INSIGHTS The reality of Duffey Lake EE = ‘NEWS VIEWPOINT x00d connections S MAJOR highways projects go, the $22-million highway overpass at Lonsdale Avenue took an in- terminable time to get out of the starting gate, but it has made a strong recovery in the stretch. The project was originally announced in 1985, but delays, postponements, govern- ment pirouettes and policy changes pushed the ewarding of the contract back to the summer of last year. And earlier this year, poor weather con- ditions delayed construction an additional two months. The project appeared to have been cor- ceived and executed under a black cloud. But the sun has since shone through. The four-stage project is a major build- ing and engineering undertaking requiring the construction of a four-lane overpass at an extremely busy intersection without disrupting eight lanes of continuous com- muter traffic. Normally such a project would have been fraught with delays, traffic tie-ups resident outcry and calls to arms. But the construction of the first two phases of the overpass, now a month ahead of schedule, has been remarkably smooth. There have been few major traffic tie- ups and even fewer reasons for outcry. If the last two phases of the proiect are completed as smoothly as the first two, North Shore residents will be aie to breathe a collective sigh of relief and all involved in the overpass project should be afforded hearty applause. LETTER OF THE DAY Swiss fence could stop noise Dear Editor: The concrete fences that have been constructed along the Upper Levels Highway, which are in- tended to keep the noise of traffic away from the adjacent homes, will fulfill a useful function; how- ever, they are rather unsightly. There must be another way — and I think there is. In 1937 I was in Switzerland during my school vacation and had an opportunity to visit the Publisher Associate Editor envelope Peter Speck Managing Editor Timothy Renshaw Noel Wright Advertising Director . Linda Stewart North Shore News, founded in 1969 as an independent Suburban newspaper and quattlied under Schedule 111, Paragraph Il of the Excise Tax Act. ts published each Wednesday. Friday and Sunday by North Shore Free Press Ltd and atsinbuted to every door on the North Share Second Class Mat Registration Number 3885 Subscriptions North and West Vancouver, $25 per year Mating tates availabte on teguest Submissions are weicome dut we cannot accept responsibility for unsolicited maternal inctuding manuscapts and pictures. 2 which should be accompanied by a stamped, addressed complex of the former League of Nations. Hard by one of the buildings ‘here was a_ railway track. In order to keep the noise of trains away from the building, a small fence was constructed — not more than waist high — sloped towards the track at a precise angle so as to throw the noise of the trains downwards to the track. When a train passed I was standing less than 10 metres away THE VOICE OF NORTE AND WIST VANCOUVER: SUNDAY - WEDNESDAY - FeuDay 1139 Lonsdale Avenue, North Vancouver, B.C. V7M 2H4 §9,170 (average, Wednesday Friday & Sunday) oy SDA DIVISION Display Advertising Classified Advertising Newsroom Distribution Subscriptions Fax and I could not hear the train! However, the Fence Crete idea could have a huge potential for ordinary construction, for instance for houses. It will probably be more expensive than wood, tut it would be strong and _ fire-proof; and with the devcloping en- vironmental concerns in mind, could save many trees. G.F. de Bruyn North Vancouver 980-0511 986-6222 985-2131 986-1337 986-1337 985-3227 MEMBER North Shore owned and managed Entire contents © 1990 North Shore Free Press Ltd. All rights reserved. ‘sovereignty’ MOVE OVER, Tom Siddon. Make way for B.C. native affairs minister Jack Weisgerber — who, in a single sentence, bas spoken more sense about Indian claims than we've ever heard out of Ottawa. A “sovereign nation’’ can’t ex- ist within another sovereign na- tion, says Mr. Weisgerver. Period. This week’s bloodied noses at the Duffey Lake Road blockade underscored that bottom line. Tie mystery is why educated, in- telligent native leaders like Joe Mathias and Saul Terry cling to the pointless ‘‘sovereignty’’ myth. They must surely know that scattered ‘‘sovereign nations’’ of a few hundred citizens apiece — making their own laws and doing exactly as they please on the ter- ritory of a larger sovereign state — has never worked in all of his- tory and, for obvious reasons, never can. Sadly, the principal losers in this ‘sovereignty’ hallucination are the Indians themselves. Not only is it the major stumbl- ing block to meaningful negotia- tions on genuine native claims. Futile bids to enforce ‘‘sovereign- ty’ in defiance of Canadian law are now losing them more and more goodwill among the millions of white Canadians sincerely sym- pathetic to their just grievances. Those grievances are a reality that governments must address far faster and more effectively than hitherto. But the sovereign Canada of 1990 with one law for all — nowadays being exploited to the full by natives who scorned it on Duffey Lake Road! — is the equal reality Indian leaders must accept. When you refuse to deal with reality, reality eventually deals with YOU. eoe QUIZ TRICKS: Gilbert and Sullivan could hardly have made a better job of West Van council’s referendum questions on Tid- dlycove’s hottest election issue — the proposed Cypress Ridge golf course. Question #1 is easy: Do you want ANY golf course at all there? Then come Questions #2 and #3 which ask in turn whether, if a majority favors a golf course, you prefer 18 holes or 27? Since voters don’t know at that point WHAT the majority favors, should a ‘‘no’’ say ‘‘no’’ to all three questions or ‘‘no’’ to just two and —~ bracing for the worst — ‘‘yes”’ to the environmentally preferable 18 holes? Conversely, a ‘‘yes’’ can vote **yes”’ to all three questions, not just two, which could presumably mean he’ll settle for 18 OR 27 holes as long as he gets a course of some size. JACK Weisgerber ... clarifying the bottom line. Noel HITHER AND YON Then there are spoiled ballots which aren’t counted. For exam- ple, ‘‘no’’ voters on Question #1 who think that’s IT and don’t bother to answer #2 and #3. Voters on both sides who spoil their vote by writing a preferential “7862 of CAB” instead of the mandatory ‘‘X.’” With all these scenarios, I asked Returning Officer Doug Allaa how he arrives at an accurate result. ‘‘Not our job,”’ he said. ‘‘We simply count ail valid votes and pass the totals to coun- cil. Interpreting them is a POLIT- ICAL decision.”” Exactly as I feared. For a straight answer, ask voters for a single straight ‘‘yes’’ or ‘‘no.”” But if you plan to go your own way regardless, confuse them! eee WRAP-UP: In town next week, Mary Coilins — ‘‘mom’’ to our boys in the Gulf with her associate defence minister hat on — does her MP hat to address constitu- ents at the a.g.m. of the Capilano-Howe Sound Tories , Monday, Nov. 12, at 7:30 p.m. in Park Royal Hotel ... Then — wearing her Status of Women bonnet — Mary talks about women in business to West Van Chamber of Commerce Tuesday, Nov. 13, at 7:30 a.m. in the Ambleside Inn ... Remembrance Day afloat will be marked Sunday by the Burrard Yacht Club, whose boats will again sid the II a.m. service on the waters off Cates Park ... And happy 62nd anniver- sary greetings today, Nov. 9, to West Van’s Richard and Inger Langmann. ees WRIGHT OR WRONG: Quantity can only be counted. Quality can be counted ON. ... three hats in MARY Collins her wardrobe.