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December 29, 2010
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PoCo man believes his approach to selfdefence can help people avoid becoming victims of crime.
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A look back at the year that was From Olympic buzz to HST rallies, 2010 was anything but boring. Join us for a look back at the past year, from a TriCities point of view:
JANUARY
Tri-Cities drivers hang up the phone en masse, as new cellphone laws come into effect on Jan. 1. According to changes to the Motor Vehicle Act, no one is allowed to use cellphones or hand-held electronic devices behind the wheel of a car unless it is parked. ••• Controversy erupts in the Village of Anmore after longtime mayor Hal Weinberg suddenly resigns from his post at the end of 2009. He leaves behind a fractured council that cannot make decisions, including a crucial one regarding the appointment of a chief election officer to run a byelection. The province steps in, allowing the byelection to go ahead. Heather Anderson becomes the new mayor. ••• Tri-Cities residents take action to help Haiti, which is rocked by a 7.0-magnitude earthquake on Jan. 12. As the death toll climbs to 200,000, local firefighters begin fundraising for the relief effort. Dale Truscott, president of Local 1941, temporarily converts the PoCo firefighters’ provincial boot drive into a campaign to help Haiti. Port Moody firefighters also swing into action, collecting donations outside the recreation centre and Thrifty Foods in Suter Brook. A Facebook campaign later vows to Help Haiti’s Babies, and brings an industrial-sized CONT. ON PAGE 3, see 2010.
Paul vanPeenen/NOW
A memorial service was held Thursday at Northside Foursquare Church for Irvin Wickens, a homeless man who died in Port Coquitlam.
Community honours homeless man John Kurucz jkurucz@thenownews.com Close to 200 people gathered in Port Coquitlam Thursday to celebrate the life of a well-known figure in the homeless community who was found dead on Dec. 19. At the Grace campus of Northside Foursquare Church, homelessness advocates, members of the homeless community and local politicians paid their last respects to Irvin Wickens, whose body was found near the area of Lougheed Highway and Shaughnessy Street. “It was just a very touching service,” said Port
Coquitlam Mayor Greg Moore. “He sounded like a real personable guy. Judging by the number of people at the service, he got along with everybody.” Wickens, 43, was found dead at around 8 a.m. on Dec. 19, though a cause of death has not yet been released. While police ruled out foul play last week, Wickens was known to have battled alcoholism for more than a decade. “The one thing that stuck out as a massive contradiction was that his character didn’t match his lifestyle,” said Rob Thiessen, executive director of the Hope For Freedom Society. “He had some serious alcohol problems which he
couldn’t get a hold of, but it didn’t turn him into the kind of person that, sometimes, substance abuse turns other people into. He was a gentle old man, a giving old man.” Shortly after the proceedings got underway Thursday, pastor Paul Oorebeek began telling the audience that none of Wickens’s family members were able to attend the service. But before Oorebeek could even finish the sentence, one of Wickens’s friends countered with, “Irvin’s family’s all here.” “It was really quite a touching moment,” Moore said. “There were about 150 people there who broke CONTINUED ON PAGE 4, see WICKENS.
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