LangleyAdvance
Barwick flies flag pg A18
Your community newspaper since 1931
Tuesday, September 28, 2010
Your source for local sports, news, weather, and entertainment: www.langleyadvance.com
Audited circulation: 41,100 – 32 pages
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Matthew Claxton
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Learning never stops
Police officers cordoned off an area south of the main entrance to Langley Memorial Hospital Monday afternoon, after a suspicious package was found near the building.
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Scare causes LMH evacuation Police tape has come down, and the Langley Memorial Hospital has been declared safe, after a suspicious package was found outside the building on Monday. by Roxanne Hooper and Troy Landreville
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Emergency response
Police barricades have been taken down and Langley Memorial Hospital has been declared safe again, after a piece of mysterious luggage was found outside the institution on Monday. Discovery of an “overnight bag” near the hospital entrance prompted a partial evacuation of the hospital in Murrayville, and forced police to lock down some of the nearby roadways in and out of the Fraser Health facility
for several hours. and the Explosives Disposal Unit Police were alerted to the sushas now declared the area safe,” picious bag just before noon, Marks reported just before 4 apparently by a member of p.m. on Monday. the hospital staff, said Langley “Langley RCMP has removed RCMP Cpl. Holly Marks. the barriers at Langley Memorial “It’s a very public building, so Hospital and business as usual they erred on the side of cauhas been restored,” she noted. tion,” she said. During the inciA few areas of the dent, RCMP offi“It’s a very hospital were evacucers patrolled the public building, ated, with patients perimeter of the moved to other areas scene, standing so they erred in the building. And beside ribbons on the side of much of the hospital of yellow police was cordoned off to tape, ensuring no caution.” incoming visitors. one entered the Cpl. Holly Marks “We don’t necesrestricted area. sarily have any reaThe police presson to suspect it’s ence didn’t stop explosives,” Marks said shortly a few people from strolling past after learning of the incident. the ribbons. They were sternly As part of their precautionreprimanded and escorted away ary measures, Marks said, the from the cordoned-off area. RCMP also called in a few speAt the entrance, just north of cialized police teams, including the evacuated area, it was busithe explosive’s division and dog ness as usual, as patients, staff, unit. and visitors streamed in and out “Police Dog Services attended, of the hospital.
Education
LTA lobs criticism over SD website
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The teachers’ union was quick to respond when it noticed the AG’s report not on the school district’s website. by Heather Colpitts hcolpitts@langleyadvance.com
The Langley Teachers’ Association is questioning why the auditor general’s report critical of the Langley School District was removed from the school board’s website.
LTA president Susan Fonseca noted that less than a week had passed since Chair Joan Bech’s sudden resignation. Bech left just days after speaking on behalf of the district to say that the AG’s recommendations for changes would be implemented. The removal of the AG’s report prompted a strong reaction from the teachers’ union. “This makes us question the remaining trustees’ commitment to implementing the nine recommendations,” said LTA president Susan Fonseca. The district is chalking up the
removal to technology glitches. “We don’t know what happened,” said Craig Spence, the district communications manager. He said the district put its technology staff to work, returning the document to the site. That was done Monday afternoon. The report is under the “board” page, and is in with a list of other board documents. It’s also available on the LTA website, the Langley District Parent Council (DPAC) website, and at www.langleyadvance.com.
As I write this, it’s Monday, the afternoon of the fifth day of the Cops for Cancer Tour de Valley, the exact midway point in our nine-day, 800kilometre journey. It seems a good time to look back on what I’ve learned. I’ve learned how to ride on slippery wooden gym floors… still a learning process. I almost took a spill this morning at a Chilliwack middle school, and I’ve almost wiped out in Surrey, as well. Some of the scariest moments on the tour came as my back tire spun on a slick, polished floor, and I wobbled dangerously close to crashing onto some first graders. I’ve learned the locations of a whole lot of elementary, middle, and high schools in Delta, Surrey, Hope and Chilliwack. (Up next: Mission, Langley, Abbotsford, White Rock, some more Surrey.) I know exactly how loudly a gym full of properly motivated children can scream. I re-learned something I’d forgotten: just how beautiful the Fraser Canyon is. On Sunday we rode from Hope to Boston Bar and back. We went up in pouring rain, but the green mountains, cloud-shrouded, were beautiful. The jade-green Fraser River roared beneath us, visible as we crossed a bridge or emerged suddenly from a tunnel. We rode back from Boston Bar in glorious sunshine on dry roads, enjoying the freedom to race at ridiculous speeds down a couple of straightaways. I have some new secret knowledge – who makes the best dinners in Hope, who has the best bannock recipe I’ve ever tasted, where to get the best apple fritters in the Fraser Valley. (There’s a reason the veteran riders call it the Tour de Food.) I think I’m going to keep those secrets to myself.
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