THE FRIDAY
CANADIAN COMMUNITY NEWSPAPER AWARD 2012
TRI-CITY NEWS CANADIAN COMMUNITY NEWSPAPER AWARD 2012
Glen elementary is 100
Spring is sprung on stage
SEE PAGE 3
SEE THINGS-TO-DO GUIDE, PAGE 15
Parents asked to keep their kids at home Wednesday By Diane Strandberg THE TRI-CITY NEWS
SUBMITTED PHOTO
Coquitlam resident Karla Mena with her son, Diego, and father Jose, who is visiting her from their native Mexico when they were in a car accident.
Mexican visitor has a story to tell about the helpful Mountie By Janis Warren THE TRI-CITY NEWS
A p l a s t i c s u rgeon who was visiting Canada to see his
grandson for the first time will return to his native Mexico recovering from a broken nose, a busted hip and a story about generosity thanks to that most Canadian of icons: a Mountie. Jose Mena, 59, of Morelia, Mexico, was only expected to be in Canada for a week
when he was in a car accident on Lougheed Highway, near Colony Farm, on May 14. His 28-year-old daughter, Karla, was driving home to Coquitlam from Vancouver at around 11:30 p.m. with her dad and three-month-old son, Diego, in the back seat.
When her Chevrolet Equinox van suddenly went off the road and into a ditch, Jose Mena tried to shield his grandson from the impact but was injured. “I don’t really remember what happened before that,” Karla Mena told The Tri-City News yesterday, “but when
www.tricitynews.com
INSIDE
Letters/11 Tri-City Spotlight/16 Elaine Golds/24 Sports/31
Teacher dispute hits here
Oh, baby. O Canada.
After crash, cop went into action to get baby home
MAY 23, 2014
I opened my eyes, we were in a ditch and couldn’t get out.” The three managed to escape through the sun roof and call 911. Emergency personnel arrived soon afterward to take them to Royal Columbian Hospital. see MOUNTIE, page 6
A planned public school teachers walkout next Wednesday will cancel school field trips, extra-curricular activities and facility rentals, and close StrongStart centres for pre-schoolers in School District 43. And with negotiations between the province’s teachers and the government becoming increasingly volatile, parents are encouraged to stay informed and watch for updates on the district’s website (www.sd43. bc.ca) and www.tricitynews.com. On Wednesday, a letter was sent home with students advising parents to keep their students at home the day of the walkout. But with many
TO VICTORIA
A group called Parents for BC plans to visitVictoria next week to air parents’ concerns and bring issues about education funding to legislators. It has started a website (parentsforbc.com) where parents can post their concerns and organizer Lisa Cable hopes people will take the time to do so before May 28, when the group plans to present the collected messages to the legislature. see PARENTS, page 4
scrambling for daycare, or some unaware of the situation, the district is prepared to provide limited supervision. see KEEP YOUR, page 4
A partial lockout may disrupt grads & exams By Tom Fletcher BLACK PRESS
School districts are formalizing their plans to deal with teachers’ rotating strikes beginning Monday and a BC Public School Employers’ Association stop-work order that takes effect 45 minutes before and after school hours and during lunch and recess breaks. The BC Teachers’ Federation says clubs, drama programs, sports and help for students
could be affected by the government’s effort to pressure the union and one event has already been postponed because of uncertainties next week. A storytelling event at Riverside secondary has been postponed, according to an email to The TriCity News. The partial lockout, effective Monday, mirrors the BCTF’s first stage of strike action. see BCTF, page 4