Tuesday March 20, 2012 (Vol. 37 No. 23)
V O I C E
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W H I T E
R O C K
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Provincial podium: After a tough loss in the semifinals of BC High School Boys Basketball Championships, the White Rock Christian Academy Warriors rebounded nicely, winning the bronze-medal game by a single point. see page A23
Civic slate supported by developers, business leaders
Surrey First spent $700,000 for sweep Kevin Diakiw Black Press
Surrey First spent almost $700,000 to achieve a full sweep of city council last fall. Financial-disclosure documents filed at city hall show Mayor Dianne Watts’ Surrey First team
spent $662,000 in the November municipal election, when the party won every seat on council. It’s actually $10,000 less than Surrey First spent three years ago, when it didn’t achieve as much success. One source said the team was careful not to “steamroll” the
opposition with a big war chest. The bulk of the slate’s spending went to advertising – $182,000 going to newspaper, radio and other electronic advertising, while another $77,000 went to non-traditional advertising. Surrey First spent $46,000 on
signs and pamphlets, and another $135,000 on campaign staff. The rest went to rent, couriers, furniture and office supplies. Donors, mostly developers and business leaders, came out in numbers and with big cheques. Qualico Developments donated $11,000,
B&B Contracting gave $9,000, and Bill’s Developments (Vancouver developer Bob Cheema) donated $8,000. Contributing $7,500 were Colliers International, Mosaic Homes, Gateway Casinos and Four Brothers Masonry. see page A4
Driver allegedly fled scene
Police push for charges Kevin Diakiw Black Press
Dan Ferguson photo
A small group of teachers brave a downpour Thursday to protest provincial back-to-work legislation. Video at www.peacearchnews.com
Province legislates against job action and appoints yet-to-be-named mediator
Teachers rally for support on week off Dan Ferguson & Tom Fletcher Staff Reporters
On the day the provincial government passed back-to-work legislation last week to end the teachers’ strike, a handful of protesters was waving at passing cars in the pouring rain on White Rock’s Marine Drive. The teachers carried placards protesting
provincial policies that they say create overcrowded classrooms and neglect specialneeds students. B.C. Teachers’ Federation rep Karen Kilbride said people should remember the same provincial government rolled back teachers’ contracts in previous negotiations only to have the courts declare the move illegal.
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“We’ve had a lot of support in South Surrey (during the previous week’s three-day strike), out in front of the schools on 16th Avenue,” she said. “It was just constant honking.” Thursday’s protest was also intended to remind parents that schools were shut that week to save money, not for a holiday. see page A4
Almost a year after Kassandra Kaulius was killed in a traffic crash in Sullivan, police are recommending several charges against a woman, including drunk and dangerous driving. Last May 3, Kaulius, 22, was returning home from a softball game when her car was broadsided at 64 Avenue and 152 Street. Witnesses alleged a speeding Ford Econoline van ran a red light, and that its driver ran Markita Kaulius from the vehicle into a victim’s mother wooded area. Mounties now recommend criminal charges against an unnamed 34-yearold Surrey woman, including dangerous driving causing death, impaired driving causing death, operating a motor vehicle with a blood alcohol level of more than 80 milligrams causing death and failing to remain at the scene of an accident. Police have submitted a report to Crown Counsel more than 2,000 pages long and say they expect it will take prosecutors weeks to review the recommendations. Kaulius’s mother, Markita, is now lobbying for increased penalties for those convicted of impaired driving. “We would also like to see the government make changes to the Criminal Code of Canada to redefine the offence of impaired driving causing death to vehicular manslaughter,” she told CTV News. “I didn’t get a chance to say goodbye to my daughter or tell her how much I love her. Someone took that away from me, and I have to live with that everyday.”
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