Thursday October 24, 2013 (Vol.. 38 No. 86)
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Art honours: White Rock Players’ Club founding member Guy Weston was among artists honoured by White Rock council this week to kick off an international celebration. i see page A27
Public meeting attracts two schools of thought over meaning of South Surrey proposal
Divided views over arts-centre towers Alex Browne Staff Reporter
About 200 people packed the Rotary Field House Tuesday night to learn more about a proposed residential-tower development that advocates believe could help create a cultural hub in South Surrey. Among the crowd, attitudes seemed split between those excited about the potential of the proposed amenities – among them a
350-seat performing-arts centre – and those wary of the impact of two towers, one 26 storeys and the other 19, at the corner of 152 Street and 19 Avenue. The as-yet unnamed project, still in the design proposal stage, would be a co-operative development of the Reifel Cook Group and the Surrey City Development Corporation, each owners of lots that would be combined for the project.
In response to questions from the crowd, architect Patrick Cotter said the project would provide about 300 units. In his presentation, he pointed out the site is in an area of the Semiahmoo Town Centre plan identified as eligible for bonus density in return for cultural amenities, and is one of three locations where a ‘landmark’ tower could be able to exceed a 20-storey limit. He said the current plan is for towers of
different heights “offset to provide daylight and view areas.” Four-storey ‘podiums’ for the towers would include retail and office space, he said, while a pedestrian mews along 152 Street would be an adjunct to shopping and a cafe/gallery space. Nearly 600 underground parking spaces on 3½ levels are also proposed. i see page A4
Compensation sought
Totem project
Power time-shift shocks merchant
School spirit Alex Browne Staff Reporter
Tracy Holmes Staff Reporter
A White Rock merchant who closed shop twice this month for scheduled power outages says he wants to know why business operators at Royal Plaza weren’t told when one of those outages were cancelled. BC Hydro has apologized for the “miscommunication” that led Wolf Paech of Wolf ’s Deli to twice move all of the perishables from nine refrigerated units in preparation for the Oct. 8 and Oct. 21 outages, but the store owner said this week that words are not enough. He wants compensation to cover his losses – about $500 in all. “That’s a big mistake,” he reasoned. “I cleaned everything out that day (Oct. 8) and nothing happened. It cost a lot of time and it cost a lot of wages.” Paech was among 16 BC Hydro customers who were notified in late September of the first outage, planned to accommodate a powerpole replacement. After receiving a second notice advising of the Oct. 21 outage, he called the utility company to confirm which day – and was told work would proceed both days. i see page A4
Alex Browne photo
Semiahmoo First Nation councillor Joanne Charles unveils cedar poles to be carved by Leonard Wells.
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It was a welcoming ceremony for two future symbols of welcome. Monday, students, staff and dignitaries gathered outside Earl Marriott Secondary as two red cedar poles – split from a single tree felled in Squamish – were delivered to the school. And they were called upon for the key ceremonial role of witness by Semiahmoo First Nation councillor Joanne Charles, who drummed and sang the poles into the school with other Semiahmoo singers, for what was described as the “historic” CEN’ALIEN Project. In the hands of SFN carver Leonard Wells – himself a former Marriott student – the poles, which bear some preliminary marks, will be transformed into two totems, one male and one female, which will be on permanent display in the school’s entrance lobby. In keeping with Marriott’s ‘Mariner’ theme, Charles said the male figure will be carrying the paddle of a traditional First Nations fisherman in Semiahmoo Bay. The carving, to take place in the school’s inner courtyard, should be complete in time for EMS’s annual powwow in March, Wells told Peace Arch News. i see page A5
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