NORM THE BARBER FORCED TO RETIRE
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DEALING WITH DREADED DEADLINE
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DONATION DAY RAISES $668K
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WEDNESDAY
OCTOBER 16 2013 www.newwestnewsleader.com
Shock, sadness and solidarity were the common responses to last week’s devastating fire on Columbia Street. See Page A3
City rallies to help Chris Bryan NewsLeader
MARIO BARTEL/NEWSLEADER
Ken Millard, the principal at Lord Kelvin community school, Patricia Steiner, of the New Westminster Community Food Action Committee, Betina Ali, of the New West school district, and Ramona Manzer of the City of New West sample some of the typical offerings of a Harvest Box, a twice-monthly subscription of fresh produce that will be available in a new pilot program.
Harvest boxes aim to grow community Mario Bartel
photo@newwestnewsleader.com
Ken Millard’s dream that kids at Lord Kelvin community school, where he’s the principal, will eat healthy snacks at recess, instead of candy and cookies, may soon bear fruit. And vegetables. The school’s community HUB will be one of the distribution depots for a new pilot program that makes a low-cost twice-monthly subscription of fresh produce available to families and seniors throughout New Westminster.
The Harvest Boxes will also be on Wheels, a registered charity that distributed at the Centennial and provides food, clothing, footwear Queensborough community centres and furniture to people in need. as well as Century House. Harvest Box subscribers can also Each box costs buy a BOGO box eight dollars and for $15 that will contains about 10 donate a box of Betina Ali, SD40 pounds of seasonal produce to a needy This is a program fruit and vegetables, for everyone. family for each most of it locally purchased box. grown, as well as The program, a newsletter that tells the stories which is set to roll out in November, of some of the farms where the is a collaboration of the school produce came from along with district, the city’s parks, culture recipes. They’re assembled by Help and recreation department and the
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New Westminster Community Food Action Committee. If it’s a hit, it could be extended to other schools by next fall, said Betina Ali, the school district’s community program development officer. “We wanted to start slowly and work out the kinks,” she said. So far, it’s proving a winner for everyone involved. “A lot of people are excited about it,” said Ali. Especially Millard. Please see IMPACT, A8
Halloween Dinner & Dance
Saturday, November 2 | Dinner at 7:00pm at Our Lady of Mercy School Gym 7481 - 10th Ave, Burnaby Dinner 7pm & Dance 9pm • $25 | Dance Only $15 Tickets available at: Caribbean Market, New West - 604-522-9480 D Roti Shak, New West - 604-544-5994 Pinoy Dragon Mart, New West - 604-525-3377
Within hours of hearing the devastating news of a huge fire on Columbia Street on Thursday that destroyed half a block and about a dozen businesses, people were already offering to help. By Friday, the New Westminster Chamber of Commerce had posted a web page with a growing listing of members offering help, including the chamber itself, for things such as office space and equipment use—and even free facials and de-stressing services from Medical Esthetics by Katie. New West businesses such as It’s Your Time offered reception services, bookkeeping and paperwork for insurance claims for affected businesses. Uptown Property Group offered space to businesses affected by the fire, as did The Network Hub at River Market, Cadeaux Gifts and Shops at New West Station among others. The chamber has also announced it will partner with The Columbia theatre and a group of musicians to host a benefit concert for Downtown businesses. The fire destroyed half a block on Front and claimed about a dozen businesses.