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ALDERGROVE Your Hometown Community Newspaper for over 56 Years
| Thursday, January 8, 2015
Langley Welcomes New Year’s Baby!!
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Page 3: Flu Bug Hits Fraser Valley
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‘Puck Stops Here’ for Aldergrove’s New Year’s Tournament
Alcohol suspected in serious three-car collision Aldergrove Star
HARRY HUNT PHOTO
Aldergrove Bruins peewee A1’s Austin Ungureau flies behind the net and takes a shot on Tri-Cities’ Americans goalie Friday, Jan. 2 at the New Year’s Tournament hosted by Aldergrove peewee and bantam teams. Eleven Atom and Peewee Rep teams participated in the Aldergrove Minor Hockey Association’s New Year’s Tournament, including two from Aldergrove, this year. More photos from the tournament, page 13.
Province to urge ‘Yes’ in transit tax referendum By JEFF NAGEL Aldergrove Star
After sending a series of mixed messages, the provincial government now says it will back the Yes side in the upcoming transit tax referendum. “We support a ‘yes’ vote in the spring 2015 plebiscite but the voters of Metro Vancouver will have the final say – this is the commitment we made to them in the last provincial election campaign,” Transportation Minister Todd Stone said in a statement. He reiterated that transit expansion is “vital to economic development in Metro Vancouver and will be a critical component of ensuring that the region is able to accommodate the million additional people expected over the next 30 years.”
The proposed 0.5 per cent Metroonly sales tax – dubbed the Congestion Improvement Tax – would raise $250 million a year for transit and transportation projects if a majority of regional voters approve it in a mail-in vote slated to run from March 16 to May 29. Stone said the province believes the Metro mayors’ vision for expanded transportation is one people can get behind. “We agree that a sales-based tax, dedicated to vital congestion improvement projects, is the most equitable funding option available.” Provincial funding will only go to running the plebiscite, he added, while mayors and other organizations will be responsible for funding their campaigns.
It’s still unclear exactly how active Stone or other government members will be in encouraging a Yes vote. Some observers had concluded the province was abandoning the mayors to fight alone after the transportation ministry on Dec. 29 told a Vancouver newspaper “the government will not be supporting either side – Yes or No.” That appeared to contradict Stone’s earlier comments to reporters in midDecember that he was “committed to success” and the province would speak out strongly during the campaign on the need to fight congestion and make more transportation investments. A subsequent Black Press request for clarification yielded a Dec. 30 ministry statement said “government is only funding the referendum and will
not be financially supporting either the yes or the no side.” There had been doubts about the province’s support since Premier Christy Clark in 2013 suggested government would remain officially neutral. Metro Vancouver board chair Greg Moore said he’s confident the province will actively support the Yes campaign. “They understand the importance of transportation in the region, how good our plan is and that they need to get behind it,” he said. New Democrats – with the exception of Burnaby Mayor Derek Corrigan – have vowed to campaign for Yes and had accused the premier of trying to duck responsibility after forcing the referendum on the region.
Alcohol is believed to be a factor in a three-car collision at 264 Street that saw one driver airlifted to hospital on Saturday, Jan. 3. Shortly after 1 p.m., police were called to the intersection of 264 Street and 24 Avenue to investigate a collision involving a Honda, an Acura and a Volkswagen. Witnesses said the Volkswagen was making a left hand turn onto 264 from 24 Ave. when it was hit from behind by the Honda. The Honda then spun and collided with the Acura. All three vehicles had the driver as the sole occupant. The driver of the Honda, a 27-year-old Abbotsford resident, was unconscious at the scene and was airlifted to hospital. The driver of the Volkswagen (a 33-year-old man from Pitt Meadows) was looked over at scene by BC Ambulance while the driver of the Acura, a 26-year-old Langley man, was taken to hospital for treatment only as a precaution. Police believe the Honda driver may have been impaired by alcohol and will follow up with a warrant for blood samples to further the investigation. If anyone witnessed the collision and has not spoken to police, they are asked to call Langley RCMP at 604-5323200.
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