Tuesday
December 11, 2012 (Vol. 37 No. 99)
V O I C E
O F
W H I T E
R O C K
A N D
S O U T H
Honour guard: Cloverdale retiree Cathy Brady has been tagged as one of Canada’s best crossing guards. › see page 15
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
Gateway suggests 70% of residents welcome casino; opponents cite city documents showing much lower support
Sides in casino debate spar over polls Alex Browne Staff Reporter
A drive to muster public backing for Gateway Casinos and Entertainment’s proposed South Surrey casino, hotel and conference centre has generated more than 7,000 expressions of support – and some 70 per cent support from Surrey residents responding to requests for feedback – according to a company spokesperson.
Tanya Gabara said an estimated 2,800 Surrey residents expressed support for the proposal, while 4,900 non-Surrey residents also backed the $100-million complex at 10 Avenue and 168 Street. The numbers were made public Friday, as Surrey council was preparing to consider the proposal at a Monday meeting, which took place after Peace Arch News’ deadline. Responding by email to PAN’s request for a
more detailed breakdown of figures, Gabara said the company estimates that – out of total feedback received for the project – 70 per cent of Surrey residents who responded supported it, while 86 per cent of people from other municipalities were in favour. “A broad cross-section of the community sees opportunity and benefits in our proposal,” Gabara said in the original press release.
“We are very pleased that so many Surrey residents support this project, and we are also thrilled with the support the project is receiving from outside of Surrey.” But Terry McNeice, president of the South Surrey Ratepayers Association – which has been campaigning against the proposal – said a City of Surrey planning and development report paints a different picture. › see page 2
Woman airlifted
‘Slow down,’ cyclist urges Tracy Holmes Staff Reporter
Donna-Marie Tarver can’t emphasize the message to drivers and cyclists enough: slow down and wear a helmet. The White Rock woman is certain the latter is what saved her when she was struck by a car while riding in South Surrey Nov. 30. And she’s confident if the driver who hit her hadn’t been in a hurry, the collision would never have occurred. “If he’d paid attention just to the road laws… I’d still be OK,” Tarver said Monday. Tarver, 48, was hit by a Jeep Cherokee around 4:30 p.m., seconds after turning off of 16 Avenue to head north on Martin Drive en route to the South Surrey Bike Park. The last thing the mother of four remembers is looking over her left shoulder to check for traffic. The next thing she knew, she was lying on the pavement and could hear the voice of a White Rock firefighter. › see page 4
Tracy Holmes photo
RCMP Cpl. Bert Paquet points to traffic-camera footage that shows a white crossover vehicle just before it impacts two joggers on a crosswalk.
Man recorded approaching downed joggers, then abandoning them seconds later
RCMP hit-and-run video leads to arrest Tracy Holmes Staff Reporter
Contributed photo
Donna-Marie Tarver in hospital.
Surrey RCMP arrested a suspect Thursday in connection with a hit-and-run 2½ days earlier at the intersection of 152 Street and 32 Avenue. A 53-year-old Surrey man faces a charge of dangerous driving causing bodily harm in connection with the Dec. 3 incident, in which two women were injured shortly before 8 p.m. while jogging in a crosswalk. The man’s identity has not been released, pending a first court appearance set for May 13. Police said the arrest was made early Dec. 6
at a residence not far from the crash scene, and a BMW X1 was seized as evidence. Media attention, including the release of traffic-camera footage of the collision, helped police locate the suspect vehicle, by triggering the memory of a person who was on scene. Delta resident Shelley Lammers, 51, was expected to return home Monday, after a week at Royal Columbian Hospital, suffering from a concussion, fractured ribs, a collapsed lung, two broken vertebrae and a lacerated liver. She was airlifted to the hospital, while her less-seriously-injured running partner, Nola
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Carlson – who suffered four facial fractures, including a broken nose and fractured cheek when the impact of the vehicle threw Lammers into her – was transported by ambulance. Both women were wearing reflective clothing and headlamps at the time of the incident. Carlson told Peace Arch News Thursday she was relieved by word of the arrest. “I’m delighted with the good news,” she said. The traffic-camera video released Wednesday afternoon by police shows the collision in the crosswalk by a white crossover SUV. › see page 4
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