Thursday May 10, 2012 (Vol. 37 No. 38)
V O I C E
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W H I T E
R O C K
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S O U T H
For the birds: White Rock and Surrey Naturalists Society members offer public walking tours of South Surrey wildlife management area. see page A11
S U R R E Y
w w w. p e a c e a r c h n e w s . c o m
Ralph Rowe – one of Canada’s ‘most prolific’ sex offenders – delivered prayers at his brother’s church in Newton
Former priest faces more sex charges Kevin Diakiw Black Press
File photo
Ralph Rowe.
A Surrey man described in court as one of the most prolific sex offenders in Canada faces seven more charges of sexually assaulting young people. The Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) have charged former Anglican priest and scout leader Ralph Rowe with five new counts of sexual assault and two counts of indecent assault. The charges, laid on April 22 by the OPP North West Region Crime Unit in Thunder Bay, relate to incidents that allegedly occurred in northwestern
Ontario between 1973 and 1986 in the First Nations communities of Fort Severn, Kitchenuhmaykoosib Inninuwug, Wunnumin Lake and Kingfisher Lake. Rowe, 72, currently lives in Surrey. An OPP statement issued Tuesday said Rowe was served a summons by an RCMP officer and is scheduled to appear in court in Kenora, Ont. on May 31. He has been incarcerated twice before, serving more than six years in jail for multiple counts of sex-related crimes involving boys as young as six. The incidents occurred during the 1970s and 1980s, while Rowe was traveling to remote First Nations
communities in Manitoba and Ontario to conduct church services and youth events. Rowe was described by a Crown prosecutor as one of the “most prolific” sex offenders Canada has seen. At his first trial in Kenora, Ontario Superior Court in 1994, Rowe pleaded guilty to 39 counts of indecent assault involving 19 boys and was sentenced to six years. Under the terms of his plea bargain, Rowe would serve no additional jail time if convicted of other similar offences. see page A4
Carr remembered
Area loses a class act Dan Ferguson Staff Reporter
Tracy Holmes photo
Randy Caine and Hempyz manager Kat Thomas say their family-friendly boutique is more about the hippy culture than the “adult side” of cannabis.
White Rock votes 4-2 against licence for new waterfront business
Civic foes fail to extinguish hemp shop Tracy Holmes Staff Reporter
Despite a recommendation from city staff and a majority vote by White Rock council to reject a licence for a hemp-themed retail store on the waterfront, the business venture will proceed. Council voted 4-2 this week to refuse an application by Victor ‘Randy’ Caine for a licence to operate Hempyz Gifts and Novelties
at 14967 Marine Dr. However, the city’s bylaws state that council can only deny such applications if the vote is unanimous. “Only council has the right to refuse it,” Paul Stanton, the city’s director of planning and development services, told the politicians after the vote, in response to a question from Coun. Helen Fathers as to its impact. “Staff does not have the right to refuse it.”
Hempyz had opened its doors last Friday, three days before the council vote. Its merchandise includes items made of hemp, a less potent part of the cannabis plant than marijuana buds. Caine, a Langley resident, had applied for the licence in December, and sat in chambers Monday as Stanton explained reasoning for his recommendation. see page A5
If you wanted to find Don Carr at a social event, all you had to do was look for a group of smiling people and the genial giant of a man with the booming laugh would be in the middle. “If you walked into a room or a party, he would be surrounded by people,” says his youngest son. “He was a great storyteller.” Chris Carr recalled his father’s memory this week, after the older Carr lost his battle with cancer May 1. He is survived by his wife Sherry, sons Jason and Chris, daughter-inDon Carr law Brandi and granddaughters Mackenzie and Riley. In White Rock, the 6’2” Carr was a household name, the owner of Don Carr Chev Olds, a dealership that won multiple awards for business excellence. The Carrs were also known as sponsors of the annual Canadian Sandcastle competition in the ’70s and ’80s, as well as backing White Rock minor hockey, Semiahmoo Rotary Golf Tournament, South Surrey Eagles hockey team and other organizations and festivals. see page A4
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