Friday, November 26, 2010 Sportswriting legend Jim Taylor is in town Saturday autographing his new book.
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ary Annivers 1985-2010
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Courts
Guilty plea in death
Members of the band, The Odds, visited Trax Café Tuesday morning and posed around a sandwich created in their honour. Joining them in supporting the Friends In Need Food Bank Society and the CP Holiday Train were Maple Ridge Mayor Ernie Daykin and the local food bank’s executive director Joanne Olson.
by Jennifer Saltman
Postmedia Network Inc.
A man who ran down and killed a Pitt Meadows flagger has admitted his guilt in court this week. An elderly Abbotsford man has pleaded guilty to running down a flagperson near Fort Langley. Melle Grietinus Pool’s trial was supposed to begin in B.C. Supreme Court in New Westminster Monday, but Pool instead admitted to dangerous driving causing death. He was charged with criminal negligence causing death. Pool, 87, was driving westbound in the 23300 block of River Road just before 12:30 p.m. on Feb. 25, 2008 when his pickup struck 52-yearold Terry Mitchell of Pitt Meadows, an eightyear employee of Valley Traffic Systems. Pool was driving without a valid licence. Mitchell’s widow, Alison Stacey, said the length of time that passed since the incident – 33 months – is unbelievable. “It’s been a long ordeal,” she said outside court. “There’s a certain relief at seeing him convicted.” Crown prosecutor Don Wilson will ask for a custodial sentence. “Nothing’s going to bring Terry bounding back through the door,” Stacey said. A pre-sentence report has been ordered and sentencing submissions are set for February.
Troy Landreville/TIMES
Charity
Song, sandwiches aid the hungry The Odds played an outdoor concert to support the Friends In Need Food Bank. by Troy Landreville
tlandreville@mrtimes.com
The Odds are that an outdoor concert Tuesday morning at Trax Café will make a positive impact on Friends In Need Food Bank. Friends, one of the local food banks, has reported that people needing help has increased 15 per cent this year compared to 2009, higher than the national increase as reported by the HungerCount 2010 survey. This was the motivation behind the Lower Mainland-based band, The Odds, visiting the Maple Ridge eatery to power up the CP Holiday train’s fundraising efforts this week. Trax Café on River Road is joining the CP Holiday Train spirit and, together with The Odds, is hoping to help fill local food shelves. On Tuesday, The Odds kicked off the fundraising drive by brav-
ing biting cold with a mini concert outside the restaurant. “For the past several years, we have seen up close how the CP Holiday Train supports our local food bank,” said Trax Café owner Angie Schoening. “We thought what better way to get involved than by having a kick-off party right here with The Odds.” Trax Café restaurant manager Tony Regenwetter welcomed visitors and guests, including Friends In Need Food Bank executive director Joanne Olson and Maple Ridge Mayor Ernie Daykin. “The reason we are here, first and foremost, is to raise awareness and support for food banks across Canada,” Regenwetter said, prior to the concert. “More and more, people in our country find themselves in need of a helping hand when it comes to making ends meet. It seems more families find themselves with too much month left at the end of the money,” Regenwetter said. “Make no mistake; these are your friends and neighbours, who despite both parents working, just can’t make ends meet.” Olson said Friends In Need Food
Troy Landreville/TIMES
The Odds played and entertained outside Trax Café Tuesday morning. Bank serves 560 hampers per month, and 47 per cent of its clients are seniors and children. As part of the food bank campaign, a donated Hagstrom acoustic guitar is being raffled off and Trax Café named a special sandwich in honour of The Odds, with all sales going back to the Friends In Need Food Bank Society. The sandwich’s name and its vegetarian ingredients – grilled portobello mushrooms, onions, tomatoes, Havarti cheese, lettuce, and chipotle mayonnaise – was unveiled Tuesday. “The CP Holiday Train’s power is mobilizing Canadians and Americans to support local food banks on both sides of the
border,” said Pat Steward of The Odds. “We are thrilled the folks at Trax Café are coming through for the Maple Ridge food bank, as well as launching our band’s three-week journey across Canada aboard this magical train.” About 140 communities, including 13 in B.C., will experience the Holiday Train program across six Canadian provinces and eight states in the U.S. midwest and northeast. The Canadian train embarks on its cross-country trek Nov. 27 from Beaconsfield, Que. It will be completing its journey on Dec. 17 with stops in Agassiz, Maple Ridge, and Port Moody. Since 1999, the CP Holiday Train has raised $4.8 million and generated almost 2.3 million pounds of food donations for local food shelves. All food and cash donations raised at each event stays in that community for distribution. Full schedules and background information on the program and entertainers are available at: www.cpr.ca by clicking on the Holiday Train.
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