& - Wednesday, April 29, 1952 - North Shore News ~"it| Please, no more queries about my April rose! WHAT CAN you do about a saint with an identity prob- lem — one that nearly half a million ethnic Canadians Rest in peace one dies. Visits to grave sites should be L: IS difficult enough when a loved not times of fond remembrance, anger. But locals who visit loved ones interred at North Vancouver City’s cemetery are increasingly experiencing anger. The 22- acre burial site on Lillooet Road is becom- ing a hangout for undesirables who dese- crate graves and steal commemorative gifts to the dead. Both recent and historical sites are fall- ing prey to vandals. Part of the problem is that there is no full-time cemetery caretaker to maintain security, and the city claims #: does not have the money to hire one. The remote location of the cemetery has a double appeal: to the mourners it is a peaceful spot for private visits; but to par- tygoers that remoteness provides an ideal location for oafish celebration. A simple enough solution, although re- quiring some initial financial output, would be to erect a fence arouud the site and a gate that requires key entry. Only those entitled to cemetery visitation should be granted a key. Signs could also be erected to indicate to the intruders that the cemetery is open only to those visiting graves. An alternative trail could be developed to go around the property, allowing privacy for mourners but continued access to outlying areas for hikers, cyclists and equestrians who also frequent the area. With increased recreational traffic in the area since the opening of the Seymour Demonstration Forest, the city must make the cemetery the private piace it should always have been, for the sake of the liv- ing and the dead. NVC Council raises are undeserved Dear Editor: ’ At a time when people are hav- ing difficulty in paying their taxes due to ever increasing costs, North Vancouver City Council showed their indifference to the public they were elected to serve, by wanting more from the public purse. None of these council members considers their work on council as their principle source of income, so that the argument usually given about the cost of living when seeking a pay increase would seem to carry no weight. I was really impressed by Ald. Bill Bell’s statement “If other Publisher .. Associate Editor Advertising Oirector .. Comptroller ........ Peter Speck Managing Editor... Timothy Renshaw Noel Wright Linda Stewart ....Doug Foot | North Shore News, founded in 1969 as an independent suburban newspaper and qualified under Schedule 11%, Paragraph I! of the Excise councils had consistently put small raises in, we would not have had to give ourselves a large raise.’” 1 wonder if Ald. Beit would tell us of the bylaw or the statute that **forced’’ council to grant themselves an increase — many taxpayers are not familiar with this legislation. The members of city council knew what the position paid when they ran for office, and though he thought the salary was “bloody cheap’’ Ald. Rod Clark seemed to want the position. Those who are not content are noi indentured slaves, and they are of course free to resign if the work load and Display Advertising 980-0511 Real Estate Advertising 985-6982 Newsroom 985-2131 eed VOICE OF NONTH AND WET WANCOUVER Distribution Subscriptions Classified Advertising 986-6222 Fax Administration niggardly compensation are too Onerous. If salary increases are necessary, and I would doubt if the general electorate would approve, in- creases should be voted to take effect only after an election is held. We admire Ald. Clark's stand against the increase, and as-he is opposed to this additional expense I am sure that he will let us know through the media to what charity this windfall will be given. Arthur G. Greenslade North Vancouver 986-1337 Goa North Shore 986-1337 [Bare managed 985-3227 985-2131 MEMBER wrestle with every April? In March, when greeting cards turn green and shamrocks sprout like dandelions on a neglected jawn, everyone knows what’s afoot. Likewise, if your neighbor reeks of Haig and haggis on Jan. 26, no one goes asking whose bir- thday he celebrated the night be- fore. Whatever other problems pushy St. Patcick and rousting Rabbie Burns had, lack of cheerleaders was never one of them. But wear a rose on April 23 and everyone wants to know why. St. George...? Who was HE? Oh, re- ally? ...Never heard of him. One has to admit it’s partly George’s own fault. Unlike his three fellow U.K. saints — Andy, Dave and Pat — he nevez bothered to get up a clear, tidy, dependable resume. As a result there are as many different ver- sions of his story as there are en- cyclopedias, books on ancient his- tory and calendars of notable an- niversaries. About the only thing they agree on is that he was a great dragon-hunter and ladies’ man. Most say he lived in the third cen- tury Roman Empire, though one tale has him born in Coventry, where he returned eventually with his rescued princess to live happily ever after. Other versions say he was beheaded for checking the Roman Emperor Diocletian about the rot- ten way Roman soldiers treated Christians. And one says he wasn’t George at all but Perseus, son of the Greek god Zeus — alse: a renowned dragon-hunter and princess-rescuer. It all gets a bit confusing even to his loyal disciples. However, we English ethnics — whe gave mankind, among other things, the Stiff Upper Lip — carry on brave- ly. As we did last Thursday when our local Society of St. George, like those all over Canada, per- formed its annual St. George’s Day rites at the Canyon House in North Van under the approving eye of U.K. Consul General Tony Joy. We had the traditional feast: roast beef, Yorkshire pudding and English trifle. Toasts to the Queen, Canada, St. George and Merry Engiand. A lighthearted speech or two, musical memories (Vera Lynn vintage) and lots of warm, happy nostalgia about dear old Blighty. No wailing pipes, sheep entrails or tipsy leprechauns. When the Noel Wright as HITHER AND YON English gather to celebrate, they do it — like St. George — THEIR way, with no urge to turn a private party into an ethnic sales promotion. Incidentally, the Society also holds regular get-togethers the year round. If you LIKE things English, you needn't even be English-born to share the fun — call Terry Watkins, 929-7639, to learn more. And next April 23 PLEASE don't ask again about my rose — or St. George. Whatever exactly he did where, he’s clearly our kind of guy! eee WRAP-UP: it’s Cabaret Night “Mardi Gras*’ Friday, May 1, presented by Argyle Music Assn. at 8 p.m. in the school’s big gym — cal} 985-3181 for tickets ... Flex your calves for Westview Cy- cie Club’s annual St. Mary’s Me- morial Mountain Bike Race, start- ing 11 a.m. at Braemar and Dempsey — info from 988-541! ... Dig generously into your pocket or purse Monday night, May 4, when the Sally Ann’s yearly Red Shield Appeal can- vasser knocks ... Birthday boy to- day, April 29, is West Van Kiwa- nian Budiey Samuda ... And tomorrow, April 30, Mt. Seymour Lion Bilt Harbourne celebrates his 5%h year on this planet: WRIGHT OR WRONG: Odd how the person who writes about the bank’s ad copy is never around when you go in to ask for a loan. north sore: Gr: Tax Act, is published each Wednesday, Friday and = a Sunday by North Shore Free Press Ltd. and mmr een distributed to every door on the North Siore. Second Class Mail Registration Number 3885. Subscriptions North and West Vancouver, $25 per year. Mailing sates available on request. Submissions are welcome bu! we Cannot accept responsibility for unsolicited material including manuscripts and pictures which should be accompanied by a stamped. addressed envelope. SUNDAY + WEONESDAY + FRIDAY . 1139 Lonsdale Avenue, North Vancouver, B.C. V7M 2H4 Entire contents © 1992 North Shore Free Press Ltd. All rights reserved. Basil Fox photo ROAST-BEEF-’N-TRIFLE time again, as head table guests at the Feast of St. George study the menu: (left to right) Doug and Anne Haigh, U.K. Consul General Tony Joy, St. George Soclety vice- president Norman Wright and Hilde Wright. SDA DIVISION 61,582 (avetage circulation, Wednesday. Friday & Sunday}