Heck of a weekend Check out PoCo May Day photos on page 4 and pictures from Wheel 2 Heal on page 16
THE WEDNESDAY
MAY 7, 2014
CANADIAN COMMUNITY NEWSPAPER AWARD 2012
TRI-CITY NEWS
www.tricitynews.com
CANADIAN COMMUNITY NEWSPAPER AWARD 2012
Coq. book bus burns
Crystals in the kiln
SEE PAGE 2
SEE ARTS, PAGE 28
INSIDE
Tom Fletcher/10 Letters/11 A Good Read/17 Community Calendar/20
Fraser cuts surgeries to cut costs
This is why they call it a lacrosse stick
Wait times are much longer than Vancouver Coastal By Jeff Nagel BLACK PRESS
Fraser Health has curtailed surgeries in order to avoid an operating room budget overrun despite the fact surgical wait times at its hospitals are already significantly longer than for patients in the neighbouring Vancouver Coastal region. Dr. Peter Blair, director of the surgical program for Fraser Health, said the reduction of surgeries since January and February was “only by a few per cent” and
not the 20% cut a White Rock orthopedic surgeon claimed last week. Dr. Arno Smit, chief of surgery at Peace Arch Hospital, told Black Press a waiting list crisis is coming unless the health authority reverses the cuts and authorizes more use of mothballed operating rooms. Blair said he’s hopeful Fraser Health will soon be granted a budget increase that will allow for more surgeries but said the curtailed surgical pace is continuing for now. It’s not a budget cut, he said, but a reduction in actual surgeries performed to bring OR spending back down to budgeted levels. see 20,000, page 12
Changes in works for local school cafeterias By Diane Strandberg THE TRI-CITY NEWS
ELAINE FLEURY PHOTO
Coquitlam Adanacs battled the Nanaimo Timbermen on Sunday evening in BC Junior A Lacrosse League play at the Poirier Sport and Leisure Complex. The home team came out well ahead, winning 18-10, their second victory in a row. The Junior Adanacs are next in action Friday evening against their crosstown rivals, the Port Coquitlam Saints, at the PoCo recreation complex. The Saints are coming off two consecutive losses. See page 31.
Also in Sports: PoCo soccer player Chanel Walter wins MVP honour for second time: see page 31
School cafeterias will undergo a transition in September as School District 43 looks to cut spending while also keeping revenues afloat to balance the budget. Students at middle school will still be able to hang out in their cafeterias next year but won’t
be able to buy hot meals as the kitchens will be closed — and approximately seven cafeteria positions eliminated to save money. The district hopes to save approximately $145,000 with this cut to help defray a $13.4-million budget deficit for the 2014/’15 school year. see HIGH SCHOOL, page 12