Sidney & Saanich Peninsula Audited Circulation 12,933 An Island Publishers Newspaper Wednesday February 21,1990 35¢ Waleomc to the wonderful high- tech world of Dr. Tomorrow: An interview with _, Frank Ogden in « This Week Mil BUSINESS B8 CLASSIFIED Bil COMMUNITY A22 OPINION A6 OUTDOORS Al2 SPORTS B4 CALENDAR B3 LIVING A16 | GARDENING Al5 TOP OF THE PILE A7 School site ‘on our reserve’ reich Tsarlip chief makes unexpected speech by Valorie Lennox The Review The new Mt. Newton Middle School site may be on the Tsartlip Reserve, Chief Dan Sam told a Thursday information meeting on the new school. Sam said the southern boundary of the reserve, which abuts the school property, has been disputed by the band since 1935. The natives believe a forced land exchange and altering of the original reserve surveys robbed the band of property. District 63 school board chair- man Marilyn Loveless said the board received a letter on the potential land claim from the Indian band before Christmas. — The letter was discussed in- camera and a request for more information sent from the dis- trict’s lawyer to the band. Sam said the band has asked the Union of B.C. Indian Chiefs to research: the history of the Tsartlip reserve boundaries. A report is expected by the end of this month Continued on Page A5 on’t hold your breath for LRT by George Lee The Review NASH Al HAMPSON Al2 GRENBY B8 BEYER A8 CROSSQUOTES A118 BRENNAN Al6 LANG Ald Medieval fun in the hallways A19 A commuter rail system of any, description serving the Victoria region is distant possibility in the eyes of B.C. Transit. General manager Bob Lingwood told Sidney town council that fore- casts of ridership in the Victoria region don’t justify planning a light rail or light rapid transit system. But some “fairly significant” improvements to service will come to the Peninsula by 1991-92, when the fleet will have grown to 135 or 140 buses, Lingwood said on the 100th anniversary of the Victoria system. - “At this time all the indicators for market demand (of rail service) are so far below the levels when we would seriously consider it that we haven’t addressed it in our present planning program,” Lin- gwood told council. In the current debate over the level of upgrading for the Pat Bay Highway, the idea of rail SeLVice has come up, The main advocate, the Greater Victoria Electric Rail- way Society, has appeared before municipal councils, submitted briefs to public meetings and met with B.C. Transit. Lingwood said old rail and road rights-of-way are nonetheless important to the regional transit commission. The future could see separate rights-of-way for buses heading back and forth from the core. The Western Communities, however, would receive the benefit of bus-ways before the Saanich Peninsula. There are ‘“‘very limited options” for road expansion in the region and the idea would be Developer doing his best to help tenants, council says A developer is helping find tenants of a Henry Avenue apart- ment building new homes, Sidney aldermen heard Monday. Only two people at 2294 Henry Avenue are still without homes, a town staff memo to committee-of- the-whole says. “Demolition will not take place until everyone is relocated, in any case, not for four months,” the memo from town administrator Geoff Logan said. Ald. Tim Chad said Ron Tidman of Tidman Construction Ltd. deserves congratulations for being “a good corporate citizen” in his efforts to help the tennants. Tidman plans to knock down the 18-unit building for parking for a major seniors complex Mills Road and Resthaven Drive. Mayor Norma Sealey said Tid- man has been “more than fair. He’s gone out of his way, includ- ing paying moving expenses and other costs. “There are limits to what he can do. He has voluntarily done quite a bit.” costly, Lingwood said. “These things are never cheap.” B.C. Transit hopes to have answers on bus-way planning by September, Lingwood said. B.C. Transit is also working closely with provincial Transporta- tion and Highways on the concept of high-occupancy lanes for any vehicle carrying three or more people. Continued on Page A2