6 ~ Wednesday, November 16, 1994 ~ North Shore News UNE “4HE ONLY honest reaction to the Nov. "8 shooting of. Vancouver gynecoilogist ‘Dr..Garson Romalis is one of dumb- -foundediess. a ‘The man was shot while eating breaktast in his family home. . ~~: The shooter apparently lay i in wait ‘for the quarry. The. shots were deliberate, and they came ‘froma’ an. AK-47 assault rifle. / Police investigators are linking’the shoot- -ing,: which left Romalis in serious condition in a Vancouver hospital, to the fact that the doctor performs abortions. mos He has in the past been the focus of protest action and threat. He is evil in the eyes of the pro-life move- ment, « ‘Attorney-General Colin Gabelmann has TM RAN MN MeL mene, reg ‘ers who might also be targets. Meanwhile the Pro-Life Society of B.C. issued an alert.to its affiliates throughout . B.C. that retribution in the; wake of the shooting “was an extreme possibility.” What kind of insanity is at play here? It is unconscionable, this escalating para- noia and violence. ; Anti-abortionist Gordon Watson’s notion that the shooting may have been the work of a “provocateur” is indicative of the level of foolishness the abortion issue has devolved to. Yes, let’s debate this most difficult ques- tion. Yes, let’s be free to choose our own per- sonal path to take, but stop the violence, stop the harassment on both sides. Taking life to save life? That’s nuts. i seniors “TAKE CARE, m’boy,” the frishman warned his teenage son. “The world is full of fies and the trouble is, half of them are true.” So pity genainely open-minded participants in the public hearing by West Van council next Monday, Nov. 21, on the proposed multi- level cure facility for seniors in Cedardale. The debate to date sug- gests they'll have their work cut out sorting fact from fantasy. The Greater Vancouver Regional Hospital District wants the 4,7 acre, $3.2 million site at 419 Keith Road rezoned tight away and “banked” until the 150-bed care home is actually built — around 1998, Hardly sounds like an immedi- ate crisis. Moreover, a recent report commissioned by the Health Ministry claims the North Shore has an over-supply of seniors’ care facilities at the moment. But tell that to the waiting list of over 40 seniors currently occupying costly acute-care beds in Lions Gate Hospital. Or to the 80 or so residents of West Van Kiwanis Lodge, scheduled for phase-out by ' next September, Or even to the GVRHBD itself, which says the North Shore will need 220 more extended-care beds by 2001. . Meanwhile, GVRHD's Greg Stump hints that this could be West . HITHER AND YON ther amenity. Then there’s the fish, The pro- ject site is on Brothers Creek — one of West Van’s most productive salmon streams, says the Dept. of Fisheries and Oceans. So blithely ignoring all the other creekside homes in the vicinity, the DFO refuses to endorse the rezoning. What do they fear? Raw sewage in the creek? Wheelchair fish poachers? Coho rendered impotent by the sight of octogenarians? Take these and other detailed questions to Monday's hearing in West Van senior secondary —— but don’t expect too much enlighten- Van's last chance of such a facility - ment. The truth is far simpler than because the GVRHD may “leave town” if the Keith property is not rezoned. Nonsense, retorts Coun. Allan Williams — there aré other sites arcund, so let's take our time. If all this confuses you a little about just where the project’s sup- porters are Coming from, wait until you hear from the “no” side. ~ A survey of households by Cedardale Property Owners Association found 88% of “those . responding” opposed the care home — though maybe you'd better first check what percentage of house- holds DID respond. CPOA members make much of “parking and traffic” problems. But patients in care facilities don’t drive . and have, alas, all too few visitors. Parking for the three-shift staff of 110 would be on-site. Consultants are produced to insist that care homes must be on bus routes and near stores —~ though numerous get by with nei- the arguments-used to support it. West Van has more over-65s than anywhere in Canada save Victoria. And even in Cedardale * few dispute the need for a new care’ facility very soon. Just so jong as it’s not in Cedardale’s backyard. So whose affordable backyard.’ WILL welcome it? Or will frail North Shore 'seniors eventually be doomed to end their days i in ge! Surrey? ; ae SIGN-OFF: Go sift ‘hunting for . ‘handicrafts, music, dolls, books, . jewelry, attic treasures,‘fine china and linens 1-4.p.m. Saturday, Nov.19, at St. -Martin’s Market, 195 East Windsor ... And many. " happy returns of Friday, Nov. 18, to Mt. Seymour Lion Les Mynott. eeg WRIGHT OR WRONG: Nothing is impossible for the man who doesn’t have to do it. since stepped up security measures for oth- Poter Kvarnstrom Display Manager 980-0511 (103) Linda Stewart Sales & Marketing Director 980-0511 (319) Timothy Renshaw Managing Editor 985-2131 (116) Valerie Stephenson Trixi Agrios Classified Manager Promotions Manager 986-6222 (202) 985-2131 (137} MEMBER Chris Johnson Operations Manager 985-2131 (141) Peter Speck Publisher 985-2131 (104} Doug Foot Comptroller 985-2134 (133) North Shore News, founded in 1969 as an independent suburban newspaper and qualified under Schedule 111, Paragraph 111 of the Excise Tex Act, is published each Wednesday, Friday and Sunday by North Shore Free Press Ltd. and distributed to every door on the North Shore, Canada Post Canadian Publications Mail Sales Product Agreement No. 0087238, Mailing rates available on request. 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