,

NEWS pholo Terry Poters

: “TWO SKIERS enjoy the sun, snow, skiing and view of Black Tusk from their perch at the Peak chairlift on

Whistler Mountain. Recent snow falls ot Whistler and Blackcomb have’ improved an already good ski season.

iNosth Shore sidh hills ure also reporting good ‘conditions. a

’ ?

WEST. VANCOUVER LIBRARY | Expension plans revealed

_ THE: ‘BUSIEST dibrary in British Columbia is in need of - more’ space to accommodate an ever-growing number of

,

patrons. '

Plans for an expansion to West Vancouver Memorial. Library were revealed at Monday’ Ss. ' district council meeting. “

The library, due to a large book reading public,. was 15,000 square feet short in 1986 at its present size of 25,000 sq. ft. An extra 20,000 sq. ft.. would be required by 1991,

‘according to library. board chair-

man Bob Wykham. ;

“Not everyone realizes’ we're

short of space, thanks to our highly efficient staff,’ Wykham said. « The Memorial Library is also the most efficient. library “in 3B.C., handling each transaction for a municipal cost of $1.40.

But circulation continues to grow, with an eight per cent jump in 1987, alone.

“There are going to be increas- ing signs of overcrowding lineups and lack of seating,’ predicted Wykham.

Although plans for the expan- sion total $5 million, Simon Richards of Cornerstone Planning Group. explained how the project

t

By MAUREEN CURTIS , ‘ Contributing Writer

could be phased in over the coming years.

After an initial renovation and upgrading of the existing facility, the bulk of the cost would go into a four to six-storey wing for adult and reference materials that would replace -the ‘children’s wing to the east.

Later,’a pavilion for children

‘and teenagers could be built to the

west above the parking lot.

The final stage would be a new parking surface or structure which could be laid out further to the west at the public health unit loca- tion.

Along with meeting the library's needs for the next 20 years, this plan would also allow for further expansion.

Richards showed a number of variations of the east extension that cost between $3.4 million (three stories with provisions for a fourth storey later) and $4.3 mil- lion.

Even at’ four stories, the east wing could only rise two stories above Marine Drive and have little impact on the neighborhood, Richards felt.

The Cornerstone group also looked at other possibilities and found that it would cost $1.6 mil- lion more to demolish and com- pletely rebuild the library. Moving the library would not only be more expensive, but highly unpopular.

“It’s a library that has an emo- tional attachment to the communi- ty — it's a memorial to the fallen,’? Wykham said.

While the option of creating branches was also dismissed as too expensive, the Memorial Library is looking at the idea of keeping some books in offsite storage.

“We are planning to move 10,000 books to the municipal hall, but that is going to be inconvenient for the public,’?’ Wykham explain- ed.

Wykham said that a_ sizeable number of West Vancouverites have expressed a willingness to support expansion plans through increased taxation or even private donations.

Council referred the plans to its General Services Committee.

-tendent

o ting a

3 - Sunday,

January 31,

TUX - North Shore News

NV District school board

connectio

I

consicere

NORTH VANCOUVER’S District 44 School Board has

voted to notify B.C.‘s Ministry of

Education that the

district is willing to form a company to examine the viability

school in Hone Kone.

But District 44's school superin- Dr. Leo Marshall said after Tuesday night's board meeting the district has no inten- tion of operating a school in Hong Kong until more details of the pro- ject have been clarified.

Tie North Vancouver and Van- couver school boards both submit- ted Hong Kong school proposals

: to the provincial government tate

last’ year int response to a 342. million program of Pacific Rim initiatives announced in October by Premier Bill Vander Zalm.

According ta the motion passed by the North Vancouver board Tuesday night, the company set up by the district would, under con- tract ta the Ministry of Education, analyze the Hong Kong student market and the availability ef school sites in the Pacific Rim city for the projected 1989 opening of a secondary school.

Marshall said at the meeting the board had been in discussion with the education ministry for the past six months over the proposal, but “there are a lot’ of Baps in our in- formation.”

He said, for instance, the board did net know what demand for a

“B.C. -style education system existed

in Hong Kong, and because of the prohibitively high cost of construc- school in Hong Kong “you'd have to find an available site with an existing building because there is no capital to build a facility in Hong Kong.””

Marshall emphasized that no district money could be used to fi- nance the school, because gov- ernment legislation forbids B.C. school boards from expending schoo! district funds on schools outside B.C. The legislation allow- ing a school district to operate for profit an independent school out- side the province requires instead that a company be incorporated by the school district to run that school.

The government authorized the Ministry of Education to guarantee

Abortion debated

From page 1 Michael Welton, lost an appeal in 1985 to file a civil suit against LGH over its abortion policies, said Thursday’s ruling could result in hospitals tightening abortion rules,

If women, he said, can now have abortions for any reason, not just out of medical necessity, hospitals such as LGH could not afford to perform increasing numbers of abortions ‘‘and make sick people wait for operations while healthy women abort healthy babies.’’

He said more women would consequently be directed to abor- tion clinics.

Clark said she hoped the Supreme Court decision: would reduce polarization of. abortion factions and perhaps direct pro-life forces into more constructive pur- suits such as preventing unwanted pregnancies through the spread of sex education,

But she said she feared the deci- sion would instead make the more extreme pro-life forces on the North Shore even more ‘‘bigotted, vehement and viscious.*

of establishing an independent B.C. -accredited secondary

By TIMOTHY R HAW and ROBERT BEYNON

million start-up loan over three years for the company operating the school. The first year’s installment would be $442,000. _

But Marshall said school start- up and annual operating costs wonld vary depending on the fin- dings of the viability study.

He added that the structure of any company working under the school board would have to be ex- amined carefully.

Minister of Education Tony Brummet has said the school will be financially self-sufficient.

Marshall told the board that a school in Hong Kong would pro- vide opportunities for North Van- couver district teachers to teach overseas and would make exchange trips for North Vancouver students

easier. The school would enrol approx-

imately 100 secondary students, who would be instructed in B.C.’s provincial curriculum. The majori- ty would be from the Hong Kong area, but 10 high-achieving B.C. students would also receive schol- arships to attend the school.

Marshall said if analysis showed a Hong Kong school to be feasible, the District 44 board would then be prepared to discuss with the government the steps required to open a school.

{In an carlicr interview on the subject trustee Roy Dungey said the District 44 board has pursued the proposal because establishing a school in Hong Kong or elsewhere in the Pacific Rim would be a good extension operation.

He said the school would pro- vide good opportunities and a broadening of academic horizons for district teachers and allow the district to offer another second language besides French.

Marshall will meet with ministry Officials next week to discuss the feasibility study.

a $1

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Sunday, cloudy. Highs near 2°C. Monday, rain or snow showers. Tuesday, periods of rain or snow.