Metro: New regional pump station will get water moving. 12
Gardening: Growing your own garlic. 27
Sports: Golfer in the Hunt. 36 Fr i d ay, Au g u s t 2 9, 2 014 · ma pler i d g enew s. co m · est. 1978 · (office) 604-467-1122 · (del iver y ) 6 0 4 - 4 6 6 - 6 3 9 7
Mayor Walters will not run again By M on i sh a M ar ti n s mmartins@mapleridgenews.com
Colleen Flanagan/THE NEWS
Lina Azeez, with the Watershed Watch Society, is part of a group of Pitt Meadows residents who are opposed to a drainage project that is part of a proposed park along Airport Way.
Saving slough seems simple By M o ni s h a M a r tin s mmartins@mapleridgegnews.com
W
ith enthusiasm that’s hard to contain, Scott Magri stands above the Katzie Slough and imagines a young boy fishing in it, like he did almost 40 years ago. “It would be perfect,” he gushes as a frog leaps into the water, sending bubbles to the surface as it disappears amongst the reeds. A waterway named for the First Nations people who thrived in Pitt Meadows before European settlement, the Katzie Slough
isn’t anything like the one Magri remembers. As a boy, he fished for cutthroat trout in its cool waters. Now, the 10.16-kilometre slough is little more than an irrigation ditch, split into channels. Some of its tributaries have been filled and few native
plants remain on its banks. The slough traverses the city, cutting through established neighbourhoods in the city’s south and eventually heading north across Lougheed Highway into land owned by mall developers SmartCentres. In its heyday, it was a natural drainage and irrigation channel that flushed with the tides, was full of fish and big enough to canoe in. In December, Magri got a cold reception from the city when he pitched his plans to restore the Katzie Slough to its former glory. Undeterred, Magri has pushed on with his plans with support from the Watershed Watch Salm-
Fraipont & Manyk
604.466.2838 www.rltylink.com
Each office independently owned and operated
BUYING OR SELLING CALL US TODAY!
on Society. Those plans, however, are threatened by a proposed park, with undulating water features, set to be constructed on undeveloped land at the corner of Airport Way and Bonson Road. “It’s just nuts,” Magri said. The proposed 35-hectare park encountered stiff opposition from nearby residents soon after it was proposed last summer. The city’s plans entail extending an existing community garden, as well as enhancing wetland and wildlife habitat with a low-flow drainage channel, which will connect to already drying Katzie Slough. See Slough, 3
GJ’s TREE SERVICES
Pitt Meadows Mayor Deb Walters announced Thursday that she will not seek reelection. After almost nine years on council, Deb Walters will be leaving city hall in No- Walters vember to spend more time with her husband Len, her children, Cayley and Scott, and her twin grandsons, Lennon and Sawyer, who are five months old. Walters has been thinking about stepping aside for several weeks. “It’s just the right time,” she said. “I made the decision a couple of weeks ago, but decided to share it now to see if other people wanted to put their hat in the race.” A two-term councillor before she was elected as the city’s first female mayor in 2011, Walters won with 2,025 votes – 823 more than John Becker, who is running again this year. In her term, she’s seen more than 450 new jobs come to the city and “more are coming everyday.” This year, the city had its lowest tax increase in 12 years. Walters said the city is on the right track. “I’m a little fearful that the brakes are being put on by some people on council, but that’s certainly not the reason I’m not running,” she added. “I’m proud of all the jobs we have created close to home. I’ve made great connection with the provincial government. I’m very proud of the work I’ve done.” • Hazard Tree Removals • Topping & Falling • Pruning & Trimming • Thinning & Shaping • Stump & Root Grinding
604-945-2999
gjstreeservices@gmail.com
Fully Insured/WCB Free Written Estimates
gjstreeservice.com