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Delta Optimist December 3 2014
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OptimistThe Voice of Delta since 1922 WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 3, 2014
Delta
Newsstand $1
YOUR SOURCE FOR LOCAL SPORTS, NEWS, WEATHER AND ENTERTAINMENT! WWW.DELTA-OPTIMIST.COM
Boxes not welcomeSeniors concerned byCanada Post plan 3
On the blockJeweler auctioning offpieces for hospice 6
Physio FriendsCliff Drive studentshelp out classmate 14
Seasonal processionCarol ships set to sailinto Ladner Harbour 17
It was another Saturday nightto remember for South DeltaSecondary athletics.The Tsawwassen high schools
senior girls volleyball team cap-tured its third consecutive provin-cial championship with a 3-1 winover Timberline in the gold medalmatch.In a showdown between the top
two ranked teams in the province,the Sun Devils overcame an earlyone-set deficit by roaring backto win the next three in decisivefashion. It was South Deltas firstB.C. title at the AAA level after apair of AAAA crowns.UCLA-bound Grade 12 twins
Nicole and Megan McNamaraclosed out their outstanding highschool careers in fitting style,earning tournament MVP andfirst team all-star honours, respec-tively.Teammates Ashley Klassen,
Laura Findlay and CassidyPearson also earned all-star rec-ognition. Findlay and Pearsonare both headed to University ofManitoba next fall, while Klassenis just in Grade 10.Hours later, the Sun Devils
football team delivered one of thebiggest wins in school history ona snow-covered field at UBCsThunderbird Stadium.South Delta scored 16 unan-
swered second half points tostun the No. 1 ranked Terry FoxRavens 16-13. The result sendsthe Sun Devils to the provincialAAA championship game for thefirst time since 1986.They will take on the three-
time defending champion Mt.Douglas Rams this Saturday at 7p.m. at B.C. Place Stadium.For more details, see pages 29
and 30.
Lois Jackson kicked off hersixth, and final, term as Deltasmayor Monday night by sayingshes excited and energized totackle the many issues facing thecommunity.I look forward to this new
four-year term of council,Jackson said in her inaugural
address following the swearingin of the seven members of Deltacouncil elected last month.Jackson, a fixture on council
since 1972 and mayor since 1999,was returned to the top post byacclamation. Councillors SylviaBishop, Robert Campbell, JeannieKanakos, Bruce McDonald andIan Paton are all back after beingre-elected last month, while Coun.Heather King returns after a
three-year absence.In her inaugural address,
Jackson said transportation andtraffic are the number one area ofconcern.This council will continue to
fight for whats best for Delta,she said.Jackson said civic politicians
would continue to advocatefor increased access to Ladnerwith the George Massey Tunnel
replacement project.I would also like to see an
environmental greenway under thenew bridge.Council will continue to push
for other transportation upgrades,including a pedestrian/cyclistoverpass at Highway 17 and52nd Street and an interchange atHighway 17 and 56th Street.
Santa not sleeping anymore!
PHOTO BY GORD GOBLE
Youngsters woke St. Nick from his slumber as the Tsawwassen Town Centre Mall hosted its annual Wake Up Santa last Saturday morning. Santa will return tothe mall several times throughout December to pose for photos. See more photos from the event at www.delta-optimist.com.
Mayor excited by final term
Big night forSDSS teams
BY MARK [email protected]
Lois Jackson tabs transportation as top issue during inaugural address at municipal hallBY JESSICA [email protected]
SeeMAYOR page 3
SCAN WITH
TO REVEAL PHOTOS
Thats right - one of BCs leadingcollision & glass repair shops isright here in Tsawwassen!
Qualityrepair closeto home!
604.943.6383 17-1835 56th St. Tsawwassen (Behind McDonalds)
Christmasis Here!
A2 The Delta Optimist December 3, 2014
ONE DAY ONLYtake an additional
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Excludes Gift Cards
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SATURDAY DECEMBER 6
20%OFFEVERYTHING
Its not clear when itscoming here, but theres nodoubting the plan to converthome mail delivery to com-munity mailboxes will posea huge problem for manyolder residents, according tothe Delta Seniors PlanningTeam.Planning team coordina-
tor Kay Dennison, a seniorand longtime Delta resident,said the Canada Post plan toend home delivery has beena big topic of concern withher group, which has over100 members.Its all the more troubled
by a lack of consultationwith groups and agenciesthat work with seniors, shesaid.What were back to,
it seems, is systems donttalk to each other. So noone bothered to talk tothose working with seniorsto find out how this wasgoing to impact them, saidDennison.This is a huge issue and
its going to impact not onlyseniors but those that aredisabled. Our group overthe last couple of yearshas been working with theprovincial health systems,the hospitals and theyreall saying the same thing:We have to find a way tokeep our seniors healthy
and independent and liv-ing in their homes as longas possible. So, to now tocome out with this, a lotof seniors wont be able togo out to a mailbox, its assimple as that, Dennisonadded.Canada Post announced
a year ago it would bephasing out door-to-doordelivery of regular mailto urban residents, cit-ing significant losses as aresult of an increasing useof digital communicationand a decline of letter mailvolumes.Having introduced the
conversion in several com-munities across the countrythis year, the postal serviceexpects to save between$400 million to $500 mil-
lion annually.That means residents
who have enjoyed homedelivery will have to pickup their mail at communitymailboxes, already a factof life for those living innewer subdivisions.Delta has about 39,000
addresses, approximately28,000 of which still getmail delivery at the door.A spokesperson for
Canada Post said the agen-cy has not determined thetimetable for the conver-sion to community mail-box service in Delta, butonce a decision is made,Canada Post will inform themunicipality and affectedresidents.The plan is to have all
the communities across
Canada converted withinthe next five years.Canada Post states it will
be sensitive to the needsof seniors and disabledCanadians.Canada Post is develop-
ing alternative approachesfor people with significantmobility challenges, wholack viable alternatives andupon whom delivery to acommunity mailbox wouldimpose an unacceptablehardship, Canada Poststated.Dennison said that alter-
native would be to delivermail to stores with postaloutlets or post offices.A concern regarding thatalternative would still beone of privacy and potentialabuse of seniors who would
still have to rely onothers to pick uptheir mail, she said.Mayor Lois
Jackson said she hasmajor concerns forseniors, shut-ins andthe handicapped, aswell as corporationsand small businesshaving access toproper service.I am also con-
cerned about thebasic security ofthe Canadian mailwhich is housedin the commu-nity mailboxes.The boxes appearto be broken into
on a regular basis. I donot believe there will beany savings to Canadianswho have treasured theirdoor-to-door service sinceConfederation, she said.I do hope the powers
that be, who have author-ity over such schemes, willreconsider their position.Representatives with
Canada Post appearedbefore Delta council earlierthis year, saying theyrecommitted to keepingCanadians informed and toimplementing the conver-sion in a thoughtful way.They also noted the postalservice will work with com-munity leaders and munici-pal officials to choose safeand appropriate sites.
Increased access to pub-lic transit is also on themayors list for the nextfour years.I can assure you, this
council is committed to bet-ter access to public transitfor our residents, she said.This council is committedto bringing about change.Jackson highlighted
Deltas success with its pay-as-you-go strategy.Over the next term, I am
excited to say, we will reachour goal to be debt free.This is an accomplishment
that we can all be proud of.Jackson said she expects
to see the Southlands proj-ect come back for finalapproval in 2015 and thatchief administrative officerGeorge Harvie will pro-vide regular updates on themunicipalitys portion ofthe land.The mayor said pushing
for an inland container ter-minal and the preservationof farmland would con-tinue to be priorities for hercouncil.Jackson also tabbed pub-
lic safety as a priority forcivic politicians, saying theDelta Police Departmentsno call too small modelis something council isproud to support and themunicipality is planning onbuilding a fire hall/train-ing centre at Boundary BayAirport.Im extremely proud of
the success record of all ouremergency responders, shesaid.Im excited by the
opportunity of being yourmayor for the next fouryears. I look forward withgreat anticipation to thecoming future.
A local business was leftto clean up and scramble toreplace lost inventory aftera break-in late last week.Thieves struck Lawlor
Goldsmith Shoppe inLadner Village early Fridaymorning.Owner Janet Holmes said
four men smashed the frontwindow at around 3:45 a.m.She said the stores securitymeasures did their jobs andthe thieves only had aboutthree minutes inside. Still,they smashed several dis-play cases and managed tosteal a significant amountof jewelry.Holmes said she is look-
ing at the positives no
one was hurt and all cus-tomer pieces were lockedup and remained untouched.She also praised the
response by Delta police.She said officers arrivedon scene while she was onthe phone with the securitycompany, which called toalert her the stores alarmhad been triggered.Theyre pretty awesome
people, she said.The store was closed
Friday to clean up, assesswhat was missing and dealwith the insurance com-pany.Holmes said suppliers
have stepped up to quicklyreplace the stolen pieces.Many were replaced by thenext day the Delta Streetstore was back in business
on Saturday and Holmessaid she expects the rest ofthe inventory to arrive inthe coming days.I am focusing on the
positive, she said. Thesupport from the communi-ty has been overwhelming.Delta police said the
investigation is ongoing andanyone with informationcan call 604-946-4411.
Post plan upsets seniorsIntroduction of community boxes will make it difficult for older residents to get their mail
MAYOR from page1
Thieves hit jewelry store in middle of the night
PHOTO BY JESSICA KERR
Mayor Lois Jackson takes the oath of office and oath of alle-giance with Justice Kenneth W. Ball.
BY JESSICA [email protected]
PHOTO BY SANDOR GYARMATI
Theres no timetable for Delta, but Canada Post plans to convert all areas to community mailboxes withinthe next five years.
BY SANDOR [email protected]
What's Layared today
"" Page 1See more photosfrom this years WakeUp Santa event atTsawwassen TownCentre Mall.
"" Page 19Check out more fromthe Ladner BusinessAssociations secondannual ChristmasTree Festival.
Viewing Layared content inthe Optimist is easy. Just
download the free app fromwww.layar.com or your appstore for your iOS or Androidphone and then scan the pagewhere you see the Layar logo.That way you'll be able to
access additional content likevideos, photos and more.
Get all thecommunity news,sports and eventsonline or on yoursmartphone any
time at:
delta-optimist.com
Follow the Optimist inthe Twittersphere:
@DeltaOptimist@tedmurphydelta@Optimist_sports@GyarmatiSandor@willis_optimist@JessicaEKerr
Visit our Facebookpage at
www.facebook.com/TheDeltaOptimist
to join theconversation on
today's hottest issues.
Optimist readers cancomment on online
stories onour website.
Check it out atwww.delta-optimist.com
There are many ways to connectwith the Optimist, both onlineand through social media.
Have Your Say
December 3, 2014 The Delta Optimist A3
Friends of Delta Hospitalsays it makes sense torestore the hospitals surgi-cal program, but theres noindication the health regionis willing to budge.The newly formed citi-
zens group issued a sum-mary document this weekaimed at highlighting thechallenges the hospital cur-rently faces.Issued by group member
Gord Freeborn, a formerDelta fire chief, the docu-ment notes the communitiesof Delta and Tsawwassen
First Nation want and needa fully functioning commu-nity-based hospital that canprovide secondary care, aswas the case up to the earlypart of the past decade.Although Delta is listed
as an acute care hospitalwithin the Fraser HealthAuthority, the region limitsits surgical functions, thedocument states.Raising concern over the
level of urgent medical careavailable at the hospital,doctorswhomake upthe DeltaHospitalMedical Staff Associationmet with Fraser Health for asecond time last week.Neither Fraser Health nor
the doctors group wouldcomment on the meeting,but it doesnt appear thehealth region is willing tobegin reinstating the hos-pitals surgical program tothe level it had been prior tocuts over a decade ago.The two sides met a cou-
ple of weeks prior and cameaway with two very differ-ent takes on what had beenagreed to by Fraser Health,with the doctors saying foursurgical beds for overnightstays were being added, animportant first step towardmaking restoration of thesurgical program possible.However, the health
region then said somethingmuch different, noting itwas committed to workingwith the hospital physiciansto further strengthen theprocess for safely trans-ferring surgical patientsrequiring overnight care tohospitals that have a surgi-cal role.Delta South MLA Vicki
Huntington said the govern-ment and Fraser Healthsfailure to respond to doc-tors concerns is puttinglives at risk.Thirty-one Delta
Hospital doctors wroteto the health minister inOctober to tell him thatpeoples lives are in dan-
ger because acute surgicalservices are not offeredafter hours, Huntingtonsaid last week. People arebeing transferred to Surreyif their appendicitis happensto strike too late in the day,where they have to waithours before treatment. Itsunacceptable.Since the doctors wrote
to the minister, Huntingtonsaid Delta Hospital staffreported two additionalcases where patients with
appendi-citis weretransferredto SurreyMemorial
because they arrived atDelta Hospital after hoursand could not be scheduledfor surgery.Fraser Health says
patient outcomes arenot being affected, saidHuntington. They tell usthat they review data everyyear to see if they need toexpand services, and Deltajust hasnt made the grade.Thats nonsense. Go to anyother municipality in B.C.with over 60,000 people Langley, Port Moody,Maple Ridge, Cowichan they all provide the typeof care Fraser Health saysDelta does not need. Weare not a small municipal-ity, and it is time we weretreated fairly.Huntington, who asked
questions about FraserHealth and that first meet-ing with doctors in thelegislature last week, notedDelta is already home tothe biggest container portin the country as well as aferry terminal and industrialparks.Doug Massey with
Friends of Delta Hospitalsaid the community shouldbe outraged over FraserHealths refusal to restoreproper medical care. Hesuggested the Corporationof Delta play a role byasking the TFN, which isundergoing a major expan-sion, to partner as advocatesfor the hospital.
FHA standing groundon surgical programCitizens group and MLA are calling for greater level ofservice at Delta Hospital, but no headway being made
BY SANDOR [email protected]
FILE PHOTO
Cuts made to the surgical program at Delta Hospital over adecade ago havent been restored.
Hospital plays criticalrole in FHA network
Page 10
A4 The Delta Optimist December 3, 2014
follow us!
Christmasin Ladner Village
Thank you to our Sugar Plum SponsorsPort MetroVancouver, Century Group,South Coast Casuals, Double R Rentals,Lawlor Goldsmith Shoppe, Beth Stuart & Associates,Vancouver Pacific Financial Group, Delta Cable,Remax Progroup Realty, Ladner Village Market,Royal Canadian Legion Br. 61, Open Connection
Ladner Community CentreSanta will be arriving at 8:30 am! Enjoy pancakes and ham Face painting Live Entertainment Photos with Santa Childrens Crafts
Where business and community meetwww.ladnerbusiness.com
Saturday, December 6th
8 am to 11 am
Breakfastwith Santa
Pancakes $500Pancakes& Ham $700
OPEN EVERY DAY 9:00 AM TO 6:00 PM56TH STREET & HIGHWAY 17, TSAWWASSEN BC
Telephone: 604.943.9712 www.sunnysidenurseries.com
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Premium Poinsettias!Beautiful, Full and LushOur greenhouse is full ofdifferent colours and sizes
Wreaths, Swags andCedar Rope Are In!Winter Twigs and PlantedContainers for your colourfulholiday decoration!
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December 3, 2014 The Delta Optimist A5
Ladner Villages LawlorGoldsmith Shoppe hascome up with a unique wayof giving back this holidayseason in response to somerecent gifts made to theDelta Hospice Society.Delta Hospice received
two valuable pieces ofjewelry and was unsurehow to sell them safely andsecurely in order to honourthe true value of the itemsand their donors.With the knowledge that
proceeds go towards ser-vices offered to the commu-nity through the Centre forSupportive Care, LawlorsJanet Holmes came up witha solution a silent, in-store auction.
The auction will includea starting bid and a buy itnow price. Bidders mayvisit Lawlor GoldsmithShoppe, 4817F Delta St.,during business hours toplace their bid hours. Eachnight the current bid willbe updated on http://lawlor-goldsmithshoppe.com/delta-hospice-silent-auction.Bidding will remain open
until Dec. 23.Each piece of jewelry
a diamond ring and dia-mond necklace has beenprofessionally appraisedand winning bids willreceive an appraisal certifi-cate for the full value. Onehundred per cent of the pro-ceeds will go to the Delta
Hospice Society.It is really exciting to
see the commitment localbusinesses make to supportour community throughhospice, says DeltaHospices Tama Recker.We are so happy to partnerwith Lawlor to make thesepieces available to the com-munity and appreciate theirkindness in hosting the auc-tion.Holmes says shes grate-
ful for the opportunity topartner with Delta HospiceSociety.There is no greater joy
than to help such a gener-ous community give back tosuch an important society,she says.
Jeweler hosting auctionto benefit Delta HospiceBids welcome on two valuable pieces until Dec. 23
SUBMITTED PHOTO
Janet Holmes (left) of Lawlor Goldsmith Shoppe and Tama Recker of the Delta Hospice Societyshow the diamond ring and diamond necklace that were donated to the society and are now onthe auction block.
A6 The Delta Optimist December 3, 2014
HUGEChristmasSavings!STILLWATERSPORTS
4849 Delta Street, Ladner 604-946-9933
VIEW OUR FLYER IN TODAYS EDITIONOR CHECK OUT OUR SALE FLYER @
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Hot Tub and Pool Chemicals604-952-72274946 Chisholm Street, LADNER WATERFRONTwww.swimblue.com [email protected] EST. 1971
NEW STOREHOURSMonday to Saturday 10-4
Dave Lemire climbed upand down the stairs at FredGingell Park in Tsawwassenfor four straight hours lastSaturday, raising approxi-mately $11,000 for B.C.Childrens Hospital in theprocess.Lemire, who called the
fundraiser Climb for Kids,said it was an awesome dayand it couldnt have goneany better.It was cold but the
participation from the com-munity was unbelievable. Itwas overwhelming for me,actually, said the Ladnerresident.Lemire, the produce
manager at Save-On-Foodsin Tsawwassen, said he
never stopped once duringthe four-hour fundraiser. Hesaid his daughter Brookemonitored him the wholetime, making sure he waswell hydrated and fedthroughout the event.His friend, Myles
McHattie, cheered him onthe whole time as well.It was pretty special,
he said.When Lemire started
as a produce manager inTsawwassen, he becamegood friends with Johnny,a young kid who wouldvisit with him while hismom would do her groceryshopping. Johnny, who hada condition called Apertsyndrome, passed away in2008.Lemire became good
friends with McHattie, who
gave a touching eulogy atJohnnys funeral.The parks stairs
have been described asTsawwassens version of theGrouse Grind.Lemire said Monday that
his legs were feeling fine.I put my Christmas
lights up yesterday, so Icouldnt be that bad, hesaid with a laugh.He noted his Save-On
coworker Peggy Coonferand the rest of the staffhelped him out a lot andthat members of the DeltaFire Department were phe-nomenal as well.
PHOTO BY GORD GOBLE
Dave Lemire climbed the stairs at Fred Gingell Park in Tsawwassen for four straight hours lastSaturday in his Climb for Kids fundraiser to benefit B.C. Childrens Hospital.
Climber raises $11,000for Childrens Hospital
BY DAVE [email protected]
SCAN WITH
TO REVEAL PHOTOS
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