Tuesday March 10, 2015 (Vol. 40 No. 20)
V O I C E
O F
W H I T E
R O C K
A N D
S O U T H
S U R R E Y
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Getting around: Semiahmoo Rotarians travelled to Hermosillo, Mexico, bringing relief in the form of wheelchairs, canes and other mobilitysupport items. i see page 11
Wildlife group offers $1,000 reward for conviction of those responsible
Outrage over leg-hold-trap injuries Sarah Massah Staff Reporter
A longstanding Vancouver-based animalprotection group is stepping up to support four-legged wildlife injured in White Rock by leg-hold traps. The Association for the Protection of FurBearing Animals (APFA) told Peace Arch News Friday it will offer a $1,000 reward for information leading to the identification and
conviction of the individual or individuals responsible for the leg-hold traps that seriously injured a mother raccoon twice in recent weeks. PAN was first alerted to the leg-hold traps Wednesday by Frank Groff, who lives in the 1400-block of Marine Drive. According to Groff, the raccoon, which has two babies, had one of its front paws ensnared in the leg-hold trap four weeks
earlier, causing it to either gnaw or twist off its paw. Two days earlier, the same raccoon was seen with another leg-hold trap on one of its back paws. After a story about the raccoon’s injuries was published in Thursday’s PAN, comments came in from residents who had seen injured raccoons in their neighbourhood. Longtime Hardie Avenue resident Alice
Mitchell said Friday that it has become a frequent sight near her home. “About this time of year, we see the little guys wandering around, and in the last couple of weeks, in front of our house on Hardie Avenue, so many are coming by that are maimed,” she said. “It’s just disgusting. They have legs torn off and some other traps must be going in, because some have skin and fur torn off. i see page 4
No injures in air crash
Shane MacKichan photo
A flipped ‘experimental’ plane was reportedly righted by the time Surrey firefighters arrived at a private landing strip near the Serpentine River.
Two Port Coquitlam residents escaped injury Sunday morning after the plane they were in crashed during takeoff in South Surrey. The single-engine ‘experimental’ aircraft sustained visible damage in the crash, which occurred just before 10:30 a.m. at a private landing strip along the Serpentine River. According to a Surrey RCMP news release, the plane dipped to the right during takeoff, catching the landing gear in some bushes at the end of the runway. The plane then reportedly flipped upside-down, but had been righted onto its wheels with the passengers safely out by the time first responders arrived. The Transportation Safety Board has been advised of the incident. – Melissa Smalley
Youth game marred by off-ice incident
Police advise charge after hockey-fan fracas Nick Greenizan Staff Reporter
The West Vancouver Police Department is investigating an office incident that allegedly occurred between fans of a Semiahmoo Minor Hockey team and one from Hollyburn Country Club in West Vancouver Friday. Police and ambulance crews were called to the rink after at least one
fight broke out in the stands of a youth game between the two associations’ bantam ‘A1’ squads. According to West Vancouver Police, an argument arose between two men in the viewing area of the arena. One man allegedly grabbed the other, and other spectators then stepped in to help break up the situation. No serious injuries were reported,
according to West Vancouver Police Const. Jeff Palmer. The alleged victim, a 67-yearold Langley man, reported minor bruising and soreness. Police say they will recommend a charge of assault against a 45-yearold West Vancouver man. The accused was arrested and released on a promise to appear at North Vancouver Provincial Court
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on May 6. There were reports over the weekend – which travelled quickly via social media – that the altercation started when a Semiahmoo player was spit upon by someone in the stands, but neither Palmer nor Semiahmoo Minor Hockey Association president Ian Maguire would speculate on what may have sparked the melee.
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“For us, the focus is just on the altercation between the two men,” Palmer said. Maguire – who was not in attendance at the game, played by 13and 14-year-olds – said his association, as well as executive members from Hollyburn, were working with BC Hockey and the police to get to the bottom of the situation. i see page 2