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May 26, 2010
24
Best proves better in the allCoquitlam Fraser Valley girls soccer final.
Your source for local news, sports, weather and entertainment. www.thenownews.com
Evergreen building now set for 2011 Jennifer McFee jmcfee@thenownews.com Construction was supposed to begin in 2010. Now it’s slated for spring 2011. Despite the delays, Transportation Minister Shirley Bond says the Evergreen Line is continuing on course. “I can understand how people have been waiting for a very long time — in fact, decades — for this project. We have made a commitment that they’re not going to have to wait any longer. We are going to go to construction next spring,” Bond told The NOW. Prime Minister Stephen Harper and Premier Gordon Campbell announced federal and provincial funding for the project last February. At that time, both levels of government jointly issued a press release stating that “construction is expected to start in 2010 and be completed by 2014.” But Bond said the important thing is that the preparatory work is underway. Design and environmental assessments have begun, and the procurement phase will start this summer. “We’ve made it clear we’re going to move forward with the Evergreen Line. We are going to construction next spring. In the meantime, we are continuing to have a discussion with the mayors’ council about how we can work together to ensure that the adequate funding is in place,” she said. “We currently have over $800 million on the table from the province and the federal government, and there certainly is a gap in funding. CONT. ON PAGE 3, see ‘IT WILL.’
Paul vanPeenen/NOW
After a brief closure Friday, Como Lake reopened to fishing. The closure followed the discovery of more than 20 dead fish in the lake.
Como Lake reopens to fishing
Closure due to bacterial infection in non-native fish, not contamination John Kurucz jkurucz@thenownews.com The death of more than 20 fish in Como Lake last week has been attributed to a bacterial infection in a disproportionately high number of invasive, nonnative fish in the lake. Officials with both the City of Coquitlam and Environment Canada said the infection was found in the lake’s bullhead species, fish that are not native to Como Lake or any other bodies of water in B.C. “It’s not surprising that [the infection] is in that species because, basically, they have no natural predator,” said Stacy Webb, a biologist with the Freshwater Fisheries Society of B.C. “They’re not native to here, and they’re on the edge of their pre-
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ferred habitat, and so you have a whole bunch of one species all trying to compete with each other.” Fishing at Como Lake had been temporarily suspended late last week, although anglers were allowed back to the lake in time for the long weekend. “The testing was completed late last week and we got those results on Friday afternoon, which is what allowed us to make the decision to re-open the lake,” said Steffanie Warriner, Coquitlam’s manager of environmental services. “There is no plan to do additional testing. However, we are going to be out patrolling and keeping an eye on things. If we see anything unusual, we would look to do some further assessment, but we don’t expect there to be anything.” Initial reports of the dead fish originally came to light last Wednesday, when Environment Canada
officials noted that 25 dead fish had washed ashore. The majority of those fish turned out to be bullheads, though some dead trout were reported as well. Environment Canada spokesperson Tina Cobb said Tuesday that no other wildlife have been affected other than the fish that washed ashore last Wednesday. Cobb also ruled out any possibility of chemical contaminates in the lake. City officials said the infection has already reached its peak level and that the number of fish deaths should be on the decline. Webb added that there is little chance the infection will spread to the lake’s rainbow trout population, as the trout tend to stay near the surface of the water, while the bullheads CONTINUED ON PAGE 7, see TROUT WILL BE ADDED.
or www.dbmlaw.ca 604.939.8321 Good advice. Good law. Good people.