INSIDE: Brief, powerful wind storm knocks out power for 11,000
Pg. 3
F R I D A Y
March 4, 2011
23 N E W S ,
SPORTS,
WEATHER
&
Talented dancer off to provincial stage
E N T E R T A I N M E N T abbotsfordtimes.com
Budging bank bandit tapped for two years ROCHELLE BAKER RBaker@abbotsfordtimes.com
A
n Abbotsford bank robber who got nabbed because he got into a car crash while fleeing the scene has been sentenced to close to two years in jail. Kenneth Allan Leo, 25, was handed two years less a day behind bars last Friday for a heist at a bank in the 32400 block of First reported @ abbotsfordtimes.com South Fraser Way on Nov. 10, 2010. Before conduct“And bingo, ing the robbery, bango, bongo Leo stole a Jeep from along Robhe drives into erts Avenue, said another car.” Const. Ian MacDonald. Around 6:30 – Const. Ian MacDonald p.m. he made his way into the bank, bypassed the queue and approached the teller, said MacDonald. “So not only is he a bank robber, he’s a line-budger too,” he said. After demanding cash from the teller, Leo fled the scene in the stolen Jeep. But while driving along Garden Street, it seems Leo didn’t stop for the red light at the intersection at George Ferguson Way. “And bingo, bango, bongo he drives into another car,” said MacDonald. A couple and their two children were in the car when it was hit, but were not injured in the crash. The 29-year-old male passenger and another man who witnessed the crash chased Leo down as he tried to make a run for it, said MacDonald. “Basically they held him for police. When we got there, he’s still got the stolen money in the car,” he said. Leo, who moved to Abbotsford last year, has more than a 100 interactions with police across the Lower Mainland. His court records show previous convictions that include assault causing bodily harm, theft and possession for the purpose of trafficking.
Huge plan needs public input Vicarro’s changes to OCP increase density, preserve natural habitat
First reported @
abbotsfordtimes.com “Environmental protection is paramount.” – Derek Trethewey
ROCHELLE BAKER RBaker@abbotsfordtimes.com
R
esidents will get the chance to shape one of Abbotsford’s largest development proposals – a project that will dominate growth in the eastern reaches of the municipality over the next 10 to 20 years. The Vicarro Ranch project has applied for a major official community plan (OCP) amendment and rezoning for its master planned community located on McKee Peak and Eagle Mountain in east Abbotsford. A public information meeting is being held next Thursday so residents can provide input
– JEAN KONDA-WITTE (TOP), CITY GRAPHIC (ABOVE)//TIMES
House under construction on Eagle Mountain in east Abbotsford (top). Preliminary plan for the 383-acre Vicarro Ranch development (above). around the $560-million development that encompasses 383 acres and approximately 1,400 units, including apartments, townhouses, duplexes and single family homes. Keith Funk, of New Town Architecture and Planning Services, a consultant for the Trethewey family that owns the land, said
• D&G • VERSACE • RAY BAN • VOGUE • CK • MAUI JIM • CALVIN KLEIN
30-50
%
* Single vision lenses reg $79 ..... 2999 Bifocal lenses reg $120 ............. 5999 Progressive lenses reg $220 ... 12999
see RANCH, page A22
Every day people’s lives are being touched and transformed by the love and hope they find at The Salvation Army
FREE
SIGHT TESTING Ages 19-64
For information on how you can help us help others please call
OFF FRAMES
*some restrictions apply Add tint or scratch coating $20 103-2955 Gladwin Rd, Abbotsford 604.864.8803 • 105-12568 72 Ave., Surrey 604.594.6940
the project has been in the works for years. But if the project gets positive public feedback and approval for the land use zoning, phase one of the project on Eagle Mountain will start late this year or early 2012, said Funk. Jay Teichroeb, general manager of economic development
and planning for the city, said a number of changes to the original Vicarro Ranch plan require an amendment to the OCP, which in turn means it must go before the public and council. Funk said one primary change is to increase the density of the project, which allows for the protection of more green space. “It provides for the consolidation of our footprint and allows for more of the land to be left in its natural state,” he said. “This concept allows for 60 per cent of the land to be left undisturbed.”
The Centre of Hope at 604.852.9305 ®
34081 Gladys Ave. Abbotsford • 7221 Park St. & Lougheed Mission