Pot disPensary disPutes coPs
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hydro rates Poised to climb
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ube back on translink’s radar
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country singer stacey mckitrick is a featured performer at this weekend’s royal city show & shine. See page a13
wednesday
July 10 2013 www.newwestnewsleader.com
RCH ER getting upgrade
Ruby Campbell/ContRibuted
Participants enjoy yoga in westminster Pier Park last saturday morning.the city of new westminster has partnered with a number of local business to offer free activities in the park this summer, including karate, kickboxing, belly dancing and outdoor games for kids. Visit www.newwestpcr.ca/parks/westminster-pier-park for details.
Military in Queen’s Park frightens walkers Westies in fatigues were conducting annual fitness testing with unloaded guns Grant Granger
ggranger@newwestnewsleader.com
When Larry Church’s wife returned from her morning walk with a friend through Queen’s Park on Friday he was blown away by what she told him. The women had been striding along when they saw two men in military fatigues and big rifles
with intense looks on their faces approaching them. Soon they saw another. It freaked them out a bit. Was something horrible happening in the park, they wondered. They wanted to call police, but neither had a cellphone so they went to the main firehall kitty-corner to the park. Officials there knew nothing about what was going on, so they called police and were told it was a regular occurrence and there was
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nothing to worry about. But the friend had lived in New West for 40 years and she’d never seen anything like it. “I was gobsmacked when she told me the story,” said Church. So he got on the phone and talked to a New Westminster police staff-sergeant who was receptive
to Church’s concerns but told him the activities fall under federal jurisdiction and they had been notified that morning. “Where’s the communications here?” questioned an incredulous Church when he contacted the NewsLeader. It turns out the Westminster Regiment, based a few blocks from Queen’s Park, was conducting annual fitness tests.
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Renovations to Royal Columbian Hospital’s beleaguered emergency department started this week and are expected to take two years to complete. The $5-million project is an interim measure until the plans for redeveloping the facility get the go-ahead, according to Fraser Health. Upgrades will be made to the emergency department’s triage area, mental health and substance use unit, and the trauma and isolation rooms. “Once complete, the renovation projects will improve safety and infection control measures, create more space for trauma patients, and enhance the ED’s ability to meet standards of care,” said Fraser Health. RCH’s emergency, which serves as the region’s trauma centre, has frequently been in the media spotlight because overcrowding has caused patient beds to be placed in hallways, and in one instance, in the coffee shop next door. The renos will be done in phases so the department can maintain operations. In April, the province gave the go-ahead to Fraser Health to develop a business case for a large redevelopment.