Downtown: Dollar and quick cash stores concern businesses. 3
Knights roundup: Midgets stomp Raiders. 21
Arts&life: Culture Day at ACT. 15 We d n es d ay, S e p te m b e r 24, 2014 · ma pler id g en ews.com · est. 1978 · (office) 604-467-1122 · (de li ve r y) 6 0 4 - 4 6 6 - 6 3 9 7
Candidate wants to be mayor and trustee Gary Cleave will run for both in Maple Ridge By Phil M elnyc h u k pmelnychuk@mapleridgenews.com
A former communications officer with the Maple Ridge-Pitt Meadows school district now wants to serve as a school trustee, and be the mayor of Maple Ridge. Gary Cleave says if he’s elected to both positions, both organizations would benefit because he can represent the issues of each to each other. “I think I can be more effective on school board by being mayor.” And conversely, as a mayor who’s also on school board, he can represent education concerns to the city. “It’s mutually reinforcing,” he said. “I’m for collaboration and mutual respect.” Cleave served a variety of postings with the school district. See Election, 4
Colleen Flanagan/THE NEWS
Back to school
Amisha McMaster (left) and Kylie Saranchuk wait for their parents to pick them up from Leanne Dunbar’s Grade 1-2 class at Glenwood elementary after the first day back to school following the teachers’ strike Monday.
Shelter losing cold weather beds Federal government removes funding By M o ni s ha M ar tin s mmartins@mapleridgenews.com
A Maple Ridge shelter will not be adding extra beds as winter approaches because of a loss of federal funding. The Caring Place has been informing clients of this for the past month, urging those sleeping outside to find shelter before
the weather turns cooler. The loss of $140,000 in funding from Service Canada means the Salvation Army-run shelter won’t have the means to add 15 cold-wet weather mats to its existing 25 year-round beds. The cold-wet weather program has been in place for more than 14 years and started before the Caring Place moved to its current location, on Lougheed Highway near the Haney Bypass. “We knew this was going to
happen,” said Caring Place director Darrell Pilgrim. “We have been letting our clients know for over a month now and they have been working hard with our advocates to find other options. That’s the best we can do, unfortunately.” The cold weather mats are put in place from November through March and the extra funding allowed the Caring Place to add a staff person to care for the additional clients.
Fraipont & Manyk
“I would hope that the community can understand that if we don’t have the right staffing numbers in place, we can’t ensure the safety of everyone,” said Pilgrim. He doesn’t want to turn people away, and fears that difficulty finding affordable housing in Maple Ridge may force some shelter clients to sleep outside in winter. That’s a big concern for me,” Pilgrim said, “turning people away.” See Beds, 3
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Colleen Flanagan/THE NEWS
Desiree Towne sanitizes mattresses at the Salvation Army shelter on Tuesday.
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