Health Care How to better manage health system. p6
Inspiring words from an Olympian. p3
THE NEws
Gardening Les couleurs du Quebec aren’t fading. p27
www.mapleridgenews.com Friday, October 12, 2012 · serving Maple Ridge & Pitt Meadows · est. 1978 · 604-467-1122 · 50¢
City selling land to Onni developer Could net $12.5 million from south Bonson property by M on i sh a M ar ti n s staff reporter
Colleen Flanagan/The news
Just a trim Joshua Eveline gets a trim from stylist Ronda White during Spa Day at the Caring Place as part of Homelessness Action Week on Thursday. More information, p13.
The City of Pitt Meadows is set to net more than $12 million by selling off 4.67 hectares of farmland to a large developer. The deal with the Onni Group has yet to be finalized, but will provide the city, currently saddled with $16 million in debt, with a much-needed injection of cash. Mayor Deb Walters said the sale to Onni for $12,250,000 will most likely be finalized by Thursday. The property for sale is located south of Airport Way, north of the Osprey Village development, and is currently zoned agricultural. However, the area is designated as medium-density residential under the City’s Official Community Plan, and is not part of the Agricultural Land Reserve. see Sale, p4
Teen’s suicide foreshadowed by video Amanda Todd tells story of how she was bullied online and at school by Ro b e r t M a ng el sdor f staff reporter
Youtube video
Amanda told her story in a video she posted to YouTube. It has since been removed.
A Maple Ridge teen who committed suicide on Wednesday was likely the victim of a years-long campaign of bullying and harassment on the Internet and in real life.
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as a “sudden death,” as is typical in cases of suicide. No details have yet been released. According to police, Todd spent most of her Amanda life in Maple Ridge, but moved to Coquitlam to attend school. In her video, Todd uses white
hand-written placards to tell the story of how she was harassed by a stranger on the Internet, while Sarah McLachlan’s I Will Remember You plays in the background. She describes how in the seventh grade she used a friend’s webcam to talk to people on the Internet, and was convinced to show someone online a revealing image of herself. “[They] called me stunning, beautiful, perfect, etc.,” she states in the video. “[They] wanted me to flash … so I did.” see Amanda, p14
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Last month, a girl identifying herself as Amanda Todd posted a video on Youtube called, “My story: Struggling, bullying, suicide, self harm.” In the video, Todd describes how she was bullied online and at school, about her struggles with drugs and alcohol and harming herself. She also describes an incident where she was attacked and taunted at school. Ridge Meadows RCMP confirmed Todd, 15, died Wednesday in Coquitlam. Her death is being investigated by Coquitlam RCMP
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