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Stabbing victim known to police Simone Blais sblais@thenownews.com One man could face charges and another is recovering in hospital after a fight in Port Moody Sunday morning. Police were called to the 2000 block of St. Johns Street around 6 a.m. Const. Bill Kim said officers found three people at the scene: a man who had knife wounds in his upper torso, and another man and a woman believed to be in a relationship. They are all in their early 20s. After interviewing the trio, Kim said investigators pieced together a possible scenario for the altercation. “These individuals were walking up toward Kyle Street and the victim overheard what may have been an argument between the couple,” he said. “This individual starts to inquire, and this couple says, ‘Everything’s fine, just leave us alone.’ But it escalates, and all of a sudden punches are thrown.” Kim said investigators allege the boyfriend pulled out a knife and stabbed the victim several times in the upper torso. The man was taken to Royal Columbian Hospital with serious but non-lifethreatening injuries. The boyfriend was arrested and released later that morning on a promise to appear. Police will be recommending assault charges against him, Kim said. Alcohol is not believed to have been a factor in the altercation. Compounding the case, however, is the criminal history of one of the people involved. “The individual that was stabbed is very well-known to us,” Kim said, adding that he would not release further information on the victim.
Paul vanPeenen/NOW
Tabitha McLoughlin, right, executive director of the Coquitlam Farmers Market, says Port Moody’s crackdown on signs is hurting attendance. With her is Oliver McLoughlin, showing off a pea costume now used to promote the market, and Alaina Thebault in a tomato costume.
Sign bylaw impacts farmers market Organizer says Port Moody’s strict enforcement of rules makes promotion difficult Jennifer McFee jmcfee@thenownews.com
The Coquitlam Farmers Market is harvesting fresh ways to grow business after Port Moody bylaws left it feeling fallow. Executive director Tabitha McLoughlin said the city is now enforcing sign bylaws that were more lax in the past, creating a negative impact on the biweekly winter market. “We are asking for help promoting the market in different areas because there’s a sign bylaw in Port Moody. We can’t put up our signs. We’ve done a winter market in some form or another for about the last 13 years. This is the first year that they’re enacting the sign bylaw,” she said.
“They told us halfway through our winter market season last year. They confiscated a bunch of our signs. We had no warning that this was going to happen. We went to collect our signs one day and a bunch of them weren’t there. They wanted us to pay a fine to pick them up, so we never did. We lost a whole bunch of signs because we don’t have the resources to pay.” To cope with the situation, McLoughlin has hatched some creative new marketing plans. One involves a volunteer dressed as a bright red tomato directing shoppers to the Port Moody Recreation Complex, where the winter market springs to life every second Sunday. Another idea is to work together with local businesses. If a company agrees to hang a poster for the farmers market, McLoughlin will post its link and
logo on the market website. “It’s so frustrating. As most non-profits, we don’t have many resources,” she said. “We can’t place ads every week or do any sort of high-profile marketing because none of us have resources that would allow you to do that. These [signs] were cost effective.” Tim Savoie, Port Moody’s planning and development services director, said the sign bylaw is nothing new and has been enforced since its inception. “Our sign bylaw’s always been in place for many years now. It’s essentially a set of regulations to create some consistency across the business community. It lets people know what types of signs are permitted and what types of usage,” Savoie said. CONTINUED ON PAGE 3, see ARTS GROUP.
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