West Vancouver. But Wylie said the reservoir will not have the ca- pacity to serve the entire municipality. Construction of the connecting waltermain will depend on the final route selection, but could start as early as this fall and be complete before summer 1992. By Elizabeth Collings Mews Reporter The second and third parts of the water plan propose raising the level of Eagle Lake and diverting water from Nelson Creek into the reservoir. Wylie said the timing of the two long-term propesals has yet to be decided. The plan to raise the water level ef Eagle Lake by three feet would add 613,000 cubic metres to the reservoir which, when full, has a volume of £.35 million cubic metres to the lowest point frotn which water can be drawn. The municipality is also study- ing the possibility of diverting Nelson Creek into the reservoir during water shortages. The study started late last fall and Wylie ex- pects it to continue fcr at least another year before it is conclud- ed. But he said that unless West Vancouver experienced a severe drought, the creek would not be diverted for at least two years. The district is measuring the water flows ia Nelson Creek to determine whether water can be diverted without harming the creek’s fish populations. ° According to fisheries officer Glen Kostiuk, the federal fisheries department would require that the municipality maintain at least the number of fish in Nelson Creek or supply a fish stock for the nearest creek to Nelson Creek. “There would have to be some kind of compensation package or enough water spill to keep that ex- isting run as much as it is,’’ said Kostiuk. According to fisherics records, Nelson Creek supported 750 chum saimon in 1954, the maximum number on record. Over the past 10 years, the number of chum salmon in the creek has ranged from 50 down to zero. The creek has also supported trace populations of coho salmon and cutthroat and steelhead trout. During past water shortages, the district has used an intake from Nelson Creek to Eagle Lake below the proposed site currently being studied. News reporter wins award THE NORTH Shore News picked up an award last Friday in the 1991 B.C. Newspaper Awards (BCNA) competition. News reporter Michael Becker won second prize in the competi- tian’s series or special projects category for a series on local drug and gang-related crime. Becker focused local interest on the problem, and judges said he brought out the human element through interviews with parents, police and community workers. The stories generated spirited public debate: parents organized neighborhood meetings to grapple with the issues. First prize in the category went to veteran Province arts columnist Max Wyman for a series resulting from a three-week trip to the Soviet Union. The awards were presented Fri- day night ata BCNA banquet. News reporter Michael Becker Last year Becker won first prize in the BCNA’s Jack Wasserman weekly category. The annual awards competition is funded and administered by the Vancouver Press Club Founda- tion, oe