Burlesque show comes to town
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a plan for sd40’s future
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police officer honoured
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friday
OctOber 19 2012 www.newwestnewsleader.com
hyacks’ little man is making some big plays. See Page A19
SD40’s deficit in the spotlight
Grant Granger
Grant Granger
ggranger@newwestnewsleader.com
MArIO bArteL/NeWSLeADer
robyn murrell has turned her passion for antiques into a home-based business restoring vintage furniture and repurposing old industrial lighting.
Building a Nest takes support Dentistry had provided Robyn Murrell with a good career and life for 28 years, even afforded her the opportunity to live in Ireland for four of them. Away from the lab where she created moulds and prosthetics like bridges, she had the time and money to pursue her passions for fitness and antiques. But when the practice where Murrell worked in Vancouver was sold and her services were no longer required, she was at a crossroads; she could invest in more
education to upgrade her dental technician skills or she could invest in herself to transform her passions into her livelihood. She became certified as a personal trainer and, with her sister Heidi Clarkson on board as a silent partner, she also started Robyn’s Vintage Nest, a home-based business restoring antique furniture and vintage industrial lighting. “I’ve always loved working with my hands,” says Murrell. “This was my perfect opportunity.” But striking out on her own was daunting. She didn’t have enough
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money to open up a storefront. That’s when she discovered She had no idea how to market her the Canadian Federation of fledgling business, no idea how she’d Independent Business’ Small find customers, or whether they’d Business Saturday program. even take to her work. Tapping into their resources, “When you’re a home-based she joined a nationwide effort to business, you have to work harder to increase awareness and appreciation get the word out,” says Murrell. for the entrepreneurship, innovation Juggling fitness clients and her and job creation of small businesses. Queen’s Park basement suite filled “It’s almost like a support with furniture finds like armoires, group,” says Murrell, who will be tables, chairs, dressers and cabinets celebrating Canada’s first Small she’d rescued from garage sales, Business Saturday by holding an second-hand shops and even back open house this Saturday to show alleys awaiting her restorative touch, off 1her 12-03-05 handiwork.1:20 PM 4x1.25_bottle_depot_ad_final.pdf she became overwhelmed at times. please see MArkING SMALL, A10
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Mario bartel
A public consultation meeting on the New Westminster school district’s $2.8 million deficit did little to answer questions about what went wrong or come up with solutions to fix the problem. Many parents who came to the meeting at New Westminster secondary on Tuesday weren’t satisfied with the answers. However, district parent advisory council president Rob Peregoodoff wasn’t as unhappy as some. He said the presentation by district secretary-treasurer Brian Sommerfeldt wasn’t supposed to reveal why it happened. He did, however, say on Wednesday the presentation told a “compelling story” about how the district’s spending compared to similar-sized school districts, as well as neighbouring ones, and how New Westminster had given priority on spending in the classroom over the years. Peregoodoff did, however, take exception to the district having the gathering break out into groups to discuss how to eliminate the deficit, saying it’s not the parents’ responsibility to solve the district’s problems. see ANOther, A3