Serving Coquitlam, Port Coquitlam, Port Moody, Anmore and Belcarra since 1984
$77, )6(+3* % &!#$"!
FRIDAY
March 4, 2011
3
Port Moody police gain access to an armoured rescue vehicle.
/+3&,+!2 -64+ 022+!,6!2 %1' '%'5"#.# *"$$+#'!& *"%%()(
%$!1!.$1# 1--$-,1!.( "1& 0( 1*1$#10#( ,2 (#$'$0#( -,+)(!,-/
)1( 4 +#&* %$,! -3'/,7 .850'2$6"
Your source for local news, sports, weather and entertainment. www.thenownews.com
PoCo creates enviro plan Simone Blais sblais@thenownews.com It ain’t easy being green, but Port Coquitlam has put on paper its desire to show leadership in supporting a healthy environment. Council approved an environmental strategic plan, which took two years to develop and shows what’s on the horizon as the city grows. Called the “EnviroPlan” for short, the 112-page document outlines six primary goals, including reducing greenhouse gas emissions and water use, increasing the waste diversion rate and ensuring no net loss of forest, watercourse and foreshore habitats. The plan also incorporates 12 “big ideas,” including pocket-sized farms and a water savers program. Coun. Michael Wright said the EnviroPlan will become “a blueprint for us to move forward.” “There’s nothing here that’s earth-shattering and brand new, but it’s stuff we’ve been talking about for a while,” he said. Coun. Darrell Penner, however, said he’s disappointed the plan lacks “really exciting” projects that could break through to residents. “I was expecting more than, ‘We’re doing great things,’” he said, adding he does understand “the value is having a document with everything we’re doing that everybody has in their hands.” Coun. Glenn Pollock supported the plan, noting it identifies easier projects to move forward on and allows the city to “get going on the low-hanging fruit.” Mayor Greg Moore said he was encouraged by the inclusion of hard targets to strive toward.
Paul vanPeenen/NOW
Port Moody resident Gillian McMillan and other members of Tri-City Potters have been making and donating bowls for a soup dinner at Heritage Woods Secondary. The event, hosted by the Coquitlam Gogos, will benefit the Stephen Lewis Foundation’s Grandmothers to Grandmothers Campaign, which supports grandmothers and orphans involved in grassroots projects in 15 sub-Saharan African countries.
Potters build support for grandmas Jennifer McFee jmcfee@thenownews.com
Tri-Cities grandmas are dishing out homemade soup in handmade bowls to support fellow grannies in Africa. On Tuesday, the Coquitlam Gogos are hosting an empty-bowl fundraiser called Soup’s On for African Grandmothers. Funds will support African women caring for their AIDS-orphaned grandchildren through the Stephen Lewis Foundation’s Grandmothers to Grandmothers campaign. In a community collaboration, a group of local artists has donated their time and talents to the event. The Tri-City Potters handcrafted 125 bowls for the soup supper. Guests can sip soup from the bowls and then keep them at the end of the evening.
Linda Lebrun, a Coquitlam-based potter, said she’s happy to help out. “It’s certainly a wonderful cause. There are a lot of grandmothers who really benefit from some support,” said Lebrun, who’s been doing pottery for 16 years. “Everybody has submitted as many bowls as they can. Some people donated one bowl. Some people donated many. I donated about eight. Potters in our group vary from amateur to professional, so there’s every range and everyone in between.” Showcasing the artists’ individuality, the bowls are uniquely created in different shapes and colours. “They’re totally, totally different. Some people are hand builders, but the majority throw on the wheel. We have large bowls and fairly small bowls decorated in any fashion you can think of. Some people paint. Some people carve. Some people make big, hefty, solid bowls and some people make very delicate porcelain bowls,” Lebrun said.
“There’s quite a difference, but the criteria is that they all be food safe. Everybody that I know in North America uses food-safe glazes on functional pottery because it’s such an important thing.” Port Moody potter Gillian McMillan said the local artists’ group helps out with a community-based project each year. “The Tri-City Potters like to be involved in their community. For a couple of years, we made decorations for the Douglas College Foundation to use at Light up the Lake at Christmastime,” McMillan said. “This time, we are donating 125 bowls made by our members. They probably sell for about $35 each, but we’re donating them so that the money can go to the Stephen Lewis Foundation. Why are we doing it? Because we can. We like the goal, the idea.” Hannah Diamond, a member of the Coquitlam CONTINUED ON PAGE 4, see FUNDRAISER.
Math success is a phone call away. Coquitlam 604.941.9166 www.sylvanbc.ca