Thursday August 28, 2014 (Vol. 39 No. 68)
V O I C E
O F
W H I T E
R O C K
A N D
S O U T H
S U R R E Y
w w w. p e a c e a r c h n e w s . c o m
Wonderful years: A new Elizabeth Hollick mural on the side of Coast Capital Playhouse, The Wonderful Year We Fell In Love, celebrates the best of White Rock Players Club’s 70-year relationship with the city. i see page 41
Renew your car insurance at BCAA.
lcome Members and non-Members we Tribeca Square, St., Surrey King George Hwy. & 152nd
Clock ticks down as scheduled opening day draws near in the midst of a labour dispute
Arrange childcare, district tells parents Tracy Holmes Staff Reporter
Surrey school officials are not optimistic parents will receive a last-minute reprieve. In a letter to parents this week, superintendent Jordan Tinney encourages them to “begin to make alternate arrangements for the care of their children.” “While we continue to hope for a resolution at the bargaining table, a deal does not appear to be likely this week,” Tinney writes. He notes that if a deal is reached in the days ahead, “there is still time for schools to open on Sept. 2.” The final week of the summer holiday opened Sunday with a demand in Kamloops from B.C. Teachers Federation president Jim Iker for an immediate start to mediation. No formal bargaining dates are scheduled, but Iker, Education Minister Peter Fassbender and government negotiator Peter Cameron were to meet Wednesday afternoon in Victoria, raising hopes for some movement. Teachers have also stepped up picketing as both sides prepare for the strike to stretch into September. Pickets were up outside select Surrey high schools this week. At the same time, some are offering to fill the daycare void for parents stranded by the strike. i see page 4
Evan Seal photo
Teachers’ pickets returned this week to Earl Marriott Secondary and select schools in the Surrey School District, as the scheduled opening day nears.
City of White Rock puts out call for more railings and 1.5 km of chain-link along waterfront
Mesh fencing hoped to reduce train whistles Tracy Holmes Staff Reporter
New railings and chain-link mesh are coming to White Rock’s waterfront. The additions – mainly for East Beach, to be in place by the end of November – are another step towards complying with Transport Canada orders to the city and BNSF to bolster safety along the seaside train tracks. (Railway safety has been a hot topic in White Rock for more than a year, ever since a jogger was killed on East Beach tracks a week after a devastating derailment in Quebec.) Greg St. Louis, the City of White Rock’s
director of engineering, is hopeful the upcoming work will also help reduce daytime train whistling. The noise has been a source of discontent ever since the federal agency in June ordered an increase in the frequency of the warning blasts along the waterfront. The order resulted from an inspector determining trespassing on the tracks posed an “immediate threat” to safety. Following the installation last month of bollards at the West Beach boat launch, the city’s overnight (8 p.m. to 6 a.m.) whistling exemption was reinstated. However, the horns continue to be sounded every few
seconds when daytime trains pass by. “I think this (upcoming railing/mesh work) would assist with that,” St. Louis told Peace Arch News Wednesday. Coun. Grant Meyer, who chairs the city’s rail-safety task force, is also hopeful the whistling will be reduced. It continues to be the main source of concern he hears about from residents. “They just want the whistling back to the way it was and we’re working on that,” he said. “That’s the one issue I heard time and again the last couple months.” The city’s request for cost estimates for the
mesh/railing work closes at 3 p.m. Sept. 8. The successful bidder will be responsible for installing 230 metres of new railing, as well as approximately 1.5 kilometres of diamond-pattern chain-link mesh. Stretches targeted for the mesh are along Bayview Park and from the pier east. The city will foot the bill for the work. In exchange, BNSF is taking on levelling of the East Beach pedestrian crossings. St. Louis said the city has applied for six grants through Transport Canada’s Grade Crossing Improvement Program, however, he doesn’t anticipate any grant money this year.
SEMIAHMOO ARTS PRESENTS
*
Thursday, August 28 White Rock Pier 7pm – 10pm Photo by Tim Shields
* Order rder on online: nline:
*By special arrangement with Dave Chesney
semiahmooarts.com Tickets : $100 For ticket info call: 604-536-8333
( $100 - $40 TAX = $60 net ) RECIEPT
All Proceeds go to Semiahmoo Arts Includes $40 tax receiptable donation