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THE FRIDAY
Tri-City News Friday, December 13, 2013, F1 CANADIAN COMMUNITY NEWSPAPER AWARD 2012
TRI-CITY NEWS CANADIAN COMMUNITY NEWSPAPER AWARD 2012
Homeless vs. heartless
Christmas countdown
SEE FACE TO FACE, PAGE A11
SEE THINGS-TO-DO GUIDE, PAGE A19
DEC. 13, 2013
Tri-City News reader Evelyn Wallat snapped this photo of her 11-month-old grandson, Ellis Chretien of Coquitlam, as he met and prepared to have his photo snapped for the first time with Santa Claus at Coquitlam Centre mall.
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DrivewayBC/A20 Tri-City Spotlight/A29 Elaine Golds/A33 Sports/A40
Vows to rebuild hatchery after fire Icy road delayed firefighters on way to battle blaze
according to George Assaf, vice-president of Burrard Inlet Marine Enhancement Society (BIMES), which operates the hatchery. “That’s the biggest heartbreak,” said Assaf, who said he was devastated by the news. “We had 37 years worth of records stored here.” Ruth Foster, a retired teacher who helped found the hatchery, first learned something was wrong at around 7 p.m. when she was notified that the security alarm at the building had been triggered. When she arrived,
the hatchery’s gates and doors were locked and everything seemed normal. But soon she noticed smoke inside the building and called 911. Port Moody Fire Chief Remo Faedo said icy road conditions leading up to the hatchery meant that firefighters could not get their engine on the property. After the first engine got stuck, crews began the time-consuming task of carrying 850 m of hose up to the facility to fight the fire.
ARE YOU READY ? K C O R TO GRAND OPENING
By Gary McKenna THE TRI-CITY NEWS
Burned buildings can be rebuilt but the 100,000 chum salmon and close to four decades of history lost in a fire Wednesday night at Port Moody’s Mossom Creek Hatchery cannot be replaced. Records, photographs, press clippings, research and student work were all destroyed in the blaze,
Donations down for Sally Ann – and crooks strike, too
see ‘IT’S A HIT’, page A3
Insurance, promises of help for Mossom By Diane Strandberg THE TRI-CITY NEWS
DIANE STRANDBERG/THE TRI-CITY NEWS
Ruth Foster, co-founder of the Mossom Creek Hatchery, and Kyle Pilon, president of the Burrard Inlet Marine Enhancement Society, in front of the smouldering remains of the hatchery that’s used by Centennial secondary students to learn about fish and wildlife.
DEC 20TH
THE TRI-CITY NEWS
see DONATIONS, page A4
see ‘WE’RE GOING’, page A3
Security one key issue for postal changes
By Diane Strandberg Those jingle bells signalling it’s time to put a donation in the Salvation Army kettle don’t seem to be working their magic. Last week, thieves stole cash from two Coquitlam kettles and, to make matters worse, donations to Sally Ann have also taken a dive across Metro Vancouver. The longtime social service agency says kettle offerings are down about $200,000 so far this holiday season and spokesperson Lauren Chan said she hopes people will dig deep over the next two weeks so Salvation Army can reach its goal of $4 million in donations.
Vo l u n t e e r s h o p e friends and supporters of the Mossom Creek hatchery will rally around efforts to rebuild after Wednesday’s fire destroyed the building.
Cost concerns, too By Diane Strandberg THE TRI-CITY NEWS
DIANE STRANDBERG/THE TRI-CITY NEWS
Brian Lee, regional kettle campaign co-ordinator for the Salvation Army who lives in Coquitlam, hopes donations to the venerable charitable organization pick up in the last two weeks before Christmas to make up for donations that were stolen recently. Campaign donations are also down.
Questions are being raised about Canada Post’s ability to provide accessible, affordable and secure mail delivery in the wake of announcements of an end to home mail delivery and increasing stamp prices. Leading the charge is Coquitlam Mayor Richard Stewart, who says security remains the number one issue for community mail boxes, although he believes it was inevitable that home mail delivery would be eliminated. see ONE THIRD, page A4