farhan LaLji named citizen of the year
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reaLity check on teen suicide
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restaurant eyed page for new buiLding
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nextuP cocktail soiree a fun evening out. See photos, A38
wednesday
November 21 2012 www.newwestnewsleader.com
NWSS PAC wants A-G to help Vote of nonconfidence in school board Grant Granger
ggranger@newwestnewsleader.com
mArIo bArTeL/NeWSLeADer
Chris Parlow, a New Westminster resident, lost his house, car and five-year-old golden retriever Shasta because of his gambling addiction. He hasn’t gambled in more than three years, and recently his girlfriend gave him a four-month old golden retreiver puppy which he also named Shasta.
Recovered gambler almost lost it all Pathological addict tells story to warn others of the damage it can cause Grant Granger
ggranger@newwestnewsleader.com
Chris Parlow first tasted the forbidden fruit of gambling on the school playground when he was eight years old batting a tetherball around a pole with a Mr. Freeze ice pop on the line. Forty years later, the good natured fun he’d experienced as a kid had deteriorated into him
trying to kill himself on a lonely, rural road in Ontario after losing his last $18 betting on a relatively insignificant baseball game. Now the New Westminster resident is telling his story during Addictions Awareness Week in Canada (Nov. 19-25) to let people know how dangerous gambling can be. At first Parlow would buy raffle tickets, 50-50 draws and a little blackjack with friends. Nothing too serious. He got hooked when the Crystal Casino on the seventh
Champagne Taste
floor of Winnipeg’s historic Hotel Fort Garry opened in 1990. The blackjack tables and slot machines were love at first sight. Parlow would sit at a table, and even after he’d spent all his money he couldn’t get up. The day Manitoba introduced sports betting was one of celebration for the Montreal Canadiens fan, who worked as a union president and business agent for workers at a sawmill in The Pas. It only took a few weeks of spending hundreds of dollars a day
on Sports Select and he was having trouble paying his bills. He believed in the ol’ ‘go big or go home’ philosophy. Three years later, he’d lost his home, his car and his dog, a five-year-old female golden retriever he called Shasta. “A lot of me died that day,” says Parlow of authorities taking his dog away. His addiction spiraled, taking him to new depths. He stealthily went about continuing his gambling while neglecting his home and health. Please see Hope, A10
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10 years serving New Westminster. Celebrate with us in November.
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New Westminster secondary’s parent advisory council (PAC) has passed a motion of nonconfidence in the board of education and its senior administration for their handling of district finances. The motion said with the district having its third deficit in 11 years—the latest $2.8 million—it’s time for the education ministry and the auditor-general to step in. PAC chair Mary Ann McKenzie said the non-confidence motion is targeting the fiscal management of the district, not the delivery of education. She said there must be a systemic flaw in the way finances are being handled. “We’re not trying to undermine the democratic process at all, and not trying to point specific fingers, but we are calling for immediate guidance from the senior level of government to identify the systemic problems,” said McKenzie on Friday. Please see ‘I cAN’, A3