Thursday August 2, 2012 (Vol. 37 No. 62)
V O I C E
O F
W H I T E
R O C K
A N D
S O U T H
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
Worth the weight: Four years after finishing fourth at the Summerr Games in Beijing, White Rock weightlifter Christine Girard finally took a step onto the podium Tuesday, winning Olympic bronze in London. see page 333
Home from hospital
Festival hits the beach
On the road to recovery
Sea fest setbacks motivate organizers
Dan Ferguson Staff Reporter
Sarah Massah
White Rock resident Peggy White came home from hospital on Friday to continue her recovery from a July 14 hit-and-run. The active 52-year-old spent two weeks in Royal Columbian Hospital after she was knocked off her bike by a tandem dump truck while riding along 16 Avenue near 180 Street. She suffered 11 broken bones, including fractures to her pelvis, sacrum, two vertebrae and two ribs. On Tuesday, White greeted a Peace Arch News reporter at her Marine Drive residence, on her feet and moving, slowly, with the aid of a walker. “I’m really happy to be alive,” she says. White doesn’t remember the collision, only coming to in a water-filled ditch with Victoria resident Randy Duncan and Peninsula resident Norm Nagel, the Good Samaritans who came to her rescue. “What do you say to someone who saves your life?” she says. “I’m so thankful.” She says both men balked at being called heroes. Duncan does remember the collision. He saw it happen. The Island man was heading east on the thoroughfare around 11:30 a.m. on July 14 when he noticed White on her bicycle approaching in the “very, very small shoulder” of the westbound lane, and a dark red tandem dump truck coming up behind her. The truck wasn’t moving over to give the cyclist room and it wasn’t slowing down. “I thought, where’s he going?” Duncan told PAN a few days after the hit-and-run occurred. “There was no room for him to veer over to the other side of the road.” Then, Duncan says, the truck’s front bumper hit the rear of the bike. “The bike flew, and parts of the bike, and of course, the cyclist flew through the air. I thought, I’m going to find somebody dead.” When Duncan got to White, he says she was semi-conscious and starting to swallow water. see page 4
Despite a slow start, Spirit of the Sea Festival organizers say they are confident this year’s lineup of activities and entertainment will be a sure crowdpleaser. A number of set-backs, including a lack of volunteers, have pushed organizers to work harder to ensure festival-goers will have a memorable experience Aug. 3-6. “We have a really solid core team that has been able to work some miracles with the limited resources that we have available,” said festival director Matt Todd. “People who come to the festival every year will find that all their favourites are still here, but there are also some interesting new things that are happening as well.” And while Todd admits many may not find it that interesting, some behind-the-scenes infrastructure has helped the festival team do more with what they have. “We’re trying to modernize the way the festival is managed. As proud as we are of this festival, it kind of feels like a practice run for the following year. So when people come to the festival, we encourage them to bring forward any ideas they have or suggestions for improvement,” Todd said. There are a few new activities this year, including Yoga on the Pier, a series of paddleboarding events and a whole lot of dancing. As people are waiting for the Torchlight Parade on Saturday night, there will be Zumba instructors and squaredancers along Marine Drive, by Vidal Street, getting the crowd pumped up. The goal is to get the crowd more involved, rather than simply stand and watch, Todd said. “We really want people to … be a bit adventurous. Try a paddleboard, get on it and see what you think. It’s the same with the dancing in the street, see page 4
Staff Reporter
Dan Ferguson photo
Peggy White doesn’t remember any part of being hit by a dump truck while cycling on 16 Avenue on July 14. The White Rock resident came home from hospital Friday.
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