LangleyAdvance
Riding for Africa pg A4
Your community newspaper since 1931
Tuesday, September 27, 2011
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Audited circulation: 41,100 – 24 pages
James Schell showed off his linedancing moves and then made his voice heard while watching a rock band play at Douglas Park Saturday during Celebration in the Park. James also joined the band on stage, playing the tambourine while providing background vocals (left).
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Celebration in the Park
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“Inclusiveness” was the name of the softball game held on a muggy Saturday afternoon at Douglas Park. One of the highlights of Celebration in the Park,
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continued on page A5…
Heart wrenching day for victim’s daughter A letter from an eight-year-old girl whose father was injured on a Langley mushroom farm was read out in court. by Heather Colpitts hcolpitts@langleyadvance.com
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MLA Mary Polak and Fort Langley-Aldergrove MLA Rich Coleman. Both teams welcomed players with developmental disabilities and the turnout was quite impressive this year.
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hosted by the Langley Association for Community Living, is the annual ball game involving the local RCMP and media, and dignitaries such as Langley mayors Rick Green (Township) and Peter Fassbender (City), Langley
Eight-year-old Angela Phan could wait no longer. She patiently waited in Surrey Provincial Court all day Thursday as grown-ups went back and forth over how much her father’s life is worth. But when the sentencing hearing for the owners of a mushroom farm adjourned until Judge Ken Ball metes out a sentence for violations to the Workers’ Compensation Act on Nov. 25, Angela could wait no longer. She marched from the public gallery into the courtroom and asked the adults to take her letter. Her father, Michael Phan, is one of two men with permanent brain damage from an incident in a South Langley that killed three other men. Ha Qua Truong, Van Thi Truong, and Thinh Huu Doan, owners and directors of two mushroom farming firms, entered guilty pleas earlier this year to 10 charges under B.C.’s health and safety regulations. Angela’s letter tells how her father’s severe injury during the incident has impacted her.
munity for speaking out. They added that they Ball told the Crown and defence to discuss are vocal to prevent this kind of tragedy from whether to admit it as a victim impact docuhappening to other workers. ment. They agreed, and he reopened court to They also begged employers not to be allow it. “cheap” about safety equipment and proced“I was pleased to see Angela speak up,” the ures. judge said. Much of the day Sept. 22 was Angela’s letter is one of sevspent hearing defence lawyer eral victim impact statements Les Mackoff explain his senfrom immediate family memtence suggestion of $100,000 bers in the case. in fines. Mackoff argued that “It was quite brave of her,” the business grosses about said Crown counsel Ron $400,000 annually, with the Kockx. Truongs grossing about $5,000 Angela, who was five at the monthly, but they pay $15,000 time her father was injured, monthly to the lender, which remembers him taking her to Ward Perrin/Postmedia Network Inc. has not foreclosed on the farm. friends’ houses and sharing a Eight-year-old Angela Phan (in the “How would they think about love of movies. light-coloured clothing) caught the $100,000 as trade back for five “I liked going to the theatre court off guard when she came lives?” said Nga Trieu, the wife with him,” she told the Langley forward with a hand-written letter Advance. of deceased Han Pham. about her injured father, Michael. Her older sister, Tracey, said The Crown is asking for hunher younger siblings never got dreds of thousands in fines but a chance to know their father. no jail time, and that the fines be against the Angela and other members of the five individuals, not the business, because busiimpacted families spoke outside the courtnesses can declare bankruptcy, change names, house during a recess in proceedings. They or otherwise evade payment. said they have had to repeatedly go to the Composting company A-1 Mushroom media because that is their only way to have Substratum has gone bankrupt, but Truong their voices heard. They are considering civil still operates HV Truong Mushroom, which action. employees 33 people. • More online at www.langleyadvance.com, The victims’ families say they have been click on “News” bad-mouthed within the local Vietnamese com-