S E R V I N G
2012
M I S S I O N
S I N C E
1 9 0 8
CCNA
MISSION SENIORS guide to event
A monthly
s, resources
and services
for Mission
May 2013
Seniors
of the Be a par t k Seniors Wees celebration
g seniors
ratin lebWeek Mission CeSenio is June 1-8 in rs
55 edition of Living Week This special on Seniors Plus will focus in Mission. s us activitie There are numeroout the week by planned through g organizations different engagin . for seniors on the events is listed (page A full list of this section last page of time to review 20). Take the ing and plan to what’s happen get involved. take part and
ecting sperson conn B.C. Ombud ors on May 31 with local seni online at www.
.ca. regarding ombudsman.bc complaints treated by of health ’s unreasonably such as a the failure named B.C. to enforce Carter was authorities organizations, in 2006 care in health ombudsperson inted standards of hospital or care and was re-appo last region, ICBC, regional residential term for a second facilities.” municipal and or May. governments, can twoa d boards, Carter authore government law degree report int at the She holds a part seniors file a compla year. in Hall e those on the g Osgood focusin Office of s from a if they care facilitie person is School and residential Ombudsperson to The ombuds care in Law Law degree of needing 24-hour those Masters of have been unable n independent ity of , and and the situatio from the Univers the first half government has whose resolve ves. other care Ottawa. Carter 30 that rely on themsel political parties, as home than to ensure spent more options, such purpose is s and assisted sperson B.C. is years as a logistic the support and The Ombud the everyone in with second ate and legal officer living in the will investig treated fairly public attempt to by report. reports and respectfully it. See PAGE 14 s. address agencie you help e service sperson can The reports are availabl The Ombud gate believe also “investi Seniors who EXAM they have been
B
.C.’s Ombudsperson will Kim Carter speaker be the featured to kick off Seniorsthis Week in Mission
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NEWEST EDITION OF LIVING 55 PLUS OUT
See a list of Seniors’ Week activities in this special section
THURSDAY, MAY 23, 2013
PAGE 13-20
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Left: Mission firefighters were intermittently hosing down the power pole at Stave Lake Street and Parr Avenue while a natural gas fire burned adjacent to it early into the incident. Below left: Brothers Kael (left) and Dallan carry Max and Zoe, respectively, out of the house Tuesday afternoon. The Herar Lane residents were evacuated shortly before 5 p.m. Below right: Gloria Danielson speaks with Mission ESS volunteer Tarina Lynn at the Leisure Centre, where evacuees were initially directed.
BY JASON ROESSLE AND CAROL AUN Mission Record
JASON ROESSLE PHOTOS
Gas leak forces evacuation BY JASON ROESSLE Mission Record
Herar Lane residents evacuated from their homes Tuesday afternoon following a natural gas leak fire were allowed to return shortly after 11:30 p.m. Earlier in the day, an energized power line detached from the pole and fell onto a stop sign at the intersection of Stave Lake Street and Parr Avenue, said Deputy Fire Chief Larry Watkinson. The stop sign was buried deeply enough that it touched the six-inch steel gas main, and ruptured it, causing a fire to start, said Fortis BC spokesperson Michael Allison. Stave Lake Street between Best and Cherry Avenues was closed for hours, and Fortis requested all homes on the east side of Herar Lane be evacuated shortly before 5 p.m. Mission’s emergency operations centre at fire station one was activated to help deal with the evacuation, and Mission’s Emergency So-
cial Services volunteers were set up at the Leisure Centre to aid evacuees. Gloria Danielson and her husband, Jack, have lived on Herar Lane for 13 years, and around 1:40 p.m., they noticed a strong smell of gas outside and soon saw the BC Hydro and Fortis trucks arrive on Stave Lake Street. At first the couple assumed
someone had again crashed into the electrical box in the road curve, but a few hours later, a Mission firefighter was at their door telling them they had to leave the home. They stayed at her sister’s until the all clear was given. Allison said special equipment had to be brought in from Coquitlam to stop the flow of gas,
and once controlled at 10:58 p.m., repair work began. This was completed at 6 a.m. May 22. The incident also caused a power outage which affected 3,300 customers at the peak. Power was restored around 7 p.m. • For more photos and video, visit missioncityrecord.com
David Cathcart was listening to his scanner early Friday morning when a broadcast went out saying the Willows apartment building was on fire. A resident there for six years, Cathcart ran out to the patio of his first-floor apartment and saw the flames at the southeast corner of the building stretching into the sky. “I only had time to grab my cellphone and the clothes on my back,” he said Tuesday. Cathcart has been a Mission Record carrier for a decade, and said community organizations have been aiding as much as they can. “Emergency Social Services and the Salvation Army have been very helpful,” said Cathcart, who turns 64 on Monday, and figures while no fire touched his unit, the smoke and water damage will have likely destroyed all his belongings. The building will have to be demolished and rebuilt, said Willows’ owner Steve Yap. He’s been trying to help his tenants as much as possible, and as of Tuesday afternoon, 90 per cent of residents have found permanent housing. “I can help them find accommodations, and help them with rent, but they lost everything … and no matter how much I try, it’s never going to be enough,” said Yap, who learned about the fire at 3:30 a.m. Friday when his resident manager called. Yap was on scene in about 10 minutes offering to help, but emergency personnel stopped him from entering
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