THE WEDNESDAY
CANADIAN COMMUNITY NEWSPAPER AWARD 2012
SEPT. 26, 2012 www.tricitynews.com
TRI-CITY NEWS CANADIAN COMMUNITY NEWSPAPER AWARD 2012
Weekend culture craze
Rugby, hockey, football
SEE ARTS, PAGE A17
SEE SPORTS, PAGE A22
INSIDE
Tom Fletcher/A10 Letters/A11 A Good Read/A15 Spark/B1
Water fouled, coho killed Incident highlights dangers for creeks By Diane Strandberg THE TRI-CITY NEWS
A builder has been fined $500 for sending concrete water wash down a storm drain last week, which resulted in the deaths of several coho salmon and a clogged a drain in Coquitlam. The incident occurred last Thursday during the installation of concrete and aggregate driveways at two new homes in the 3400-block of Roxton Avenue on Burke Mountain. A neighbour who was walking her dog over a bridge on Smiling Creek spotted something pouring out of the storm drain into the creek and called the authorities. “I looked down and saw all this white stuff coming out,” Joan Pettie told The Tri-City News. DIANE STRANDBERG/THE TRI-CITY NEWS
see CREEK, page A3
R’view report The draft of the Riverview Heritage Conservation Plan is public, says buildings on the hospital lands should be preserved. See article on page A9
Joan Pettie at the bridge over Smiling Creek in Coquitlam, where last Thursday she spotted concrete water wash flowing into the creek and alerted authorities.
Robinson eyes provincial job Byelection would cost taxpayers about $140,000 By Janis Warren THE TRI-CITY NEWS
A Coquitlam city councillor who ran for re-election less than a year ago wants to leave that job for a shot at provincial politics. And that could cost Coquitlam taxpayers big bucks. On Monday, Coun.
Selina Robinson announced she had filed her nomination papers with the BC NDP last week to run in the Coquitlam-Maillardville riding to fill the shoes of MLA Diane Thorne, who announced last week she would not run in next May’s provincial election. Asked about the decision to potentially leave her council seat so soon after being elected — the last civic election was held Nov. 19, 2011 —
Robinson said she didn’t know Thorne would be retiring until last week. “I’m friends with her and I know she has been talking about it for a long time. I only knew she was retiring when everyone else knew,” said Robinson, an NDP member for about two years and a resident of the riding in which she hopes to run. As for forcing a byelection — if she wins the NDP nomination and the election — Robinson
said it “doesn’t feel good but I also believe that I’m the best candidate to represent the citizens of our community in Victoria.” The last Coquitlam byelection — held in May 2010 after Fin Donnelly resigned his council job when he won the New Westminster-Coquitlam MP’s seat for the NDP in a 2009 federal byelection — cost Coquitlam taxpayers about $140,000. see ROBINSON, page A5
IN QUOTES
“It does make sense to step down at some point and take an unpaid leave so I can focus on getting elected.” Robinson, on when she would quit Coquitlam council if she wins the NDP nomination
COUN. SELINA ROBINSON