Tuesday December 22, 2015 (Vol. 40 No. 102)
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
w w w. p e a c e a r c h n e w s . c o m
A long time ago… As White Rock gets set to turn the calendar to 2016, local historians Lorraine and Hugh Ellenwood take a look back at what the city was like 100 years ago. i see page 11
Bridge pricing unfair for residents south of the Fraser River, elected officials say
Massey tolls punish region: MP, mayor Tracy Holmes Staff Reporter
A plan to toll the Massey Tunnel replacement bridge is further punishing residents who live south of the Fraser while doing nothing to get people out of their cars, says Conservative MP Dianne Watts. “The system, to be tolling and penalizing people south of the Fraser, is unfair,” Watts told Peace Arch News Friday.
The stand was echoed by Surrey Mayor Linda Hepner – a proponent of mobility pricing – who predicted the new toll will result in either an increase in the price of goods and services, or put “enormous” pressure on the Alex Fraser Bridge, as the only free alternative. “It is simply not fair for those south of the Fraser to be landlocked… when freedom of movement is available to the rest of the
region at no cost,” Hepner said Monday. “The only thing that will get people out of their cars is a system that works and right now, south of the Fraser, there is no system.” Transportation Minister Todd Stone confirmed last week that the planned $3.5-billion, 10-lane replacement bridge will be tolled, with motorists paying a similar amount as they do at the Port Mann. The span over the Fraser is projected to save
commuters up to 30 minutes if they pay to cross; 14 per cent of current traffic is expected to divert to the Alex Fraser. Watts, who served as mayor of Surrey from 2005 to 2014, said she has long opposed tolling infrastructure on a piecemeal basis, favouring instead a “fair and equitable” region-wide, road-pricing system, which she said is “best practice in the world.” i see page 2
Life choices the focus
Hands-on education Tracy Holmes
A
Staff Reporter
quiet effort to encourage children to dream – and reach for the skies when it comes to choosing a career – is placing students at a North Surrey school behind the scenes at Peace Arch Hospital. Funded by the South Surreybased Cmolik Foundation, and now in its seventh year, the Expanding Horizons program is “a great story” of creating opportunities young students may otherwise never experience, according to Sam le Riche, principal of Lena Shaw Elementary. “I think the biggest thing is that… it really allows us the chance to help to close the opportunity gap,” le Riche said, noting some of her school’s students come from disadvantaged environments – homes in which post-secondary educations and even careers may never be discussed. “We are hoping to inspire the love of learning, which leads to lifelong education.” In a hospital tour last month, 60 Grade 5 students were introduced to careers in radiology, pathology, food services, maintenance and surgery. The students heard from White Rock professionals who spoke of their own childhoods and the choices they made in life that carved their path to success
Contributed photo
Ron Stevenson, site supervisor for facilities maintenance and operations at Peace Arch Hospital, explains the workings of the hospital’s boiler room. – choices that included doing their homework and not getting involved in drugs or gang life. The technologists, doctors and other staff who volunteered their time to the tour “became everyday people… real people,” le Riche said, calling the experience “really broadening… in terms of career opportunity (and) enables them to dream about the future and realize the future.” The students were able to test instruments in mock surgical
procedures, and they got to see firsthand what happens when a patient goes in for an X-ray. After the tour, the students were treated to a Cirque du Soleil performance and dinner at the Salmon House in West Vancouver. In the spring, the same students will spend a day at Boundary Bay airport, where they’ll rotate through four stations: mechanics, the control tower, going up in a helicopter or an airplane and, notably, a talk on making wise
Boxing Day Sale
50% OFF EVERYTHING IN THE STORE
SEE PAGE 9 FOR DETAILS!
19158 - 48th Avenue 2 Stores (corner of 192nd & 48th) Surrey 2124 - 128th Street, Ocean Park Open Boxing Day 8am - 4pm
choices. That day will also include a visit to BCIT’s aviation campus and another fine-dining experience. Foundation chair Russ Cmolik described the day’s wise-choices talk – led by a pair of Surrey firefighters who volunteer their time – as central to the whole program. “Everything we do, I would say, the fundamental message is delivered in this one hour, of all the hours we spend with the kids,” the South Surrey philanthropist
told Peace Arch News Wednesday. “It’s talking about… what is going to be your life moving forward if you take care of yourself now.” Cmolik’s own efforts to support students’ education began officially in 2008, when his wife, Ellen, announced she wanted to “adopt” a class and expose them to opportunities that would inspire them, and she wanted to follow their progress through high school. i see page 4