6 — Wednesday; December 17. 1997 — North Shore News O more breaks. When it comes to trucks, West Vancouver has used them all. Monday’s dump truck ‘crash is far more than a wake-up call for the provincial government as one West Vancouver councillor described it. It’s an alarm bell call to arms that can be ignored no longer. Forget the falderal peddied by West Vancouver council on Monday night that it’s up to the province to “take a much stronger stand on training and enforcement of the trucking industry.” The North Shore is under siege from heavy truck iaffic. Since 1995 three people have been killed by run- away trucks in West and North Vancouver. These are fatalities, fellow citizens, not fender benders, not close calls. Fatalities. north shore news p trucks Bjornson was killed at the intersection of Marine Drive and 22nd Street in West Vancouver after being struck by a runaway dump truck that lost its brakes coming down 22nd street hill. Monday’s accident, in which a dump truck travelling south on 21st Street ran a four-way stop before slamming into two vans and a telephone pole, is disturbingly similar. Disturbing because not much has changed in West Vancouver since Mr. Bjornson was killed. Earlier this year, West Vancouver belatedly instituted a six-month ban on heavy truck traffic travelling south on 15th, 21st and 22nd streets. Monday’s accident screams for another municipal ban on truck traffic that should remain in place until some real solution to this trucking night- mare has been found. In 1996, 58-year-old Bjorn l betel _ wd THE North Shore News Free Speech Defence Fund is closing in on $150,000. To press time Tuesday, donations from over 2,000 News readers and free speech supporters to the fund stood at $145,036. Legal fees expended thus far by the News have already exceeded $200,000. All funds received will help defray the legal costs faced by the News in its battle with the Human Rights Tribunal over a complaint laid against the news- paper and its colusniss Doug Collins by the Canadian Jewish Congress, The hearing into the matter, which began on May 12, concluded on June 27. The decision from tribunal chairrnan Nitya Iyer was handed down on Nov. 12. Full coverage of the decision - appeared in the Nov. 14 News. Iyer found that Collins’ column was not hateful, but also ruled that, while the legislation under which the News was prosecuted infringes upon the Charter’s guarantee of ree expression, it was constitution- ally valid. Extra copies of the News’ Free Specch Supplement, which was originally published in the Aug. 20 News, are available at the News offices. Another excerpt from the thousands of respondents to the cause: aoa "With all the real crimes and suffering all over the world, tae CJC congentrates on making Mr. Collins public enemy No. 1 and the North Shore News pub- lic enemy No. 2, and, I suppose, us supporters of both are considered public enemy No. 3. Sv I’m sending this cheque while I’m still free to do so. Who knows what they will come up with next.” — J. Strachan 00G Donations to the fund can be sent to: 1139 Lonsdale Ave., North Vancouver, V7M 2H4. Cheques should be made out to the North Shore News Free Spéech Defence Fund. — trenshaw@direct.ca «hs j on north shore. Nocth Shore News. founded m 1969.as an lidependent suburban newspaper and quatihed undier Schedwe 111, Paragraph 111 of the Excise Tax Act, is publshed each Wednesduy, Friday and Sunday try North Shore Free Press Ltd_and dsstiibuted to every doo on the North Shore Canada Post Canadian Pubicanons Mat Sales Product Agreement No 0087238 Mading rates avaiable on request Sarbara Emo Jonathan Bell Create Services Manager 985-2131 (127) Distribution Manager 986-1337 (124} VIEWPOINT et trey era (Ovens ay panes LOE REEL AER Ctr, THO NEW, MORE REALISTIC BARBIE ISOK...BUT | DONT THINK | CAN HANDLE THE NEW. MORE REALISTIC KEN. Not NVD council’s proudest week MEMO to North Van District Council: The spectacle of elected officials lining their own pockets with public money, even if per- fectiy legal, always leaves an unpleasant odor. Especially when said elected officials are simultancously wrestling with the choice between hiking taxes or chopping services. Throw in, for good measure, non-pay- ment of a municipal operating debt and per- ceived intimidation of the creditor in question, and the smell becomes even worse. District councillors propose to raise their own stipends by approximately 32%. Since 1993 they’ve been receiving $19,810 a year, one-third of it tax-free, for their part-time job. They now aim to jump that to a total of $26,145 annually. By the time you read this, they may already have voted to give the hike (opposed as excessive only by Coun. Janice Harris) their final approval. If so, it will vault them into third. place, pay-wise, among Lower Mainland municipalities — ahead of Burnaby, Richmond and Delta (all with much greater populations). Meanwhile, council faces the need for either a 2.5% tax increase next year or an equivalent saving by cutting services. Already suggested for the chopping block in future years are Maplewood Farm and the Ecology Centre. Other economies PETER SPECK ublisher 985-2131 (101} (ieee Dee Dhaliwal ‘Human Resources Manager 985-2131 (177) Terry Peters Photography Manager 985-2139 (160) 2 Stephenson Classified Manager 986-6222 {202} 985-2131 (133) could include user fees for road work and early closing of libraries three days a week. Either way, of course, one thing is obvi- ous: the total dollar amount to be saved or raised by higher taxes vastly exceeds the virtually insigniti- cant $38,010 in total councillors’ pay hikes. That, nevertheless, is beside the point. Politics is primarily per- ception rather than real- ity. The mere idea of “employees” of the citi- zenry setting their own wages is repugnant in principle to the thou- sands of taxpaying vot- ers who can only dream of such a reward- ing arrangement in their own jobs. And when council members do so at a point where the voters also face higher taxes or reduced services, the symbolism — regardless of how negligible a factor the pay raises are — is simply awful. And now for the dirt involving North Van Chamber of Commerce, whose year- round work on a slim $315,000 budget contributes at least as much as council to local prosperity, if not far more. Lawyer John Lakes, longtime chamber stalwart with a puckish sense of humor, was so mad lasr year over the 50% council pay hike proposed by Coun. Ernie Crist that he suggested, tongue-in-cheek, launching a “Feed the Greedy Five” food bank. The reference was to the five council- lors supporting the hike at the time — apparently in such desperate straits, Lakes quipped, that they might otherwise LETTERS TO THE EDITOR Letters must include your name, full address & telephone number. Tirnothy Renshaw Managing Editor 986-2131 (116) Ooug Foot Comptroier Charlene Thomas Trix! Agrios Display Manager Promotions Manager 980-0511 (166) 985-2138 (218) VIA e-mail; trenshaw @ direct.ca Gail Snelgro General Office Manager 985-2131 (105) starve. The five were not amused and Crist launched an unsuccessful campaign in council to cut off the chamber’s munic- ipal funding for “insulting” him. But temporarily, at least, the cut-off is alrealy happening. Traditionally, district pays the chamber a fee-for-service to pro- vide business information and tourism ser- vices on the former’s behalf. Normaily received by the summer, the $66,000 fee for 1997 was still unpaid last week. Since that’s a rather vital 21% of the chamber’s budget, chamber chairman Doug Smith has been driven to issue a gag order to Lakes and board members, urging them to say nothing more to anger the bully-boys on West Queens Avenue. Big Brother knows how to pun- ish those who annoy him. So where are we living? China? Indonesia? Burma? Perception-wise, as they say, the last couple of weeks were not your proudest, Councillors Crist, Monroe, Carolan, Decring-Robb and Muri! : Qo00 JUDGING by Tiddieycove, mid- December used to be a busy week for the stork (maybe still is?). Say happy birthday today, Dec.17, to West Van’s Ian Haysom ... Thursday, Dec. 18, wish many happy returns to former West Van mayor Mark Sager and West Van Kiwanian John Grubbe ... And more of the same Friday, Dee.19; to John’s fellow Kiwanians Reg Meek and John Millard. 909 WRIGHT OR WRONG: A clear con- science is often a symptom of impaired memory. HOW: TO: REAC! Administration Display Advertising Real Estate Advertising Classified Advertising Newsroom Oistribution Display & Real Estate Fax 98 Newsroom Fax Classitied, Accounting & Main Office Fax Michael Becker - News Editor 985-2131 (114) Andrew McCredie - Sports/Community Editor 61.582 {average cutculabon, Weanestay, Friday & Sunday} Enlixe contents © 1997 North Shote Free Press Ltd. 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