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YYour our Wee Weekly e k l y CClover l o ver Valley Newspaper
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June 5, 2014 Y www.CloverdaleReporter.com Y 604-575-2405
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Back to the battlefields
A veteran of Canada’s Afghanistan mission continues his healing journey By Jennifer Lang of the towering Canadian First World War memorial. For the second year in a row, retired CaLowe and a half-dozen other veterans are nadian veteran John Lowe is headed to the leading 158 cyclists – civilians who will reprebattlefields of France to cycle hundreds of sent and honour each Canadian soldier killed kilometers on a trip that sounds as physically in Afghanistan. punishing as it will be therapeutic. Lowe, 28, grew up in Cloverdale and now And if the thought of riding his bike over lives in Abbotsford. Last year, he cobblestones, around hairpin rode from Paris to London, a 563turns, and up huge hills wasn’t km journey with other combat enough to keep him home, then “It turned out to veterans on the Battlefield Bike the spectre of puncturing a bike Ride, a U.K. initiative. be really kind of tire twice in half an hour – thanks He was sponsored by Wounded to shards of flint that lie in wait on liberating. ” Warriors Canada, an organization those bucolic country roadways – that helps Canadian forces memwasn’t about to faze him. bers and reservists who have been Of course, the allure of fresh- John Lowe injured or wounded, with a focus baked croissants in the morning on mental health. and sharing a cold beer at the end As the only rider from B.C., of a long day’s ride with other likeLowe and five Canadian comrades joined 300 minded participants might have also played a British, American and European combat vetrole. erans on a ride across France and England. The group will be cycling approximately He’d initially been apprehensive; as he 100 km/day for eight days – a 700 km jourtrained for the ride, he didn’t know how he’d ney through the battlefields and cemeteries fit in with the other veterans. of the First and Second World Wars as part “You think that your experience is quite of the inaugural Wounded Warriors Canada unique,” said Lowe, who served with the Battlefield Ride. Princess Patricia’s Canadian Light Infantry’s The tour will take in the sights at Juno First Battalion in Afghanistan as part of Beach this Friday, June 6 – the 70th anniversary of D-Day, the Allied invasion of See PROUD / Page 5 Normandy, and wind up at Vimy Ridge, site
CONTRIBUTED PHOTO
John Lowe is pictured on the lawn near London’s Big Ben. Last year, he was the only B.C. veteran on the Big Battlefield Bike Ride of combat veterans. On Friday, he’ll be in Normandy leading participants on a 700-km journey through First and Second World War sites.
Barn fire devastates horse racing community By Jennifer Lang A barn fire in Langley that killed 18 horses over the weekend is an unprecedented loss for the B.C. racing community, the general manager of Fraser Downs Racetrack and Casino said Monday. The June 1 barn fire at 224 Street near 40 Avenue in Langley resulted in the death of 17 race horses belonging to JJJ Stables and one family horse. Fraser Downs general manager Ken Stratton offered condolences, adding both Fraser Downs and casino operator Great Canadian Gaming Corp. are “deeply saddened by this calamity.”
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JJJ Stables is owned by Rick Mowles and managed by Bill Davis, a driver and trainer at Fraser Downs. Both have played an important role in the racing operations at Fraser Downs and in the provincial racing industry, Stratton said. “We would like to express our deepest sympathies and condolences to Rick Mowles, the entire Davis family and all those impacted by the fire,” Stratton said in a statement. “This is the first time in our recollection that such an incident occurred causing unprecedented loss for the B.C. racing community.” In the days to come, Great Canadian Gaming Corporation and Fraser Downs will be looking at ways to help JJJ Stables in their recovery process, he added.
Seee why y
Jackson Wittup, executive director of Harness Racing B.C., said seven of the horses were two-year-olds who hadn’t yet started their careers at Fraser Downs, six were three-yearolds getting ready for the fall season, and four were resting up from the spring meet that just concluded. Together, they were valued between $700,000 and $1 million, representing an extreme loss financially, and emotionally for the stable, because most had been bred and raised since they were foals, he said. Meanwhile, efforts are already underway to help Bill and Laurie Davis, who lost their entire livelihood in the fire, from harnesses to racing colours and helmets.
– See related story “Fire claims race horses” on page 3.
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