Along the Fraser Hydro misses mark on power line. p6
Grinches hitting outdoor displays. p8
THE NEWS
Homes Merry Christmas, from me to all of you. p29
www.mapleridgenews.com Friday, December 20, 2013 · Serving Maple Ridge & Pitt Meadows · est. 1978 · 604-467-1122 · Delivery: 604-466-6397
‘B.C. gov’t considering Harris Rd. interchange’
Holiday Moosical (From left) Grade 1 students Mason Klokeid, Cadence Bouthot, Fiona Kennedy, Louis Ren and Cloe Urbaniak perform a song during the Golden Ears elementary Christmas Concert, A Holiday Moosical, on Wednesday. Colleen Flanagan/THE NEWS
OCP to be amended to reflect changes to NLC by M on i sh a M ar ti n s staff reporter
Pitt Meadows council delivered mixed messages Tuesday about a promise from senior levels of government to fund an overpass or interchange at the city’s busiest intersection. Although it’s been deemed ‘failing’ for years, it’s unclear if relief will come to drivers stuck in traffic at the corner of Lougheed Highway and Harris Road. On Tuesday, as council discussed amending its official community plan to spur development in the North Lougheed corridor, Coun. Doug Bing suggested it was a step necessary to spark more government support. See NLC, p12
Stolen loot found after tenants evicted Manager says Gordon Towers finally cleaned up, Athwal selling all his units by M o ni s ha M a r tin s staff reporter
In the hallway of a high-rise apartment building in downtown Maple Ridge, two RCMP officers sift through boxes of belongings, setting a stack of laptops and a ‘Roomba’ vacuum aside. The pile is just a fraction of the
stolen goods found in apartment No. 404 of the Gordon Towers after its tenants were evicted by bailiffs. Among the stack are four MacBooks that belong to the school district. Owned by Maple Ridge landlord Jagdev ‘Jack’ Singh Athwal, the unit stuffed with stolen property was completely trashed – walls punched in, cupboards missing doors, drug paraphernalia and garbage strewn all over the floor. Tenants from three of six units Athwal owns in the building were turfed out Tuesday, their belongings hauled out by movers and
dumped in the parking lot. Athwal is currently facing a string of civil lawsuits as banks and the building strata try to recoup money he owes them. Facing the threat of foreclosure, Athwal says he sold all six units at a loss. He claims the tenants were evicted for not paying rent, with one unit owing him cash for more than five months. “I got court orders,” said Athwal. “I gave them enough time. Everything was proper.” Athwal, who owns 30 rental properties in Maple Ridge, claims
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he is selling all his assets, retiring and getting out of the business that made him “the Donald Trump of Maple Ridge.” “I’m getting pretty old,” he added. “I want to go travelling.” As for the stolen property found in one of his units, Athwal urged police to charge the tenant responsible. “Give them hell,” he said. Caught in the middle of the mess is Shelley Greenall, who lived in unit No. 304 with her boyfriend Colleen Flanagan/THE NEWS Greg and 16-year-old blind cat Stolen laptop computers are stacked in the Wingnut. See Towers, p3 lobby of the Gordon Towers, Wednesday.
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