LangleyAdvance
Mustang runs for SFU pg A23
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Friday, April 1, 2011
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Snugly scarves will aid Japan effort
Simonds Elementary students are fashioning scarves to do their part for relief in Japan.
novice when it comes to sewing. MORE “I’m not great at PHOTOS sewing,” he said, addONLINE ing “when you get callouses from tying WWW.LANGLEYADVANCE.COM hockey skates, you don’t feel [the needle pokes] much.” by Heather Colpitts Keagan’s also a hockey hcolpitts@langleyadvance.com player and has a sewing role model to help him The Grade 5 students tackle the charity project. at Simonds Elementary “My dad knows how who form the Student to sew,” he said, explainCouncil will have several ing his dad often repairs needle pokes on their hockey gear. little fingers in the weeks The Student Council to come. members have a mix And they will be proud of experience when it of each little pink mark comes to wielding a as they sew snugly red needle and thread, but and black scarves for sale all are eagerly taking on to raise money for Japan the jobs necessary for relief. They’re quick to the project. realize that needle jabs They are cutting fleece are nothing compared to blankets (it turned out to what people of Japan are be cheaper than buying suffering. fabric) into the correct Student Council pressizes. Some are using idents Maguire Houlind the school’s die-cutand Keagan Briggs ting machine to create explained that the stuskyhawks, the school dents were eager to do mascot, in felt and red something to help people circles for the Japanese in Japan. The northern flag that’s being sewn part of the country was Heather Colpitts/Langley Advance into each scarf. devastated by a 9.0 magTribe is touched by the Luke Komisarsky works to thread the sewing machine needle, the trickiest part of making the scarves. nitude earthquake and students’ efforts. resulting tsunami on Student Council in December picked up on the idea and has “These are really compassionMarch 11. and the group was full of energy the supplies to make about 100 ate kids,” she said. “They feel it. “I saw the videos of it,” said to put on school activities. Then scarves. They really want to help out.” Keagan. Japan was rocked by the earthSupplies cost about $1 per She provided a presentation on For him, it raised troubling quake and tsunami, and the scarf and the students have Japan at the school’s Thursday questions. Simonds students galvanized priced them at $8. The school’s assembly, showing students “Where are they living?” he their energies – they knew who Aboriginal department has conthe picturesque community of said. “There’s probably not a lot they wanted to help. tributed various notions to the Kesennuma, where she and her of food for them to feed those Teacher Lindsay Tribe had been project. husband taught. people.” doing a project in her class to Maguire is enjoying working continued on page A31… The school created its first make fleece scarves. The group with fabric and admits he’s a
Aldergrove Lake
Lake dries up but park will stay open
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Aldergrove Lake has been drained dry for the last time, Metro Vancouver Parks has decided. by Matthew Claxton
mclaxton@langleyadvance.com
The “lake” is officially gone from Aldergrove Lake Park. The Metro Vancouver Parks Committee and the Metro board voted unanimously not to re-open the swimming hole this summer. The final nail in the coffin was new health regulations that would have forced the park to get a Fraser Health permit this year, as the lake had been redefined as a public pool. There was no way the lake could have met requirements to get a permit, said Gayle
Martin, a Langley City councillor and chair of the Metro Vancouver Parks Committee. In fact, it would have to be redesigned, rebuilt, and relocated. “It’s a real drag to have to make this decision,” Martin said. Aldergrove Lake is a concrete-lined bowl that has been filled with water annually for 40 years. It was almost shut down last year, amid concerns over health issues and environmental concerns. Keeping the water healthy for swimmers requires chlorination, but water has spilled out of its bounds several times, and that poses a potential threat to the headwaters of nearby Pepin Brook, one of a few creeks and rivers that host populations of the endangered Nooksack dace. Then there’s the problem of getting water for the pool, which must come from local
wells. It almost ran out of water in 2009. “There’s no water to speak of,” Martin said. The shutdown comes in spite of last year’s decision, spearheaded by Township Councillor Mel Kositsky, to look into options for keeping the lake open. Even then, Kositsky pointed out, the lake was “on life support.” Other park facilities will not be affected. The washrooms, parking lots, and picnic areas will all remain open, Martin said. The sand beach is likely to remain this year. It’s not certain what will eventually replace the lake bottom. Public consultation on the future of the park will be held in June, Martin said. The next nearest swimming area in a Metro Vancouver park is Albert Dyck Park in Abbotsford.