ST TAR
ALDERGROVE Your Hometown Community Newspaper for over 56 Years
| Thursday, September 18, 2014
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BC Seniors Games A Huge Success! Success!
Page 15: Championship Trophies for Kodiaks
PAGE 16
Fire Fighters Get Pie-Faced For Charities
Langley is Canada’s ‘mail theft capital’ By MONIQUE TAMMINGA Aldergrove Star
HARRY HUNT PHOTO
Langley Township fire fighter Chris Lane gets pie in his eye during the pie eating contest at the Langley fire fighters charities fundraiser at Krause Farms on Sunday, Sept. 14. More photos, story, inside this issue.
Langley continues to have the dubious distinction of being the mail theft capital of Canada. Recently, Canada Post revealed that Metro Vancouver has the highest occurrence of mail theft, with Langley being the current and longstanding hotspot. Figures for 2013 from the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre (CAFC) show that the number of reported identity fraud victims was up by nearly 14 per cent over the previous year. The trend has continued this year, suggesting people need to be more vigilant when it comes to protecting their confidential information. According to the Langley RCMP crime analyst, in the week of Sept. 1 through 7, there were reports of five mail thefts, in Walnut Grove,
north Langley, Willowbrook, Murrayville and 8 Avenue. “That isn’t remarkably high compared to the days when there were up to 20 mail thefts in just one night,” said Cpl. Holly Marks. “Slowly Canada Post is replacing the community boxes in Langley and people are getting smarter about picking up their mail every day.” A Langley man and woman in their 30s were recently charged with identity theft after police dismantled a major fraud operation based out of a rental house in north Langley. In that case, a stolen Canada Post uniform was found along with 13,000 identities, identity making equipment and other fraud items. The man arrested was already out on bail for doing the same thing in Burnaby. SEE: Page 3
Tentative deal to end teachers’ strike By DAN FERGUSON & TOM FLETCHER Aldergrove Star
There were smiles on the picket line at Langley district schools Tuesday, the morning that a tentative deal to end the teachers’ strike was announced. “It’s a better day,” one teacher said. “You’re seeing a lot more smiles [this morning],” another said. Mediator Vince Ready announced the agreement early Tuesday morning, after five
days of round-the-clock talks at a Richmond hotel. The B.C. Teachers’ Federation and the province’s negotiators agreed to withhold details until they have a final document to present, he said. With a ratification vote of 40,000 union members expected to be held Thursday, the province’s 60 school districts are attempting to return to regular classes next week after five weeks of full-scale strike action that began last June.
Education Minister Peter Fassbender has said a plan will be developed to make up missed instructional days, which could involve rescheduling Christmas and spring break. “This is wonderful news for the students, teachers, administrators, support staff, trustees and parents in B.C.,” said B.C. School Trustees’ Association president Teresa Rezansoff. “The immediate goal is to get students back in classes as quickly as possible.” The B.C. Public School
Employers’ Association was seeking a six-year agreement with wage increases of just over one per cent per year, in line with other settlements in the provincial public service. A fund to address class size and composition has been a key issue in the dispute. More than 40,000 teachers have been without a contract since June 2013. After an impasse in negotiations, teachers walked out two weeks before the end of the previous school year.
DAN FERGUSON PHOTO
The mood on the Langley Secondary School picket line was upbeat Tuesday following announcement of a possible end to the B.C. teachers’ strike.
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