News Editorial Letters At Home Entertainment Sports Classified
3 8 9 16 19 21 24
Oval the venue of choice
Halloween haunts
City staff present a plan to host Winterfest at the Richmond Oval and on the lawns in front. A massive skating rink will be the main attraction.
Use our ghoulish guide to plan your Samhain. Be it creatures at the Nature Park or beasts at the bar, we have the listing to make a spooktacular night.
W
YOUR
SOURCE
FOR
LOCAL
E
D
N
E
SPORTS
3 S
,
Call us for a second opinion
23
Richmond Branch
(604) 270-6457
19
D
A
NEWS
Y
,
,
O
C
W E AT H E R
T
O
B
AND
E
R
2 0 ,
www.cibcwoodgundy.com
01074916
Index
23
2 0 1 0
E N T E RTA I N M E N T
!
WWW
.RICHMOND-NEWS.COM CELEBRITY
Teen idol tagged at Planet Lazer Father claims Justin Bieber assaulted his son BY NELSON BENNETT
nbennett@richmond-news.com
A ruby red harvest ... A worker harvests cranberries on River Road near No. 8 Road in Saturday’s sun.
PHOTO SUBMITTED BY CLARE SCOTT
COURT
Lafarge to plead guilty to polluting
RCMP are investigating an alleged assault against a 12-year-old boy at Planet Lazer Friday. And while they aren’t confirming the identity of either the victim or suspect, it may be the world’s worst kept secret that Canadian teen idol Justin Bieber is the one alleged to have assaulted the boy. “We are aware of speculations concerning the identity of one of the parties allegedly involved,” said RCMP spokesperson Cpl. Annie Linteau. “However, we would like to remind the public that we do not release the names of any suspect until charges have been laid. In cases where the accused is under the age of 18, the identity of the accused is not released as per the provisions of the Youth Criminal Justice Act.” In other words, even if Bieber were to be charged, police would probably not confirm his identity. see Taylor page 4
Company admits to spewing a huge plume of cement dust into the air More than two and a half years after the Lafarge cement plant in East Richmond blew its stack — spewing a huge plume of cement dust into the air — the company has agreed to plead guilty to one bylaw infraction. In exchange for the plea, Metro Vancouver has agreed to drop six other charges against the company. “That’s typical,” Ray Robb, manager of regulations and enforcement for Metro $
$ $
$
Vancouver, told the News. “You typically charge people with three or four offences and if they dispute them, you go to court and you try and get conviction. If you can get a plea agreement beforehand, you try and get a conviction on one and usually drop all the others.” The resulting fine could range from one penny to $1 million. Determining the fine’s amount will be the subject of a sentencing hearing scheduled to start Nov. 18. Roger Chin, one of the Richmond residents who brought the incident to the
attention of authorities in 2007, is skeptical that a fine will be a deterrent because he said he has documented other smaller eruptions, and does not feel Lafarge has addressed the problem. “If they get a slap on the wrist and it’s just a cost of doing business, then it’s not going to change their attitude,” he told the News. “I’ve not seen any change in attitude. Last year, while I was actually fixing the last of the repairs to the damage (to his boat) from that spill back in 2007, down came another (rain) of pellets of cement.”
$
$
Beer, Wine, Pop, Juice, Water
It's worth
RICHMOND BOTTLE DEPOT
it.
=$
Lafarge was charged in 2007 with three municipal bylaw infractions and four charges under the B.C. Environment Management Act. The charges stemmed from an accident Feb. 17, 2007, when an overfilled silo at the company’s cement plant at the south end of No. 9 Road erupted, spewing a huge plume of cement dust. Boats at the nearby Shelter Island Marina were coated in cement dust. Chin’s was one of those boats. see Boat owner page 4
8171 Westminster Hwy. (at Buswell, one block east of No. 3 Rd.) Walkway access also from Save-On Foods parking lot
Mon-Sat 8:45-6:30 Sun 10-5 (604) 780-4959
PHOTO SUBMITTED
Justine Bieber looks like a normal teen but he’s hardly leading a normal teen life. A game of laser tag in Richmond, has led to a celebrity feeding frenzy.
07283111
BY NELSON BENNETT
nbennett@richmond-news.com