Haney Place Mall - Food Court • 11969-224 th St • 604.463.3663 Valid only at these locations Please present coupon at point of order. One coupon per customer per visit. Expires Oct. 31st, 2014 $ 2 99 CHRYSLER JEEP DODGE Ask us how to get $ 10,000 CASH OAC with your next New or Used Car CALL 604.465.8931 PAY-OFF HIGH INTEREST CREDIT CARD DEBT! Online, all the time... www.mrtimes.com Tuesday, October 14, 2014 • LOCAL NEWS, SPORTS, AND ENTERTAINMENT • mrtimes.com • 604-463-2281 • 20 PAGES A Pitt Meadows youngster is making his mark in the acting business. Page A3 With nominations settled Friday afternoon, all positions available on Pitt Meadows and Maple Ridge councils and school board are in contention on Nov. 15. Christopher Sun and Eric Zimmer [email protected]Five candidates are running for the mayoralty in Maple Ridge, joined by 26 candidates running for the six council seats up for grabs. Incumbent Mayor Ernie Daykin is being challenged by current Councillor Mike Morden, along with Nicole Read, Graham Mowatt, and Gary Cleave, who is also running for a Maple Ridge seat on the school board. Incumbents Corisa Bell, Al Hogarth and Bob Masse are being joined in the race for a council seat by former Maple Ridge mayor Gordy Robson, Dean Barbour, Sara Beckett, Douglas Blamey, Kristina Brown, Kiersten Duncan, Ken Holland, Faye Isaac, Morgan Jensen, Bruce McWilliam, Chelsea Meadus, Don Mitchell, Mike Nordon, Todd Oliver, Alex Pope, James Buddy Rogers, Craig Rudd, Grant Sanderson, Brian Savage, Tyler Shymkiw, Craig Speirs, and Grover Telford. Pitt Meadows council A mix of new, veteran and returning candidates are vying for public seats in Pitt Meadows. With current Mayor Deb Walters bowing out, three new candidates are seeking the mayoralty: John Becker, Michael Hayes, and Gary Paller. In the running for six council- lor seats in Pitt Meadows are incumbents Bruce Bell, Dave Murray, Gwen O’ Connell, Tracy Miyashita, and Janis Elkerton, and challengers Scott Magri, Bill Dingwall, Mike Stark, and Andrew Thompson. School board There will be races in both Maple Ridge and Pitt Meadows for all seats on the school board. In the 2011 elections, Pitt Meadows school trustees Eleanor Palis and Sarah Nelson were acclaimed, but this time, four people are running – Palis is seeking re-election, Marcela Boggio started but then dropped out of the 2011 race, and Korleen Carreras and Allie Taylor are challenging for seats. Running for Maple Ridge’s five seats are incumbents Susan Carr, Ken Clarkson, Mike Murray, and Dave Rempel, joined by chal- lengers Lisa Beare, Gary Cleave (also running for Maple Ridge mayor), Cherie Delainey, Nina Fowell, David Issac, Nancy Nagy, James Rowley, and Elizabeth Taylor. Short biographies of the candi- dates, contact information, and links to personal websites can be found by visiting either city’s website, and following their election links. Election 2014 Candidates officially on campaign trail Beauty, dignity, and fine music Maple Ridge resident Rheanne Lechkobit’s father started the African Children’s Choir, not just as a choral group, but as a profound humanitarian statement. Her father, she said, wanted to dispel the “starving children with flies on them” image of Africa, and instead show the world “the beauty, dignity, and unlimited potential of the African child.” Rheanne is the operations director of Music for Life, the registered charity for the African Children’s Choir. The choir is performing at Maple Ridge Christian School on Friday, Oct. 17. See story on page A5. Troy Landreville/TIMES
Transcript
Haney Place Mall - Food Court • 11969-224th St • 604.463.3663
Valid only at these locationsPlease present coupon at point of order.
One coupon per customer per visit. Expires Oct. 31st, 2014
$299
CHRYSLER JEEP DODGE
Ask us how to get $10,000 CASH OAC
with your nextNew or Used Car
CALL 604.465.8931
,PAY-OFF HIGH
INTEREST CREDITCARD DEBT!
Online, all the time...
www.mrtimes.com
Tuesday, October 14, 2014
• LOCAL NEWS, SPORTS, AND ENTERTAINMENT • mrtimes.com • 604-463-2281 • 20 PAGES
A Pitt Meadows youngster is makinghis mark in the acting business.
Page A3
With nominations settledFriday afternoon, all positionsavailable on Pitt Meadowsand Maple Ridge councils andschool board are in contentionon Nov. 15.Christopher Sun and Eric [email protected]
Five candidates are running forthe mayoralty in Maple Ridge,joined by 26 candidates runningfor the six council seats up forgrabs.
Incumbent Mayor ErnieDaykin is being challenged bycurrent Councillor Mike Morden,along with Nicole Read, GrahamMowatt, and Gary Cleave, whois also running for a MapleRidge seat on the school board.
Incumbents Corisa Bell, AlHogarth and Bob Masse arebeing joined in the race for acouncil seat by former MapleRidge mayor Gordy Robson,Dean Barbour, Sara Beckett,Douglas Blamey, Kristina Brown,Kiersten Duncan, Ken Holland,Faye Isaac, Morgan Jensen,Bruce McWilliam, ChelseaMeadus, Don Mitchell, Mike
Nordon, Todd Oliver, Alex Pope,James Buddy Rogers, CraigRudd, Grant Sanderson, BrianSavage, Tyler Shymkiw, CraigSpeirs, and Grover Telford.
Pitt Meadows councilA mix of new, veteran and
returning candidates are vyingfor public seats in Pitt Meadows.
With current Mayor DebWalters bowing out, three newcandidates are seeking themayoralty: John Becker, MichaelHayes, and Gary Paller.
In the running for six council-lor seats in Pitt Meadows areincumbents Bruce Bell, Dave
Murray, Gwen O’ Connell, TracyMiyashita, and Janis Elkerton,and challengers Scott Magri,Bill Dingwall, Mike Stark, andAndrew Thompson.
School boardThere will be races in both
Maple Ridge and Pitt Meadowsfor all seats on the school board.
In the 2011 elections, PittMeadows school trustees EleanorPalis and Sarah Nelson wereacclaimed, but this time, fourpeople are running – Palis isseeking re-election, MarcelaBoggio started but then droppedout of the 2011 race, and
Korleen Carreras and AllieTaylor are challenging for seats.
Running for Maple Ridge’s fiveseats are incumbents Susan Carr,Ken Clarkson, Mike Murray, andDave Rempel, joined by chal-lengers Lisa Beare, Gary Cleave(also running for Maple Ridgemayor), Cherie Delainey, NinaFowell, David Issac, NancyNagy, James Rowley, andElizabeth Taylor.
Short biographies of the candi-dates, contact information, andlinks to personal websites canbe found by visiting either city’swebsite, and following theirelection links.
Election 2014
Candidates officially on campaign trail
Beauty,dignity, andfine musicMaple Ridge resident RheanneLechkobit’s father started theAfrican Children’s Choir, notjust as a choral group, butas a profound humanitarianstatement. Her father, she said,wanted to dispel the “starvingchildren with flies on them”image of Africa, and insteadshow the world “the beauty,dignity, and unlimited potentialof the African child.” Rheanneis the operations director ofMusic for Life, the registeredcharity for the AfricanChildren’s Choir. The choir isperforming at Maple RidgeChristian School on Friday, Oct.17. See story on page A5.
Troy Landreville/TIMES
A2 Tuesday, October 14, 2014 Maple Ridge & Pitt Meadows Times
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UpFrontMaple Ridge & Pitt Meadows Times Tuesday, October 14, 2014 A3
mrtimes.com
Clickfor community
Free BarbecueCommunity Living hosts its annual free
barbecue tomorrow (Oct. 15) at the GregMoore youth centre in Maple Ridge. Theevent begins at 11:30 a.m. and goes until2:30 p.m. All are welcome to come andtake part.
• More at www.mrtimes.com
Homelessness ActionThis week is Homelessness Action
Week and a variety of things are tak-ing place in the community to mark theannual awareness campaign. There willbe a health fair, community spa day, anda food day, just to name a few of theevents.
• More at www.mrtimes.com
Please voteStay tuned to the TIMES online and
in print for up-to-date and continuingcomprehensive coverage of this year’smunicipal election campaign and resultsas they develop.
• More at www.mrtimes.com
TIMES files
A spa day is part of this week’sHomelessness Action Week slate of events.
Experience LayarSome images and advertisementsin today’s edition of The TIMEShave been enriched with Layar andcontain digital content that youcan view using your smartphoneor tablet.
How it works:Step 1. Download the free Layar app for iPhone,
Android, iPad, or tablet.Step 2. Look for pages with the Layar logo.Step 3. Open the Layar app, hold your device
above the page, and tap to scan it.Step 4. Hold your device above the page to view
the interactive content, and hit scan.
Pitt Meadows Joey Award-nominee Connor Levins hasappeared in more than 45professional acting shoots– and he’s still in his mid-teens.by Troy [email protected]
A Joey Award could be inthe cards for 15-year-old PittMeadows actor Connor Levins.
Levins, who started his careerwhen he was two years old, isnominated for his role as Zak inthe Christmas movie Let It Snowon the Hallmark Channel and WNetwork in Canada.
He is nominated in the cat-egory of “Young Actor age 10-19 or younger in a Made forTelevision/Straight to VideoFeature Leading Role”
The other nominees are DylanEverett for The UnauthorizedSaved by the Bell Story, and SeanMichael Kyer for Hats Off ToChristmas.
Levins is hoping his name willbe called at The Metro in NewWestminster on Nov. 16 duringThe Joey Awards Red CarpetGala Awards celebrating youngCanadian performers.
But if it isn’t, he’s okay withthat.
“It would be really cool if Iwon, but I wouldn’t be heart-broken if I lost,” he said. “It’sjust really cool to be nomin-ated.”
Levins is a veteran of the act-ing biz. He’s been acting, insome role or another, most ofhis life.
His appeal to the screens bothbig and small is simple.
“I like meetingall the famouspeople, and thefood’s pretty goodon set, and it’sjust fun to playa different role,not be yourself,always,” Levinssaid.
Levins’s big break came 13years ago when he appeared ina roughly 10-second flashbackscene playing Baby Kahunain the film Superbabies: BabyGeniuses 2, in which his sisterKayla also appeared.
“I was the flashback of themain character, as how he
became what he is now,” Levinsrecalled.
He was literally discovered onset. He was with his big sisterKayla, on set for a wardrobecall, to be one of the orphans.
“They were having a hard timesearching for someone to playthe flashback who looked justlike the main character, like atwin, and Connor was playingin the parking lot with his dad,throwing pebbles into a puddle,and the director and produ-cer were driving in and said,
‘That’s the kid,’”his mom Karinashared. “That’show Connor start-ed acting. He justkept going.”
To date, Levinshas appeared inmore than 45 pro-fessional shoots
for commercials, television andmovies, including Supernatural,Smallville, Desperate Hours: AnAmber Alert, The Betrayed, TheMost Wonderful Time of Year,Hiccups, Kids Court, and Trick ‘r’Treat.
Levins is currently balancingacting and school and once he
graduates, wants to be a full-time actor. He has an agent inB.C. and a manager in L.A.
Asked how much he’s evolvedas an actor, Levins answered, “Alot.”
“As a kid youdo small littlecute roles butonce you startgetting older, youdo the more ser-ious [roles],” headded.
Among Levin’srecent roles: as Dylan in themini-series Ring Of Fire; R.L.Stine’s The Haunting Houras Young Luca in The GolemParts 1 and 2; and in StevenSpielberg’s Falling Skies, starringas Julian in episode 204.
He also co-starred as Sammyin the film What Could HaveBeen, starring Kelly McGillis.Levins was a special guestat the premiere screening inVancouver.
And he guest-starred as Jimmyin an episode of the YTV sitcomMr. Young.
Levins also appeared asKeaton Hart in the pilot episodeof the Showcase Original Series
Endgame, for which he wasnominated for the 2012 YoungArtist Award.
He had a supporting role inthe Warner Brothers’ DVD hor-
ror film Trick ‘r’Treat, starringAnna Paquin,Brian Cox, andDylan Baker.
At nine yearsold, Levinsreceived his firstnomination forthe Young Artist
Award for “Best Performancein a TV Movie, Miniseries orSpecial” for The Most WonderfulTime of Year. Levins starred inthe Hallmark Channel moviewith actors Henry Winkler andBrooke Burns.
Levins and Winkler, the actorbest known as “The Fonz” onthe wildly popular Happy DaysTV series, became fast friendsand still stay in touch throughemail.
“He’s a wonderful man,”Connor’s mom Carina said. “Hetaught Connor a lot on set.”
When he’s not, Levins playssoccer for the select ‘A’ team,Pitt Meadows Thrashers.
Entertainment
Teen actor ‘discovered’ tossing pebbles
“The director andproducer were drivingin and said, ‘That’s thekid.’”Karina Levins
Troy Landreville/TIMES
Pitt Meadows actor Connor Levins held a photo of Henry Winkler, who he met when they worked together on the film The Most WonderfulTime of the Year. The two remain friends.
“It would be reallycool if I won, butI wouldn’t beheartbroken if I lost.”Connor Levins
A4 Tuesday, October 14, 2014 Maple Ridge & Pitt Meadows Times
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www.mrtimes.comPolice are seeing anincrease in propertycrime downtown.by Eric [email protected]
Drugs and stolen goodswere found in a search ofa downtown Maple Ridge
home last week.Ridge Meadows RCMP
executed a search warrantat a home in the 11600block of 224th Street onWednesday afternoon.
A number of peoplewere on the property, butno arrests were made.
Police said more investi-gation is required to deter-mine if charges would be
approved by Crown.A “No Occupancy” sign
has been posted on thehouse by the fire andbylaws departments.
“Ridge Meadows RCMPare seeing an increasein property crime in thedowntown area of MapleRidge,” said Cpl. AlannaDunlop, adding, “It’s com-mon knowledge that many
property crimes, especiallytheft from auto, are com-mitted to finance drughabits.”
She said police are work-ing to identify dealers, andto reduce the availabilityof illegal drugs.
“The Street EnforcementUnit is constantly compil-ing intelligence on drugdealers and locationsused for the distributionof illegal drugs,” Dunlopsaid.
She said police willapply for civil forfeiture incases where rental prop-erties are used for illegalpurposes such as dealingdrugs.
“We ask that landlordsbe alive to any illegalactivity taking place onthese properties,” she said,“especially drug traffick-ing.”
Police said they encour-age reports and tips aboutdrug dealing in the City.
In the meantime, policesaid, people can do theirpart by removing itemsfrom vehicles and makingsure all doors are locked– on vehicles and build-ings.
They also welcomereports of anyone actingsuspiciously. Even if anofficer is unable to attend,the information is ana-lyzed and can be of assist-ance.
Police services
Drugs, stolen goods seized in search
Whoever is elected to the schoolboard will get a $300 boost in pay.by Christopher [email protected]
New trustees elected into Maple Ridge-Pitt Meadows school board will get a$300 bump in pay, courtesy of the cur-rent board.
Current trustees voted five to two fora 1.5 per cent increase for trustees from$18,553 to $18,832 annually. The chairand vice chair earn an extra $1,500 and$1,000, respectively.
The increase is based on the VancouverConsumer Price Index of 1.30 per cent in2012 and 0.20 per cent in 2013. The lasttrustee raise was in January 2012.
Trustee Ken Clarkson said incrementalincreases are better than freezing pay andcatching up later, which outrages tax-payers. He cited Langley school district,which voted for an 18 per cent pay raiseearlier this year after a freeze since 2008.
“I believe we should vote to what isrecommended by the CPI,” Clarkson said.“If you value a position, you need to setan appropriate value to that position.”
Trustee Kathy Marshall noted that trust-ees here are lowest paid among sevenschool districts, including Abbotsford,Langley, Delta, Richmond, Burnaby, andCoquitlam, cited in a report by secretary-treasurer Flavia Coughlan. Coquitlamschool district has a student populationof about 31,000 and trustees there earn$36,675, while trustees in Langley witha student population of 19,000 earn$21,485. Delta has about 14,000 students,similar to Maple Ridge-Pitt Meadows, andtrustees there receive $23,469 annually.
Trustee Sarah Nelson didn’t supportthe increase for all trustees, but offeredto support an amendment that the trusteepay stays the same, and the chair andvice chair get increases.
Current chair Mike Murray disagreed:“None of us do this for the money and Ibelieve in shared leadership.”
The increase takes effect Dec. 1.
School board
Trustees vote for additional pay
COME SEE ME SOON!
“It really means a lot to me that so many of you have crossed the bridge to see me atWillowbrook Chrysler.
After 22 years in Maple Ridge I’ve been fortunate to build some lasting friendships withcustomers and personally invite all of you to visit me for a chat and coffee at my newlocation on Langley Bypass.
Why not stop on by, I’m still closer than you think!”Steve Phillips
Maple Ridge & Pitt Meadows Times Tuesday, October 14, 2014 A5
Voices will be ringing outat Maple Ridge ChristianSchool for more than justentertainment.by Troy [email protected]
The African Children’s Choirstarted with a single voice, froma child in Uganda.
In 1977, choir founder RayBarnett offered a boy a car ride,from the boy’s decimated hometo the safety of another village.
The child sang the whole way.Barnett lived in Vancouver
most of his life, and startedFriends In The West to help per-secuted Christians in Russia andIron Block countries.
He travelled to Uganda, doinghumanitarian work for Friends inthe West during former Ugandanpresident Idi Amin’sreign in the 1970s.
“Idi Amin was per-secuting Christians,burning down church-es, that type of thing,”said Barnett’s daugh-ter and Maple Ridgeresident RheanneLechkobit.
When her dad heardthe boy sing thatday, 37 years ago, itsparked an idea.
“From there, hecreated this vision ofshowing the world the
beauty, dignity, and unlimitedpotential of the African child,”Lechkobit said. “Before that, itwas pretty much the starvingchildren with flies on them.”
The first choir – consistingof 31 orphaned and vulner-able children from the Kampalaand Luwero areas of Uganda– performed in Vancouver inSeptember, 1984.
Since then, African Children’sChoirs have been entertain-
ing audiences around theworld, including concerts atthe Pentagon and the UnitedNations.
The concert is just part of theexperience. The goal is to raiseawareness of the need of desti-tute and orphaned children inAfrica while raising funds forchoir programs.
Music for Life, the choir’sregistered charity, works inUganda, Rwanda, Kenya, SouthSudan, South Africa, Nigeria,and Ghana to improve the livesof thousands of children.
Lechkobit, Music For Life oper-ations director, oversees finance,administration, and field workinternationally. She spent a fewmonths touring with the firstchoir 30 years ago, and keepsin touch with members of theinaugural choir.
She worked for Music for Lifebefore becoming a stay-at-home
mom, raising a familyof four children.
Lechkobit returnedto Music for Life 14years ago. She saidthe work is veryrewarding.
“We take these kidsout of very desperatesituations,” she said.“They stay with hostfamilies so they learnabout business ideasor things they didn’teven think were apotential for them todo. And because we
educate them right to post-sec-ondary, they can be whateverthey want to do.”
Some choir alumni have goneon to become doctors, lawyers,and social workers.
Choir members are the face ofthe millions of children of Africa,Lechkobit said, adding thatMusic for Life has a child spon-sorship programwhich has far-reaching benefits.
“Not every childcan be in the choir,but we do have acouple thousandkids in our childsponsorship pro-gram,” Lechkobitsaid.
“We tell ourkids in the westthat you can beanything you wantto be, you cando whatever you want to do,”Lechkobit said. “If you said thatto these [African] kids, theywouldn’t even grasp what this is.They’re in a survival mode, sowhat does that mean? Bringingthem into the choir program,they really get to see what the
potential is and because they allhave scholarships, it really drivesthem.”
A choir consisting of 18Ugandan singers aged eight to 11is scheduled to perform an 80-minute concert at Maple RidgeChristian School on Friday, Oct.17, at 7 p.m.
The concert will include ajoint performancewith the MRCSGrade 2 choir.
“By hosting thechoir, we are excit-ed to give our stu-dents a cross-cul-tural experience,”Carolyn Pollard,the MRCS inter-national studentcoordinator said.
The concert isopen to the publicand tickets are free,but must be picked
up in advance at the MRCSoffice, 12140 204B St., from 8a.m. to 4 p.m. on school days.
Donations for the AfricanChildren’s Choirs will be accept-ed at the concert.
• More online at www.mrtimes.comSearch ‘African’
African Children’s Choir
Voices raised for kids at home Youthfulvoices ofthe AfricanChildren’sChoirentertain andoffer hopeto thousandsof kids inAfrica.
African Children’sChoir concertWhen: 7 p.m. Friday,Oct. 17Where: Maple RidgeChristian School,12140 203rd St.Tickets: Free – pickup at the school;donations accepted forAfrican Children’s Choirprograms.
The African Children’s Choir delightaudiences with their talent and energy.
Celebrating its 30th year, the African Children’s Choir has performedaround the world.
TRAFFIC ALERT
The railroad crossing at Harris Road will be closed from 9:00amTuesday,October 28to 5:00pmThursday,October 30 for repairs to the track surface.• Road and pedestrian detours will be in effect 24 hours a day during the repair period(Pedestrian overpass detour is wheelchair accessible)•West Coast Express trains will run at regularly scheduled times.See the pedestrian and vehicle detour map for alternate routes.
This is roughly how it works: a num-ber of dispatchers sit in a room, waitingfor your emergency call, and as quicklyas they figure out exactly what youneed, they connect you with the besthelp for your immediate needs, whetherit’s dispatching an ambulance to yourmedical emergency, calling out thepolice to stop an assault, sending outa fire alarm to the nearest fire station,or maybe connecting you to the PoisonControl Centre. On top of that, they aretrained to help talk you through stepsyou can take – perhaps some first aid,or advice on how to avoid the burglarransacking your downstairs – whileyou’re waiting for emergency respond-ers to come to your rescue.
But here’s the thing: they don’talways have the luxury of waiting foryour call. They can already be engagedin other people’s emergencies – or deal-ing with calls from people who botherthem with minor problems, people whocall in error, or worse still, hoax calls.
Time wasted on an unnecessary 9-1-1 call is time that might be delayingemergency response to someone truly inneed. A hoax can literally be deadly.
Emergency responders will tell youthat, when in doubt, by all means makethe call. But be sensible.
Sometimes callers accidentally hittheir 9-1-1 speed dial, or their smartphones might “pocket dial” the num-ber. If so, it is important that you doNOT hang up until you have spoken tothe dispatcher – clearly and succinctlyindicate that the call was accidental, orthey will spend valuable time trying tolocate you, on the chance that you arein danger.
And remember, intentional hoax callsare taken seriously. The consequencesof such calls are potentially fatal forsomeone waiting for the responseyou’re delaying, and can include seriouscriminal charges for you.
– B.G.
Some scary numbers have cometo us from the Provincial HealthServices Authority.
We have been informed that“hand cleaning rates among B.C.health care staff have exceededthe province’s target of 80 percent for the first time.”
Delving deeper, we learn thata 2013 survey of BC health careworkers determined that “93 percent of respondents said theywere aware of their facility’shand cleaning policy, as well ashow to properly clean their hands.”
Wow.Only one in ten health care workers in the
province don’t know how to clean their handsproperly!
In other words, if you have reason to encoun-ter a health care worker in B.C., you have only aone-in-ten chance that you’ll get your health careneeds conveyed through dirty hands.
Actually, according to the survey, it onlymeans that one in ten don’t even know how towash their hands.
We don’t really know how many are slackerswho know how to clean themselves, but don’tbother.
And I’d like to draw your attention back tothe “target” – the Provincial Health ServicesAuthority actually appears quite pleased that youonly have a one-in-ten chance of being servedby dirty hands. They were hoping to crack the20 per cent mark – that’s one in five health careworkers not capable of cleaning their handsproperly – by March 2015.
“This is a milestone achievement,” commentedBruce Gamage of the Provincial Infection ControlNetwork of B.C., “and shows how committedeveryone in the province is to hand cleaning: theMinistry of Health, the health authorities, andhealth care staff.”
In fact, Minister of Health Terry Lake seemsquite pleased with this grand accomplishment
of only 10 per cent dirt on thehands of those who work underhis ministry’s auspices.
“The BC health authoritieshave been working to removeany barriers to health care staffcleaning their hands, includingmaking sure there are enoughsoap and sanitizer dispensersthroughout hospitals, and withclear signage. This work hasclearly paid off, as the handcleaning rates have increasedprovince-wide since these meas-
ures were taken,” crowed Minister Lake.Does he mean to say there weren’t appropri-
ate hand-washing facilities available prior to the2013 study and the 80 per cent target for 2015?
In our hospitals?Forgive me if I seem a little nonplussed, but I
recall being taught personal hygiene in my firstyears in elementary school – including how towash my hands. The teacher walked throughthe classroom first thing each morning, as weshowed her our sparkling clean palms andturned them over to show we had scrubbedunder our nails, too.
Granted, that was a long, long time ago.And we were just kids.Doctors (who rated a shocking 63 per cent
cleanliness in the aforementioned study) andnurses are adults (except Doogie Howser), so it’sonly 80 per cent important that they know howto wash their hands.
Dr. Douglas Cochrane, chair of the BC PatientSafety Quality Council cares about the numbers.
“Proper hand cleaning is the single most effect-ive way to prevent the spread of infections,” hesaid, and then identifying breaking the 80 percent cleanliness threshold as an “accomplish-ment” and “a testament to the dedication of allhealth care workers in B.C.”
If my hands had been 80 per cent clean inGrade One, I would straight away have been sentto the principal’s office.
Opinion
Odd Thoughtsby Bob Groeneveld
Eighty per cent clean enough
Opinion
We have smoke detectors - I think
We test our smoke detectors annually
We test our smoke detectors monthly
We have a full escape plan
We prefer to gamble with our lives
This Week’s QuestionWhen do you start your Christmas shopping?
■ Your ViewLast week’s question, results…
Are your home and family prepared to survive anoutbreak of fire?
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• Something about the moon seems tohave an effect on people. Here’s a bit of sil-liness we elicited by posting a picture of amoonrise over Maple Ridge.
“Looks like the moon.” – Jason Martin“I’m out in Harrison. Can I get HBO on a wire from myneighbour’s kerosene-powered satellite dish?” – Don Button“The sky is on HBO.” – Fred Armstrong“If God really loved us, don’t you think he’d let us PVR thesky?” – Don Button
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Letters on this page havebeen edited for space. Forlonger versions, or moreletters to the editor visit...www.mrtimes.com– Click on Opinion, orsearch the writers’ names.
Dear Editor,Mr. Robson paints an
inaccurate picture of ourgovernment’s response tothe threat ISIL poses toglobal security [Canada’sforeign policy bombs, Oct.7 Just Saying, TIMES].
In fact, ISIL has commit-ted mass atrocities in Iraqand Syria and they havespecifically threatenedCanada and Canadians.
As the prime ministersaid, “It would be conven-ient to dismiss such state-ments as the mere ramblingof lunatics, were it not forthe fact that ISIL’s deedshave been fully in line withits words.”
We have a responsibilityto protect Canadians andto support our allies in thefight against ISIL. To thisend, our government has
decided to join the UnitedStates, the United Kingdom,France, Australia, Denmark,the Netherlands, Belgium,Jordan, Saudi Arabia,Bahrain, and the UnitedArab Emirates in launchingair strikes against ISIL.
Mr. Robson might thinkthat our Royal Canadian AirForce is somehow not up tothis task, but I disagree. Weare extremely proud of ourpilots and all members ofthe Canadian Armed Forceswho have time and againproven themselves morethan capable.
We are also expandingour humanitarian efforts inthe region. On Oct. 6 ourgovernment announced acontribution of up to $5 mil-lion to help respond to andinvestigate sexual violenceand other serious humanrights abuses.
This is in addition to the$28.9 million in humanitar-ian aid committed to earlierin 2014, which will provideemergency shelter andurgent health care for Syrianrefugees and Iraqis impactedby the heinous crimes ofISIL.
Canada is well-suited tosupport our allies in thisfight against ISIL, and wewill do our part.
Randy Kamp, MP for PittMeadows-Maple Ridge-Mission
Foreign affairs
Anti-ISIL support for allies critical
Foreign affairs
Fighting poor use of moneyDear Editor,
The Harper government unilaterally decided to send fight-er jets and 600 personnel to deal with ISIS. Have we notlearned any lessons from our failed wars there?
Fanatic religious groups like al Qaeda and ISIS cannot becleaned out with fighter planes and military weapons. Eachtime a martyr is created, 100 more fanatics will rise anddefend their ideology.
Few Canadians realize that Canada is the 12th largestweapons exporters in the world. Just last February, Canadasigned a deal with Saudi Arabia to sell them $10 billionworth of military hardware.
The Harper government’s moral outrage seems reservedonly for countries like Syria and Iraq, and is totally absentwhen it comes to its Saudi Arabian ally.
I am a volunteer for several humanitarian organiza-tions. We have to turn down hundreds of groups each yearbecause of lack of funding. Can you imagine what a differ-ence it would make if the billions of dollars that Canadaspends on armaments were spent on medicines, food,schools, wells for clean water, and hospitals?
Yes, there is a visceral response in all of us when we hearthat innocent children and women are beheaded.
But it is just as horrific that millions of children die aslow death every day because they do not have clean water,simple medication, and enough food to eat – not to speak ofeducation and a chance to live a decent life. Malaria alonekills 3,000 children a day. Dysentery, a water-borne disease,kills 750,000 people each year.
These figures are so huge and unbelievable that it is hardfor us to visualize. But we do have the means and the curefor all of these diseases. Why are we not spending ourefforts and our money on humanitarian help – be peace-keepers, as we used to be, instead of entering an un-win-nable war? War is not a political play, and collateral dam-age means death of innocent civilians.
Hearts and minds are won with kindness, not bombs.Maria Raynolds, Maple Ridge
Appreciation
Keep sayingDear Editor,
Please keep Gordy Robsonas a contributor. He has agreat capacity to stir in thepyramid size bolus.
I refer to the way thismunicipality is (mis)-man-aged. I would like to put itin plain English, but this isa family newspaper.
Jan de Zeeuw. Maple Ridge[Editor: From now until
the current election cam-paigns conclude on electionday, Nov. 15, in order to befair to all candidates seekingelection or re-election, TheTIMES will not publish regu-lar contributions from ourcolumnists whose names areon the municipal ballots.]
Dear Editor,Mr. Bulpitt referred to Canada’s
CO2 emissions [Benefits outweighemissions, Oct. 7 Letters, TIMES] inTuesday’s paper. I find some problemswith his numbers, though, as he usesonly total emissions.
If you look at some of those countriesusing per capita numbers, the picture is notquite so pleasant. For example, in tonnesper capita: USA produces 16.4; Canada,
16.0; China, 7.5; India, 1.6;Russia, 12.4. From this angle,it seems that we Canadians arevery high producers of CO2.
We enjoy quite a decent stan-dard of living, and lose quite alot of credibility by claiming wemust preserve our industry.
Maybe Prime Minister Stephen Harperneeds to address this, after all.
Paul Gregory, Maple Ridge
Carbon emissions
Canada one of dirtiest countriesLettersLetters
tothe
Editor
City of Pitt MeadowsELECTIONOFFICE
2014 Local Government ElectionsElection Officials
The City of Pitt Meadows Election Office is accepting applications for temporaryemployment for Election Officials on General Voting Day, Saturday, November15, 2014.
This position will be responsible for: setting up the voting place (including votingbooths and election staff tables and posting signs and notices); verifying elector’snames on the voters list and confirming address information; ensuring that allrequired forms are completed; explaining the voting and ballot procedures tovoters; assisting voters as required; and assisting the Presiding Election Officialwith the packing of equipment and supplies and the closing of the voting place.On-call staff are also required.
The Election Official must not be related to any candidate running for office inthe election and must not be actively working for any election campaign or anycandidate.
Preference will be given to applicants with past knowledge and experience of thelocal government election process.Legal entitlement to work in British Columbiaand Canada and attendance at a mandatory training session either on October29 or 30 is required.
This posting does not list all the duties of the position, nor does it fully detail the requiredskills, knowledge and abilities, licences and certificates required of candidates.
Hours ofWork: Approximately 7:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m. or until duties are fulfilledRates of Pay: $225.00 per full day at polling place or $75.00 per full day as on-call staffClosing Date: 4:30 p.m. on October 21, 2014ToApply: E-mail [email protected] detailing your qualifications for the position.
We want to thank all applicants, however only those chosen for an interview will be contacted.
THIS IS HOW RETIREMENTLIVING SHOULD BE
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A8 Tuesday, October 14, 2014 Maple Ridge & Pitt Meadows Times
Oct. 20: School trustee bowling meet• School trustee Ken Clarkson and school
board candidate hopefuls Lisa Beare, CherieDelainey and Korleen Carreras are celebratingand launching their joint campaign at Rev’sBowling Centre on Monday, Oct. 20. Freeevent. Register by emailing [email protected].
Nov. 01: Advance voting, Maple Ridge• Advance voting takes place at the Ridge
Meadows Seniors Activity Centre or theFraserview Village small hall, 8 a.m. to 8p.m.
Nov. 03: All-candidates meeting• The Pitt Meadows Community Association
hosts an all-candidates meeting in the gymna-sium of the Pitt Meadows Family RecreationCentre. Doors open at 6:30 p.m. and meetingbegins at 7 p.m. Residents are encouragedto forward any questions they may have forany or all of the candidates to [email protected].
Nov. 04: Mayors forum• Mayors-only forum will take place at The
ACT (details to follow).
Nov. 05: Advance voting, Maple Ridge• Advance voting takes place at Maple Ridge
City Hall, from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m.
Nov. 05: Advance voting, Pitt Meadows• Advance voting takes place at Pitt
Meadows City Hall from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m.
Nov. 06: Mayors and candidates, PittMeadows• A meeting will be held at the Pitt Meadows
Heritage Hall (details to follow).
Nov. 07: Advance voting, Pitt Meadows• Advance voting takes place at Pitt
Meadows City Hall from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m.
Nov. 08: Advance voting, Pitt Meadows• Advance voting takes place at South
Bonson Commmunity Centre from 9 a.m. to6 p.m.
Nov. 08: Advance voting, Maple Ridge• Advance voting takes place at Planet Ice,
the Maple Ridge Leisure Centre, and MapleRidge Alliance Church, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Nov. 09: Advance voting, Pitt Meadows• Advance voting takes place at South
Bonson Commmunity Centre from 9 a.m. to6 p.m.
Nov. 15: Voting day, Maple Ridge• General voting day takes place at
Important election-related dates for Maple Ridge and Pitt Meadows:
2
1
3
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Maple Ridge & Pitt Meadows Times Tuesday, October 14, 2014 A9
Buckle up: Nine-year-old AlfieBuckles, nine-year-old SelinaBuckles, and three-year-oldDannny Buckles found a sweetspot to hang out togetherduring the open house inMaple Ridge.
Rick Moyer/TIMES
Building a birdhouseMaple Ridge mother and son Fay Shayegan and Armin, seven, were
building a birdhouse together during Rivers Day at Allco FishHatchery on Sept. 28.
Christopher Sun/TIMES
How can you share?Do you have a local photo of someone or some place you’d like to share with the rest of Maple Ridge and PittMeadows? Email it to us as a high-resolution .JPEG to [email protected]. Please include a brief description– including everyone’s first and last name. Put “faces & places” in the subject line of your email.
Rick Moyer/TIMES
Three-year-old Monette Varella got into the firefighter spirit at the
Maple Ridge firehall’s open house.
Rick Moyer/TIMES
Ten-year-old Jaidyn Van Dop channelled her
firefighter father during the Maple Ridge open
house.
Four-year-old Grayson Saunders
and seven-year-old Isabella
Saunders hung out at the Maple
Ridge fire department during the
open house.
Rick Moyer/TIMES
Maple Ridge & Pitt Meadows
Rick Moyer/TIMES
Maple Ridge firefighter Seb Baski and his daughter Krystyna enjoyedquality father-daughter time at the Maple Ridge firehall’s open house.
Showcasing someof this community’speople and happenings&facesplaces
Contributed by Irena Pochop at the school district
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A12 Tuesday, October 14, 2014 Maple Ridge & Pitt Meadows Times
Eric Zimmer/TIMES
Rosamond Norbury (left) posed with a couple of those who took part in the first-ever Canadian Silver Sunday event at Greystone Manor in Maple Ridge.
An inaugural celebrationevent held at a MapleRidge senior complexrecently was a success.by Eric [email protected]
A four-month-old baby and a 100-year-old lady represented both ends ofthe spectrum at a recent event in MapleRidge: the first of its kind in Canada.
That event was Silver Sunday: thebrainchild of a London, UK, womannamed Christabel Flight, whose husbandis a member of the British parliament.
And it’s Flight’s cousin, Maple Ridge’sRosamond Norbury, who decided to bringthe growing event acrossthe pond.
“It was brilliant,” saidNorbury of Sunday’sevent. “I didn’t really wantto advertise it too muchbecause I wasn’t sure howit would go.”
The London event now attracts “1,000old ladies,” and cadets are trained inadvance to dance at the event, relatedNorbury.
“But I thought that might be a littlemuch for the first go here.”
The premise of Silver Sunday, explainedNorbury, relates to the fact that Flightrealized that British seniors weren’t get-ting out and about as much as they couldbe.
So Flight decided to craft somethingsimilar to the idea of Mother’s Day: A
dedicated day each year, that would cele-brate and recognize seniors, while givingthem a chance to socialize in a friendlyand welcoming atmosphere.
Silver Sunday is the first day ofOctober, and in 2013, more than 150events were held across the UK to markthe occasion.
Through a variety of free activities,Silver Sunday aims to offer older people
a chance to keep active inbody and spirit, try newthings, meet new peopleand overcome loneliness.
And in Maple Ridge,it was Greystone Manorthat hosted the afternoonevent.
“I approached Shannon here atGreystone about them hosting the event,and she got the idea of what we were try-ing to do right away,” said Norbury.
“She showed me all the rooms and wefound a brilliant one to hold it in.”
About 50 seniors took part in the event,she added.
“Way more people came than wethought would.”
Greystone provided the coffee and teaand it was the Haney Bakery that hookedup the event with happy-face cookies.
Special event
Silver Sunday fetes golden years
“Way more peoplecame than we thoughtwould.”Rosamond Norbury
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Maple Ridge & Pitt Meadows Times Tuesday, October 14, 2014 A13
Grumpy grandmas• Grumpy Grandmas social group holdsweekly events including cards, games, coffee,meals out, potlucks, appy afternoons, localevents, and a monthly brunch meeting on thefirst Friday of every month. Call 604-760-5316or email [email protected].
Seniors group• The Council of Senior CitizensOrganizations (COSCO) is an advocacy groupdevoted to improving the quality of life forall seniors. Seniors’ organizations wishing tobe affiliated or individuals who want to bemembers should contact Ernie Bayer at 604-576-9734 or [email protected].
Volunteers needed• Maple Ridge-Pitt MeadowsCommunity Services is lookingfor drivers to support seniors:taking them to medical ap-pointments, delivering grocer-ies, and with the Meals onWheels program. To help de-liver groceries and take seniorsto medical appointments, callDiana at 604-467-6911, ext.232. To help with Meals on
Wheels, call Joan at 604-467-6911, ext. 218.Info: www.comservice.bc.ca.
Oct. 15: Free BBQ• Community Living hosts its annual freebarbecue from 11:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. at GregMoore Youth Centre. Info: Susanne at 604-466-4449 or email [email protected].
Oct. 16: George Canyon• Award-winning Canadian country music
star, George Canyon performs. The show fea-tures special guest Jordan McIntosh and takesplace at the ACT at 7:30 p.m. Doors open at7 p.m. Tickets: $37.50. Info: www.theactmap-leridge.ca.
Oct. 16: Fundraiser• Meadows Maze, located at 13672
Reichenbach Rd. in Pitt Meadows, hostsa fundraiser for Ridge Meadows YouthDiversion from 3:30 to 10 p.m. A portion ofthe day’s sales will be located to RMYD. Info:604-467-5889 or email [email protected].
Oct. 16: Children’s choir• Maple Ridge Christian School (MRCS)
hosts a performance by the African Children’sChoir and MRCS students at 7 p.m. Ticketsare free and can be obtained at the school,located at 12140 203 St., between 8 a.m. and4 p.m., Mon to Fri.
Oct. 17: Golden Harvest• Golden Harvest, a tasting show that high-
lights local food and celebrates the talentsof local chefs and culinary arts students takesplace at the ACT from 6 to 8 p.m. Tickets andinfo: [email protected].
Oct. 17: Fashion show• Ridge Meadows Hospice Society hosts a
fashion show at the Maple Ridge Legion.Tickets and more info can be found at www.
ridgemeadowshospicesociety.com or 604-463-7722. Event includes a noon luncheon, beforethe 1 p.m. show.
Oct. 18: Art exhibit•Maple Ridge Art Gallery will feature work
by The Federation of Canadian Artists FraserValley Chapter. Opening reception from 2 to4 p.m.
Oct. 19: Dance• The ACT hosts Romulo Larrea Tango Trio
at 7:30 p.m. Info: :www.theactmapleridge.org.
Oct. 19: Classical piano• Russian pianists Sergei and Nikolai
Saratovski play for the classical chambermusic series of the Maple Ridge MusicSociety. Info: 604-467-3162.
Oct. 20: Return of the Salmon• KEEPS, Metro Vancouver Parks, and Bell-
Irving Hatchery hosts annual return of thesalmon event. Event is free and will takeplace from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. at Kanaka Creekfish fence on 240th St. Info: 604-970-8404.
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Celebrating histhird anniversary.HAL HILL, AT CHARTWELL SINCE 2011.It’s been three years since Hal decided to move out of hishouse and into one of our residences. See the whole story and
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A14 Tuesday, October 14, 2014 Maple Ridge & Pitt Meadows Times
Follow
@mapleridgetimes on Twitterfor the top headlines
inMaple Ridge andPitt Meadows
The percentage of studentsachieving graduation at localhigh schools has been rising.by Christopher [email protected]
The school graduation rate in theMaple Ridge-Pitt Meadows schooldistrict was 90.7 per cent in 2013, up14 per cent from five years earlier.
The figure was presented by actingsuperintendent Shannon Derinzy ata school board meeting last week, ina report about secondary education.Breaking it down, the Aboriginalgraduation rate was 74.2 per cent in2013, up from 59.3 per in 2009, andthe graduation rate for students withspecial needs was 70.8 per cent lastyear, up from 53.2 per cent in 2009.
The provincial average grad ratefor both independent and pub-lic schools was 83.6 per cent in2013, up from 79.2 in 2009. ForAboriginal, it was 59.4 per cent in2013, up from 48.2 per cent in 2009;and for students with special needs,it was 58.7 per cent in 2013, up from45.7 per cent in 2009.
“This is really celebratory,”Derinzy said to the board, addingthe district will look at increasingthe graduation rate even more. “Ifundamentally believe our gradua-tion rate has improved significantlybecause we changed the model.”
That change includes offeringmore individualized attention tostudents and putting value on otherthings than the traditional desk typeof learning, such as offering ninetrades and apprenticeship programs.The programs, which include car-
pentry, automotive, hair design andculinary arts, are offered in partner-ship with post-secondary schoolsKwantlen Polytechnic University,BCIT, Vancouver Community Collegeand Roofing Association.
The report also listed the percent-age of high school students makingit to the next grade. In 2013, 91 percent of students transitioned fromGrade 9 to 10 and 87 per cent wentfrom Grade 10 to 11. That’s up from88 and 78 per cent in 2009, respect-ively. Derinzy said provincial examsplay a role in that drop betweengrades.
“Some kids are really brilliantexam writers, but that doesn’t playinto all the kids’ strengths,” Derinzysaid. “It’s something we want toexplore as a high school system,what can we do with the Grade 10and 11 exams to help our kids.”
Maple Ridge and Pitt Meadows
Grad rates above provincial average
Vying for a majorityCurrent Maple Ridge-Pitt Meadows
school district Trustee Ken Clarkson(left), Lisa Beare, Korleen Carreras, andCherie Delainey are running as a schoolboard team, loosely calling themselves
VOICE. With Carreras running for oneof two Pitt Meadows trusteeships andthe others hoping to fill three of five
available positions in Maple Ridge, thegroup could constitute a majority on
the seven-member school board, if allfour win election on Nov. 15. See story
online at www.mrtimes.com, and clickon the “Please Vote” tab.
Submitted photo
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SportsMaple Ridge & Pitt Meadows Times Tuesday, October 14, 2014 A15
Recreation
Samuel Robertson TechnicalSecondary’s football season is readyto roll on three fronts.by Troy [email protected]
Samuel Robertson Technical Secondaryis a high school football hotbed.
SRT is the only secondary school inSchool District 42 that houses footballteams at three levels: Grade 8, and jr. andsr. varsity.
That alone is something the Titans canhang their hats on, said Scott Tomlin,a teacher liaison and basketball coachwho oversees all three of SRT’s footballsquads.
“We’ve been fortunate that we haveenough kids, where we can run allthree,” Tomlin said, adding, “We’re nota big school and we wish we were big-ger. We play teams that are big schools.We’re not doing great on the scoreboard,but as a program we’re doing incredible.”
Tomlin has a theory about why footballis so popular amongst SRT’s students.
“The technical name in this schoolhas kept some girls away,” he said. “Inour estimation, this is a neighbourhoodschool, but because of the technicalname, we’ve got proportionately moreboys than girls. You’ve got to have some-thing for these guys to do.”
On top of that, football is a sport forathletes of all shapes and sizes.
“There is a spot for every kid, everybody type, and the coaches that we havebrought in this year, are incredible,”Tomlin said. “They’re taking kids whohave no football experience and gettingthem game-ready, really quickly, andconfident. These guys have been coach-ing in the community for a long time and
have come up, and done an incrediblejob bringing the kids up to speed.”
Players at SRT range from scholarshiphopefuls to those who have never playedcompetitively before,Tomlin said.
Guiding the seniors arehead coach Jeff Boyce,along with offensivecoordinator and assist-ant coach Cody Tupper,a 24-year-old alumnus ofthe Terry Fox Secondaryfootball program.
Boyce, who also coach-es SRT’S junior team, saidthe most important thingfor him is to give studentsin the community a place where they canplay football.
“That’s why I’m here,” Boyce said.“We’re looking for the kids to have fun.That’s the biggest part of it.”
The goal this year, Tupper added, is
to “perform at our skill [level] as best aswe can, to know our assignments, andto play our game – to come out and playand be competitive every game, really.”
The senior Titans fin-ished 0-4 last season andkicked off their 2014 AAcampaign with a 35-6 lossto host Robert Batemen onOct. 3.
They played Oct. 10 onthe road versus Abbotsford(results are not availabledue to holiday weekendearly press deadlines),before their home openerthis Friday, Oct. 17 versusAbbotsford’s Rick Hansen
Hurricanes. Kickoff under the lights ofSRT is 7:30 p.m.
“We’d like to accomplish a few wins,”said Titans offensive guard/defensivetackle Nikola Damjanovic, who hasplayed football at SRT since he was in
Grade 8. “Given that we’re in the tough-est division [Eastern Conference] in theprovince with Mission, GW [Graham],Pitt Meadows, they’ve all been playingpretty well. If we can just keep up withthem during games, and have great prac-tices coming into the game, I think wecan play well against them. Pulling out awin will be pretty hard, but everything’sattainable if you practise hard for it.”
“I hope to see a win coming out of thisseason,” left tackle/defensive end RuebenMarin said.
“I am definitely really excited aboutthis season, being my last year of highschool,” Marin added.
At the Grade 8 level, Rick Pelwecki andGlen Cote have the coaching reins of avery promising squad. Just one of thestandouts heading into the regular seasonhas been running back Cade Cote.
Among the key junior Titans arequarterback Daytin Vidovich and receiverRiley Farahbakhchian.
High school
Titans squads ready for some footballMembers
of SamuelRobertsonTechnical
Secondary’sjunior and
senior varsityfootball teams
posed beforepractice onThursday,
Oct. 9.
Troy Landreville/TIMES
SRT sr. varsityfootball home gameWho: Titans vs. Rick HansenHurricanesWhere: Rotary Field atSamuel Robertson TechnicalSecondary, 10445 245th St.When: Friday, Oct. 17.Game time is 7:30 p.m.
Follow thebouncing ballSamuel Robertson TechnicalSecondary’s girls fieldhockey team (in blue) hostedthe Maple Ridge Ramblers ona sunny Thursday afternoon,Oct. 9 at SRT.
Troy Landreville/TIMES
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An annual event at the ACTthis Friday celebrates localtalent and local taste.by Eric [email protected]
It will be a tasty timeat the ACT this Friday asan annual tasting eventreturns for another year.
Golden Harvest, a tastingshow that highlights thetalents of local chefs andculinary arts students will
take place from 6 to 8 p.m.“The idea behind the
event is to raise awarenessof the agricultural offeringshere,” said organizer KimLauzon.
“It’s also to promotebuying local and encour-aging young farmers.”
Lauzon added thatthere’s a wide variety offresh, local flavours inthe community, but manypeople don’t realize it.
“But they are starting tofigure it out,” she said.
And it’s events like this
that help to showcasewhat people have in theirbackyards.
This is Lauzon’s secondyear as organizer andthere’s no doubt in hermind that all 250 tickets tothe event will sell out.
“Last year we had 11food tables, this year wehave 18,” she said.
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