Municipal: Widening set for section of 240th Street. 5
Study: Does Housing First strategy help? 3
Sports: Sport Pan-Am gold for fo Frankli Franklin. 15 Fr i d ay, J u l y 3 1 , 2 0 1 5 · mapleridgenews.com · est. 1978 · (office) 604-467-1122 · (del iver y) 6 0 4 - 4 6 6 - 6 3 9 7
Election could be called on weekend By Phil M elnyc h u k pmelnychuk@mapleridgenews.com
The next federal election is set for Oct. 19, and depending on what Prime Minister Stephen Harper tells the Governor General on Sunday, the campaign could start as early as Monday. Which is fine for NDP candidate Bob D’Eith, nominated in May, and seeking to take the riding, now called Pitt Meadows-Maple Ridge, from the Conservatives. “We’re working hard. We’ve got the campaign up and running. I look forward to finally getting a Conservative candidate to campaign against.” He expects the Conservatives will have a candidate, either Mike Murray or Marc Dalton, chosen by midAugust. Murray is executive-assistant for current MP Randy Kamp, who isn’t seeking re-election after winning four elections, the first in 2004. Dalton is MLA for Maple RidgeMission, sitting in the legislature as an independent rather than Liberal, while he pursues the Conservative nomination. “If he drops the writ that early and keeps the date at Oct. 19, it will be the longest election campaign in Canadian history. It’ll be 11 weeks, which is unheard of,” D’Eith said. After a certain period in a campaign, parties can spend more money. “I’ve been campaigning since I became the candidate,” D’Eith said. “I see that as definitely as an advantage.” Dalton points out the federal election in 2006 was a longer campaign, 106 days. “I’ve got strong support from Maple Ridge … so we’ll see how it turns out.”
Tim Fitzgerald/THE NEWS
Sarah Metzner, her left arm wrapped after being bitten by a pit bull, was still awaiting word on surgery Wednesday.
Dog attacks paper carrier Pit bull wouldn’t let go of girl’s hand B y P h i l M e l nychuk pmelnychuk@mapleridgenews.com
A teenage newspaper carrier was still waiting for corrective surgery Wednesday, almost a week after what was thought to be pit bull tore into her left hand. Sarah Metzner, 15, was delivering papers along 117th Avenue, near Thomas Haney secondary last Friday, when she was attacked by the dog, which tore through a screen door to get at her. Sarah was walking up the side-
walk to deliver the paper and heard the dog inside. She hesitated, but then heard the owner say from inside, that was it OK. After placing the newspaper, Sarah walked back towards the street. That’s when the dog attacked. “She had turned away and the dog came through the screen. It latched on to her left hand and it locked,” said her mom, Kelly Sullivan. “She screamed and the neighbours came running.” The person taking care of the dog tried to pull it off Sarah by grabbing its hind legs. Neighbours then restrained the
dog so it couldn’t do any more damage and someone brought a chair over for Sarah to sit on, positioning the dog behind her. “At first, I was really, really scared,” Sarah said. But help soon arrived. She wants to thank police and her neighbours for what they did. The moments after the attack were frightening, Sarah added. “It was worse afterwards because I could hear the dog behind me, but I couldn’t see him, so I thought he could get back at me and get me again, but I think I did OK.” Her mom said Sarah’s recollection of the event is sketchy be-
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cause of the trauma involved. Sullivan was driving a TransLink bus at the time in Port Coquitlam and only heard on voice mail, with her daughter screaming. She had to piece together the events based on what neighbours said. Sullivan said when police arrived, one officer cut the dog’s throat, but that had no immediate effect. Police then tried to pry open the dog’s jaws with a baton. Eventually, it lost too much blood and died. However, RCMP Cpl. Alanna Dunlop said police did not stab the dog, a two-year-old pit bull.
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