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The Green Mountain Inn, which dates back to the 1830s, offers best of both worlds: all the comforts of today with the charm of yesteryear.
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The host teams made deep runs but came up short at the 30th Midget Hockey Tournament. Look online at www.richmond-new. com for photo gallery.
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2011
Expected Christmas present turns to New Year baby Tamanna kicks the year off at Richmond Hospital BY MICHELLE HOPKINS
mhopkins@richmond-news.com
Instead of being the Christmas Day present her parents expected, Tamanna Gandham decided to come into the world on New Year’s Day. Tamanna — whose name means wish — came into the world at 2:14 p.m. on January 1, securing the title of first baby to be born in Richmond Hospital. Weighing in at seven pounds, five ounces, this little bundle of joy is the first child for proud parents, Kalbir and Sarbjit Gandham. “I feel great and very excited,” said Kalbir, who graduated from Cambie secondary in 1997. “It was pretty amazing watching her come into the world.” The Surrey couple came to Richmond Hospital around 1 a.m. New Year’s Day. “I thought it was false labour,” said the very happy mom. “But the doctor told me I was already five centimetres and I wasn’t going any-
where.” This is the first grandchild on Sarbjit’s side and the second grandchild for Kalbir’s side of the family. “Both sets of grandparents have been here and they are ecstatic,” said the 31year-old dad, who is a heavy equipment mechanic for the City of Vancouver. There are also many young children in Surrey who can’t wait to meet Tamanna. Sarbjit is a Grade 1 teacher at Surrey’s Brookside elementary. “The kids drew us some cards and they are excited to hear what we had,” said the 31-year-old mom. As the first born at Richmond Hospital, the family was given a basket filled with gifts, including a pink teddy bear. “Plus I have bragging rights,” quipped Kalbir. Meanwhile, Richmond Hospital’s maternity ward was quiet this year. There was only one other child born on Jan. 1 — a boy born at 8:30 p.m. see related story page 5
CHUNG CHOW/RICHMOND NEWS
Sarbjit (left) and Kalbir Gandham are the proud parents of their first born, Tamanna, who also happens to be the first baby to be born in Richmond in 2011.
WELFARE
No-kill animal shelter fears it could lose contract Richmond Animal Protection Society ‘very concerned’ for animals as two other agencies vie for city deal Richmond’s primary animal welfare organization fears for its future and that of the many creatures it cares for. The Richmond Animal Protection Society’s (RAPS) near $
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$700,000 two-year contract with the City of Richmond for animal control services expires at the end of the month. The News has learned that RAPS — which has a no-kill policy — is just one of three bidders for the new contract. RAPS is concerned about
strong rumours that the city is considering shifting away from having its animal control service operated with a no-kill mandate. And its anxiety over a new deal became more acute, when the city recently asked RAPS to extend its current contract until the end of February, leading them to believe
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that someone else is being lined up to take over. “We’ve not heard anything from the city about them changing their policy,” said Carol Reichert, RAPS’ executive director. “All we know is that the city is going to let us know in a couple of weeks about the new contract.
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
But we can’t stop the rumours.” Asked about the city requesting a month’s extension on the current contract, Reichert said, “We’re very concerned about it, for sure. Especially in conjunction with the rumour about the change in direction. see City page 4 07283111
BY ALAN CAMPBELL
acampbell@richmond-news.com