BEACH VOLLEYBALL COMES TO PIER PARK
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DARCY BROUGHT IN BIG ELECTION BUCKS
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JR. SALMONBELLIES page IN MINTO FINAL
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FRIDAY
AUGUST 23 2013 www.newwestnewsleader.com
A New Westminster poet is organizing a poetathon for world peace in October. Page A7
Smith back at Hyack Grant Granger
ggranger@newwestnewsleader.com
MARIO BARTEL/NEWSLEADER
Nur Elmasri hasn’t spent his summer just hanging about. He’s organized a free “Fun Day For All Kids in New Westminster,” to be held at the Moody Park playground on Aug. 28.
Kids’ Fun Day organized by a kid Mario Bartel
photo@newwestnewsleader.com
Nur Elmasri spent some of his summer vacation in Cancun, Mexico with his family. But he knows other kids in his New Westminster neighbourhood aren’t as fortunate. So he’s organized a free “Fun Day” for all kids in the city to be held at the Moody Park playground and water park on Aug. 28, 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Nur is 11 years old. A veteran proprietor of lemonade and Freezee stands as well as garage sales and bottle drives to
raise money for various causes, Nur says he felt bad for the kids in his townhouse complex and his classmates at Lord Tweedsmuir school whose families can’t afford summertime outings to places like Cultus Lake or Playland. “I see some of them playing soccer, but they want to be able to go to some of these places,” says Nur. “They’re missing out on having fun and learning stuff.” He brainstormed ideas with his mom, Eman, who works for the Lower Mainland Purpose Society
that provides social, educational and health programs for families and new immigrants. To make the day a truly special event, Nur wanted to bring in the Tumblebus, a gutted school bus that has been converted to an indoor play gym, as well as hire a band to play music. He wanted there to be activities like face painting and henna. He wanted to provide free snacks and drinks. To pay for it he needed money and sponsors. Nur researched a budget and
applied for a Neighbourhood Small Grant from the Vancouver Foundation. He carefully filled out the application form outlining his plans for the event, how it would benefit the community, how much money he needed, and submitted it on the deadline, June 30. For the next week he nervously waited to hear if his application had been approved. When he got the word he had money to move forward, Nur says he was “pretty excited.
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The recently dismissed executive director of the Hyack Festival Association was back at work in the society’s offices Wednesday. Last week, the full Hyack board of directors voted to reinstate Douglas Smith, who was fired by Hyack’s executive board July 31. Earlier this week, Smith said he would accept the offer temporarily until certain conditions are met and would work from home. But on Wednesday, he was back at work at the Sixth Street offices, although the conditions had yet to be resolved. “They’re in the early stages of being addressed,” said Smith. “Presumably the board will work through that. “Basically they’ve taken some steps to resolve this … I’ve agreed to come back to work for a period of time, and we’ll see where it goes. We’ll see how it works out.” On Aug. 13, the board initially sought the resignations of four executives but decided to refer that decision to a special membership meeting Sept. 10.