Sidewinder Talk triumphs over protecting kids. p6
Albion ferry site still sits unwanted. p10
THE NEWS
Education MRSS student chosen as leader of tomorrow. p3
www.mapleridgenews.com Friday, March 7, 2014 · Serving Maple Ridge & Pitt Meadows · est. 1978 · 604-467-1122 · Delivery: 604-466-6397
Minister to discuss school in Maple Ridge Only 12 per cent of residents attend post-secondary by Ph i l M e lnych uk staff reporter
Colleen Flanagan/THE NEWS
RCMP raided a rental house on St. Anne Avenue on Wednesday for the fourth time in two years, and arrested five people.
Rental house raided again Drugs seized at property managed by councillor by M o ni s ha M a r tin s staff reporter
A rental property in Port Haney, managed by a Maple Ridge councillor, was raided by police Wednesday for the fourth time in less than two years. Five people were arrested at the heritage house, located at 22309 St. Anne Avenue, after Ridge Meadows RCMP executed a warrant to search for illegal drugs. “It’s been hell for me,” said a man
who lives next door and is frustrated that not enough is being done by property manager Coun. Al Hogarth to address drug dealing at the property. “It’s got to stop somewhere.” No one from the District of Maple Ridge including Hogarth, Mayor Ernie Daykin or bylaw director Liz Holitzki returned a call for comment. Following the raid, police seized heroin, another undetermined substance, which could either be crack cocaine or meth, and “other items connected to drug trafficking.” Investigators released three people shortly after the raid, but drug trafficking charges are being rec-
ommended against a man and woman. Built in 1938 by Joseph Turnock, the Cape Codstyle home has been repeatedly raided by police since April 2012. Hogarth In addition to four search warrants, Ridge Meadows RCMP have had 11 calls for service to the property since then, and 10 files on people connected to the house. Drugs were seized during raids of
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Education: What do you think about potential teachers’ job action? See story, p8
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the house in 2013 and 2012. With costs for a RCMP corporal at $64.59 per hour and a constable $61.36 per hour, the tally for a drug bust can total tens of thousands of taxpayer dollars. Supt. Dave Fleugel says a search warrant for a small property will use between four and six officers. And that’s just to search the property. If you tack on the costs of surveillance or a SWAT team, the costs can balloon to much more. “We are definitely concerned about that. I have instructed the supervisor of the unit to start looking at a forfeiture application,” said Fleugel.
The post-secondary task force will makes its case for a school in Maple Ridge on April 16, when Minister of Jobs, Tourism and Skills Training Shirley Bond visits town with the leader of the Universities at Shady Grove. The latter is a post-secondary institute in Maryland where nine universities work together to bring programs under one roof, Coun. Bob Masse said on Facebook recently. Students there can either take courses from one institute or blend different programs. Masse says a school in Maple Ridge could take the same approach and use B.C.’s post-secondary transfer credit system.
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