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On her beat Const. Jackie Suchodolski stuffs a small plastic bag into her desk drawer. “Let me just put my marijuana away,” she says. The New Westminster Secondary School liaison officer is in her office at the high school on a warm June morning. It’s just another working day for the police officer who walks the beat in the city’s high school. Education reporter Niki Hope sat down and chatted with Const. Suchodolski. Her story is on page 11 of today’s paper. Jason Lang/THE RECORD
Trust issues raised over Massey plans Meeting reveals a community that questions how sincere the city is about replacing aging theatre with a new 1,000-seat facility BY ANDREW FLEMING REPORTER afleming@royalcityrecord.com
Representatives of the school district and city met with members of New Westminster’s arts community Tuesday night to discuss the undetermined future
of the aging Massey Theatre. Around 50 people attended the meeting at Centennial Community Centre to discuss the proposal for a new performing arts centre to replace the Massey Theatre with a theatre in a newly constructed New Westminster Secondary School, one of three new schools scheduled to be built in the next few years. “Ground isn’t being broken tomorrow, which is a good thing,” said Greg Magirescu, the city’s manager of arts and cultural development and the selfdescribed “link to city hall” for the Royal City’s artistic community. “We want you
to think of this as us and us, not us and them.” The sentiment wasn’t entirely embraced by many of those in attendance, who expressed doubt about the city’s financial commitment to replacing the Massey. Judging by the loud applause that greeted a question asking about the actual necessity of knocking down the 60-year-old landmark in the first place – which city administrator Paul Damatino says suffers from “serious seismic issues” and would cost a bare minimum of $8 to $10 million dollars just to upgrade to code – many are strongly opposed to the idea and are
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unconvinced a proposed new theatre with a capacity of 1,000 seats can replace the Massey or adequately fill the needs of New Westminster’s artistic community. Many arts groups would also face difficulty surviving the three years it will take to build. “I think one of the biggest issues is trust,” said Coun. Bill Harper the following day. “People will have to take an actual look at the commitments and actions the school board and council have taken.” Harper said the current city council is firmly committed to helping the city’s art ◗Theatre Page 9
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