Tuesday May 6, 2014 4 (Vol. 39 No. 3 36) 6 6))
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‘Gentle giants’: Cloverdale will welcome, for the first time, the popular Express Clydesdales over May long weekend at the Cloverdale Rodeo. i see page 13
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White Rock workers dub job action ‘Wayne’s strike’
History-making strikers target mayor Tracy Holmes Staff Reporter
Tracy Holmes photo
Local president Mike Guraliuk calls ‘shame.’
Applause and calls of “shame” were repeated outside White Rock City Hall Friday morning, as unionized workers from as far away as North Vancouver gathered in a show of “solidarity.” The rally was organized to mark the first day of the city’s first-ever strike, which launched early Friday with pickets and a call to “stand up for our rights.” The union gave the city 72-hour notice of the
job action Tuesday, after mediated bargaining did not bring the two sides to an agreement. Some of the placards carried by city staffers clearly took issue with a statement made by Mayor Wayne Baldwin to Peace Arch News earlier last week that the issues driving the job action are “trivial.” The workers – who donned placards bearing such statements as ‘Wayne’s strike’, ‘Long-term disability not trivial’ and ‘United for fairness’ – were joined later in the morning by CUPE BC president Mark Hancock
and Surrey local president Jeannie Kilby. Kilby described the local having to go on strike as “unfortunate,” and pledged the support of Surrey’s “sisters” and “brothers.” “The 3,000 of us in Surrey will stand behind and beside you,” Kilby told the crowd. Baldwin told PAN Thursday evening that while he didn’t intend for his earlier comment to sound “flippant,” he maintains the sticking points “are not the kind of issues one would go on strike with.” i see page 5
Surrey offences on rise
Newton crime rate shoots up Kevin Diakiw Black Press
Police statistics for the first quarter of 2014 indicate Newton is one of the most dangerous places in Surrey – and it’s getting worse. Half of the city’s sex assaults so far this year occurred in Newton, and people were almost as likely to be assaulted or robbed there as they were in Whalley, over the first three months of this year. Newton’s number of Criminal Code offences jumped by 36 per cent compared to the same period last year, an increase not matched in any other community in Surrey. Citywide, the number of total offences was up 21 per cent. The number of murders was way down in Surrey so far, dropping from 11 in the first three months of 2013 to just one in the first quarter of this year, according to the statistics obtained by Black Press. Of crime increases in Newton, most notable were sexual assaults, which jumped to 28 from 18 assaults during the same period last year, a leap of 56 per cent. Business break-and-enters were up 68 per cent, theft from vehicles were up 79 per cent and fraud skyrocketed 150 per cent. i see page 2 rd
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Shane MacKichan photo
A surge of water and debris from a ditch in the 17200-block of 16 Avenue flooded the road Sunday night, triggering a closure of the thoroughfare.
Weekend rainfall totals more than seen in typical May
‘100-year event’ drenches Peninsula Tracy Holmes Staff Reporter
Heavy rainfall wreaked havoc in parts of South Surrey and White Rock Sunday and overnight, flooding roads with water and debris. Monday morning, 16 Avenue remained closed to traffic between 168 and 176 streets, as crews worked to clear mud and gravel from both lanes. Rob Constanzo, Surrey’s acting operations
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manager, said the mess was the result of “a 100-year rain event” in combination with a rising tide. The weekend rainfall was more than typically seen in the entire month of May, he said. “Over the weekend, we had 91.6 mm… with 86.2 falling on Sunday,” Costanzo said. In White Rock, 21.2 mm fell between 3 and 4 p.m. Sunday, and another 12.6 mm fell between 5 and 6 p.m. “So the storm was basically a 100-year
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event… between 6 (p.m.) and midnight)… and it was a 50-year event over the 24-hour period.” East White Rock and South Surrey were the hardest hit. Surrey crews closed 16 Avenue around 9 p.m. Sunday, after a ditch in the 17200-block overflowed, sending four-inch-deep water and debris surging across the roadway. The road was expected to reopen Monday afternoon (after Peace Arch News deadline). i see page 2