Radio Haney

Vandalism, in one
form or another. p6
Longtime businesses plan for future. p39
Jobless father

THE NEWS
www.mapleridgenews.com Friday, October 1, 2010 · Serving Maple Ridge & Pitt Meadows · est. 1978 · 604-467-1122 · 50¢
of four wins
$6.5 million in
Lotto 6/49.
See p5

Child porn
charges laid
in rave rape
None yet though related to
sexual assault
by M o n i s h a M a r t i n s
staff reporter

Charges have been laid against a

teenage boy accused of taking pho-
tographs of a sex assault at a Pitt
Meadows rave.
The 16-year-old boy made his first
appearance in Port Coquitlam Pro-
vincial Court Wednesday morning
on one count each of producing child
pornography and distributing child
pornography.
He is accused of using his cell phone
to photograph a 16-year-old girl be-
ing raped by several boys at a party
held on a farm at 12993 Harris Road,
Sept. 10, while a group of at least 12
people stood by and watched.
The photographs were then posted
on the Internet and distributed to
hundreds of teens via Facebook. James Maclennan/THE NEWS
Police described the photographs
as “graphic” and “disgusting.” Fall harvest
See Charges, p12 Workers at a Golden Eagle Cranberry Farm on 224 Street in Maple Ridge harvest cranberries after flooding a field on Tuesday.

John challenges hooking laws

Lawyer says Ontario
ruling could help
by M o n i s h a M a r t i n s
staff reporter
The lawyer for a Maple Ridge
man challenging the constitu-
tionality of Canada’s solicitation
hurt,” said Ray Chouinard, who
is representing Leslie Blais, a
man who was arrested in an un-
dercover sting targeting the sex
trade in downtown Maple Ridge
four years ago.
Blais, a construction foreman,
believes prostitution laws con-
tribute to the physical harm,
abuse and murder of sex trade
workers and is challenging their
who uses the services of prosti-
tutes.
Blais was arrested in May 2006
in a sting conducted by the Ridge
Meadows RCMP.
The 45-year-old man tried to
pick up a female RCMP officer
who was posing as a prostitute.
He was subsequently charged
with communicating for the pur-
poses of prostitution.
lated prostitutes’ rights because
it made their work more danger-
ous.
Chouinard said his client de-
cided to fight the case because he
once worked in a downtown Van-
couver restaurant frequented by
sex trade workers.
“He saw all kinds of violence,”
Chouinard said.
“He saw women beaten nearly

L ong-gun and painful

memories for Shirley
Anderson. See story, p3
laws is applauding an Ontario
court decision that struck down
three major anti-prostitution
laws on Tuesday.
“It’s going to help. It cannot
constitutionality under of the
Canadian Charter of Rights and
Freedoms.
It is the first such challenge
brought forward by a john, a man
Instead of pleading guilty or at-
tending “john school” like most
of the other men arrested in the
sting, Blais decided to challenge
to death, johns being pulled out
of their car, beaten and robbed. It
was just the Wild West. He’s try-
ing to put an end to it.”
the solicitation law, saying it vio- See Prostitution, p11

Index
Opinion 6
Radio Haney 6
Parenting 16
Home&gardening 19
Acts of Faith 35
Business 39
Scoreboard 42
Long-gun and painful memories
S tor y by Phil Melnychuk
T
he carton of
pre-rolled
Players
cigarette wrappers
sits on a tray next
to the TV, while
another plastic box
contains more blank
wrappers in another
container on the
coffee table.
Shirley Anderson knows
she smokes too much and
is about to try a third quit-
smoking session.
But she’s opened the sun-
deck door on her fifth-floor
apartment on 224th Street in
Maple Ridge and she’s lit a
candle for a visitor to make
it more comfortable to listen
to her story.
“You know something?”
she says.
“I never smoked until it
happened.
“Never had a cigarette till
after it happened.”
It happened on a Grey Cup
weekend in Edmonton more
than three decades ago, in
November 1979.
After a struggling mar-
riage, Shirley had finally left
her husband for the third
and final time the previous
March and she had taken
her 17-year-old son Erwin
with her. She was tired of
the mental and physical
abuse from her husband and
tired of seeing her eldest son
smacked around.
But she had left her young-
er son Ricky, 6, who had just
started Grade 1, with her dad
in the west Edmonton bun-
galow because the two were
close and dad never spent
his wrath on his youngest.
“This is my little guy. He
was six years old when that
picture was taken, that was
when he was killed,” Shirley
says as she hands over an ag-
ing photo of a tousle-haired
boy.
“He’s my little angel – blue-
eyed, blond-headed little an-
gel.”
The day of the shooting,
Anderson was working the
2:30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. shift as
a waitress at a local restau-
rant. She didn’t complete her
shift because police came to
pick her up halfway through
Shirley Anderson keeps a photo on her youngest son’s last school photo in her apartment living room.
and took her down to the po-
lice station to tell her what
happened.
Her husband had taken his
.308 hunting rifle, she thinks
it was a Winchester, and shot
and killed their son, who was
asleep on the chesterfield.
Then he turned the rifle on
himself.
“It was done at 5 p.m.”
While she wasn’t living in
the house at the time, she
frequently stopped by to pick
up her son. Even the day of
the killing, she had called her
husband, asking if she could
see Ricky. He refused.
“Thank God we didn’t walk
in and find him,” she says.
“With no registry, they didn’t know about it.”
Shirley Anderson
Despite the passage of 30
years, the pain has never,
left and Anderson, now us-
ing her maiden name, has
been struggling.
With the recent debate over
the abolition of the long-gun
portion of the registry, the
issue has resurfaced again
and pushed Anderson to
speak about any form of its
dismantling. The issue was
settled two weeks ago when
the Liberals and NDP com-
bined to keep the registry in
place and defeat a Conserva-
tive bill to disband it.
For Anderson, registration
of rifles is just a common
sense step that could reduce
the number of shootings and
spare others what she went
through, although she rec-
ognizes, it can’t stop all trag-
edies.
The outcry against the
long-gun registry and the de-
mands to have it dismantled
bother her. “It just appalled
me.”
People argue that a gun
registry doesn’t keep guns
out of the hands of crimi-
nals and prevent them from
shooting people.
Anderson agrees. What it
does, though, is make ordi-
nary families with rifles in
the house a bit safer.
While people maintain that
hunting rifles are for hunting
and not killing people and
for peaceful purposes only,
Anderson says they can be
turned against loved ones.
“We had firearms in the
house and he was using
them for hunting too, and
look what happened. These,
too, can kill people if you’re
in the wrong state of mind.”
She points out that her hus-
band had two hunting rifles,
a .22 and the .308.
“They both had scopes,”
she says.
He used to hunt deer and
moose around Whitecourt,
about an hour northwest of
Edmonton.
After the investigation, Ed-
monton police even returned
the weapons to her, a move
that today still puzzles her.
According to a story in the
now defunct magazine Al-
berta Report, her husband’s
serious problems started
after a fall from scaffolding
on a construction site. That
shattered his legs and in-
creased his depression.
After the funeral, Ander-
son says doctors told her
that air bubbles in the veins
had damaged her husband’s
brain.
She says he was never the
same after that accident, a
James Maclennan/THE NEWS
detail a friend agreed on at
the funeral.
But the marriage wasn’t
perfect before that either.
She never loved him – only
married him because she
thought she could find no
one else, though he was a
good provider.
“The only thing that was
good out of that marriage
was my two children.”
One night, before she left
her husband, he had put one
of his rifles at their bedside
as a warning, but it never
dawned on her that he would
use them against her son.
In fact, during the five or
six calls police made in re-
sponse to arguments in the
house, they were never once
told there were rifles in the
house.
“With no registry, they
didn’t know about it.”
That was years before the
Canadian Firearms Registry
was created in 2001. With the
registry in place, police now
would know before they even
knocked on the door.
“How many families have
died with a hunting rifle? I
just want to voice my opinion
about it and get it out there
to these people. I wish I could
get it clear across Canada.
See Registry, p4
Registry helps
women’s safety
The work of the people who
try to help women escape
violent marriages is easier
thanks to the Canadian
Firearms Registry.
Because having access to
firearms is the fifth most-
important risk factor coun-
sellors use when assessing
the potential for violence.
When a woman leaves a
violent relationship, police
are usually involved and they
can tell workers at Cythera
Transition House Society
whether the ex has access to
guns, said society executive-
director Teresa Green.
“I believe access to guns is
one of the fifth highest risk
factors.”
The top five factors used
in assessing the danger a
woman is in:
• abuser’s prior criminal
record and previous domestic
incidents;
• abuser’s substance abuse;
• abuser’s mental health;
• is the abuser actively look-
ing for her and does he know
the location of the transition
house?
• access to weapons.
Often, because the woman
still loves her partner, or
because she’s afraid for her
life, she won’t always tell
police or staff if her abuser
has a handgun or rifle. So the
registry would provide that
information – assuming the
husband registered the gun.
“It is an important thing.”
The registry seems to be
working, Green added.
Though she couldn’t imme-
diately cite sources, statistics
show that domestic shoot-
ings have dropped since the
registry was implemented
in 2001.
“There has been a drop
down. The stats are down
with the registry.”
People often argue that
a gun registry won’t
affect criminals who use
unregistered weapons when
committing an offence. But
domestic violence is also
criminal, she pointed out.
In Canada, 75 per cent of all
domestic shooting deaths
are done with rifles.
Ridge Meadows Mountie not guilty of assault
by M o n i s h a M a r t i n s
staff reporter
A Mountie accused punching
a handcuffed suspect in Maple
Ridge was acquitted of criminal
charges Thursday in Port Co-
quitlam Provincial Court.
Judge Pedro de Couto found
that Const. Ed Fox used “no
more force than necessary” to
subdue Matthew Gregg, while
taking him into custody for
causing a disturbance on Sept.
13, 2006 outside the Villa Torni
Apartments on 222nd Street.
“He was justified in escalating
the force he applied,” De Couto
said.
The verdict drew applause
from the RCMP officer’s col-
‘Don’t feel like a criminal, please register your guns’
Registry from p3
“Please, register your guns.
Please don’t feel like a criminal
because you’ve got to register
your guns.”
“I just want to voice my opin-
ion and get it out. This is what
I want to fight.”
•••
After the shooting, Shirley
went into shock. The couple
had been married in Ontar-
io and there was no family
around to help. Friends and
counsellors tried to shield her
from the worst. And standing
like a rock to protect his mom
was her 17-year-old son Erwin.
“I was crying 24/7 – and he
was the one holding me.”
She worries, though, that
despite counselling sessions
and grieving courses she’s at-
tended over the years, that her
son hasn’t yet personally come
to terms with it and that he
hasn’t had time to grieve. He
leagues and family outside
court.
Fox was charged with assault
causing bodily harm, 28 months
after Gregg’s arrest, following a
RCMP internal investigation.
The court heard Fox and
Const. Aaron Lloyd were called
to the apartment to a domestic
dispute.
Gregg’s ex-girlfriend testified
she was moving out that morn-
ing, a decision spurred on by
a fight that took place in the
parking lot of a local shopping
mall, where Gregg grabbed her
ponytail and dragged her to the
floor.
She had asked Gregg to stay
away while she and her best
friend packed up and moved
her belongings to a storage fa-
had to grow up quickly.
After the deaths, Anderson
met another man and moved
to Fort Smith in the Northwest
Territories. He too had rifles,
but Anderson told him to keep
them out of sight.
That marriage ended after
14 years and Anderson moved
to Maple Ridge to be closer to
her son, who was by then in the
Lower Mainland. She sees him
when possible, but she figures
anytime the two are together
he’s reminded of the past.
“When I’m around him, he’s
always hugging and kissing
me and I treasure those.”
Anderson says she man-
aged to overcome most of the
trauma – except for the night-
mares.
Those would occur regularly,
usually involving a scene in
which her son is being taken
away from her. Every time that
happened, they’d set her back
cility.
Gregg, however, showed up
at the apartment and began
pounding the door, kicking
it with his feet, swearing and
threatening the women inside.
Afraid, the women called 911.
Gregg did not calm down after
police arrived and continued to
pace outside the apartment,
while directing his anger at the
officers.
His behaviour prompted po-
lice to arrest him for causing a
disturbance.
The court heard Gregg was
punched while handcuffed, his
upper body bent over the trunk
of a police car. The smack re-
sulted in the loss of two teeth.
Gregg, however, did not file a
complaint with police until six
a few days with depression and
grief.
A few months ago, she had a
different kind of a dream.
In that dream, she confronted
her husband and told him that
the problem wasn’t her.
“It’s you, not me,” she says,
recounting the dream, with an-
ger in her voice and a clenched
jaw.
In the dream, she has her
fingers wrapped around his
throat until they dig into his
flesh.
“I felt I got even with him in
that nightmare for what he did
to us and I haven’t had a night-
mare since.
“I felt like a big weight had
been lifted off me because I got
even with him.”
•••
There are few reminders of
the tragedy inside her apart-
ment.
She has the 8X10 colour
months after the incident.
Police accused Gregg of resist-
ing arrest and kicking at their
legs, aiming for their knees.
Judge De Couto accepted the
testimony of both officers and
noted their evidence was cor-
roborated by other witnesses.
Const. Fox, the judge said, did
not exaggerate or try to present
himself in a favourable like.
On the other hand, De Couto
dismissed Gregg’s account of
his arrest.
“Mr. Gregg exaggerated at
times when it suited his pur-
pose and tried to excuse his
conduct by blaming the police.”
Gregg, who has an extensive
criminal record, is currently
wanted on a warrant by Ridge
Meadows RCMP.
school photo of her son Ricky,
taken about a month before he
was killed. Other photos and
mementoes are packed away in
storage. She thought of getting
copies of the newspaper cover-
age of the incident, but never
got around to it. At the time,
friends sheltered her from that
coverage as much as possible.
And in the dining room,
there’s another photo, it too
showing its age, of her and her
older son Erwin. She’ll have to
get that one replaced and up-
dated, she notes.
She recalls shortly before his
death, she explained to Ricky
that she was splitting up with
her husband. Her son then
said he’d always love her. She
pulled the car over and told
him no matter what happens,
she would always love him.
“He’s in my heart, 24 hours a
day,” she says matter of factly.
“I know he’s around me.”
Jobless dad of four wins $6.5 million
Plans to buy a
house and car
by M o n i s h a M a r t i n s
staff reporter

An unemployed Maple
Ridge father of four
won $6.5 million in last
week’s Lotto 6/49 draw.
Richard Batitis
guessed all six numbers
in the Sept. 15 draw cor-
rectly - three were num-
bers played by his late
father.
“I’m trying to be re-
laxed,” said the 47-year-
old as he waited to pick
up his cheque Wednes-
day from the B.C. Lot-
tery Corporation head-
quarters.
A shipper-receiver, Ba- BCLC
titis has been jobless for Richard Batitis picked all six numbers in the Sept. 15 Lotto 6/49 draw.
the past year and cur-
rently rents a basement on Dewdney Trunk ways play the lottery with a swimming pool
suite from his inlaws Road, had a feeling his using my father’s lucky and buy himself a fancy
where he lives with his luck was about to turn. numbers. He passed car.
wife and kids aged 14, “I opened a fortune away in 1997, so I feel “We haven’t decided
11, 10 and six. His wife cookie the other day that my dad has sent me yet,” Batitis said.
only works part-time. that said ‘You will this blessing.” “We have debt that
“I’m a full-time house go through a big life Now, he can give his we can now finish [pay-
wife now,” Batitis said change’,” he said. “I al- kids a dream house ing] off.”
with a chuckle.
“It’s more of a job for
me since I got laid off.”
Batitis has been play-
ing the lotto every week
since he moved to Cana-
da from the Philippines
20 years ago, always
picking his dad’s lucky
digits or variations of
them.
Batitis, who purchased
his lucky ticket at the
Mac’s convenience store

$10,000 to ID
arts and culture
Under the Creative
Communities pro-
gram, 2010 Legacies
Now and the Province
of British Columbia
are providing $10,000
to Maple Ridge and
Pitt Meadows Leisure
Services to document
the region’s arts and
cultural resources.
The cultural map-
ping process will out-
line existing cultural
assets, using commu-
nity input, and assess
strengths and gaps in
the arts community.
It will provide a foun-
dation to prepare a
community-based
strategic arts and cul-
tural plan in future.
“Arts and heritage
groups enrich our
communities and pro-
vide visitors a win-
dow into our vibrant
local culture,” says
Maple Ridge-Mission
MLA Marc Dalton.
“This funding will
help identify areas
of arts and culture
within Maple Ridge
that can be used to
showcase local talent
and build successful
programs.”
THE NEWS/opinion Published and printed by Black Press at 22328 – 119th Avenue, Maple Ridge, B.C., V2X 2Z3

News Views Ingrid Rice

Clean slate
The cause of a Maple Ridge john who is challeng-
ing the constitutionality of Canada’s solicitation
laws could be helped by an Ontario Superior Court
of Justice ruling this past week.
The Ontario court decision struck down three
major anti-prostitution laws in the Criminal Code
on Tuesday, although it is not binding in B.C. or
other provinces.
Still, the lawyer for Leslie Blais, who was arrested
in an undercover sting targeting the sex trade in
downtown Maple Ridge four years ago, says the
ruling may be sufficient to strike down the Cana-
dian law.
“The Criminal Code in Canada can not be inappli-
cable in Ontario and applicable everywhere else,”
he said.
Which is why the federal government may now
appeal the prostitution ruling, because it feels pros-
titution harms individuals and communities.
But the court ruling found that the Criminal Code
prohibitions against brothels, living on the avails of
prostitution and communicating for the purposes
of the trade contribute to the danger faced by sex-
trade workers
And they do.
The federal government needs a new policy on
prostitution.
In Sweden, the number of female prostitutes
dropped dramatically after legislation was passed,
criminalizing the buying of sex and decriminalizing
the selling of sex. There, prostitution is regarded as
an aspect of male violence against women and chil-
dren.
Here, prostitutes are arrested and treated like
criminals, although prostitution isn’t illegal in Can-
ada. Attempting to find customers is, though, so sex
trade workers patrol dark streets and hide in alleys
Vandalism, in one form or another
O
n Sept. 22, C.A. vandal not regarded as a criminal? He or the terrain.”
and empty lots. Stone wrote in she should be. And parents are materially So what? Genstar must have known this
It’s not like the current laws have been able to stop this newspa- accountable. when it first walked onto the property.
them. At least the government could try to protect per: “As a taxpayer in Where there is vandalism, politics cannot Genstar has been around since 1950.
them. It has a clean slate to do so. Maple Ridge, I got van- be far away. Genstar, I’m confident, has the means
– The News dalized Friday night. In daily chats with friends and neighbors, financially to deal with this. The cost of
I do not like it, but I we may espouse views that contradict and protection may have to be passed on to the

THE NEWS
can understand people make many of us politically ‘hard to read.’ folks who choose, of their own will, to buy
stealing stuff. But to So, vandals read this: I would recommend homes in such delicate locations.
just ruin some one’s that you be shot at dawn, without a priest “Does council have the conscience and
Serving Maple Ridge & Pitt Meadows since 1978 possessions, what or last request and definitely no final puff backbone to enforce these protection
kind of lunacy is that? on a cigarette. rules?”
Jim Coulter, publisher I hope the person who Radio Haney Sounds a little right-wing, no? Perhaps, Council, of course, does not have a col-
publisher@mapleridgenews.com did this would have the Claus Andrup but I understand that there are many good lective conscience and I am confident it
Michael Hall, editor
editor@mapleridgenews.com
decency, when he has a folk in Maple Ridge willing to cheerfully does not share a backbone. We vote for six
Carly Ferguson, advertising, creative services manager lucid moment, to come pull the trigger on the vandals. of them so we get six consciences and six
admanager@mapleridgenews.com and pay for the damage [to a vandalized Switching to the opposite side of political backbones. The results are seen plainly
Kathy Blore, circulation manager truck], which is considerable.” persuasion, we come to another vandal when their votes amount to six of one and
circulation@mapleridgenews.com
One can sympathize with: “As a taxpayer, whom I hold in low esteem. half a dozen of the other.
Editorial I got vandalized Friday night.” Some 85 per In a separate letter to the editor in The So wipe away your tears for Genstar.
Reporters: Phil Melnychuk, Monisha Martins, cent of us feel mugged daily by the HST. News, Lesley Shields of Maple Ridge wrote, Expensive terrain re-grading? Oh dear,
Robert Mangelsdorf Stone shows near-Christian restraint concerning a form of vandalism seen by whatever next?
Photographer: Colleen Flanagan
with: “I can understand people stealing many as more serious than the daily B&E Developer naughtiness in Maple Ridge
Advertising stuff.” Certain judges in B.C. should be or nightly graffiti, vandalism frequently may be found in New Westminster’s court
Sales representatives: Karen Derosia, Glenda Dressler, Rina Varley, heartened by that comment. described as rape. Lesley writes about a records. This could be attributed to the
Michelle Baniulis Regarding the mental state of the vandals, proposed development in Kanaka. fact that the Corporation of Maple Ridge
Ad control: Mel Onodi
Creative services: Kristine Pierlot, Cary Blackburn
this is the lunacy of witless youth. Given “Why is there even an ongoing discussion occasionally is tempted to aid and abet
Annette WaterBeek, Chris Hussey vandals cannot or do not read, it is unlikely between Genstar and council to change the developer misdemeanors, contravening the
Classified: Vicki Milne they browse the letters page while sip- setback rules on this development? The Official Community Plan.
ping lattés, overcome as it were with lucid 30-metre setback was put in place for the Will the district now dance with the devil
22328 – 119th Avenue,
Maple Ridge, B.C.,
nanoseconds of decency. Expecting them to simple fact that it protects our watercours- in the Albion, happy to forgo its mantra
V2X 2Z3 pay for the damage is a longshot. Less likely es and the habitat surrounding them. on environmental setbacks? And is this
Office: 604-467-1122 is that these accursed pests have even once “The provincial government gave our a greenish-leftish question? To quote
Fax: 604-463-4741 experienced a lucid moment, or a sense of municipal government the power to protect Stephen Colbert, the ‘truthiness’ will soon
Delivery: 604-466-6397
Website: www.mapleridgenews.com
decency, between them. Were that the case, and enforce this. be known.
Email: newsroom@mapleridgenews.com the incident would never have taken place. “If the federal government recognizes this
Let us rid Maple Ridge and Pitt Mead- issue, so too should our municipal council, Claus Andrup is a former member of
The News is a member of the British Columbia Press Council, a self-
regulatory body governing the province's newspaper industry. The coun-
ows of vandalism before our community without hesitation.” the Maple Ridge Community Heritage
cil considers complaints from the public about the conduct of member becomes synonymous for it. Rick Cook, consultant for Genstar is Commission, Maple Ridge Economic
newspapers. Directors oversee the mediation of complaints, with input The word vandalism or vandal does quoted as saying, “following a 30-metre set- Advisory Commission, and Maple Ridge
from both the newspaper and the complaint holder. If talking with the
editor or publisher does not resolve your complaint about coverage or not get the gravity it deserves. Why is a back would require expensive re-grading of Historical Society.
story treatment, you may contact the B.C. Press Council. Your written

Q
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.
uestion Would you support the recall of local This week’s question:
CCAB audited circulation: (as of September 2009):
Wednesday - 30,221; Friday – 30,197.
of the MLA Marc Dalton? Should prostitution be decriminalized in B.C.?
week: Yes: 65% – No: 35%
@ Online poll: cast your vote at www.mapleridgenews.com, or e-mail your vote and comments to editor@mapleridgenews.com
THE NEWS/letters
I can wait two and
a half more years
EDITOR, THE NEWS:
It is always a pleasure to see the usual disgruntled let-
ter writers attempt to get us riled up, this time (again)
about the HST, the lying Liberal government (their
words), and how we must now support recall. Funny how
some of these writers always show up about a year ahead
of civic elections.
These people have a lot in common with all of those
who want something achieved that they deem necessary,
the government (us) must pay for it.
A referendum will cost $30 million, and recall will cost
about $500,000 per MLA. They have pegged 18. That would
be $9.5 million. For almost $40 million, I can wait the two
and half years until the next election, because the whole
processes will be a waste.
Look at all the squawking you do in two and a half years,
whereas when your initiatives fall on their collective be-
hinds, you’ll just look foolish.
May I suggest you do some research on why you are
calling the government liars, and the financial stability of
the province before you rant any more.
LORNE RIDING
MAPLE RIDGE
Letters welcome
Letters to the editor should be exclusive to The News
and address topics of interest to residents of Maple
Ridge and Pitt Meadows. Include full name and address,
as well as daytime phone number for verification. Keep
letters to 500 words or less. Letters may be edited for
length and clarity.
@ E-mail letters to editor@mapleridgenews.com.
No consultation with pubs?
EDITOR, THE NEWS:
Re: Charges in drunk driving death
(The News, Sept. 29); New drunk driv-
ing rules hurting pub (The News, Sept.
29).
It is interesting to me that The News
chose to run the story of charges being
laid in Amanda Woodthorpe’s death
on the front page, and a story that is
almost the same length on the second
page of Todd Arbuthnot bemoaning
the fact that Maple Ridge residents
are choosing to be responsible and not
drink if they are driving.
I am particularly interested in his
comment: “There is no consultation,
which is upsetting ...”
I sure hope that Mr. Arbuthnot does
not think that he should have been con-
sulted in this new legislation. I com-
pletely understand that we all need
to make a living – my husband is self-
employed and I can appreciate the fact
that we all need to support ourselves
and our families. That being said, it
is very unfortunate to read an article
that belittles the choices that people
are making to keep all our loved ones
safe on the road.
My thoughts and prayers are with
both the Middelaer and Woodthorpe
families, who have paid the ultimate
price, and I truly hope that Mr. Ar-
buthnot never has to experience what
they must be going through. THE NEWS/files
NICOLE ROBINSON Todd Arbuthnot claims new drunk driving restrictions are affecting business at his pub,
MAPLE RIDGE Fox’s Reach.

Maple Ridge to Vancouver: combining cycling, transit

R
oad construction the rack.” The driver nods. “No.”
between Haney and Janet grasps the yellow Seabus. Lots of room for bikes.
Vancouver leads handle on the rack, pulls View of harbor, cruise ships, con-
to thoughts of cycling to it down, lifts her bike, vention centre. After lunch at the
work. and slips the wheels into quay, we were back at Waterfront,
But into Vancouver? channels. and straight onto the Canada Line,
That’s no problem for “Looks wobbly, but it’ll which runs under Cambie. In 24
Dave Rush, of the Vancou- stay,” assures Dave. minutes, we’d be at the airport, but
ver Area Cycling Coalition. Janet’s bike has we get off at Marine Drive to use the
For 10 years now, this upturned bars, a soft new Arthur Lang bike path over the
civil engineer has pedaled seat. “Built it myself,” she Fraser. From there, it’s a short bike
into town. It takes him 20 says, “for comfort,” as she ride to SkyTrain north on Canada
minutes longer than buses Commentary clamps down the front Line to 41st and Oak.
and SkyTrain, or the West Jack Emberly wheel. Here, we follow Dave’s instincts
Coast Express. Since racks house two through Shaughnessey to Kits
“But I save an hour I’d bikes only, Dave will take Point. Next is the bike lane over
spend in the fitness centre,” he the No. 701 to Coquitlam Centre Burrard Bridge, along False Creek
adds. and transfer to Braid. Suddenly, he to the Main Street SkyTrain, and
Janet Amsden, Maple Ridge envi- notices his bus pulling away and back to Braid. We could catch the
ronmentalist and grandmother, and races off. No. 791 back to Haney, but the rack
I – both cycling novices – wanted “I’ll get ahead of it,” he shouts Contributed is full, so Janet and I take bus No.
to see how it’s done, but we didn’t back. Dave Rush talks to a bus driver about bike racks. 169 to Coquitlam, and transfer to the
want to bike all the way. Dave’s Janet and I reach Braid minutes No. 701. Dave has hardly formed a
suggestion was to cycle part of the before him. Here, we’ll board the Our plan to transfer at Commer- Cars on Dunsmuir, most with one sweat. He elects to cycle home from
distance and use transit for the rest. Millennium Line SkyTrain to Com- cial onto the Expo line to Waterfront occupant, are backed up. New West.
The journey began by buying an mercial and Broadway. is derailed by “debris” on its tracks. “Still the car culture,” says Dave, On the No. 701, Janet and I review
all-inclusive transit pass (about $8). Ascending to the platform is inter- We decide to cycle from here. scooping up a bike reflector. “Found our day while a group of uniformed
Ours let us access buses to New esting. Bikes aren’t allowed on the Dave heads north on Woodland a cell phone in parts once. Put it school kids talks quietly in the back
Westminster and Coquitlam, escalator. The elevator is tiny. Dave Drive, west on Adanac, west on together, dialed the one number in rows. As they de-bus in Haney,
SkyTrain to Vancouver or Rich- balances his bike on the back wheel, Union – older houses, quiet, treed the address book – mom. It fell off their chorus of “thank you” has
mond, and even the Seabus to North rolls in and presses against a wall. streets. Dave warns us to give my daughter’s roof, she told me. several other drivers wondering
Vancouver quay. “Don’t worry,” he says, “room for parked cars a wide berth. Your daughter can come and get it, what school they attend. Maybe,
En route, we’d get acquainted six bikes ... if you don’t mind getting “Haven’t won the door prize yet,” I said. No one did. Mom must have somebody will tell us, or maybe I’ll
with schedules and transfer points, friendly.” he says as a cyclist with a blue been paying the phone bill.” bump into them the next time I take
mounting bikes on bus racks, It’s busy on the train. Dave shows Dairyland milk basket on back zips Hamilton Street. Dave has a my bike into the city.
SkyTrain elevators, and new bike us how to brace for sudden jolts: one by. consultation in a building under Yep, I’m hooked, Dave. Thanks.
routes. hand on a rail, the other on the rear Dunsmuir viaduct. Dave’s construction. “Find a place for cof-
The first leg of our trip – to Braid brake handle. Suddenly, a woman pleased with the bike lane built fee,” he says. “I’ll find you.” Jack Emberly is a director of the
Station in New Westminster – began with baby buggy looks to exit. Dave during the Olympics. The city wants Outside a Starbucks, I watch a Centre for Education and
at the Haney Bus Loop. clears a path by darting out of our to connect it to Burrard bridge, but man in a business suit approach, Environmental Development
It’s 8:15 a.m. Dave makes eye con- car and into the next. At the follow- there’s opposition. It might mean smoking. “Can I buy a cigarette?” in Maple Ridge.
tact with the driver of No. 791. ing stop, he makes another Buzz another separate bike lane on “No.” For maps of Lower Mainland
“Gonna practice putting bikes on Lightyear move to rejoin us. Hornby. “Well, can I have the butt then?” cycling routes, visit www.vacc.
Public gets say on Albion flats
120 show up to
write comments
by Phil Mel nyc hu k
staff reporter
Schools, sports fields,
a stadium and big
stores could all be part
of the Albion flats.
Just because one group
prefers one use, doesn’t
mean it comes at the ex-
pense of others.
“There are 300 acres.
There’s a lot of poten-
tial to do a lot of differ-
ent things,” consultant
Mark Holland told a
group of about 120 at-
tending the first commu-
nity forum on the Albion
flats Wednesday.
“Everything is on the
table for discussion.”
But first there’s the
matter of the Agricul-
tural Land Reserve
– in which most of Al-
bion flats sits – and
the Agricultural Land
Commission, which
decides if any land can
be removed from the
reserve.
“They are a very, very
important part of this,”
said Holland.
“They said they’re
willing to talk, but they
haven’t made any prom-
ises.” Any plan has to
be something the com-
our downtown area.”
But what do Pitt Mead-
pathway connection to
Albion ferries, via Ka-
mission can take seri- ows malls do to Maple naka Creek and an over-
ously, he added. Ridge’s downtown? pass across Lougheed
Whatever decision is Where do people buy Highway to connect the
made in, Albion could their bedsheets, their two sides of Albion.
be a template for other shoes? she asked. Pare said downtown
areas, so the ALC wants Joyce Walker was Maple Ridge has been
to ensure any decisions bothered that the whole good for her business
don’t send a message area is within the flood in Haney Place Mall.
that it’s open season on plain and wondered Her annual sales have
farmland. how much it would cost increased five times to
“The decisions we to raise the elevation. half a million dollars, in
make today need to be Ruth Pare, owner of the last five years. “You
the ones that point us Haney Marketplace and can do business in Maple
in the right direction 10, Antique Mall, wanted Ridge.”
20, 30 years from now.” to see several uses for Janice Whyte wants
The meeting was the the area. She’d like the more stores, and is not
first chance for the ag land used for com- opposed to big box stores,
public to give their munity gardens. saying she resents hav-
views for the land at ing to leave Maple Ridge
Lougheed Highway and to spend her money and
105th Avenue as Maple “There’s a lot of do her shopping.
Ridge council tries to Andy Roy, sitting at
write an area plan by potential to do the same table, agreed
the new year. They did a lot of different with that.
that by filling out work- Smart!Centres owns
books answering ques- things.” several acres in Albion
tions and giving writ- flats and wants to put up
ten comments, all of Mark Holland big box
which will be reviewed consultant Former mayor Gordy
and used in the brain- Robson remains con-
storming session next cerned mass transpor-
Oct. 21 and 22. tation links aren’t being
When former Maple On Lougheed Highway, considered as growth is
Ridge councillor Betty she’d like to see small planned.
Levens was asked what destination-type shop- “Transit and transpor-
she’d like to see in Al- ping rather than big-box tation are not included
bion, she had her own stores. “I really don’t in this discussion … be-
questions. think they enhance the cause it should form the
“If you put retail in area.” backbone of whatever
here, it’s going to affect There could even be a we do.”
District vents frustrations about provincial marks system
Wednesday night in win vented the district’s and publish report perfectly, BCeSIS is an trations with BCeSIS, launch trajectory, then
BCeSIS a ‘waste of their condemnation of a frustrations with the cards. However, with excellent management and requesting immedi- asking if the abacus is
time and money’ provincially-mandated B.C. Enterprise Student all 60 B.C. school dis- system, noted Sonne. ate action to remedy the functioning properly,”
computer program that Information System, or tricts now using BCeSIS “But we’ve lost total problem. said BCTF president
is creating havoc for BCeSIS. as of this school year, confidence in the sys- “This is frustrating, Susan Lambert in a
by R o b e r t M a n g e l s d o r f
teachers and adminis- The program allows the program has repeat- tem,” he said. time consuming, and its prepared statement last
staff reporter
trators. teachers to enter class edly crashed, unable Districts across the not good for morale,” month. “I think BCeSIS
Speaking at the school lists, take attendance, to meet the demand of province are required to said Carr. “[Teachers] is functioning as de-
School district staff board’s regular meet- make timetable chang- teachers from across use the computer pro- don’t want to be stuck in signed. It’s the design
and trustees didn’t ing this week, school es, process student the province attempting gram, and are charged front of a computer try- that’s flawed.”
mince their words superintendent Jan Un- transfers, enter grades, to use the system at the $10 per student, which ing to figure out some- Both Lambert and
same time. the Ministry of Educa- one else’s computer school district staff have
“Our teachers have tion withholds. program.” said they’ve received as-
been run off their feet For the Maple Ridge- “It’s a waste of money surances the problems
because of this prob- Pitt Meadows School and it doesn’t work.” will be fixed, but so far,
lem,” said Unwin. District, that amounts The B.C. Teachers it hasn’t happened.
Once a user is bumped to more than $150,000 Federation reported “It compromises the
off the system, it can annually that a survey done in goals of the entire dis-
take on average of an “When you hear the 2009 in Langley found 88 trict,” said board chair
hour to get back on, said screaming, it’s warrant- per cent of teachers felt Ken Clarkson. “The
deputy superintendent ed,” said Unwin. BCeSIS increased their teachers didn’t want to
Stewart Sonne. School board trustees level of work-related use this program from
“Many people, myself voted unanimously in stress. the beginning. Now next
included, have had to favour of a motion by “Asking for reports time there’s a change
wait until nine or 10 at trustee Susan Carr to on problems with BCe- [from the Ministry of
night to be able to use send a letter to the Min- SIS is a bit like giving Education] there’s go-
it.” istry of Education out- an engineer an abacus ing to be more resis-
When it is working lining the district’s frus- to calculate a moon tance.”

SD42 school enrollment down, again

Enrollment is down much as district staff
again in School Dis- had expected.
trict No. 42, but not as Although the fi-
nal numbers are still more difficult thanks
being calculated, a to problems with the
process made all the province’s computer
system, preliminary
reports show student
enrollment fell by
about 100 students dis-
trict-wide compared to
last year.
Enrolment in the dis-
trict has been steadily
declining for years.
Numbers for the Sep-
tember 2009 head
count show 15,368 stu-
dents in the district,
down from 15,536 in
2008.
However, student
enrollment for the
2010/11 school year
was still higher than
the district’s own pro-
jections, noted Laurie
Meston, the district’s
director of instruction
for early learning.
Class size averages
for both secondary and
elementary schools
fell within Ministry
guidelines.
Average class sizes
for elementary grades
are smaller than last
year. Average kinder-
garten class sizes fell
from 18.5 students to
17.7. For Grades 1 to
3, average class sizes
were 20.6 students,
down from 20.8 last
year. Intermediate
grades saw their class
size averages fall from
26.2 to 25.8.
Drug dealer gets conditional sentence
A man caught in a dial-a-dope
sting last year will not spend
time in jail.
Julius Raymond Baguhin re-
ceived an 18-month conditional
sentence Tuesday for pleading
guilty to four counts of drug traf-
ficking.
Several other trafficking
charges related to offences in
Government ‘seriously considering appeal’
Prostitution from front
Although the Ontario Supe-
rior Court of Justice ruling is
not binding in B.C. or other prov-
inces, Chouinard said “it’s very
persuasive.
“It may be that it is sufficient to
strike the law down. The Crimi-
nal Code in Canada can not be
inapplicable in Ontario and ap-
plicable everywhere else,” he
added.
Chouinard is now waiting to
hear from the Crown prosecutor
dealing with Blais’ case. His trial
is set to continue next month.
In a 131-page ruling, Ontario
court Justice Susan Himel found
Criminal Code prohibitions
against brothels, living on the
avails of prostitution and com-
municating for the purposes of
the trade contribute to the dan-
ger faced by sex-trade workers.
She said it now falls to parlia-
ment to “fashion corrective ac-
tion.”
Coquitlam were stayed.
The 23-year-old Burnaby resi-
dent will have to abide by a daily
curfew, 10 p.m. to 6 a.m., for the
first year.
He must abstain from drugs
and alcohol and not possess any
prohibited weapons or guns.
Baguhin is only allowed to have
a cell phone for work and must
The judge suspended her rul-
ing for 30 days to give the gov-
ernment time to consider how
to address the ruling’s potential
consequences.
The federal government is “se-
riously considering an appeal.”
“The government is very con-
cerned about the Superior Court’s
decision,” said Minister of Justice
and Attorney General of Canada
Rob Nicholson in a statement fol-
lowing the landmark ruling.
“We will fight to ensure that
the criminal law continues to ad-
dress the significant harms that
flow from prostitution to both
communities and the prostitutes
themselves, along with other vul-
nerable persons.”
Meanwhile, B.C.’s Criminal
Justice Branch is reviewing the
ruling, but Crown spokesperson
Neil Mackenzie stressed it would
not affect how Crown proceeds
with the charge against Blais.
“It remains to be seen what ef-
provide his sentence supervisor
with his phone number as well
as the phone’s model and serial
number. He also has to complete
50 hours of community service.
Baguhin was among 10 people
arrested last October by Ridge
Meadows RCMP in an undercov-
er operation that targeted the
street-level drug trade.
fect a decision in another prov-
ince will have,” said Mackenzie.
“In a legal sense, a court deci-
sion in another province is not a
binding authority on a court in
British Columbia. A court here
may look at the principles and
the reasoning that are set out in
decisions made in another prov-
ince. So I wouldn’t want to specu-
late on what effect a decision may
have on any cases here.”
Sex trade in Canada
Prostitution is not illegal in Canada,
but many activities closely linked to
the profession are penalized, including
communicating for the purposes of
prostitution, soliciting, keeping a com-
mon bawdy house, and procuring and
living off the avails of prostitution.
Experts call it a Catch 22 situation - in
short, it is legal to sell sex, but illegal
to attempt to find any customers.
Other teens step up
Charges from front
Crown prosecutor Susan McCallum could not say
how many photographs were included in evidence
but stressed “they were clear enough to form child
pornography.
“The process has begun,” she added. “And further
investigation continues.”
Crown is now preparing particulars to disclose to
defence counsel. Vancouver lawyer Mark Jette has
been hired to represent the teen.
An 18-year-old man was also arrested by police for
his alleged participation in the sexual assault, but
charges have yet to be filed against him.
So far, only two witnesses to the rape have come
forward to speak to police.
RCMP spokesperson Sgt. Peter Thiessen said in-
vestigators continue to encourage anyone who may
have been present during the incident to come for-
ward.
Other teens who attended the party have spoken to
police and provided information that is “second and
third hand.”
Thiessen said those second and third hand ac-
counts make it a challenge to gather the appropriate
evidence to lay a charge.
“It seems like there is a small group here that is
involved in some level of a code of silence,” he added.
“They don’t see the severity of what’s occurring and
are not stepping up and doing the right thing.”
Cadillac impounded for 30 days
A man wanted by
Vancouver police lost
his Cadillac for 30 days
Wednesday after RCMP
in Maple Ridge nabbed
him for driving drunk.
Ridge Meadows
RCMP stopped the
34-year-old Port Moody
man just after 1 p.m. in
the 23200-block of River
Road. He was wanted
by Vancouver police for
uttering threats.
Insp. Derren Lench
said during the arrest,
the officer noticed the
man had consumed al-
cohol. The officer de-
manded samples of the
man’s breath, which re- James Maclennan/THE NEWS
sulted in a ‘fail’ reading Police officers riding in the Cops for Cancer fundraiser roll out of the Edge Street
on a hand-held roadside RCMP detatchment in Maple Ridge on Tuesday.
screening device.
Under new legislation 11600-block of 236th and its contents, as well er.
that came into effect Street. as money. Insp. Derren Lench
Sept. 20, the man’s driv- Police seized them said the man tried to
ing privileges were sus- and said the plants will resist arrest and had
pended for 90 days and be destroyed.
Panhandler arrested to be forcibly placed in
his 1999 Cadillac was A Maple Ridge man the police car. The man
impounded for 30 days. was arrested by police had been just been re-
House B&E Monday for aggres- leased from police
Thieves made off with sively panhandling at a custody after he dined
Outdoor growop a large loot Monday Pitt Meadows mall. and dashed at a Maple
A group cleaning a lo- after breaking into a Police took the Ridge pub. Lench said
cal stream stumbled on house in Maple Ridge. 55-year-old into custo- police were called af-
a small marijuana grow The burglary took dy after they received ter man ate a meal and
operations this past place between 9:30 a.m. complaints about him was unable to pay for
week. and 1:15 p.m. An expen- yelling obscenities at it.
Nine pot plants, vary- sive man’s ring was sto- customers in the park- The man was held in
ing in height from len, along with camer- ing lot of Meadowtown custody overnight due
two feet to four feet as, video game remote Shopping Centre and to his aggressive be-
tall, were found in the controls, a jewelry box threatening a bus driv- haviour.
 James Maclennan/THE NEWS

Heavy hitter
Elijah Crevier works out with a heavy bag while hanging out with friends outside his place at the Vall Maria Mobile
Home Court on Lougheed Highway in Maple Ridge Tuesday evening.

Shoreline Forty volunteers with the

Maple Ridge Adopt-A-Block
Society helped collect 150
cleanup pounds of garbage during
the annual TD Great Cana-
a success dian Shoreline Cleanup in
Maple Ridge.
The event took place Sept.
18 at Maple Ridge Park.
Organizers said there
were many interesting lit-
ter finds, including lunch
boxes, flip flops and fire
crackers. The most col-
lected item of litter was
once again cigarette butts.
Volunteers picked up more
than 325 of them.
Cohen commission hears about ‘personal costs’
by Phi l M elnyc h u k Maple Ridge Coun. Al
staff reporter Hogarth wondered if the
fertilization program
could be jeopardized
If Justice Bruce Cohen when Abbotsford and
was impressed by a tour Mission, in a few years,
of the Allco fish hatchery begin tapping into Stave
on a bright fall day, he Lake as a source for its
wasn’t saying anything, drinking water. Stave
because he couldn’t say Lake is connected to
anything owing to the Alouette Lake through
nature of the Cohen underground pipes and
Inquiry into the Disap- there could be concerns
pearance of the Fraser about the fertilizer mi-
River Sockeye. grating into the Stave.
But it was a good way However, the amount
to spend a day, hearing of fertilizer added to
about the struggles of Alouette Lake is minis-
the volunteer-run Alou- cule and is almost imme-
ette River Management diately absorbed into the
Society during a visit to James Maclennan/THE NEWS Alouette ecosystem.
the Rivers Heritage Cen- BCIT instructor Marvin Rosenau makes a presentation to the Cohen commission at the Clayton, though, said
tre on Wednesday. Rivers Heritage Centre on Wednesday. while there would be no
“People don’t under- risk to drinking water
stand the human toil though, didn’t return said. and truck,” he said. quality, “there has to be
that it costs to get some- without some help. The However, Clayton said A fish ladder up to the complete sign-off that
thing to this stage,” said lake fertilization pro- later that a maximum top of the dam is the so- our aquatic needs super-
society spokesman Geoff gram started in 1999, and run would be closer to ciety’s main project, one sede their water needs.”
Clayton. involved dumping phos- 75,000. that carries a $3-million After lunch, Cohen
“Politicians, for the phorus and nitrogen Rosenau said an Alou- price tag. inspected the hatchery
most part, just do not into the lake to replace ette Lake run wouldn’t The society is looking and the fish fence near-
understand the per- the natural marine- be comparable to the for B.C. Hydro to fund by in the South Alouette
sonal costs,” just to get driven nutrients that Adams River run, which the project, Clayton told River.
one salmon back, added would have been there produces millions of the inquiry. “This is all inmate
Marvin Rosenau, BCIT if fish had been allowed sockeye. And while a A fish ladder not only [Fraser Regional Correc-
outdoor instructor. to migrate up the river, fishway allowing sock- would help sockeye tional Centre] labour,”
Cohen and a support spawn and die in Alou- eye to swim over the reach their lake spawn- Clayton said, showing
group were treated to a ette Lake. top of the dam into the ing grounds, it would Cohen a recently con-
luncheon in the heritage That provided suste- lake isn’t necessary to also allow chum, coho structed native plant
centre followed by a tour nance to the kokanee rebuild the run, it would and steelhead get to garden and spawning
of the hatchery and the population in the lake, be difficult to trap those the lake, blocked since stream bed.
B.C. Hydro dam, which allowing it to grow and many numbers at the construction of the B.C. Clayton said the hatch-
blocks the south end of possibly increasing num- Allco fishery, then truck Hydro dam in 1926. ery’s operating budget
the lake. bers by 10 times. them around the dam for A fish ladder would is $25,000, paid for by
The event is one of Ultimately, over per- release, as is the current “put a bandage or splint” Fisheries and Oceans
many the Commission of haps two decades, the practice. on a damaged ecosystem Canada, for fish food and
Inquiry into the Decline Alouette sockeye run “If you get those sort of and would restore nutri- electricity.
of Sockeye Salmon in the could hit between 100,000 numbers, it will be pretty ents back into the lake, “The rest is sweat eq-
Fraser River will make and 200,000, Rosenau much impossible to trap Rosenau said. uity and corrections.”
as it gathers evidence,
then tries to draw con-
clusions about what led
to the disastrous sockeye
salmon run of 2009.
Rosenau’s presenta-
tion before the com-
mission focused on the
return of the sockeye
salmon to the Alouette
Lake reservoir after a
test release of young fish
over the Alouette dam
spillway in 2005.
Those fish had been
considered kokanee,
landlocked salmon, but
when survivors returned
to the South Alouette
River, and were later
confirmed as Alouette
sockeye, scientists got
excited. After more than
80 years, a sockeye run
was re-established in the
river.
Starting with 27 return-
ing sockeye in 2007, that
number increased to 108
this year, although that
reflected the high overall
returns for sockeye this
year in the Fraser River.
Rosenau admitted that
the numbers were insig-
nificant compared to the
millions of sockeye that
use the Fraser River as
a superhighway into the
B.C. Interior.
However, it’s part of a
bigger picture of what’s
happening to the Fraser
River, he added.
The Alouette sockeye,
Schools a place of mass distraction
T
he latest edition of Ma-
clean’s magazine, Oct. 4,
2010, had a great editorial
titled, “Don’t give students more
tools of mass distraction.”
Aside from the fact that the ed-
itors expressed concerns that I
have had for some time, thus my
assertion that this was a great
editorial (we all love to read
what we agree with), it was a re-
inforcement to all teachers that
technology has become both a
gift and a challenge to students.
Subsequently, the continuous
emphasis on getting more tech-
nology into classrooms needs
some review, perhaps even a
more comprehensive plan.
At this point, at least in my
experience, technology is being
dumped into classrooms not by
teachers and administrators,
but by parents and students.
The latest smartphones and
laptop technologies generally
supersede what school systems
can provide for every student.
As a result, there are inequities.
Those who have the latest tech
toys have an advantage, at least
in technology, over those who
must rely on the school system
for such tools.
Add to this the rather stealth
nature of new technologies
(easier to use and keep from the
attention of teachers) and you
understand pretty quickly the
concept of distraction.
Again, some students are en-
gulfed in distracting behaviours
in the classroom and thus, while
they may have an advantage in they always had the school
one way, they are not able to phones. If they were going out
benefit from it because they are at night, I gave them my cell
not directing their tech- phone for emergency
nology to practical uses purposes. They had
in the context of the computers at home,
school. Most of what but limited internet ac-
is going on is actually cess.
taking away from the I’ve always felt part
directed learning expe- of my role as a par-
rience. ent was to support the
Many teachers school. I knew that
are overwhelmed by there was no purpose
the distractibility of for cell phones in the
their students and are school setting and that
tired of asking students computers students
to stop using their cell
Parenting needed at school were
phones, or stop instant Graham Hookey provided by the school.
messaging in class. That way, I sent my
For some, that has led to a children to school with the
benign neglect: as long as the tools (brains and school sup-
kids are not interfering with the plies) they needed to participate
class, the subtle distraction is al- in, but not be a distraction to the
lowed. school setting.
For others, it has resulted in If the school requested some
a continuous level of confronta- specific technological support, I
tion as they have made a stand tried to provide it at home with-
in their classes but not always in the framework of my parent-
been supported by their col- ing expectations.
leagues or administrators. If Schools need to develop some
a teacher flips out, you can be clear statements on technologi-
sure there’ll be pictures, videos cal use and parents need to sup-
and text messages sent out to port these statements by limit-
parents, friends and anyone else ing the technology that they give
who might get a thrill out of a their children to take to school.
teacher gone berserk. YouTube Without such coordination,
is full of them. the school setting will continue
I’m going to speak as a parent to grow, as the editorial stated,
for a moment, not as an educa- as a place of “mass distraction.”
tor. My sons all went through
high school without a cell phone. Graham Hookey is an
I knew that if they needed to educator and writer
contact me for an emergency, (ghookey@yahoo.com).
City a finalist for green award
The City of Pitt Mead- efficiency and conserva- place Conservation
ows has been named a fi- tion an integral part of Leadership category,
nalist by B.C. Hydro for a the way they conduct Pitt Meadows is the first
Power Smart Excellence business, it has become municipality in B.C. to
Award. increasingly difficult install energy-efficient
The city’s employee with each passing year computers in all mu-
green team has been to narrow down finalists, nicipal buildings. In ad-
taking the message of let alone winners,” said dition, the city actively
conservation from the Lisa Coltart, B.C. Hydro’s promoted conservation
workplace out into the executive director of for Earth Hour 2010.
community through new Power Smart and Cus- This year, Pitt Meadows
policies, school programs tomer Care. reduced its energy use
and community projects. “On behalf of B.C. by two per cent during
The Power Smart Ex- Hydro I’d like to extend Earth Hour.
cellence Awards recog- my congratulations to Fifty-three finalists
nize B.C. businesses for the City of Pitt Mead- in 15 categories were
their leadership in and ows. Your commitment selected by a panel of
commitment to energy to energy efficiency will judges.
management and con- help our province reach • For more information
servation. its goal of electricity self and a list of all the final-
“With so many organi- sufficiency by 2016.” ists, visit bchydro.com/
zations making energy A finalist in the Work- awards.
THE NEWS/home&gardening
The ocean at the edge of your garden
E
very time I visit
the ocean, I seem
to learn more
about human nature or,
to be more specific, how
our activities, includ-
ing gardening, directly
affect the underwater
world.
On several of my
recent dives in Belize,
I noticed that a few of
the coral formations Gardening
were exhibiting signs of Mike Lascelle
bleaching. Bleaching is
essentially heat stress
caused by high water temperatures that
damage symbiotic algae – leaving white or
dead portions. Those higher ocean tempera-
tures are a result of worldwide atmospheric
pollution, fertilizer and sewage runoff and
deforestation (causing localized silting).
Still, the reef system here (the second
largest in the world) is relatively pristine and
home to an incredibly rich ecosystem – on
any given day you’ll see sharks, rays, sea
turtles and myriad fish species.
But it’s only when I compare it to more
affected and much less diverse reefs, like
the Florida Keys (where 80% of the coral
has died) that I despair to see even a hint of
bleaching.
Of course, the news isn’t always bad and
the recent record sockeye salmon run and
the return of grey whales to our local waters
gives one hope – but these are small victories
in light of the big picture.
Still, every recovery has to start some-
where, so here are five small steps that
every gardener can take to ensure that their
garden does not pollute locally, or further a
field:
1. If you live beside a stream or river, be
sure to leave the greenbelt buffer intact and
avoid removing indigenous vegetation in
order to squeeze in a few more ornamental
shrubs on the edge of your garden. Native
plants such as Salmonberry (Rubus spect-
abilis), Redtwig dogwood (Cornus sericea)
and False Lily-of-the Valley (Maianthemum
dilatatum) may not look as pretty as most
cultivated plants, but they do an efficient job
of filtering groundwater and preventing ero-
sion in riparian zones.
2. Similarly, do not use riparian zones as
compost or green waste dumping sites as
many potentially invasive plants such as
ornamental nettle (Lamiastrum) and English
ivy (Hedera helix) can take hold and over-
Nicole Lascelle photos
(Clockwise from top) Elkhorn coral showing
signs of bleaching at the tips; me getting ready
for a dive in Belize; a Green Sea turtle eating
seagrass.’
whelm indigenous plants – to the detriment
of the whole local ecosystem.
3. Only fertilize plants when they need it
and try to avoid broadcasting granulars or
spraying liquid fertilizers over large portions
of your garden (except lawns and groundcov-
ers) simply to get the chore of fertilizing over
and done with. Plants, like people, have indi-
vidual nutritional needs and indiscriminate
mass applications of fertilizer will inevitably
you have identified the pest. One of the
best examples of this was a client who was
advised (by someone else) to spray his entire
purple-leaf plum (Prunus cerasifera ‘Pis-
sardii’) with a contact pesticide in order to
alleviate his caterpillar infestation – despite
the fact that no caterpillars had been seen.
A casual examination of his leaf samples
clearly indicated that the holes were the
result of Coryneum Blight (shot-hole fungus)
brought on by a very wet spring, so no pes-
ticides were necessary. All he really needed
to do was pick-up and dispose of his leaves in
fall and prune out any cankered branches.
5. Always purchase good quality garden
tools; the popular belief that using inex-
pensive disposable tools actually saves you
money in the long run is totally false, as it
is future generations that will continue to
pay for our wasteful buying habits. Every
time a tool is forged – be it well designed or
poor quality – energy is expended, natural
resources (components of steel such as
iron, manganese, chromium) are mined and
refined, packaging is created and more fossil
fuels are wasted on shipping (much of it long
distance) – all of which increase greenhouse
gases and accelerate global warming.
“Buying a good quality tool will
definitely cost you more initially,
but it will last you a lifetime and you
can go to bed at night with a good
conscience.”
Buying a good quality tool will definitely
cost you more initially, but it will last you a
lifetime and you can go to bed at night with a
good conscience.
Remember, at the edge of every garden is
an ocean, and even though you may not be
able to physically see it, the well-being of ev-
ery living creature it holds – from the tiniest
coral polyp to massive whale sharks – much
depends on decisions that you and countless
other gardeners make.
And if that isn’t enough incentive, let
me remind you that if they perish from
our carelessness, the demise of the most
destructive species on this planet, Homo
sapiens, can’t be far behind.
result in nitrogen and phosphorus runoff – Mike Lascelle is a local nursery
both of which are leading water pollutants. manager and gardening author
4. Never use a fungicide or pesticide until (hebe_acer@hotmail.com).
A citizen of Canada, and heaven
M
any people But there is one thing ship is in heaven and I became a Cana-
who now live I was not able to do, that we eagerly await dian citizen by filling
in Canada and that was to cast a Saviour from there, out some paper work
have come from other my vote so that I could the Lord Jesus Christ. over 18 months ago,
countries. have an influence on Heaven is the real stating that I wanted
Some have who would place; it’s the place to be a true member
come because govern our where we belong. of this country. My
they wanted city, our prov- Don’t get me wrong, citizenship in heaven
to start a new ince and our this life on Earth is happened when I in-
life. country. worth living and we vited Jesus into my life
Others have I somehow should be enjoying it many years ago.
joined togeth- felt that I to the full, but if we Since that time, I
er with family didn’t fully could only realize that realized that heaven
members that belong; even it is God’s intention for is the place for which
have already my title was us to live forever, with we were created. It’s
immigrated, a ‘landed im- no restrictions of time my home and it can be
and there are migrant.’ and physical limita- yours, as well.
those who Acts of Faith But now I tions.
have found it feel legal and There is eternal life Rev. Rod Shearing is
impossible to Rod Shearing part of this and a home that await senior pastor of High
stay in their wonderful us. Way Church.
own homeland because country.
of overwhelming hard- It’s really important
ships, so with great for all of us to know
heaviness of heart that we belong and
have had to leave fam- that we are accepted
ily members behind whether it is to a fam-
and come to a country ily, an individual or a
where they have had to country.
start life all over again. God is also con-
At some point, many cerned about you and
of these people will de- where you belong.
sire to become citizens The Bible has a lot to
and make Canada their say about our journey
home country. here on Earth; it says
On a personal note, we are only pilgrims
my reason for coming and that our time on
to this country more Earth is not the end of
than 17 years ago was our journey – we are
to marry a Canadian just passing through
girl who I had met and for a short time. That’s
fallen in love with. why it tells us not to
We decided that we store up too many
would live in Canada, things and not to get
so I became a landed too attached to things
immigrant, and I have here because we can’t
only just become a take it with us – it’s
Canadian citizen in the only a part of the
past few months. journey.
In June this year,
with 96 people from
33 different nations, I
stood before the judge
to swear my allegiance “He encourages
to the queen, which
made me feel re- us to build things
ally at home because I that are going to
originally came from
the old country of last forever.”
England.
As you can see,
this for me wasn’t an
impulsive decision as I He encourages us to
have been living here build things that are
since 1993. going to last forever,
During that time I rather than things that
have enjoyed every- are going to perish and
thing that is good pass away with time.
about this country: its In Philippians,
beauty, its freedom chapter 3 verse 20, it
and its people. says that our citizen-
The day 14 lives were changed forever
by Marsha Lemon of a person, most often disabled person.”
contributor in a wheelchair, and a Zosia, the valedicto-
well-behaved, tail-wag- rian, was the recipient
ging dog. of the 2008 Courage

I
t was a graduation For the Pacific As- to Come Back Award.
ceremony with a sistance Dogs Society She will be speaking in
difference. Not only (PADS), this was its Maple Ridge in Febru-
were there wet eyes in largest graduating ary at the invitation of
the audience, but wet class since it originated the chamber of com-
noses as well. in 1987. merce.
On Sunday, at the Fourteen lives were Her service dog
Michael J. Fox Theatre changed forever. Rumor, a yellow Lab-
in Burnaby 14 teams “She’s opened doors rador with soft brown
crossed the stage for me,” said Zosia eyes, sat patiently
and were presented Ettenberg, a resident beside Zosia’s chair.
with a certificate that of Langley, speaking of Upon command, the Contributed
acknowledged the com- her dog Rumor. “Not dog picked up a water Service dogs are generally Labradors or golden retrievers.
pletion of their training just physically, but bottle and handed it to
and the beginning of she helps people see her. These dogs can be ing shopping bags and motto of PADS, and it
their life together. me as a person with a trained for a variety of pulling a wheelchair. was never more evident
Each team consisted disability rather than a tasks, including carry- Most service dogs than on the stage on
are larger breeds, Sunday.
while hearing dogs are Ric Egan from Mer-
smaller ones such as ritt sat in the spotlight
Terriers. waiting for his puppy
Graduating Sunday raisers to bring his dog,
was a silky-haired shel- Finn, to him and turn
tie by the name of Toby. over the leash. As they
She will be beginning approached Egan, all
her new career as an decorum was lost as
intervention dog. She, Finn wagged his tail
along with Poppy, who excitedly and smiled a
went to Canuck Place big grin.
Hospice, will be used to This was only
help children who have possible because of
suffered trauma. dedicated volunteers
Raising these dogs and sponsors. It costs
requires a special type approximately $35,000
of person. Able to take to raise and train a
a puppy and devote service dog. You can
countless hours to its donate on line at www.
training, they then have pads.ca or volunteer
to hand them over to for events. Perhaps you
their new families. might even think of
Sarah and Wendy, welcoming a puppy into
two puppy raisers from your home.
Calgary, stood beside Egan was clear as to
their newest charges. what this meant to him.
Pinned to their vests “Thank you,” he said
over their hearts were to all the volunteers
badges with the names and sponsors, “for
of every puppy they giving him a second
had raised. For Sarah, chance at life.”
it was eight and Wendy
had raised six. Marsha Lemon is a
“Change Lives One high school teacher and
Dog at a Time,” is the freelance writer.
About the frogs along the Alouette
A
t last the heat
of the summer
has dissolved
into a sparkling fall
and the inhabitants
along the Alouette
River and in the
woods are thinking
of winter and all it
brings.
During the summer
months, some of the
most interesting crea- River tales
tures to be found here Liz Hancock
in the Lower Mainland
are the frogs, who
spent their days singing at
the tops of their voices and
enjoying the sun-kissed lily
pads along the waterways and
ponds.
There are several species
here, but by far the most
common to be found are the
bullfrog, Pacific tree frog and
red-legged frog, although the
latter is getting quite rare.
The bullfrog is not native to
British Columbia and can be
found all over North America.
Some measure up to 20 cm, and area by the bull frog and the
that is not including their legs. green frog, both imports to the
They lay up to 20,000 eggs at
a time and when they colonize
an area, any other frogs are
on the menu for lunch – the
$33,000 raised for school in Manila
Heidi Johnson, a Maple Ridge
resident, Honorary Rotarian
and recipient of Rotary Interna-
tional’s prestigious Paul Harris
Award for exemplary service,
has helped raise more than
$33,000 to improve the appall-
ing conditions at the Muntin-
dilaw Elementary School in
Manila, and to provide desks,
books, computers and other
aids to the community.
In 2008, Johnson participated
in a Rotary Group Study Ex-
change, traveling with four
other young business people,
and Rotarian team leader Mark
Kendziorek, from Washington
State, to Manila in the Philip-
pines.
Sponsored by the Meadow
Ridge Rotary Club in Maple
tadpoles are also large
and aggressive, living
one to two years in
that state before they
turn into frogs and go
hunting for ponds of
their own.
By contrast, the
Pacific tree frog is one
of the smallest frogs
here. It can be any
colour from gray-
green, rusty bronze,
or bright emerald
green, with dark
stripes running the
length of its body and over its
face.
This species only lays a hand-
ful of eggs.
The little frogs are often
found stuck to your door or
window and adapt quite well to
urban living, especially if there
is a nice flowerpot and a water
source near by.
One of the rarest frogs we
have here is the red-legged
frog. It is a shy creature and is
slowly being chased out of the
Lower Mainland.
It only produces about 750 to
a 1,000 eggs each year, so really
doesn’t stand a chance against
Ridge, Johnson was able to
tour many locations and facili-
ties in the Philippines, learning
about their business practices
and fostering international re-
lations.
While there, Johnson visited
the Muntindilaw Elementary
School and was overwhelmed
by the warmth and passion of
the more than 1,100 students
and caring teachers located in
one of the poorest regions.
She was shocked to see how
little they had to work with,
and that they had virtually no
sanitation.
She immediately began to
raise money, collecting more
than $6,000 for teaching tools
and school supplies.
She continued to work to-
its more aggressive brothers
and sisters.
And, yes, as it’s name implies,
it is a reddish colour, including
the legs.
All frogs love to eat beetles,
insects and flies. They are
patient hunters and wait, quite
still, for their pray to come in
range of there swift tongue.
“One of the rarest frogs
we have here is the red-
legged frog. It is a shy
creature and is slowly
being chased out of the
area by the bull frog
and the green frog, both
imports to the Lower
Mainland.”
But soon, when the winds
blow and frost nips the air,
they will burrow into the mud
of their favourite pond and wait
for the spring to come again.
Liz Hancock is a member of the
Alouette River Management
Society.
wards raising funds for wash-
rooms and clean water and
facilitated a joint project with
the Rizal Centro District 3800
Rotary Club, The Meadow
Ridge and Abbotsford Sumas
District 5050 Rotary Clubs and
with the Rotary International
Foundation.
Through fundraising and
matching grants, they together
raised another $20,400 U.S. to
complete the washroom proj-
ect.
Another $6,920 U.S. was
raised last year by Johnson
for immediate relief work and
medical supplies in the wake
of destruction left by typhoon
Ketsana.
• For more information, visit
www.MeadowRidgeRotary.ca.
 Section coordinator:

THE NEWS/business
Phil Melnychuk
604-467-1122 ext. 215
newsroom@mapleridgenews.com

Longtime businesses plan for future

Talk of developing the flats
doesn’t deter renos at Fuller
Watson or Haney Builders
by Phi l M elnyc h u k
staff reporter

T
here’s talk of big box malls
being built in Albion flats,
something that could make
a big change in Maple Ridge’s re-
tail landscape.
But, for two long-time Maple
Ridge businesses, the downtown is
just fine, and so is the future.
Renovations are almost complete
on the Fuller Watson Furniture and
Appliances building, at one of the
main corners of downtown Maple
Ridge. New windows, doors, exte-
rior finish and interior renovations
will be ready in about a month for
the business, which has operated
for more than 85 years in Maple
Ridge.
The renos will be finished at
about the same time the rebuilding
of Lougheed Highway, part of the
district’s downtown enhancement
project, will be completed.
Combined with the Westminster
Savings Credit Union that opens in
January, kitty corner from Fuller
Watson, the new Tim Horton’s
shop across the street, a new pro-
fessional building underway in the
same block and the new roads and James Maclennan/THE NEWS
sidewalks, and owner Bruce Fuller (Above) Justin Fuller of Fuller Watson Furniture and Appliances stands by the newly installed storefront windows, facing Lougheed Highway in downtown Maple
is feeling good about the area. Ridge; (below) Gord McBeath and Colin McIntosh of Haney Builders Supplies stand before the renovation work at their store on Dewdney Trunk Road.
“Business has been good. We
think we’re doing the right things. hotel is supposed to be built, though Council makes that decision early
I’ve got no reason to be concerned there are no firm plans yet. next year after it pores over the in-
about somebody else coming into Repairs and renovations are also put from the consultation process
town.” well underway at Haney Builders that’s currently underway.
When it comes to commenting Supplies. While Haney Builders is part of
about Albion flats, and how the And there are no plans to move the Tim-Br Mart buying group and
area might develop, Fuller wants from the five-acre property that’s can compete on price against the
to reserve comment, saying he’s on held the business since 1938. big chains, he’s worried about the
the fence about the issue. “I’m not Interior renovations are underway smaller stores. And if push comes
going to endorse or go against Al- and there will be a new enclosed to shove, he’d rather council keep
bion flats.” exterior showroom. Delays encoun- commercial out of Albion flats.
While many focus on the retail tered at district hall, however, have “I think the core could be a great
core area of the downtown, Fuller made it a frustrating experience. place. They have to densify and
notes the south slope of downtown, But Haney Builder’s isn’t going keep shopping here.”
of what used to be Haney, facing anywhere. But he wonders how much council
the Fraser River, will see steady “It’s an excellent location. We’re or anybody can do to attract devel-
improvement as older buildings are really in a position in the heart of opment, though or force a devel-
replaced by new ones. A new apart- downtown. All roads lead here, so oper to do a project on the scale of
ment block is under way at the bot- it’s a great location,” said spokes- what’s proposed in Albion – in the
tom of 224th Street, while the site for man Gord McBeath. downtown core.
the long-planned-yet-still-unfunded His confidence about the busi- velopment in Albion flats. open down the hill, in Albion flats “I think the shear volume of land
Maple Ridge Museum is about half ness extends to confidence about McBeath says his business can at Lougheed Highway and 105th that they would need would make
a block up. On the west side of 224th, the downtown, though he does have withstand the competition from the Street, if Maple Ridge council de- it impossible to do in the down-
near the Haney bypass, a six-storey concerns about the future retail de- Ronas or Home Depots that may cides that’s what it wants there. town core.”

Acclimatized
Maple Ridge Mayor Ernie Daykin (second from
Forum on attracting more universities
right) accepts the award for the Corporate Opera- this week in ACT
tions category at the 2010 Energy and Climate The three communities on the north side of the Fraser River are pooling their efforts
Action Awards on Wednesday at the Union of B.C. to try to attract a post secondary institute.
Municipalities Convention in Whistler. Maple Ridge, Pitt Meadows and Mission host Education Forum 2010 in the Arts Centre
Maple Ridge won the award for energy efficient Theatre, Oct. 6, starting at 10 a.m.
upgrades to the Maple Ridge Leisure Centre and an The day will involve fast-pace sessions designed to introduce SFU, UBC and the Justice
innovative approach to information services (IT). Institute of B.C. to business and institutional leaders.
Daykin is flanked by: (left to right) Norm Connolly, UBC Research Forest, BCIT and Douglas College are already operating in Maple Ridge,
executive director of the Community Energy Asso-
while University of the Fraser Valley has a campus in Mission.
ciation; Bev Van Ruyven, deputy CEO and executive
However, the natural assets of the area could attract more interest from schools, says
vice-president B.C. Hydro; and John Yap, minister
Maple Ridge’s department of strategic economic initiatives.
of state for climate action. Contributed

THE NEWS/sports
Hart
attacks
record
books
Local logger claims three
world records in tree climb
by R o b e r t M a n g e l s d o r f
staff reporter
I
f Stirling Hart wasn’t born with
an axe in his hands, it certainly
wasn’t long before he was climb-
ing up trees and chopping them
down. As a member of the famous
Hart family, whose action-packed
logging demonstrations have thrilled
fair-goers for decades, Stirling was
born into the life of logger sports.
“Dad got me started pretty early,”
he says. His dad is Greg Hart, who
along with Stirling’s grandfather,
Gord, founded the Hart Family lum-
berjack show. He started training
with the family at the age of four,
and just a few years later he was
performing alongside them.
Now at the age of 21, Stirling Hart
has already come to dominate the
world of competitive logging sports.
Within the span of a month this
past summer, Hart broke three
world records for speed climbing,
and now holds every record in the
discipline.
In July, Hart made a successful
world record attempt on a 100-foot
pole in Longview, Washington.
With just a sturdy length of rope
looped around him and a pair of
spikes strapped to his ankles, Hart
shot up the pole, barely impeded by
gravity. With a flick of his wrist, he
hit the marker at the top of the pole
with his rope and fell back down
towards earth in near free-fall. His
descent was slowed only by the oc-
casional planting of a foot-spike into
the tree, sending his legs jarringly
Stirling Hart broke three world records this summer in the lumberjack sport of
speed-climbing.
upwards as his body plummeted un-
impeded.
He landed with a thud, back first,
on the padding at the base of the
pole.
Start-to-finish, it took him just 23
seconds.
“You don’t see the 100-foot too of-
ten in competition any more,” he
says. “It’s harder to find the trees
now a days.”
The pole is so high it needs to be
stabilized by guy-wires.
“I’ve never really been scared of
James Maclennan/THE NEWS
heights,” says Hart. “But I try not to
think about it.”
Hart broke the 80-foot record at
the Squamish Days Logger Sports
Festival later that month, in front
of his whole family who came up for
the competition, including his mom,
Catherine.
“She still gets a little nervous I
think,” he says. “It’s not easy to
watch your first-born fall down a
tree at Mach 2.”
His performance at the Iron Jack
competition in Salem, Oregon will
be televised later this month on the
Outdoor Life Network.
There he competed in six different
events, including the speed climb,
the axe throw, the standing chop,
the cross-cut, the boom run, and an
obstacle race.
Spoiler alert: he won.
In fact, Hart has won every contest
he competed in this year, save one.
“Yeah, I got a silver,” he says, shak-
ing his head about his performance
at the Stihl Timbersports Series.
“My only loss all summer.”
Hart had been competing against
30- and 40-year-old men since his
early teens, but that was just for fun.
And even though he had been par-
ticipating in the lumberjack shows
his dad and grandfather had put on
for years, Hart didn’t decide to take
it seriously until about three years
ago.
Hart sticks to a training regimen
that includes four days a week at
the gym and daily trail running. Of
That’s in addition to the three ex-
hibition logging shows he performs
every day, seven days a week, atop
Grouse Mountain in North Vancou-
ver.
Now that he’s grown into his body,
the experience he’s gained perform-
ing in the lumberjack shows is pay-
ing dividends.
“I don’t get nervous around crowds
anymore,” he says. “I’ve been doing
this since I was four, so there’s not a
lot of guys who have the experience
I do.”
Hart has three trips planned to
Australia and New Zealand planned
for this winter to take part in lumber-
jack exhibitions and competitions.
This will be the ninth winter he’s
spent down under, and when he’s
not surfing, he’s honing his skills for
the next season of competition.
“I’ve learned a lot down there,
that’s for sure,” he said. “It’s a lot
of chopping and sawing at those
shows, so I’m up against some pretty
big boys.
“But speed-climbing is where I
make my money,” he says.
Next week Hart will be the latest
inductee into the Meadow Ridge
Rotary’s Hometown Heroes Hall of
Fame, at a banquet ceremony Tues-
day, Oct. 5.
Hart said he is honoured to be join-
ing the ranks of such alumni as Lar-
ry Walker, Cam Neely, Greg Moore,
and even his own dad.
“We’ll be the first father-son in
there,” he said.
• For more information about the
Hometown Heroes banquet, visit
meadowridgerotary.ca
Section coordinator:
Robert Mangelsdorf
604-467-1122 ext. 216
newsroom@mapleridgenews.com
Steve Nash b-ball
The Pitt Meadows
Secondary School Steve
Nash League starts its
32nd year this Sunday
for boys Grades 2 to 7 at
Pitt Meadows Secondary
School.
Grade 2 to 3 boys and
Grade 4 to 5 boys go from
noon to 2 p.m. Grade 6 to
7 boys go from 2 to 4 p.m.
for Further information,
visit http://schools.sd42.
ca/pmss/athletics/basket-
ball-2/
Officials needed
With hoops season just
a couple of months away,
the Fraser Valley Basket-
ball Officials Association
(FVBOA) is searching for
new members.
The FVBOA officiates all
basketball games played
between Langley and
Hope, and from Maple
Ridge to Agassiz on the
north side of the Fraser
River. The association is
running education and
training meetings at 7
p.m. on Monday evenings
at Abbotsford Collegiate,
beginning Oct. 4 and
running through the end
of November.
For more information,
contact Paul Nivins at
pnivins@shaw.ca, or call
604-613-6391.
Registration open
for skating club
• The Maple Ridge
Skating Club is accepting
ongoing registration for
CanSkate, Skate Canada’s
national learn-to-skate
program designed for
beginners.
Registration will
continue throughout the
Fall/Winter season until
sessions are full. For more
information about rates
and times, visit www.
MapleRidgeSkating.com.
THE NEWS/scoreboard
Hockey Football
B.C. Major Midget Hockey League Pacific International Junior Hockey League PIJHL scoring leaders Valley Community Football League
Regular season standings
Name GP W L T Pts Harold Brittain Conference Players Team GP G A Pts
Valley West Hawks 4 4 0 0 8 Team GP W L OTL PTS GF Liam Harding
GA Ice Hawks 7 7 9 16 Atom
Vancouver NW Giants 4 3 0 1 7 Abbotsford Pilots 6 4 2 0 8 21 Michael Nardi
20 Devils 7 8 7 15 Team W L T % STK PF PA PTS
Fraser Valley Bruins 4 3 1 0 6 Ridge Meadows Flames 7 4 3 0 8 30 Marko Gordic
26 Steelers 8 7 7 14 Abbotsford 5 0 0 1.000 Won 5 202 6 10
Vancouver Canadians 4 3 1 0 6 Aldergrove Kodiaks 6 3 3 0 6 21 Cody Smith
26 Ice Hawks 6 5 8 13 Meadow Ridge Blue 4 0 0 1.000 Won 4 94 43 8
North Island Silvertips 4 2 2 0 4 Port Moody Black Panthers 6 1 3 2 4 15 Kentaro Tanaka
27 Steelers 8 3 10 13 Mission 2 2 0 .500 Lost 2 71 98 4
S. Island Thunderbirds 4 0 1 3 3 Mission Icebreakers 7 1 6 0 2 21 Danny Brandys
37 Flames 7 5 6 11 Chilliwack Blue 2 3 0 .400 Won 2 64 104 4
Cariboo Cougars 4 1 3 0 2 Dustin Cervo Flames 7 5 6 11 Meadow Ridge Gold 1 2 0 .333 Lost 2 52 42 2
Okanagan Rockets 4 1 3 0 2 Tom Shaw Conference Julius Ho Devils 7 4 7 11 Chilliwack Red 1 4 0 .200 Lost 2 75 138 2
Vancouver NE Chiefs 2 0 0 2 2 Team GP W L OTL PTS GF GA Jake Roder Sockeyes 5 7 3 10 North Langley 0 4 0 .000 Lost 4 24 151 0
Kootenay Ice 2 0 2 0 0 Delta Ice Hawks 8 6 1 1 13 34 22 Christopher Busto Devils 7 3 6 9 Bantam
Thompson Blazers 4 0 4 0 0 North Delta Devils 7 5 2 0 10 28 22 Curtis Rocchetti Steelers 8 2 7 9 Team W L T % STK PF PA PTS
Richmond Sockeyes 5 4 0 1 9 25 10 Robert Wilkinson Steelers 8 5 3 8 Chilliwack 3 1 0 .750 Won 1 122 57 6
BCMML scoring Grandview Steelers 8 4 3 1 9 31 23 Sebastien Pare Sockeyes 5 4 4 8 Meadow Ridge 2 1 1 .625 Won 2 59 29 5
Player Team GP G A Pts Squamish Wolf Pack 6 1 5 0 2 15 28 Ryan Stewart Flames 7 3 5 8 Mission-Abby 2 1 1 .625 Lost 1 85 44 5
Kerfoot, Alex Giants 4 6 3 9 Mitchell Smith Sockeyes 5 0 8 8 North Langley 0 4 0 .000 Lost 4 13 149 0
PIJHL goaltending leaders
Schipper, Dakota Bruins 4 3 4 7 Eli Wiebe Sockeyes 5 2 5 7
Oddy, Travis Bruins 4 3 4 7 Player Team GP W L SO GAA SV% Sean Kavanagh Flames 7 1 6 7 Junior bantam
Ferguson, Austin Bruins 4 5 1 6 Devin Nijjer Sockeyes 4 3 1 1 1.72 .918 Adam Nathwani Devils 7 1 6 7 Team W L T % STK PF PA PTS
McLellan, Mark Hawks 4 1 5 6 Douglas Birks Ice Hawks 5 5 0 0 2.20 .908 Konrad Sander Wolf Pack 4 0 7 7 Chilliwack Blue 3 0 1 .875 Won 3 162 48 7
Lloyd, Seb Cougars 4 0 6 6 Brad Anderson Pilots 3 3 0 0 2.60 .930 Trevor Kang Wolf Pack 6 4 2 6 Abbotsford 3 0 1 .875 Won 3 178 76 7
Hannoun, Demico Canadians 4 4 2 6 Norbert Biszczak Steelers 7 3 4 1 2.81 .894 Kevin Lourens Pilots 6 3 3 6 Chilliwack Red 2 2 0 .500 Lost 2 91 96 4
Fyffe, Mitch Giants 4 3 3 6 Alexander Wind Devils 4 3 0 0 2.89 .892 Bradley Parker Pilots 6 3 3 6 North Langley 1 3 0 .250 Lost 3 62 123 2
Toews, Devon Bruins 4 2 4 6 Alexander Ahnert Devils 4 2 2 0 3.08 .889 Luke Venema Icebreakers 6 3 3 6 Meadow Ridge 1 3 0 .250 Lost 1 66 138 2
Gordon, Luke Cougars 4 1 4 5 Tyler Klassen Flames 5 3 2 0 3.61 .903 Steven Klips Icebreakers 7 3 3 6 Mission 1 3 0 .250 Won 1 106 184 2
Krupa, Connor Thunderbirds 4 2 3 5 Pierre Voyer Panthers 5 1 4 0 3.99 .889 Colton Precourt Kodiaks 6 2 4 6 Peewee
Grobowski, Taylor Silvertips 4 1 4 5 Spencer Marro Flames 3 1 1 0 3.99 .868 Spencer Traher Ice Hawks 8 2 4 6 Team W L T % STK PF PA PTS
Bowen, Connor Bruins 4 1 4 5 Cole Chreptyk Pilots 2 1 1 0 4.00 .899 Brendan Nadolny Pilots 6 1 5 6 Chilliwack Blue 4 0 0 1.000 Won 4 153 67 8
Petan, Nicolas Canadians 4 1 4 5 Marcus Chabot Wolf Pack 6 5 0 5 Meadow Ridge 3 0 1 .875 Won 2 112 13 7
Lange, Daniell Hawks 4 2 3 5 Ridge Meadows Flames scoring Riley Lamb Pilots 6 4 1 5 Abbotsford 2 1 1 .625 Won 2 105 47 5
Rostvig, Grant Hawks 4 3 2 5 Players GP G A Pts P/G PIM John Proctor Ice Hawks 8 4 1 5 Chilliwack Red 1 3 0 .250 Lost 2 42 96 2
King, Bradley Bruins 4 0 5 5 Danny Brandys 7 5 6 11 1.6 2 Thomas Hardy Kodiaks 6 3 2 5 North Langley 1 3 0 .250 Lost 3 26 108 2
Leung, Jarryd Thunderbirds 4 4 1 5 Dustin Cervo 7 5 6 11 1.6 4 J. McNaughton Icebreakers 6 3 2 5 Mission 0 4 0 .000 Lost 4 18 125 0
Roberts, Alex Giants 4 3 2 5 Ryan Stewart 7 3 5 8 1.1 6 Brent Fletcher Flames 7 3 2 5
Connolly, Josh Cougars 4 1 4 5 Sean Kavanagh 7 1 6 7 1.0 4 Sam Chichak Sockeyes 5 2 3 5 Midget
Ellis, Josh Rockets 4 3 1 4 Brent Fletcher 7 3 2 5 0.7 17 CJ Legassic Flames 7 2 3 5 Team W L T % STK PF PA PTS
Zagrodney, Graham Rockets 4 0 4 4 CJ Legassic 7 2 3 5 0.7 10 Reily Moffat Steelers 8 2 3 5 Langley 4 0 0 1.000 Won 4 122 15 8
McDonald, Chris Thunderbirds 4 1 3 4 Shane Harle 7 2 2 4 0.6 2 Sean Pesut Icebreakers 7 1 4 5 North Delta 3 0 0 1.000 Won 3 104 7 6
Lawlor, Brady Bruins 4 1 3 4 Tristano Falbo 6 1 3 4 0.7 2 Zack Henry Panthers 5 0 5 5 Coquitlam 3 0 0 1.000 Won 3 67 8 6
Burroughs, Kyle Hawks 4 1 3 4 Matthew Genovese 7 0 4 4 0.6 6 Ryan Cuthbert Ice Hawks 8 0 5 5 Cloverdale 3 1 0 .750 Won 3 86 59 6
Grieve, Kolten Bruins 4 1 3 4 Matthew Bevilacqua 7 0 3 3 0.4 4 Mike Phillipson Kodiaks 6 3 1 4 Nanaimo 3 1 0 .750 Won 1 105 31 6
Elford, Devon Hawks 4 2 2 4 Lucas Douglas 5 2 0 2 0.4 2 Taylan Kornelsen Devils 7 3 1 4 Victoria 3 1 0 .750 Won 3 60 27 6
Cooke, Scott Hawks 4 3 1 4 Matthew Keller 5 2 0 2 0.4 23 Marco Finucci Devils 2 2 2 4 Mission 3 1 0 .750 Won 2 67 43 6
Duncan, Justin Cougars 4 3 1 4 Felix Fiedler 4 1 1 2 0.5 2 J. Hamaguchi Sockeyes 5 2 2 4 Cowichan 2 2 0 .500 Lost 2 44 83 4
Johnson, Levon Cougars 4 3 1 4 Paul Piluso 2 1 1 2 1.0 2 Cody Heinen Pilots 5 2 2 4 White Rock 1 2 0 .333 Lost 1 42 38 2
Ellison, Dayne Thunderbirds 4 1 3 4 Joey Weilmeier 7 0 2 2 0.3 4 Grange Gordon Steelers 7 2 2 4 Chilliwack 1 2 0 .333 Lost 2 59 53 2
Egli, Brandon Thunderbirds 4 1 2 3 Jake Howardson 5 1 0 1 0.2 0 Shane Harle Flames 7 2 2 4 Meadow Ridge 1 3 0 .250 Lost 3 54 60 2
Santucci, Joey Chiefs 2 3 0 3 Adam Bartsch 4 1 0 1 0.3 0 Nicholas Gushue Steelers 8 2 2 4 Richmond White 1 3 0 .250 Lost 3 50 71 2
Reinhart, Sam Giants 4 0 3 3 Bayne Ryshak 7 0 1 1 0.1 6 Scott Mackey Steelers 8 2 2 4 North Surrey 1 3 0 .250 Lost 1 55 79 2
Green, Taylor Chiefs 2 1 2 3 Reece Rivard 7 0 0 0 0.0 2 Aaron Merrick Ice Hawks 8 2 2 4 Richmond Black 1 3 0 .250 Lost 2 38 94 2
Burnaby 1 3 0 .250 Won 1 42 112 2
Westside 1 3 0 .250 Lost 1 49 117 2
Get your community sports first @ www.mapleridgenews.com Vancouver 0 4 0 .000 Lost 4 14 161 0
 Sports

Tanner
Hartley of
the SRT
Titans tries
to shake
off a tackle
from Pitt’s
Zachary
Tripp-Bu-
chanan
Tuesday
afternoon.
James Maclennan/
THE NEWS

Titans take first Alouette Bowl worse for the Marauders, who tackled on a kick return.
SRT beats Pitt 26-18 in first were down seven starters by “That kid is tougher than
the final whistle. nails,” said Gowler. “He didn’t
meeting of rival programs Mauricio Zolliker, Jabcob Cur- cry, he didn’t scream, he just
rie, Logan Chick, and Jacob came back to the bench holding
by R o b e r t M a n g e l s d o r f Harinen all left the game with his arm.
staff reporter injuries, joining injured players “Our trainer turned white
AJ Gill, Joe Schuster, and Mi- when she saw it.”
chael Brain on the sideline. Chick will be out for the re-
The Samuel Robertson Tech- To make matters worse, the mainder of the season, and was
nical Titans can lay claim to Marauders had a touchdown to undergo surgery Thursday.
the first-ever victory between called back on penalty. SRT faces the Robert Bate-
district’s two football programs, “It was Murphy’s Law,” said man Timberwolves of Abbots-
after beating the Pitt Meadows Gowler. ford Wednesday, Oct. 6, on the
Marauders 26-18 at home in Ma- The most gruesome injury of road, while Pitt faces the Lang-
ple Ridge Tuesday afternoon. all was that of Chick, who broke ley Saints at home on Tuesday,
The Marauders could not his severly after getting gang Oct. 5.
come up with a way to contain
six-foot-four Titans running
back Rashaun Simonise, who
repeatedly broke free for big
yardage.
Hundreds gathered for the ju-
nior varsity match-up, the first
ever at any level between the
two district rivals.
“There’s a rivalry there for
sure,” said Marauders coach
Curt Gowler. “There was noth-
ing but chirping on the field,
and that’s where it belongs.You
don’t want them going on Fa-
cebook and calling each other
names, cause that’s what kids
do.”
Both teams are now tied with
identical 1-1 records in AA East- James Maclennan/THE NEWS
ern Conference play. Pitt Meadows Marauder Logan Chick winces on the sidelines after suffering
Things could not have gone a broken wrist during a game against the SRT Titans on Tuesday.