B.C. Views Both parties have betrayed us. p6
Prominent building to be demolished. p3
THE NEws
Arts&life Birthday bash for Easter seals. p38
www.mapleridgenews.com wednesday, March 20, 2013 · serving Maple Ridge & Pitt Meadows · est. 1978 · 604-467-1122 · 50¢
Crackdown coming for party buses Maple Ridge family welcomes more enforcement by Moni s ha M a r tin s staff reporter
The recent death of a teen on a party bus is pushing the province to consider a crack down on the entire industry. “I want to make it very clear that I am willing to suspend the licences of companies that break the law,” said B.C.’s Transportation Minister Mary Polak. “As a mother, and as Minister of Transportation, I will not tolerate unsafe practices that put our young people at risk.” Polak’s promise of more scrutiny came one month after Ernest Azoadam collapsed on a party bus in Surrey. The 17-year-old was rushed to hospital, but never regained consciousness. The exact cause of his death is unknown, but police found evidence of alcohol on board the bus. see Party, p9
Colleen Flanagan/thE NEws
Cirque du Lézard Kindergarten student Alissa Kilborn walks along a beam using an umbrella for balance during Cirque du Lézard at Eric Langton elementary on Thursday. Students from kindergarten to Grade 7 took part in the event, performing various circus disciplines including gymnastics and plate spinning learned during a recent three-day workshop. Donations were collected for the Friends in Need Food Bank. see video @ mapleridgenews.com.
Street ministry moving on No longer to host dinners for homeless at CEED centre by Phil M elnyc h u k staff reporter
The street ministry community suppers, during which people come together on Saturday nights to build support and get to know one another, will meet one last time at the CEED Centre in Port
Haney this week, then have to find a new home. The centre, dedicated to community education on environment and development, has been hosting the outreach meals for the past 21 months, but has been asked by the District of Maple Ridge to go elsewhere, said manager Christian Cowley. The CEED Centre society owns the building, at 223rd Street and 117th Avenue, but leases the land on which it sits from the
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municipality. “We weren’t told to leave. It was suggested that we do so,” Cowley added. The district asked the street ministry organizers to find a new place after at least two people complained about crime or litter, needles or noise from the dinners. They are run by volunteers, mostly from St. George’s Anglican Church. They make soups, casseroles, and caldrons of hot coffee for anyone in the area who’s hungry.
Robert Mitchell, a one-time church deacon who lived and worked in Port Haney, started the street ministry around 2004, at first walking the streets, handing out sandwiches, then holding larger events, such as barbecues, in front of his business. He died in 2010 from brain cancer. The meals have since been held at the CEED Centre. Cowley says that only about a quarter to a third of guests are homeless. see Ministry, p8
Index Opinion Letters health&wellness Pet Pages Easter Arts&life sports
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Colleen Flanagan/thE NEws
Christian Cowley said complaints from neighbours forced the move.
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