maple ridge news, june 12, 2013

Student flying high in wake of tragedy. p3B.C. ViewsExpense cleanup must continue. p6

The piles of brush left on the ground are drying out and turn-ing the powerline right of way into a powder keg that could blow and wipe out years of research at the UBC Malcolm Knapp forest.

So the research forest, the mayor and Maple Ridge Fire

Department want to get word to B.C. Hydro and its contractor, Flatiron-Graham, which is build-ing a 247-kilometre, 500-kilovolt powerline from Merritt to Co-quitlam: speed it up.

The plan for chipping, that I heard, was to start in August, and thats too late, said Paul Lawson, forest manager.

They need to get this dealt with now.

Lawson said there are about 100 piles of slash that have been left on the ground from the right of way clearing. As the summer heats up

and conditions dry, theyll turn into tinder and could be starting points for any accidental or delib-erate fires that could race up the mountainside at the north end of 232nd Street.

Theyre all targets for arson, ba-sically, is what they are.

Currently, thanks to cool weath-er conditions, the forest fire haz-ard is rated low. But there already was a period of high fire hazard in May during a warm spell. And a fire already occurred in the right of way in April, near the forest.

Maple Ridge Fire Department

put out the blaze.If a fire broke out nearby and

spread to the research forest, it could destroy years of forestry work that date back 60 to 70 years.

Theyre all pretty much along the south boundary of the forest, so theyre very vulnerable to this hazard, Lawson said.

Residents and their homes, which are creeping up the hillside in Silver Valley, are also at risk. You could throw a baseball from the forestry boundary and hit the suburbs, added Lawson.

Groups want slash piles chipped before too late

THE NEws

Powerline project a fire riskColleen Flanagan/the newS

Erika Inzunza, traffic campaign captain for the neighbourhood where a young boy riding a longboard collided with a car, wants more traffic-calming mea-sures implemented.

Boy injured in longboard collision

A 12-year-old boy was seriously in-jured after he crashed into a car while riding a longboard Saturday afternoon in east Maple Ridge.

The boy and his friends were boarding in the 24700 block of McClure Drive around 2:15 p.m.

According to police, the boy was lying down on his board and failed to spot a car, colliding head-first into it.

The boy was travelling down a steep incline and simply was not able to stop in time, said Ridge Meadows RCMP Sgt. Dale Somerville,

The driver of the car remained at the scene following the crash while the boy was rushed to hospital by helicopter.

The boy is the fifth longboarder in as many weeks to be injured in a crash.

Last week, three longboarders were in-jured in two separate collisions in West Vancouver and the Sunshine Coast.

See Longboard, p12

See Forest, p12

wednesday, June 12, 2013 Serving Maple Ridge & Pitt Meadows est. 1978 604-467-1122 50www.mapleridgenews.com

SportsOneill taken in third round by Seattle Mariners.p20

Opinion 6Letters 7Looking Back 13Seniority 14Arts&life 18Sports 20Classifieds 27

Index

taken to hospital by helicopter, in serious condition

Colleen Flanagan/the newS

Paul Lawson, manager of the research forest, amid one of the slash piles.

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2 -- Wednesday, June 12, 2013 -- THE NEWS - www.mapleridgenews.com

When Amos Topping went to the podium to get his award, a huge cheer went up from the crowd. Many of the 600 at the banquet knew his story.

He was getting the most prestigious award of the night, the Spirit Eagle Award, which is given to students who overcame adver-sity, at the annual Aboriginal Achievement Awards for the Maple Ridge-Pitt Meadows school district.

Two die in rural house fire, read the newspaper headline in January 2001.

The sub-headline was more jarring.Witnesses and family hear pleas from

children trapped on second floor.Those were Amos two sisters.He, his mother Carol and two siblings

made it out of the house safely, as fire tore through their 1920s farmhouse in the 21000 block of 128th Avenue.

Neighbours and two young men who were passing by tried to get the trapped girls out.

Neighbour Steve McDonald and the boys broke windows around the house and tried to gain entry, according to reports, but the heat from the fire was too intense for them to dare going in. Flames were shooting out the roof, under the eaves and from the win-dows.

Maple Ridge firefighters arrived within 10 minutes of the call, but it took them an hour to extinguish the raging fire. The house was gutted, the roof burned away.

Fire officials determined it started in a chimney, and spread quickly through the dry timbers of the old house.

Carjeana, 8, and Shalaina, 11, both died that night.

Amos, who was always a quiet kid, be-came almost non-verbal.

He arrived at Westview secondary four years ago, at the age of 15. He was nervous, and most of his communication consisted of a simple nod. He couldnt read.

Amos had struggled with a speech im-pediment, of which there is no trace of now in his normal conversation. But he said its still there if he speaks quickly.

I talked to people I knew, I just didnt talk very much, he explained quietly, fidg-eting with his hands.

My brother always spoke for me when I was younger.

If Amos was asked a question, Deakin, four years his senior, would answer it.

He just loves talking, smiled Amos. Were total opposites.

He remembers the night of the fire.It probably made me more quiet.Westview teachers found he was func-

tionally illiterate. Just four years ago, Amos was reading at a level he estimates was kin-dergarten or Grade 1.

I just never could read, he said. I just didnt learn.

Patti Williams, an aboriginal support worker, theorizes that teachers in the sys-tem sympathized with Amos painfully shy, silent and having suffered emotional trauma and they probably cut him too much slack.

I think in elementary school they either didnt think he was capable, or didnt want to push him too hard, said Williams.

She found he had minor learning disabili-ties that were barriers to his literacy, but hes pushed through it.

His father Tom Topping is a mechanic. He has brought up a son who knows his way around an engine, and isnt afraid of work.

I enjoy working with my hands, Amos said.

Metalwork, carpentry and mechanics all come easy to him, even if academics havent.

For him, the notion of reading for plea-sure would have been a bit like doing math-ematics for fun. Thats a tough sell for an educator. Williams and other teachers took a different approach, selling him on the

idea that improved literacy would allow him to read manuals, building plans and enable him to pursue more schooling in the trades. Thats something Amos could buy into.

He had a bigger reason to read, said Williams.

Westview administration purchased an emerging reading program designed for people learning basic literacy as adults, and Linda Cartier worked through it with Amos.

She was awesome, she really taught me to read, he said. She found out how I would pick it up.

Reading, maturing, leaving school with his dogwood its turned him into a young man with a bright future.

Were really excited for him, said Wil-liams. If he hadnt learned to read he still would have been okay, because hes person-able, but this opens more doors. Hes so much more confident now.

Stories like Amos are the reason teachers love their jobs.

Theres been a whole team of us at the school who all did our part, said Williams.

Were glad hes graduating, but were sad he wont be here every day.

There were 600 people watching as Amos got his Spirit Eagle Award, and they gave him a big cheer. He was shocked. Yes, he had signed the forms that gave his permis-sion to be nominated, but he hadnt really paid any attention at the time a teacher asked him to sign something, so he signed it.

Next thing he knows, hes getting called up in front of a big crowd to receive the biggest honour at the Aboriginal Achieve-ment Awards.

I got more relaxed as I walked across the stage, he remembers. It was a total sur-prise.

Amos is currently reading the Hobbit and enjoying it. He will attend commence-ment ceremonies with his girlfriend later this month. He will look at the possibilities of attending BCIT, and is interested in the machining program.

When someone seldom speaks, their words carry more weight.

Amos final remark: Thanks to all the teachers who have helped me.

Flying high in wake of tragedy

Colleen Flanagan/the news

When Amos Topping arrived at high school, he couldnt read. Now hes graduating and has found a home in the trades, even making his own guitar.

westview secondary senior wins spirit eagle Awardb y N e i l C o r b e t tstaff repor ter

www.mapleridgenews.com - THE NEWS -- Wednesday, June 12, 2013 -- 3

People are getting on a bus at a higher rate in Maple Ridge and Pitt Meadows than the rest of the Lower Mainland, according to TransLinks latest review of routes.

e number of boardings per hour jumped 56 per cent in four years, the high-est rate of increase in any TransLink area.

ats likely due to more frequency being o ered by the two busiest routes into Maple Ridge, the No. 701 and No. 791, connecting to Coquitlam and New Westminster.

e details were in the 2012 Bus Service Performance Review, which also shows that the yearly number of hours of bus service in Pitt Meadows-Maple Ridge has remained unchanged at 87,000 in the past four years.

Only Ladner-South Delta-Tsawwassen has fewer hours of bus service, at 57,000 hours.

Statistics for the No. 791, which runs from Haney Place Mall to Braid SkyTrain, shows an increase of 132,000 riders in two years, up to just under 600,000 riders a year in 2012.

at dropped the cost per passenger on that route to $2.64 from $3.12.

On the No. 701 line, which runs from Haney Place Mall to Coquitlam Centre, the number of passengers for all of last year grew by about 111,000, to about two mil-lion riders.

e cost per passenger, as a result,

dropped to $1.96 in 2012 from $2.07 in 2010.

By comparison, the cost per passenger along the C48 community shuttle route to Whonnock rings in $7.84.

Maple Ridge Mayor Ernie Daykin said frequency on the No. 701 and 791 routes have increased due to 15-minute service for 15 hours a daily.

He was curious about ridership on the No. 595, which brings people from Maple Meadows West Coast Express station to the Carvolth park and ride in Langley, where

people can catch express buses across the new Port Mann Bridge.

Ridership on that route has jumped by more than 100,000 in the past two years, to 414,000 in 2012, following the open-ing of the new bridge. Cost per passenger dropped in the same period to $2.43 from $5.42.

Daykin still wants area mayors to help gure out how to help Maple Ridge get express bus service, carrying people from Haney Place Mall to Coquitlam Centre or Braid SkyTrain with only a few stops

along Lougheed Highway in Pitt Meadows and Coquitlam. at would shave 15 to 20 minutes o the current route times, which require diverting through Pitt Meadows.

People also want community shuttle ser-vice to Silver Valley, at the north end of 232nd Street, and better service in Albion.

I think the reality is, we still dont have enough density to put community shuttles up there [Silver Valley], Daykin said.

Maple Ridge and Pitt Meadows, which dont have the population or density of the major cities, are still lagging in reducing the costs of public transportation to tax-payers.

Overall, for 2012, the real cost per passen-ger was $2.13 in Maple Ridge-Pitt Mead-ows, $1.92 in the Tri-Cities, and $1.84 in North Delta-Surrey-Langley-White Rock.

Vancouver had the lowest costs of $1.08 to carry the average passenger.

The review shows the total number of bus trips taken per hour increased 3.4 per cent, while the average cost per trip dropped by 2.2 per cent, confirming TransLinks work to optimize bus service.

Most of the 25 poorest performing sub-urban bus routes are served with commu-nity shuttles, and include two in Ladner, two in Tsawwassen, two in Richmond/Queensborough and one each in Maple Ridge, Pitt Meadows and Lions Bay.

Part of the efficiencies considered last year was cutting the C-49, which runs down 272nd Street to Whonnock.

But TransLink is maintaining that and is changing the C-48 by hooking into Albion along McClure Drive and connecting to the Port Haney West Coast Express sta-tion.

Ridge, Pitt highest ridership jumpNumber of bus rides up 56 per cent, according to TransLink review

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How services in different areas of the region compare were outlined in performance review.


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A four per cent increase in salaries over the span of a year for city employ-ees has one Pitt Meadows resident fuming as he battles politicians to keep spending in check.

According to financial statements released this week, employee salaries rose to $4,307,915 in 2012, a 4.7 per cent in-crease from $4,112,357 in 2011.

When compared over two years, its a 10 per cent increase in wages.

The city also saw more staff earning more than $75,000, climbing to 22 in 2012 from 15 in 2011.

When Tom Murray looks at the financial statements, he takes a deep breath and shakes his head.

Its ridiculous, says Murray, who spear-headed a petition last year calling for the city to reign in spending with a zero tax increase.

Although Murray col-lected more than 1,300 signatures, his petition was not successful.

The former school board trustee remains undefeated and plans to restart his petition this summer, calling for no tax increase in 2015 an election year.

Every time they get a chance for a raise, they grab, says Murray, a se-nior who lives on a fixed income.

They have to bring spending in line. Its just

going nuts.Murray echoes the

criticisms of the Cana-dian Taxpayers Federa-tion, which believes civic spending is out of control across the country.

Pitt Meadows chief ad-ministrative officer made $195,134 in 2012, more than the chief of staff for the White House, whose salary topped out at $172,200 last year.

For Murray, the com-parison is clear evidence that civic salaries and spending need to be capped.

All we wanted to do last year was see what no tax increase looked like, and the city refused, said Murray.

People, especially seniors, are still con-cerned.

While Pitt Meadows

has its critics, city spend-ing and salaries still pale in comparison to other Metro Vancouver mu-nicipalities. Vancouvers city manager earns more than $320,000 annually.

Pitt Meadows mayor believes the salaries are justified.

Another thing people dont realize is that we are a small operation, said Deb Walters, noting

many city staff do mul-tiple jobs.

For example, the citys director of operations is also responsible for de-velopment services and also sits as deputy CAO.

The citys director of legislative services also heads the economic de-velopment corporation.

I think we get ex-tremely good value for our dollar, Walters add-ed.

Is it high compared to the private sector, possi-bly it is.

Pitt Meadows also

managed to whittle down two-thirds of its $16 mil-lion debt in 2012 with the sale of city-owned land.

Walters believes the call for no tax increase is not realistic and not sustain-able.

At the end of the day, especially the people who sign the petition, what would you give up, asked Walters, adding most dont want to give up any city services and many want a pool.

For detailed financial statements, visit ma-pleridgenews.com.

Pitt Meadows salaries up 10% in two yearsResident restarting tax petition

Top earnersThe top earners for Pitt Mead-ows council in 2012: Mayor Deb Walters $66,082, $5,804 in expenses; all councillors earned a salary of $25,882. Councillor expenses: Coun. Janis Elkerton $3,706; Coun. David Murray $2,942; Coun. Tracy Miyashita $2,567; Coun. Doug Bing $1,984; Coun. Bruce Bell $95; Coun. Gwen OConnell $45.

Top city staff earners for 2012: Jake Rudolph, chief administrative officer $195,134 in salary and $10,924 in expense (2.4 per cent increase over 2011); Kim Grout, deputy CAO, director of operations $145,539 and $9,454 (10 per cent increase); Dean Rear, director of fi-nance $126,007 and $4,744 (2.2 per cent increase); Don Jolley, fire chief $120,094 and $2,139 (2.5 per cent increase);

Lorna Jones, director of human resources and com-munications $111,247 (7.5 per cent increase); Rob Chatton, assistant fire chief $102,702 (7.2 per cent increase); Brad Perrie, assistant fire chief $102,461 and $1,056 (0.4 per cent increase); Randy Evans, operations superintendent - $102,078 (2.5 per cent increase); Cheryl Harding, man-ager of financial services $96,618 and $3,223; Dave Philp, business ana-lyst $96,215 and $3,501; Mike Larsson, fire safety technician $88,872; Dana Parr, planner $88,426 and $1,258; Scott Kyle, fire safety technician $88,081 and $1,598; Kate Zanon, director of corporate and business ser-vices $86,886 and $5,830; Bob Williams, utilities foreman $86,577 (five per cent increase); Martin Brown, network specialist - $81,767 and $4,252 (nine per cent increase); Murray Doull - $81,686 (7.5 per cent increase).


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THE NEWS/opinion

VICTORIA As she unveiled her new cabinet, Premier Christy Clark prom-ised a line-by-line review of government spending to deliver a balanced budget this year.

Statements such as this would have more credibility if politicians subjected their own personal spending to the same scrutiny. ats still not happening in B.C.

Expense accountability has come a long way in the last year, thanks mainly to the work of now-departed Auditor General John Doyle, who swung the cobweb-covered door open onB.C.ssecretive Legislative Assembly ManagementCom-mittee. Chairedby the speaker and run by senior MLAs from both parties,the committee had beendoing pretty much whatever it wanted with MLAs own expenses.

Doyles audit found that MLA credit card bills were being paid without receipts, part of a lax accounting system that included inaccurate bank records and inadequate management of the leg-islature gi shop and dining room. e operating budget of the legislature and constituencies runs to more than $60 million a year.

Now-retired speaker Bill Bariso asked the auditor to give a pass to the $119,000 annual allowance for each of the 85 constituency o ces. Transfer amounts

and payroll expenses were veri ed, but constituency expenses were not, likely because these records werent kept either.

Im not suggesting that there has been any misuse of public funds. e point is we dont know, and the notion of an honour system for politicians expenses has become unacceptable.

A similar toxic tale has been unfolding in the Senate in Ottawa. It has its own secretive committee called the Board of Internal Economy, which was forced into the open a er trying to sweep Senator Mike Du ys housing claims under the red rug of the Senate chamber.

Du y has lived in Ottawa for de-cades, rstas a TV host, then as a sena-tor, but he decided the rules were loose enough that he could claim his summer place in Prince Edward Island as his principal residence. An audit has also found he was claiming living expenses in Ottawa while campaigning for the Conservatives back east. It turns out the key ingredient in an honour system is honour.

is mess goes back more than a century in B.C. and Canada, and has its roots in the British Parliament, where MPs and Lords had a system of claiming all sorts of expenses, including construc-tion of a duck house and maintenance of the moat around an Honourable Members castle.

Many years ago, British MPs convinced themselves that they were underpaid, and rather than create a public fuss by giving themselves a big raise, they would be able to top it up by claiming up to 250 pounds at a time without receipts. Cheers.

You can imagine how well that worked out. As one observer put it, the system was not only open to abuse, it was actu-ally designed for it.

Here in B.C., the next step is obvious. If you go to the website of Alberta Premier Alison Redford, you can easily nd the link to her detailed expense reports, itemized for travel, meals, hotel rooms and so forth. Alberta cabinet ministers provide the same disclosure.

B.C. cabinetministerstravel expenses are now reported, but only as an occa-sional lump sum.

As a result of Doyles revelations last summer, B.C.s Legislative Assembly Management Committee now meets in public, with transcripts of proceedings available. But MLA expenses are still not itemized. Total expenditures are being reported on a quarterly basis, but with no detail to explain why some MLAs have much higher totals than others.

Its time to sweep out the cobwebs.

Tom Fletcher is legislative reporter and columnist for Black Press

andBCLocalnews.com(t [email protected]).

Expense cleanup must continue

Long and shortIngrid RiceNews Views

Published and printed by Black Press at 22328 119th Avenue, Maple Ridge, B.C., V2X 2Z3

@ Online poll: cast your vote at www.mapleridgenews.com, or e-mail your vote and comments to [email protected]

This weeks question: Is 12 years old too young to have a cell phone?

B.C. Views Tom Fletcher

A 12-year-old boy was seriously injured while longboarding near his home in east Maple Ridge on Saturday.

According to police, he was riding down a steep hill, lying on his stomach, and rammed head- rst into the side of a moving car.

He was wearing a helmet. e boy is the h longboarder in Metro Vancou-

ver in as many weeks to be seriously injured in such a collision.

Last week, three longboarders were injured in two separate collisions in West Vancouver and the Sun-shine Coast. A week earlier, another longboarder in West Vancouver narrowly missed serious injured af-ter he landed under a SUV. Another longboarder was lucky to escape catastrophe Tuesday in Victoria a er catapulting over the hood of a car.

All this has neighbours and safety advocates calling for better tra c controls or new rules banning long-boards on our streets.

Last year the District of North Vancouver joined White Rock, West Vancouver and the City of North Vancouver in banning longboarders on some streets, because they go too fast down hills with, essentially, no breaks. Now North Van district may ban long-boarding on all streets.

Will that stop riders? Can such bylaws be e ectively enforced? Will they reduce injuries, prevent deaths?

To outlaw this increasingly popular recreational activity would be a knee-jerk reaction, as is blaming parents for the recent collisions. e latter cant be standing on every street corner, hovering over their young. Kids need room to grow. Sometimes they make errors in judgement.

By the way, the longboarders injured in West Van-couver were 21 and 23 years old.

However, parents must teach their kids safety, just as they would for rollerblading, riding a bike or a stan-dard skate board stay to the right, obey tra c signs and signals. If you can, teach them how to fall prop-erly. Teach them how to break, slalom or slide. Show them where it is safe to ride, or to employ spotters, to communicate with one another.

We doubt the District of Maple Ridge is going to designate a hill solely for longboarders, stacked with hay bails at the base, anytime soon. In the meantime, let the latest incidents serve as a lesson in awareness.

We need not ban longboarding any more than shopping cart races. But we need to be aware of our surroundings and potential dangers such as moving vehicles, and cruising down hills at high speeds with no brakes and take precautions (dont buy a board).

Be smart, be safe. e News The point is we dont know, and

the notion of an honour system for politicians expenses has become unacceptable.

Jim Coulter, [email protected]

Michael Hall, [email protected]

Carly Ferguson, advertising, creative services [email protected]

Brian Yip, circulation [email protected]

22328 119th Avenue, Maple Ridge, B.C.,

V2X 2Z3O ce: 604-467-1122

Delivery: 604-466-6397Website: mapleridgenews.com

Email: [email protected]

e News is a member of the British Columbia Press Council, a self-regulatory body governing the province's newspaper industry. e council considers com-plaints from the public about the conduct of member newspapers. Directors oversee the mediation of complaints, with input from both the newspaper and the complaint holder. If talking with the editor or publisher does not resolve your complaint about coverage or story treatment, you may contact the B.C. Press Council. Your writ-ten concern, with documentation, should be sent to B.C. Press Council, 201 Selby St., Nanaimo, B.C. V9R 2R2. For information, phone 888-687-2213 or go to www.bcpresscouncil.org.

CCAB audited circulation: (as of March 2012): Wednesday - 30,630; Friday 30,626.

Ser ving Maple Ridge & Pitt Meadows since 1978

THE NEWS


Editor, The News:Re: Taxes trimmed to 3.9 per

cent (The News, June 5).When I opened the envelope

from the District of Maple Ridge a few days ago, containing my yearly property tax bill, I must admit I was a little shocked.

I shouldnt have been. It happens every year about this time. I be-grudgingly put it into the to be paid file with a few other items.

But, wow, do I ever feel better to-day. When I returned home from work and opened my copy of The News, there it was. Our mayor and council have triumphantly an-nounced taxes will be trimmed to only 3.9 per cent increase.

And it even gets better. In 2014, the increase will be only 3.6 per cent, and in 2015 3.8 percent then in 2016, it will be 3.8 per cent, and again in 2017, it will be 3.98 per cent.

What restraint, all those small numbers. I sat down to figure out what my tax bill will be in five years, when I plan on retiring.

Guess what? Shock again. After you calculate the percentage

increase on the percentage increase on the percentage increase, you end up with an increase of slightly more than 20.5 per cent.

I challenge you, dear readers, to do the calculations yourself with your own tax bill. You wont like the num-bers you see.

This is not fiscal restraint, its mad-ness. Give your head a shake over there at municipal hall and wake up. People have not had large increases in income over the past five years and, god help the elderly, on fixed incomes.

Gord McBeathMaple Ridge

146% increaseEditor, The News:Re: Taxes trimmed to 3.9 per cent

(The News, June 5).Tax time has brought out the anger

and frustration of our citizens and for good reason. Maple Ridge has increased property taxes for 11 con-secutive years.

I started tracking our property tax-es in 2002, now 10 years later, I find an increase of 146 per cent. Tax in-creases like this is just highway rob-bery.

Has your income gone up by 146 per cent?

We know that municipal workers received wage increases of 25 per cent, and senior office staff members make well over $100,000 a year, with

several making up to $250,000 a year.The main issue is not wages, but

tax revenue. Maple Ridge continues to have the lowest tax ratio of any municipality in the Lower Mainland, 93 per cent residential with seven per cent commercial.

The commercial tax rate is so high we have a problem attracting new business and retaining existing busi-ness.

During the last election, council and mayor all promised to promote new commercial and retail develop-ment. As we all know, nothing has happened to date. With another up-coming election in November 2014 do we dare hope for progressive change like found in Pitt Meadows, Mission, Port Coquitlam and Chilli-wack? Chilliwack is glaring example, the same size as Maple Ridge with a tax ratio of 12% residential and 88% commercial (this data from 2010).

These communities have local commercial and retail shopping, jobs that bring a positive future with tax revenues that grow a balanced com-munity. Not just a bedroom commu-nity.

Do we hope for change or do we make change happen? It is all up to you.

Jim BulpitMaple Ridge

Taxes really going up 20%Editor, The News:Re: Destruction of Pitt Polder

(Letters, June 5).While George Clarke may have

extensively toured in the southern U.S. in the past couple of years, he is either a relative newcomer to our area or has simply chosen to ignore its history.

The Pitt Polder was a lowland area reclaimed by Dutch immi-grants several decades ago. Being submerged in water a majority of the time, there was not a lot of ex-isting vegetation of any significance to have been virtually stripped of all vegetation by greedy, uncaring developers.

Subsequent to that, many of the new immigrants settled on dairy farms they built in the reclaimed area. At that time, the land was cul-tivated to grow hay and other feed crops for the herds or just used as pasture land.

Skipping forward to present time, these fields have been planted in higher value berry crops.

Im not sure of which drainage sloughs have been filled in he is re-ferring to, but having lived here all my life, I see all the major sloughs in place as they have been since I can

remember. Perhaps when next Mr. Clarke

enjoys his blueberry smoothie, pie or just fresh fruit with ice cream, or digs into his holiday feast accompa-nied by cranberry sauce after wet-ting his appetite with a cranberry martini, he might want to consider the tremendous risk, investment and effort involved to buy the land, prepare, plant, care for, then harvest, process and distribute the goodness he is enjoying. Granted, he may be one of those consumers who balks at paying a fair price for local pro-duce and would rather save a few pennies to support imported prod-ucts. In that case, its easier to enjoy the savings in blissful ignorance of how those products are produced.

Farmland is meant for farming. Nature and wetland reserves are meant for wildlife and limited use by hikers, photographers and other outdoor enthusiasts.

Both have their place, and both have their price.

Mr. Clarke might want to consider putting his money where his mouth is next time he wishes to confuse misguided emotions with fact.

John Blok Maple Ridge

Just remember where those berries came from

The News/letters

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A beaver chewed through a tree, causing it to topple onto power lines, spark and brush fire and close Lougheed Highway in Maple Ridge on Monday.

Sparks from the power lines started a small fire

near Spencer Creek, forcing the Maple Ridge Fire Department to shut down Lougheed High-way around 3:30 p.m. to traffic travelling west.

Assistant fire chief Mark Smitton said the fire department had to wait for B.C. Hydro to shut down a section of the power grid before crews could hose down

the brush fire.As of 7 p.m., the

west-bound stretch of Lougheed Hwy. be-tween 240th Street and Tamarack Lane was still closed to traffic.

Spencer Creek is home to the semi-aquatic ro-dent, who is building a dam in the vicinity.

Smitton said firefight-ers did not see the bea-

ver when they arrived on scene.

It isnt the first time a beaver has caused traffic havoc in Maple Ridge.

In 2005, a tree chewed by a beaver fell onto a moving pickup truck near Spilsbury Street on Lougheed Hwy., a few blocks east of Mon-days fire.

Beaver sparks fire in Maple Ridge Colleen Flanagan/the news

A fire truck parks near a brush fire that was sparked by a tree, which was toppled onto power lines Monday after-noon in Maple Ridge. The fire department said a beaver chewed through the tree, causing it to fall onto the wires.


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leadersoftomorrowMadison AndrewsKanaka Creek elementaryMadison Andrews is in Grade 6 at Kanaka Creek elementary and was nominated because she is an example to everyone.She is kind, personable and level-headed in all situations.

She has made many contributions to the school and the community: taking part in activities with the Me to We leadership group, personally raising money for cancer awareness, and every few years cutting her hair at the Relay For Life event.

Her most memorable school moment was when she was the lead in the school play last year, and being asked for her autograph.

That was pretty awesome, she said.

Her future plan is to become an author. I am good at writing and hope to sell my adventurous books everywhere.

I also hope that one day I could travel to Africa and teach there. I could raise money to help build more schools and create recreational activities there.

I hope to go to university to be a teacher, so I can be a mentor for kids.

I am good at writing and hope to sell my adventurous books everywhere.

Claire BruceKanaka Creek elementaryClaire Bruce, in Grade 6 at Kanaka Creek elementary, is a leader of tomorrow.

I think I was nominated because Im in Me to We, and I try to show leadership in the school. Whenever there is a chance to make a difference I jump at it, because making the world a better place is what I live for, she said.

Her most memorable school moment was when she organized a bake sale to help kids with cancer.

It took a lot of work, but it was worth it because I ended up raising around $575, and knowing that I helped a child in need, that feeling is priceless.

Her future plans are to volunteer at the SPCA and join as many clubs in high school that bene t others or are trying to make the world a better place.

I hope to go to university to be a teacher, so I can be a mentor for kids and help them see that they can make the world a better place by doing just the simplest things, she said.

You could drop off a can of soup at the food bank or you can donate your old clothes to Big Brothers. But the simplest thing you could do is give someone a smile. It can even be a stranger, but when you smile at someone, youre making your day that much brighter.

In Leaders of Tomorrow published June 5 in the News, Claire and Madisons photos were reversed. See correction below.Congratulations go out to Claire and Madison from the News.


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any of the above events, or print your coupons from our website.

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While Marc Dalton and the Liber-als surprised the province with their May 14 come-from-behind victory, theres no surprise about what the MLA will be doing when he gets back to Victoria.

The representative for Maple Ridge-Mission was re-named parliamentary secretary to the Minister of Educa-tion on Friday, when Premier Christy Clark named her cabinet.

Hes also on the Cabinet Commit-tee on Secure Tomorrow and is dep-uty chair for committee of the whole, overseeing debates in the House. Dal-ton held the parliamentary secretary position before the election, as well.

Newly elected Maple Ridge-Pitt Meadows MLA Doug Bing was named to the Cabinet Committee on Strong Economy.

Dalton said Monday the summer session shouldnt be a long one, just enough to pass the budget announced in the spring.

And while he wasnt named to cabi-net, Dalton, a former teacher, expects to get in one day.

Shes [the premier] made it clear to me that shed like to see me in cabi-net.

That could be at any posting, not just education, the former teacher

pointed out.In the mean-

time, theres lots to do.

What wont be done, though, is any tinkering with the five-per-cent Harmonized Sales Tax and the seven-per-cent Provincial Sales Tax restored April 1 after the disastrous Liberal introduction of the Harmonized Sales Tax in July 2010.

The B.C. Cham-ber of Commerce last week called for the govern-ment to trash the PST, calling it an abysmal tax.

We cant wait for the PST to do more damage before we act, cham-ber president John Winter said in a release.

This tax stunts business growth in B.C., scares away Canadian or inter-national businesses that might come grow jobs here and mires everybody in red tape and nonsensical rules. Frankly, its an embarrassing tax.

In May, the B.C. chamber called for discussions on creating a value added tax, or VAT, one that would function similarly to the just-dumped HST.

Dalton, though, said thats not hap-pening.

I dont hear anything to the effect that were moving in that direction. I dont think theres much of an appe-tite going back to an HST, at all.

If that was the case, he added, that would have been part of the Liberal election platform.

The chamber has always favoured such a tax, Dalton said.

Thats been their position for years and years and years.

Liberals wont be discussing return to HST or new tax

MLAs sworn in, ready for short summer session

Dalton

Bing


Shes [the premier] made it clear to me that shed like to see me in cabinet.

MLA Marc Dalton, Maple Ridge-Mission

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Various Publications

Maple Ridge/Pitt Meadows NewsMaple Ridge/Pitt Meadows Times

The drive to serve you better.When visiting an auto body shop, you want to feel confi dent knowing

youve brought your vehicle to a place you can trust. Thats why every year

ICBC independently surveys approximately 60,000 customers who visit

ICBC-accredited c.a.r. shop VALET facilities for repairs to fi nd out which

shops are delivering customers, like you, with top-quality service and repairs.

This year, 15 top-performing shops in BC earned the AutocheX Award for

achieving customer satisfaction scores in the top fi ve percent of auto body shops

in North America. These shops provided on-time deliveries, high standards

for repairs, and kept customers informed throughout the repair process.

Congratulations to the winner in your area:

Meadowridge Collision Ltd.

Thank you to all of the businesses and organizations who contributed to the building of the Intergenerational Garden on Edge Street.

We are very grateful for your support!

A project of the Government of Canadas New Horizons for Seniors program

Thank You all for our Intergenerational Garden

District of Maple Ridge

Meadows Landscape Supply

Haney Builders Supplies

Interfor Hammond Cedar Division

Green Man Landscapes

Beneath Your Feet Landscaping

West Coast Seeds

Pro-Link Supply

Hanks Trucking

Hodgins Equipment Services

Rona Home Centre

Speedpro Signs

Maple Ridge Garden Club

Maple Ridge Fire Department

Panago

Golden Ears FEAST

CEED Centre

Save-On Foods

Starbucks

Ridge Meadows Recycling Society

Amsterdam Greenhouses & Garden Centre

Costco Wholesale

Maple Ridge Pitt Meadows News

All of the volunteers including parents, staff and students of Eric Langton Elementary School and St. Patricks Elementary School

11995 Haney Place, Maple Ridge, BC V2X 6A9Tel: 604-463-5221 Fax: 604-467-7329

www.mapleridge.ca

Open House

MAPLE RIDGE ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT STRATEGY

You are invited to attend a public open house and provide your input on the Maple Ridge Environmental Management Strategy. Highlights of the Strategy will be presented at the open house and the District is seeking public input prior to preparing a draft management plan. The open house will have display boards as well as a presentation.

Date: Thursday, June 20, 2013Time: 5:30 pm to 8:30 pm (drop-in)Location: Thomas Haney Secondary - Rotunda (23000 116th Avenue)

If you have any questions about the above event, please contact Rod Stott by email [email protected].

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What to do with a charming old relic of a building that dates back two centuries, thats on its last legs and isnt worth fixing?

Maybe you bulldoze it into the ground and for-get about it.

Maybe you restore to its past glory, and in re-turn get some property tax breaks from the dis-trict.

Maybe it can be moved to a heritage lo-cation, where the past can be preserved.

Its hoped some an-swers can be found in a new heritage plan being created by the District of Maple Ridge.

A draft version rolls out to an open house Thursday, 4:30 p.m. After the public gives input, the final version goes to council in the fall.

Currently, only build-ings that are designated heritage sites can be banned from demoli-tion. Thats an extensive and expensive process, unavailable to most and which leaves any other heritage building either

classified as a heritage resource, or not even classified at all.

Sometimes, all you can do is document them and then kiss them goodbye, said former Maple Ridge councillor Craig Speirs, now chair of the community heri-tage commission.

In the case of the old cold storage building on Dewdney Trunk Road and 256th Street, a structure which spanned two centu-ries, there wasnt even a chance to take photos or record the building before it was torn down earlier this year.

Its gone now, and theres nothing you can do about it.

Speirs said the same fate likely awaits the old Sampo Hall, just across the street. The hall is slowly deteriorating and likely cant be saved.

The open house at dis-trict hall is one of the last venues to comment after word about the rewrite was circulated on social media and at community events.

The plan looks at the financial measures available to encourage building preservation and tries to improve upon them, Speirs said.

There also needs to be way to identify heritage buildings when demoli-tion applications come to the districts front counter.

Response so far has yielded 155 comments, a good number, Speirs said.

Hed like the heritage plan to mirror the of-ficial community plan, the master document for Maple Ridge, or for the heritage plan to be-come incorporated into the OCP.

We hoping that this dovetail with the OCP and really give us a road map going forward.

Draft of heritage plan rolls out Thurs.b y P h i l M e l n y c h u kstaff repor ter

If you fit into one of these categories and have

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Do you fit into oneof these

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Did you move into the area recently?

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www.mapleridge.ca

Invitation to Tender

DOWNTOWN ENHANCEMENT PROJECTLougheed Highway from 226 Street to 228 Street

REFERENCE NO: ITT-EN13-47 PROJECT NO: E02-010-0182The District of Maple Ridge invites tenders for the Downtown Enhancement Project Lougheed Highway from 226 Street to 228 Street. The work generally consists of roadway excavations and construction of concrete curbs, sidewalks, planted medians, street trees complete with modular soil system, street lighting, irrigation, pavement markings, and asphalt milling and paving.

Tender Documents may be obtained on or after Wednesday, June 19, 2013 during normal business hours (Monday to Friday, 8:00 am to 4:00 pm, except holidays) at the Engineering Counter of the District of Maple Ridge, on payment of a non-refundable amount of $52.50 (incl. GST) made payable to the District of Maple Ridge. The document can also be downloaded from BC Bid at www.bcbid.gov.bc.ca. Unveri ed bid results will also be available on BC Bid after closing time.

The Tender Documents may be viewed at the Plan Room of the Vancouver Regional Construction Association, 3636 East 4 Avenue, Vancouver, BC V5M 1M3.

Tender submission requires the accompaniment of a Bid Bond (or Certi ed Cheque) in the amount of ten percent (10%) of the total Tender Price and a Con rmation of Surety to provide Performance and Labour and Material Payment Bond if the tender is successful, each in the amount of fty percent (50%) of the Tender Price.

For technical inquiries, contact Ryan Wood at Aplin & Martin Consultants 778-880-0577. For all other inquiries, contact Rachel Ollenberger at the District of Maple Ridge, 604-467-7326.

The District of Maple Ridge reserves the right to reject any or all Tenders or to accept the Tender deemed most favourable in the interests of the District. The lowest or any Tender may not necessarily be accepted and the District will not be responsible for any cost incurred by the Tenderer in preparing the Tender.

Tender Closing Date: Wednesday, July 3, 2013

Tender Closing Time: 2:00 pm local time (Public Opening)

Tender Deposit Place: District of Maple Ridge Reception Desk (First Floor) 11995 Haney Place Maple Ridge, BC V2X 6A9


www.mapleridge.ca

Notice of Public Hearing

TAKE NOTICE THAT a Public Hearing will be held in the Council Chamber of the Municipal Hall, 11995 Haney Place, Maple Ridge, North-East corner entrance, at 7:00 p.m., Tuesday, June 18, 2013 to consider the following bylaw:

2012-077-RZ

MAPLE RIDGE ZONE AMENDING BYLAW NO. 6941-2012LEGAL: Lot B, District Lot 278, Group 1, New Westminster District, Plan 76445

LOCATION: 11935 - 207 Street

FROM: CD-3-87 (Service Commercial, Bank or Credit Union) and CS-1 (Service Commercial)

TO: C-2 (Community Commercial)

PURPOSE: To accommodate a new Langley Farm Market.

AND FURTHER TAKE NOTICE that a copy of the aforesaid bylaw and copies of the staff report and other information considered by Council relevant to the matters contained in the bylaw will also be available for public inspection at the Municipal Hall, Planning Department counter, between 8:00 a.m. and 4:00 p.m. from June 7, 2013 to June 18, 2013, Saturdays, Sundays and Statutory Holidays excepted. Some of this information will also be posted on the District website www.mapleridge.ca on the Mayor & Council/Council Meetings page.

ALL PERSONS who deem themselves affected by this bylaw shall be afforded a reasonable opportunity to be heard at the Public Hearing before Council on the matters contained in the bylaw or by making a written submission to the attention of the Manager of Legislative Services or by sending an e-mail to the Clerks Department at [email protected], by 4:00 p.m., June 18, 2013. All written submissions and e-mails will become part of the public record.

Dated this 7th day of June, 2013.

Ceri MarloManager of Legislative Services

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Fingers crossedLongboard from front

A week earlier, another longboarder in West Van-couver narrowly missed serious injury after he landed under a SUV.

RCMP are urging long-boarders to stay away from dangerously steep hills.

This is the first serious longboarding incident Ridge Meadows RCMP have had to deal with, but police know this type of activity is going on, and it is not a safe practice, said Somerville.

The boarder has a limited ability to stop for anything once the rider

builds up speed, so they are not in total control. As well, many of the board-ers are lying down on the board, which reduces the chance of ... seeing them as they travel along the road.

Although the boy was wearing a helmet when he crashed, he remains in hospital with serious head injuries. Police said he was scheduled to have surgery Monday.

Somerville said a pre-liminary analysis of the crash scene shows show the long boarder was at fault.

In a post on his Face-book page Monday, the boys mother wrote that doctors were going to try to wake him up Tuesday morning.

Fingers crossed ev-eryone and keep sending your prayers, I know they are helping, she said.

B.C. has long been a cultural hotbed for long-boarding and is home to several of the top riders and longboard manufac-turers.

A longboard is just a skateboard thats much longer than usual, and mostly used for downhill

racing, commuting, or cruising around town.

Unlike the District of North Vancouver, White Rock, West Vancouver and the City of North Vancouver, which have banned longboarders on some streets, Maple Ridge has not.

Maple Ridge district spokesperson Fred Arm-strong said council will wait for a report from its traffic management com-mittee before proceeding.

Its not going to be a knee-jerk reaction, he added.

Its an approach thats lauded by Les Roberston from North Vancouver-based company Rayne Longboards, a member of B.C.s new Longboarder Coalition.

Serious longboarders are extremely safety-con-scious, said Robertson. Banning the sport from streets wont work.

He suggest parents who purchase skateboards or longboards for their chil-dren teach them road and safety rules before allow-ing them to ride.

My question to the parent is, how are you equipping your child for

being on an open road, whether on bicycle or longboard or playing street hockey? A lot of parents give their kids a board and thats it.

Residents of the Maple Ridge neighourbood where the accident oc-curred, meanwhile, are calling on the district to install traffic calming measures to slow cars down.

Erika Inzunza, the neighbourhoods traffic campaign captain, feels theyve been ignored.

They are waiting for somebody to be killed or critically injured in an accident before they do anything, said Inzunza, who has been lobbying for a stop sign at the cor-ner of McClure Drive and Kimola Drive since 2009.

The long boarder crashed metres away from Inzunzas home and she believes a stop sign might have prevented the collision. She says cars driving through the hilly neighbourhood, of-ten pick up speed as they head downhill.

We demand some-thing to be done urgent-ly.

Time running outForest from front

So theyre totally at risk for these types of fires, as well.

Members of the com-munity advisory board for the research forest toured the slash areas and where the forest in-tersects with the right of way on Saturday.

Fire chief Peter Groot-endorst said his depart-ment has already written to B.C. Hydro, asking that the slash debris be removed before high hazard times.

Flatiron-Graham has been responding and on Wednesday was to meet with the fire department, forestry and FlatIron to work out a fire response

plan.Grootendorst said the

powerline right of way stretches 14 kilometres through Maple Ridge, which works out to about 200 hectares.

The wood waste cant be burned off, but can be chipped on site, then hauled away.

But if its left too long and conditions get too dry, even bringing in a chipper could create a fire hazard.

Were encouraging them to start on it fairly early. The longer it stays, the more drier it gets, Grootendorst said.

Hes also wants to iden-tify the high-hazard ar-eas so the Flatiron knows which areas to target.

The only problem is were running out of

time.B.C. Hydro has on-site

crews and fire-fighting tools, such as water tank-ers, tool caches and heli-copters, on standby.

We take this risk very seriously. The contractor is adhering to all appli-cable regulations and has developed a comprehen-sive plan to manage the fire risk, Hydro spokes-person Simi Heer said in an e-mail.

Maple Ridge Fire De-partment, the Ministry of Forests, Lands and Natural Resource Op-erations are also cooper-ating with joint training and pooling of resources and equipment, and most employees have re-ceived firefighting train-ing, Heer added.

Earlier this year, the

Alouette River Man-agement Society com-plained about clearcut-ting for the right of way going right to the banks of Clayton Creek, which could cause siltation in the water and water tem-peratures to climb, dam-aging fish.

But Heer said that six logs have been hauled out by helicopter and another 12 hauled out from a non-fish bearing stream.

Hydro and the contrac-tor also plan on selling the useful logs that have been cut as a result of the right-of-way clearing.

Some logs are still in the streams, but they were blown down by the wind and arent re-lated to construction. Meanwhile, some envi-

ronmental repairs are underway where there is a risk of erosion. In those cases, willows are plant-ed along with seedlings.

Some logs havent been hauled out because ap-proval is being sought from the Ministry of Forests, Lands and Natu-ral Resources.

Flatiron-Graham JV continues to work with B.C. Hydro to develop a custom-clearing pre-scription in the area near the Alouette River to re-duce our impacts there, Heer said.

Final remediation takes place when tower construction is com-plete.

In stream areas, the policy is to retain as much existing vegetation as possible.

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TURN YOUR EMPTIES INTO A NEW SET OF WHEELS.

MAY 1 - SEPTEMBER 2, 2013

WESTVIEWSECONDARY SCHOOL

CLASS of 2013Thank you for your

support of Dry Grad 2013

American EagleBCLDBlue Line Sports Canadian Tire Maple RidgeCarline MuersCity NailsCoast Mountain Bus Company Coquitlam CentreDairy Queen 224th st. De Dutch - Maple RIdge Domino's PizzaDonair TopEdwards FamilyFuel SupplementsFitness UnlimitedFive Guys BurgersFeathers Hair Styling Gold Rush JewelersGreat ClipsGrouse Mountain ResortsHammond Jewelers

Haney Sewing and SoundHalu SushiHope Fitness ConsultaPonsHusky Gas Bar 207thKal TireKeg - Maple Ridge Lotus / LemongrassLordco Maple Ridge Leisure CentreMaple Ridge DonairMcDonalds 203rd McDonalds 228thMetrotown MeteropolisPhoto ExpressPiZ Meadow Golf Course PNEPrime Time - Norton AnP VirusQuiznos - 203rdQ- Tech RonaRichmond Go Karts Rotary Club Maple RidgeSafeway - 203rd StSave on Foods - 203rdScoPa Bank Maple RidgeShoppers Drug Mart

SproZ Shaw Community CollegeSephora Staples Starbucks - 207th Subway - Harris RdSun Hang Do MarPal Arts Sport ChekTemptaPons SalonTelus Triple Tree Nursery Vancity Vancouver GiantsVeolia EnvironmentalWarehouse OneWestCoast Auto GroupWestminster SavingsWestview Secondary PACWestview Sec Sta You First Distributors LtdWild Play White Spot Maple RidgeWicked Piercing Wok Box

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In 1907, Richard Stanley Whiting, a newcomer from England, became the owner of the Whonnock general store and Whon-nocks postmaster.

Three years later he married Margaret Ben-son, who also came to Whonnock in 1907, and they moved to prop-erty above what is today called Byrnes Road.

He interested a fellow countryman named Dearman George Prob-ert, also from Hereford-shire and probably a relative, to join him to run the store.

Probert arrived in Canada in 1910 and moved into the home that was part of the store building.

In the morning of Friday, May 26th, 1911, a burglar entered the Whonnock general store and helped himself to some clothes and food. Noticing the post-office safe, he entered the adjacent home, where shopkeeper Probert and a lodger named Charles Crowe were sleeping.

Reportedly armed with

a double-barrelled gun, the intruder attempted to force the shopkeeper to come over to the store and open the safe for him, but in a struggle for control of the weapon, Probert suffered a bullet shot in the arm and an-other in the abdomen.

The burglar escaped. Eight days later, Probert

died from blood poison-ing in Vancouver General Hospital.

The murderer was never identified.

Contemporary news-papers give few and conflicting details of the murder, but in 1955 the weekly magazine of the Province published an article about this case. The writer was B.A. McKelvie, a journalist known to sensationalize the past based on fanciful research. Still, in this in-stance, McKelvies story seems truthful when he tells about Crowe run-ning for help to the near-by West house, followed by the wounded Probert. Mrs. West, ne Martha Mary Lee, was a nurse the only one in Whon-nock and she and her brother Olaus attended to Proberts injuries until the arrival of Dr. Funk, who was stationed at the

Stave Dam. Almost a year after

the murder, in Febru-ary 1912, two bothers of Probert came from Calgary to reopen the case. With the help of private detectives, they reportedly had secured valuable evidence, suggesting that local people could have been involved in the robbery and holdup. Nothing came of their efforts to identify the culprits, but the echoes of the idea that the perpetrator or perpetrators were from Whonnock are reflected in a grotesque version of the May 1911 murder in George Godwins novel The Eternal Forest, published in 1929.

At the beginning of the novel, Blanchard [Whit-ing] says: You werent here when the store mur-der happened ... They never got the fellow. He made a clean get-away. They telegraphed down the line. No go ... Well, he was supposed to have smashed open that door ... [b]ut he never did. It was a put-up job. There never was a holdup man in the store at all.

Blanchard mentions that someone saw a woman dressed in white

running from the back of the store to Armstrongs. In this version, Blanchard [Whiting] is pointing his finger to Mrs. Armstrong [Mrs. West] as the mur-derer.

But later in the novel, Old Jim, the chief of the Indian reserve, tells a different story. At the night of the murder, he saw Mrs. Armstrong, Blanchard and another man drinking and laugh-ing in the store. The other man made advances to Mrs. Armstrong, anger-

ing Blanchard, who hit him with a bottle. The man pulled a gun. Mrs. Armstrong grabbed him and the gun dropped. It got into Blanchards hands and he shot and killed the man. Mrs. Armstrong ran off to her house.

Many years later, the late Brian Byrnes, a long-time Whonnock resident, asked Whiting about Godwin and his book.

Whitings only com-ment was, That beastly beggar.

An unresolved murder case in Whonnock

Contributed

On the left of the Whonnock building is the store, and on the right are the living quarters, where the shooting took place.

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maple ridge news, june 12, 2013

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