Friday
Feb. 12, 2016 (Vol. 41 No. 12) 2)
V O I C E
O F
W H I T E
R O C K
A N D
S O U T H
War zone: South Surrey filmmaker Alison MacLean’s Afghanistan documentary will premiere in Berlin next week, but much work remains to be done. i see page 17
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
Syrian refugees welcomed in co-ordinated efforts by various faiths
Churches merge resettlement efforts Alex Browne Staff Reporter
With close to 19,000 new Syrian refugees having already arrived in Canada – in line with the federal commitment to settle 25,000 by the early months of this year – South Surrey and White Rock faith groups continue to step up, and act co-operatively, to sponsor refugee families. The Semiahmoo Peninsula’s United
Church-White Rock Muslim Association refugee-settlement team have already welcomed their first sponsored family – who arrived Jan. 30 to the Surrey area (for privacy and security reasons their identities and location are not being made public at present, Crescent United council chair Peter Jones told Peace Arch News). Muslim Association president Asad Sayed has confirmed that the organization has also
raised enough funds to apply for another family and an application has been submitted. At White Rock’s Holy Trinity Church, Deacon Paul Richards said his parish is currently raising funds to provide a full private sponsorship for another family – and acknowledged the help and advice of the groups that have already been over the territory. “For a family of four to six requires about
$30,000 for a year’s sponsorship, and we’re about at the half-way point,” Richards said. “Other supports come into play including help from the province, municipalities and other groups. There are so many facets to this, including such important things as housing, family mentorship, English language education, medical care and planning.” i see page 4
Melissa Smallley photos
Clockwise from above: revitalization workshop participants Craig Marcyniuk (left) and Komal Shaikh, discuss plans for Johnston Road; facilitator Gerry Eckford listens to discussion in his group; and landscape architect Daryl Tyacke discusses observations he has made about Johnston Road.
Residents, entrepreneurs discuss making uptown White Rock vibrant
City arrives at fork in Johnston Road Melissa Smalley Staff Reporter
The first step in a “fresh start” for Johnston Road is underway, as the City of White Rock hosted a community workshop this week seeking public input into a revitalization project for the uptown roadway. The Wednesday evening workshop saw around 50 residents and business owners divide into several groups and ponder the question: “What makes Johnston Road unique?”
Eric Shaw, the city’s manager of planning, told the crowd prior to splitting into groups that making the town centre a “vibrant destination” was one of city council’s strategic priorities, and improving Johnston Road was the first step towards making the area a “success.” “This is a turning of the page, it’s a new start for Johnston Road,” Shaw said. “We want to hear from you about your ideas, thoughts, concerns and most of all your aspirations for what Johnston Road can become.”
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The focus of the study, Shaw said, is a threeblock stretch from North Bluff Road to Roper Avenue, with improvements centred on what he described as the “public realm” – including sidewalks, the roadway, intersections, crosswalks and light standards. “But we’re also interested in how the private realm, the buildings, interface with that public realm as well,” Shaw noted. This week’s workshop isn’t the first time the i see page 4
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