SUSPECT ARRESTED Man arrested in relation to Feb. 28 incident
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VOLUNTEER HONOURED
ROAD SAFETY IMPROVED
Bruce Wenting’s contributions recognized
ICBC has spent $122,000 on five projects
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2012
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CCNA
Friday, March 21, 2014
SERVING MISSION SINCE 1908
Downtown bank robbed at gunpoint Carol Aun MISSION RECORD
The CIBC bank on First Avenue was robbed at gunpoint Wednesday just before noon by a
man with a black eye and a neck brace. The suspect produced a handgun and demanded money, said Mission RCMP Sgt. Shaun Wright. The
suspect fled with an undisclosed amount of cash. Police searched the area, but could not locate the suspect. According to police, there were three cus-
tomers inside the financial institution at the time of the robbery. The suspect is described as a Caucasian male in his late 40s to early 50s and about
six feet tall. He was wearing blue and white pyjama pants, a dark coat with an orange and yellow construction vest, black gloves, running shoes and a black
toque with the word Canada on it. Police don’t believe this incident is related to any other robberies in the area. Anyone with infor-
mation about this crime is asked to contact Mission RCMP at 604826-7161. If you wish to remain anonymous, call Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477.
Grant comes through for MCSS Carol Aun MISSION RECORD
Mission Community Services Society (MCSS) is receiving a $14,000 grant from the District of Mission to offset this year’s property taxes for a building on Logan Avenue. Last September, the non-profit society was denied a permissive tax exemption because Mission council wanted to send a strong message to service providers to clean up around Haven in the Hollow, a first-stage housing facility located at 32646 Logan Ave., operated by MCSS. Now more than five months later, steps have been taken, said Mayor Ted Adlem. MCSS executive director Sanjay Gulati and his team have met with Mission’s bylaw enforcement officer, neighbouring businesses and residents to address their concerns. MCSS has also joined Adopt-A-Block to pick up litter around the area, posted drugfree zone signs around the building, and relocated an outreach worker from MCSS’ main office on Second Avenue to Haven in the Hollow in order to provide more support to clients and others in the community. And beginning this spring, open houses will be held once a month at Haven and Rivendell, a second-stage housing facility also run by MCSS, at 7755 Grand St. “Anyone can come and engage with us and see the premises,” Gulati explained. “We are part of the community, and our clients are residents of Mission.” This will help people understand some of the challenges homeless people going
through MCSS face, he added. “Once people understand the challenges, they can be more sympathetic,” Gulati noted. “A lot of times people have misconceptions because of a lack of knowledge.” A date for the first open house has not yet been set. Adlem says communication between MCSS and the community, including the district, has improved, but believes there will always be complaints about the shelter. “It’s easy to blame everything on the homeless and to a degree, homeless people become targets,” said Adlem. “We can’t blame [MCSS] for what other people do around the place … Clearly there is more homeless than the shelter can handle.” The first-stage housing facility is something the community needs, but Adlem isn’t convinced it’s located in the right place. “We want to work with them to find a better spot,” said the mayor, who described the area as wasted land for business. Haven in the Hollow has 15 beds in the men’s dorm, five in the women’s dorm, and a family room. Extra mats are also set up when temperatures dip below the freezing mark. As well, MCSS’ food centre operates out of the Logan Avenue building. Council voted unanimously Monday night to approve the grant, which will also pay for the year’s school taxes, hospital taxes and taxes to other authorities (like Fraser Valley Regional District) in addition to municipal taxes.
Mission Community Services Society’s executive director Sanjay Gulati and his team have succeeded in addressing council’s concerns about Haven in the Hollow on Logan Avenue. RECORD FILE PHOTO
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