Friday Feb. 26, 2016 (Vol. 41 No. 16)
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
High notes: Some of the province’s best high school musicians were in the spotlight last weekend at the 34th annual Envision Jazz Festival at Bell Centre for the Performing Arts. i see page 25
Victim found clinging to tree root
Deck collapses sending woman into ravine Tracy Holmes Staff Reporter
A deck collapse at a South Surrey RV park sent a woman tumbling down a ravine and emergency crews racing to the 1200-block of King George Boulevard Tuesday. Police, firefighters and paramedics – including an air ambulance – were dis-
Tracy Holmes photo
Emergency crews transport accident victim.
patched to the Border RV Park around 4:30 p.m. Feb. 23, for a medical call that was soon after upgraded to a technical rescue. Assistant fire Chief Chris Keon told Peace Arch News that the victim suffered minor injuries when the sun deck she was on “collapsed and slid into the ravine.” Firefighters found her clinging to a tree root about 20 feet down, and had to effect a low-angle rescue, Keon said. Keon described the rescue as not overly complicated. At least four firefighters in helmets and harnesses could be seen transporting the woman from the ravine. The emergency response drew a small crowd of spectators to the boulevard. An air ambulance on standby in the parking lot of the nearby Crescent Gardens Retirement Community was not needed. Keon said it’s fortunate the situation ended as well as it did. “Anything could’ve happened,” he said.
Building permits delayed in White Rock
City-hall waits frustrate Melissa Smalley Staff Reporter
White Rock’s planning department is seeing an “unprecedented” number of permit applications, resulting in long wait times for approval and “frustrated” applicants. Speaking as a delegation at the Feb. 15 council meeting, property owner Sher Tejay said he has been waiting seven months after applying for a building permit for his Maple Street property, an approval he said should take no longer than two or three months. “This is really frustrating for me. I cannot help wonder what is going on in this organization,” Tejay said, noting he knows of others in the city facing similar waits. “If these people can’t do the job, there are so many reputable companies, it should just
be contracted out, simple as that.” In response to Tejay’s complaint, senior city staff pointed to a “significant” increase in building applications, as well as staff shortages in the planning department as reasons behind the backlog. Karen Cooper, the city’s director of planning and development services, admitted the delays are “unacceptable,” and offered an apology to Tejay, noting the job required highly skilled planning staff to be carried out effectively. “Review of building permits are more complicated now because of the size of homes and the kinds of things that are being provided in the very large and luxurious homes that are being built in White Rock,” she said. i see page 4
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Expires March 31, 2016
Big splash awaits
Lance Peverley photo
Students at Rosemary Heights Elementary and other area schools took an early tour this week of the City of Surrey’s Grandview Heights Aquatics Centre, due to open to the general public on March 3.
CONCERNED ABOUT OUR CITY WATER QUALITY? ....Chlorine, Bad Taste and Smell Your local water purification company can help.
Aquasmart Technologies Inc. 604.294.4041 www.aquasmart.com