Peace Arch News, August 29, 2013

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Thursday August 29, 2013 (Vol. 38 No. 70)

V O I C E

O F

W H I T E

R O C K

A N D

S O U T H

S U R R E Y

w w w. p e a c e a r c h n e w s . c o m

Roadworthy Hazard: South Surrey race-car driver Tracey Hazard takes on the male-dominated sport and wins the respect of her peers – and more than a few races. i see page 39

Band members in critical condition after van hits boulder east of Hope

Crash leaves musicians badly injured Alex Browne Staff Reporter

It was a dream tour that turned into a nightmare. On the way home to the Peninsula from a gig in Alberta, Diamond In The Rock 2012-winner Tom Vander Kam and his band, Tommy Alto, were in a single-vehicle crash Monday that sent two members, drummer Chartwell Kerr and bassist Paul Engels, to Royal Columbian Hospital in critical condition. The rest are at home, nursing a variety of injuries, lead singer Vander Kam said Tuesday. They were on their way back from a swing through Alberta and Saskatchewan, culmi-

Facebook photo

From left: Chartwell Kerr, Ben Klassen, Tom Vander Kam, Paul Engels and Dan Besser. nating in a date at The Blackbird in Coleman, Alta. on Sunday night. It had been a highly

successful road trip for the alt-rock band, which has been together barely 10 months. “We couldn’t have asked for better – five best friends doing what we all dreamed of doing,� he said. “It was unreal. Everything was so perfect to that point.� Trying to make schedules, and feeling homesick, the band decided to drive all night after packing up after the gig in Coleman. The 15-passenger Ford van, carrying all five members, their roadie and band equipment, left the road around 7:30 a.m. on the Crow’s Nest Highway just east of Hope and struck a boulder, going into what Vander Kam described as “a barrel roll.�

“We were on a straight stretch, a little bit of a downhill slope, with gravel shoulders,â€? he said. “I guess we drifted.â€? The van was towing a trailer, which Vander Kam believes kept the van moving after it hit the boulder. Most seriously injured were Kerr and Engels, both of whom are suffering from head trauma, collapsed lungs, internal bleeding and broken ribs. In addition Kerr’s left leg was “shattered’ when the engine of the van smashed through the dashboard at impact. “The only reason he wasn’t hurt worse is he was‌ leaning back asleep,â€? Vander Kam said. i see page 4

Disease undiagnosed

Vases to be replaced

A patient’s struggle

Cemetery boosts security

Sarah Massah

E

Staff Reporter

very morning, for eight years, Louise Roderick woke up asking herself the same question. What is wrong with me? With each passing day, the South Surrey woman’s health declined. There were times she was unable to speak or walk. “I became a shell of the person I was,� she said. “It’s like something came into my body and took me out and moved me over.� After countless doctors’ visits, the end of Roderick’s agonizing search for answers came last year from a U.S.-based medical lab, which diagnosed the 52-year-old’s ailment as Lyme disease. “I had read about it, and I thought, this is it. It all fits. But I was tested in Canada and it came back negative,� she said. “My doctors wouldn’t even consider it.� Described as a tick-born infectious disease caused by at least three species of bacteria, early symptoms of Lyme disease can include fever, headache and depression. If left untreated – or inadequately treated – patients can develop severe and chronic symptoms in many parts of the

Tracy Holmes Staff Reporter

Families whose loved ones’ gravesites were desecrated by thieves this month will have the stolen bronze flower vases replaced at no cost. Officials at Victory Memorial Park say they are also boosting security on the 36-acre South Surrey grounds in response to the thefts, and are appealing to scrap-metal dealers to be on the lookout for anyone trying to sell the containers. “Unfortunately, the theft of bronze from cemeteries is an issue really right across North America,� Bob Linklater, the park’s general manager, said Tuesday. i see page 5 Sarah Massah photo

Louise Roderick shows some of the medication and tests she has accumulated while seeking answers. body, including the nerves, eyes, joints and heart. For Roderick, the devastating impacts of Lyme disease began after a walk with her husband, Rod Baker, and dog in Elgin Heritage Park in 2004. She got a bug bite on her head. The bite

became a large, red rash, followed by a “funny feeling� in her brain and an inability to identify words and letters and even to speak. Adding to her frustration was the repeated dismissal of symptoms from health professionals, Roderick said. With

each new doctor, she received a similar response, often being diagnosed as high-anxiety or a hypochondriac. “I was going doctor to doctor, saying ‘please, something is so terribly wrong with me,’� she said. i see page 4

Tracy Holmes photo

Don Calder shows a bronze vase.

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