ONLINE 24/7: TRICITYNEWS.COM
TC THINGS-TO-DO GUIDE: 21
Legendary Jim Byrnes comes to town SYRIAN REFUGEES
TC
INSIDE: Take a hike in the great outdoors [pg. 24] / TC Sports [pg. 32]
FRIDAY, AUG. 26, 2016 Your community. Your stories.
TRI-CITY
NEWS
HOMELESSNESS
Coq. shelter deals with complaints But fewer issues since opening, police, operator says DIANE STRANDBERG Tri-CiTy News
DIANE STRANDBERG/TRI-CITY NEWS
Samer Aleid and his family are originally from Syria and have been in Canada for seven months; he has found work making pizzas at Pasta Polo Restaurant in Coquitlam. For the story, see page 3.
BC SPCA
Dead dog tossed in dumpster SARAH PAYNE
The Tri-CiTy News
The BC SPCA is hoping to identify two people who dumped a dead dog in a Coquitlam waste disposal bin last month. Results of a necropsy on the young, female boxer-cross show she likely died from extreme heat exposure shortly before being tossed in the
garbage. “It really is sad,” said BC SPCA spokesperson Lorie Chortyk. “You hate to think of any animal suffering like that, but then to be tossed in the dumpster adds to the sadness.” Security video taken at 68 Schooner St., just off United Boulevard, on July 26 shows a light beige or gold-coloured minivan pulling up behind the building and a man and
woman throwing the dead dog into the dumpster. Chortyk said somebody initially contacted Coquitlam Animal Control, which then called in the BC SPCA. The body was sent away for a necropsy and the results were just received, leading the BC SPCA to conclude it was a suspicious death. Chortyk said they don’t know what happened to the dog, which
was about a year old, but it’s possible she was left in a hot car or in a crate in an unventilated area. Eileen Drever, senior animal protection officer for the BC SPCA, said the dog’s body temperature would have been elevated beyond its ability to release the heat, resulting in a “very painful death.” see SPCA, page 6
Coquitlam RCMP and operators of the 3030 Gordon Ave. homeless shelter in Coquitlam say complaints about tenants, garbage and needles have declined since the shelter opened eight months ago. But one nearby resident said his family has been scared by the appearance and behaviour of some of the tenants from 3030 Gordon, a shelter and transition housing project funded by BC Housing on city of Coquitlam land near Lougheed Highway and Westwood Street. In an email to The Tri-City News, Michael Anderson said he was approached by someone who was obviously high on drugs and is worried that concentrating addicts in the neighbourhood will result in an increase in violent crime. “What I would like to see done is that the centre adopt and publicize a zero-tolerance policy for theft, intoxication and substance abuse, and that the clients understand they are not to impose themselves on
passers-by, on pain of ejection from the facility,” Anderson stated. Operational since December of 2015, the shelter and transition housing project has supported 124 homeless people, a majority of them Tri-City residents. But staff said complaints have declined since the opening because many issues were dealt with by a community advisory committee that meets monthly, and by the Coquitlam RCMP, which is a member of the committee and visits the shelter daily. Sean Spear, associate director with operator RainCity Housing, said the majority of complaints were about one or two individuals with severe mental health concerns and while garbage and needles have been an issue the introduction of daily clean-ups have ensured that drug paraphernalia and refuse aren’t left in the neighbourhood. “The clean-up we are doing is a contribution to the community,” Spear said, noting that plans are in the works to expand the clean-up if funding is available. Meanwhile, Coquitlam RCMP said there hasn’t been a noticeable spike in crime since the shelter opened. see NO SPIKE, page 14
CONTACT THE TRI-CITY NEWS: newsroom@tricitynews.com / sales@tricitynews.com / circulation@tricitynews.com / 604-472-3040
We’ve got you covered for all of your Insurance needs! 1940 Oxford Connector, Suite #103 604-927-3388
1944 Como Lake Avenue 604-937-3601
Westwood Centre 305 - 2748 Lougheed Highway 604-944-9577
Burke Mountain 202-3387 David Avenue 604-942-7214
Insuring you since 1973. Visit us online at www.jmins.com
Johnston Meier Insurance Agencies Group