wednesday, july 21, maple ridge-pitt meadows news

Starting simply with a song. p31B.C. Views

Oil discovered on Salish Sea. p6

More than 10 years after he last skated on the ice at Cam Neely Arena as a

forward for the Ridge Meadows Rustlers bantam AAA team, An-drew Ladd returned to the rink of his youth on Sunday, this time with the Stanley Cup held high over his head.

Close to 2,500 people erupted into applause for one of Maple Ridge’s favourite sons as he stepped out onto the concrete rink surface at Planet Ice, where he learned the game that has made him an NHL player, and a champion.

“This was the fi rst place I thought to do this,” Ladd said af-terwards of his decision to bring the cup to his old rink. “Grow-ing up, I had some great coaches all the way through with Ridge Meadows Minor Hockey ... they volunteered their time to help kids out and help me out, so I

wanted to bring it back here to say thanks to them.”

Ladd, 24, fi rst won the cup with the Carolina Hurricanes in 2006. That summer he brought the cup back to Maple Ridge for a celebra-tion in Memorial Peace Park and at the ACT.

Sunday, he entered the rink through the Zamboni bay, hoist-ed the cup high above his head, then lowered it to his lips and kissed it.

“When someone brings the Stanley Cup home twice, that is something pretty special,” Pitt Meadows Mayor Don MacLean

said to the audience prior to Ladd autographing banners commem-orating his accomplishment for both local municipalities.

“Dreams really do come true,” Ladd said to all the minor hockey players sitting on the fl oor.

After the short address, the thousands in attendance – chil-dren and adults, some wearing Blackhawks jersies and T-shirts – waited in the sticky heat for hours to have their jerseys and hockey cards autographed by Ladd, and for a snapshot with the greatest prize in professional hockey.

Thousands pack Planet Ice for autographs, pictures

THE NEWS

Ladd brings Stanley Cup home

Colleen Flanagan/THE NEWS

Evan Vasarhely gives a thumbs-up while Andrew Ladd autographs his hockey jersey Sunday at Planet Ice in Maple Ridge. Ladd brought the Stanley Cup to the rink where he played minor hockey. About 2,500 people attended the event, lining up to have their pictures taken with the cup and to get Ladd’s signature.

Be aware to take care of bears

A black bear was killed in Maple Ridge on Monday after it attacked goats on a farm near the Mission bor-der.

The bear was the sixth killed in Ma-ple Ridge since April, and one of sev-eral in Metro Vancouver euthanized in the past few weeks as confl icts between hungry bruins and humans continue to rise.

Terry Myroniuk, a conservation of-fi cer who oversees the area between Port Moody and Mission, has logged more than 1,000 confl ict calls involving bears in his range since April.

The communities reporting the most bear encounters are Maple Ridge and Mission – with more than 500.

“Incidentally, they are two of the least proactive areas as well,” adds Myroniuk.

See Bears, p15

See Cup, p3

Opinion 6

Tom Fletcher 6

Arts&life 31

Sports 34

Community Calendar 36

Pet pages 39

Classifi eds 43

Index

Wednesday, July 21, 2010 · Serving Maple Ridge & Pitt Meadows · est. 1978 · 604-467-1122 · 50¢www.mapleridgenews.com

Agriculture

Blueberry season short but sweet.p11

Black bear killed after attacking goats on farm

Play Cow Patty Bingo at this

year’s Country Fest.

See story, p26

b y R o b e r t M a n g e l s d o r fstaff repor ter

b y M o n i s h a M a r t i n sstaff repor ter

Starting simply with a song. p31B.C. Views

Oil discovered on Salish Sea. p6

More than 10 years after he last skated on the ice at Cam Neely Arena as a

forward for the Ridge Meadows Rustlers bantam AAA team, An-drew Ladd returned to the rink of his youth on Sunday, this time with the Stanley Cup held high over his head.

Close to 2,500 people erupted into applause for one of Maple Ridge’s favourite sons as he stepped out onto the concrete rink surface at Planet Ice, where he learned the game that has made him an NHL player, and a champion.

“This was the fi rst place I thought to do this,” Ladd said af-terwards of his decision to bring the cup to his old rink. “Grow-ing up, I had some great coaches all the way through with Ridge Meadows Minor Hockey ... they volunteered their time to help kids out and help me out, so I

wanted to bring it back here to say thanks to them.”

Ladd, 24, fi rst won the cup with the Carolina Hurricanes in 2006. That summer he brought the cup back to Maple Ridge for a celebra-tion in Memorial Peace Park and at the ACT.

Sunday, he entered the rink through the Zamboni bay, hoist-ed the cup high above his head, then lowered it to his lips and kissed it.

“When someone brings the Stanley Cup home twice, that is something pretty special,” Pitt Meadows Mayor Don MacLean

said to the audience prior to Ladd autographing banners commem-orating his accomplishment for both local municipalities.

“Dreams really do come true,” Ladd said to all the minor hockey players sitting on the fl oor.

After the short address, the thousands in attendance – chil-dren and adults, some wearing Blackhawks jersies and T-shirts – waited in the sticky heat for hours to have their jerseys and hockey cards autographed by Ladd, and for a snapshot with the greatest prize in professional hockey.

Thousands pack Planet Ice for autographs, pictures

THE NEWS

Ladd brings Stanley Cup home


Evan Vasarhely gives a thumbs-up while Andrew Ladd autographs his hockey jersey Sunday at Planet Ice in Maple Ridge. Ladd brought the Stanley Cup to the rink where he played minor hockey. About 2,500 people attended the event, lining up to have their pictures taken with the cup and to get Ladd’s signature.

Be aware to take care of bears

A black bear was killed in Maple Ridge on Monday after it attacked goats on a farm near the Mission border.

The bear was one of several eutha-nized in the past few weeks as con-fl icts between hungry bruins and humans continue to rise in Metro Vancouver.

Terry Myroniuk, a conservation of-fi cer who oversees the area between Port Moody and Mission, has logged more than 1,000 confl ict calls involv-ing bears in his range since April.

The communities reporting the most bear encounters as bears bulk up for winter are Maple Ridge and Mission – with more than 500.

“Incidentally, they are two of the least proactive areas as well,” adds Myroniuk.

See Bears, p15

See Cup, p3

Opinion 6

Tom Fletcher 6

Arts&life 31

Sports 34

Community Calendar 36

Pet pages 39

Classifi eds 43

Index

Wednesday, July 21, 2010 · Serving Maple Ridge & Pitt Meadows · est. 1978 · 604-467-1122 · 50¢www.mapleridgenews.com

Agriculture

Blueberry season short but sweet.p11

Black bear killed after attacking goats on farm

Play Cow Patty Bingo at this

year’s Country Fest.

See story, p26



The line-up snaked its way around the rink, into the foyer, and out the front door.

Ladd did his best to accommo-date them, risking carpal tunnel syndrome as his absurdly large, di-amond-encrusted Stanley Cup ring from his days with the Hurricanes dangled from his right hand.

“We haven’t got the ones from Chicago yet,” he said.

The banners commemorating Ladd’s most recent Stanley Cup win, with the Chicago Blackhawks, will be raised to the rafters of both Cam Neely Arena and the Pitt Meadows Arena.

Ladd is the only local hockey play-er to have his name engraved on the

Stanley Cup.“To see the Stanley Cup, to have it

in our community is a great thing,” Maple Ridge Mayor Ernie Daykin told the crowd. “Every little guy, whether you’re skating here on the ice or playing road hockey in front of your house, dreams of hoisting the Stanley Cup after scoring the winning goal in Game 7.

“We’re very thankful for Andrew sharing this special day with us.”

Ladd’s parents, Dave and Kim, as well as his grandfather Gordon, among others, were on hand to take part in the festivities.

“It’s so great to see everyone come out and support Andrew, we’re very proud of him,” said Dave Ladd.

However, any crazy plans for the

Stanley Cup were kiboshed by new restrictions meant reduce the like-lihood of it ending up in some un-desired place like last year, when it was photographed in Mario Le-mieux’s swimming pool.

“It’s got a curfew now,” he said. “It has to be in bed by midnight.”

The cup did make it out to Alou-ette Lake on a boat with Ladd and some his Chicago teammates.

After the festivities Sunday, Dave said the family planned to take some photos with the cup and have a pri-vate dinner at the Ladd residence with friends.

However, despite the joy of cele-brating his Stanley Cup win with his family, friends, and the community he grew up in, there is uncertainty

for Ladd, who left his teammates be-hind in Chicago after being traded to the Atlanta Thrashers last month.

“We all knew it was inevitable for most of us,” Andrew Ladd said.

The Blackhawks, who were com-mitted to holding onto prized young forwards Jonathan Toews and Pat-rick Kane, as well as Norris Trophy winner Duncan Keith and his defen-sive partner Brent Seabrook, strug-gled to make it under the salary cap, and were forced to trade away much of the Stanley Cup-winning team.

Ladd, a restricted free agent, has not yet signed with the Thrashers and said negotiations are ongoing ahead of his salary arbitration date on July 29. Should the Thrashers not agree to terms, Ladd would be-

come an unrestricted free agent, leaving him free to sign with which-ever team he chooses.

“I’m trying not to think about that too much right now ... I’ve been more focussed on today,” he said, scanning the crowd.

“Hopefully things work out in At-lanta.”

Ladd could have spent all day signing autographs and not got-ten to everyone, but after close to three hours, he was escorted out of the rink with the cup. Hundreds of people were still waiting in line, cha-grined at not having had their turn with Ladd and the Cup. They still cheered loudly as he left, Ladd wav-ing goodbye to them in return.

Griffin Smith, 7, and his brother Landon, 5, peer over the table as Andrew Ladd signs a magazine for them.

P h o t o s b y C o l l e e n F l a n a g a n

OnlineFor video, visit

www.mapleridgenews.com

MRNEWS

Cup from front

‘Hopefully things work out in Atlanta’

Winter Crawshaw, 2, kisses the Stanley Cup.

Tristan Lindsay, 5, peeks into the cup while posing for a picture with his father, Geoff .

A woman hugs the cup.

Andrew Ladd lowers the cup for a kiss. Ladd poses for the cup with his dad, Dave.Ladd autographs a fan’s No. 16 Blackhawks jersey.

The Golden Ears Bridge was closed both ways for most of Tues-day after a distraught man managed to climb onto the ledge on the Langley side.

As of 10:30 a.m. traffi c was blocked off so po-lice could deal with an emotionally disturbed man who had managed to climb over the sui-

cide barriers and onto the ledge overlooking the water, about 150 feet above the Fraser River, said witnesses.

Police have been trying to talk the man down as he was seen hanging by one arm from one of the cable wires.

While police nego-tiators worked with the man, they also brought

in their high angle res-cue team, Emergency Response Team and there is a water-borne team in the river. Air 2 was also participating for some time.

The Caucasian man, believed to be in his late 30s or early 40s, was talk-ed down around 4 p.m.

Golden Ears Bridge was the fi rst bridge in

B.C. to be built with sui-cide barriers. The sharp-ly pointed metal bars were constructed to stop people from being able to climb over the edge.

Traffi c on Highway One was completely jammed heading westbound and feeder routes to the Golden Ears bridge are backed up on both sides of the river.

An inmate at a Maple Ridge prison has been charged with attempted murder following an as-sault on another inmate in May.

Alexander Tanasescu,

27, remains in custody on the charge while the 36-year-old man he is charged with attacking at Fraser Regional Cor-rectional Centre on May 19 remains in hospital.

Ridge Meadows RCMP confi rmed the man is in a vegetative state.

Supt. Dave Walsh said the assault happened in a common area of the prison.

“The victim is severely brain damaged and un-able to care for himself,” he added.

B.C. Corrections has completed its own in-ternal investigation into the assault at the 256th Street prison. Spokes-person Marnie Mayhew won’t say what prompted the violent attack.

“Our own internal review found that staff responded properly and appropriately in accor-dance with established policy and procedures,” said Mayhew. “We ab-solutely believe that our centres are safe, but giv-en the mix of individual that we have in our cus-tody, you can never com-pletely eliminate risk.”

Man charged with attempted murder

Suicidal man shuts down GE bridge

The Golden Ears bridge was closed both ways for most of Tuesday after a distraught man managed to climb onto the ledge on the Langley side.

As of 10:30 a.m. traffi c was blocked off so po-lice could deal with an emotionally disturbed man who had managed to climb over the sui-cide barriers and onto

the ledge overlooking the water, about 150 feet above the Fraser River, said witnesses.


While police nego-tiators worked with the man, they also brought in their high angle res-

cue team, Emergency Response Team and there is a water-borne team in the river. Air 2 was also participating for some time.

The Caucasian man, believed to be in his late 30s or early 40s, was been talked down around 4 p.m.














The Golden Ears bridge was closed both ways for most of Tuesday after a distraught man managed to climb onto the ledge on the Langley side.

As of 10:30 a.m. traffi c was blocked off so po-lice could deal with an emotionally disturbed man who had managed to climb over the sui-cide barriers and onto

the ledge overlooking the water, about 150 feet above the Fraser River, said witnesses.


While police nego-tiators worked with the man, they also brought in their high angle res-

cue team, Emergency Response Team and there is a water-borne team in the river. Air 2 was also participating for some time.

The Caucasian man, believed to be in his late 30s or early 40s, had not been talked down as of 3 p.m.














A motorcyclist was taken to hospital after he crashed into the back of a car Sunday in Maple Ridge.

The accident happened in the 25400-block of Dewdney Trunk Road around 3 p.m.

Police said the motorcycle and Hon-da Civic were headed east when the collision occurred.

The motorcyclist was taken to Ridge Meadows Hospital with non-life threat-ening injuries. He has since been charged with following too closely and driving without a valid licence.

Break-inSeveral rooms were ransacked and a

laptop stolen during a break-in Satur-day at a Maple Ridge home.

Police said the theft happened in the 21400-block of River Road just after 6 p.m. Thieves pried open the front door to the residence.

CounterattackRidge Meadows RCMP’s traffi c sec-

tion was out in force over the weekend as part of increased summer enforce-ment.

On Friday and Saturday, police con-ducted three impaired driver inves-tigations, found three people in cars without seat belts, ticketed one driver for speeding and caught two more for

using their cell phones while driving.Offi cers also used a Automated Li-

cence Plate Reader (ALPR) vehicle, which was on loan from the RCMP Lower Mainland District Traffi c Ser-vices. The vehicle helped identify ve-hicles and owners who were driving when their insurance is expired or driving while prohibited.

The plate reader helped nab three prohibited drivers.

Car crashA Maple Ridge woman was taken to

hospital after she collided with anoth-er car Thursday evening.

The 61-year-old sustained non-life threatening injuries in the collision that happened around 5:15 p.m. in the 27000-block of River Road. The wom-an’s Volkswagen Golf hit a GMC pick-up truck. A 40-year-old man who was driving the pickup was not injured.

The woman was charged with an of-fence under the Motor Vehicle Act.

Sweepers recoveredRidge Meadows RCMP found two in-

dustrial sweepers Thursday that had been stolen from a business in Pitt Meadows two days earlier.

Police are still looking for two gas-powered lawn rakes and two long step- ladders.

Motorcyclist faces charges

THE NEWS/opinion

VICTORIA – It’s been a great week for our oceans. Just as Coast Salish tribal leaders from B.C. and Washington gathered here to celebrate the official naming of the Salish Sea, oilfield engi-neers succeeded in capping the offshore well blowout in the Gulf of Mexico.

The three-month nightmare of the BP oil platform disaster has highlighted the ignorance and hypocrisy that ac-companies debate about oil here in B.C.

Superannuated hippies have con-trolled the urban discourse, just as they did the logging debate 20 years ago. They have long propagated the fantasy that there is no oil production or transport in B.C. and that a mythical “moratorium” has protected our fragile coastline from oil-mad Texans and Albertans, ever since truly intelligent, sensitive human life evolved here in the 1960s.

This received wisdom was illustrated in the legislature’s final days this spring, when the opposition seized on a tiny seeping fuel oil leak discovered at the Chevron refinery on Burrard Inlet at Burnaby, and played to the public horror over the BP disaster far to the south.

“This is the premier who wants to end the 40-year moratorium on super-tankers on our coast,” shouted NDP en-vironment critic Rob Fleming. “That’s the kind of environmentalist he is.”

This is nonsense refined to its purest form. There is a federal moratorium on offshore drilling along B.C.’s West Coast, as there is off California’s coast, but there is no moratorium on tanker traffic and there never has been. There is an exclusion agreement between the Canadian and U.S. federal govern-ments that tankers carrying Alaska crude will not use the Inside Passage when they bring it down to a cluster of refineries in Washington State.

Shell and Tesoro Corp. share a refinery complex at March Point, just outside Anacortes, Wash., a short ferry ride from B.C. Some of the tankers negotiate the Strait of Juan de Fuca around the tip of Vancouver Island and continue past Anacortes, up to Blaine, just south of the B.C. border. Here BP operates the Cherry Point refinery, Washington’s largest and the destina-tion of the Exxon Valdez on that fateful night in 1989.

On the way between the islands of southern B.C. and Washington, these tankers pass through Rosario Strait, a gap narrower than the Inside Passage, or anything encountered by tankers that already carry light petroleum products into Kitimat.

Once the Gulf of Mexico blowout was the talk of Lotus Land coffee shops, it wasn’t long before Vancouver city council determined that there is in fact oil tanker traffic right into the city. First a refinery is discovered in Burnaby, and then it turns out Kinder Morgan’s pipeline is loading ships, too.

Council immediately launched a task force to assess the appalling risks of oil transport that has proceeded safely for decades while council studied things

like a dead stump in Stanley Park.It turns out even “tar sands” oil is

shipped out of Vancouver. No doubt the city’s latte-sippers would be happier if this unsightly business moved up to Kitimat.

Enter Michael Ignatieff, the latest leader of the party that declared Cana-da a peacekeeping nation. (Again, this assumes history began in the 1960s.)

Ignatieff’s nuanced position on oil exports is that no pipeline should be built to convey Alberta crude to Kitimat. Condensate can continue to go into Kitimat by ship and to Alberta by rail, where it is used to dilute heavy oil. The resulting crude can go by pipeline to Vancouver, where tankers weave through the island-dotted arteries of B.C.’s urban heart.

Call it the “screw Kitimat” policy. Or just plain screwy.

Tom Fletcher is legislative reporter and columnist for Black Press

and BCLocalnews.com(tfl [email protected]).

Oil discovered on Salish Sea

Bear essentialsIngrid RiceNews Views

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

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

This week’s question: Are paramedics paid adequately for the services they provide?

B.C. Views Tom Fletcher

It’s time to get serious about bears.One was put down in Maple Ridge on Mon-

day, this time for killing a couple of goats near Mission. It was the sixth bear euthanized in Maple Ridge since April, and one of several in the Metro area in the past few weeks.

Conservation officers have now taken more than a 1,000 calls about conflicts with bears from residents in the area spanning Port Moody to Mission since April.

Maple Ridge and Mission report the most bear encounters, more than 500 combined.

Neither has a bear bylaw, like those in Coquit-lam, Port Coquitlam and Port Moody, which only allow residential garbage to be put out between 5:30 and 7:30 a.m. The first two also require wild-life-resistent garbage containers, or that waste be stored in a shed.

The bylaws come with penalties, fines rang-ing from $100 to $500.

Calls about bears are down in those commu-nities since the bylaws were put in place, ac-cording to conservation officers.

So what is Maple Ridge waiting for?Maple Ridge council considering a bear by-

law three years ago, and now may revisit one.The bears are drawn to residential neigh-

bourhoods by garbage, food waste in unse-cured bins and fruit on trees or fallen to the ground.

It’s easy pickin’s for them.Food waste needs to be secured in a pen or

a shed or garage; a 500-pound black bear will sit and squash a plastic garbage can if it can’t claw off the lid.

Fruit needs to be picked from trees and picked off the ground. Don’t leave pet food out-side, either.

That’s all bears want – food.If residents won’t act responsibly, then the

district must pass a bylaw and force them to; don’t start the discussion again, then forget about it once bear season ends.

No bear should die because someone left a roasted chicken carcass in the waste bin be-side the house for a week.

– The News

Tell us what you think @ www.mapleridgenews.com

Jim Coulter, [email protected]

Michael Hall, [email protected]

Carly Ferguson, advertising [email protected]

Joan Griffi th, circulation [email protected]

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

V2X 2Z3Offi ce: 604-467-1122

Fax: 604-463-4741Delivery: 604-466-6397

Website: www.mapleridgenews.comEmail: [email protected]

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

CCAB audited circulation: (as of September 2009): Wednesday - 30,221; Friday – 30,197.

Ser ving Maple Ridge & Pitt Meadows since 1978

THE NEWS It turns out even “tar sands” oil is shipped out of Vancouver. No doubt the city’s latte-sippers would be happier if this unsightly business moved up to Kitimat.

THE NEWS/opinion

VICTORIA – It’s been a great week for our oceans. Just as Coast Salish tribal leaders from B.C. and Washington gathered here to celebrate the official naming of the Salish Sea, oilfield engi-neers succeeded in capping the offshore well blowout in the Gulf of Mexico.

The three-month nightmare of the BP oil platform disaster has highlighted the ignorance and hypocrisy that ac-companies debate about oil here in B.C.

Superannuated hippies have con-trolled the urban discourse, just as they did the logging debate 20 years ago. They have long propagated the fantasy that there is no oil production or transport in B.C. and that a mythical “moratorium” has protected our fragile coastline from oil-mad Texans and Albertans, ever since truly intelligent, sensitive human life evolved here in the 1960s.

This received wisdom was illustrated in the legislature’s final days this spring, when the opposition seized on a tiny seeping fuel oil leak discovered at the Chevron refinery on Burrard Inlet at Burnaby, and played to the public horror over the BP disaster far to the south.

“This is the premier who wants to end the 40-year moratorium on super-tankers on our coast,” shouted NDP en-vironment critic Rob Fleming. “That’s the kind of environmentalist he is.”

This is nonsense refined to its purest form. There is a federal moratorium on offshore drilling along B.C.’s West Coast, as there is off California’s coast, but there is no moratorium on tanker traffic and there never has been. There is an exclusion agreement between the Canadian and U.S. federal govern-ments that tankers carrying Alaska crude will not use the Inside Passage when they bring it down to a cluster of refineries in Washington State.

Shell and Tesoro Corp. share a refinery complex at March Point, just outside Anacortes, Wash., a short ferry ride from B.C. Some of the tankers negotiate the Strait of Juan de Fuca around the tip of Vancouver Island and continue past Anacortes, up to Blaine, just south of the B.C. border. Here BP operates the Cherry Point refinery, Washington’s largest and the destina-tion of the Exxon Valdez on that fateful night in 1989.

On the way between the islands of southern B.C. and Washington, these tankers pass through Rosario Strait, a gap narrower than the Inside Passage, or anything encountered by tankers that already carry light petroleum products into Kitimat.

Once the Gulf of Mexico blowout was the talk of Lotus Land coffee shops, it wasn’t long before Vancouver city council determined that there is in fact oil tanker traffic right into the city. First a refinery is discovered in Burnaby, and then it turns out Kinder Morgan’s pipeline is loading ships, too.

Council immediately launched a task force to assess the appalling risks of oil transport that has proceeded safely for decades while council studied things

like a dead stump in Stanley Park.It turns out even “tar sands” oil is

shipped out of Vancouver. No doubt the city’s latte-sippers would be happier if this unsightly business moved up to Kitimat.

Enter Michael Ignatieff, the latest leader of the party that declared Cana-da a peacekeeping nation. (Again, this assumes history began in the 1960s.)

Ignatieff’s nuanced position on oil exports is that no pipeline should be built to convey Alberta crude to Kitimat. Condensate can continue to go into Kitimat by ship and to Alberta by rail, where it is used to dilute heavy oil. The resulting crude can go by pipeline to Vancouver, where tankers weave through the island-dotted arteries of B.C.’s urban heart.

Call it the “screw Kitimat” policy. Or just plain screwy.

Tom Fletcher is legislative reporter and columnist for Black Press

and BCLocalnews.com(tfl [email protected]).

Oil discovered on Salish Sea

Bear essentialsIngrid RiceNews Views

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

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

This week’s question: Are paramedics paid adequately for the services they provide?

B.C. Views Tom Fletcher

It’s time to get serious about bears.One was put down in Maple Ridge on Mon-

day, this time for killing a couple of goats near Mission. It was one of several euthanized in the Metro area in the past few weeks.

Conservation officers have now taken more than a 1,000 calls about conflicts with bears from residents in the area spanning Port Moody to Mission since April.

Maple Ridge and Mission report the most bear encounters, more than 500 combined.

Neither has a bear bylaw, like those in Co-quitlam, Port Coquitlam and Port Moody, which only allow residential garbage to be put out between 5:30 and 7:30 a.m. The first two also require wild-life-resistent garbage containers, or that waste be stored in a shed.

The bylaws come with penalties, fines rang-ing from $100 to $500.

Calls about bears are down in those commu-nities since the bylaws were put in place, ac-cording to conservation officers.

So what is Maple Ridge waiting for?Maple Ridge council considering a bear

bylaw three years ago, and now may revisit one.

The bears are drawn to residential neigh-bourhoods by garbage, food waste in unse-cured bins and fruit on trees or fallen to the ground.

It’s easy pickin’s for them.Food waste needs to be secured in a pen or

a shed or garage; a 500-pound black bear will sit and squash a plastic garbage can if it can’t claw off the lid.

Fruit needs to be picked from trees and picked off the ground. Don’t leave pet food outside, either.

That’s all bears want – food.If residents won’t act responsibly, then the

district must pass a bylaw and force them to; don’t start the discussion again, then forget about it once bear season ends.

No bear should die because someone left a roasted chicken carcass in the waste bin be-side the house for a week.

– The News

Tell us what you think @ www.mapleridgenews.com

Jim Coulter, [email protected]

Michael Hall, [email protected]

Carly Ferguson, advertising [email protected]

Joan Griffi th, circulation [email protected]

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

V2X 2Z3Offi ce: 604-467-1122

Fax: 604-463-4741Delivery: 604-466-6397

Website: www.mapleridgenews.comEmail: [email protected]

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

CCAB audited circulation: (as of September 2009): Wednesday - 30,221; Friday – 30,197.

Ser ving Maple Ridge & Pitt Meadows since 1978

THE NEWS It turns out even “tar sands” oil is shipped out of Vancouver. No doubt the city’s latte-sippers would be happier if this unsightly business moved up to Kitimat.

EDITOR, THE NEWS:Re: Pitt farmers against Pelton proposal (The News, July

9).It is with great surprise that I read in the July 9 edition

of The News that the Maple Ridge Agricultural Advisory Committee (AAC) has been quiet on the proposal to take the Pelton land out of the Agricultural Land Reserve (ALR).

Surely this committee can only come down on one side of this issue – the total preservation of the Pelton land for farm use.

How could it be any other way? Is it conceivable that an agricultural advisory committee

could endorse a plan to turn prime agricultural land into industrial use?

Well, maybe if one of the members of the AAC is Steve Pelton, who currently owns the land.

And why is Mr. Pelton even on this committee? I suppose he has as much right as any citizen of Maple Ridge; we all have a vested interest in the continuity of agricultural production. But if Mr. Pelton is now wanting to become a developer or industrialist and sees no agricultural value in his land, this should be prominently noted.

I do fi nd it quite troubling that Maple Ridge council did not seek the input from its own AAC in its decision to for-ward the Pelton application for exclusion to the Agricul-tural Land Commission.

Candace Gordon, a member of the AAC, said in The News (to excuse the AAC’s silence on the Pelton matter), that the committee is “cautious about the work they do” and there are “extreme views within the group ... very rambunctious.”

I would be quite dismayed if committee members spent their time vigorously debating the very existence of farm-land in our municipality. One would think that preservation would be a cornerstone concept of a local AAC.

This from the charter of the AAC: “The key element of this statement is that the community will assist in protecting ag-riculture, providing key agricultural infrastructure and pro-tecting the resource base to ensure that the conditions for working agriculture are maintained and enhanced.”

Surely their discussions should centre on all the things that the District of Maple Ridge can do to assist farmer’s efforts and not how to legislate them out of existence?

Reading between the lines of The News article, I wonder if the fractiousness within the AAC can be attributed to the presence of Mr. Pelton on the committee?

The Maple Ridge Agricultural Advisory Committee must come out with a clear statement with regard to the Pelton land. The message to Maple Ridge council and to the ALR should be to keep the Pelton land for agricultural use.

To quote Coun. King: “We can’t have an agricultural com-mittee and not have it respond to serious agricultural mat-ters.”

With regard to the Pitt Meadows AAC taking a position on the issue, against removal from the ALR – more power to them. The proximity of the Pelton land to Pitt Meadows and the common interest in preserving this “linchpin” property requires that they also make a clear statement against the proposal.

RICK HALAS

MAPLE RIDGE

EDITOR, THE NEWS:Re: Pot growers taking on city (The

News, July 16).For anyone out there who thinks hav-

ing a pot license is fun or funny, this is exactly the kind of systematic dis-crimination we face every day from all levels of government.

Get this into your heads, Canada: marijuana, will, never, be, legal.

There is always some Glady Kravitz who can’t mind their own damn busi-ness, and they work hard to keep the prohibition machine going,

Want proof that pot will never be le-gal? There have already been several court rulings that effectively destroyed prohibition and made pot legal, but the cops, the courts, and the government simply ignore these rulings and con-tinue to bust people with a dead law.

That is our ‘just society. A sick joke.Meanwhile, the people who made

the mistake of signing up for this ‘le-gal’ medical segregation program are being systematically targeted by cops and government and fi re offi cials be-cause they are easier targets than the heavily-armed gangsters who run the non-licensed grows.

RUSSELL BARTH,FEDERALLY LICENSED MEDICAL MARIJUANA USER AND DRUG REFORM ANALYST AND CONSULTANT

EDUCATORS FOR SENSIBLE DRUG POLICY

Making a caseEDITOR, THE NEWS:

Re: Police have to check on medical pot (The News, July 9).

Recent events have refueled some local debate about medical marijuana, particularly who has the authority to grow and distribute it.

The government, on all levels, has been responding with varying prom-ises from keeping the law upheld to change for those who use marijuana for medical purposes.

Something seems to have gone un-noticed, however. People who grow their own marijuana, or pay others to do the job for them, incur the wrath of our sometimes elected, more often un-democratically assigned, offi cials.

Strange, considering that they are either using their own land to grow a plant for their own medicinal use, or else are engaging in voluntary ex-change for the same purpose. They are not violating the rights of anyone else to do so.

The government, however, gives it-

self the right, nay, the responsibility to interfere in their right to control their lives.

The question is simply: does the gov-ernment in fact have the right to do so?

Section 8 of the charter gives every-one the right to be secure against un-reasonable seizure. Is it reasonable for responsible adults to make their own medical choices? If so, why is the gov-ernment able to seize the very plants used by responsible adults as a medi-cal aid?

Health Canada and the government as a whole seem determined to main-tain their monopoly on the medical marijuana industry (and it is a mo-nopoly, make no mistake. Prairie Plant Systems, the only legal supplier of medical marijuana seeds, is a private company given a monopoly by the gov-ernment). This monopoly, of course, results in less need for a high stan-dard.

With many people so ready to supply and compete with each other, the result of relinquishing their monopoly would be greater competition, resulting in higher standards and lower prices.

The simple fact is that a committee of offi cials (even at a municipal level) can-not determine the wants and needs of everyone involved. The only way this can be effi ciently done is on a supplier-consumer basis in a free market. This system will provide what people actually need, not what it is assumed or dictated by government offi cials they need.

This seems, of course, unlikely. Coun. Al Hogarth seems only too eager to give up what could be a municipal issue to the federal government, and MP Randy Kamp has said that, “We don’t have an interest in the wide opening up of ac-cess to marijuana.”

And why should the government have an interest? Such an action would re-

quire the relinquishing of power, and that is rarely something a government does voluntarily. Excuses are made that the market would give the organized criminal dealers greater ease of move-ment. Let them be reminded that it was their across-the-board ban of marijuana that created the illegal market in the fi rst place.

Mr. Kamp has stated that there is no evidence that medical marijuana works. However, even if this were true (it is not, the opposing evidence is overwhelm-ing), why does this give the government the freedom to interfere in a person’s right to test this for themselves?

And this is, in the end, the question that must be asked: how can the govern-ment justify their violation of a person’s right to control their own body and life?

In the case of medical marijuana, seems to be more and more the case that they cannot.

ASH MILTON

MAPLE RIDGE

Read regulationsEDITOR, THE NEWS:Re: Police have to check on medical

pot (The News, July 14).MP Randy Kamp should probably

read the Marijuana Medical Access Regulations (MMAR) before claiming that Health Canada lacks the ability to shut down legal medical producers who violate the terms of their licenses. Sections 62 and 63 of the MMAR allow for revocation of licenses for a variety of reasons.

Beyond that, MP Kamp is right: in-vestigating violation of the law is a task for law enforcement, whether the issue is potential illegal cannabis pro-duction or the far more common resale of prescription pharmaceuticals on the black market.

And, based on information compiled by the RCMP, illegal use of medical cannabis licenses is exceedingly rare. Of the thousands of lawful producers licensed over the past decade, only 70 were reported as possibly engaging in unlicensed conduct, and only half of those – 35 total – were found to be violating the terms of their licenses in some unspecifi ed way.

I wish I could be more specifi c, but the RCMP provided only a heavily-cen-sored copy of the seven-page report on response to my Access to Information Request.

KIRK TOUSAW, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR

BEYOND PROHIBITION FOUNDATION

Ag committee must take Pelton position

Legal growers easy targets

THE NEWS/letters

Health Canada and the government as a whole seem determined to maintain their monopoly on the medical marijuana industry ... This monopoly, of course, results in less need for a high standard.

The developer of Pitt Meadows’ first busi-ness park is ready to begin construction on the site’s first build-ing.

Onni Contracting made a development permit application for the 75,678 edifice to council Tuesday, with the proposal garner-ing support from city staff.

The building will be

located in the south east corner of the Golden Ears Business Centre, just off Airport Way and Harris Road.

It will contain 14 units, ranging in size from 2,600 square feet to 7,100 square feet.

Once occupied, the businesses are expect-ed to provided about 42 jobs, with sala-ries ranging between $40,000 to $60,000 per year.

Colliers Internation-al realtor Chris Mac-Caulay, who is mar-

keting the business park for Onni, hopes to have the building occupied by 2011.

“We are ready to go,” he said. “It’s just a matter of getting all our approvals from the city.”

Golden Ears Busi-ness Centre, which could eventually be-come one of the larg-est light industrial hubs in Metro Vancou-ver, boasts 1.5 million square feet of building space.

Onni sees the Pitt Meadows location as an extension of Port Kells, across the Fraser River – a lo-cation that’s already built out – and wants the park to compete with the Campbell Heights Business Cen-tre in south-eastern Surrey.

MacCaulay is still looking for tenants to occupy the park’s first building, but a few businesses are already committed to setting up shop. They include a light food processor, a manufacturer and distributor.

“This is kind of a

test to see how this is going to be received,” MacCaulay added.

“Initial reports say it is going to be received well. We’ve actually got people committed to the building and most of the time, in commercial, people don’t commit to a lease until they know when they are going to move in.”

Onni applies for business park permitFirst building in Golden Ears Business Centre will be more than 75,000 square feet

In the park:• lighting will comply with FLAP (Fatal Light Aware-ness Program) to prevent bird deaths and Leadership in Environmental Design Standards (LEED) to reduce light pollution;• landscaping will use na-tive plans, high effi ciency irrigation systems and low water consumption fi xtures;• the project will be LEED silver certifi able, although Onni is not pursuing certifi cation;• people who work in the business park will have access to an outdoor picnic area, bicycle storage and access to the dike trails.


Local blueberries are plumping up quickly af-ter a bit of a late start to the season.

About 300 pickers start-ed harvesting the more than 1,000 acres of fi elds at Purewal Blueberry Farms in Pitt Meadows on July 5. The fi rst va-riety of the season are called Duke blueberries.

“The Dukes look re-ally good, the size is very good, but the crop isn’t as heavy as originally anticipated,” said op-erations manager Gary Purewal.

He attributes the light-er crop to some frost damage in the spring, as well as cool, wet temper-atures that discouraged bees from pollinating. Both frost and a lack of pollination can result in smaller sized berries.

Purewal expects his crop will yield about 10 to 15 per cent fewer ber-ries than last year, but he ensures they will be

as sweet as ever thanks to the recent bout of sun-ny, warm weather.

“It’s great for fresh-quality berries,” Pure-wal said. “But you’re get-ting a lot of berries that are going to ripen very quickly and come on at one time.”

The rapid ripening will make for a short blueberry season—one that Purewal anticipates will wrap up by the fi rst week of September.

Next week, Purewal

Farms expects to start harvesting the next va-riety of berries—Blue Crop.

Despite weather chal-lenges, Purewal said the quality of his berries is outstanding.

“Farmers did a lot of work this year prun-ing, and post-harvesting practices were greatly improved this year,” he said.

That means the berries will stay fresh all the way from the farm, to the gro-

cery store, to the kitchen counter.

Most B.C. blueberry growers faced the same weather setbacks as Purewal Farms this spring.

“Usually Dukes are one of our large berries, but there have been some is-sues because of the cold weather with the sizing on some of the farms,” said Debbie Etsell, acting executive director of the B.C. Blueberry Council.

The B.C. Blueberry Council represents 650 blueberry growers in the province and more than 18,000 acres of fi elds be-tween Delta and Chilli-wack.

Last year those grow-ers collectively produced 89 million pounds of the little berries, and Etsell hopes to reach the same production level this sea-son.

She said B.C.’s climate is ideal for growing blue-berries.

“We get pretty good warm days, usually dur-ing the summertime, and then cooler nights, which is good for the berries,” she said, add-ing blueberries don’t re-quire nutrient-rich soil to prosper.

Blueberry season short but sweetNature’s ‘multi-vitamin’ a growing industry


Resham Sandhu picks blueberries for The Little Fruit Stand on Old Dewdney Trunk Road just east of Harris Rd. Wednesday afternoon. Blueberry season runs until September.

b y C h r i s t i n e Ly o ncontributor

See Blueberries, p12

B.C. is the largest producer of highbush blueberries in Canada and the second largest producer in the world—next to Michigan.

Purewal Farms is one of the largest fresh blue-berry producers in the Maple Ridge-Pitt Mead-ows area; its operation spans more than 1,000 acres.

Another major pro-ducer is Aquilini-owned Golden Eagle Group, which dedicates 1,800 of its 5,000 acres of agri-cultural land in the Pitt Meadows area to blue-

berries.“Blueberries have

been grown in British Columbia for a long time. I know that there’s bushes in the Richmond area that are over 40 or 50 years old,” said Et-sell.

Blueberry farming is a growing industry and experienced a surge about four years ago. Et-sell credits that surge to positive health reports increasing demand for the superfruit.

“We’ve been calling it nature’s little multi-vitamin,” she said.

Among other fi nd-ings, researchers have determined the berries are an excellent source of antioxidants, which slow the aging process and reduce cell dam-age.

B.C. second largest producer of berries


Circus camp(From left) Aleksa Fabbro, Helen Soos, both 6, and Julia Liwsze-Ployart, 7, loop hoops around their arms and wrists during the Vancouver Circus School’s summer camp at the ACT in Maple Ridge on Monday. In circus camp, par-ticipants learn how to perform on the trampoline, with aerial silk, as well as juggling, diablo, pyramid building, tightwire and tumbling.

Blueberries from p11

The owner of Ham-mond Cedar Mill is wel-coming a lower tax rate put in by the District of Maple Ridge this year in an effort to keep the ma-jor employer in town.

The reduced tax rate only applies to Major Industry, Class 4. Inter-national Forest Prod-ucts Ltd.’s Hammond cedar mill is the only property within that

classifi cation in Maple Ridge. About 130 people work at the operation, located on the banks of the Fraser River.

“We are supportive of progressive coun-

cils who give serious consideration to these issues,’” said Interfor vice-president Rick Slaco. “Fairness is all we are looking for, a fair and competitive rate.”

The 100-year-old Ham-mond mill is currently under Interfor review that will determine its future.

The review entails looking at all aspects of the mill’s operation, how much it costs to operate and its equipment.

Slaco said a lower tax rate will now be consid-ered in the review.

“A competitive tax rate is extremely im-portant as companies look towards establish-ing businesses and re-investing in business,” he added.

“We appreciate any move that the district would make in that re-gard.”

Council OK’s rezone for gaming centre

Maple Ridge is one step closer to having a new gaming centre.

Municipal council voted last week to amend a rezoning by-law allowing construc-

tion of the new Great Canadian Gaming Centre on Lougheed Highway and 227th Street.

The company can now apply for a devel-opment permit and, once received, may start work.

But residents proba-bly won’t see the gam-ing centre any time soon. Great Canadian and B.C. Lottery Corp. want to downsize the building and take lon-ger to build it.

Doors would likely not open until 2013.

The original proposal was for a 43,000-square-foot building, housing a 500-seat bingo par-lour, 150 electronic slot machines, 30 seats for Racebook activities and a 150-seat cafe.

Morale high at Maple Ridge SPCA

The Maple Ridge branch of the B.C. SPCA has more than

tripled its team of vol-unteers and morale appears high, said by-laws supervisor Diane Merenik.

The animal shelter now has 90 volunteers, up from 20 to 25 in 2009, Merenik said in a recent update to coun-cil.

A new volunteer co-ordinator has been hired, there is a meeting room for vol-unteers, and job de-scriptions have been established for volun-teers.

The new 8,000-square-foot SPCA shelter on Jackson Road is on schedule to be com-plete by the end of November, confirmed manager of inspection services

Stephen Cote-Rolvink.

Other than some ini-tial grievances from residents about pile driving noise, he said there have been no other complaints.

Hammond mill owner likes lower property taxes

Unlike Maple Ridge and Mis-sion, the nearby Tri-Cities have bylaws in place to prevent hu-man and wildlife encounters.

All three municipalities – Co-quitlam, Port Coquitlam and Port Moody – only allow garbage to be put at the curb between 5:30 and 7:30 a.m. on collection days.

Port Coquitlam and Coquitlam also require residents to have “wildlife-resistant” containers or lock garbage up in a garage or secure shed.

In Port Moody, residents can be fi ned $100 if an animal gets into their garbage, while Coquit-lam’s penalties are as high as $500.

Myroniuk said the bylaws have made a difference.

“Confl ict calls are down in the Tri-Cities,” he said, although four bears have been put down in Coquitlam since July 1.

Three bears have been shot in Mission this year, while a large boar as well as a sow and two cubs were relocated in the past two weeks from Maple Ridge.

Myroniuk said it’s garbage that’s drawing bears into resi-dential neighbourhoods.

Residents report bears are sit-ting on garbage bins to pop lids off.

“It really is the resident’s re-sponsibility. The bears pay for people’s laziness, carelessness and thoughtlessness,” Myroni-uk added.

“I have to be the executioner and I am getting really frustrat-ed.”

The Kanaka Education and Environmental Partnership Society will be giving a “Bear Aware” presentation on Sunday at the Maple Ridge-Pitt Meadows Country Fest, but would like the district to put a bylaw in place to stem the wildlife encounters.

“Bears are fairly simply crit-ters. They think about food,” said Ross Davies, with KEEPS. “Once one is successful with a garbage can, he won’t stop until he’s dead. It’s like getting a hu-man hooked on crystal meth.”

Davies, who lives in a wooded area on Fern Crescent, sees bears in his neighbourhood throughout summer and into fall. To stop them from getting into his garbage, he bought a

$180 bear-safe bin.“It’s been worth every penny,”

he said.Maple Ridge Mayor Ernie

Daykin doesn’t like to hear that bears are being shot in his mu-nicipality.

“Maybe it’s time to look at a Bear Aware bylaw again,” said Daykin.

The district considered a bylaw three years ago, but never got around to putting one in place.

Daykin’s thoughts were echoed by Coun. Craig Speirs, who had his entire backyard crop of ber-ries stolen from his freezer by a bear last year.

He now keeps the fruit in an-other location.

“We’ve got to educate people,” said Speirs, who will be asking council to consider a bear bylaw at an upcoming meeting.

“We’ve got to protect the wild-life from ourselves.”

’Maybe time to look at bear bylaw again’

Black Press

A bear tries to pry a lid off a gar-bage can in the Tri-Cities.

Bears from front

Bear Aware:• secure all garbage cans or carts and keep them indoors if possible;• don’t put garbage out to the curb until the morning of pickup day; • collect ripe fruit immediately from trees and the ground; • don’t leave pet food outside;• never approach, interact or feed bears; • sprinkle lime inside back yard compos-ters to deter bears.For more information on managing bear attractants, visit www.bearaware.bc.ca.

Maple Ridge is taking steps to become more energy effi cient, but the district still needs to pay off major investments be-fore taxpayers will benefi t from green savings.

“We’re setting ourselves up for the future,” Laura Benson, manager of sustainability and corporate planning, told council at Monday’s workshop.

Benson listed the district’s re-cent sustainability efforts, such as requiring new homes be built to accommodate future hot wa-ter panels, and lighting retrofi ts at fi re halls No. 2 and 3.

“These things all save us mon-ey, but we’ve got to make the investment up front,” she ex-plained.

New solar panels on the roof of the Leisure Centre are expected to save the district $85,000 in elec-tricity, while 362 new computers replaced at municipal hall will add up to savings of $16,000.

But council wanted to know what will be done with the even-tual payback.

“What the average citizen real-ly wants to know is: what are we doing that will be a net benefi t to them and their tax dollars?” said Coun. Cheryl Ashlie.

Paul Gill, general manager of corporate and fi nancial ser-vices, noted that changes in the information technology cost structure a few years ago mean the district no longer has to go to taxpayers to fund new pho-tocopiers or telephones. It can now pay for those things on an ongoing basis.

But most taxpayers don’t know that.

“We’ve been less than explicit in bringing that information for-ward so that people can under-stand what it means to them,” said Gill. “We need to do a bet-ter job of explaining what those effi ciencies mean to the average citizen,” he added.

But the energy savings from recent green endeavours aren’t adding up for taxpayers yet.

“Offsetting those savings is the fact that energy prices, over the next little while, are going to go nowhere but up,” said Benson.

While the recent computer rollout is saving kilowatt hours, the new LEED-certifi ed fi re hall No. 1 and the Leisure Centre are driving an increase in energy consumption.

“There’s not necessarily a sav-ings on the bottom line when it’s offset by things like energy cost increases and the capital costs, but it is certainly making us more fi nancially resilient for the future,” said Benson.

Meanwhile, a recent study funded by B.C. Hydro looked at ways to minimize one of the dis-

trict’s biggest energy users – an underground water pump and sewer pump station.

“Those two pump stations were actually 19 per cent of our corpo-rate consumption of electricity,” Benson said.

Council was concerned.“I fi nd that the number 19 per

cent is a pretty staggering num-ber considering all of our infra-structure,” said Coun. Al Hoga-rth.

Benson explained the stations are big workhorses that require a lot of energy, but they could become more effi cient.

“There are some very low-cost tweaks that can be done,” she said.

Other recent sustainability ef-forts noted at workshop include greenhouse gas reduction tar-gets and next year’s low-fl ow toilet rebate program, which will allow the district to credit homeowners $50 for each low-fl ow toilet they buy and install.

Green savings will come back, in timeUp-front investments to result in long-term payback

b y C h r i s t i n e Ly o ncontributor

“We need to do a better job of explaining what those efficiencies mean to the average citizen.” Paul Gill, general manager corporate and financial services

The RCMP has with-drawn a request for access through Metro Vancouver watersheds to conduct patrols for criminal activity at the north end of In-dian Arm.

The watersheds have long been closed to everyone but Metro staff and utilities con-tractors to protect the

quality of drinking water.

Metro staff had rec-ommended denying the request by North Vancouver RCMP Const. Joey Starr.

A route through Metro’s Coquitlam watershed would have provided a shortcut, but Metro’s water committee was told

officers will use an al-ternate access route.

The regional district is urging the forests ministry provide au-thorized access by

reopening the Stawa-mus-Indian River Road, which reaches the same area from Squamish but was de-activated last year.

Maple Ridge coun-cil is unhappy with the provincial gov-ernment’s response to its letter support-ing a limit on alcohol prices.

Councillors voted at Monday’s workshop to send the response back to the social plan-ning advisory commit-tee to write a reply.

Council’s original letter, dated May 12, supported requests from the Centre for Addictions Research of B.C.

Council had wanted the government to

curb drinking hab-its through the use of strategic pricing aimed at cheap booze prices. It approved a resolution to forward a letter to the Union of B.C. Municipali-ties, asking the gov-ernment to pass new laws.

But a response from Rich Coleman, min-ister of housing and social development, dated July 5, said li-quor prices in B.C. stores are similar to prices in other prov-inces. Coleman said it would not be appropri-ate for governments to regulate retail alcohol pricing.

“I don’t think you

can write a letter back dismissing a body of research from the Cen-tre for Addictions so loosely without some rationale and some ev-idence of where you’re going then to address the problem of alcohol consumption,” said Coun. Cheryl Ashlie.

Recommendations from the Centre for Addictions Research of B.C.:

• cutting the price of low-alcohol drinks and raising the price of high-alcohol con-tent drinks;

• set a minimum price per serving of $1.50 in a liquor store and $3 in a bar or res-taurant;

• set a minimum price for a bottle of wine – $7.80;

• set a minimum price for a half a case of beer – $9;

• set a minimum price hard liquor – $26

• tax wine and beer products sold at you-brew stores;

• index prices to cost of living;

• put a small tax on drinks for research into prevention and treatment.

The original resolu-tion pointed out booze consumption in B.C. jumped 16 per cent in the last decade up to 2008, compared to only nine per cent across Canada.

Request to limit booze prices dismissedb y C h r i s t i n e Ly o ncontributor

Metro watershed access denied to RCMP

VICTORIA – The B.C. government is propos-ing to do away with terms such as “custody” and “access” to reduce the battles over children and property that of-ten accompany marital breakup.

Attorney-General Mike De Jong says traditional legal terms that suggest “winners and losers” are not appropriate for fam-ily law, and getting rid of them is a key part of the fi rst overhaul of B.C.’s Family Relations Act

since it was written in the 1970s. A discussion paper released Monday suggests that child “cus-tody” should be called “guardianship” and “ac-cess” should be called “parenting time.”

De Jong said the law needs to be modern-ized to refl ect current trends such as frequent divorce, common-law relationships and same-sex marriage. One of the proposed changes would extend property division rules to include people who have lived together for two years in a “mar-riage-like relationship” or have children togeth-er.

Property owned before the relationship or in-herited by one partner could be excluded under the proposed changes.

Tracy Porteous, execu-tive director of the End-ing Violence Association of British Columbia, said

criminal court protection or-ders should be available to family courts when deciding issues such as child custody and access.

“In the last 15 years in this province, 153 people have died as a result of domestic violence, and many of those deaths are women and children who have been involved in divorce,” Porteous said.

Groups and individuals have until Oct. 8 to com-ment on the proposed changes, posted on the government’s website at www.ag.gov.bc.ca/leg-islation.

De Jong said the intent is to draft amendments to the Family Relations Act to be considered by the legislature next year.

Other pro-posed changes include:

• promot-ing non-court dispute reso-lution, by cre-ating a fam-ily arbitration process and requiring law-yers to certify that non-court options have

been provided before fi l-ing court documents;

• providing new rem-edies for failure to allow parental contact and for failure to exercise par-enting time that is ar-ranged;

• develop a comprehen-sive way to determine a child’s legal parents, in-cluding situations where reproductive technology is used;

• introduce rules for parents relocating, in-cluding a mandatory 60-day notice period.

B.C. proposes changes to family law

Porteous

b y To m F l e t c h e rBlack Press

Do you want to go back in time? To 1969? For just two days on a weekend in

July? To Woodstock?The Maple Ridge-Pitt Meadows

Country Fest, July 24-15 at Albion Fairgrounds in Maple Ridge.

The theme is “Woodstock Amongst the Livestock.”

The gate is free. Parking is $2. The Department of Canadian

Heritage Stage – which provided a grant for the fair – will be packed with tribute artists: Credence Clearwater Revival (Willie and the Poor Boys); The Who (Gen-eration Who); Jimi Hendrix (Mid-night Lightning); Neil Young (Live Rust) and Janis Joplin (Tracy Bell); as well as three other bands (March Hare, Newhouse and Void Space 2).

The local theatrical group, the Millennium Players, will be roving the grounds in groups, dressed in hippie attire, acting as if they re-ally are at Woodstock.

Sand Northrup – ‘The One Wom-an Circus’ – and Mr. Bubbles will roam the grounds on Saturday.

The Super Weirdo Show and Mike Battie will perform for kids on Sunday.

Country Fest will feature four more countries, continuing its 2009 production of “Dancing Around the World,” where 10 countries danced their hearts away. This year: Poland, India, Polynesia and France.

On Sunday morning, the Church-es of Maple Ridge will again join together to present a non-denomi-national and inspirational Church

at Country Fest church service, which for the past three years has drawn hundreds of visitors.

The love scene is extended into the home arts and gardening building with the theme of “Flow-er Power”.

On the agricultural front, there’s the Fun Til You’re Done Farm, loaded up with dairy and beef calves, pygmy goats, lambs, pigs, llamas, donkeys, rabbits, chicks, turkeys and ducks.

A horse whisperer, sheep dogs herding ducks, as well as a ferrier and sheep shearer will all put on demonstrations.

Hundreds of 4-H members from Chilliwack to Delta and Vancou-ver Island will show their projects and compete for the “Blue Rib-bon” or ”Belt Buckle.”

Their projects include beef, dairy, sheep, goats, swine, llama, rabbit, poultry, dogs, gardening, photography, wool craft, small en-gines and cloverbuds.

The there’s Cow Patty Bingo.On both days of Country Fest

a celebrity-named cow from Brookside Farms will deposit a patty on a pre-numbered square in one of the show rings. If you have purchased a raffl e ticket for this extravaganza and the cow plops on your numbered square, you will be the instant winner of $500. Details are on the website (www.mrpmcountryfest.com) under attractions and tickets can be purchased from Maple Ridge Lighting or Country Fest offi ce for $200 each. Chance of winning each day: 1 in 1,225. Must be 10 or older to play.

An Open Poultry Show is new for 2010. With the backyard chick-en project approved in Vancouver and possibly into Metro Vancou-ver, the many breed of chickens are of much of interest to many.

The equestrian community has been busy organizing many dem-onstrations for Saturday that are both educational and entertain-ing, and will put on an open horse show Sunday.

Matsqui Flyball Show will be at Country Fest for a fl y ball dog tournament.

On the non-agricultural scene, there will be a Red Hatters Tea on Saturday, and a heritage display with Pitt Meadows Museum offer-ing hands-on heritage activities. This display is to celebrate 100 years of B.C. Association of Agri-cultural Fairs and Exhibitions.

New this year is a Seniors Life-style Fair with more than 50 ser-vices for seniors, a buskers stage, and Dr. Art Hister will be on hand Sunday to answer questions.

For teens, there is a Trial Stars Bike Show, a go-kart race track, mini-golf, West Coast Amuse-ments, El Paso Train Ride and Jungle Jac’s Infl atables.

Don’t forget the wonderful array of market place and food vendors, including Polish sausages and apple cake.

The beer garden is open from noon to midnight on Saturday and noon to 6 p.m. on Sunday.

So dig out your fringed vest, denim skirt, peasant blouse, love beads, head bands, jeans with wild fabric leg inserts and Nehru shirts and visit Country Fest.

Woodstock at ’10 Country Fest

Do you want to go back in time? To 1969? For just two days on a weekend in

July? To Woodstock?The Maple Ridge-Pitt Meadows

Country Fest, July 24-15 at Albion Fairgrounds in Maple Ridge.

The theme is “Woodstock Amongst the Livestock.”

The gate is free. Parking is $2. The Department of Canadian

Heritage Stage – which provided a grant for the fair – will be packed with tribute artists: Credence Clearwater Revival (Willie and the Poor Boys); The Who (Gen-eration Who); Jimi Hendrix (Mid-night Lightning); Neil Young (Live Rust) and Janis Joplin (Tracy Bell); as well as three other bands (March Hare, Newhouse and Void Space 2).

The local theatrical group, the Millennium Players, will be roving the grounds in groups, dressed in hippie attire, acting as if they re-ally are at Woodstock.

Sand Northrup – ‘The One Wom-an Circus’ – and Mr. Bubbles will roam the grounds on Saturday.

The Super Weirdo Show and Mike Battie will perform for kids on Sunday.

Country Fest will feature four more countries, continuing its 2009 production of “Dancing Around the World,” where 10 countries danced their hearts away. This year: Poland, India, Polynesia and France.

On Sunday morning, the Churches of Maple Ridge will again join together to present a non-denominational and inspi-rational Church at Country Fest

church service, which for the past three years has drawn hundreds of visitors.

The love scene is extended into the home arts and gardening building with the theme of “Flow-er Power”.

On the agricultural front, there’s the Fun Til You’re Done Farm, loaded up with dairy and beef calves, pygmy goats, lambs, pigs, llamas, donkeys, rabbits, chicks, turkeys and ducks.

A horse whisperer, sheep dogs herding ducks, as well as a ferrier and sheep shearer will all put on demonstrations.

Hundreds of 4-H members from Chilliwack to Delta and Vancou-ver Island will show their projects and compete for the “Blue Rib-bon” or ”Belt Buckle.”

Their projects include beef, dairy, sheep, goats, swine, llama, rabbit, poultry, dogs, gardening, photography, wool craft, small en-gines and cloverbuds.

The there’s Cow Patty Bingo.On both days of Country Fest

a celebrity-named cow from Brookside Farms will deposit a patty on a pre-numbered square in one of the show rings. If you have purchased a raffl e ticket for this extravaganza and the cow plops on your numbered square, you will be the instant winner of $500. Details are on the website (www.mrpmcountryfest.com) under attractions and tickets can be purchased from Maple Ridge Lighting or Country Fest offi ce for $200 each. Chance of winning each day: 1 in 1,225. Must be 10 or older to play.

An Open Poultry Show is new for 2010. With the backyard chick-en project approved in Vancouver and possibly into Metro Vancou-ver, the many breed of chickens are of much of interest to many.

The equestrian community has been busy organizing many dem-onstrations for Saturday that are both educational and entertain-ing, and will put on an open horse show Sunday.

Matsqui Flyball Show will be at Country Fest for a fl y ball dog tournament.

On the non-agricultural scene, there will be a Red Hatters Tea on Saturday, and a heritage display with Pitt Meadows Museum offer-ing hands-on heritage activities. This display is to celebrate 100 years of B.C. Association of Agri-cultural Fairs and Exhibitions.

New this year is a Seniors Life-style Fair with more than 50 ser-vices for seniors, a buskers stage, and Dr. Art Hister will be on hand Sunday to answer questions.

For teens, there is a Trial Stars Bike Show, a go-kart race track, mini-golf, West Coast Amuse-ments, El Paso Train Ride and Jungle Jac’s Infl atables.

Don’t forget the wonderful array of market place and food vendors, including Polish sausages and apple cake.

The beer garden is open from noon to midnight on Saturday and noon to 6 p.m. on Sunday.

So dig out your fringed vest, denim skirt, peasant blouse, love beads, head bands, jeans with wild fabric leg inserts and Nehru shirts and visit Country Fest.

Woodstock at ’10 Country Fest

This will be the fourth year that the churches of Maple Ridge and Pitt Meadows have gathered together for Church at Country Fest.

Last year more than 500 peo-ple attended the fair church.

All the churches in Maple Ridge and Pitt Meadows are invited to join the fair for Church at Country Fest. Sev-eral churches have cancelled their Sunday morning service

and are encouraging people to visit the fair.

“Many people from other churches just come because they love being together as one church,” said fair orga-nizer Lorraine Bates.

The event also provides a place for the many people who are participating or vol-unteering at Country Fest, a place to attend a church ser-vice without having to leave

the fairgrounds. “It is a very exciting oppor-

tunity to gather together as one church, with no walls,” Bates said.

This year a local pastor is giving the message and a lo-cal band from another church leading the music. A free will offering will be collected to support our local homeless shelter, The Caring Place.

The church service is on Sunday, 10 a.m. There is lim-ited bleacher seating, so bring a lawn chair or blanket to sit on.

To celebrate 100 years of the B.C. Association of Agricultural Fairs and

Exhibitions, Maple Ridge-Pitt Meadows Country Fest will feature a Heritage Display.

It will be located inside Golden Ears Winter Club and showcase 109 years of fairs, including signs from the Country Fest centennial in 2001, as well as museum dis-plays and hands-on activities using heritage equipment to interest all ages.

Pitt Meadows Museum and its volunteers will be offering their wash day program, as well as an opportunity to dec-

orate and sew a quilt square using a 1920 sewing machine, or play with ‘old-time’ toys.

There will be crafts, as well.

The heritage display will be open 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. both days of the fair, July 24-25.

Other fairs in B.C. celebrat-ing their centennial in 2010: PNE, Abbotsford Agrifair, Grand Forks and Luxton.

The Maple Ridge-Pitt Mead-ows, which hosts Country Fest, is now celebrating 109 years.

The local fair has changed its name many times: Maple Ridge Fall Fair; Maple Ridge

Annual Exhibition; Maple Ridge-Pitt Meadows Exposi-tion; Maple Ridge-Pitt Mead-ows Fall Fair; Maple Ridge Centennial Fall Fair; North Fraser Valley Exhibition; Ridge Meadows Fair; Maple Ridge Fair; and now Maple Ridge Pitt Meadows Country Fest.

“Changing names is nothing but changing with the times, which is crucial to the suc-cess of any event,” said fair organizer Lorraine Bates.

Recognizing the entertain-ment needs of all family mem-bers, as well as affordability are priorities for the fair.

Celebrating 100 years of fairs

Church at Country Fest

The Fun ’Til You’re Done Farm is by far one of the most popu-

lar areas of the Maple Ridge-Pitt Meadows Country Fest, organizers say.

The farm building is situ-ated in the centre grounds behind the Main Stage.

It will feature: a display of different aged broiler chick-ens, including day-old chicks; as well as ducklings and turkeys; four adult female sheep with their nine lambs under one month old month; a pygmy goat and her week-old twins; beef cow and her calf; dairy calves; baby pigs; a llama with her two-week old baby; a donkey with her baby; and hens.

Each will be accompanied with an educational dis-play. The display pens are designed not to be a petting zoo, where more times than not they are not humane to the animals.

The farm animals are in large secured pens where they can come to be petted when and if they feel secure.

Hundreds of local 4-H members will be chomping at the bit to get to the fi rst ag-ricultural fair in the Fraser Valley, where they compete for the blue ribbon of 2010.

This year they will be show-ing beef, dairy, llama, swine, sheep, goats, rabbits, poultry, dogs, small engines, garden-ing, woolcraft, photography,

craft and educational display projects with such pride and enthusiasm.

The 4-H Cloverbuds, who are the up and coming mem-bers, will be showing their educational poster, scrap-book and decorated wheel-barrow in a 4-H Fun Parade on the Sunday of Country Fest.

In addition to watching the animals play in their pens, fair visitors will be able to watch sheep being sheared and having their feet trimmed by Johanna Walker , watch Kim Tuka, our far-rier, trim and shoe horses feet and Bill McCallion dem-onstrate the skills of sheep dogs with his ducks.

As close to a farm as you’ll get

This weekend’s Country Fest marks the fi rst time that the show has included a se-nior’s lifestyle fair.

Dr. Art Hister will be a guest speaker at the event, the fo-cus of which is “lifestyle,” on Sunday, 1-2 p.m.

The event will also feature travel companies, resorts and

tours and other health-relat-ed speakers on topics such as how mind and body work together to allow one a better lifestyle.

There will also be a free blood pressure clinic and diabetes screening at the fair, as well as 38 other speakers over the two days, on topics

such as home renovations and travel.

This fair also presents the broadest selection of seniors independent living complexes at one time, in one place.

The Balabardin Skating Group will be performing Sat-urday and Sunday at Planet Ice.

Dr. Hister speaks at seniors’ event


Saulo Davis has been writing music since he was 16. The Maple Ridge resident is getting ready to launch his first full-length CD on Sunday at the Evergreen Cultural Centre in Coquitlam.

THE NEWS/arts&lifeSection coordinator:Monisha Martins 604-467-1122 ext. [email protected]

Starting simply with a song

On a narrow fl oat-plane dock, at the edge of the Fraser River, Saulo Davis looks for inspiration.

Barefoot and strumming on a guitar, he spends several hours a week searching for the perfect word.

“You keep writing until something that connects with you emerges,” Davis says as a plane soars out at the Pitt Mead-ows airport nearby.

At 26, the Maple Ridge singer-songwriter is a seasoned storyteller whose been penning lyrics about his life and others since he was 16.

As a teenager in high school, he put out his fi rst CD, called Sliding Doors, and toured the songs, hitting up cafés and open mics throughout Metro Vancouver.

Then came a break where he worked and travelled.The hiatus only stoked his creativity, lending him the life

experience he needed for a more mature voice.In March this year, he debuted a three-song opus titled

Timeless. A song from the CD, Fate In Your Hands, is cur-rently being played on MaddRadio, a Chicago-based online radio station.

“You try and emulate people you look up to when you are young,” says Davis.

“But now, I’ve come to a point where I’m just trying to be me and say what comes from my soul.”

A decade after his fi rst foray into creating music, Davis has a lot to say and has directed the fl ood towards a 10-song album titled Lifted – an oeuvre produced and co-composed by Ron Phillips of Steveston Music.

The venture has been a learning experience for Davis, who composes songs on an acoustic guitar, then works with Phillips to build on them.

The pair have been exploring all kinds of sounds – from a rain stick to the sloshes of a bucket and mop.

“I really do start simple,” Davis says of composing.

“From there, I can add layers, build on it.”Infl uenced by lauded lyricists like David Grey, Davis

wants to send a message or tell a story through his songs.“I am a storyteller,” he says. “I think there are so many

amazing stories out there that need to be told.”His song Angel Eyes was inspired by the trials of a three-

year-old boy who has been in and out of hospital for most of his life.

The song will be used to raise funds for the Sick Kids Foundation and Angel Eyes Project.

“I want my music to mean something and have a positive affect on people,” he says.

Maple Ridge singer Saulo Davis is ready to release his newest CD, Lifted


Davis in concert• Saulo Davis performs at the Evergreen Cultural Centre, 1205 Pinetree

Way in Coquitlam on Saturday at 7 p.m. His CD Lifted will be on sale.• Davis will also perform at this year’s Pride celebrations at the Live with

Pride concert. He’s on stage at 10 p.m. July 31 at J Lounge, 1216 Bute Street in Vancouver.

Chances are, if you’ve had a radio on today, you’ve heard him play-ing guitar.

As one of North Amer-ica’s go-to guitarists, Sean Ashby has played and recorded with Sarah McLachlan, Delerium, Ginger (former Grapes Of Wrath) and many more.

On Monday, you’ll get a chance to see Ashby live at Maple Ridge’s Music on the Wharf as he tours his some-to-be released second solo album 24 Hours of Daylight.

As a guitarist, Ashby has appeared on the Grammy Awards twice, The Tonight Show with Jay Leno fi ve times, SNL and David Letter-man three times, along with other major TV shows and four motion pictures. His guitar play-

ing has appeared on CDs with sales in excess of 10 million copies world-wide.

Formerly of Vancou-ver and now based in Toronto, Ashby released his debut album Brass and Gold through Black Sparrow/Universal in April 2008.

Brass and Gold, Ash-by’s fi rst solo outing after 10 years as leader of the award-winning band Jack Tripper, was an eclectic record which showcased an impres-

sive musical palette. Since the album’s re-

lease last year, Sean has been touring relentless-ly, performing over 200 shows across Canada, and somehow squeezing in two tours with Deliri-um as well.

As a solo artist his goals are not quite so lofty.

When asked about his hopes for this album and his solo future Ashby says “I am working at building an audience for my music, playing shows

and improving as a song-writer and performer.”

• Sean Ashby plays the Port Haney Wharf (lo-cated on River Road, just east of the Port Haney West Coast Express sta-tion) at 7 p.m. on Mon-day.

Arts&Life

MacLachan guitarist at Music on WharfSean Ashby has a new solo album in the works

Contributed

Sean Ashby plays the Port Haney wharf in Maple Ridge on Monday at 7 p.m.

Wharf music• Aug. 9 – The Hot Moonbeams.

• Aug. 23 – The Creole Jazz Band.

Maple Ridge’s Andrew Green-wood stars as Macbeth in Opera Pro Cantanti’s production of the Shakespearean tragedy.

Owned and operated by singer Richard Williams, Opera Pro Cantanti is a small 30-member private company that has staged an opera nearly every weekend for the past three years sans government or corporate fund-

ing.On Sunday, the company will

be celebrating its 100th perfor-mance with a gala concert at Vancouver’s Cambrian Hall.

Greenwood, an opera singer who is in demand both in Cana-da and Europe, will be featured at the gala concert singing ex-cerpts from his lead roles. The baritone manages to balance his opera engagements with work as a Vancouver fi refi ghter.

Composer Giuseppe Verdi set Macbeth to music in 1847.

Witches, prophesies and bloodied ghosts abound in this

sublime rendition of one of Shakespeare’s most beloved dramas.

Macbeth encompasses both the larger theme of political upheaval in medieval Scotland and the smaller but intensely psychological story of a mar-riage fraught with bitter power-struggles and dark desires.

• The gala takes place at 7 p.m. on Sunday at Cambrian Hall, 215 E. 17th Ave. Tickets are $25. Macbeth also plays Aug. 8 at 3 p.m. and Aug. 22 at 7 p.m. Visit www.procantanti.com or call 604-646-0406.

Arts&Life

Ridge singer performs at Opera galaBaritone Andrew Greenwood will singexcerpts from his lead roles

Paul Leisz photo

Andrew Greenwood as Macbeth in an Opera Pro Cantanti performance in January.

THE NEWS/sportsSection coordinator:Robert Mangelsdorf 604-467-1122 ext. [email protected]

Robert Mangelsdorf/THE NEWS

Maple Ridge Burrards forward Jarret Davis takes some abuse from Matt Yager and Noah Talbot of the Victoria Shamrocks as he breaks in on the Shamrocks net Sunday night at Planet Ice in Maple Ridge. The Burrards beat the Shamrocks 10-7 to remain in play-off contention.

Burrards rock Shamrocks

The Maple Ridge Burrards play-off hopes are still alive after they came from behind to knock off the Victoria Shamrocks at home Sunday night.

The Burrards were down 4-2 after the fi rst period, but rallied behind timely goals from Aaron Pascas and Dayne Michaud and some inspired play by goaltender Ron Schibild to win 10-7.

“This was a character win for us, for sure,” said Burrards head coach Dar-en Fridge after the game. “We are in charge of our own destiny now.”

It was the Burrards fi rst win over the Shamrocks since 2008, and leaves them tied for third in the Western La-crosse Association standings with the Coquitlam Adanacs at 16 points each. Nanaimo and Langley both managed to keep pace with wins last weekend, and could usurp the Burrards from the fi nal play-off berth.

However, a win against Langley on the road July 28 in the Burrards re-maining regular seen game would all but guarantee them a ticket to the post season, barring a four-game win streak by the Burnaby Lakers.

“It’s going to come down to the last game of the season,” said Fridge. “And Langley is going to be gunning for us just like were gunning for them.”

The Burrards were unable to take advantage of slew of early Victoria pen-

alties in the early going Sunday night, as Dean Hill opened the scoring for Victoria with a short-handed goal two minutes into the game, and stretched the Shamrocks lead to two six minutes later.

Curtis Dickson got the Burrards on the board in the 14th minute, before adding a powerplay marker three minutes later. Mike Pires of the Shamrocks also had a pair of fi rst-peri-od goals, giving Victoria a two-goal lead heading into the second.

After both teams traded goals in the early going, Sam Cook helped spark the Burrards comeback at the 13 minute-mark. Pascas scored less than 10 seconds later to tie the game, and added his third of the pe-riod with a minute left to give the Burrards their fi rst lead of the game.

Dickson scored his third goal of the game to give the Burrards a 7-5 lead early in the third period, however, Vic-toria’s Matt Lyons scored less than two minutes later to cut the lead to one.

With the Shamrocks pressing hard to tie up the game, Joel Dalgarno and Dayne Michaud both took advantage of Victoria turnovers to score off the breakaway, putting the Burrards ahead by three.

Schibild stopped 30 of 33 shots in the second and third periods, making a number of athletic saves to keep the Burrards in the game,

Ryan Benesch was able to put one by

him with six and a half minutes remain-ing, but Randy Daly was able to curtail any possible comeback by the Sham-rocks with his goal with two minutes on the clock.

Schibild was named the games fi rst start for his 36-save performance.

“He’s our MVP,” said Fridge. “He is seeing the ball well, and he’s shutting the door when he has to.”

Fridge also credited the team’s defensive corps for taking away inside shots and keeping the opposition to the perimeter.

“I think everyone’s a lot more comfortable with the system we’re playing,” said Fridge. “[Schibild] knows where the shots are going to come from, so he’s better prepared.”

Both Pascas and Dickson fi nished the night with hat tricks, while Jarrett Davis

notched four assists. Dalgarno had three points with a goal and two as-sists.

Pascas and Michaud were named the game’s second and third stars, respec-tively.

• Close to $1,000 was donated as part of the fundraising drive to help injured Burrards player Jeff Sauve on Sunday night. Sauve is out for the season af-ter he broke his leg and dislocated his ankle, requiring surgery, during the Burrards’ July 8 game against the New Westminster Salmonbellies, and will miss six to eight weeks of work as a result.

Play-off hopes alive with fi rst win over Victoria since 2008


Game time• The Maple Ridge Burrards fi nal game of the Western Lacrosse Association’s 2010 regular season takes place Wednesday, July 28, against the Langley Thunder over the Golden Ears Bridge at the Langley Events Centre, 7888 200th Street. Game time is at 7:45 p.m.

Pride ‘98 wins B.C. finals

The Ridge Meadows Pride ‘98 fastpitch team were crowned squirt A provincial champions July 11 at the Albion Sports Complex after a hard-fought weekend that saw them play 10 games in the 30-degree heat.

The Pride fi nished the round robin portion of the tournament in fi rst place, advancing to the double knock-out play-offs. After losing to the White Rock Renegades 98 team, the Pride had to play four back-to-back games on Sunday en route to the banner.

The Pride once against faced the Renegades in the tournament fi -nal, this time coming through with the 6-3 win.

Calli Birch provided fantastic backstop-ping for the team the en-tire weekend with solid pitching from Elizabeth Murphy and Courtney DeAdder. Jillian Atkin-son was solid at fi rst base, making some timely plays, while sec-ond baseman Taylore Jones came through with some clutch hit-ting. Elisa Clay and Kylie Herman shared the duties at third base and both made great plays throughout the weekend. Emma Hitchings was great at shortstop, while shar-ing the left fi eld spot with Ali Nosek, both making some timely plays when called upon. Centre-fi elder Paige St. Pierre handily dealt with any ball hit her way, while Elyse Purton and Stephanie Dureau kept the team rolling with some exceptional plays in right fi eld.

For the RecordThe photo entitled

Pride Slide that ap-peared on page 37 of the Wednesday July 14 edition of The News in-correctly identifi ed Tay-lore Jones of the Ridge Meadows Pride 98 team as the softball player attempting tag out Em-ily Morely of the Ridge Meadows Pride 99 team. The player pictured was, in fact, Emma Hutchings. The News apologizes for the mis-take and any confusion it may have caused.

Sports shorts

RM Hall of Fame seeking nominations

The Ridge Meadows Hall of Fame Society is now accepting nomina-tions for 2011 induct-ees. The Hall of Fame honours the achieve-ments of Maple Ridge and Pitt Meadows resi-dents in the fi elds of sports, the arts, busi-ness, education, and community volunteer-ism. Those considered for the honour will have contributed to the com-munity over a signifi -cant number of years, bringing provincial, na-tional or international recognition to Maple Ridge and Pitt Mead-ows. Nominations can be mailed to the Ridge Meadows Hall of Fame Society at #303 - 22213 Selkirk Avenue, Maple Ridge. Call 604-463-6595 for more information. Nomination deadline is October 5.

Speedskating camp The Ridge Meadows

Speed Skating Club is holding a summer camp for those wanting to learn to speed skate during the week of Aug. 2 to 6. The club has seen a surge in its ranks af-ter the Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympics, and is hoping introduce as many kids a s possible to the fast and exciting sport.

Ages four and up are welcome to the camp, with no experience re-quired. Registration is limited, so please book early. For more information, or to learn more about the Ridge Meadows Speed Skat-ing Club, please contact Trish McKay at 604-465-0637.

Golden Ears looking for soccer players

Golden Ears United Soccer Club women’s teams are now accept-ing players for the fall season. There is space in Divisions 1, 3, and 4, as well as the 30-plus Division. Division 1 is best suited to former gold and Metro players. Ages 17 and up. Season runs from September to March, with registration underway. For more in-formation please con-tact Susan Carr at 604-467-8447 or via email at [email protected].

Sports

Maple Ridge’s Mike Heathfield stares down

Jeremy Wilson of Ed-monton prior to their heavyweight boxing

match Saturday night in Abbotsford. Heath-

field won the fight less than a minute into the first round after break-

ing Wilson’s nose.

Robert Mangelsdorf/THE NEWS

Heathfield makes short work of Wilson

Maple Ridge professional box-er Mike Heathfi eld guaranteed a win Saturday night, and didn’t waste any time doing it.

Heathfi eld, 52, made short work of Jeremy Wilson of Ed-monton, 28, at the Abbotsford Entertainment and Sports Cen-tre, winning the fi ght in just 45 seconds, by technical knock-out.

The ring doctor stopped the fi ght in the fi rst round after Heathfi eld’s right hook caught Wilson square in the nose,

breaking it and sending a show-er of blood onto the canvas.

“It’s a good win, I wish it was a bit longer, but I had to do what I had to do,” said Heathfi eld after the fi ght.

Both fi ghters exchanged glanc-ing blows early in the match, before Wilson connected with a body blow to Heathfi eld’s side.

“He bulls-eyed me right in the ribs,” said Heathfi eld. “I’ve had some problems with my fl oating rib, and I was an injured animal after that. An injured animal bites back, and I bite hard.”

Heathfi eld opened Wilson up with a jab-hook combo, before

connecting with a second right hook that sent Wilson sprawling to the mat.

“I put the jab in his face and I threw the right hand, and he fell for it,” he said. “The fi rst hook didn’t connect, so I gave him an-other one.”

Heathfi eld vows the fi ght was his last and that he wants to fo-cus on training other fi ghters. However, the local legend has come out self-imposed retire-ment before.

“I think it’s a day,” he said. “There’s no more belts or tro-phies, and I don’t want to end up on the other side.”


Community Calendar

Community Calendar lists events in Maple Ridge and Pitt Meadows. Notices are free to local non-profi t groups courtesy of

The News. Drop off details to 22328 119 Ave., fax to 604-463-4741 or e-mail [email protected] at least a week before the event. Include a contact name and number. (No submissions by phone.) Listings appear as space permits. For guaranteed publication, ask our classifi ed department at 604-467-1122 about non-profi t rates.

Thursday, July 22• Emerald Pig Theatrical Society

proudly presents The Tempest as part of Bard on the Bandstand in Maple Ridge at 7:30 p.m. Pre-show entertainment 6:30 p.m. Free event. Bring a lawn chair, a blanket, your family and a donation for the Friends in Need Food Bank. For more information, visit www.emeraldpig.ca.

Friday, July 23• Emerald Pig Theatrical Society

proudly presents The Tempest as part of Bard on the Bandstand in Maple Ridge at 7:30 p.m. Pre-show entertainment 6:30 p.m. Free event. Bring a lawn chair, a blanket, your family and a donation for the Friends in Need Food Bank. For more information, visit www.emeraldpig.ca.

Saturday, July 24• Emerald Pig Theatrical Society

proudly presents The Tempest as part of Bard on the Bandstand in Pitt Meadows at 7:30 p.m. Free event. Bring a lawn chair, a blanket, your family and a donation for the Friends in Need Food Bank. For more information, visit www.emeraldpig.ca.

• Do you have a friend who has never been to the Haney Farmers’ Market? Bring them to the market’s information booth and you both will receive a gift. Introduce your friends to your favourite vendors and show them around. Okanagan vendors are bringing in apricots

and nectarines, don’t miss out, it’s a short season. Memorial Peace Park on 224th Street in downtown Maple Ridge. Saturdays from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m.

• Come to the Downtown Maple Ridge Summer Market on July 24 from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. in Memorial Peace Park on 224th Street next to the Haney Farmers’ Market. Enjoy live entertainment, kids’ activities and local vendors in a fun street market atmosphere. Future Markets will occur on August 28 and September 25. Call the DMRBIA at 604-467-2420 for more information.

Sunday, July 25• Emerald Pig Theatrical Society

proudly presents The Tempest as part of Bard on the Bandstand in Pitt Meadows at 1:30 p.m. Pre-show entertainment 12:30 p.m. Free event. Bring a lawn chair, a blanket, your family and a donation for the Friends in Need Food Bank. For more information, visit www.emeraldpig.ca.

Tuesday, July 27 • The Alouette River Management Society

is hosting an open house from 1 to 4 p.m. that will include a walk and talk through the hatchery at 1:30 p.m. and a scavenger hunt through Allco Park. The River Heritage Centre will also be open for viewing and some exciting crafts and games will be available for the kids.

Wednesday, July 28• Alouette Addictions is putting on a

BBQ for their clients and community part-ners from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. in the parking lot at Lougheed Highway and 225th Street. Free hot dogs and pop. For more informa-tion, contact the offi ce at 604-467-5179

• Come to the Maple Ridge Public Li-brary at 2 p.m. for Mad Science, a show that will amaze and entertain young audiences in unique ways. Watch dry ice fog storms, taste a CO2 burp, and even have a bubble shower.

Back by popular demand, Mad Science is great fun for school-age children. For more information, please call the Maple Ridge Public Library at 604-467-7417.

Thursday, July 29• The Maple Ridge Public Library wel-

comes storyteller Elspeth Bowers at 10:30 a.m. Elspeth is a talented puppeteer and musician and is sure to entertain and delight all during this special morning storytime. For more information on this free program, please call the Maple Ridge Public Library at 604-467-7417.

Saturday, July 30• The HOMINUM Fraser Valley Chapter

is a support and discussion group to help gay, bi-sexual and questioning men with the challenges of being married, separated or single. The group meets at 7:30 p.m. For information and location, please call Art at 604-462-9813 or Don at 604-329-9760.

Ongoing• The Ridge Meadows Hall of Fame

Society is now accepting nominations for 2011 inductees. The Hall of Fame honours the achievements of Maple Ridge and Pitt Meadows residents in the fi elds of sports, the arts, business, education, and community volunteerism. Those considered for the honour will have contributed to the community over a signifi cant number of years, bringing provincial, national or inter-national recognition to Maple Ridge and Pitt Meadows. Nominations can be mailed to the Ridge Meadows Hall of Fame Society at #303 - 22213 Selkirk Avenue, Maple Ridge. Call 604-463-6595 for more information. Nomination deadline is October 5.

• High Seas Expedition Day Camp takes place the week of July 26 to 30 from 9 a.m. to noon at the Grace Commu-nity Church, 12240 Harris Road. For more information, or to register, call Shannon at 604-466-2630.

When is feral not fe-ral?

Barclay showed Katie’s Place volunteers that the answer is as elusive as a trap-savvy feral.

They thought if a cat resist-ed human contact for several weeks, they could be reason-ably sure it was feral and relocate it to a feral colony as soon as an opening came available.

Barclay, however, could not be relocated. He tested posi-tive for FIV, a chronic virus like human HIV. The virus is contagious to other cats (and only cats), so he stayed in the special-needs area at the shel-ter with other cats who tested positive.

Most of the cats in that area are former pets who are thrilled to have human com-pany. They gather around like eager children whenever people go in, and they reach into a caress hungrily.

Not Barclay. When humans showed up,

he would slip into hiding with a look of resentment at the in-trusion.

He made friends among the other cats and could always be seen curled up with his best friend, Cowboy.

Cowboy was feral and was no more pleased with human company than Barclay.

A year and a half after arriv-ing, Barclay would still hurry away from people, with Cow-boy hot on his heels.

The last you would see of ei-ther of them was a glare over their shoulders at the human trespassers who drove them from a comfortable nest.

Then, at the end of 2009, 19 months after Barclay was trapped and brought to the shelter, one volunteer re-marked that she had petted him. Not Barclay, the others thought; you’ve mistaken an-

other cat for Barclay.Then a second volunteer

reported a friendly encounter with the scowling feral.

Almost overnight, Barclay had a complete change of heart about humans.

Suddenly, he was hurry-ing over for strokes with big smile of welcome on his face. He glues himself to your side like Velcro when you’re in his pen.

Cowboy remained staunch-ly feral and found other feline company, having left his pal’s side in disgust over Barclay’s switched allegiance.

Barclay still doesn’t want to be picked up. If hands close on either side of him, he’ll scoot off nervously, showing a hint of the old panic.

But it doesn’t last more than a second. He darts a few feet, turns to look back as though deciding to forgive the indis-cretion, and returns immedi-ately for more pets. He’s be-come one of the biggest love sponges in the room.

What changed his mind out of the blue?

We’ll never know. Perhaps it was the repeated

sight of other cats enjoying human affection.

Whatever the reason for the change in him, Barclay was never feral. He’s a pet who lost his home so long ago and

suffered so much while home-less that he could not bring himself to trust people again for a long time.

In the end, designating a cat as feral can only be a best guess, not a sure fact. In fact, labeling a cat as feral is pre-sumptuous. You can never really know for sure. A true feral cat is born outside of hu-man care and grows up with-out human contact – a genu-ine wild animal.

The histories of most cats trapped and brought into care will never be known. They’re all frightened. But is that be-cause they’ve never been near humans or because they’ve been hurt by humans?

Among cats identifi ed as feral will be long-abandoned, neglected or abused pets. There will also be strays that have been chased off by prop-erty owners, or frightened and teased until they learned to fear people despite being cuddled as kittens.

The most that can be said with assurance is that a cat wants no human contact for now.

As Barclay showed, this can change, even after a year and a half.

Brigitta MacMillan is a volunteer with Katie’s Place

animal shelter.

Some cats just scared strays

Contributed

Barclay pushed the bedding in the carrier forward in his effort to stay as far back as possible.

Pe t s b yBrigitta MacMillan

wednesday, july 21, maple ridge-pitt meadows news

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