NORTH Shore riovers and shakers made head- lines in 1998 for a number of reasons, some honourable, some less so.

North Shore residents were at times well-served over the course of 1998, but in) some

ars wore off than

‘ 363 days ano,

To remind you of the high and low points, Narth Shore News editors and) reporters revisited their files to compile the list of North Shore winners and losers for the vear 1998.

1 owners drop plans for big-box stores

The Coalition fora Healthy Community, an opposition group formed to take on mall owner Larco Investments [td.’s plan to add three large format U.S. retailers to the shopping centre site, was suc- cessful in its campaign to derail the planned Park Royal devel- opment.

In November a Larco spokcsman told West Vancouver District council the company had withdrawn its expansion plans for the south mall,

Fast Ferry Program

It’s fast and it’s almost a ferry. For now, the Pacificat 1000 is just an awesome ship. Built by Catamaran Ferries International, a subsidiary of BC Ferries, it is more than two years late and move than $16 million over-budget.

Burt it’s a vessel worthy of awe. If not for its phenomenal per- formance in sea trials to date, then surely for the achievement of developing a ferry-building program from the ashes of a nearly defunct North Shore shipbuilding industry.

The still nameless vessel is

- the first of three planned to ply the Horseshoe Bay-Nanaigio route.

Aluminum- hulled and poised to shave 30 minutes from the current one-and-a- half hour voyage, it is sched- uled to go into service carly this year.

David Schreck After losing his North Vancouver- Lonsdale seat in the 1996 provincial election, ' David Schreck bounced back in 1998. The former NDP MLA landed the newly created position of deputy principal secretary within the office of Premier Glen Clark. He _ is making $92,000 per year in his Vancouver-based job. : Following his provincial elec-

NEWS photo Mike Waketiekt

WINNER: The fast fefry will be in service in early 1999.

tion setback, Schreck mounted a bid for a North Vancouver District councillor’s seat

He fell well short of his goal when the ballots were counted. Less than two years later, he resurfaced in’ the political arena.

Nor as bad comeback for a former politician twice snubbed by voters in recent his ery.

Glenys Beyring-Robb

Breast carver is a crucl and dangerous «lise the treat- ment is radical and debilitating,

All eredi: then to first-term North Vascouver District councillor Glenys Deering- Robb for quietly going about the business of the municipali- ty before and tier her opera- tion and chemotherapy with- out making any sort of public statement about her condi- tion.

The illness timited her con- tribution to council for a few weeks, but she never used it as an excuse or as an opportunity to carn sympathy votes.

West Vancouver golfers For a while in the summer of 1998 ic looked like the pretty Gleneagles public golf course was about to be carved up to accommodate a new reere- ation-community centre in West Vancouver.

Municipal statf had designs on plopping a 30,000 sq. fi.

Photo submitted

. WINNERS: The Gleneagles community came out in

vocal support of leaving their golf course just as it is.

structure where the current clubhouse and ninth hole sit.

However, there is nothing meaner than a golfer scorned, and the subsequent dufter out- cry shafted the municipalities plans.

Paul Kariya

North Vancouver's greatest homegrown hockey player returned to the ice in 1998 alter suffering a carcer-threat- ening concussion following a vicious cross-check = bby Chicago’s Gary Suter on Feb, 1.

The Argyle graduate sat out the remainder of the 1997-98 season — including = the Nagano Winter Olympics — and rumours circulated that he would never play the game again.

Thanktully, the speedy sniper was back in a Mighty Duck uniform for Anahcim’s 1998-99 season’s opening day.

NEWS photo Mike Wakefield

LOSER: Nick Vavaris lost his seven-year battle to secure a pub licence for his Lower Lonsdale restaurant site and was later forced to vacate the restaurant itself.

North Shore amateur hockey After 10 years of lobbying, a group of North Shore minor hockey league supporters saw their dream of a new ice rink come to fruition as Ice Sports North Shore opened for busi- in late 1998. -of the-art. three- ’ go along way in shortening -—- if not com- abolishing — waiting pr children wanting to play hockey.

LOSERS

Live music fans

Lower Lonsdale live music lovers lost our with the closing of the Seven Seas Restaurant's Portside Room lounge in 1998.

Just two years in operation, the cozy room was a breath of fresh entertainment in an area in dire need of a good airing, and gave many talented musi- cians a chance to perform works in progress for a live audience. Both the artists and their audience are worse off with the Portside’s sinking.

Nick “The Greek” Vavaris After waging a seven-year bat- tle with bureaucracies great and small to sceure a pub license for his Lower Lonsdale restaurant, Nick Vavaris ran out of time, money and options in 1998.

NEWS photo Brad Ledwidge

LOSERS: Lower Lonsdale live music fans were dealt a blow when the Portside Room staff weighed anchor.

Despite Vavaris’ many con- tributions to the local business and restaurant community and the int of a botched city pub survey that cast doubt on the

al neighbourhood | reje tion of the pub, he was unable to marshal the support needed to overcome the torees aligned against him.

Late in 1998, Vavaris was forced to vacate the heritage building that once housed the original Keg and Cleaver restaurant.

Lions Gate Bridge

The NDP's non-solution to the North Shore's most press- ing transportation issue ren- dered all North Shore residents losers.

A $78 million retitrbish- meat that adds no additional lanes to the current three-lane heritage design just doesn't cut it. The plan calls tor widening

sting three lanes on the

deck. But while they are at it, why noc widen the bridge to four Janes? An extra jane would put this entry in the winners category.

Pat Boname The West Vancouver mayor's public image took a_ beating

with the release of the Cuff

Report, a consultant’s study which delved into the workings of the mayor, council and inunicipal staff.

The report, which con- tained criticism of Boname and her council, was delayed in its

ase by Boname. When s did release it to the public i was edited to the point that its author, George Cuff, refused to endorse the truncated report.

Municipal lawyers went through the document and removed all portions making specific references to individu- als within the municipali including those to her worship herself. The result was a watered-down report.

wt,

NEWS photo Terry Peters

LOSER: Gillian Guess was sentenced to 18 months in jai! last August.

Calls for her to authorize the release of the portions per- taining to her initially fell on deaf cars. Then slowly, as the

— including the urging of her own council, she acquiesced.

Gillian Guess The public posturing that dominated headlines through- out 1998 did not come with a silver lining for North Vancouver's most famous for- mer juror. On Aug. 24, Gillian Guess sentenced to 18 months in prison after she was found guilty of obstructing justice. Guess maintained through- out her trial that she was inno- cent of the crimes she was accused of. The jury sitting in isagreed and the presiding judge had little sym- pathy for the woman he rtibed as having embar- ed the whole justice system. She has appealed her con- fiction and the courtroom shenanigans that have come to define her involvement with the courts should be reconven- ing in the spring of 1999.

Lower Lonsdale . Heritage buildings

Not one, not two, but three Lower Lonsdale _ heritage buildings were gutted (in one case razed) by fire in 1998. The fires left North Vancouver City history buffs the poorer for it,

The first of the three to burn was the legendary Paine Hardware store, housed in the Aberdeen Block. The _ fire began on New Year's Eve.

Next to burn was Gross House, a 1904 structure which had recently been used a

staurant. At the time of the

it was not in use.

The third and most dam- aging fire struck the two- storey Barraclough Block in October, dislodging stores and tenants.

#2. ; i ues NEWS photo Cindy Goodman

LOSERS: When the Barraclough Biock was gutted by fire, history buffs lost another irreplaceable buiiding.