They’re buzzing about bees Sat. By Sarah Payne THE TRI-CITY NEWS
With the onset of spring comes the emergence of bees, busily buzzing about their business of pollinating our plants, flowers and, most importantly, our crops.
THE FRIDAY
The onset of colony collapse disorder about six years ago has changed that, however, inexplicably wiping out great swaths of bees so integral to the pollination process. An event at the Coquitlam Inspiration Garden tomor-
row (Saturday) aims to turn the colony collapse trend on its head. Dubbed Release of the Bees, the event will feature several bee experts, a honey tasting zone, workshops and more with the aim of educating people about the
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Winter market time
SEE FACE TO FACE, PAGE 11
SEE THINGS-TO-DO GUIDE, PAGE 21
great benefits of bees. “We want to teach people how to make their garden more bee-friendly,” said Julieanne Agnew, program leader at Coquitlam’s Inspiration Garden. see BEES ARE, page 19
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‘A bit more acceptance’ after 5 years of mats for homeless New approach set for next fall/winter By Gary McKenna THE TRI-CITY NEWS
KEVIN KIEZ PHOTO
Recent sunny spring weather has attracted Tri-City residents to the great outdoors, where they frequent trails such as those along the inlet in Port Moody.
Best students OK after lockdown Former student IDed as intruder; police are on the lookout By Sarah Payne THE TRI-CITY NEWS
Police have confirmed the intruder at Dr. Charles Best secondary Wednesday was a former student of the school. The Coquitlam school was locked down for nearly two
hours on Wednesday afternoon, with students kept in their classrooms, until Coquitlam RCMP confirmed it was safe for them to leave. At about 2 p.m., police said, Best principal Mary O’Neill recognized the young man and escorted him off school grounds. There was also an unconfirmed report that he had a gun. O’Neill called police, who searched the area with police dogs as well as the
Lower Mainland Emergency Response Team, but the man was not located. School protocol is to initiate a lockdown and have students stay in their classrooms until police confirm it can be lifted. Parents were being asked to pick up their kids at the nearby Coquitlam Alliance Church. Police are still attempting to find the man to speak with him. spayne@tricitynews.com
One chapter in the TriCities’ battle against homelessness has ended and another is about to begin as the five-year-old cold/wet weather mat program shuts down for the last time this weekend. Since 2007, the program has run from the beginning of October to the end of March, shuttling people without a home to various churches throughout the region during the coldest months of the year. Julie Lebrun, the minister at St. Andrew’s United Church in Port Moody, one of several host churches of the mat program, said community attitudes about the homeless have changed dramatically since the initiative was launched five years ago. “Early on, there was a lot of work bridging with the neighbours,” she said. “Now, the whole landscape has changed.” In 2007, contentious public meetings were held, events that became more and more subdued as residents learned more about the program and the homeless population. “By the fifth year, we would have our meetings and nobody came,” Lebrun said.
JANIS WARREN/THE TRI-CITY NEWS
Coquitlam RCMP locked down Best secondary on Wednesday.
see GRACE CHURCH, CHURCH, page 3