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YOUR SOURCE FOR LOCAL SPORTS, NEWS, WEATHER AND ENTERTAINMENT! WWW.DELTA-OPTIMIST.COM The Voice of Delta since 1922 SATURDAY, AUGUST 28, 2010
See Page 7
Delta man drowns in fishing incident
On top of the world!
BY
JESSICA KERR
jkerr@delta-optimist.com
A Delta man died this week after he fell into the Fraser River while fishing in Chilliwack. Chilliwack RCMP said at about 5:45 p.m. on Tuesday a 33-year-old sport fisherman from Delta fell into the river at a popular access point just off of Old Orchard Road. The man was fishing with a friend when he slipped from the rocks on which he was standing and fell into the water.
PHOTO BY
CHUNG CHOW
Delta police officers Cst. Kevin Usipiuk (left) and Cst. Ken Dueck sat high above the action at Tsawwassen Town Centre Mall last Saturday. The two officers were raising funds for this year’s Cops for Cancer’s Tour de Valley ride and remained on their perch until 4:30 p.m. the next day.
Draft area plan heading to council Elected officials will get first glimpse at committee recommendations on Monday night BY
SANDOR GYARMATI
sgyarmati@delta-optimist.com
The Tsawwassen Area Plan is now in the hands of council. On Monday the civic politicians will discuss the proposed plan, which had been finalized by the Tsawwassen Area Plan Committee last week. The committee had been meeting for over a year to update the current plan, which hasn’t been updated since 1992. Community planning director Tom Leathem said council will discuss the committee’s report and an accompanying staff report. “The next step after that is to draft the bylaw and introduce it for first and second reading and our current thinking, but it won’t be clear until after Monday night, is that we bring that back for the meeting on September
13th,” explained Leathem. “Then we’ll have to do a whole bunch of referrals to various agencies to comment on it prior to a public hearing... we don’t have a public hearing date set yet but we’re hoping some time in October,” he said. Council can make refinements to the plan on Monday if it wants, Leathem noted, as well as after the public hearing based on the input received. Leathem said if any changes made by council following the public hearing are relatively small then another public hearing would likely not be necessary. The most contentious issue for the area plan committee, and now for council, is the future of the Southlands property. The majority of the committee voted in favour of maintaining the current agricultural designation, but some members noted that doesn’t mean a development proposal can’t be
submitted for consideration. Another area of the plan, which turned out to be somewhat contentious, is the building height limit in the town centre. The committee voted in favour of maintaining the four-storey limit, however, the members also wanted it noted they had previously agreed to recommend increasing the limit to six storeys but the majority of respondents to a municipal mailout survey didn’t want the increase. Coun. Bruce McDonald, who chaired the committee, told the group at their meeting last week that council will review that provision of the proposed plan, along with everything else in the document, and may end up making changes after debate. Other proposed changes in the area plan include the creation of townhouse designated areas and allowing infill development in some single family areas.
The friend jumped into the river to try and help but had to be pulled from the water himself by a nearby boater. A police helicopter, Chilliwack Search and Rescue, police and numerous fishermen searched the river for several hours Tuesday evening but were unable to locate the man. The search was called off at dusk but continued the next day. On Thursday, Chilliwack RCMP announced that the body of Randy Garrecht of North Delta had been recovered from the river near Mission. “This is a tragic reminder to be safe when on, or near, the water,” said RCMP spokesperson LeaAnne Dunlop. “Life jackets should be worn at all times when on a boat or standing on the rivers edge near deep or swift water.” Garrecht was just one of several fishermen to have fallen in the Fraser in recent weeks as record numbers of sockeye salmon have drawn hundreds of anglers to the river’s shores. -With files from the Chilliwack Times