Thursday, May 15, 2008

Angelo packs the Shadbolt

Here and Now column by Dan Hilborn
Published Jan. 31, 2004


Oh, what an effect a little publicity can have.

An estimated 500 people were turned away from the Shadbolt Centre for the Arts on Wednesday night during the hometown debut of the River World slide show co-sponsored by the National Geographic website.

"We had an amazing response," said Mark Angelo, the speaker who attracted such an enormous crowd. "While I was thrilled with the response, I was also saddened by the fact that a lot of people couldn't get in."

Angelo, head of the fish, wildlife and recreation department at BCIT and one of the best known rivers advocates in the world, put together the 90-minute presentation to highlight his many trips to save some of the most beautiful rivers in the world.

The event was held in the 300-seat James Cowan Theatre, meaning almost twice as many people were turned away as actually got in to see the show.

And with the slide show scheduled to go on a North American tour this spring, it will be another six months before Angelo has an opportunity to schedule a repeat performance, hopefully in a larger venue, for his hometown audience.

This year will be the 25th anniversary of B.C. Rivers Day, and Angelo, a member of the Order of Canada, is hoping to organize the biggest event yet to take place in September at Fraser Foreshore Park.

KUDOS FOR SAFEWAY

The folks at the Huntington Society, B.C. chapter are extending a very hearty thank you to the employees of the Canada Safeway outlet at Hastings and Willingdon after being chosen as the recipient of last year's fundraising activities.

The employees presented a cheque worth a whopping $7,696.36 to the society.

Accepting the cheque on behalf of the society were Norma Stevens and Bev Cullen. Making the presentation were store manager Dave Nemrava, committee chair Suki Reandy plus employees Suzanne Norman, Rob Pennington, Kim Miller and Jen Pumell.

FRIDAY THE 13TH?

Burnaby's first campus radio station will be celebrating one year on the FM dial with a gigantic party at the Anza Club on Friday, Feb. 13.

CJSF, the voice of Simon Fraser University, will celebrate its first anniversary with a party featuring local bands, DJs and more.

The station offers community programming that can't be found on the larger commercial radio stations. Prior to going onto the airwaves at 90.1 FM, the station existed for almost 30 years as an on-campus cable station.

For more information, visit their website at cjsf.bc.ca.

Politicos spar over FOI requests

By Dan Hilborn
Published Jan. 31, 2004


A suggestion from Burquitlam MLA Harry Bloy that the provincial government might allow a two-month delay before responding to Freedom of Information (FOI) requests has raised the ire of NDP house leader Joy MacPhail.

Bloy, a member of the all-party committee reviewing the province's FOI and Protection of Privacy Act, said most people who file FOI requests are frustrated by the current process, which typically results in only a partial answer to their question prior to the mandated 30-day response time.

"One of the biggest concerns we're hearing is that people felt they were being slowed down or delayed," said Bloy, who is one of 13 members on the Special Committee to Review the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act that was established last year.

"Often it takes another 30 days to get the request. ... Maybe it should be 60 days," he said.

But MacPhail, who also serves on the FOI review committee, said lengthening the time it takes to respond is not the answer the public is seeking.

"No one has ever asked for that," MacPhail said. "When the Liberals ask the presenters if that's a good idea, virtually to a person they say it's not a good idea."

MacPhail said increasing the response time for FOI requests will simply undermine the intent of the legislation.

"If they're going to increase the response time, you know how much that will weaken freedom of information. It seems that's the intent of this government, to undermine and render FOI laws useless.

"If Mr. Bloy is saying that's the direction this government is going, then shame on them. The problem here is that the government is doing everything possible to not fulfil its FOI requests."

MacPhail said she has several concerns about the future of how FOI legislation will be used in British Columbia, including revelations that the province now rates FOI requests on their 'political sensitivity.'

She also decried what she believes is a growing tendency for the B.C. Liberals to conduct public business behind closed doors.

"The government caucus Liberal backbenchers are increasingly wanting to do their business in camera," MacPhail said. "These committees go in camera when it's not necessary.

"In fact, I've been completely beaten down on this issue," she said. "I'm just one opposition member in a room with nine or 10 Liberals and they seek every opportunity to go in camera to avoid public scrutiny. That was not the intent of the legislative committees."

But Bloy said that longer wait times is just one possible response to the complaint about how long it takes to resolve FOI requests.

"It's an expensive proposition to provide freedom of information, and where do you draw the line?" Bloy asked. "People are feeling that it's taking too long but, since this legislation started in 1996, its use has greatly increased. Up to 75 or 80 per cent are getting the information requested in a timely manner within the first 30 days."

As an example of a case that might take longer than 30 days, Bloy pointed to someone requesting information about an ongoing police in- vestigation. "If it's a criminal case or a police case with an ongoing investigation, it takes a lot of time. It can't be a clerk (who decides what to release). It needs to be a policeman who goes through the document, page by page, to determine what can be released or what can't."

Bloy noted that the committee is also wrestling with the contentious issues of how private companies should handle their customers' personal information, and the release of government reports that may contain factual errors.

For her part, the new minister responsible for the FOI legislation said she will not comment on any possible changes to the act until after the committee makes its formal recommendations.

"At this point, it's very premature to speculate what recommendations the committee will make and which of those this government will act on," said Joyce Murray, the newly appointed minister of management services.

She also would not comment on the specific possibility of increasing the amount of time the government allows to respond to FOI requests.

"I'm not going to give an opinion on that right now," she said. "I'm in the process of finding out more about these issues and about freedom of information and protection of privacy. One thing I do believe, however, is that B.C. is at the cutting edge of these issues, both on the privacy side and the access to information side. We're recognized as a leader and my intent is that we continue to be at the edge of good public policy on these issues."

Class of '53 gives to school

Here and Now column by Dan Hilborn
Published Jan. 28, 2004


It took almost an entire year to track down all the names, but the Burnaby North high school class of 1953 held its first ever reunion last fall, and helped raise some money for their alma mater in the process.

A whopping 146 people came out for the banquet and, this week, they celebrated by handing over a $500 cheque to buy new books for the school library.

Bob Kuhn, one of a half dozen organizers of the reunion, said that out of a class of 125 students, the group was able to track down all but 11 of their classmates. Another 13 were confirmed as having passed away.

One of the class travelled back to Burnaby from her new home in the Grand Cayman Islands, while others came from across Canada and the U.S.

And those who came out had a terrific time.

"We've rekindled a whole lot of friendships," said Kuhn. "This class had never had a reunion before, and the only information we had to start it was an old annual."

The group got together last fall with a banquet at the Eagle Creek restaurant at Burnaby Mountain Golf Course, followed by a brunch in their old stomping grounds - the historic Lochdale Hall.

Among the reunion-goers were two of the class of '53's former teachers - Jack Gilmore and Florence Strachan Peterson.

The organizing committee - Bob and Marie Kuhn, Norma and Rolf Nilson plus Fred and Marilyn Myers - all attended North at the time, although Marilyn was two years younger than the others.

Norma Nilson went on to become a librarian at Burnaby North, and it was on her prompting that the committee gave its donation towards books for the current students.

Kuhn said one of his favourite parts of the reunion was trying to identify everyone from their class pictures. "Thank God we all had name tags," he said. "But it's true, 50 years melted away like nobody's business."

DORIS SHADBOLT MEMORIAL

A memorial service for Doris Shadbolt will be held on Sunday, Feb. 8.

Shadbolt passed away suddenly while vacationing in Mexico on Dec. 22, 2003, exactly one month after the Burnaby NOW published a front page interview with her on the relocation of the two murals painted inside her longtime Capitol Hill home by husband Jack Shadbolt.

Born in 1918, Doris Shadbolt studied fine arts at the University of Toronto and graduated Magna Cum Lauda before working at the National Gallery of Canada, where she met her future husband.

After the war, she and Jack married and moved to Vancouver, where Doris was the West Coast representative for Arts Canada. In the 1950's, Doris began work at the Vancouver Art Gallery, first as an art educator, and later as a curator.

Doris was also a noted author, having won two B.C. Book Awards for her publication of The Art of Emily Carr and Bill Reid.

With her husband, the Shadbolts established VIVA, the Vancouver Institute for the Visual Arts, now known as the Jack and Doris Shadbolt Foundation, which became a major benefactor of young students studying art in the Lower Mainland.

Doris received the Order of Canada in 1976 and honorary doctorates from the University of British Columbia, Simon Fraser University and the Emily Carr College of Art and Design. In 2000, she received a Governor General's Award for her contributions to the arts, and in 2001 she published her final book, Seven Journeys: The Sketchbooks of Emily Carr.

Doris will always be remembered as a woman who cared deeply for the people around her, and truly believed that an appreciation of fine arts would make the world a better place.

Doris Shadbolt's memorial service will be held at 5 p.m., Sunday, Feb. 8 in the Pacific Ballroom of the Fairmont Hotel, 900 W. Georgia, Vancouver. A reception will follow at the Vancouver Art Gallery at 7 p.m.

JIM CLEMENT REMEMBERED

The folks over at the Burnaby Seniors Outreach Services Society were saddened by the early December passing of one of their longtime volunteers, Jim Clement.

Clement, who had been ill for some time, had been a tireless worker for the organization that provides peer counseling services, support groups and other services for Burnaby's seniors.

As well as being an active letter writer to the Burnaby NOW, Clement was also an accomplished painter, an active member of the artists guild, and a familiar face at the office of Volunteer Burnaby, too.

"We should remember him for his loyalty, friendship and humour, plus his hand painted cartoons were always a delight," said his friend Belle Smith. "He had a true commitment to the Burnaby community in all areas of endeavour," Smith said. "We all miss him dearly."

City hospital workers lose their jobs in food switch

By Dan Hilborn
Published Jan. 24, 204


The Fraser Health Authority has signed a contract that will allow Starbucks and Tim Hortons food to be served to employees and visitors inside its 11 area hospitals.

The five-year deal, signed with Morrison Healthcare, a division of Compass Group Canada, will bring the authority an estimated $1 million in revenues, compared to the current $1.2 million cost of providing the service, said Bob Smith, FHA chief of shared services.

The contract only affects the retail food service in the hospitals, and does not replace the in-house patient food services.

The deal will result in layoffs to 66 staff people at the hospitals, including 11 at Burnaby and 17 at Royal Columbian. While the exact timeline has not been determined, Langley Memorial Hospital will be the first to undergo the change no earlier than March 15, and full implementation is expected by June.

"We're disappointed," said Patty Gibson, spokesperson for the Hospital Employees' Union. "These are 66 good jobs that are going to be lost to local communities, and it represents the further commercialization of the health- care system."

Don Bower, spokesperson for the health region, said the new service will result in a sort of 'food court' being brought into the larger hospitals, allowing visitors and staff to buy brand name products alongside Compass' in-house brands.

Sharon McDonald, regional vice-president of Morrison, said the company is best known for its operation of business dining and campus dining facilities in the Lower Mainland, and its current clients include Telus, B.C. Hydro and Simon Fraser University.

The company expects to spend $3 million in upgrades to the retail food space in the hospital.

Angelo to talk at the Shadbolt

Here and Now column by Dan Hilborn
Published 21, 2004


Burnaby's best-known environmentalist is bringing home his world famous slide show on the world's wildest rivers.

Mark Angelo, head of the fish, wildlife and recreation program at BCIT, will present River World, a 90-minute slide show and lecture at the Shadbolt Centre for the Arts on Wednesday, Jan. 28.

"This is the program I've been giving across Canada for the past few months, and I'm proud to give it in my hometown of Burnaby," Angelo said. "This is a highly visual and entertaining presentation with a strong river conservation theme, based on the river trips I've done around the world in the past 35 or 40 years."

The most compelling part of the presentation is its stunning photography - a fact evidenced by the show's prominent co-sponsors including the National Geographic website, Mountain Equipment Co- op, the Outdoor Recreation Council of B.C. and BCIT.

The show will appeal to anyone with an interest in rivers, the environment or travel to exotic locales.

"We start in Canada and then move quickly to six other continents in about an hour-and-a-half," Angelo said. "We visit the Nile, the Amazon, the Yangtze and Mekong. We also see some wonderful experiences on smaller, lesser-known rivers, like the Eg in Northern Mongolia, the Bio Bio in Chile, the Coruh River in North Turkey and Arun in Nepal."

The program also touches on Angelo's views about the value of rivers and river travel.

"I'm a great believer in river travel," said Angelo. "I believe it's a wonderful way to see the world and the day-to-day life of people in general. Travelling along rivers is certainly exciting. No two days are the same, and you never know what lies beyond the next bend.

"It's also a wonderful way to rejuvenate and refresh the spirit, and it does tend to bring out the kid that resides in all of us."

After the show in Burnaby, Angelo will go on the road through the United States with upcoming presentations in Portland, Ore., Lake Tahoe, Calif., and New York City already confirmed.

Tickets to River World are $10, and all of the proceeds will go towards planning for a special 25th anniversary of B.C. Rivers Day, being held on the Fraser River in Burnaby later this fall.

For tickets, contact the Shadbolt centre for the Arts, box office at 604-205-3000.

HAGGIS HARASSED

It takes a Scot to bring together two of the most blustering political rivals in the Lower Mainland.

Robbie Burns Day could get interesting when Surrey Mayor Doug McCallum and Burnaby Mayor Derek Corrigan come together to honour the birth of Scotland's national bard.

Corrigan and McCallum will join Vancouver Mayor Larry Campbell in parading the haggis from Burnaby to Surrey and then off to Vancouver on Friday, Jan. 23.

Led by a piper from SFU's four-time world champion pipe band, a troupe of faculty, staff, students and the three mayors will travel by SkyTrain to SFU's three campuses as they address and carve up the haggis at each official stop.

Catch their skirlish behaviour in Burnaby when they board SkyTrain at Production Way station at 9:35 a.m., and as they return to the Burnaby Mountain campus at 11:50 a.m.

Simon Fraser University will also host two other events to commemorate the birth of the Scottish bard.

Killarney, a seven-member band from Dublin will perform at the Highland Pub on Burnaby Mountain from 5 to 7 p.m., and then the official Robbie Burns dinner and silent auction to benefit the Robert Malcolm Memorial pipe bands will be held at the Executive Plaza Hotel at 7 p.m. Tickets to the latter event are $65 apiece and can be purchased from Laurie Kortschak at 604-536-5601.

THAT'S EXCELLENT

Burnaby Mountain secondary graduate Rainbow Choi is among 15 B.C. high school graduates to receive the Premier's Excellence Award for excellent grades and outstanding service to their communities this year.

Choi, who is currently studying engineering at SFU, received a medal of recognition plus a scholarship worth $5,000 during a ceremony held at Vancouver Community College last weekend.

"I want to congratulate all of this year's recipients and thank them for their contribution to improving our communities and province," Premier Gordon Campbell said in a press release. "We want to ensure that we're continuing to create new opportunities for the next generation of B.C. great achievers."

Choi, who was the class valedictorian at Burnaby Mountain last year, won top academic achievement awards in science in both 2002 and 2003 and was a winner of a Canada Millennium Foundation Scholarship.

She is a peer volunteer at the Canuck Place Children's Hospice, and helped organize the World Vision 30-Hour Famine event for three years.

Advanced Education Minister Shirley Bond said previous winners have gone on to practise international law in the Third World, conduct postdoctoral research into mad cow disease and become successful doctors, dentists and microbiologists. "B.C. has a topnotch post-secondary education system and the students being honoured here are taking advantage of that as they prepare for exciting careers," she said.

THEM'S THE BLUES

Storman Norman Casler, the former general manager of the SFU radio station and, until recently, the host of the Sunday Blues radio show on CFMI, is back on the hustings.

Casler, who was let go by the Corus radio network due to "internal restructuring," is now putting the finishing touches on a 'made-for-TV' version of his show, tentatively called Roots Rock, Rhythm and Blues.

Citizen reps eager to work

By Dan Hilborn
Published Jan. 21, 2004


A mood of almost unbridled optimism is coming from the eight Burnaby residents chosen at random to sit on the provincial government's new Citizen's Assembly on Electoral Reform.

While they range in age from a 20-year-old university student to the 72-year-old owner operator of a family day care centre, they all have one thing in common.

They all believe they have a wonderful opportunity to make a real change in the way the electoral system works in British Columbia.

"Man, it was marvelous," said Mo Assim, a 49-year-old courier driver and father of two, after the first full weekend of workshops with the assembly.

"It was a real eye-opener for me," said Assim. "I was utterly amazed at the overview of all the things involved."

Like each of the 160 people from around the province chosen to sit in the assembly, Assim has been handed a daunting stack of reading material to familiarize himself with his duties. And he is jumping into it wholeheartedly.

"I must say I am very honoured to be selected," he said. "There are no words to tell you the pride I have to serve in such a civic commission. I bring a lot of interest, and a lot of listening skills."

Indeed, a keen interest and listening skills are two traits that will serve Assim and the other assembly members well over the coming 12 months. It is their job to come up with a formal recommendation on how to change the electoral system.

And while the vast majority of people in the assembly have no previous political experience, that is not the case for Burnaby resident Nancy McAskill, a volunteer with Girl Guides and member of the former Canadian Alliance federal party.

McAskill admits that she was "appalled" when she received her complimentary copy of The Province newspaper while attending the Jan. 18 assembly meeting, and realized the daily newspaper did not carry a single story about either the assembly or the meeting. "They got a letter from me the next day," she said.

McAskill strongly believes that the Citizen's Assembly is a good idea.

"Surely the collective wisdom of the ordinary and average persons in B.C. can make a difference," she said. "The crunch, of course, will be whether we can keep enough people happy to reach something that is concrete enough to make a difference.

"But even if there's only a whole lot of talk, I think that would be a benefit."

John Mak, a 28-year-old chartered accountant who works for the provincial government as an auditor, was not expecting so much enthusiasm when he arrived at his first assembly meeting.

"Everyone is optimistic," said Mak, a Burnaby North resident. "The one thing that surprised me the most was how excited everyone was and how they genuinely want to work together to come up with the best solution."

Mak admits he doesn't usually follow politics, and at this stage, he simply wants to keep an open mind about what might be problems with our current electoral system.

Mary Drew, a 72-year-old grandmother who operates her own daycare, said her main concerns is trying to find a way to get people interested in voting again.

"We may not change the world, but we're sure going to try," said Drew. "This is very complicated and it will take a bit of work on our part to do a good job, but I do feel it's needed at this time, what with the way things are going and the way politics and politicians are.

"Voting is down so much we need a system that will get people back to the polls. In fact, I have two people living in my house who don't vote, and they're otherwise intelligent people. They say it doesn't matter ... but it does matter," Drew said.

Craig Henschel, a 43-year-old intern architect representing Burnaby Willingdon, said he's ready to jump right into the heart of the issues.

"Even apart from politics it's pretty clear that there is a large percentage of people without representation in the legislature and that causes a bit of a problem," Henschel said. "Whenever you have a party with less votes that forms a majority government, I find that odd and I think it's disquieting to people.

"I think this whole thing started out with the idea that the parties are feeling they're not being treated fairly by the electoral system. But it's not the parties being treated fairly that's important, it's the individual voters and making their votes mean something.

"While the parties complain about losing their share of the seats, more important is the public's ability to have their ideas represented in the legislature. I don't think democracy is about who wins or who loses, but about the discussion around the votes."

Geraldine Hurst, a retired teacher and nonprofit fundraiser, said she wants to leave a better political system behind for her grandchildren.

"My eyes were opened very wide," Hurst said following the first weekend of meetings. "I always thought there was just one way of voting.

Sam Todd, a 44-year-old construction worker, admitted that his friends have already started teasing him about being on the government payroll, but he's looking forward to the task.

"I think the biggest problem right now is that the people up top just won't listen to the folks down below," Todd said. "I believe every politician goes into it with goodness in their heart, but they get caught up in the bureaucracy and for whatever reason things don't happen.

"I think the process needs to be streamlined, and you have to do it in a way that gets more voters out," he said. "I don't know how to do it yet, after all I'm just one little guy, but I am pretty opinionated.

"I like to think of this as evolution in action. Democracy has been stagnant for so long," he said.

Adina Irimescu, a 20-year-old UBC student, is also hopeful the assembly will find ways to make the electoral system more representative of the general public, but she's not so sure that they will find a way to get more young people involved.

"To tell you the truth, I don't think young people care too much about politics," Irimescu said. "I wish they did, but most things don't affect them too much. Maybe they care about education a little, but people my age don't feel that by voting they could ever make a difference. There are so many people voting what does another vote matter?"

Citizens' Assembly: What's expected of the 160 members?

By Dan Hilborn
Published Jan. 21, 2004


Democratic history was made in British Columbia earlier this month when the 160-member Citizens Assembly on Electoral Reform met at the Morris J. Wosk Centre for Dialogue to begin a year-long process of reviewing the way we vote.

The group was selected at random from the B.C. voters lists and includes one man and one woman from each electoral district, plus two aboriginals. Organizers made a special effort to ensure that the assembly members accurately reflect the age, sex and ethnic background of the province.

The group is charged with a massive task: review how the votes cast in provincial elections translate into actual seats in the legislature. To accomplish this task, they have been handed stacks of reading material, a panel of expert helpers and a long list of internet resources.

If assembly members decide that B.C. does need a new voting system, their proposal will frame a referendum question that will go directly to the voters in the provincial election of May 2005. If that change is approved by voters, the B.C. Liberal government has indicated it will put that process in place in in time for a provincial election in 2009.

At their first meeting, former SFU president and assembly chair Jack Blaney asked the assembly members to consider four key questions. They are:

- Do political parties play an appropriate role in our society and government?

- Would frequent changes of government or government leader be negative or positive?

- Should legislature seats be districted according to each parties popular vote?

What are the pluses or minuses of other electoral systems?

- And should we change our current system or stay with the one we have?

"Starting today, we have an incredible and unique opportunity and an equally incredible and unique responsibility," Blaney said in his opening remarks to the assembly. "To our knowledge, nowhere, at any time in a democracy, has a government asked non-elected citizens to undertake such a commitment, and then given those same citizens such potential power over an important public policy question.

"This day is indeed historic and we - all of us here - are all part of that history. Now isn't that just absolutely wonderful?"

Don MacLachlan, associate director of communications for the assembly, said if the committee can come to a single conclusion, the government has committed itself acting on that recommendation.

"Normally, when a country has reformed it's electoral system, the reform by a very large degree has been done by insiders," MacLachlan said. "Very often, but not in all cases, it's the politicians changing the rules of the games they're playing.

But this assembly is totally different. These people aren't insiders, they aren't candidates and they're as independent or apolitical as you can get.

"Normally, if the government doesn't like the report it goes on a top shelf never to be seen again. Not here. If this group recommends a change, then the change will go to a referendum along with the provincial election in 2005," MacLachlan said.

The assembly will meet six times during its learning process, while it studies voting systems around the world, and then hold more meetings this fall where they will work on the final recommendation.

Its final report must be made to the legislature by Dec. 15.

At their first meeting, each of the assembly members, including those from Burnaby and other Lower Mainland communities, were put up in a hotel.

"Certainly, for the first meeting we wanted people to stay together in the hotel and take the opportunity to know each other a little better," said MacLachlan. "We kind of encourage people to do that. They put in long hours."

"I know some of the people feel a bit less involved when they go home at the end of the day, but I've also heard others saying 'Hang on, I don't need a hotel.'"

The Burnaby NOW will be following the deliberations of the local committee members throughout the year. For more information, visit their official website at www.citizensassembly.bc.ca.

Fighting over the pee trap

By Dan Hilborn
Published Jan. 17, 2004


Troy Tack has tried being patient. He's tried negotiating, and he's tried being nice.

But five months after moving into what he thought was an exclusive Capital Hill neighbourhood, the young husband and father is at his wit's end in trying to find a way to stop the horrid smell of mixed sewage from entering his home.

"For the past two weeks, ever since Christmas, the smells have been awful," said Tack, whose battle against the odours was first outlined in the Dec. 17, 2003 edition of the Burnaby NOW.

And while the nearby Chevron refinery admits it is at least partially responsible for the smells, Ray Lord, manager of community affairs for the oil refinery, said a solution is on the way and Tack just needs to be a little more patient.

"Where can I start?" Lord asked Thursday morning. "It disappoints us that Mr. Tack has chosen to engage the media on this. We've been going out of our way to communicate with him."

"We've been continuing to proceed, ... however, the cold weather did cause some setbacks for us. A person was away and Mr. Tack was advised of that. We are proceeding to work on a manhole, but that was delayed because of the cold weather. That should now be done in a week or ten days."

But Tack is not convinced. Tack believes Chevron should take full responsibility for the odours and pay for the installation of a 'pee trap' - a small device that could be attached to the sewer line outside his home, similar to a device installed outside a neighbour's house more than 10 years ago.

"They should just put a damn pee trap in here and I'll go away. I can't live like this. It's crazy."

Tack also claims that a refinery engineer told him that the only reason the pee trap was not being installed was because of objections by the City of Burnaby.

Meanwhile, Tack's neighbour Heinz Kallweit, whose has lived on Liberty Place since 1972, said Chevron has done much to reduce the odours over the years, but nothing worked as well as the pee trap that was installed on his sewer line in late 1988. However, Kallweit can't remember who exactly paid for the device and he no longer has the work receipt. In addition, a 15-year-old letter from Chevron to Kallweit acknowledges the "improvements" to the neighbourhood, but makes no actual mention of a sewer line device.

"I only got the pee trap after years of struggle like Troy is going through right now," said Kallweit. "It was only through a combination of threatening letters to our neighbour (Chevron), the city and the mayor that I finally was able to get results.

"I also had the Chevron public relations person come by when the smells were at their worst," Kallweit said.

And despite his criticism of Chevron's past practices, Kallweit believes the company is doing its part to lessen the amount of odour in the neighbourhood.

"Chevron has done a lot to improve their effluent, they really have," he said. "The problem is, they have also increased their production. So the question we have to ask is: Are we net better?"

Lord insists that Chevron is trying to be a good neighbour by seeking a more permanent solution to the odour problem than the simple installation of a single pee trap for one house.

"People should not be smelling sewer smells in their homes if they have a properly functioning sewer system," said the Chevron spokesperson. "We don't recommend a Band-Aid when what we really need is a solution for everyone."

Lord also admitted that one reason for the company's reluctance to install the pee trap is that there is no prior record of complaints about the smells from that address until the firefighter moved into the house five months ago.

"There is a liability concern, and yes there is a precedence," Lore said. "However, there is also a fundamental feeling that the solution is something that needs to be resolved.

"We don't think it's Chevron's responsibility to maintain a private residence's plumbing system," Lord said. "We have suggested that Mr. Tack have his plumbing diagnosed to rule out any party of the system that may not be functioning properly while we fix our deep shaft bio-filter."

Lord admitted there was an increase in smells in recent weeks, but said that was related to the weather. "We had problems with the air supply to the system that was one of the main causes," he said.

And when asked how long it might take before Tack begins to see an improvement in the air quality inside his home, Lord said: "All I can say is this is something we're focused on. Our team has been assigned to this and we're working on the issue as quickly as we can. I don't know what else I can say."

And for his part, Tack admits to losing his cool during a conversation with Lord early this week.

"I basically told him that I'm tired of you guys coming out here and smelling it, yet you do nothing for me," Tack said. "The gloves are off. I'm not stopping. I have two small children and it stinks. Put a pee trap in here, and you can end this.

"This smells all along Penzance, so how can it be a problem with my house?"

Spa adds another act of kindness

Here and Now column by Dan Hilborn
Published Jan. 18, 2004


Random acts of kindness are becoming a way of life for local mom Jody Horn, whose battle against thymic carcinoma was detailed in the Jan. 10 edition of the Burnaby NOW.

Our story detailing how Horn was the surprise recipient of 12 heartfelt but anonymous gifts to commemorate the 12 days of Christmas inspired the folks at the Vida Wellness Spa in the Sheraton Wall Centre to offer their own pick-me-up to the single mom from Burnaby.

"Our manager Kristina Hewlett read the story on the Internet, and we thought we might be able to do something for Jody," said Vida employee Sheri Brown. "We want to give her an afternoon at the spa with all the treatments she can have."

So, next Wednesday, Horn will be whisked away from the fairy garden that brightens her living room to the posh surroundings of the spa, where she will be treated to a full manicure, pedicure and a mini-facial.

This extraordinarily kind gesture comes at a very trying time in Horn's life. After being diagnosed with cancer of the thymus gland about 18 months ago, she has undergone a long and painful program of chemotherapy, surgeries and other treatments in an attempt to keep the tumours off her heart and lungs.

"We like to do little things for people, and Jody's story was just amazing," said Brown.

ROBBIE BURNS DAY IS ON THE WAY

Prepare to pipe in the haggis. The four-time world champion SFU Pipe Band will be playing for their supper when they are the guests of honour at the Robbie Burns Day dinner and silent auction at the Executive Plaza Hotel on Friday, Jan. 23.

This is one of the main fundraisers of the year for what may be the best bagpipe and drum bands in the world over the past decade.

Tickets to the event are a heart $65 and include dinner and performances from a large group of international award winning pipers and drummers.

The band, which wears the traditional Clan Fraser tartan, was formed in 1966, but it took 15 long years before the pipers won their first North American championship. The band then won its first world championship in 1995, and then repeated the achievement in 1996, '99 and 2001.

These days, the band sponsors a world champion-winning junior pipe band, and several of its members, most notably pipe major Terry Lee and lead drummer J. Reid Maxwell are individual world championship holders.

Tickets to the Robbie Burns Day dinner and silent auction are $65 apiece and include dinner plus band performances, and are available from Laurie Kortschak at 604-536-5601 or lauern@shaw.ca.

SEEKING SHORT FILMS

Budding film makers have several opportunities to make a name for themselves and possibly even win a little bit of cash over the coming months.

Amateur filmmakers are invited to submit their five-minute movies to the National Screen Institute - Canada national exposure movie contest.

The contest, which has previously been held only in Winnipeg as a Local Exposure contest, offers a $1,000 grand prize, plus several $100 awards.

Sponsored by Rogers Video, the national exposure contest is free to enter and all that's needed is a good idea and a video camera. Pick up entry forms at any Rogers Video store in Burnaby or at the website www.nsi-canada.ca.

The other opportunity is a call for submissions to the second annual North American's Best Independent Animated Shorts video which is produced and sponsored by Burnaby-based Raider Productions.

NABIAS entries can be clay, classical, computer, and flash animated shorts of no more than 15 minutes in length. Last year's winners were made into a 90-minute feature film which was screened at Pacific Cinematheque and is now available as a DVD or the internet.

For more information on the 2004 NABIAS call for entries, check out the website www.nabias.com.

Burnaby dance band releases first CD

By Dan Hilborn
Published Jan. 14, 2004


One of the liveliest dance bands in the Lower Mainland has released its first CD.

Dubfreque, a reggae fusion band that features David Hathaway of the Burnaby-based Electric Mail Company on guitar, is the reincarnation of Roots Round-Up, which was one of the most successful small club acts in the city over the past decade.

Featuring singer Omolara Oyesiku and some of the best studio musicians in the Lower Mainland, Dubfrequency is a 12-song CD that is the perfect pick-me-up for a dreary winter day.

From the lively first track Nice It Up, to the funked-out stylings of Hip Polyester, Dubfreque proves itself a versatile band with loads of talent.

"We started up about three-and-a-half years ago when some of my buddies notice a real dearth of dance music in Vancouver," Hathaway recently told the Burnaby NOW.

Originally, Dubfreque was intended to be a backup band for a changing roster of singers, but when the guys met Oyesiku, they decided to focus their efforts on her vocals. "She's dynamite, so we rewrote the business plan," Hathaway said, of the former singer for the AfroNubians.

The band is also hopeful of garnering a Juno nomination for its self-produced, debut CD.

"A lot of stuff that gets called reggae these days is really just a guy with a drum machine stamped out with rap lyrics," Hathaway said. "I think the Juno judges will be looking for a band that gets it."

Dubfreque does get it. Everything on the CD sparkles with life, whether it's their original music or up-tempo cover versions of tunes such as A Piece of My Heart or Riding for a Fall.

Dubfreque features the snazzy trombone playing of Andy Codrington, who once played with Fleetwood Mac, and the steady bass playing of 'Papa Greggae' Hathaway, along with guitarists Mark Campbell and David Hathaway and drummer Kirk Layman.

High-profile locals consider NDP spot

By Dan Hilborn
Published Jan. 14, 2004


Several high-profile names are seriously considering their chances of running for the federal New Democratic Party in the riding of Burnaby-New Westminster.

Peter Julian, the former executive director of the Council of Canadians, and Dave McKinnon, a former national president of the NDP, are both considering their options as the party prepares for a probable Feb. 29 nomination meeting.

"I'll be making up my mind this month, but I am leaning towards running because I have some real concerns about Paul Martin's priorities," said Julian, who currently works as the executive director at the Western Institute for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing.

"I'm particularly concerned that his (Martin's) first act in office was a big tax gift to wealthy corporations," Julian said. "In our community, we're facing the closure of a major hospital, increased homelessness and the real degradation of our quality of life, and his first act was to hand over hundreds of millions of dollars as a tax gift.

"That's the kind of element that is pushing me towards running."

McKinnon, who took early retirement from the B.C. Employment Standards Branch last year, said the recent election of Paul Martin as leader of the federal Liberals gives the NDP a good opportunity to win back the riding that has a long history of electing NDP members.

"The right has finally come together under Paul Martin, and that means the hard right has gone over to the Conservatives," McKinnon said.

"This is a marvellous opportunity for the NDP because the left side of the road is all ours.

"It'll be fun to watch."

Young people collect Duke of Edinburgh Awards

Here and Now column by Dan Hilborn
Published Jan. 14, 2004


Several young Burnaby residents were recipients of the Duke of Edinburgh's Bronze Award and Certificate of Achievement in a ceremony at the Ismaili Jamathkhana and Centre in Burnaby last month.

Annie Chu of the 11th South West Burnaby Venturer Company, Angela and Brenton Lugrin of Ismaili Youth Group I and independent youth Travis Wong all received the awards, which recognize outstanding achievement on the part of young people.

The Duke of Edinburgh's Award is an international program for youth aged 14 to 25 who participate in community service, expeditions, skills and fitness. Offered in more than 100 countries around the world, a total of 35,000 young Canadians have participated.

Also at the ceremony was 15-year-old Khalil Lakhani, the young man from the 8th Northview Venturer Company who received his Duke of Edinburgh Award just prior to his widely publicized and heroic rescue of a five-year-old girl and two adults from an overturned pleasure boat on Green Lake in Seattle last summer.

SFU STUDENTS EARN $5,000 FORESTRY AWARDS

Gifted graduate students from Simon Fraser University and UBC have each received $5,000 graduate student awards from the Canadian Forest Service's Pacific Forestry Centre in Victoria.

SFU's Grace Sumampong is investigating the genetic diversity of salmonberry and its relative susceptibility to potential biological control agents, while fellow SFU student Marcela Olguin-Alvarez, supervised by Canadian forest researcher Werner Kurz, is focusing on forest management and carbon dynamic assessment in a mixed pine-oak forest in Central Mexico.

And if this all sounds like a lot of unintelligible timber talk to you, check out the awards details at the forest centre's website at pfc.cfs.nrcan.gc.ca/award.

Old rivals poised to battle for Lib spot?

By Dan Hilborn
Published Jan. 10,2004


Two federal Liberal rivals who have squared off in the past appear poised to vie against each other again in the newly created riding of Burnaby-New Westminster.

Mary Pynenburg, the director of planning for the City of New Westminster, quietly began campaigning for the post about a month ago when she launched a website and began distributing campaign information.

Her biggest challenge is expected to come from the previous candidate in the riding, 18-year veteran Burnaby Coun. Lee Rankin, who is currently assessing his support before formally opening the race.

"I'll probably have something to say in the next week or two," said Rankin, a former NDP member who left that party in 1999, soon after the North Burnaby Inn casino scandal prompted the resignation of former B.C. premier Glen Clark.

"We're in discussion with many supporters throughout South Burnaby and the western part of New Westminster," he said.

"We're getting strong encouragement from individuals and supporters all across the riding and we're considering it."

If the pair do square off, the new riding could see a repeat of the acrimonious nomination battle when Rankin defeated Pynenburg for the Liberal nod prior to the November 2000 election.

In the first salvo of the campaign, Pynenburg has received endorsements from former Burnaby city councillors Barbara Der and Gary Begin, plus former TEAM Burnaby council candidate Nancy Harris.

Teenager's good deed makes senior's day

Here and Now column by Dan Hilborn
Published Jan. 10, 2004


After 28 years of living in the same house, Mary Bion was convinced that her central Burnaby neighbourhood had lost most of its original charm.

The 71-year-old senior no longer knew many of her neighbours and, frankly, she and her husband had been feeling an awful lot more isolated over the past few years.

But that all changed after this week's snowstorm left a giant dump of the white stuff over all our city's streets and sidewalks.

Despite her advancing age and bad back, Mary went out to shovel the snow off her sidewalk on Monday, and that's when she met 16- year-old Stephen Koke, a young kid who was delivering catalogues as a way to raise some money for a trip to Spain this summer with his grandfather.

When Koke noticed Mary struggling with the giant snow shovel, he put down his bundle of Sears catalogues and offered his help.

And the kid just didn't help out a little bit - he told Mary to make herself comfortable while he finished the job completely. Then, when the job was done, he flat out refused to accept any money for his fine deed.

"Well, I was just overwhelmed," Mary told the Burnaby NOW. "You hear so much these days that even if you wanted to hire a teenager they wouldn't want to do any hard work, and here, this young man comes up and offers his help."

When the job was done, Stephen pointed to his home, just a few doors away, and told Mary that if she ever needed help with anything else, all she had to do was call.

"I thought this kind of thing just didn't happen anymore," Mary said. "I guess sometimes it takes somebody in the neighbourhood to bring people together again."

Even more surprising, when Mary walked the few doors up the street to say thanks to Stephen's parents, the young man had not even told his family about his good deed for the day.

And it's certainly nice to know that some people understand what it means to live in a community.

TEMPLE HELPS IRANIAN EARTHQUAKE VICTIMS

The Hindu temple of Burnaby raised more than $3,000 for the victims of the devastating earthquake in Bam, Iran during a special New Year's Day service.

Satinder Bhandari, spokesperson for the Vishva Hindu Parishad of B.C. on Albert Street, said it took just a few minutes for the money to come in after the appeal by head priest Pandit Sharad Chandra.

"If you remember a couple of years ago, we had an earthquake in Gujarat, India, and at that time we collected money for those victims," Bhandari told the Burnaby NOW. "So, under the same spirit, our priest said we should do the same thing for earthquake victims in Iran.

"When it happened in India, almost everyone in the temple had families and friends who were affected. So when it hits you at home, you know how these people feel."

The temple, which has been located in North Burnaby for about 25 years, has about 800 members total, and will continue to raise funds for another week or so before deciding whether to send the contribution to the Red Cross, World Vision or some other international aid agency.

To add your own contribution to the cause, contact the Hindu temple in Burnaby at 604-299-5922.

IT'S A SMALL WORLD - ESPECIALLY IN BURNABY

Burnaby Village Museum curator Colin Stevens is still shaking his head after an article in the Sept. 3, 2003 Burnaby NOW led to an unexpected reunion with several long-lost relatives.

The article in question explained how museum staff were taking digital photographs of some of the rarer pieces in the museum's collection - including several Burnaby Police pins and a mannequin dressed in what was supposed to be an authentic and historic RCMP uniform.

But, while the RCMP uniform was indeed historic, the display was less than authentic, leading to several complaints to the museum and one letter to the editor of this newspaper.

As it turns out, one of the local retired Mounties who visited the museum to set them straight turned out to be a long lost relative of Stevens - none other than longtime local Tory and realtor Neil MacKay.

Making the meeting even more bizarre was the fact that the two relatives had actually been members of the same Rotary Club for several years and simply didn't know about the family connection.

"We were talking about history and I said my family was related to the MacKays of Nova Scotia, and then Neil said his were, too," Stevens said this week. "So I told him my family had roots on the Isle of Muck, and Neil said 'Mine did too' and then that's when we got down to our ancestors' names and realized we were from the same family."

The local MacKay and Stevens families eventually got together over the Christmas holidays, and the museum curator was finally able to compare the actual family trees. That's when they learned that Stevens' great-grandfather and MacKay's grandfather were brothers.

During the small reunion, Stevens was able to add several names to his own family tree - the names of the ancestors who made the original trip from Scotland to Canada.

And that's not all. All the interest in the police exhibit has prompted Stevens to prepare a show this coming spring featuring artifacts from the former Burnaby Police detachment, the B.C. Provincial Police and the historic Royal Canadian Mounted Police.

Corrigan asks questions:

Why did police meet with solicitor general?
By Dan Hilborn
Published Jan. 7, 2004


Has the provincial government already dropped the ball with its response and handling of the Dec. 28 police raid on the offices of two ministerial assistants in the B.C. legislature?

Burnaby mayor Derek Corrigan thinks so, and he believes the mainstream media is failing to ask at least one of the more puzzling questions surrounding the debacle.

"It just seems peculiar to me that this was all handled by the solicitor general instead of the attorney general," Corrigan told the Burnaby NOW on Tuesday morning. "We all remember when the charges were laid against former premier Glen Clark, it was attorney general Ujjal Dosanjh who was dealing with the special prosecutor in that case."

"I find it very curious," Corrigan said. "I don't know why in this situation it came out that way. Why was it the solicitor general instead of the attorney general?"

Corrigan noted that solicitors general typically handle the administrative side of the justice system while attorneys general handle the prosecution side.

"In fact, if this matter had proceeded that way, the way it would normally, there would have been information provided to someone in the attorney general's office about the police investigation. In this situation, it appears what may have happened is the police did the investigation, obtained the search warrants from the judiciary and then went to the solicitor general."

Corrigan, a lawyer by trade, is also concerned about a potential conflict of interest first raised by B.C. Unity Party leader Chris Delaney, who questioned the appointment of special prosecutor William Bernardino.

On New Year's Eve, Delaney issued a press release that said Bernardino and Plant once worked in the same law office together, a claim that has not been denied by the B.C. Liberals.

Corrigan said the allegation leaves a cloud over the special prosecutor's head, which could become unbearable as the case winds its way through the process.

"The suggestion from at least one opposition party is that there is a conflict, and that's not a good place to start when you're a special prosecutor," Corrigan said. "I think it would be very difficult for whoever is put into that role."

Arson destroys local house

By Dan Hilborn
Published Jan. 3, 2004


Burnaby fire investigators are being tight-lipped after an arson fire virtually destroyed a small, bungalow-style home at 8159 12th Ave. in the early morning hours of Boxing Day.

"This is definitely a set arson fire," fire captain Perry Talkarri said Tuesday morning. "It is still under investigation but the RCMP do not want us to divulge any more information. There are certain people they still have to interview."

The house, which was less than 1,000 square feet, suffered approximately $80,000 damage, and will likely be unable to be rebuilt because the structure does not conform to the existing zoning bylaws in the neighbourhood, Talkarri said.

The fire also caused about $20,000 damage to the home immediately east of the principal structure involved, however, quick action by Burnaby firefighters is being credited with helping to stem the spread of the damage.

While nobody was injured in the incident, Talkarri was unable to confirm whether anybody was inside the home at the time of the fire.

Bundle it up for city's youth group

Here and Now column by Dan Hilborn
Published Jan. 3, 2004


Just in time for the post-Christmas recycling rush, the youth council from the South Burnaby Neighbourhood House is once again collecting bottles, books and clothing to go into winter hampers for local families in need.

The collection drive takes place today, Saturday, Jan. 3, from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Drop off items at the South Burnaby Neighbourhood House offices at 6768 Jubilee Ave., right beside Bonsor rec centre, or call 604- 431-0400 to arrange for pickup.

A HUNDRED FOR 100

Longtime Burnaby resident John Karpuk celebrated his 100th birthday in style with more than 100 of his friends and family at the home of neighbours Len and Maggie Arychuk on Boxing Day.

Karpuk was born in Helenowa, Grodno, in what is now Belarus, where he served two years in the Russian army and worked as a bricklayer and carpenter, before an uncle sent him enough money to immigrate to Canada in 1929.

After arriving in Halifax, Karpuk soon made his way out west, where he worked as a section labourer for the Canadian Pacific Railway in Fernie, B.C. for less than $25 per month. He met his future wife, Alice Barsky, while on vacation in Winnipeg and they married in Saskatchewan before returning to B.C.

The family moved to Vancouver in 1943, and Karpuk worked for the former Canron Foundry near Boundary Road. The family moved to the home that Karpuk built on Dominion Street and later moved just a block away onto Manor Street.

Karpuk was a member of the Carpenters' Union and worked on several large buildings, including the Georgia Rower, and in Kemano.

An avid gardener, Karpuk is best known for his tomatoes, which he continued to grow even after moving into the nearby Finnish Manor and then into Dania Home, where he now resides with his wife.

Karpuk enjoys sharing stories about the old country and the history of Canada, playing "feudal games of crib" and drinking the occasional shot of vodka.

His son John lives in Kamloops and daughter Rose is in Pitt Meadows. The Karpuks have five grandchildren and four great- grandchildren. Congrats, and many more!

VIDEOS ON THE WEB

Anyone who was unable to catch North American's Best Independent Animated Shorts that played at Pacific Cinematheque last month might want to check out some of the films on the Internet.

Raider Productions, the local company that brought together the 16 short films that made up the mini-festival, has partnered with Purple Globe Communications to release a full-screen, streaming video version of feature length product.

Purple Globe has created something it calls 'matrix stream technology,' which it hopes will allow Internet surfers to instantly view high quality format movies while using computer hardware that is available to the average home computer user.

Take a peek at either www.nabias.com or www.purpleglobe.com

MLAs shocked

By Dan Hilborn
Published Jan. 3 2004


Shock and wonder are the two greatest reactions from Burnaby's Liberal MLAs in the aftermath of the stunning Dec. 28 RCMP raid into the offices of two B.C. Liberal cabinet ministers.

"This is very unfortunate," said Burnaby-Willingdon MLA John Nuraney, who is a friend and 'confidante' of fired ministerial aide David Basi. "I've known Dave for a number of years now, and he has been a very good worker and a confidante. I'm shocked that he has been accused of wrongdoing. I'm still not believing that he did anything criminal or had any part to play in all of this.

"I'm certainly hoping that he will be exonerated from all this. This must be a nightmarish experience," Nuraney said.

Equally shocked is Burnaby North MLA Richard T. Lee, who expressed confidence in the ability of the police to do a full and proper investigation.

"I believe the RCMP are doing their job, so we'd be best to wait for the results of the investigation," Lee said.

When asked if he was concerned about allegations of corruption in government, and what could be done to restore public confidence, Lee said, "I think, in general, I can't comment on that one. I believe the government is quite transparent in terms of its operation. But for individual staff it is hard to guarantee their integrity."

Burnaby MLA Harry Bloy called the Burnaby NOW from a family vacation in Oregon to say that he had only read a few short stories on the Internet, and he's not exactly sure of what has happened.

"No one has been charged with anything and I can't talk about speculation," said Bloy, who refused to believe that police were investigating allegations that organized crime links may have links to the provincial government.

"I have full confidence in the government." Bloy said. "What you're telling me is not the news that I've seen reported."

Attempts to contact Burnaby-Edmonds MLA Patty Sahota were unsuccessful.

Police ask hit-and-run driver to come forward

By Dan Hilborn
Published Jan 3, 2004


Burnaby RCMP have released more details on the tragic hit-and- run accident that killed a 67-year-old woman in South Burnaby on Boxing Day.

The victim is Shui Ping Yue, a resident of the city.

RCMP spokesperson Const. Phil Reid said the incident is particularly traumatic because of several phone conversations Yue had with her two sons in the moments surrounding the fatal accident.

After leaving the nearby Royal Oak SkyTrain station, Yue apparently phoned her first son to say she would be arriving home shortly. After being hit, Yue then used her cellphone to call her other son, who lived in a different location, to report that she was injured.

The first son learned of the accident when he looked outside the family's window and saw police and ambulance vehicles arriving at the intersection where he knew his mother should have crossed.

Recognizing his mother was late getting home, the son went out onto the street and saw his mother's jacket lying on the ground.

"These have to be very trying circumstances for both of her sons," Reid said.

Reid noted the entire incident was watched by "a reliable witness" who apparently crossed the intersection of Beresford Street and Antrim Avenue just moments before Yue was struck.

While police still have no suspects, they believe the vehicle that struck Yue was a dark grey Honda or Acura-type vehicle that suffered damage to its front grill and front right fender.

The suspect vehicle is believed to have stopped briefly before fleeing from the scene.

Reid is also calling on the suspect to do the honourable thing.

"This person should come forward," Reid said. "You'd be surprised how everyone has their own side to the story. However, if they don't come forward now, this is nothing less than murder.

"Don't be a coward and just leave the scene of the a hit-and-run where a lady was left dead," Reid said. "This will be on your conscience for a long time."

Anyone with information in regards to this incident is asked to call the Burnaby RCMP non-emergency number at 604-294-7922. Witnesses who wish to remain anonymous can contact CrimeStoppers at 604-669-8477.

Raid opens old political wounds

By Dan Hilborn
Published Jan. 3, 2004


A political scandal that is swirling around the legislative building in Victoria has reached into Burnaby.

One of the most successful Liberal politicians to represent this city over the past two decades - Vancouver South- Burnaby MP Herb Dhaliwal - is calling on B.C. Premier Gordon Campbell to come home from his Hawaiian vacation to answer exactly what involvement he had with the two senior political staff people who are under investigation by the RCMP.

"The premier should be asking some tough questions of his two ministers," Dhaliwal said after the Sunday morning raid on the offices of two aides to B.C. cabinet ministers in Victoria. "I think that some of the people involved should certainly come out and make it clear what their involvement was."

Dhaliwal, who has served as a member of Parliament in Burnaby since 1997, said that David Basi, who was fired from his post as ministerial assistant to B.C. Finance Minister Gary Collins on Monday, was instrumental in organizing a coup of Dhaliwal's riding executive in November 2002.

Last Sunday (Dec. 28), as part of an ongoing investigation into the illegal drug trade, the RCMP commercial crime section removed more than 30 boxes of materials from where Basi worked in Collins' office, plus the office of the Bob Virk, a ministerial aide to Transportation Minister Judith Reid.

Basi was fired by Premier Gordon Campbell and Virk was suspended with pay.

No charges have yet been laid in the case, however, police spokesperson Sgt. John Ward confirmed the investigation revolves around allegations of organized crime and drugs.

"I can say in general that, the spread of organized crime just in the past two years has been like a cancer on the social and economic well-being of all British Columbians. Today, the value of the illegal marijuana trade alone is estimated to be worth in excess of $6 billion. We are seeing major increases in organized-crime related murders, beatings, extortion, money laundering and other activity which touches many innocent lives," Ward said.

Dhaliwal, the former senior political minister for British Columbia, believes Basi was one of the organizers of a controversial November 2000 meeting that resulted in his loss of support in the riding.

"I was quite concerned that people from Victoria were involved in meddling in my riding," said Dhaliwal, who announced earlier this month that he will be retiring from politics to go back into his family-run businesses. "I was the senior minister for B.C. who was worked closely with the premier and they had their own political staff trying to undermine me. I find that incredible.

"I think the premier should be asking some tough questions of his ministers Collins and Reid," Dhaliwal said. "I was just amazed that there were people in Victoria who were actively trying to take over my riding."

The November 2002 meeting resulted in SFU political science professor Shinder Purewal being installed as the new riding president.

Purewal, a former BVNPA candidate for Burnaby city council who now lives in Surrey, has already announced his intention to run for the federal Liberal party nomination in the new South Vancouver riding.

"Mr. Purewal should come out an clear the air," Dhaliwal said. "This was an orchestrated coup, and that's unfortunate. This is the sort of sleazy part of gutter politics that people have to sometimes deal with, and it's regrettable."

Purewal refuted the allegations, and said that while he does know Basi, the people from Victoria had no involvement in the controversial meeting.

"If there's any evidence that Mr. Dhaliwal can show that these people from Victoria were involved, then he should present it," said Purewal.

While Purewal admits to knowing Basi, he also claims that their relationship ends there. "I know him but I also know Liberal party operators in Ontario. So does that mean that all the Liberals I know are friends?"

Purewal also said that Dhaliwal was simply looking for excuses for his own inability to hang onto the riding. "In November 2000, he (Dhaliwal) was saying that I did it (organized the coup). Then Dhaliwal said Paul Martin did it, and now, all of a sudden with the bad publicity, they what to associate this with the events in Victoria. It has absolutely nothing to do with it."

Meanwhile, according to press reports from Victoria, several other prominent names from Burnaby have possible connections to the two ministerial aides who are the focus of the investigation.

Bill Cunningham, a longtime city resident and the president of the B.C. wing of the federal Liberal party, said the link between the two provincial ministerial assistants and the federal Liberal party is tenuous at best.

"First of all, other than some irresponsible speculation, there has been no inference that the investigation in Victoria really had anything to do with the federal party. I know there's quite an absence of facts and there's rampant speculation.

"People are trying to find links and ties that are probably being quite exaggerated."

Cunningham said the controversy in the Vancouver-South Burnaby constituency was simply an airing of animosities between supporters of current Prime Minister Paul Martin and his predecessor Jean Chretien.

"The people we're talking about, David Basi in particular, certainly has been active in the federal party for some time. He was a supporter of Paul Martin and his primary circle of influence was in Victoria. He may very well have connections with friends and family that extant beyond that, but to suggest that he was a key player in what happened in Vancouver-South Burnaby is clearly an exaggeration."

Meanwhile, another well-known local name may have other connections to the case.

Erik Bornman, a 27-year-old employee of Pilothouse Public Affairs Group in Victoria who had his office raided by police on Sunday, worked as a campaign manager for Burnaby Coun. Lee Rankin, when he ran unsuccessfully for the federal Liberal party in the general election of November 2000.

Rankin, a former NDP member who quit that party in disgust in the aftermath of North Burnaby Inn casino scandal, said his involvement with Bornman ended after that election.

"He (Bornman) was assigned to manage my campaign. Let's put it that way," Rankin said, noting that he became a candidate after the election was underway, and needed to put a campaign team in place quickly. "I see him from time to time, but that's it. I have absolutely no other information."

Rankin noted that he is following the media reports of the investigation with as much interest as anyone.

When asked if he is concerned about the investigation tarnishing the image of the B.C. Liberals, Rankin said he wants to see how events unfold over the coming months.

"I've been reading with interest what the RCMP are saying and, hopefully, they are doing their jobs with a dispassionate, professional investigative approach. However, it is not clear to me exactly who are the suspects.

"The individuals who worked for the ministers, it's not clear if they are the focus of the investigation or if they just have material that might be of importance to the investigation.

"I concur with the statement from the RCMP that criminal activity associated with drug production and trafficking and the money laundering associated with that activity is a serious and corrupting factor in society and needs to be rooted out forcefully," Rankin said. "The potential for corrupting the body politic as well as the serious criminality of assassinations and criminal influence of organizations is profoundly dangerous for our society."

Tuesday, May 13, 2008

RCMP look for witnesses to fatal hit-and-run

By Dan Hilborn
Published Dec. 31, 2003


Burnaby RCMP are asking for public assistance in helping to locate a vehicle involved in a fatal hit and run that occurred in South Burnaby on Boxing Day (Dec. 26).

RCMP were called to the intersection of Antrim Avenue and Beresford Street at approximately 5 p.m., where they found a 67- year-old female pedestrian in serious condition.

The woman was taken to Royal Columbian Hospital where she later succumbed to her injuries.

The investigation indicates that the suspect vehicle - likely a Honda- or Acura-type sports car that may be dark grey - stopped briefly at the scene before fleeing. Investigators believe the suspect vehicle will have damage on its front grill and right front fender.

The victim's name was not released pending notification of next of kin.

Anyone with information in regards to this incident is asked to call the Burnaby RCMP non-emergency number at 604-294-7922. Witnesses who wish to remain anonymous can contact CrimeStoppers at 604-669-8477.

Cinder block thrown from overpass onto car

By Dan Hilborn
Published Dec. 24, 2003


Lisa Young was driving on the Kensington overpass around 6:30 p.m. on Dec. 16 when something very large and very scary suddenly hit the hood of her car.

Thud! went the object - which left a big dent on her 1998 Infinity 2x4 before bouncing onto the pavement.

Unsure of exactly what had happened, Young smartly pulled over to the side of the road and paused to make sure she was all right. Then she looked through her rearview mirror to find a "large, white object" lying in the middle of the road.

She called 911 and spoke to a police dispatcher who determined that she was not injured and her vehicle was still drivable. Young was told to go home and file a claim with her insurance company.

But Young also believes that the public deserves a warning about somebody who threw a large concrete block off the high retaining wall along the side of the busy highway overpass.

"I was driving around the corner going north when all of a sudden something just fell right on me. Right on top of me. I heard a bang - a loud bang," she said.

The object was a 10-inch block of cement that could easily have gone through her windshield, causing either serious injury or possibly even her death.

"I think somebody threw it, but I just don't know," she said. "I was lucky I wasn't injured, but this could happen to anyone."

Young is also unsure of what to do next.

She is frustrated by the response she received from the Burnaby RCMP. "I was hoping they'd come and check on me," Young said. "But they just put me on hold for a while, and when they found out I had no injury, all they could do was ask me to drive home and give me a file number."

Young plans to call Burnaby city hall to try to encourage them to take action to prevent this kind of incident from happening again.

"I want them to get a higher fence. Right now the chain link fence at the top of the retaining wall is not high enough," she said. "And maybe they could block the walkway."

But mostly, Young wants to warn her neighbours about a reckless prankster in their midst who is threatening other people's lives.

"Whoever drives around in that area has to be careful," she said. "It's not like a typical overpass where you can see if somebody is standing over top of you. This is on a hillside, where people walk down the path to catch the SkyTrain.

"I've lived around here since 1985 and have never heard of this sort of thing happening. I just feel it's very unsafe.

"It seems anywhere you go these days it's unsafe, but having lived in this area for so long, I wouldn't expect this kind of thing to happen. Why would somebody do such a thing? It's scary. And like I said, I was lucky that nothing more serious happened."

Anyone with information on this incident is asked to call the Burnaby RCMP non-emergency number at 604-294-7922.

Birders 'ecstatic' with new count

By Dan Hilborn
Published Dec. 24, 2003


Local birding enthusiasts are ecstatic after spotting several unusual and rarely seen species of birds around Burnaby and Deer lakes last weekend during the annual Christmas bird count.

George Clulow, local organizer of the bird count and a member of the Vancouver Natural History Society (VNHS), said a total of 62 bird species were spotted during the day-long event, which began under less than optimal rainy conditions.

"It wasn't great weather, but what we found in the Burnaby zones was quite good," said Clulow. "Whenever we get over 60 species, we're doing well."

Highlights from this year's bird count include a huge increase in the number of pine siskin in the city, plus sightings of one young snow goose, three greater white-fronted geese, and four northern harriers - a hawk-like raptor that may indicate an improved ecosystem in the city.

But there were declines in several species, including the total disappearance of both the ruddy duck and the evening grosbeak, both of which once flocked around Burnaby Lake in substantial numbers.

Clulow said it is difficult to know the significance of a single year's count, because the important thing is to look at long-term trends.

"We have to be careful because it's not safe to draw conclusions based on one year's results," Clulow said. "You can get a lot of variations from year to year so what you have to do is look for trends over a period of time."

While there were declines in some species, that bad news was more than offset by increases in several species - most notably the northern harrier, which appears to have successfully bred this year near Deer Lake.

"Previously, the northern harrier was a very uncommon species and this year we counted four," Clulow said. "The adults and some of the young are still hunting, using Burnaby Lake and Deer Lake as their territory, so that's a really good news story. These guys are way up up in the food chain."

Another remarkable find was the presence of 40 gadwall ducks, which raises them from the uncommon to the common category.

Although the numbers of Canada geese were down slightly from previous years, they were joined by the first-ever sighting of a snow goose in Burnaby.

"It's certainly the first snow goose we've counted here in 15 years," Clulow said, noting the lone juvenile bird was likely orphaned during the hunting season in the Fraser Valley, became disoriented and then settled down with the Canada geese at Burnaby Lake.

The other remarkable increase was in the pine siskin, which rose from its usual numbers of 40 or 50 birds to 300 counted this year.

"Lots of birds go in cycles of abundance, and this year we noticed a large number of these small birds," Clulow said. "Their numbers are way up. In other areas, on the North Shore, for example, they were counting them in the thousands so you can see how a local area can reflect trends that are happening on a much larger geographical scale."

When asked why the pine siskin was doing so well, Clulow chalked it up to the unusually warm summer.

Of course, the annual bird count is never finished until dusk, when the volunteers gather near Willingdon Avenue and the freeway to estimate the size of the largest flock of northwestern crows in the province. This year, Clulow and the 14 other counters estimated the flock had about 10,000 birds.

Clulow said a concerted effort to move the birds away from their former home on the west side of Willingdon has resulted in the birds relocating to a site on the east side of the road, near the Burnaby Keg restaurant. Clulow said he was assisted on the count by six other members of the VNHS, plus Bob Gunn, a faculty member from the B.C. Institute of Technology fish, wildlife and recreation program, and seven of his students.

The numbers will be combined with the results of simultaneous bird counts from across North America under a program started by the Audubon Society almost 100 years ago.

To get involved in next year's count, check out the websites of either the Vancouver Natural History Society, www.naturalhistory.bc.ca/VNHS/ or Bird Studies Canada at www.bsc- eoc.org/

Chinese acrobats offer aid to Charlford

Here and Now column by Dan Hilborn
Published Dec. 17, 2003


Kudos to Burnaby North MLA Richard Lee who came through big time for the folks at Charlford House - the only home in Burnaby where women can get away from their past life of drug and alcohol abuse.

Lee helped to arrange a $2,000 donation to the society on behalf of the Yan Cheng Acrobat Troupe, a group travelling from China to perform in Burnaby early the new year.

Linda Shaw, program director at the house, was absolutely flabbergasted by the timely and heartfelt gesture, and especially by the very formal Chinese tea service at which the offer was made.

The donation was made possible by Liddy King, a local organizer with the Canada Multicultural Exchange Foundation, which is sponsoring the Chinese acrobats' tour.

Lee said he has been looking for ways to assist Charlford House ever since he heard about its $40,000 funding shortfall last year.

"I thought Charlford House had a great program where participants can learn life skills to reintegrate into society," Lee said.

The Yan Cheng Acrobat troupe is tentatively set to perform at the Michael J. Fox Theatre in Burnaby on Sunday, Jan. 11, 2004. For tickets, call their box office at 604-664-8560.

RUN GROWS IN HEIGHTS

The second annual Heights on the Run has surpassed all expectations.

The run, which is sponsored by Scotiabank, enjoyed 36 per cent growth in both the number of participants and the amount of money it was able to donate to the Burnaby Firefighters Charitable Society.

A cheque worth $3,000 was presented to the firefighters to help fund their CPR program, which teaches basic life-saving skills to every Grade 10 student in Burnaby.

On hand for the cheque presentation ceremony were Heights merchants Kevin Perry of Scotiabank, Mymee Chow, president of the Heights Merchants Association, and Michael Hurley and Jim Peever, president and treasurer of the firefighters society.

Scott Fraser, executive director of the Heights Merchants Association, said the event is rapidly gaining momentum thanks to the long list of sponsors. For more information, visit www.burnabyheights.com.

A quarter century of punk

By Dan Hilborn
Published Dec. 17, 2003



Twenty-five years, 3,000 shows, 500,000 records sold ... Who would have thought that an unruly young kid from north Burnaby would grow up to lead one of most successful punk rock acts in the world?

This fall, Joey Keithley, best known by his stage name Joey Shithead, is celebrating a quarter century as probably the best known punk rocker in Canada with the release of a new CD and the publication of his autobiography.

I Shithead - A Life in Punk chronicles the tumultuous years of DOA, the hardcore rock band that is best known for its aggressive music and uncompromising political views.

"The book starts out when I was an idealist young kid and I got involved with my first demonstration against the nuclear testing at Kamchatka," said the man who is now a father of three. "Back then, I thought I was going to be a great civil rights lawyer, like Martin Luther King, but that job wasn't available."

Keithley discovered music at the age of 11. His first instrument was a $250 drum kit, and his first band, Lead Balloon, chickened out of the only show it was supposed to play.

When punk rock made its debut in Britain in 1977, Keithley and his beer-swilling friends knew they'd found something that would change their lives.

It was at a crowded party house on North Road where Keithley and his friends hung out, that the region's first official punk rock band, The Skulls, was formed.

Their first show was a freebie on the beach at White Rock alongside The Schmorgs, a group led by Art Bergmann, who later achieved reasonable success as a Canadian solo artist.

Keithley proved his business acumen early. When a fight forced the abrupt end of that first show, Keithley called The Province newspaper music critic Tom Harrison and described a punk rock riot in the suburbs. Keithley had his first headlines, and a new musical phenomenon was born.

Right from the start, Keithley and DOA had a reputation as one of the hardest working bands in rock. By the time their first record - Disco Sucks - was produced in 1978, the band was playing virtually every weekend at seedy venues across the continent.

One of their favourite haunts was Vancouver's Smiling Buddha cabaret, a crowded little club located just two blocks from the Main Street police station and the scene of many stories in the book.

But the band truly made its name on the road and with its politics.

Today, Keithley admits that DOA owes much of its international success to its appearance at a Rock against Reagan concert in Detroit, Mich., timed to coincide with "Ronny Raygun's" nomination at the 1980 Republican Party national convention.

As DOA took to the stage, the crowd of screaming punk rock fans was met by a parade of Republican party convention-goers intent on shutting down the show. The Detroit police arrived in full riot gear to break up the two groups, as the CNN news cameras rolled and the band played on.

His favourite concert was an anti-Expo 86 gig in Stanley Park that saw Keithley play an acoustic guitar on stage with folk idols Peter Seeger and Arlo Guthrie.

"The parks board tried to shut us down because they thought we'd scare all the animals in the zoo and trample the flowers," he recalled. "They were probably right, but still, it was a really cool day."

Another remarkable moment was playing with Bachman Turner Overdrive inside a maximum security prison in Saskatchewan. "They usually locked the guys down at 9 o'clock, but we talked the warden into keeping them up until 10 p.m. that night," he said. "That had never happened before, but as I told the warden, 'There's nothing more ugly than a prison riot.'"

Today, original copies of DOA's early records are some of the most sought-after pieces of music on the Internet. An original pressing of Triumph of the Ignoroids can fetch upwards of $300.

Despite his reputation as a bad boy, Keithley enjoyed enough success to settle down (somewhat) and start a family. He bought a home in west Burnaby, and even ran for public office. In the 2001 provincial election, he earned 2,601 votes and 15.4 per cent of the vote.

Keithley said it's unlikely that he will run again. "No, I'm retired from running. It takes too much time, and it's a huge amount of work," he said. "Besides, once you're elected, you're compromised."

But he certainly doesn't regret his political action, either. "People like myself, or Jello Biafra of the Dead Kennedys or Henry Rollins (of Black Flag fame) are like the fly in the ointment. I call it kicking the establishment in the groin."

Or it could be expressed by DOA's longtime motto of 'Talk - Action = Zero.'

"Some people might think it's odd, but being a punk means think for yourself, be free and do something positive," Keithley said.

And that means the world will just have to put up with a little bit of loud music once in while.

I Shithead - A Life in Punk is published by Arsenal Pulp Press and sells for $21.95 Canadian. Keithley will be signing copies of his new book on Saturday, Dec. 13, from 2 to 3 p.m., at the Granville Book Company, 850 Granville St. You can find the book online at Joey's own website www.suddendeath.com.

Raising a big stink

By Dan Hilborn
Published Dec. 17, 2003


When Troy Tack bought the home tucked up against the woods near Confederation Park, he believed it was his family's dream house come true.

The husband and father of two young children knew he could do no better than living next door to one of the largest parks in the city of Burnaby, with nearby schools and a teeming forest directly across the street.

But just a few weeks after moving into the secluded Capitol Hill neighbourhood, Tack and his wife began to notice the smells - not just in the air outside the house, but actually rising up from somewhere underneath the foundations of their home.

Tack says the odour is not the occasional whiff of the refinery that is well known to most of his neighbours in the Heights. What he and his family have to endure is an all-pervasive reek of raw gas, mixed with human sewage.

"It's coming up the sewer line and it's so overpowering we have to keep the downstairs bathroom door closed," he told the Burnaby NOW. "It stinks. Anyone who comes over to our house gets halfway down the walkway and asks if we have a gas leak."

Since moving into the home in August, Tack has had officials from the refinery, the City of Burnaby engineering department and the local health authority come out to investigate his complaints.

Despite assurance from local health authorities that the smell poses no health risk, Tack is worried that the gaseous smells inside his house could be affecting his two small children, aged six months and two-and-a-half years old.

"What has happened here is that our house is on the last street on Capitol Hill," he says. "All the fumes in the neighbourhood go to the lowest point, and that's us."

His greatest aggravation comes from the fact that he can't convince the authorities to offer him the same stopgap measure that he claims has successfully worked on several of his neighbour's homes - installing a 'pee trap' or gas trap device where the city sewer lines connects to his home.

Chevron has declined to install the pee trap because it believes a better, more long-term solution will soon be found. Similar comments were made by officials at Burnaby city hall.

"The source of the odour problem is from the Chevron refinery," said Lambert Chu, the deputy director of engineering for Burnaby. "They discharge treated waste water into the sewer on Penzance and we found a strong odour emitting from that water."

When asked why city hall would not install a pee trap at Tack's home, Chu said: "A pee trap may not eliminate the odour problem. It may very well work for his particular property, but if the odour migrated through the system, there would be escape from other areas.

"So, if we deal with this one, and there is still an odour escape, then those escaped gases would still congregate at the low point, which would continue to effect this resident."

Chu said city engineers, GVRD staff and Chevron are currently working on the problem and hope to have a workable solution for the entire neighbourhood early in the new year.

"We're not looking at six months down the road," he said. "Chevron realizes the impact this has so they'll do their best to make it as quick as possible."

While all sides agree the the smells are awful, tests conducted last month on the air quality inside Tack's home found no measurable health risk.

Simrita Johal, a communications consultant for the FHA, confirmed that testing for ammonia, hydrogen sulphide (H2S) and gas vapours inside the home all resulted in readings of zero parts per million (ppm).

According to the Canadian occupational health and safety standards, ammonia begins to pose a health risk when it reaches 35 ppm, hydrogen sulphide is a risk at 15 ppm and gas vapours are a health risk at 500 ppm.

"I think it's fair to say that there's no health risk with the smell, bit there is a smell and it's probably a bit of a nuisance for the residents," Johal said.

Edmonds parade hi-jinks

Here and Now column by Dan Hilborn
Published Dec. 13, 2003



What kind of a fool would mug a clown?

A whole bunch of very young ones, according to participants at the first annual Burnaby Lions Club Santa Claus parade that was held on Edmonds Street two weeks ago.

According to high-ranking officials at the Burnaby RCMP detachment, Scooter the Clown was "swarmed" by a large crowd of young boys who ran off with a rather impressive array of balloons as the hapless clown wrapping up at the end of the parade.

Thankfully, the loss was not significant, and Scooter had a few other tricks up his sleeves to help keep the large crowds entertained.

Speaking of clowning around, the Burnaby firefighters apparently pulled a fast one on one of the city's Liberal MLAs during the parade.

Harry Bloy (Burquitlam) was packed into a luxury convertible and told that he had enough gas to make it to the nearest gas station. Unfortunately, the nearest gas station was just one block to the east, when the parade route was three blocks west.

Harry's vehicle pulled onto Edmonds Street, and then came to a grinding halt. With a few hearty guffaws, the local firefighters 'fessed up to their prank and got his vehicle back up and running in time to finish the parade.

And from guffaws to gaffes: We had some incorrect information accompanying the photograph of the parade that was published in our Dec. 3 edition. The photo is in fact of 'Jubilee,' the Happy House mascot, surrounded by supporters from the South Burnaby Neighbourhood House. The mistake was made by "high-ranking officials" at the Burnaby NOW newspaper.

FREE DINNER SOLD OUT

The folks at Burnaby's Eternal Life Church found their annual Christmas dinner was so popular this year that they couldn't feed all the people who wanted to come.

In all, about 75 people were served dinner at the South Burnaby Lions Club hall on Rumble Street last Sunday night. Unfortunately, Rev. Audrey Mabley says at least 20 others had to be turned away when they called for free tickets earlier in the week.

Mabley said the dinner is aimed at helping "the down and out" and this year included gifts for children, including teddy bears, chocolate and warm mittens.

Major sponsors included the IGA and Safeway food stores, with assistance from a handful of private donors, helped to provide the half dozen turkeys that were cooked for the function.

The church advertised the dinner by putting up pamphlets and posters at the local welfare office and food bank

The food "was done like it would be in an elegant restaurant," said Mabley. "It was just a wonderful, beautiful day. It was fantastic."
- file from Christina Myers

BAY EMPLOYEES GIVE

The folks at The Bay Metrotown have gone all out to help others during this holiday season.

According to Conniet Lo, retail manager for MAC Cosmetics at the store, an employee named of 'Bee' is selling chocolates plus handmade hope necklaces with beads to raise money for the local food bank.

So far this year, Bee has raised over $300 for her food bank drive, while other Bay employees have donated over 100 pounds of food.

Another group of Bay employees has collected over 50 children's toys. The toys will be donated to B.C.'s Children's Hospital, while the stuffed animals will go to the Christmas Bureau.

THE BOSS BOARD

You can always tell when a local community group has survived tough times - that's when the volunteers start coming out of the woodwork.

Last week, the Burnaby Seniors Outreach Services Society held its annual general meeting and elected a new board of directors to help promote the emotional health and well-being of local seniors.

This year, the society restarted its popular senior peer counselling program and saw a small expansion of its outreach services.

"As our organization continues to grow, our focus will remain on reflecting the cultural diversity of our community, both on our board and through the peer counsellors who serve our clients," said Shirley Mortimer, newly elected society president.

"Right now, we have members of the Chinese, Indian, Japanese, Scandinavian, and Caribbean communities associated with BOSS and we hope to see our numbers increase," Mortimer said.

The new board of directors includes vice-president Maxine Simpson, secretary Melanie Falcon, treasurer Ken Aiken, and board members Jim Clement, Patricia Cardarelli, Helen John, Gwen Blanchette, Roger Zahar, Khadejha McCall, Wendell Radcliffe, Don Ward and Bernice Macleod.

Recognition certificates and lifetime memberships were presented to Nancy Gobis, Betty Cumby, John Dingle and Margaret Fraser.

Pulling their strings

By Dan Hilborn
Published Dec. 10, 2003



When a visitor walks into the basement of Hugh and Elizabeth Elwood's spacious east Burnaby home, it's not difficult to imagine that they have accidentally discovered Santa's North Pole workshop.

From one room to the next, the walls are decorated with fanciful puppets, all in various stages of completion. The 'sewing room' is in fact the storeroom, where more than 100 tiny wooden puppets hang by fine fishing-line strings.

Some of the puppets are historical collector's pieces, such as the six Hazelle's marionettes that were given to Elizabeth as presents from her parents almost 40 years ago.

Others, such as sturdy little Max the Ho-Hum Husky, are the handmade creations of Hugh, who spends countless hours toiling away in the garage, cutting wood and shaping the pieces into the intricate workings of a marionette.

Elizabeth and Hugh are the creators and operators of one of Burnaby's true holiday pleasures - Elwoodettes Marionettes - a travelling troupe of puppets that comes complete with its own stage and original shows.

This season, they will present The Christmas Spirit, an original hour-long puppet show written, scored and produced by Elizabeth and featuring the handmade puppets of Hugh, at the Bernie Legge Theatre in New Westminster's Queen's Park.

And if it's anything like their five previous Christmas performances, this is a puppet show that should not be missed.

The plot is simple, but it takes a few very interesting turns, says the story's author.

"Lord Rodney Dimsey hates Christmas," Elizabeth says. "He won't allow anyone to celebrate and everyone is miserable. And that's when Sir Cedric creates a time machine and Max accidentally sends everyone back to the year 1645."

Of course, Dimsey Manor, the scene of the play, is haunted. And when the time travellers accidentally bring back the real-life version of the manor's most famous ghost, chaos reigns supreme until the puppets find a way to restore the proper order of things, including the true Christmas spirit.

Now imagine all this done with foot-tall puppets that are operated by strings dangling from the top of the stage, and you have a real holiday treat. This year's show promises to be spectacular.

The newest members of the Elwoodettes Marionettes cast are the four 'ghost puppets' - Mary Fairfax, Vibrating Van, Flapper Fran and Dynamite Dan - each of which comes with its own 'surprise' feature.

"This show has an abundance of trick puppets," says Hugh, who can spend up to 20 hours carving, working on his lathe and then adding the final touches with paint, decorations and, in some cases, even electronics to adorn the puppets.

While building the puppets is intricate work, Hugh has no doubt about which task is hardest.

"I hate stringing," he admits.

Besides the puppets, the Elwoods have also built their own portable stage, which barely fits into their in-house garage. (The separate garage in the backyard has been turned into Hugh's woodworking shop.)

The idea of starting their own marionette company first arose about 10 years ago, when the couple's two children were still attending elementary school.

"The first theatre we made was a gift for the kids from Santa Claus," says Hugh.

"We used to sneak out to the garage at night to do the painting," Elizabeth adds. "When it was finished, we led the kids downstairs in blindfolds on Christmas Day and surprised them."

The idea caught on. Soon, the kids were inviting friends over to enjoy the shows, and then the kids convinced mom and dad to take the show on the road as a treat for the students at nearby Second Street community school.

Their first big production was Babes in the Woods, an hour-long show that took months to write, create the puppets for and, finally, rehearse.

"We even wrote our own lyrics to tunes that everyone knew," says Elizabeth, who now has an eight-track studio in her home. After that, the family did a show as a fundraiser for the Canuck Place children's hospice.

Before long, they were taking their shows to the George Derby veterans' hospital and St. Alban's church, and then finally Elizabeth stated the obvious - the Elwoods needed to turn their puppet shows into a family business.

"Hugh was going on about having a family business, and I said if I had to do all that boring administrative stuff, let's make our business the puppets so I can indulge in my singing and writing," she says.

After almost 10 years of building puppets, writing shows and staging productions, Elwoodettes Marionettes can now produce half a dozen different shows including a Halloween adventure and birthday show for kids aged three to six.

The Christmas Spirit runs from Dec. 17 to 31 at the Bernie Legge Theatre in New Westminster's Queen's Park, enter from First Street and Third Avenue or look for the park entrance off McBride Boulevard. Show times are 7 p.m. on weeknights, and 2 p.m. on weekends and tickets are $6 children and $9 adults.

For exact times, please call the Vagabond Players at 604-521- 0412.