Thursday January 23, 2014 (Vol. 39 No. 7)
V O I C E
O F
W H I T E
R O C K
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S O U T H
Walk to remember: White Rock’s Stan Fryer will take steps Sunday to raise awareness of the thousands who suffer from Alzheimer’s disease, including his wife, Shirley. i see page 11
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
Province’s indecision over referendum wording frustrates Surrey Board of Trade
Businesses want transit question now Alex Browne Staff Reporter
The Surrey Board of Trade is calling on the Ministry of Transportation to take leadership by framing its transit-referendum question – and releasing it to the public – immediately. “They’ve had significant time to deliberate on this,” said board CEO Anita Huberman. “They need to take leadership. We need to
have the question framed so we have time to evaluate it and educate the populace and the business community on what it is and what the implications are.” Transportation Minister Todd Stone has said a referendum on future transportation funding, promised by Premier Christy Clark during last spring’s provincial election, will be included in November’s municipal elections. Speaking on the issue last fall, Stone said 60
other jurisdictions in North America have had transit-improvement votes since 2012, and three-quarters approved higher taxes. In December, Clark and Stone appeared to differ on the shape of the referendum, with Clark supporting a multiple-choice question on funding alternatives, and Stone favouring a yes-or-no question on a specific option, which has proven successful in U.S. jurisdictions where increased spending won support.
This week, Stone suggested Metro Vancouver mayors could jump-start a major transit expansion by raising property taxes now – without having to wait for the referendum. “I think that’s ridiculous,” Huberman said Wednesday. “We’re already taxed heavily (on property). We’ve just heard a survey result that (Metro) Vancouver has the second leastaffordable housing in the world.” i see page 4
Victim found in car
Homicide in Port Kells Kevin Diakiw Black Press
Curtis Kreklau photo
Surrey fire crews battle a blaze at a mobile home in the 1700-block of 184 Street Tuesday.
Fire trucks shuttle water to burning mobile home in Hazelmere
Eight minutes to stem flames in no-water area Tracy Holmes Staff Reporter
A fire at a mobile home on rural South Surrey property Tuesday was brought under control in short order – but not before doing extensive damage. Deputy fire Chief Dan Barnscher said crews were alerted to the blaze in the 1700-block of
184 Street in Hazelmere at 4:30 p.m. Jan. 20. The single-wide trailer was “fully involved” when firefighters arrived. While the fire was brought under control within eight minutes, the unit is “probably not” livable, Barnscher said. Fortunately, no one was injured in the blaze, which ignited while the tenant was out and produced a column of smoke that could be
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seen from a great distance. Barnscher said nine fire trucks were dispatched to the scene, which is located in one of Surrey’s ‘no-water’ districts. Five of the trucks were tankers used to shuttle the water necessary to maintain the flow needed, he said. A fire investigator was on the scene Wednesday, and the cause has not been determined.
Homicide detectives are investigating following the discovery of a man’s body in Surrey’s Port Kells area Tuesday morning. Cpl. Dominic Duchesneau of the Integrated Homicide Investigation Team said police found the deceased in a parked car in a deadend near the intersection of 189 Street and 92 Avenue around 9 a.m. The man’s identity and cause of death have not been released. “We are in the early stages and although the cause of death will have to be confirmed through autopsy, we can say that this incident does not appear to be a random act,” Duchesneau said. “Initial investigation by the attending member supported that the deceased male inside the vehicle was the victim of a homicide.” Tuesday afternoon, three homes near the site remained behind yellow police tape. The death is the city’s first official homicide of 2014, however, there have been two others also in North Surrey that are considered suspicious. One hour into the new year, 19-year-old Maurine Arogie tumbled to her death from the 26th floor of a highrise in Whalley. And on Jan. 6, the body of a 41-year-old woman was found in the 14300-block of 115 Avenue. Surrey logged a record 25 homicides in 2013.
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