Sobering political reality trumps blood-saturated fiction in the third instalment of James DeMonaco’s horror series, set in a dystopian America which has legalised murder for 12 hours every March to sate the population’s bloodlust and reduce crime levels for the rest of the year.
The original film, released in 2013, was a guilty pleasure fusing nail-biting tension with explosions of shocking violence.
A gruesome follow-up, The Purge Anarchy, fell short of expectations and now The Purge: Election Year polls a similarly lukewarm response by attempting to skewer the American political establishment.
Unfortunately, the real-life horror show of the 2016 race for the White House - a contest dripping with bile and intolerance - is far more disturbing than anything writer-director DeMonaco can conjure on screen for his beleaguered characters as they attempt to survive another night of wanton slaughter.
A potentially delicious subplot - the influx of murder tourists, who travel to America on Purge night to commit unspeakable crimes that are forbidden in their own countries - is undernourished and goes nowhere.
Eighteen years after her entire family was slaughtered on Purge night, Senator Charlie Roan (Elizabeth Mitchell) is poised to narrowly win the 2022 Presidential election by campaigning on a promise to end the annual cull.
Her rival, Minister Edwidge Owens (Kyle Secor), is a firm believer in the Purge and has the full backing of the New Founding Fathers (NFF), the shadowy political hierarchy led by Caleb Warrens (Raymond J Barry).
These men and women in tailored suits are distressed by the possibility of Roan winning over the electorate and they plot to eliminate her.
“We are going to use this year’s Purge to do some spring cleaning gentlemen!” snarls Warrens, who masterminds a scheme to undermine the security measures put in place by the Senator’s trusted bodyguard and protector, Leo Barnes (Frank Grillo).
Meanwhile, as the 7pm siren to signal the start of the Purge approaches, hard-working shop owner Joe Dickson (Mykelti Williamson) and his assistant Marcos (Joseph Julian Soria) have an ill-fated run-in with two thieving schoolgirls (Brittany Mirabile, Juani Feliz) that they might regret when the blood-letting begins in earnest.
The Purge: Election Year is one hack ‘n’ slash too far for DeMonaco’s neat premise.
Plotting is flimsy and characters are thinly sketched, so we don’t have a strong emotional attachment to them.
Williamson provides comic relief to dissipate tension, almost putting a bullet in the head of one friend, who creeps up on him.
“Good Lord! It’s Purge night. You don’t sneak up on black people!” he shrieks.
Fans of earlier films will get their kicks from the gory set pieces but the lack of new ideas and directorial verve is palpable.
It’s time for a complete reshuffle behind the cameras.
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Sobering political reality trumps blood-saturated fiction in the third instalment of James DeMonaco’s horror series, set in a dystopian America which has legalised murder for 12 hours every March to sate the population’s bloodlust and reduce crime levels for the rest of the year.


The Purge: Election Year - One hack ‘n’ slash too far


Here is a list of five popular bookshops in the county
Ebb & Flo, Chorley
Broadhurst's in Southport
Ebb & Flo bookshop is an independent bookshop in Gillibrand Street, Chorley.
Alongside more recognisable titles, its book selection offers something quirky to customers. With a children’s den area, there are activities and sessions for young learners.
The store stocks a wide range of French Djeco crafts, as well as handmade crafts by Darcey Fleur.
The shop also boasts an upstairs gallery, where local artists and photographers can exhibit their work. Prints and artwork are often for sale. The room is also available for hire.
Broadhurst’s Bookshop, Southport
Broadhurst’s Bookshop in Market Street, Southport has four floors of hidden treasures.
The ground floor houses the new bookshop, with fiction and non-fiction. Other floors include an extensive new children’s book department, two rare book rooms specialising in 19th and 20th century literature, modern first editions, private press books and a wide and interesting selection of antiquarian titles. There is also eight second-hand book rooms containing upwards of 50,000 titles on all subjects and a varied selection of 18th, 19th and 20th century prints and maps.
Halewood and Sons, Preston
Halewood and Sons is a family business established in 1867 by William Halewood. It has a vast stock of rare, interesting and collectable books, maps and prints in all subject areas.
Located in 37 Friargate, there is ample choice to browse around for the perfect second hand and antiquarian book. The five-generational store is particularly strong in travel, exploration, local history, Arthur Conan Doyle, and natural history.
For more information and a book search, email dhalewood@aol.com
Book, Bean and Ice Cream, Kirkham
Book, Bean and Ice Cream, run by Elaine Silverwood, is at the site of the former SilverDell bookshop, in Poulton Street, Kirkham. The shop relaunched with a new name, linking with Silverwood Events, to provide cultural and literary activities in a cafe and book shop setting.
Carnforth Bookshop, Carnforth
Carnforth Bookshop, in Market Street, is an independent, family run bookshop, established in 1977.
Situated over three floors, it stocks a wide variety of products, including new, second hand and antiquarian books, as well as a large selection of maps, gifts, cards, toys, stationery and art materials.


Here is a list of five popular bookshops in the county


Meet a witch on a dangerous mission, a fabulous fantasy queen and a cast of colourful picture book stars in a glittering array of new titles from Macmillan Children’s Books.
Age 9 plus:
Fire Witch by Matt Ralphs
English history, thrilling adventure and a bewitching heroine…
Matt Ralphs is back with Fire Witch, the red-hot sequel to Fire Girl, and our fiery, fearless witch Hazel must gather her wits and steel her nerves to join her enemies and try to save her mother.
Packed with intrigue, danger, nail-biting tension and flashes of rib-tickling humour, these page-turning stories featuring an extraordinary girl are addictive reading for young fans of fantasy, drama and… witches!
The Civil War in England is over, Oliver Cromwell rules the land and a new battle is raging… between the people and the witches. Twelve-year-old HazelHooper is no ordinary girl. She is a Fire Witch, she can wield and manipulate flame and she is getting stronger all the time. But she is also angry because her mother Hecate had to sacrifice herself to the demon world in order to stop a demonic invasion. Hazel must fight on alone and she is determined to get her back, whatever the cost.
Her only chance to find Hecate is to seek advice from brilliant demonologist Nicolas Murrell, the Order of Witch Hunters’ most prized prisoner, and the man who summoned the demon responsible for Hecate’s fate. With only Bramley, her grumpy dormouse familiar for company, Hazel must disguise herself as a boy and infiltrate the black heart of the Order of Witch Hunters to speak to Murrell before he is executed. But can he be trusted? Will Murrell reveal to his captors that their newest apprentice is actually… a witch?
Ralphs has always been fascinated by witches, ghosts and anything that sends a shiver down his spine and this magical series is the perfect creation of his high-flying, super scary imagination.
A world of supernatural in the midst of terrifying real history…
(Macmillan, paperback, £6.99)
Age 10 plus:
The Hunting of the Princes by Peter F. Hamilton
Also dabbling in the wondrous world of fantasy is Peter F.Hamilton, the UK’s bestselling adult science fiction author, who was inspired to write for a younger audience by his own two children.
The Hunting of the Princes is the second book in his original and gripping Queen of Dreams trilogy which began with The Secret Throne and has all the hallmarks of a memorable modern classic.
Sprinkled with atmospheric black and white illustrations by Rohan Eason, this gorgeous fantasy series is a vivid, magical adventure featuring amazing kingdoms, daring quests and deadly menace.
Taggie Paganuzzi has had a busy year in the beautiful old market town of Stamford in Lincolnshire. Her mum was a Third Realm sorceress and now Taggie has inherited her family’s magical powers. From finding out she is the queen-to-be of a magical realm to learning to use her magic skills and discovering that the King of Night wants her dead, there have been a lot of ‘firsts.’
Assassins have been targeting royal heirs throughout the magical realms and now someone has tried to kill Taggie whilst she was cycling back to her home. Everyone thinks the King of Night’s army, the Karrak invaders, are responsible and that war is inevitable. But Taggie has found out two very interesting facts. Firstly, that the Karraks come from a cold, dark universe and cannot abide warmth and light. And secondly, that there was once a gate to this universe, now lost in the mists of time. If Taggie and her friends can find the gate, perhaps they can also stop the war? But to do that, they need to find a Karrak willing to take their side…
Hamilton conjures up a thrilling alternative world in which good must overcome evil, children are pitted against powerful enemies and a fantastic cast of amazing animal characters add to all the fun and fantasy. Don’t miss it!
(Macmillan, paperback, £6.99)
Age 3 plus:
Flying Lemurs by Zehra Hicks
This funny, reassuring story about overcoming fears and discovering hidden talents is the latest inspirational book from Macmillan’s new imprint for young children, Two Hoots.
A zingy, zany tale bursting with high-octane energy and an adorable cast of high-flying animals, this gorgeous circus-themed odyssey comes from talented author and illustrator Zehra Hicks whose speciality is telling stories through pictures.
Everyone in the lemur family is good at jumping, a talent which comes in handy as they are all circus performers. Mum is a brilliant trapeze artist, Dad’s trampoline routine is absolutely huge and Grandma’s speciality is being shot from a cannon.
Unfortunately little Lemur is not so good at jumping… in fact, he’s not even a fan of heights. He just can’t jump, no matter how hard he tries. But there are other things that Lemur is good at – throwing custard pies, skateboarding and playing the tambourine – so maybe with a bit of practice, he can become the best circus performer of them all!
Hicks ramps up the visual and verbal drama of this fun and warm-hearted story with her multi-textured illustrations, painted here by using bamboo and a bold palette of colours. Having fun, accepting life’s triumphs and disasters, and discovering the importance of family love all come under the spotlight in a sparkling and inspirational picture book.
(Two Hoots, paperback, £6.99)
Age 3 plus:
More People to Love Me by Mo O’Hara and Ada Grey
Modern families come in all shapes and sizes… and sometimes they are extra super-sized!
Mo O’Hara, author of the popular My Big Fat Zombie Goldfish series, delivers the perfect picture book for the step family generation in this moving story about a little girl with so many branches to her family tree that she runs out of space to draw them all.
Asked by her teacher to draw her family tree, the little girl just doesn’t know where to start. She’s got her mum and dad, her sister Cee Cee, her stepdad David and her stepmum Sharon. And then there are her mum’s new baby twins, her step brother Michael and no one must forget about Happy the tortoise. But the tree is starting to get rather crowded because there are all the grandparents to fit in as well. There’s only one thing for it, the family tree is going to have to grow!O’Hara was inspired to write by her own children’s positive experiences of being part of an extended family and felt that this was
rarely depicted in picture books. The result is a warm and moving tale about one little girl and her family that keeps on growing.
The gentle, reassuring and playful story is complemented by Ada Grey’s charming illustrations, reinforcing the message that every family is different and the bigger the family, the more people there are to love… and to love you back!
(Macmillan, paperback, £6.99)
Age 3 plus:
The Hippopandamouse by Jools Bentley
Nobody’s perfect… and sometimes being imperfectly different makes you special!
Author and illustrator Jools Bentley plays with traditional expectations in this cute and clever story about a little princess who falls for the only toy in the shop that doesn’t have a name.
Princess Flo has pocket money to spend so she heads off to Fluffley’s Fine Toys, the best toy shop in town. Everybody there has been working very hard to prepare for her visit – so hard, in fact, that one of the cuddly toys has ended up as a strange mix of a hippo, panda and mouse. The shop’s owner Miss Fluffey is eager to show Princess Flo the cuddly teddies, cute kittens and perky penguins, all perfect for a royal princess. But to everyone’s horror, Princess Flo spots the strange looking toy. The part hippo, part panda and part mouse is a total and utter mistake! But Flo loves this toy being different, seeing something unique and special in the strange animal. All he needs now is a name… Hippopandamouse!
Wise, witty and wonderfully warm-hearted, the tale of The Hippopandamouse is a beautiful, big-hearted story, gorgeously illustrated and simply perfect for little princesses everywhere.
(Macmillan, paperback, £6.99)
Age 3 plus:
Prince Ribbit by Jonathan Emmett and Poly Bernatene
Hop, skip and jump into this brilliant new picture book from top team Jonathan Emmett and Poly Bernatene.
Well-loved fairy tale, The Frog Prince, gets a dashing, daring makeover as ever popular author Emmett and talented illustrator Bernatene put a devilishly clever twist in the not-so-handsome frog’s tail.
One day, Princess Martha and her sisters, Princess Lucinda and Princess Arabella, are listening to the story of The Frog Prince. Lucinda and Arabella love romantic tales and their happily-ever-after endings, but Martha isn’t so sure. She prefers facts to fairy tales, and likes real frogs more than enchanted ones, and besides, clever Martha knows that not everything written in books is true.
Unknown to the sisters, a clever little frog is listening to the story and it sparks a bright idea. If he can convince the gullible princesses that he is actually a prince, perhaps he could start getting some royal treatment of his own. So is Prince Ribbit really a handsome prince, or just a plain, ordinary frog?
There’s only one way to find out… pucker up princesses, it’s time for true love’s kiss!
Emmett works his own brand of fairy tale magic as he transforms a classic tale into a feast of smiles and smoochy surprises while Bernatene’s stunning and superbly detailed illustrations provide a feast of colour and fun.
A picture book that all the family can enjoy…
(Macmillan, paperback, £6.99)
Age 3 plus:
Dear Zoo Drawing and Colouring Book by Rod Campbell
Rod Campbell, creator of the classic, much-loved Dear Zoo books, has been a trusted name in early learning for over 30 years and he’s back with this inspirational first drawing and colouring book.
Dear Zoo, an ingeniously simple, lift-the-flap book with touches of gentle humour, introduces pre-school children to the wonder and variety of wild animals, and now a new generation can join in all the fun and draw their very own zoo full of amazing creatures.
There are 32 pages of drawing, colouring and doodling featuring all the animals from the original story. At the top of each page, little ones are told what to draw and given a helping hand with many of the pictures already started.
Packed full of simple activities that are perfectly pitched for pre-schoolers, the book’s large, square, extra thick pages can be peeled off the pad, stuck to walls at home or even put in a frame if they are special mini-masterpieces.
Draw bananas for the naughty monkey, give the fierce lion big sharp teeth, design a bowl for a frisky puppy or give a camel a big smile. The Dear ZooDrawing and Colouring Book is the ideal first lesson for budding young artists and dedicated toddler doodlers.
(Macmillan, paperback, £5.99)

Book reviews: History, fantasy and animal magic with Macmillan


Meet a witch on a dangerous mission, a fabulous fantasy queen and a cast of colourful picture book stars in a glittering array of new titles from Macmillan Children’s Books.


Police have announced that a man missing from home has been found safe and well.
Merseyside Police appealed for information yesterday to help trace Darren Hillman, who is originally from Wigan and living in St Helens.
The 27-year-old was last seen at around 9am on Friday on Peasley Cross Lane, where he was staying.
Officers appealed for help to find him as he had not been seen or heard from since then, but have now confirmed that he has been located.
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Police have announced that a man missing from home has been found safe and well.


We’ve teamed up with Nickelodeon to give you the chance to attend the first-ever UK SLIMEFEST in Blackpool on Saturday September 3rd.
Featuring performances from Alesha Dixon, Conor Maynard, Diversity, The Tide and appearances from Nickelodeon stars Jack Griffo and Kira Kosarin, it’s set to be the slimiest music concert of the Summer.
Slimefest 2016
We’re giving away a VIP family prize package which includes:
4 x General Admission Switch On wristbands on Friday 2nd September 2016
4 x Tickets for the 11am SLIMEFEST concert on Saturday 3rd September 2016
4 x Wristbands for Blackpool Pleasure Beach for Saturday 3rd September 2016
2 x Exclusive official SLIMEFEST Hype® Bag (kids only)
1 x Apple iPad mini 2 7.9” 16gb
Or if you want to guarantee your ticket to the coolest kids’ event of the year, we have an exclusive 2for1 SLIMEFEST ticket offer for you. Just visit nick.co.uk/slimefest and enter FEST02 to get your exclusive 2for1 discount.
All you have to do to have the chance to win this fantastic prize is answer the following question:
Q: Which Britain’s Got Talent judge is performing at Nickelodeon’s SLIMEFEST?
Email your answer with Slimefest in the subject field, adding your name, address and daytime telephone number to competitions@lep.co.uk to arrive by midnight August 31st. Standard competition rules apply, entries merged across JP north west titles.
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We’ve teamed up with Nickelodeon to give you the chance to attend the first-ever UK SLIMEFEST in Blackpool on Saturday  September 3rd.


Win tickets to Nickelodeon's Slimefest and Illuminations Switch On


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Baker signs animal safety and protection legislation


New bids being drafted for the Erving River Front Park project


American Civil War Weekend in Phillipston


Trump prepares to walk back his tough talk on immigration


ARRSD holds orientation for 21 new teachers


Local music phenom Bartlett-Roche performs with Billy Joel


Phillipston Fire Chief aims to fix radio system's 'dead spots'


OIC receives $200,000 to upgrade business' parking


Orange Firefighter Miller graduates from 247th class at MFA training program


St. Mary's welcomes Fr. Peter Naranjo to parish


Something for all at the Petersham Old Home Day


Royalston permanently protects Eagle Reserve with help from Mount Grace


Orange urges TD Bank to reconsider leaving town


Pet owner says: Phillipston visitor guilty in cat death, despite ruling


Canada Post and the Canadian Union of Postal Workers have reached tentative agreements, averting the prospect of a labour dispute that has loomed over the talks for months.
In a statement, Labour Minister MaryAnn Mihychuk says the agreements were reached "voluntarily," but provides no other details about the deals themselves.
The issue of differences in paycheques for rural mail carriers — most of whom are women — and urban letter carriers had been at the forefront of protracted contract talks between the two sides.
The negotiations were extended twice since the weekend, when a deadline expired on a 72-hour job action notice issued last Thursday by the Canadian Union of Postal Workers.
The two sides were in talks nearly around the clock at the request of a special mediator appointed Friday by Mihychuk.
Canada Post described the tentative agreements as short-term. It said they are for two years and that four-year contracts were typically negotiated in the past.
"The agreements will avert a work disruption, bringing much-needed certainty in the postal system for our employees and customers," said Canada Post in a statement. "Canadians can now use the postal system with confidence."
The tentative agreements, however, still must be ratified by the members.
The Canadian Union of Postal Workers is Canada Post's largest union, representing more than 50,000 postal workers
The Canadian Press

Canada Post, postal union reach tentative deals


Two sides avert job action that has loomed for months


The Pattullo Bridge will be reopened to all four lanes of traffic one month ahead of schedule, easing commutes in September when traffic volumes normally rise.
Rehabilitation work on the bridge deck has been underway since April 29 and TransLink had warned drivers to expect five months of delays until early October, with traffic reduced to one lane each way weekdays and complete bridge closures about two nights a week and one weekend a month.
"Despite wet weather in June, crews were able to get more done in a shorter period of time by scheduling additional weekend and overnight closures and reducing the number of concrete pours," TransLink officials said in a release.
The return to four-lane traffic during the day happens Monday, Aug. 29. Regular overnight lane closures that reduce the Pattullo to one lane each way at night for safety reasons will resume.
The final complete bridge closures were to be tonight, Thursday night and from 8 p.m. Friday Aug. 26 until 5 a.m. Monday Aug. 29.
Crews repaired 1,180 square metres of bridge deck. The work included milling off the asphalt surface, removing all deck concrete down to the top layer of rebar. repairing delaminated concrete and cleaning or replacing rebar, and repaving the deck area with a concrete overlay.
The aim was to extned the life of the bridge deck with minimal maintenance to keep the bridge open while a replacement is desinged and built, a project expected to take up to seven years.
The $10-million project was dramatically scaled down from what was originally intended to be a $100-million rehabilitation lasting 18 months.
TransLink officials last fall ruled out seismic rehab work – they decided it was too expensive if it was even possible – and opted to minimize spending since it intends to replace the Pattullo with a new bridge as quickly as possible.

Pattullo Bridge work finishes a month early


TransLink says bridge repair work was done faster than expected over the summer, avoiding the need to continue closures in September


VANCOUVER – It took 100-year-old Indian runner Man Kaur almost a minute and a half to complete the 100-metre race, but she never broke her stride.
And when she finally crossed the finish line at the Americas Masters Games in Vancouver, her competitors – many of them two decades younger – were there to cheer her on.
Her son and fellow athletes say Kaur's energy and drive to compete has become an inspiration to participants in the unique international event for athletes over 30.
Kaur began running at age 93 at the suggestion of her son, 78-year-old Gurdev Singh, who also competes in the Masters Games and says he knew she could become a star in her age category.
She has won more than 20 medals, including snatching three golds this week as she is the only competitor in the category for women over 100.
If you're wondering whether she holds the elusive secret to a long life, Kaur says unfortunately it's what you might expect – a good diet and lots of exercise.
The Canadian Press

VIDEO: 100-year-old woman from India runs 100-metre at masters games in Vancouver


Centenarian Mana Kaur, who started running at age 93, crosses 100-metre finish line in Americas Masters Games


Khan Lee shot a six-under par 66 on Aug. 18 to overcome a four-stroke deficit and capture the BC Golf Association juvenile boys championship at the Chilliwack Golf and Country Club. Below: Khan in action last month at the BC Golf Association junior boys championships at Arbutus Ridge. Khan finished tied for 24th in that event.
Trailing by four strokes heading into the final round, Khan Lee changed his strategy.
Instead of focusing on the leaderboard — nine golfers were ahead of him — he switched to chasing the course record of nine-under par.
Lee was competing at the BC juvenile boys golf championship, which was hosted by the Chilliwack Golf and Country Club Aug. 15 to 18.
“I knew that I needed to go super low to actually have a chance,” he said on Friday, on his way to California for another tournament.
“Instead of trying to put pressure on myself, I just thought I am going to go out and hit my shot.”
Lee shot an opening round of 75 and followed that up with a 70. And in Thursday’s final round, he started with two birdies and two bogeys in the first six holes. But after that, Lee buckled down and made two birdies over the next four holes. He pulled even with Victoria’s Jeevan Sihota with a birdie on 14 and then closed his round with birdies on 17 and 18.
Altogether, Lee finished with six birdies over his final 13 holes and it was those final two birdies which put him over the top — not for the course record but for the championship.
Lee finished with a final round six-under par 66 to finish the tournament a five-under par 211.
The 16-year-old admitted that while he was a bit surprised he pulled it off, he also knew he had the potential.
Playing under clear skies and at times sweltering heat, there were also periods of gusting wind to fool with the players’ minds, but it didn’t affect Lee.
“I was in the zone, I just kept focused, didn’t give up,” he said. “I was feeling good.”
Lee was proud of his final round but admitted he was going for the course record.
“But come on, 66 in the final round of a championship, I’ll take it,” he said.
Lee, who moved to Willoughby a few months ago, has golfed since he was about five years old.
“I just like the moment, when you make a putt or need to make a putt. And it is full of surprises,” he explained.
He is also proving to be a player to watch with a verbal commitment on a scholarship to Washington State University to join the Cougars golf team. Lee enters Grade 12 at Clayton Heights next month.
Lee has spent the past five years training at the Northview Golf Academy.
“He was already pretty good. He was just looking for some fitness and getting a leg up and has been working pretty hard ever since," said Matt Palsenbarg, the director of instruction with the Tour Performance Lab at Northview.
“(Khan) has definitely been one of the hardest workers we have.
“He just loves the game. He is just a super happy kid with a big smile on his face constantly.”
Three others crack top 20
Three other Langley golfers finished in the top 20 with Andy Kim (Redwoods) tied for sixth at 2-over par, Jess Lee (Redwoods) was tied for eighth at 3-over par and Jackson Jacob (Lab@Northview) was tied for 19th at 7-over par. Andy Jang (Redwoods) was tied for 21st at 9-over par.
The BC juvenile girls championships were also held at the Chilliwack Golf and Country Club with Langley’s Jessica Wu (Redwoods) finishing tied for seventh at 9-over.
Surrey’s Hannah Lee ran away with the title, shooting a five-under par 211 to win by five strokes.
Two other Langley golfers — Chaewon Baek (Swan-e-set) and Emma Yang (Redwoods) finished 13th and 19th, respectively.

Lee catches fire, rallies to win BC Golf Association juvenile boys championship


Four strokes down with 18 holes to play, Langley's Khan Lee finished with six birdies on final 13 holes to win by two


A routine check-up at the hospital has turned into a nightmare for a Prince Rupert woman.
A month-and-a-half after having an endoscopy to inspect her nose and throat, Joan Dudoward received a letter from Northern Health stating that the endoscope used at the Prince Rupert Regional Hospital was not cleaned properly.
From April until the end of June 2016, the endoscope, which is a flexible tube with a light and a camera used in nonsurgical procedures, was being cleaned with the wrong cleaning solution to disinfect the equipment. There were 104 patients affected and Dudoward was one of them.
“I was majorly stressed out,” she said in an exclusive interview with the Northern View. “I'm a cancer survivor. I try to keep my health up for my mom, I'm a caregiver for a 95-year-old woman.”
Dudoward had gone to the Prince Rupert hospital for an endoscopy on June 29 at 3:30 p.m. after complaining to her physician about reoccurring plugged ears and a sore throat. She received the letter from Northern Health on Aug.24, which stated the error did not impact the diagnostic outcome of the tests and the process error has been corrected.
The letter also states that the BC Centre for Disease Control has been consulted and “the risk of a patient being exposed to a virus as a result of this process error is extremely low.” The contact number for the director of acute care services is offered in case she has any other questions or concerns. Dudoward has many.
She called to find out why the instrument wasn't cleaned, what had happened and how many people had gone through the procedure before and after her. “She said she's not permitted to tell me anything about this,” was the response Dudoward said she received.
The vice-president of medicine for the Northern Health authority, Dr. Ronald Chapman, was quick to respond to media inquiries and stressed the importance of transparency. He said, based on previous experience, once they realized the mistake had occurred they consulted the BC Centre for Disease Control as well as the Northern Health infectious disease specialist in Prince George.
“The risk for the patient is extremely low. We're not concerned that it will at all have any negative impact on their health,” Dr. Chapman said. He added that it's Northern Health's policy to make patients aware even if the risk to them is low. “We believe it's important to be open with those patients and to be fairly transparent so at least they are aware of the mistake. In this case, we don't recommend any particular follow up or tests for the patients.”
This type of process error has happened before, Dr. Chapman confirmed. Not with the same scope, but he said there are many different endoscopes used and each are made by different manufacturers that have various recommendations on how to clean the equipment.
“The health sector is run by human beings and it's fairly complex. If mistakes do happen what we encourage our staff to do is to make management aware so they can learn from that experience,” he said. “I'm happy to say where those mistakes have happened in our environment, a process has been put in place and we haven't had any repetitions after some of those learning experiences.”
For the 104 patients that were affected by this incident, Dr. Chapman said their general practitioners have been notified and if they have any questions they can speak to them and the infectious disease specialist. They can also contact Northern Health's Patient Care Quality Officeto register a complaint.
For Dudoward, who had a bone marrow transplant in 2011 to battle leukemia, she is concerned and has already scheduled a meeting with her physician in early September.
“I'm thinking that my body is not going to be able to fight off infection like I was able to before the cancer because chemo takes a lot out of your body so this is like a bomb exploding in my life,” she said.

VIDEO: Prince Rupert woman treated with unclean medical equipment, Northern Health, B.C. Centre for Disease Control confirms more than a hundred affected


Two months after having an endoscopy Joan Dudoward received a letter telling her that the endoscope used was not cleaned properly.


OTTAWA – Contract talks continue between Canada Post and its largest union, but neither side is hinting as to whether any progress has been made.
A federally appointed mediator has been meeting with the two sides since Friday to try to reach a deal.
The Canadian Union of Postal Workers says if there is no deal by midnight, it would begin job action on Monday by having its members refusing to work overtime on a rotating basis, starting in Alberta and the Northwest Territories.
CUPW served 72 hour strike notice Thursday night, accusing Canada Post of forcing a labour disruption by refusing to bargain in good faith.
The two sides have been deadlocked for months on the issues of pay scales for rural letter carriers and proposed changes to pensions for future employees.
A CUPW news release says the initial job action will cause little disruption to Canada Post customers and that its members will still be delivering mail every day.
The Canadian Press

Postal workers union give details of job action if no deal is reached Sunday


Talks continue, with rotating overtime ban set to begin Monday if no agreement by midnight Sunday


Liz Campbell-Holroyd, diagnosed with Parkinson's disease at age 52, is organizing a fundraising walk in White Rock.
A fundraising walks in support of Parkinson Society of British Columbia takes place in White Rock and Surrey on Sept. 11.
The newly formed White Rock chapter of the Parkinson SuperWalk is being organized by Liz Campbell-Holroyd and her supporters.
Registration for the White Rock event begins at 9 a.m. on Sunday, Sept. 11 in the parking lot of Kintec, 15185 Russell Ave., across from the Whaling Wall. Participants can choose between a 2.5-km walk and a five-km walk – both starting at 10 a.m.
At the same time, the Surrey SuperWalk chapter will host a three-km walk at Bear Creek Park. Registration is also at 9 a.m.
Campbell-Holroyd was diagnosed with Parkinson’s in 2010 at age 52.
The neurodegenerative brain disorder progresses slowly in most people and affects people in different ways, but common symptoms include tremors, stiffness, impaired balance and muscle rigidity. Other non-motor symptoms may develop as the disease progresses. There is no cure, but those with Parkinson’s can live long lives with the help of medication, therapy and even surgery.
Campbell-Holroyd, now 58, is on medication to mask tremors and remains positive. In a recent interview with Peace Arch News, Campbell-Holroyd said she’s keen to give back and help others who have the unpredictable disease.
“They just can’t tell you how you are going to progress. They just don’t have any idea.”
Parkinson Society British Columbia, which says 13,300 British Columbians live with the disease, aims to find a cure through advocacy, education, research and support services. The SuperWalk is the society’s largest fundraising event of the year.
To register or sponsor a walker, visit superwalkbc.kintera.org

Parkinson SuperWalk set for Sept. 11 in White Rock and Surrey


Newly-formed White Rock chapter is being organized by Liz Campbell-Holroyd and her supporters.


Police are on the scene at 160 Street and 24 Avenue this morning.
Police are at a scene on the northeast corner of 160 Street and 24 Avenue tin South Surrey his morning.
Exactly what transpired is unclear, however, a white van could be seen stopped on an angle in the intersection with its door open, and officers had a man in handcuffs on the sidewalk outside of Coast Capital Savings.
More to come…

Police incident in South Surrey's Grandview Corners


Police are at a scene on the northeast corner of 160 Street and 24 Avenue tin South Surrey this morning.


KINGSTON, Ont. â€” The Tragically Hip mixed fan favourites, newer songs and some politics on Saturday night during the final show of their "Man Machine Poem" tour.
Lead singer Gord Downie, who started the show wearing a metallic silver suit and hat with a "Jaws" T-shirt underneath, hugged and kissed his bandmates before they stepped on stage at the K-Rock Centre in the group's hometown of Kingston, Ont.
Minutes earlier, as the raucous sold-out crowd waited for the band to emerge, an impromptu rendition of O Canada broke out and a banner reading "Thank You Prime Minister Downie!" was passed around the arena.
The band immediately gave fans what they wanted to hear, starting their set with four straight hits from the classic album "Fully Completely:" opener "50 Mission Cap," followed by "Courage (for Hugh MacLennan)," "Wheat Kings" and "At the Hundredth Meridian."
The Hip then segued into their latest album "Man Machine Poem," with four tracks including the single "In a World Possessed by the Human Mind."
Before "Machine," Downie launched into one of his trademark onstage rants, calling out to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, who was in the crowd for the show. Trudeau's official photographer tweeted a photo of the prime minister and Downie embracing before the concert.
"Well, you know, prime minister Trudeau's got me, his work with First Nations. He's got everybody. He's going to take us where we need to go," Downie said from the stage.
"It's going to take us 100 years to figure out what the hell went on up there," he continued, "but it isn't cool and everybody knows that. It's really, really bad, but we're going to figure it out, you're going to figure it out."
Many anticipate this will be the band's final tour, given the recent news that Downie is battling terminal brain cancer.
Before performing the "Road Apples" song "Fiddler's Green," Downie seemed to reference the outpouring of support from fans in the wake of his diagnosis.
"Thank you, people, for keeping me pushing and keeping me pushing," he said, which prompted a "Gordie!" chant from the audience.
After playing 21 songs, Downie and his fellow bandmates â€” guitarists Rob Baker and Paul Langlois, bassist Gord Sinclair and drummer Johnny Fay â€” embraced and prepared to retire for a pre-encore break. Downie was left alone on stage to take in the roaring ovation.
After returning for a few more songs, Downie again spoke about his fondness for Trudeau.
"Thank you to the prime minister for coming to our show, it really means a lot to all of us," he said.
"We're in good hands, folks, real good hands. He cares about the people way up North, that we were trained our entire lives to ignore, trained our entire lives to hear not a word of what's going on up there. And what's going on up there ain't good. It's maybe worse than it's ever been, so it's not on the improve. (But) we're going to get it fixed and we got the guy to do it, to start, to help.
"Thank you everybody. Thanks for listening to that. Thanks for listening, period. Have a nice life."
David Friend, The Canadian Press

Downie calls out to Trudeau during Tragically Hip's final show of tour


Tragically Hip kick off tour's final show with fan favourites


The granddaughter of Wolf and Anita Gottschalk says this is the 'saddest photo I have ever taken.'
A South Surrey woman is fighting to reunite her elderly grandparents, who – after 62 years of marriage – are living in separate care homes.
“They cry every time they see each other, and it is heartbreaking,” said Ashley Bartyik in a Facebook post Tuesday.
Longtime Semiahmoo Peninsula residents Wolfram and Anita Gottschalk have been living apart for eight months – Wolfram, 83, in Yale Road Centre in North Surrey, and Anita, 81, at The Residence at Morgan Heights a half-hour drive away.
Wolfram is on a wait-list to move into the same facility as his wife in South Surrey, but his failing health prompted their granddaughter to speak out.
Bartyik told Peace Arch News Thursday that her grandfather was diagnosed this week with lymphoma, and his dementia is getting worse. Bartyik said her family fears if they are apart for much longer, his memory of her won’t stay.
“The point is for them to be together in their final days,” she said. “Now with the news of cancer, our fight to have them in the same facility is even more urgent.”
Bartyik said she’s reached out to her MLA and Fraser Health Authority, but her family’s questions and concerns remain. She said her family hasn’t been contacted by the health authority since her grandparents were separated.
“Our family is just desperate. If there’s anyone that can help us get him moved to our grandmother quicker, we’d just really like the help. We’re still not getting it from Fraser Health.”
Bartyik shared her story in a desperate bid to bring her grandparents back together. She didn’t anticipate her post would go “completely viral.”
As of Thursday morning her post had been shared by more than 2,900 people.
“It shows just how many families, not only in Canada but around the world are sick of health care systems,” she said. “It just kind of opened the door to people’s frustrations that maybe weren’t voiced before.”
Fraser Health Authority spokesperson Tasleem Juma wasn't able to return a call from PAN by press time, but told CTV News officials are working to reunite the couple and “hope to do so in the next few weeks.”

Family fights to reunite South Surrey couple


Wolfram and Anita Gottschalk are living in separate care homes after 62 years of marriage.


The union representing most workers at Canada Post has issued a 72-hour notice of job action as it tries to bargain a collective agreement with the Crown corporation.
The Canadian Union of Postal Workers says the notice spells out what actions it is planning, but stops short of a full-blown walkout.
CUPW national president Mike Palecek says Canada Post forced the labour disruption by refusing to accept a request from the federal labour minister to continue negotiations with the help of a special mediator.
But a spokesman for the agency says that's not the case.
The union's strike mandate was set to expire at midnight.
The two sides have been in negotiations for more than nine months but are far apart on key issues including pay equity for rural carriers and proposed changes to the Canada Post pension plan.
The Canadian Press

Postal union issues strike notice after it says Canada Post refused special mediator


Notice means delivery could be cancelled as early as Monday


They say it takes a village to raise a child, and parents and alumni at one North Delta preschool have taken that proverb to heart.
Current and past parents and students at Sunshine Hills Parent Participation Preschool (SHPPP), a 64-space non-profit school nestled in the woods west of Sunshine Hills Elementary, spent the weekend of Aug. 13 building a new ramp to accommodate Natalie Essex, a wheelchair-bound student with spinal muscular atrophy (SMA) starting at the school in September. (Coincidently, August is SMA awareness month.)
“This really has been a joint effort,” said SHPPP teacher Lori Hodder. “We have grandparents who are coming to help, we have parents that are in the school coming to help, and a friend who is retired, he’s offered to help. So it’s really been a community effort.”
John Essex and his granddaughter Natalie. John was one of many volunteers who helped build a wheelchair ramp so Natalie could attend Sunshine Hills Parents Participation Preschool. Image credit: Lori Hodder
Although the school was awarded a $2,000 grant from the provincial government to help offset the costs, Hodder said the project would not have gotten off the ground were it not for the help of volunteers and local businesses.
“It was going to cost us about $8,600 to do this ramp otherwise and the school did not have the money to do that,” she said. “What’s really cool about a place like this is, when something like this happens, you put a call out to people or you start phoning people and asking them, ‘Do you know who we can talk to?’”
One of those calls was to Colin and Kathy MacKenzie. All four of the MacKenzie kids spent their preschool years at SHPPP, and even though their youngest is starting grade five in September, Colin and Kathy were happy to help.
“My husband’s a contractor and Lori has called on him a couple of times to come look at things and just to get an honest quote of what it’s going to take to fix it,” Kathy said. “So when she just called me out of the blue and said, “Can you donate some tools help put this together?’ Colin didn’t even hesitate. He’s like, ‘of course, sure!’”
Kathy, an alumna of the school and an educational assistant working with kids with special needs, said SHPPP’s a place that kids love to come to and where parents can find a supportive community to belong to.
“When we first started at the preschool [as parents], we had just moved back to the community; I didn’t know anybody,” she said. “My best friends to this day are the people that I met in that first year in the school and we are as thick as thieves, the whole group of us.”
Hodder said the community of SHPPP parents and alumni came through in a big way to make the ramp happen.
“One of the families went to Northern Building Supply and told them what we were doing and they reduced the bill by about $400 of what would be retail. Then Natalie’s father — he works for PCL [Construction] — he took it to them and [they] took another couple of hundred off it.
“[Then] you have other families who go to other businesses and say, ‘Hey listen, can you help us out with this?’ and those businesses then helped us out. Superior Produce on 64th and Scott Road, Ken up there, we’re taking him plates and he’s going to donate fruits and veggies for the work crews. So really, it’s been a coming together of a lot of different community pieces.”
Tetra Society’s David Spears oversees Andrew and John Essex (Natalie’s dad and grandpa) as they construct a wheelchair ramp at Sunshine Hills Parent Participation Preschool on Aug. 13. Image credit: Lori Hodder
Perhaps the biggest piece of the puzzle was the Tetra Society of North America and engineer David Spears.
According to its website, the Tetra Society is “a non-profit organization, founded in 1987 in Vancouver, B.C., that recruits skilled volunteers to create customized assistive devices for people with physical disabilities.” The society has 45 chapters across Canada and the United States.
Spears, a retired mechanical engineer who has worked with Tetra since November, said he wasn’t planning to take on any new work but couldn’t resist helping out a friend.
“I hadn’t intended to do a project. I’m in the middle [of renovations]...and I worked until about midnight last night. But when I saw it was Natalie and I know John very well, I thought I’d take that project on,” Spears said.
“Even though he’s doing this huge renovation on his house — he sent me pictures [and] his house is completely torn apart; I can’t believe he’s doing this for us — he felt that he really needed to lend a hand,” Hodder said, adding Spears was only reimbursed for his mileage and expenses. “I almost cried when I found out.”
Spears estimated he’s spent a cumulative 40 hours designing the ramp, submitting the plans to the Corporation of Delta and writing easy-to-follow instructions for the volunteers to follow.
“It’s been a lot of pre-work to get ready. Because we’ve got some novices and the like, I’ve got to kind of spell it out, not only in drawings and submit it to the Corporation of Delta for approval, but also put it in a step-by-step procedure,” Spears said.

Community comes together to build wheelchair ramp for North Delta preschooler


Parents and alumni of Sunshine Hills Parent Participation Preschool and other community partners come together to make it more accessible.


FortisBC presented Reach Child and Youth Development Society with a $10,000 contribution towards the completion of the new Reach Child Development Centre in Ladner at last week’s Delta Chamber of Commerce After 5 Business Social.
“We are very grateful to FortisBC. This donation will help provide more community-based services and as a result more children will be helped,” Reach’s Executive Director Renie D’Aquila said in a press release.
The 20,000 square feet project, a partnership between the Reach Society, the Corporation of Delta and the Ladner Tsawwassen Kinsmen Club, will allow the society to double the number of children it helps and serve as a place of learning and belonging for children with special needs and their families. Reach currently provides programs and services to families in Delta, Surrey and Langley, serving over 1,000 children annually.
Officials broke ground on the centre, located in Ladner at 5050 47th Avenue, on June 23 and construction is expected to be complete in September 2017.
“We’re proud to be supporting Reach Society’s efforts to make programs, services, resources and support more accessible,” said Viviana Zanocco, Community and Aboriginal Relations Manager for FortisBC in a press release. “This contribution builds on a long history of FortisBC – and our employees – giving back to the communities where we live and work.”
The new facility will provide therapy and counselling rooms, youth social and prevocational training, specialized lending libraries, and an inclusive preschool with accessible playground. It will also serve as the new home for the Kinsmen Club of Ladner and Tsawwassen as well as an expanded event space for municipal, business and community use.
The Reach Foundation is appealing to the community to help raise the remaining $600,000 needed for furnishings and fixtures in order to complete the new child development centre. For more information or to donate visit reachdevelopment.org.

Reach Society gets $10k towards completing Delta child development centre


FortisBC gave Reach Child and Youth Development Society with a $10,000 contribution towards completion of the new child development centre.


Karlene Bullock (left) and her mother Delores Johns have been working together for years. The pair have 30 years in the industry.
The new Bagheera Boutique in Fort Langley aims to fill the fashion gap created when Ella’s Clothes Closet in Brookswood closed by bringing back top European brands to Langley, with names such as Laurel, Luisa Cerano, Marc Cain, Wolford, Brax and Vince, along with local Canadian accessories like Suzi Roher scarves, and Vancouver’s Sheereen De Roussea jewelry.
It also brings back Karlene Bullock and her mother Delores Johns, who have dressed the Fraser Valley for over 30 years, the last 10 of them working as a team at Ella’s.
When Ella Little shut down her namesake shop on 200 Street and 40A Avenue just over a year ago, it left a large hole in the market, Bullock said.
“We used to have women coming from Langley, Maple Ridge, White Rock, Chilliwack and all over Vancouver, to shop, and all of a sudden there were no options.”
When the owners of the Victoria-based Bagheera Boutique, Nataliia Bahirova and Anton Solonnikov decided to open their second store in Langley, they reached out to Bullock and Johns after hearing Ella’s had closed.
“They know the market,” Solonnikov — Bagheera marketing manager — said of the mother-daughter team.
“They have a following from 30 years.”
Bullock said she has been flooded with phone calls and emails from people excited that the new boutique is carrying the same lines.
“We want to be the go-to place for shopping for all women in the Greater Vancouver area,” Bullock said.
“Fort Langley is such a beautiful and quaint place, and the perfect getaway for the weekend.”
Johns said service is the key to keep customers coming back.
“It has to be honest service,” Johns said.
“Honest and continuous.”
Johns has been known to do things like drive to Harrison Hot Springs to ensure a bow on a customer’s bridal dress was properly tied for her wedding ceremony.
“Mom’s good at sales, she is good at talking to the customers,” Bullock said.
“There is no one in the valley who can do displays like she does.”
Johns gives her daughter high marks for bringing in the best of fashion.
“She’s very good at the buying,” Johns said.
The Fort Langley Bagheera Boutique is located in the new Coulter Berry building at Glover Road and Mavis Avenue.
Solonnikov said the store doesn’t only cater to the high-end shoppers, but carries low- to medium-priced brands from Europe as well.
Store phone: 604-371-2879.

Familiar faces at the new Bagheera Boutique in Fort Langley


Mother-and-daughter team bring experience and expertise in high-end fashion


A new 119,000-sq.ft. grocery store from Canada’s largest supermarket retailer will open Friday in South Surrey.
The Real Canadian Superstore will open Aug. 26 at 7 a.m. at 2332 160 St. – across the street from the slightly larger Walmart Supercentre, which also boasts a full grocery store.
The first 100 customers in line Friday at Superstore will receive a President’s Choice gift bags of “goodies.” Surrey-Cloverdale MLA Stephanie Cadieux will speak at an opening ceremony at 8 a.m., when the company will also present Sources Food Bank with a $1,000 donation and pledge to support the food bank through a bi-annual food drive.
According to a news release Monday from parent company Loblaw Companies Ltd., the store will offer more than 100 fresh items grown in B.C. or Western Canada, and will also carry more than 100 “exotic multicultural fruits and vegetables” from around the world, including durian fruit from Thailand and lychee nuts from Asia.
“I am excited to be opening a store that is only 10 minutes away from where I live because I know I will be serving my friends, family and neighbours,” store manager Robert Comack, who started his career with Loblaw 19 years ago as a dairy clerk at a Superstore in Burnaby, said in the release. “My staff and I look forward to offering customers a one-stop shop that will fulfill the needs of this growing community.”
Superstore’s new location will also offer seasonal and general merchandise, its Joe Fresh line of clothing, a pharmacy and optical department. The store has been built with an underground parkade and a parking lot outside the store.
Superstore joins a growing list of supermarkets in the Semiahmoo Peninsula. Earlier this year, Nature’s Fare opened at Central Plaza in White Rock, and last year, the South Point Save-On-Foods partnered with the BC Wine Institute to become the first grocery in B.C. to sell wine.


Retail giant opens its South Surrey location across from Walmart.


TORONTO – Few Canadian television events qualify as a momentous occasion for the nation, but Saturday's Tragically Hip concert promises to be special.
It seems like much of the country will be tuned into CBC's live broadcast of "The Tragically Hip: A National Celebration" from Kingston, Ont., when factoring in home screenings and community viewing parties.
Yet how many people will watch is anybody's guess at this point.
"This is an unprecedented event for us," said Jennifer Dettman, CBC's executive director of unscripted content.
The sentiment is true on many levels, she adds.
The last stop on the Hip's "Man Machine Poem" tour is widely expected to be their final performance, as lead singer Gord Downie is facing terminal brain cancer. After tickets to the tour sold out within minutes, fans launched a campaign urging the CBC to carry the band's Kingston show as a live TV event.
Dettman wouldn't speak to the contract negotiations that led to the Hip agreeing to the broadcast.
"CBC made both a competitive and financially responsible offer to acquire the broadcast rights, and we're thrilled to be able to offer this national celebration to as many Canadians as possible," she said.
The concert won't just be on the main CBC network, it will also be broadcast through various other platforms such as CBC Radio One, the CBC website and its YouTube and Facebook channels.
With so many viewing options, that will make it tough to capture how many eyes and ears are focused on the Hip this Saturday.
That's where ratings agency Numeris comes in. The Toronto-based company tracks viewership figures by using meters and viewing diaries prepared by a panel of Canadians representative of the population.
Their data shows that most huge audience draws are typically live programming, led by major sporting events.
The Super Bowl is the biggest TV event nearly every year â€” drawing about six million to eight million viewers in recent years â€” while a handful of other annual celebrations like the Academy Awards, the Golden Globes and Grammys are perennial favourites too.
The gold medal game of the men's hockey tournament at the 2010 Vancouver Winter Olympics is considered to be the most-watched broadcast ever in Canada. It drew 16.6 million viewers, according to data from Numeris, about double the number of people who tune into most Super Bowls.
Those kinds of numbers will be hard to beat, even for a rock band with as much Canadian clout as the Hip.
Numeris spokesman Tom Jenks wouldn't guess how many viewers will tune into the CBC broadcast, but acknowledges it'll probably be a pretty big number.
The agency said it will be counting every public screening â€” from restaurants to movie theatres to community viewing parties â€” and each person streaming the concert on their phone. Viewers who playback the show on their DVRs within seven days will also be included in the final numbers.
"Our system captures all viewing," Jenks said.
Potentially driving those numbers higher is the decision make the Hip's concert a one-time broadcast, with no encore presentation and no availability on on-demand platforms.
"Our goal was to bring the experience of this live concert to Canadians in that moment," Dettman said.
"I'm sure the band will figure out what they will want to do with the concert afterwards."
She said the goal is to give all Canadians the same "crescendo" feeling that will ripple through the arena in Kingston.
"Our goal is to bring the experience ... to as many Canadians as we can," she said.
"The idea that we're all together experiencing this moment at the same time is really special."
Follow @dfriend on Twitter.
David Friend, The Canadian Press

Televised Tragically Hip show an 'unprecedented event:' CBC


Whether it's home screenings or community viewing parties, much of Canada will be tuning in for iconic rock band's final bow


A house at Park Drive and Grosvenor Road in Surrey was destroyed by fire Sunday morning.
By Gordon McIntryre
SURREY — A house that once belonged to Mandrake the Magician burned down on Sunday morning in Surrey.
Neighbours noticed thick smoke a little after 9 a.m.
"The flames got pretty big, the fire pretty much engulfed the entire house," said Kathleen Vergara, who lives across the street from the house at Grosvenor Road and Kindersley Drive in the Port Mann area.
Surrey Fire Service got a 911 call at 9:16 a.m.
"When crews arrived, the home was fully engulfed in flames and smoke," assistant fire chief Brian Woznikoski said. "They went into a defensive attack and raised the alarm level to a second alarm."
No residents of the home or firefighters were injured, Woznikoski said.
"Everyone got out safely," he said. "It's our understanding they were moving out in the next three days."
Crews continued to monitor for hot spots late into Sunday afternoon.
The cause of the fire is under investigation. The roof collapsed and the extent of the damage will probably challenge inspectors, Woznikoski said.
The one-storey house once belonged to Leon Giglio, better known as Leon Mandrake and then Mandrake the Magician for his feats of hypnotism, mind reading and escapes.
Giglio died in 1993 and neighbours said the house became run down over the years since.
gordmcintyre@postmedia.com

Fire destroys Surrey house formerly owned by well-known magician


House once belonged to Leon Giglio, better known as Mandrake the Magician for his feats of hypnotism, mind reading and escapes.


North Delta’s Sunfire Senior A softball team will be representing B.C. this weekend in the Western Canadian championships.
Despite a tough regular season, the team beat out seven others from the Lower Mainland and Vancouver Island win their first provincial title in early July, earning them the chance to compete against the best of the west in Abbotsford Aug. 18-21.
“This year was a tough year for us with having enough players and keeping the team together so it was rewarding to know that all of our commitment meant something,” said team manager Rachel Allan. “We accomplished what we set out to do at the beginning of the year.”
North Delta Sunfire teammates Britni McLennan (left) and Francais Olexa.
What makes this Senior A team unique is that, despite the broad age range between teammates, they manage to come together and work as a team. Francais Olexa, who has been playing on the team for two seasons and also has a scholarship to play softball in Southern Florida, said she feels honoured to be playing alongside athletes she has looked up to since she was a kid.
“These are girls I’ve grown up seeing on the field, so it is fun to work with them and get to know them as people and not just [as] my idols,” Olexa said.
A far as the Sunfire are concerned, teamwork, trust, and hard work are what led them to their provincial championship.
“We worked together towards a common goal and when one individual is not performing, the rest of the team picks up the slack,” said Allan.
This is head coach Susan Henderson’s 20th year coaching the Sunfire and the team trained hard to make it a memorable milestone for her.
“We wanted to do something special to commemorate that achievement for her,” Allan said.
Although the International Olympic Committee voted to bring back softball for the 2020 Summer Games in Tokyo, Allan said softball at a senior level is still not well known. However, she said, having North Delta Sunfire win the provincial championship was a great way to gain exposure for the sport and encourage the community to cheer on their local team.
Sunfire Britni McLennan, who is in her 18th season with the North Delta Softball Association, said the IOC’s decision points to good things to come in the world of softball.
“There was a little bit of lost interest after it was pulled out of the Olympics, but now that it is back I think there is going to be a little bit of a resurgence of the sport,” McLennan said.

North Delta Sunfire softball team set to take on the Western Canadian Championship


After winning their first B.C. championship, North Delta's Sunfire softball team takes on the best of the west in Abbotsford Aug. 18-21.


Mounties are looking for whoever threw a gin bottle at a taxi, breaking a window and hitting the cab driver in the head Thursday night in North Vancouver.
Police say the driver was heading east on East 29 Street toward Lynn Valley when the bottle smashed into the cab, cut up the man's face and broke his tooth.
His passenger was also hit by flying glass shards, police say, but she was not hurt.
Officers found a bag of tomatoes near the scene and believe the culprit may have been throwing them before trying the 375ml Bombay Sapphire gin bottle.
Police recovered that, as well as a skateboard.
"Throwing anything at moving traffic, whether it be bottles or tomatoes, is incredibly dangerous," said Sgt. Doug Trousdell. "Fortunately this didn't turn out to be even more serious."
Anyone with information is asked to contact RCMP at 604-985-1311 or CrimeStoppers at 1-800-222-8477, quoting file number 2016-22114.

Taxi driver hurt after gin bottle thrown through cab window in North Van


Police also found bag of tomatoes, skateboard at the scene


ICBC wants to increase basic auto insurance rates by 4.9 per cent – the fifth straight annual increase – as it continues to grapple with rising numbers of crashes, claims and dramatically increasing costs.
The typical driver will pay $3.50 a month or $42 a year more for basic insurance if the hike is approved.
But the corporation is also raising optional rates by 2.8 per cent so the average customer who buys both basic and optional insurance with ICBC will see their insurance bill rise $5 a month, or $60 a year.
ICBC CEO Mark Blucher said the basic rate hike would have been much worse – 15.5 per cent translating into a $130 annual premium increase – had the province not approved another major transfer of $472 million from the optional to the basic side of operations.
A compounding factor has been the long decline of interest rates, which result in less investment income revenue to ICBC.
"These external pressures have really created a perfect storm and it's a really significant challenge for the organization," Blucher said in an interview Thursday.
ICBC had raised rates 5.5 per cent a year ago, and the province's rate smoothing policy requires the annual change be within 1.5 per cent of the previous year's increase.
The number of crashes has climbed 15 per cent in two years and damage claims are up 11 per cent.
Vehicles are increasingly reliant on technology and expensive materials that have become more costly in recent years as the loonie sagged against the U.S. dollar.
Despite much safer vehicles, injury claims have soared to $2.4 billion, up 60 per cent from $1.5 billion in 2008.
"We've seen no evidence that these strong trends are abating," Blucher said. "In fact, if anything, they're continuing to escalate going forward."
Blucher also noted there are more cars on the road in B.C. today – 3.1 million up from 2.8 million in 2011 – and people are driving more because of cheaper gas, contributing to more accidents, particularly in densifying urban areas.
And he pointed to personal injury lawyers as an aggravating cause of ICBC's spiralling claims costs.
"B.C. is the only province in Canada where you can sue another motorist for even a minor traffic accident," Blucher said, noting an increase in lawyer-represented claims and advertising by injury law firms.
Internal operating costs have been cut by $186 million a year, and ICBC is counting on more savings ahead, through its modernization program, by more aggressively combatting insurance fraud and from a hoped-for drop in distracted driving as motorists respond to stiffer penalties.
But transfers from the optional side to bolster the basic side will likely be needed for the foreseeable future, Blucher said, because basic premiums can't keep up with rising costs.
In a surprise move, the B.C. government will this year forgo extracting its usual $160-million annual dividend from ICBC's optional side into general revenue.
"Forgoing the dividend this particular year is one strategy amongst a litany of others we're employing to get that basic trate increase down," Transportation Minister Todd Stone said.
Stone said the $514 million the province has transferred out of ICBC in dividends since 2012 is small compared to the $1.4 billion over the same period that has been shifted from the competitive optional side to basic to apply downward pressure on basic rates.
The minister would not say if the government would permanently give up the ICBC dividend.
Adrian DIx, the NDP critic for ICBC, said the dividends to government have exceeded $1.2 billion since 2010 and predicted they'll resume after next year's election because the BC Liberals are "addicted" to using ICBC as a "profit centre."
Dix said the reliance on shifting huge amounts of capital from optional to basic raises troubling questions.
"Next year they've got to find that $472 million," Dix said. "What they've done is create a disaster at ICBC and their only hope is to deceive the voters until after the election."
He said ICBC's new move to hire more claims staff underscores problems with completing the computer modernization that was supposed to make operations more efficient.
"The transformation project has taken longer than World War 2 and is not close to finished."
ICBC's basic rates rose 11.2 per cent in 2012 and at least five per cent every year since.
The new rate hike is subject to B.C. Utilities Commission approval.
ICBC Rate Pressure Charts

ICBC seeks 4.9 per cent basic rate hike as crashes, costs climb


$60 a year increase for most drivers once optional auto insurance increase is included


Danielle Ellis had her right leg amputated below the knee when she was just a couple months old. The 24-year-old is in Rio next week with the Canadian sitting women’s volleyball team.
Danielle Ellis never liked it when people stared at her, but she loved when they approached her and asked questions, especially when it was curious kids whose interest she had piqued.
The conversation starter — or in some cases the reason for the long glances — was the fact Ellis has a prosthetic leg.
“I always found that adults would more often sit there and stare, which for me when I was growing up, was frustrating,” she explained.
“I had always accepted my disability and I didn’t mind if people asked me what happened. It’s my story and I am doing great for myself — I have a job and a career and finished school and all this stuff,” she added.
“I would rather that kids know that even if something happens to you, you can do great things.”
And Ellis, who turns 25 in November, is doing something great: suiting up for Canada next week at the Paralympic Games (Sept. 7 to 16) in Rio de Janeiro as part of the women’s sitting volleyball team.
“Amazing is such a little word; it is exhilarating,” she explained.
“There is really nothing like being able to say you play for your country. Every athlete growing up wants to play for Team Canada and to be able to be here, to be working towards something and be going to the Paralympics and representing Canada, there are no words to describe the feeling.”
Diagnosed shortly after birth
Ellis was less than two months old when doctors had to amputate her right leg below the knee.
When she was two weeks old, her parents had discovered a lump on her right foot, no bigger than a quarter.
She was diagnosed with rhabdomyosarcoma, a cancer of either soft tissue, connective tissue or bone.
“People always ask me my story and I say it is my parents’ story. I didn’t really go through much of it,” Ellis explained.
“They were strong and they had a really good support system.”
This was nearly 25 years ago.
“I remember always knowing that I had cancer. I was in the hospital for about a year, year and a half, going through chemo,” Ellis said.
She also remembers going for yearly check-ups at B.C. Children’s Hospital until she was 16.
Sports played big role
But her South Surrey childhood was no different than any other kid and sports were always a big part of it.
She did gymnastics, and then baseball, soccer and volleyball, always competing against able-bodied athletes.
It was at a volleyball camp in 2007 when she first learned about sitting volleyball. Sitting volleyball was different from what Ellis was used to, especially since she loved running around, whether on the volleyball court or on the soccer pitch.
“I definitely missed that aspect, but the more I played, the more the game evolved so it was really great to learn something new and I did fall in love with it,” she said.
This led to an opportunity to join the national women’s team program in 2008. And after graduating from Semiahmoo Secondary in 2009, Ellis put her studies on hold to move to Edmonton and train full-time — while taking post-secondary classes online — in an effort to help Canada qualify for the 2012 Paralympic Games in London.
The team was training six or seven days a week, with multiple workouts on most days.
Failure to qualify 'devastating'
When Canada failed to qualify, Ellis was devastated.
“I put my heart into it so when we (failed to qualify), it was pretty difficult for me. I tried to come back to the team but it just wasn’t the same for me,” she said.
“When you train all day, every day, and then you get to the competition and don’t succeed in your goals … for me, at that age, I couldn’t accept defeat.
“There was a lot of frustration and anger. I was a sore loser, in the most basic terms.”
Ellis returned home and shifted her focus to her career.
Since high school, the goal had been to become a paramedic, so she began working towards her Primary Care Paramedic licence, completing her studies last year.
With her focus on her studies, Ellis also turned an opportunity to rejoin the national team last year as Canada prepared for the Parapan Pan Am Games in Toronto since she knew she could not devote the necessary time to properly train while maintaining her coursework.
But after Canada finished third in Toronto to qualify for the 2016 Paralympics, Ellis was again invited to try out for the squad and was one of the dozen players named to the roster.
Ellis, who moved to Langley three years ago, is one of two Langley women on the roster, alongside Tessa Popoff. The roster was named back in July.
Ellis has spent the past few months juggling her time between training for Rio and working full-time as a dispatcher for the B.C. Ambulance Service.

Ellis thought national team days were behind her


After having to turn down an opportunity last year, Langley's Danielle Ellis determined to make most of second chance


Tessa Popoff had her right arm amputated below the elbow following a car accident when she was 18. Popoff is playing on the Canadian sitting volleyball team at the Paralympic Games in Rio.
Tessa Popoff doesn’t think she is anything special.
“I know I am a role model but I don’t see myself as a role model. I don’t think I am all that great,” she said.
“I am just an average person making it through life but I know I set the bar for certain people.
“I do a lot more with one hand than what some people do with two hands.”
The 31-year-old Popoff is one of a dozen women — and one of two from Langley, along with Danielle Ellis — who will represent Canada in sitting volleyball at the Paralympic Games in Rio next week (Sept. 7 to 16).
And this is a long way from where Popoff was when she was 18 years old and had her life changed dramatically.
On a road trip with friends, their vehicle failed to navigate a bend in the road, and the car rolled.
Sitting in the middle spot in the back seat, Popoff braced herself on the headrest in front of her. The car’s roof caved in and her hand was severed immediately.
Of the five in the vehicle, she suffered the most serious injuries, spending a week in hospital and having her right arm amputated below the elbow.
But rather than wallow in self pity, Popoff — who was right-hand dominant — set about learning to do things either one-handed or with her left.
Two years ago, she also discovered sitting volleyball and in that short time has risen to be among the top dozen from across the country in the game.
“It was always a dream, but it is one of those things you never know if it is actually ever going to happen,” Popoff said about being named to the team.
“And look now, here we are. It is time to step up and represent.”
Popoff was on the nine-player Canadian side which earned qualification for the Rio Games by winning bronze at last summer’s Parapan Games.
But that didn’t mean she was guaranteed one of the dozen roster spots for Rio. The program had 14 players in the mix and the final team wasn’t nominated until early July.
“You spend a year and a half, training and travelling with the team and then knowing that your spot can be taken by somebody else, especially with some of the ones who just joined the team this year, who are younger and with more volleyball experience, so it was nerve-wracking,” she said.
“It pushed us to train harder, to be the best that we can, knowing that if we don’t push ourselves and train that hard, we can be taken out by someone else.
“It motivated me, specifically, to do the best that I can.”
When she was named to the roster, Popoff said it was a sense of excitement, not relief, she felt.
Her first phone calls were to her parents, Al Sleighthome and Debbie Popoff.
Her emotions got the best of her.
“It was just tears of joy, something you have trained so hard for,” she said. “You are among the best dozen (in your country) in your sport.”
Since being named to the roster, Popoff said not a day goes by where she hasn’t thought about Rio.
“It is just such an honour to be chosen to represent your country, to wear the flag on your uniform and go compete against the world on national television,” she explained.
While she is excited for the Games, it has been a whirlwind past few months, especially since Popoff also owns her own business, the Learning Circle, a Langley childcare centre.
She uses her disability as a teaching tool with the children.
“I get to show them that if they can’t do it with two hands but I can do it with one hand, then it is not really an acceptable excuse for them and then they try harder,” Popoff said.
The majority of her spare time is used to train or stay in shape, playing drop-in stand-up volleyball whenever she can.
In the week leading up to her departure for Rio (the players left on Aug. 27) she went every day to see her physiotherapist, massage therapist and/or chiropractor.
Meal preparation can also be a challenge, especially when Popoff is shuttling between work, training, or taking care of her daughter, Ella, as she wants to make sure to eat as healthy as possible.
None of this could be done without the help of her friends and family.
“My whole family has come together to support me. I feel kind of selfish, it really is all about me,” she said.
Sponsors have helped as well.
Back in April, in the midst of a training camp with her spot still not secured, Popoff’s prosthetic hand snapped in half. But Kintec Footwear and Orthotics, came through and had a new prosthetic ready for her within a week and in time for a tournament the players were attending.

Missing a hand hasn't slowed Tessa Popoff in life


A car accident when she was 18 dramatically changed the life of Langley's Tessa Popoff


The Delta Islanders were beat by the Calgary Mountaineers 13-5 in the first game of 2016 Minto Cup on Aug. 20 at the Langley Events Centre. Delta was eliminated after the round robin portion of the tournament with a record of 1-3.
After four days of action-packed lacrosse on the green carpet at the Langley Events Centre, the Minto Cup best-of-five final series is set to begin on Thursday, but it won’t include the Delta Islanders.
The Islanders were fresh off winning their first ever BC Junior A Lacrosse League (BCJALL) provincial title but struggled to find their form in the first two games of the national championship. They lost 13-5 to the Calgary Mountaineers on Aug. 20 and were barely edged out by Ontario’s Orangeville Northmen 10-9 on Aug. 21.
A 7-4 win over the Coquitlam Adanacs on Monday night meant Delta finished the tournament tied with Orangeville for third place at 1-2, but lost the head-to-head tiebreaker.
“Obviously, we’re pretty deflated,” said Delta head coach Greg Rennie. “We shot ourselves in the foot on Saturday night losing to Calgary.”
An Alberta team had never defeated a B.C. or Ontario team until Calgary surprised many by beating the BCJALL champions. The Islanders found themselves down 3-0 in the opening 12 minutes of the game and despite scoring three unanswered goals of their own, couldn’t stymie a strong Mountaineers attack over the final two periods.
Delta Islander Chase Fraser tries to get one past Calgary Mountaineers goalie Doug Gardner on day one of the 2016 Minto Cup at the Langley Events Centre on Aug. 20. Fraser finished the game with 2 goals on 12 shots, but Delta ultimately lost the game 13-5. Image credit: Gord Goble
Delta looked to bounce back against the Northmen, who lost 8-7 to Coquitlam the previous night, setting up a loser goes home scenario. The Islanders were down four before coming back to take a 7-6 lead halfway through the game, but were outscored 3-2 in the third period, ultimately losing by just one goal.
The Minto Cup has traditionally been a best-of-seven series between the B.C. and Ontario league champions, but reverted to a four-team round-robin format for this year’s tournament.
“You have to learn to take advantage of every opportunity you get and we didn’t take advantage of the opportunity,” Rennie said.
That doesn’t mean they didn’t leave their mark. Orangeville head coach DJ Clevely was impressed by the physicality of Delta’s defence, saying they don’t see that level of intensity as much in Ontario.
“I give them credit, that’s how they play and had some success,” Clevely said. “They’re old school, I personally like that, but we don’t see that a lot.”
With 16 players now graduating from Delta’s junior program, Rennie anticipates that there will be a rebuilding period but was still optimistic that the Minto Cup experience will pay dividends in the future. Rennie says he will be with the Islanders again next year, although he isn’t sure if he will be back on the bench in addition to his general manager duties.
“Our feeder system is really good. Our Midget A1 team won provincials handily and our Intermediate A team graduates about 13 guys,” Rennie said. “So we feel pretty confident about what we have.”
The Coquitlam Adanacs will take on the Orangeville Northmen in the final series as they hope to win their second Minto Cup championship and first since 2010. Scott Wortley, Coquitlam’s general manager, believes that as long as the Adanacs stick to the gameplan and play with composure, a Minto Cup is well within their sights.
“It’s a big deal for a B.C. team to win but we know how difficult it is to win at this time of year,” Wortley said. “To win [a Minto] would just cap it all off.”
The Minto Cup continues at the Langley Events Centre until at least Aug. 27. Games four and five, if necessary, will be played Aug. 28 and 29, respectively.
Delta Islanders celebrate a goal during their 13-5 loss to the Calgary Mountaineers at the 2016 Minto Cup on Aug. 20 at the Langley Events Centre. Image credit: Gord Goble

LACROSSE: Delta Islanders fall at 2016 Minto Cup


After winning the club’s first BC Junior A lacrosse title, Delta was eliminated at the national championship after three days of play.


A new storyboard at Surrey Museum Plaza tells the story of the Cloverdale Cenotaph.
*This article first appeared on the Cloverdale Reporter's website.
The Surrey Heritage Advisory Commission says four new heritage storyboards were installed this spring at various locations across the city, including Cloverdale.
The storyboards highlight Surrey's architectural, natural and cultural heritage.
The first of two new storyboards in Cloverdale and area can be found in Veteran's Square, next to the Cloverdale Cenotaph.
Look for it on the east side of the Surrey Archives building, at 17671 56 Avenue.
The second new storyboard in the area is in the Five Corners neighbourhood on Old Yale Road, at 179 Street, at the crossroads of the original Surrey Centre community.
The Veteran's Square storyboard says the Cloverdale Cenotaph was originally constructed as a memorial to men from Surrey who died in the First World War (1914-1918), and other conflicts.
A crowd of 1,500 people turned out for the dedication in May 1921.
The German field gun mounted on top was removed as scrap metal during the second world war, and the monument itself was moved to the Surrey Fair Grounds in 1961 (Cloverdale Fairgrounds). It was moved again in 2005 with the widening of 176 Street, and it was reassembled at its current location in 2006, with the addition of panels and a bronze/granite sculpture of a soldier kneeling in a comrade's grave.
Follow the Cloverdale Reporter on Twitter and Facebook. View our print edition online.

New storyboards make their appearance in Surrey


The storyboards highlight Surrey's architectural, natural and cultural heritage


SURREY, B.C. – Fraser Health has launched a poster ad campaign bolstering its ongoing drive to raise awareness of what it says is the overdose crisis in British Columbia.
The posters will be displayed at transit stops, bars and restaurants, and are aimed at recreational and regular drug users, their families and friends.
One message on the stark, black and white posters says: "If you use drugs: Have a plan. Go slowly. Use with a buddy. Carry naloxone."
The posters also offer instructions for anyone finding an overdose victim, directing them to call 911, start emergency breathing and use naloxone, which can reverse the effects of an opioid overdose.
Fraser Health says in a news release that it is confident about the effectiveness of the campaign because the posters were tested in focus groups of regular and recreational drug users.
In April, B.C.'s provincial health officer declared a public health emergency linked to the soaring number of opioid overdoses, and the declaration remains in effect.
Dr. Victoria Lee, Fraser Health's chief medical health officer, says the poster campaign is an extension of the health authority's ongoing public awareness campaign, but she says much more has been done to fight overdose deaths.
"We've created new substance-use beds to provide safe and supportive environments for people (who) require additional support on their road to recovery," Lee says in the release.
Over the last 12 to 18 months, Fraser Health has opened 50 new substance-use beds, including a three-bed program for youth and a 12-bed facility for women who are pregnant or have newborns.
A further 97 beds are slated to open by 2017 across the region, which stretches from Burnaby, through Surrey to White Rock and east to Hope.
The announcement of the poster campaign and the update on available substance-use beds comes as Fraser Health prepares to mark International Overdose Awareness Day on Aug. 31.
The Canadian Press

New Fraser Health poster campaign raises awareness of opioid overdoses


Stark posters warn of overdose dangers to be displayed at transit stops, bars and restaurants aimed at recreational drug users


Vancouver Giants vice president Dale Saip and general manager Glen Hanlon (photo below) spoke at the Greater Langley Chamber of Commerce meeting on Aug. 16 at the Langley Golf Centre.
In Glen Hanlon’s 14-year NHL career, he played for four teams: the Vancouver Canucks, St. Louis Blues, New York Rangers and Detroit Red Wings.
Three of those stops — with St. Louis being the lone exception — were in front of passionate home crowds.
And having that support in the stands makes a big difference for players.
“The environment means everything,” Hanlon said on Tuesday night at the Langley Golf Centre.
Hanlon, the Vancouver Giants general manager, and Dale Saip, the major junior hockey club’s vice president, were the guest speakers at the Greater Langley Chamber of Commerce meeting.
The pair were discussing the Western Hockey League club’s move from the Pacific Coliseum — their home for the team’s first 15 years — to the Langley Events Centre for the upcoming season.
“We are going from the St. Louis in my life … where the environment has worn itself out, to a place that is lively,” said Hanlon, the team’s rookie general manager.
And like it was when he was a player, Hanlon said the Giants players will feed off the atmosphere and excitement of the home crowd at the LEC.
“Believe me, the kids will eat this up,” he said.
The Giants played six games at the LEC in 2010, when the team was displaced from the Coliseum during the Vancouver Olympic Games.
“I have spent the past six years convincing my ownership group this is where we need to be,” Saip said, calling the LEC a wonderful facility.
In addition to a great facility, more of the team’s major sponsors — White Spot, Overwaitea Food Group and Tim Horton’s, to name a few — are out this way.
And while the Pacific Coliseum is a historic venue — it was also the original home of the Vancouver Canucks — it is lacking in viable transit options.
“It just made sense for us to be here (Langley),” Saip said.
“We are going to make sure this is a great place to watch hockey and have some fun,” he added.
The LEC is also undergoing some work to get ready for its new tenant.
The lighting system is being upgraded, a Triple O’s is being added to the concession, and more parking is being added.
The Giants have already sold out their platinum club seats and are nearing a sell-out on the club seats and centre ice back locations.
All that remains are centre ice front (the first six rows on one side of the rink and the first three rows on the other) and the end zone tickets on both sides of the rink.

Giants ready for 'lively' atmosphere at Langley Events Centre


Vancouver Giants players will feed off the home crowd energy predicts general manager


Cameras were the focus as 70 photographers from across B.C., including Metro Vancouver, the Fraser Valley, Kelowna and Nelson, competed in the fourth annual Next Generation BC Amateur Photographer of the Year Contest at the recent Abbotsford International Airshow.
Sponsored by London Drugs and Black Press Media, the contest took place Aug. 12-14, as participants captured their best air, crowd, static, and wildcard shots.
Photographers experienced close-up action at the airshow including Friday's twilight show, and earned the "hot-side" tour at the airshow where they shot exclusive aircraft including the F-35, CF-18, FA-18, Breitling Jet Team, the Snowbirds and more for a chance to win the title of B.C.'s next Amateur Photographer title.
Awarding categories also include The Best in-air photograph ($750 grand prize), The Best ground/static scene photograph ($500 prize),The Best crowd scene photograph ($250 prize ), The Best video submission ($500 prize) all courtesy of London Drugs and honorary acknowledgement for Best Wildcard entry.
For the People's Choice Award Winner, the time has arrived for the public to vote on their favourite photo and be entered for a chance to win BC Lions game tickets.
For voting and contest information, click here.

Voting open for People's Choice Amateur Photography Competition


Photographers from across the province competed in amateur competition


A White Rock woman's hand was seriously injured when she tried to defend her small dog from a pit bull attack on Aug. 20.
A vicious pit bull attack on a dog and its owner in White Rock Aug. 20 has prompted an investigation by city bylaw enforcement officers.
According to a city news release sent to Peace Arch News Monday evening, a woman in her 70s was taking her small dog for a morning walk when the pit bull appeared suddenly from a nearby property.
Attempting to protect her dog, the woman received serious injuries to her hand. White Rock RCMP responded to a call to the scene and the woman was taken to Peace Arch Hospital for treatment.
Her dog also received injuries that required an overnight stay in a veterinary hospital.
City spokesperson Farnaz Farrokhi wrote that, while both the victim and her dog have since been recovering at home, the dog is still bleeding and in pain, requiring a further visit to the vet.
“The city is actively investigating this incident and is considering taking serious action against the owner of the pit bull, as well as the dog itself, which bylaw enforcement officers have deemed to be aggressive,” she writes.
The release did not identify the victim nor the White Rock neighbourhood where the attack occurred.
City manager Dan Bottrill was quoted as saying aggressive behaviour by dogs against people and other animals is “a serious threat to public safety and will not be tolerated.”
“The city also recognizes that most dog owners are responsible and vigilant when out with their dog in public, including our off-leash dog park…it’s unfortunate that (this) incident has occurred,” he said.
The city is warning owners of breeds with aggressive tendencies to keep their dogs on leashes in public, and be particularly cautious when using off-leash dog parks or trails.
At press time Bottrill and Farrokhi could not be reached for further comment.

White Rock senior injured rescuing pet from pit bull


City of White Rock said it is considering serious action against both owner and aggressive dog


Police are looking for witnesses following the death of a pedestrian on Highway 99 in South Surrey Tuesday afternoon.
Deas Island RCMP were called to the scene – just north of the 16 Avenue overpass – at about 4 p.m.
Few details have been released, however, police confirmed Thursday that the victim, described as a 23-year-old Asian woman, was hit by “a large FedEx tractor trailer.”
Deas Island RCMP Sgt. Lorne Lecker said investigators have spoken with witnesses who saw the woman before the collision, and witnesses who saw the aftermath.
“What we don’t have is any witnesses to the actual collision,” Lecker told Peace Arch News.
“What we’re missing is that piece of the puzzle.”
Lecker said the woman was seen at the side of the highway “for a fair bit of time” before she was hit.
At the scene Tuesday, a dark-coloured vehicle could be seen on the back of a flat-deck tow truck. According to a tow company official, the vehicle was not involved in the collision, but was en route from the border to Vancouver when the incident happened in front of them but only saw the aftermath.
The tragedy is being investigated by the Mounties' Integrated Collision Analysis and Reconstruction Service, the Commercial Vehicle Safety and Enforcement branch and the B.C. Coroner's Service.
Anyone who saw the actual collision is asked to contact Const. Mark Wiebe at 778-290-2400.

Pedestrian killed on freeway in South Surrey


Police are looking for witnesses following the death of a 23-year-old woman on Highway 99 in South Surrey Tuesday afternoon.


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LPGE cross country brings back some talented runners


Thunder football will look to replace huge graduating class


Tri-River Athletic Conference players on the 2016 high school football season
Five to watch: Adrian Martinez, Clovis West football
Five to watch: Ryan Johnson, Hanford High football
Five to Watch: Taylen Ballard, Clovis High volleyball
Can Bullard twin linebackers Ben Baker and Cameron Lamanuzzi repeat 2009 cast?
3:24

Clovis East’s O’Brien learned lesson of perseverance


The Independent begins a series today on head football coaches in the Clovis Unified School District. Jim O’Brien at Clovis East High School is the first to be profiled. The series will appear intermittently during the football season.


Petrissans finds blessing as part of the football tradition at Clovis West


The Independent continues a series on head football coaches in the Clovis Unified School District. George Petrissans of Clovis West High School is profiled today. The series will appear intermittently during the football season.


Out & About: Clovis Unified general session rally at Save Mart Center


More than 5,000 employees, educators and board members of Clovis Unified School District — including the new Boris Elementary School staff — gathered Tuesday in Save Mart Center for the district’s annual general session rally. Together, they celebrated the district’s theme for the 2016-17 school year: Honoring our past, inspiring the future.


Closing the gap: Cullinan Education Center helps students reach their full potential


Under the watchful eye of Laura Beery, Tristan Cordova uses his finger to write “ - stle” in the sand. He says it out loud. “Let’s do that three more times,” Beery says. Eventually, she shows him a list of words that include the phonics blend and asks him to read it out loud.


The Golden Chain Theatre’s latest production, “Dearly Departed,” opens its nine-show run at 7 p.m. Friday.


Miss Winkles Pet of the Week of Aug. 29: Lucky


If you’re looking at who has the most fun around here, you might think it’s a big pit bull named Lucky.


3 Oaks Studio to offer dinner, decorative painting classes


A decade ago, local do-it-yourselfers would drive to the Shoemaker home studio in Clovis to learn to paint home decor and more.


Miss Winkles Pet of the Week of Aug 22: Mollie


Mollie likes to make us laugh with a tongue-waving smile every morning. This brilliant brindle pit bull blend makes life a real party and she finds ways to amuse both herself and staff, too!


Making an impact: Drama students address mental health, suicide prevention through poetry and skits


Tri-River Athletic Conference players on the 2016 high school football season
Five to watch: Adrian Martinez, Clovis West football
Five to watch: Ryan Johnson, Hanford High football
Five to Watch: Taylen Ballard, Clovis High volleyball
Can Bullard twin linebackers Ben Baker and Cameron Lamanuzzi repeat 2009 cast?
3:24

Acting, music and dance can have quite a powerful impact on audiences of all ages. With an intense theme put into real life scenarios — that involved audience members themselves — actors and spectators alike took home an important lesson to change and save lives after the 2016 Stages “informance” on Aug. 6, titled “A Brand New Day.”


Miss Winkles Pet of the Week of Aug. 15: Harley


Harley makes a big splash when he gets moving! This energetic and lanky pit bull mix is loads of fun and energy. Harley is housebroken, crate-trained and is doing very well with his leash training. He is about 1 1/2 , and has more learning to do. It’s a good thing his favorite treats are hot dogs. They’re good incentive for him to learn new tricks. He is learning to be around other social dogs, and is recommended for a home either as an only dog or with another large-breed social dog who doesn’t mind a bit of roughhousin’.


Dining with Doug: 559 Beer brews with a purpose that adds to the fine taste


The 559 Local Tasting Room in Old Town Clovis offers eight craft beers on tap – each with a story to tell. The stories reflect love of family and an appreciation for this Valley’s agricultural heritage.


Betty June Benoy died Aug.11, 2016 at the age of 98. She was born June 5, 1918, in Elkhart, Indiana to Edwin and Dessie Rowe.