BIG BOOST TO BIG BEND BUS SERVICE
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AVOIDING THE XMAS DEBT REGRET
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CHOCOLATIER WINS BIG TIME
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WEDNESDAY
DECEMBER 17 2014 www.burnabynewsleader.com
End-of-the-year chat with BC NDP leader John Horgan. See Page A6
Second suspect arrested in Brentwood homicide 16-year-old boy charged earlier with seconddegree murder Wanda Chow
wchow@burnabynewsleader.com
MARIO BARTEL/NEWSLEADER
Linda Doherty checks the temperature inside a special kiln built of 450 wine, beer and liquor bottles by members of the ceramics department at the Shadbolt Centre. The kiln was kind of a “working art” project as part of the Centre’s Italian Festival held on Saturday. While it was used to fire actual clay pieces, Doherty said it’s true worth was the effect the firing would have on the bottles. They were expected to melt and droop as the kiln’s interior temperature soared to 720 C degrees, creating unusual pieces of art themselves. Those deformed bottles are being sold by donation to raise money for the Burnaby Christmas Bureau.
Burnaby sees spike in auto crime Trend being experienced across province Wanda Chow
wchow@burnabynewsleader.com
Burnaby is seeing a surge in auto crime—a trend that’s taking place across the province—but it’s still a far cry from 10 years ago, says the Burnaby RCMP. Staff Sgt. Major John Buis noted that in the past two years the number of vehicles stolen in
Burnaby has been quite a lot lower there have been 739, an increase of than other areas of the Lower almost 55 per cent with a few weeks Mainland. still to go in 2014. “It’s trending down but this But that’s less than a is one of those blips that’s quarter of what Burnaby come back up again.” saw in 2004, when there were When it comes to statistics, 3,182 vehicles stolen in the a clearer picture emerges city. when looking at a 10-year “It’s troubling for us and BUIS period, he noted. we have to target it, we have In 2013, there was a total to do something about it,” of 477 vehicles stolen in Burnaby. Buis said of this year’s spike, “but So far this year, Buis said on Friday, over a longer period of time it’s not
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that significant.” He said factors contributing to the downward trend include the fact more anti-theft devices are being built into newer vehicles and ICBC runs awareness campaigns on the importance of locking vehicles and keeping possessions out of sight. Bait cars, specially equipped vehicles meant to be stolen and used to catch and record car thieves in the act, have helped. Please see TOO MANY PEOPLE, A3
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A second person has been arrested in connection with the September shooting death of a Burnaby man, says the Integrated Homicide Investigation Team. Aladdin Ramadan, 20, died of gunshot wounds just before 10:30 p.m. on Sept. 24. Burnaby RCMP found his body in the street in the 2000-block of Rosser Avenue near Lougheed Highway after responding to several reports of shots being fired. On Oct. 8, Vancouver resident Samir Mokhtar, 20, was charged with manslaughter with a firearm and accessory after the fact to murder. A Canada-wide warrant was issued for his arrest. Police were aware that Mokhtar had fled Canada shortly after Ramadan’s killing. When he landed in Seattle’s Seatac Airport on a plane from Dubai on Dec. 10, U.S. Customs and Border Protection (USCPB) detained him. Please see FIRST, A4