COUNCIL SAYS VETS GETTING SHAFTED
page
4
ROAD PRICING MAKES A LOT OF SENSE
page
6
DEER LAKE CRAFT FAIR RETURNS
page
10
FRIDAY
NOVEMBER 9 2012 www.burnabynewsleader.com
The cranberry harvest is underway in Burnaby. See Page A3
Garbage disposal costs to rise To cover rise in Metro tipping fees, encourage recycling, composting Wanda Chow
wchow@burnabynewsleader.com
MARIO BARTEL/NEWSLEADER
Ernie Baird is reflected in a collection of photos from his service in the Second World War as a pilot of Lancaster bombers, for which he was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross.
At the helm of a Lancaster bomber Pilot’s war service included share of close calls Wanda Chow
wchow@burnabynewsleader.com
It’s perhaps fitting that Burnaby Second World War veteran Ernest “Ernie” Baird, who grew up dreaming of flying airplanes, was an airforce bomber pilot before he could even drive a car. It’s a dream that might never have come true growing up in the village of Nakusp, in the West Kootenays of British Columbia, if it wasn’t for
military recruiting teams that came to town. So it was at age 19 that Baird began his string of good luck, or close calls, depending how you look at it. After joining the Royal Canadian Air Force in 1942 and going through training on the Prairies, he showed he had what it took and made the cut as a pilot, earning his wings and a commission. Once overseas in England in 1944, assigned to 12 Squadron of the Royal Air Force based out of Wickenby, it wasn’t long before he
YOUR LOCAL AGENT
BRiAN VidAs 604.671.5259
2009 - 2011
Brian Vidas Personal Real Estate Corporation 3010 Boundary Road, Burnaby
www.BrianVidas.com
centre realty
Best Priced 2 Bedroom 926SF Burnaby Condo $174,900 2 Bed, 2 Bath Quiet Brentwood Gate Condo $379,900
had his first brush with the dangers of the job. Baird had just taken off on a training flight when he saw the plane of another crew-in-training crash and burst into flames at the next base over, only 10 miles away. That crew would never get a chance to fly a real mission, he thought to himself. After working his way up flying increasingly larger planes, from the Wellington to the Stirling and Halifax, Baird was assigned to fly Lancaster bombers, the primary heavy bomber used by the RAF.
The Lancaster rarely had a co-pilot, leaving Baird responsible for entire flights of upwards of 10 hours long. He recalled on his first flight as first pilot, captain of a six-man crew, he experienced his first encounter with anti-aircraft fire from below. “At that point, you weren’t allowed to look scared. You had to show a lot of confidence.” He had to show that calm demeanour on every one of the 30 missions, or sorties, that made up the full tour he completed. Please see CLOSE CALLS, A5
DEER LAKE CRAFT FESTIVAL
November 8-11 • Shadbolt Centre for the Arts
LIVE MUSIC, CRAFT SALES AND CRAFT DEMONSTRATIONS www.burnabyartscouncil.org
Burnaby homeowners will see hikes in their next property tax bills from $65 to $95 after council approved a new fee structure for garbage disposal Monday. The increases are to cover the rising cost of disposing of garbage collected from residential toters, according to a city staff report. Metro Vancouver tipping fees have increased by 50 per cent between 2008 and 2012, from $1.4 million to $2.2 million for Burnaby alone, and are set to jump another 41 per cent in the next several years, from $107 a tonne in 2013 to $151 a tonne in 2016. Meanwhile, despite a move in 2010 to the automated pickup system using toters and a fee structure that Burnaby city hall had hoped would encourage waste reduction, the amount of garbage being picked up from single and two-family homes has remained almost constant, the report said. see INCREASED, A8