N E W
SATURDAY, MARCH 19, 2011
W E S T M I N S T E R
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◗ HEWER CASE
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Fit for a Royal City queen Volunteers continue a historic tradition BY THERESA MCMANUS REPORTER tmcmanus@royalcityrecord.com
Union hopes Crown will press charges in 2004 death of mill worker BY ALFIE LAU REPORTER alau@royalcityrecord.com
The next stage in the United Steelworkers’ private prosecution of Weyerhaeuser will play out in a New Westminster courtroom on Monday, March 28. On Thursday, Weyerhaeuser was summoned to appear before a provincial court judge in the steelworkers’ union’s private prosecution for the 2004 death of Lyle Hewer. Arguing for the union is prominent lawyer Glen Orris, while Weyerhaeuser has retained criminal lawyer Len Doust of McCarthy Tetrault to defend its interests. Judge Therese Alexander had issued process on March 2 in the private criminal prosecution case. The union alleges Weyerhaeuser was criminally negligent in Hewer’s death at the company’s now-closed Queensborough sawmill. “We expect that our union will either proceed on its own in the role of a private prosecutor or that the Crown counsel may step in to prosecute the criminal case,” says steelworkers’ union Western Canada director Stephen Hunt. “The testimony and evidence presented at those hearings convinced the judge that this case has merit that warrants a summons to be issued,” says Hunt. “In our view, it would be an injustice if the Crown were to step in and stay the charges at this point in time.” Hunt, reached in Winnipeg on Friday morning, added that the union is proceeding because it wants to ensure that what happened to Hewer never happens to another worker again. ◗Court Page 8
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Crowning a successor: Carol Cheremkora, right, is passing on the May Queen crown making role to fellow New Westminster resident Sue Sayer.
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Carol Cheremkora and Sue Sayer may never have had the chance to be New Westminster’s May Queen, but they will forever be connected to the longstanding tradition. For the past nine years, Cheremkora has made the crown for the May Queen. Having capped off her crown-making career for the Royal City’s 140th May Queen in 2010, she’s now crowning Sue Sayer as her successor. “It’s been an honour for me to do the crowns,” Cheremkora said. “I wanted mine to end on a big one – the 140th.” New Westminster celebrated the 140th anniversary of the May Queen in 2010; a celebration that also occurred in the same year the Olympics came to Vancouver. New Westminster has the longest running May Day celebration in the British Commonwealth. “I have really enjoyed it. It’s been part of my life, May Day, all my life,” Cheremkora said. “You want to pass it on to someone who is going to enjoy it and love it as much as you do.” Sayer is excited about taking on the role as the May Queen crown maker in the Royal City and channeling her creative flair into something that’s so connected to the city’s heritage. “I am so glad we make them,” said Sayer, adding the city could easily order a crown online. “It’s a contribution from the community to do that. It’s a tradition we are carrying on.” Both women are thrilled to be part of the city’s May Day history, although neither got a chance to be May Queen. Cheremkora, a fifth generation New Westminster resident, ran once for May Queen – the ◗Crowns Page 9
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