N E W
WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 26, 2014
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DREAMING OF A VINTAGE CHRISTMAS
◗ NEW MAYOR
◗ NEW HIGH SCHOOL
Ministry still on board
Cote is eager to lead BY THERESA MCMANUS REPORTER
BY NIKI HOPE REPORTER
tmcmanus@royalcityrecord.com
nhope@royalcityrecord.com
Mayor-elect Jonathan Cote is getting set to take the top spot in city hall after breezing to victory on election day. In the Nov. 15 civic election, Cote garnered more votes than the four-term mayor in every poll, finishing with 7,661 votes compared to Wayne Wright’s 5,149 votes. On election night, Cote told supporters about an elderly woman he met earlier that day who said she had voted for Cote and Wright, but was told her ballot would be rejected for picking both candidates. When she found out she could only vote for one, she cried. “Wayne has done an incredible job,” Cote, 35, said about Wright, 71. “He’s been my mentor.” Cote, who attributed his election success to running the hardest working and strongest campaign, will officially be sworn in as mayor on Dec. 1. Cote said his first priority as mayor is to tackle New Westminster ’s transportation issues. “The Number 1 priority is taking the master transportation plan we have spent the last two years developing and actually work on implementing it and trying to address some of the challenging transportation issues we face in New West,” he said. “The last thing I want to do is see that document gathering dust up at city hall. To me, I want that to be the top priority of what the city is working on. I know we’ve got a lot on our plate, but to me that is the top priority.” ◗Cote Page 8
Chung Chow/THE RECORD
Blast from the past: Jim Hutson shows off one of the vintage Christmas records he’s amassed through the years. Visitors checking out his house on the Homes for the Holidays tour will see a lot of vintage Christmas items and hear old vinyl spinning on the record player. For the full story, see page three.
A recent letter from the Ministry of Education has New Westminster school district staff reassured about the future of the long-awaited high school replacement. The letter outlines project details that have been agreed upon between the Ministry of Education and the school district, including that the school will be replaced, not renovated. “The Ministry of Education is committed to work with School District #40 to advance this project on a priority basis,” says the letter, signed by deputy minister Dave Byng. The replacement school will be built on the existing New Westminster Secondary School site, taking into account the areas which have been designated as cemetery; the capacity of the school will be 1,900 students, serving grades 9 to 12, the letter states. Another development, based on recent survey work, is that the existing school is now deemed to have a high-risk seismic ranking, “meaning the school becomes an immediate concern,” which helps the call to replace the aging building, the district’s director of operations Doug Templeton told The Record. Templeton and school board chair Jonina Campbell met with local media Monday to discuss the letter from the Ministry, which they saw as a positive step toward getting the school replaced. ◗NWSS Page 8
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