Sidewinder Million-dollar bike path to nowhere. p6
Historic scenes of horror at Ghost Ridge. p4
THE NEws
Sports Ridge boxers compete at nationals. p47
www.mapleridgenews.com Friday, november 1, 2013 · serving Maple Ridge & Pitt Meadows · est. 1978 · 604-467-1122 · Delivery: 604-466-6397
teacher caught with pornography on laptop Disciplined, but continues to work at Pitt secondary by Moni s ha M ar tin s staff reporter
A teacher recently disciplined for downloading hard-core pornography on to a school laptop continues to teach at Pitt Meadows secondary. Joseph Paul Stephane Marion was formally reprimanded Oct. 12 by the Ministry of Education’s Teacher Regulation Branch after an investigation into his conduct while he was a French immersion teacher in 2009 at Maple Ridge secondary. On Jan. 13, 2010, the Maple Ridge-Pitt Meadows School District suspended Marion without pay for three weeks because an investigator found he had downloaded thousands of pornographic video and photo files on to a school-issued computer.
see Teacher, p12
Michael Hall/tHe news
Spreading the love Thomas Haney secondary leadership students Carolyn Lee (left) and Hayley Jones ‘Spread the love’ to passing motorists along Lougheed Highway on Wednesday. see story, p11.
Zero tax increase ‘unpalatable’ Councillors apologize for asking to slash budgets by Moni s ha M ar tin s staff reporter
Giving homeowners in Pitt Meadows a break on taxes next year could mean cuts to services such as fire department training, road maintenance and city celebrations. Council learned Tuesday that a zero tax increase, which residents
petitioned for last year, would require departments to slash their budgets and could see jobs lost. “I don’t recommend it,” said city finance director Mark Roberts, who estimates the city will need to raise its municipal tax rate by 3.3 per cent just to maintain services next year. A one-per-cent tax increase in 2014 would generate $156,000 in revenue for the city. The proposed preliminary tax increase of 3.3 per cent would mean an additional $56 to the average homeowner in Pitt Meadows, with
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a property valued at $369,046 The proposed 2014 budget includes $445,000 in reductions. Even before Roberts began his presentation, the prospect of scaling back upset councillors. “This is not fair,” said Coun. Tracy Miyashita. “Why should our staff go through these cuts while our partners don’t? It’s upsetting.” Details for the 2014 budget won’t be finalized until January. However, preliminary figures show that even a three-per-cent tax increase would mean some re-
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see Budget, p14
Index
The
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ductions, such as getting rid of staff recognition, volunteer gifts, the firefighters award dinner, road shoulder maintenance, filling pot holes and curbing overtime. To achieve no tax increase would mean deeper cuts, including reducing annual training for volunteer firefighters, eliminating a vacant police officer position and stopping cash contributions the city makes to Pitt Meadows Day, the agricultural association and restorative justice group.
Opinion Letters Driveway Homes sports scoreboard Classifieds
6 7 17 39 47 48 50
Katzie: new chief wants to get all talking. see story, p3
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