vancouver courier may 20 2015

CITY LIVING8Kids rock Heritage Fair

SPORTS 20Fast trackers

ENTERTAINMENT 19Theatrical Heights

MIDWEEKEDITION

WEDNESDAYMay 20 2015Vol. 106 No. 39

There’s more online atvancourier.com

THE VOICE of VANCOUVER NEIGHBOURHOODS since 1908

Fair

aattom

CATCHINGON FishermanShaunStrobel, directorof the community-based fisherySkipperOtto’s, says fishinghas improvedwith the risingdemand for local andsustainable food: “It just feelsgood toprovide food forpeople.”See storypage4.PHOTODANTOULGOET

[email protected]

The Vancouver Police Departmentcontinues to crack down on rogue cyclistsand wrote 733 tickets over the last fouryears to cyclists for riding their bikes on asidewalk, according to statistics providedto the Courier.The statistical evidence suggests some

city councillors’ accusations at a coun-cil meeting Tuesday that police weren’tenforcing laws against cyclists for ridingon a sidewalk are unwarranted. Council-lors Tim Stevenson, Adriane Carr andGeorge Affleck all raised concerns aboutpolice inaction on ticketing cyclists forriding on a sidewalk.“I’ve never seen police ever doing any-

thing,” Stevenson told council after listen-ing to presentations from city staff related to

cycling and transportation. “I don’t know ifthey have a program. It’s difficult to catchpeople, obviously, unless you have somesort of a system with police waiting at acertain place like radar traps. But I wouldreally like this to be taken more seriously.”Affleck told reporters after the meeting

that police weren’t “doing their job” enforc-ing laws for cyclists riding on a sidewalk,riding without a helmet or without a bellon their bikes, which he said would helpreduce collisions with pedestrians.“Certainly, as councillors, the number

one complaint we get is related to enforce-ment — that we are not enforcing the lawsthat exist,” said Affleck, whose concernswere echoed by Carr, who suggested staffwork with the city’s active transportationadvisory committee to identify “hot spots”where infractions are prominent.

Continued on page 5

Cops nab 733sidewalk cyclists

City paying forurban [email protected]

A failed urban farm located in a down-town parkade continues to be a costlyheadache to the City of Vancouver.According to documents filed in a con-

tinuing lawsuit against the city, a greenhouseand equipment from the farm is still locatedin the parkade, over a year after the com-pany operating the farm went bankrupt.In a counterclaim filed April 20,

EasyPark, a non-profit authority thatmanages parkades owned or leased by thecity, claims it has been unable to use theroof of the parkade or make any incomefrom the space.EasyPark alleges the greenhouse is a safe-

ty risk because it could collapse in a heavysnowfall, and it continues to pay for security

and maintenance related to the greenhouse,according to court documents.EasyPark is asking for an injunction re-

quiring the farm’s current owners to eitherremove the greenhouse from the roof of theparkade, or permit EasyPark to remove anddispose of the structure.The counterclaim follows an initial lawsuit

filed by ClayHaeber and a numberedcompany onMarch 3. In that claim, Haeberalleges the City of Vancouver’s refusal totransfer a licence to operate the farm in theparkade to his company is breach of contract.Meanwhile, Donovan Woollard, one of

the proponents of the high-profile verticalfarm that went bankrupt in 2014, says hestill believes in the concept and is nowworking with an Australian company on anew project.

Continued on page 6

Council gives VPD $500,000 for crackdown

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Sorry to bum all of youout after the long weekend.But that’s kind of my job.And this story about Paige

really bummedme out.You’ve probably heard

her story via various mediachannels — 19-year-oldwoman dies of a drugoverdose in a washroomadjacent to OppenheimerPark in 2013 after yearsof abuse, neglect and“persistent inaction fromfront-line professionalsand an indifferent socialcare system that led to thisyoung woman’s demise.”The quoted part of that

sentence is courtesy of areport released last week byB.C.’s Representative forChildren and Youth, MaryEllen Turpel-Lafond.In releasing the report,Turpel-Lafond called it“one of the most troublinginvestigations my office hasever conducted.”Which is saying some-

thing, considering her office

conducted more than 20reports over nine years thatrevealed how governmentfailed vulnerable childrenand youth in this province. Amajor focus of the work con-ducted by Turpel-Lafond’soffice has been advocatingfor better services for aborigi-nal children, youth and theirfamilies, an overrepresentedpopulation in the B.C. childwelfare system.Paige, whose surname

wasn’t published, wasaboriginal.Before Paige’s story

became part of the conver-sation last week, Turpel-Lafond’s office released areport in November 2013that detailed how theMinis-try of Children and FamilyDevelopment (MCFD)spent $66 million over thepast dozen years on aborigi-nal service-delivery discus-sions and projects, with noevidence of a single aborigi-nal child or family receivingbetter services as a result.This is what Turpel-

Lafond said then: “Aborigi-nal children and youth inB.C. deserve better. MCFDmust make a real effort toimprove the outcomes for

those children by actuallyknowing what they requireand what works to supportthem. Government needs tostop directing money intothe big theoretical fixes, andinstead shore up the frontlines of the system.”This is what she said

when I spoke to her bytelephone Friday: “I’m notconfident change is going tohappen unless we push hardand I can’t be alone. I needpeople to support me.”She used the word

“alone” twice in the

10-minute interview.Here’s the second time:

“I absolutely feel com-pletely alone with respectto pushing this issue. I feellike I push, push, push. Igo to the senior leadershipin health, I go to the seniorleadership in education andI go to the senior leadershipin the Ministry for Childrenand Family Developmentand they continue to findmany, many reasons whythey can’t tackle it, none ofwhich I find acceptable.”That pushback, she said,

is why she wrote in herreport about Paige that “Icould only call this institu-tional racism.” She addedthat “for some kids, I guessthey’re disposable. But ofcourse that’s not acceptableand they’ve got to be pres-sured to change this.”Children and Family De-

velopmentMinister Stepha-nie Cadieux’s initial responseis that she was “horrified” byPaige’s story, saying “fromthe moment she was born,she faced obstacles that fewof us can imagine or actuallycomprehend.”The fact remains, she said,

that despite the “dedicatedand well-intentioned efforts”of ministry staff and repeatedinvolvement throughoutPaige’s life by a number oforganizations and profession-als, “the system ultimatelyfailed to keep her from harm.The result is unacceptable.”So, there you have it

— Turpel-Lafond saysit’s unacceptable, so doesCadieux.But only Cadieux has the

power tomake some change.So what’s she going to

do about it?For a start, she’s imple-

menting a “rapid responseteammodel for youth” inthe Downtown Eastside.“Because we need to

catch kids as soon as pos-sible before they becomeentrenched in one of theworst areas and neigh-bourhoods in our province— an area that nobodydeems fit for a child orteen to live in,” Cadieuxtold reporters. “To helpyouth, we have to hearabout them, though. Andit shouldn’t matter whichprofessional or serviceprovider, or organizationis that first point of con-tact for youth. There arelots of services availablebut they need to cometogether.”While Turpel-Lafond

welcomes any action, shenoted the reality for manyyoung vulnerable aborigi-nals like Paige who live inVancouver is this: “Rightnow, the drug dealers, thepimps and the exploitershave more command of thesocial system than does thesocial care system.”Read Paige’s story at

rcybc.ca@Howellings

Paige’s story highlights government inactionNews

Paige at birth, as a child and before she died of a drug overdose at19 in the Downtown Eastside. PHOTOS COURTESYOF THEOFFICEOFB.C.’S REPRESENTATIVE FOR CHILDREN AND YOUTH.

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Courtesy of the Vancouver Archives

Kathleen [email protected]

Shaun Strobel didn’t somuch choose fishing as itchose him. As a child borninto a fishing family, hespent weekends out on theboat and worked with hisfather part-time.“I started going with

him on a part-time basisin 1977, when I was just aboy out of school for thesummer,” he said.Now he’s a fisherman and

director of Skipper Otto’s,a community-supportedfishery in Vancouver. LastThursday marked the begin-ning of Vancouver’s annualspot prawn season and themembers of Skipper Otto’scould pick up the returnon their investments in theform of pounds and poundsof prawns.Skipper Otto’s claims

to be different from otherfisheries because of therole consumers have,Shaun said. Memberspay before the catch haseven been hauled ashore,buying shares that allowthem access to fish for

the season.“Through the commu-

nity fishery we sell our ownfish, my fish, my father’sfish and other independentsmall-scale fishermen thatwe’ve known for years anddo things the right way,”

he said.The fishery came about

as a way to help Otto Stro-bel, Shaun’s father, breakeven in the industry, saidSonia Strobel, managingdirector and co-founderwith husband Shaun.

Before they founded thefishery, the two were highschool teachers who tookpart in community-sup-ported agriculture projectsthat allowed them to buyproduce directly fromfarmers.

“We had the brainwaveone day: maybe we couldapply what farmers havedone to agriculture tofishing,” Sonia said. Thefishery started in 2008,and has grown to include1,400 members.Members buy credit

into the fishery in $100increments and pay asmall membership fee.Once the fish is caught,members order quantities,the price of which is sub-tracted from their credit.Sonia said prices are “lessor comparable” to what isfound in stores.“Anyone that’s a mem-

ber can give us an order,”noted Shaun. “We tellthem ‘We’re going to have300 pounds of prawns to-morrow, how many wouldyou like?’”The model works

because customers arefunding the fishery and inexchange receive fish.Sonia said one of the

main benefits to belongingto the fishery for consumersis transparency about wheretheir food comes from.“They know exactly

who caught it, how, whereand when, and they knowexactly who touched thatfish between when it cameout of the ocean to when itgot on their plate.”Sonia said the fishery

has a wide range of mem-bers from young profes-sional to families andseniors. What they all havein common, she said, is adesire for better and moreethical food.“The thing they all have

in common is a concern forthe environment and a con-cern for social justice, andthat spans demographics.”Shaun said working as

a fisherman has improvedsince the trend towardslocal and sustainable foodhas taken off in Vancouverand elsewhere.“Now that it’s farmers

first, and food producersand fishermen are recog-nized and important again,it’s good. People line upand want to shake yourhand and hear stories ofthe sea,” he said. “It justfeels good to provide foodfor people.”

@KathleenSaylors

Community fisheryhits the spotNews

Last Thursdaymarked the opening of Vancouver’s annual spot prawn season. PHOTODANTOULGOET


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News

Some city councillors criticized police this week for not cracking down on cyclists who continue toride on sidewalks.PHOTODANTOULGOET

Continued from page 1The statistics provided to

the Courier didn’t indicatelocation but showed 202tickets for riding on a side-walk were issued in 2011.That decreased to 132 in2012, then increased to 230in 2013 and dropped againin 2014 to 169. Each ticketcomes with a $129 fine.

Tickets for riding withouta helmet totalled 1,810 in2011. Police issued 1,808in 2012 and 1,541 in 2013.Last year, tickets issueddropped substantially to 990.The cost of a ticket is $29.Const. Brian Montague,

a VPDmedia liaison of-ficer, said he understandsconcerns from council andthe public about danger-ous habits of cyclists. Policealso hear the same concernsabout pedestrians and mo-torists and have to prioritizeenforcement, he said.He noted that during an

interviewWednesday witha television reporter outsidethe VPD’s Cambie Streetprecinct, at least a dozencyclists rode by on the side-walk. About half were notwearing helmets, he said.“Yes, our job as police is

enforcement and educationbut we can’t ticket every-body,”Montague said.“There’s no way you can dothat— even if we put theentire police department onduty to do nothing but ticketcyclists.Would the citizensof Vancouver be happy withhowwe are deploying thoseresources? Probably not.”AddedMontague: “There

are bad drivers, there are badcyclists and there are badpedestrians. And there’s lotsof good drivers, good cyclistsand good pedestrians, too.But everyone has a role toplay here. If everyone fol-lowed the rules of the road,we would have far less col-lisions and far less fatalities.Bottom line.”Mayor Gregor Robert-

son reminded councillorsat Tuesday’s meeting thatcouncil dedicated $500,000in the 2015 budget to theVPD to target dangerousdrivers and cyclists who putpedestrians at risk in schoolzones, on sidewalks andnear community centres,parks and libraries.The VPD are still working

on implementation of thecampaign butMontague saidenforcement will be “a bigpart” of the focus, althoughhe added that “plans canalso change depending onthe results or impact of whataction is being taken.”A staff report that went

before council last Tuesdayshowed that cyclists madean average of 100,000trips per day last year. Onthe Burrard Bridge alone,monthly cycling tripsreached 300,000, accord-ing to the report, which alsoshowed more people wereriding bikes, taking tran-sit and walking than everbefore in the city.An accompanying report

on cycling safety showedcycling trips were up 41per cent between 2008 and2011, with collision ratesdecreasing by 17 per cent forthe same time period. Whilehalf of all collisions involveda vehicle, only eight per centwere related to a cyclist col-liding with another cyclist,pedestrian or animal.Coun. Andrea Reimer re-

marked on the city’s successto get more people takingalternative modes of trans-portation than a vehicle. Shealso pointed out the cyclingsafety study indicated that 93per cent of collisions involv-ing bicycles showed cyclistshad the right-of-way.So she wondered why

councillors were focusedon bad behaviour of cyclistsinstead of the good news inboth reports. Her remarksseemed to cause her fellowVision Vancouver council-

lors Stevenson and KerryJang, who once participatedin a cycling course butprefer driving, to abruptlyleave the council chambersbefore being reminded thata quorum was needed toconduct the meeting.“As long as we’re seeing

cyclists as being always be-ing at fault, it’s very difficultfor the drivers to changetheir behaviour,” Reimersaid before the two council-lors got up from their chairs.Reached Thursday,

Jang and Stevenson toldthe Courier that Reimer’scomments had nothing todo with them simultane-ously leaving the chamber.Stevenson said he neededa coffee and Jang said heneeded a washroom break.As for his comments to

council regarding police inac-tion on ticketing, Stevensonsaid he now believes policeare taking the issue seriouslyand he was pleased to hearthe VPD issued 733 ticketsover the last four years.“I think that’s excellent,”

he said, noting his mainconcern is with seniors beingcaught off guard by cyclistsriding on sidewalks. “Thefact that I didn’t know aboutthese [statistics] obviouslymeans a lot of other peopledon’t, either. You don’t readabout it. It would be helpfulto publicize because I thinkthat those cyclists who dodo that need to know thatindeed the police are lookingout for them.”Told about the statistics

for the ticketing of cyclistsfor riding on sidewalksand not wearing helmets,Affleck said he still believespolice could do a better jobto enforce the law. He ar-gued that with staff reportsshowing an increase in cy-cling, the VPD stats actuallyshow a decline in tickets.“To me, based on statis-

tics, it shows me they aren’tdoing their job,” he said.

Councillors split on stats


Continued from page 1

‘Innovativespirit’In 2012, Alterrus, a

company trading on theCanadian Securities Ex-change, signed a licenceagreement with the City ofVancouver and EasyParkto use space in the parkadeat 535 Richards St.Alterrus and its sub-

sidiary, Local GardenVancouver, operatedthe vertical farm in theparkade. It used a systeminvolving stacked traysthat moved automatically“to maximize exposure tonatural light,” accordingto court documents.The business model for

the farm involved sellingpesticide-free greens andherbs to high-end restau-rants. Local Garden hiredpeople with barriers toemployment and planned todeliver by bicycle, accordingto media reports from 2012.At the time of its

launch, Mayor GregorRobertson said the projectshowed “the innovativespirit in our city’s boom-ing clean tech sector.”Public filings for Alter-

rus show the companytried several business ideasfrom the time it was in-corporated in 1996, frombicycle rentals for hotels toonline dating to skin care.By 2007, the companywas focused on verticalfarming, and in June 2012,changed its name fromValcent to Alterrus.Alterrus’ 2012 annual fi-

nancial statement showedan accumulated deficit of$52 million.In 2014, both Alterrus

and Local Garden Van-couver went bankrupt. Thecompanies owed over $4million, including $1.2 mil-lion to the largest creditor,Vancity Credit Union, andwere behind on rent pay-ments to EasyPark.As the owner of sustain-

able business consultingcompany Transom Enter-

prises, Woollard partneredwith Alterrus to launchLocal Garden. Woollardis also director of RadiusVentures, a social enter-prise program at SimonFraser University’s BeedieSchool of Business.“For various reasons

which I’d rather not getinto, Alterrus as a com-pany went bankrupt,”Woollard said. “At theend of the day there werea number of creditors ofwhich I was one. I amhopeful for the space and[I] continue to do work inthe vertical farming spaceand would love to see thatfacility open up again.”Woollard is working

with a potential businesspartner in Australia onanother vertical farm-ing project, although theventure is in a preliminarystage, he said. It’s possiblethe project may be basedin Vancouver.

Strawberries foreverHaeber was appointed

to Alterrus’ board in

November 2013. In hislawsuit, Haeber claims heincorporated a numberedcompany because hewanted the vertical farm-ing operation to continueand he was “keenly inter-ested in the urban garden-ing concept.”Haeber did not respond

to interview requests.Haeber is currently head

of information technologyfor Kit and Ace, a cloth-ing firm started by the sonand wife of Lululemonfounder Chip Wilson.According to his LinkedInprofile, Haeber worked atLululemon between 2007and 2013.Haeber’s numbered

company purchased theloans owed by Alterrusand Local Garden and be-came owner of the farm inJuly 2014, but still had tonegotiate with the City ofVancouver and EasyParkfor a licence to operate.Haeber claims he told

the city that once he gotthe licence, he wouldsell all his shares in the

numbered company toAffinor Growers Inc., acompany with experiencegrowing medical mari-juana in a vertical farmingformat. Like Alterrus,Affinor trades on the CSE,an exchange with simplerreporting requirementsand lower fees than theToronto Stock Exchangeor the TSX Venture.According to Haeber’s

claim, Affinor confirmedto the city in writingthat it would only growvegetables such as straw-berries in the parkade, notmarijuana.Affinor is not a party in

the lawsuit.Haeber alleges that both

EasyPark and the city,along with Alterrus andLocal Garden’s bank-ruptcy trustee, agreed tothe terms of the licenceagreement, promptingHaeber and Affinor to inka $1.4 million deal for theoperation, which included$500,000 in cash and therest in Affinor stock.The city’s refusal to

grant the licence meantHaeber lost $1.4 million,he alleges. Haeber is nowsearching for a new buyer.In a response, the City

of Vancouver claims thatcity solicitor Heidi Grang-er made it clear to Haeberthat final authority to signa licence agreement restedwith either the city’s direc-tor of legal services or citycouncil.The city alleges that

while Haeber advisedthem he planned to sellthe business to a thirdparty in April 2014, hedidn’t tell the city theidentity of the buyer untilthe following August.When the city did due

diligence on Affinor, theresponse claims, it learnedthe company was in thebusiness of growing medi-cal marijuana. Affinor’s fi-nancial statements “raisedconcerns with respect toAffinor’s financial circum-stances,” according tocourt documents.“Ultimately, the City

rejected the plaintiff’s

proposal that Affinor besubstituted in place ofHaeber,” states the city’sresponse.Now Affinor is consider-

ing launching its own law-suit, said Nick Brusatore,the company’s chairman.He said his company lost$210,000 when the dealfell through.“I feel borderline dis-

criminated against,” hesaid.Affinor has several

projects in the works forboth vegetable and medi-cal marijuana production,Brusatore said. None of thefarms is yet operational.Brusatore doesn’t

believe a vertical farm inthe downtown parkade isviable as a business. Hisaim was to use the farm asa demonstration project to“have something pretty forthe city so we could bragabout what we did.”The City of Vancouver

declined, and EasyPark didnot respond to, interviewrequests for this story.With files from Mike Howell

Newbuyer sought bragging rightsNews

The businessmodel for the vertical farm, operated by Alterrus and its subsidiary, Local GardenVancouver at a downtown parkade, involved selling pesticide-free greens and herbs to high-endrestaurants. PHOTODANTOULGOET

Nick Brusatore, chair-man of Affinor Growers,believes vertical farminghas big potential.“Human beings, we’re

fairly dirty — E. coli comesfrom us,” Brusatore said.Because vertical farming isautomated, it’s “impecca-bly food safe… there’s nowater waste.”At a vertical farming

operation his companyis developing in Quebec,Brusatore said, 1,100plants can fit into every120 square feet. Affinoris interested in growingvegetables andmedicalmarijuana using verticalfarming techniques.But Navin Ramankutty,

a professor who studiesglobal food security at the

University of British Co-lumbia, is skeptical aboutthe business of verticalfarming.“I think it makes sense

from a demonstrationpoint of view,” Ramankuttysaid. “But from a pureeconomic point of viewit doesn’t make sense tome. Urban areas are someof the most highly valuedpieces of land. And verticalfarming requires a lot ofenergy.”Ramankutty said it was

difficult to imagine howvertical farming, with highinfrastructure and energycosts, could be profitable— with one exception.“If you have a high-value

crop like [marijuana], thenit makes sense to do that.”

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Stanley [email protected]

The location for a newMarpole Oakridge Commu-nity Centre remains a hotlydisputed topic, and willlikely remain so for the restof this year.TheMarpole-Oakridge

Community Associationhas called a public meetingon several local planningtopics at the centre at 990West 59th Avenue at OakStreet for 6:30 p.m. onMay25th. City planning staff areexpected to attend.“TheMarpole Oakridge

Community Centre will bedemolished,” associationpresidentMike Burdickwrote in an email notice tomembers. “The City of Van-couver is planning to buildthe replacement communitycentre in a high-density high-traffic location onGranvilleStreet instead of at its currentlocation in Oak Park.”

But Susan Haid, the city’sassistant director of plan-ning for Vancouver South,told the Courier that thestatement is “incorrect,”because the city has madeno such decision yet. TheMarpole Community Planapproved by city council lastyear called for a replace-ment and renewal of thecommunity centre, but didnot mention a location.“We don’t have a pre-

conceived plan at all,” shesaid. “We will go througha very robust planning andconsultation process withthe community about thelocation, led by our parkscommission, which willlikely start later this year.”Burdick remains uncon-

vinced, saying that “in ourdiscussions with city staff,they said they really want torelocate to where the Mar-pole library is, and they alsohave property on GranvilleStreet, so the inference is

always there.” He attacheda 34-page presentation tohis email to argue why thecentre should stay put.The two main items on

the May 25 meeting agendaare Marpole traffic andtransit issues, and the Cam-bie Corridor Phase 3, whichmay rezone some housesjust west of Cambie Streetbetween 59th and 68thAvenues. Burdick wants themeeting to focus on thoseitems and leave discussionsof the community centre forthe later public consulta-tions, although he addedthat city staff can talk aboutthe centre at the meeting ifthey wish.In a civic electoral debate

last October attended by200 people at the centre,most people booed whencandidates raised the pros-pect of moving the centre,and applauded at theproposal of keeping it at itscurrent location.

In other Marpole news,Haid foresees a bright futurefor the formerMarpole fire-hall at Hudson Street andWest 70th Ave., which hasbeen closed for repairs sincea flood in 2013. Becausethe firehall is on the city’sprotected heritage list, asnoted in theMarpole Plan,no demolition is planned.“Our city facilities group

will be looking at commu-nity uses in the facility onceits renovation is completed,we expect by end of 2015,”Haid said.Meanwhile, on plans for

a 10-acre park at the foot ofCambie Street at the FraserRiver, she said the city is ne-gotiating for the land throughits real estate branch.“We hope to have an

update on that soon. It’s inthe Marpole Plan, we havesecured funding to get asite, and it’s a huge prior-ity of council and the citymanager,” she said.

MarpoleOakridgeCommunity Centre tomove?Firehall preserved for new community services


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CITY LIVING

Rebecca [email protected]

The level of knowledgein the gymnasium at theMarpole-Oakridge Com-munity Centre was so highyou would have been sur-prised, if you hadn’t beentold ahead of time, that itcame from the brains ofelementary school kids.It was the first time in

Vancouver’s 11-year historyof participating in the Brit-ish Columbia Heritage FairsSociety that select studentsin grades 4 to 10 from allacross the city were invitedto showcase their projects tothe public. While the workwas presented by way of thetraditional upright three-panel board, it was not ofthe paper mâché volcano

variety — topics includeda fascinating range of thelittle-known to the well-known aspects of Canadi-ana. Topics ranged fromOntario’s Orillia Asylum forIdiots and the EdmontonFur Tannery to the morelocal Granville Island andthe Vancouver Rape Relief&Women’s Shelter.“Some of these students

ask their parents if they canbe in the class the next yearwhere they know a teacheris participating,” said JanetMorley, who has beenVancouver’s Heritage Faircoordinator since 2007.“They have that passionfor their particular project.Looking back over theyears, I’ve probably had3,000 different topics. Kidscome up with anything.”Not having limits, aside

from geographical, givesstudents the creative fuel

they need to get carriedaway. The project startmonth is January andMor-ley said they are sparkedby a variety of inspirations,as in the case of Amy Liu,a Grade 7 student at SirSandford Fleming elemen-tary who read BarbaraGreenwood’s Factory Girland discovered the sadhistory of child labour inCanada during the 1800sand early 1900s.“I was really surprised

because, my goodness! Ididn’t know child laboureven happened in Cana-da,” said Liu, who is oneof the five students fromVancouver selected topresent at the B.C. Fair inVictoria, July 2 to 6.Another student, Euan

Scipperfield, was inspirednot by books but by some-thing he is exposed to everyday.

“Hockey is pretty muchmy life,” said the Grade7 student at Edith Cavellelementary. “I’m on the iceevery day and everybody Iplay with uses Bauer hockeyequipment so I alwayswondered about the story oftheir success.”Scipperfield, a bantam

division goalie for theVancouver Thunderbirds,said the most fascinat-ing thing he learned fromresearch was that, in 1927,the Bauer family startedthe business as a shoecompany in Kitchener,Ont., and created the firsthockey skate blade thatwas permanently attachedto a boot.It’s not just strong re-

search skills that earn entryinto the Vancouver HeritageFair; it’s also the ability todemonstrate critical think-ing skills, said Morley.

“The students work re-ally hard in their approachto the critical thinkingaspect rather than justpure research. By the timethe school fair happens inMarch or April, everybodyin the class has the op-portunity to present theirproject for 10 to 15 minutesand then each teacher picksthree students to representeach class at the eventhere,” she said.“Sometimes there are

duplicate ideas but mostteachers say, ‘I’m not hav-ing two Louis Riels, or twoBattles of Abraham, or twoTim Hortons or whatever.’They end up negotiatingbecause the students don’twant to end up in competi-tion with one another.”It’s a competition just to

get into the Heritage Fairselection. There were about100 students involved this

year and that explains whythe competition outgrew itsprevious home at Museumof Vancouver two yearsago.Killarney secondary

school offered its gymna-sium to the group, alongwith the suggestion thefair move to the com-munity centre for one dayto give the public a rareglimpse of the projects.And, even then, with theallowable numbers, it’s achallenge for the judgesto choose which studentsget in.“I have a waiting list,”

said Morley. “But it’stough, we’ve chosen thebest ones but I could gointo the gym next door andput another 100 projectsup and you wouldn’t noticeany difference because thequality is outstanding.”

@rebeccablissett

Students go deep atHeritage Fair

1. Janet Morley, centre, has been Vancouver’s Heritage Fair coordinator since 2007. 2. Lizzie Valencia, right, a Grade 6 student at JohnNorquay elementary school, focused her Heritage Fair project onNel-lie McClungwhile Vivi Cao, a Grade 4 student at Lord Selkirk elementary, researched the Vancouver fire that burned the city to the ground 100 years ago. 3. Emily Law, a Grade 7 student at General Brockelementary school, focused on Paris Shoes and Paris Orthotics, a Vancouver businesses her grandfather Steven Paris founded. 4. Euan Scipperfieldwas one of the few boyswho participated in the openhouse at Marpole-Oakridge Community Centre this past Saturday. The Edith Cavell elementary school student’s project was about the history of Bauer, which created the first hockey skate blade that waspermanently attached to a boot. 5.Olivia Richards, a Grade 6 student at Edith Cavell elementary school, focused on the Commodore Ballroom for her project, for which she interviewed Aaron Chapman,Courier contributor and author of Live at the Commodore. She created a splitmodel of the ballroom’s famous dance floor, with big band leader Dal Richards on one side, and glam rockers KISS on the other.See photo gallery online at vancourier.com. PHOTOS REBECCA BLISSETT

1

3 4 5

2


News

Cheryl [email protected]

A man wearing a tur-quoise cap hopped off hisbike in front of the EastSide Free Store Tuesdayafternoon and told theCourier he wanted to pokehis head inside.“That lion sweater

caught my eye,” he saidreferring to a sweatshirtthat featured a lion’s face,replete with green andtopaz bejeweled eyes.Passerby Alvin Hack-

ett said he’d picked up ajacket, shoes, a T-shirt,backpack, hat and socksfor free at the store. Hewishes more people knewabout the shop.“As long as they don’t

take advantage of it and sellthings in the DowntownEastside,” he said. “That’sa no-no… Bad karma.”Hackett, a resident of

a low-income hotel nearOppenheimer Park, plansto donate alarm clocksto the store that runs ondonations. A street-frontfree store as of this year, itstarted as an annual eventcreated by artist JuliaHiggs and a few friends.“We had this idea just

before Christmastime,” shesaid. “We wanted to dosomething to curb the massconsumption of the Christ-mas shopping madness.”Red Gate Arts Soci-

ety provides the store’s

100-square foot space at855 East Hastings St. freeof charge.A painting of a tattooed

pig with a long snake-liketongue graces one sectionof wall and a sticker on anold boom box reads, “Notfree, thanks!”Cassette tapes, CDs,

records, a Forrest GumpVHS tape, sewing pat-

terns, clothes, books andhugs are just some of thefree goods on offer.“Part of the fun of

this project is watchingpeople’s responses to theamassed bric-a-brac of for-gotten commodities. I seethe experience spark per-sonal reflection on how wetreat and value objects,”Higgs wrote in a handout

for the volunteers whohelp her staff the store.Shoppers can take items

from the store withoutdonating.“It’s not a trade or an

exchange. The idea is thathowever it would be usefulto you, that is how youcan participate,” Higgssaid. “We find homes forabandoned objects that

would otherwise go intothe landfill, particularlystuff that people value butthey can’t use anymore,they just don’t want tosee it go to the SalvationArmy or anywhere.”The free store has seen a

snowboard, an inflatable dol-phin the length of the shop,a bicycle, and flatscreen TVspass through its door.

When the free store ranas an annual event, youngbackpackers from Europeonce scored two sets ofskis and boots that fitthem perfectly, making itpossible for them to swishdown local mountains.“It was just one of those

perfect free store mo-ments,” she said.Area resident McKay

Wood wanted to learn aboutthe Free Store as he and hisdaughter lingered outside,mid-bike ride, chewing onlandjäger sausages they’dbought at the adjacent LesAmis du Fromage.Wood prefers the idea of

donating to the free store,rather than Value Village.“Value Village is a for-

profit entity and it’s nice ifwe can donate locally andgive back to our communi-ty with free stuff,” he said.“Everyone loves free.”The East Side Free

Store seeks clean, func-tional, useful objects. Itaccepts bras but not usedunderwear, bedding orcathode ray tube TVs.“I’m not a garbage dis-

posal service,” Higgs said.Those who want to

help stock the store canvisit during store hours,which are noon to 4 p.m.Wednesdays, Saturdaysand Sundays, and 2 to 5p.m. Fridays. For moreinformation, see facebook.com/vanfreestore.

@Cheryl_Rossi

Free store focuses on theuseful

“We find homes for abandoned objects that would otherwise go into the landfill, particularly stuff that people value but they can’t useanymore,” says artist Julia Higgs of the East Side Free Store. To see related video, go to vancourier.com. PHOTODANTOULGOET


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Theweek in num6ers...

500In thousandsofdollars, theamount city council dedicatedin the2015budget tohelp

police targetdangerousdriversandcyclists in school zones,sidewalks andcityproperty.

733Over, thepast four years, thenumberof $29 ticketshandedoutbyVancouverpolice to

cyclists for riding their bikesonsidewalks

1.4Inmillionsofdollars, the

amountClayHaeber allegesina lawsuit against theCityofVancouver that it has cost himfor refusing to transfer a licencetooperatea failedurban farm.

66Inmillionsofdollars, the

amount theprovincialMinistryofChildrenandFamily

Developmenthas spentonaboriginal servicesover the

past 12 years.

76Thenumberof cityblocksvolunteershelp cleanupaspart of theKeepVancouver

Spectacular initiativenow in its20thyear.

8Thenumberof different

mainstage showsat this year’srEvolver independent theatrefestival at theCultch running

May20-31.

Michael [email protected]

When I wrote last week’s columnafter seeing garbage piled up on thepavement along East Hastings Street, Iexpected a good number of responses.But I was still astonished by what manyof you had to say.Some online comments were in-

cluded in Friday’s Courier, including anote from Joji Kumagai of the Strath-cona BIA clarifying that the HastingsCrossing BIA is responsible for daytimecleaning of this portion of East Hast-ings Street, not his organization.Sarah P. was more critical: “Michael

Geller, your pearl clutching is embar-rassing. And if you’re this hard upfor column ideas, you might considerjust not submitting something, ratherthan turning in this kind of ideologicaldreck.”I did hear from Wes Regan, executive

director of the Hastings Crossing BIA.He initially was of the view shared bymany others; namely that my concernfor weeds and garbage outweighed anyconcern I might have for the people onthe street.I subsequently spoke with him. He

questioned how a BIA with the smallestbudget in the city could reasonably beexpected to keep the 100-block of EastHastings Street tidy, noting their entirebudget could be blown through in acouple of months.He referred me to the city’s street

cleaning and sanitation departmentssince he has often asked for more gar-bage cans but they never seem to arrive.I promised to mention this with thehope that my column might result inmore garbage cans along the street.He also pointed out that it is impor-

tant to distinguish between the regularsidewalk street vending along 100-blockand the Pigeon Park Street Market,which is relocating to a new site onPowell Street, adding: “If we want tosee cleaner, nicer, safer looking streets,we should eliminate poverty and workwith street vendors.”While I hope we do not have to end

poverty before we can have cleanerstreets, I do acknowledge anotherof Regan’s concerns, also indirectlyexpressed in Jordon Shaw’s Facebookcomment: “This isn’t clutter, this istheir living room. How would you likeit if someone took a picture of your liv-

ing room?”Low-income neighbourhood resi-

dents have steadily lost indoor spacesto socialize in over the past 15 years.The 24-hour diners have disappearedand mom and pop restaurants are beingpriced out of the neighbourhood. As aresult, a lot more people are looking forplaces to hang out.However, last week’s column and

the accompanying photograph werenot about the street vendors or peoplestanding around on the street. My con-cern was the garbage being allowed topile up on the road.While many defended the mess since

the people are poor, a local residentnamed Deirdre shared my view of thesituation. Poverty has nothing to dowith being dirty; it’s stereotypical tobelieve they go together.Last week’s column also elicited con-

cerns about other parts of the city.Jacqueline wrote: “Our streets down-

town are dirty as well! Have you everlooked around the Bay and seen andsmelt the urine? Granville Street is aw-ful!”While I heard similar concerns about

other neighbourhoods, I receivedencouraging words from the City ofVancouver.It seems Vancouver does have an

adopt-a-block program as part of theKeep Vancouver Spectacular (KVS)initiative and 76 blocks are beinglooked after.The program is in its 20th year, with

18,739 participants, and as part of thisyear’s kickoff and Tourism Vancouver’sannual cleanup, volunteers do coverpart of the Downtown Eastside.In addition, the Chinatown BIA is

doing a cleanup on May 24 and theCarnegie Centre organizes cleanupsthroughout the year. There is also onevolunteer that who lives in the neigh-bourhood who cleans up each Sundayafter the Pigeon Park Market.So there you have it. Yes, the

100-block East Hastings Street is a seri-ous problem that needs attention, butthe city-wide situation is not as grim asI may have portrayed.Now, if we could get more garbage

cans and additional funding for streetcleaning along Hastings Street, hope-fully I won’t have to write on this topicnext year.This will no doubt please Sarah P.

@michaelgeller

Responses to dirtystreets columnvary

Opinion

Jessica [email protected]

Every generation has its cross to bear.I hear this time and again when dis-

cussing the particular challenges of myGen Y cohorts (for those just tuning in:job instability, stagnant wages, skyrocket-ing education and housing costs, environ-mental degradation, to name but a few).Of course it’s true.Our parents had the Cold War to con-

tend with and the oil crisis. Their parentshad the Second World War, and so on.The thing that irks me, though, is when

this pithy truism is trotted out in orderto shut down any conversation regardingpossible solutions to the very real, veryworrying challenges faced by millennials.I’m not saying we have it worse than our

predecessors, although economic indicatorsdo point to us being in the first generationin history to be less prosperous than ourparents. But in revisionist history narra-tives, previous generations seem to havemanaged to get out of Dodge throughsheer gumption, determination andbootstrappiness. In reality, they had help.It took an international, intergenerationaleffort to end the Second World War, forinstance, and the era of economic prosper-ity peacetime ushered in made it easier forour parents to land stable, well-paying jobsthan any other generation in history.And yet, when it comes to the issues

facing young people in cities like Vancou-ver and Toronto — chief among themhousing prices — society at large seems tohave thrown up its hands and said: Yeahwell, that’s the way it is. Deal with it.And so we do. We cobble together ca-

reers out of contract jobs, scramble to paythe rent and convert pantries into nurser-ies for growing families. Up to now, mypreferred coping mechanism for this realityhas been acceptance in the form of Zen-likeindifference. But Eveline Xia has me won-dering if maybe we shouldn’t be so quick toacquiesce to a life of lowered expectations.“We seem to think we either have to

move or accept the status quo,” she toldme. “But you just look around the worldand there are so many examples of con-servative, free-market governments, likeHong Kong, who’ve stepped in [to thehousing market].”Indeed, as many as half of Hong Kong

residents live in some kind of subsidizedhousing, and in Australia a robust publichousing system eases the cost burden forlow and middle-income earners. Xia has

become somewhat of an expert in housingmarket interventions in the month since shevented her frustration on Twitter under thehashtag #Donthave1million. That tweet— her very first — quickly snowballed intoa powerful social media campaign that hasinstalled her as a leader in the crusade foraffordable housing. She sees many optionsfor intervention here, from preferentialproperty tax rates for local residents to therekindling of a national housing strategy.OnMay 24, she’ll be discussing them at anaffordable housing rally at the VancouverArt Gallery beginning at noon.Xia said she believes her tweets hit such

a nerve because they tapped into a genera-tion embarrassed to speak up about theirfinancial difficulties and fearful of beingtarred with the entitlement brush. Andthere’s certainly been a vibrant backlashskewering millennials for making theirown beds by being apathetic voters, orpainting us as spoiled children holding outfor white picket fences in the most expen-sive market in the world.It’s a predictable response, but it misses

the point. Sure, younger generations have arole to play in setting our own fortunes —voting in sufficient numbers would sure bea good start. But Xia makes the point thatwe’re not asking for multi-million dollarmansions. We simply need a few affordablehousing options that will allow us to raisefamilies in the communities where we live,work, and in many cases, grew up. In Xia’sview, it’s time to ask for — if not demand—the same courtesy other generations enjoyedin overcoming their challenging times: help.While Xia’s focus is on getting it from allthree levels of government, I’d add anothertarget group to the cause: our parents.They may not be able to lend us the

exorbitant sums required for a down pay-ment, but they can lend us their politicalclout. The simple reality is that until wedo start showing up to the ballot boxes enmasse this issue won’t get much attentionfrom the powers that be without an in-tergenerational effort. Rather than pittingyoung against old, I hope Sunday’s rallybrings us together in the aim of makingthe world a little easier for those who arestuck in the starting blocks. So if you’replanning on coming out, perhaps invitemom and dad along. And if you’re a littleskeptical that waving some signs will bringabout help on the scale we need, just takea cue from even further down the genera-tional spectrum. As my grandfather usedto say: it never hurts to ask.

@jm_barrett

Millennials shouldn’tlower expectations


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COUR IER ARCH IVES THIS WEEK IN HISTORY

May 17, 2010:Nearly sevenyearsafterapolice raidon theB.C. Legislature inconnectionwith the$1-billionsaleofB.C.Rail toprivate-sector rivalCNRail, the trialof then-ministerial aidesBobVirkandDaveBasibegins inB.C.SupremeCourt. Thetwowereaccusedofacceptingbribes froma lobbyist company representingoneof thepotentialbidders. Thesalewascontroversialbecause then-PremierGordonCampbell hadmadeanelectionpromisenot tosell thepubliclyownedrailwaybut,onceelected,his Liberal government insteadprivatized it.Basi andVirkbothoiginallypleadednotguiltybut, justasa long listofpowerful governmentandLiberalPartyinsiderswereabout to take thewitness stand, theyswitched theirpleas toguilty inexchange for theprovincial governmentpaying their $6-million legalbill. Theywereeachsentenced to twoyearsofhousearrest.

Basi-Virk corruption trial begins

WEB vancourier.comFACEBOOK TheVancouverCourierNewspaperTWITTER @vancouriernews

have your say online...

LETTERS TOTHE EDITOR

DTESmess amarket-drivenproblem, says councillorRe: “Vancouver needs a good spring

cleaning,” May 13.Michael Geller’s recent discovery of

garbage along the curb of the 100-blockEast Hastings St. resulted in two factualmistakes: first, the conclusion that “thereis now an area in our city which thesanitation department deems too danger-ous to keep clean during daytime” andsecondly, that the city lacks a volunteer-driven spring cleaning program.In fact, Keep Vancouver Spectacu-

lar, Vancouver’s neighbourhood-based,volunteer-driven program is now in its20th year and has been well under wayfor weeks.So far this year, more than 18,700 vol-

unteers have worked on 79 city blocks,collecting tons of litter. Chinatown’sclean-up is scheduled for May 24 andthe Downtown Eastside has already hadone event. Carnegie Centre does its ownperiodic clean-ups and a volunteer hasadopted Pigeon Park.But the city does not rely on volunteers

alone for street cleaning. Night timecleaning is often much more efficient,when people and cars are fewer. About18 per cent of the city’s street cleaningbudget is directed to the DowntownEastside, from Cambie Street to Camp-bell Avenue, with mechanical sweepingfour to seven nights a week and motorlitter cart cleaning seven days a week.In addition, the city supports social

enterprise initiatives through StreetGrants funding so groups like UnitedWe Can can do micro-cleaning of citylanes and streets through the DowntownEastside. These low-barrier jobs for localresidents provide two shifts, Monday toFriday, morning and afternoon.The litter Mr. Geller spotted prob-

ably originated with the informal streetmarket that has sprung up on that block.The city has been involved in intensiveefforts, working with the VPD, Vancou-ver Coastal Health, the community andmany stakeholders to find a safe newlocation for this activity. That work con-tinues, but the city has already conclud-ed that in the new location, there will beproactive measures to control garbageand vendors will be registered.Like all Vancouverites, we are proud

of our city and want to see it look itsbest.

Coun. Geoff Meggs, Vancouver

Showwealth-disparitycomplainers the doorRe: “Nice rich people don’t need poor

doors,” May 13.One more person blaming rich people

for having the nerve to live the way theywant. Thanks to those wealthy bastardsand those evil developers, poor peoplecan afford to live in a place with roof andrunning water in a city the people at CityHall have been obsessed with selling to theworld as the best place to live.I find people using the phrase “poor

door” are usually self-entitled persons whothink we all should have granite countersand soaker tubs but someone else shouldpay for them.Being poor is not a shame; whining and

demanding to have free stuff and expect-ing rich people to have “social responsibil-ity to their neighbours or the children ofour society”(after the hefty sums of moneypaid in taxes) is blatantly egotistic andirresponsible.

Mario Castanon, Vancouver

ONLINE COMMENTS

City needs newapproach topreserving old homesRe: “City’s anti-demolition policy is a

failure,” May 15.I can’t agree more with this article.

Instead of issuing restricting regula-tions on demolishing older homes, thecity should hold open discussions withhomeowners to know what would en-courage them to keep the homes stand-ing, how to make the best use of theirhouses and maintain the house to raiseits market value.If the house is too small on a big lot,

the city should allow extensions and addi-tions to raise the functionality and housevalue. If it’s a huge house on a small lot,allow multiple units or boarding houses.All should be done with ease as opposedto with great difficulty. The city has toput an effort to make these houses ap-pealing to own and maintain instead ofa burden to keep. The city will have tochange its attitude from policing home-owners to actually working with them tomaintain the heritage of our city.Look at Europe. Buildings and houses

are hundreds of years old, are in perfectfunction and their market value is sky-high not because some developer is go-ing to buy them and knock them downbut because they are spacious, they areupdated to reflect modern life use andmost importantly hold historical value.

A Vancouver Homeowner,via Comments section

Trip numbers aremisleadingRe: “Cycling getting trippy in Vancou-

ver,” May 15.Interesting. I’ve already encountered

people who said the count increase wasbiased. Now I can tell them in black andwhite how they got there. Or refer them tothe Courier.

donclaw, via Comments section

Feds shut down B.C. coho fisheryMay 21, 1998: Federal fisheriesminister David Anderson shuts down theB.C. Cohosalmon fishery, saying therewas scientific evidence that somewild stockswereclose to extinction, including runs on the Skeena and Thompson rivers. The bancameamid tense negotiationswith theU.S. over Pacific salmon fishing rights, withAlaska fishermenbeing accused of catching toomany fish returning to B.C. rivers tospawn.


Family

CALENDAR

Kathleen [email protected]

May23Upcycle, verb: to create

something out of a used ordiscarded product that hasmore value than the original.That’s exactly what some ofVancouver’s leading design-ers and fashion students didover the course of a two-month project. The chal-lenge was to create two orthree high fashion pieces outof used clothing. Come seetheir results at the UpcycledFashion Show, hosted byFrameworq. Tickets andinformation at frameworq.ca

May27It’s no secret that be-

tween different forms ofsocial media, a lot of ourpersonal information isavailable online. But howdo you manage all this in-formation? The VancouverPublic Library is hosting afree workshop on manag-ing and protecting youronline presence, exploring

social media, privacy andyour professional presence.The workshop is from 6:30to 8 p.m. at the Centrallibrary branch. Reservationsrequired, call 604-331-3603to reserve a spot.

May28Did you know that B.C.

produces 75 per cent ofthe world’s jade supply? Inhonour of B.C. Jade Day on

May 28, the public is invitedto a free screening ofCircleof Life, a film about one ofthe world’s most interestinggemstones and the peoplewhomine and carve it. Res-ervations are recommendedand jade-coloured drinkswill be served. The eventwill take place at BeaumontStudios. See bcjadeday.eventzilla.net for reservationsand information.

May29Vancouver’s inaugural

TedxWomen event will belive in Gastown. Com-munity leaders will delivertalks riffing on this year’stheme, “fearless.” Bringyour mom, aunt, sisteror daughter to hear whatVancouverites — fromauthors to entrepreneurs— have to say. The eventis from 3-9 p.m. Tickets

available at tedxgastown-women.com.

May30Hawkes pop-up mar-

ket and food celebrationbrings the best of nationaland international foodto Vancouver. Featuringshows, chefs and the “mostunique” food Vancouverhas to offer, guests areinvited to party until theearly hours of the morningat the Rocky Mountaineer.Best of all, admission is free!See hawkersmarket.com fordates, times and tasty treatson offer.

May30-31Everyone knows sum-

mer is the time to take offto somewhere new andexotic. But with the cost ofplane tickets, many of us arehomebound for the sunniestof seasons. No need to fear— the Vancouver Euro-pean Festival is bringing alittle taste of Europe to us.Representing more than 30countries, learn about theculture, music, and food,of Europe. Festival ticketsare $10. Complete line-ups,

tickets and events found ateuropeanfestival.ca

June 5Love JohnHughes? One of

themost important directorsof the 1980s directed onlyeight movies, but classicslikeThe Breakfast Club, FerrisBueller’s Day Off andHomeAlone have become cultclassics. Attend the openingreception ofWe’re All PrettyBizarre an art show dedicatedto paying tribute to his work,from 7 to 11 p.m. on June 5.The show runs June 4 to 27.Visit hotartwetcity.com formore information. Bueller?

June6Bring the family down

to Oak Park inMarpolefrom 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. fora longstandingMarpoletradition. Worth venturingto find from as far awayas downtown, the day willhave rides, entertainmentand snacks for the kids. Thefestival features free admis-sion and takes place at theMarpole-Oakridge Com-munity Centre. See mar-poleoakridge.ca for moreinformation.

Remade fashion, online safety and food

Protecting yourself onlinewill be the focus of a freeworkshop at the central branch of the VancouverPublic Library. PHOTODANTOULGOET


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Family

Shannon [email protected]

Three weeks ago, DavidShannon had to say good-bye to his baby daughter.Elizabeth passed away

on April 22 because ofa knot in her umbilicalcord. She was expectedto be born a month laterby caesarean. But afterShannon’s wife couldn’tfeel her baby moving,she went to the hospital.When Shannon and theirtwo daughters came tomeet his wife there, theultrasound showed noheartbeat.They got to hold her for

the first and last time.“We had our moment

of absolute despair andtragedy,” said Shannon.“We got to hold Elizabethfor over 24 hours before itwas time.”After such an immense

loss, the family wantsto give back. Shannon’sfive-year-old daughterMila is donating her long,blonde hair to Wigs forKids, a charity for childrenwith cancer. In just over a

week, the North Vancou-ver couple has already re-ceived $3,300. Their goalwas a grand. Shannon saidit’s been overwhelming.“The grief has been

overwhelming, the losshad been overwhelming,”he said.“We have everything

set up for this baby tocome home and it’s gone.That’s been completelyoverwhelming and thenyou get this response ...And that’s been over-whelming because you’rejust like, ‘whoa, there aresome amazing people outthere.’”Shannon and his wife,

Caitlin Grange, bothteachers, took to socialmedia to get the wordout about their story andcause. Through Facebook,Twitter and communitygroups, they’ve receiveda lot of support fromfriends, family, colleagues,and even from strangers.“We’ve had strangers

come to the house anddeliver food,” he said.“There isn’t enough

words to describe how

grateful we are for all theircompassion and supportat this time.”Mila is having her hair

cut on May 21, the dayElizabeth was expectedto arrive. Shannon said“a good chunk” — six toeight inches of Mila’s hair,which now falls to themiddle of her back, willbe cut off. She’ll have thecut at Avant Garde HairStudio in Yaletown.

“Her hair is that white,golden blonde, that pre-cious golden colour,” saidShannon. “So hopefully

there will be some kid outthere who will really enjoythis set of hair.”All the money donated

will go towards Wigs forKids, which is set upthrough B.C. Children’sHospital. Shannon saidthough Mila might notcompletely understand ev-erything about the moneyand overall significancethat her haircut means,but that in time she will.“We’re just incredibly

proud of her handlingElizabeth’s passing andwhat’s she’s doing rightnow. I think that in theyears to come she’ll realizethat how big this was andhow important it was togive something back.”For those interested in

donating, search for MilaShannon’s name in theWigs for Kids page on theB.C. Children’s Hospitalwebsite.

@shannon1726

Girl donates hair to remember sister

David Shannon, Mila, 5, Caitlin Grange, and Juliette, 2, hold baby Elizabeth for the first and last timeafter she passedway froma knot in her umbilical cord threeweeks ago.


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Living

Sandra [email protected]

SpanishBanksMore than 200 walks in

support of Canadians withphysical and medical dis-abilities take place acrossCanada May 31, includingan event at Spanish Banks.The annual event, spon-

sored by Purina Walk forDog Guides, raises fundsfor the Lions Foundationof Canada Dog Guides, anational charitable organi-zation that breeds, trainsand places service dogswith qualifying applicants.The walk in Vancouver wasorganized by the Vancou-ver Burrard Lions Club,a strong supporter of thefoundation. This is the 30thanniversary of the walk.The Purina Walk for

Dog Guides has gainedsteady momentum overthe past three decades,last year raising more than$1.16 million. Thanks tolead sponsor Nestlé PurinaPet Care, 100 per cent offunds raised go directly todog guide programs, off-setting the cost of breed-ing, training and placingthe animals. The walk isa family and dog-friendlyevent, suitable for all agesand abilities. A dog is notnecessary to participate.Registration takes place

at 9 a.m., May 31, at the

East Concession at Span-ish Banks. The walk be-gins at 10 a.m. To registeror for more informationvisit purinawalkfordog-guides.com.

DowntownJoin Beauty Night

staff and volunteers fora unique night of min-gling and networkingcombined with all yourfavourite beauty services.Drink wine and connectwhile getting a blowout, aDermalogica MicroZoneskin treatment, back mas-sage, make-up touch upand manicure and, moreimportantly, find out howit feels to help the womenof the Downtown EastSide through the magic ofBeauty Night. The BeautyNight Society builds self-esteem and changes livesof impoverished womenand youth through threestreams of programmingwellness, life skill develop-ment and makeovers.All proceeds from the

event will be dedicated toBeauty Night’s mandate ofwomen helping women.Thanks to 500 volunteers,

in the past 14 years BeautyNight has been responsiblefor 50,000 life-changingmakeovers. The event takesplace from 6 to 8 p.m.Thursday, May 21, at Der-malogica, Suite 332-1177

West Hastings St. Visitbeautynight.org for moreinformation and tickets.

Various locationsThis weekend, owners

of four LowerMainlandgreenhouses are inviting thepublic to see for themselvesjust where much of theirfood comes from and how somuch can be produced fromso little — and for so long.To visit a B.C. greenhouse

is an opportunity to see first-hand scientific solutions tothe time-and-space restraintson food production thathave challenged humankindsince the start of agricul-ture. In B.C., greenhouseproduction of flowers andvegetables accounts for 21per cent of total agricultureproduction. That produc-tion occurs on only 1/100of one per cent of all theprovince’s agricultural land.As well, in B.C. greenhouseproduction puts fresh localvegetables on the kitchentable 10 months of the year.The tours are in conjunctionwith B.C. Veggie Day,May23, an initiative supportedby the provincial govern-ment’s Buy Local Programdelivered by the InvestmentAgriculture Foundation ofB.C. with funding from theagriculture ministry. Visitbcgreenhousegrown.com fortimes and locations.

@sthomas10

Walk for the dogs


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Living

HEALTHWISE

DavidicusWongdavidicuswong.wordpress.com.

There are periods in ourlives when we feel stuck inthe middle. These are the inbetween times when we feelfar from where we want tobe in life.It can be when we’re

young and single; whenwe’re in high school, tryingto get into a good post-secondary program or justtrying to figure out what wewant to do with our lives. Itcan be the mom who can’twait until her toddlers arein school so that she can getsome of her personal lifeback. Then there’s mid-lifewhen we longingly thinkback to those very timeswhen we were young andmost of life was ahead of us.Med school was one of

those in between times forme. Often what we weredoing was far removed fromour goals. Though I hadmany good preceptors, somewere not great teachers andtreated students poorly.I just made it through one

surgical rotation after gettingon the bad side of my pre-ceptor. As we were transfer-ring a patient from gurney tooperating table, the sedatedpatient passed gas.I asked, “Was that the pa-

tient . . . or someone else?”The surgeon said, “It’s

usually the first person whomentions it.”I foolishly said, “It’s usu-

ally the first one who blamessomeone else.”Unhappiness arises from

the gap between what wehave and what we want.When my patients need a

reminder to appreciate thegood things in their lives,I ask, “What is it we don’twant?” After a momentof surprise, they usuallystart listing bad things theywould like to avoid.But the answer of course

is that we don’t want whatwe already have.We want what we don’t

have — something we want

in the future or somethingwe’ve lost in the past.We take what we have

for granted.But sometimes what we

want is something better forourselves— communicatingbetter with others, stron-ger personal relationships,feeling more engaged inour work and our studies,enjoying a healthier lifestyle.Maybe what we want is abetter world— solutions topoverty, disease, injusticeand other forms of suffering.So when we’re unhappy,

we have three choices.1. Do nothing and stayunhappy. 2. Learn to lovewhat we have. 3. Take stepstoward positive change tocreate a better life.At a physician leadership

conference last week, I sawan empowering aphorismon a colleague’s notebook:Accept what you cannotchange; change what youcannot accept.Every day in my office, I

treat patients who bring theirlists of problems to be solved.Sometimes the problems aredifficulties quitting smoking,losing weight and eating ahealthier diet. Sometimesthey are uncomfortablepsychological states, such asanxiety, anger, depression orlow self esteem.In the case of lifestyle

changes, the greatest chal-lenges are old habits. Theman who wants to quitsmoking repeatedly fightsagainst the habitual patternof smoking in response toold triggers. The one who isstruggling with anger replaysthe thoughts that reinforcehis sense of being right andfeeling justified in his anger.With depression and

anxiety, we can be preoc-cupied with those nega-tive feelings, fight thembut replaying the verythoughts that reinforcethem. Thinking that we’llnever be happy, reinforcesfeelings of hopelessness.Thinking that somethingbad will happen, reinforc-es anxiety.The first step to posi-

tive change is to set a cleargoal. Ask, “What do Ireally want?”Once you’ve articulated

your goal, you can breakthat big goal into thenecessary but small, man-ageable steps, and whenyou successfully completeeach successive step, yourconfidence grows and youmove steadily in the direc-tion of your dreams.The crucial ingredient is

the power of visualization.Visualization allows you

to clearly see your goal.When done effectively —

not only using visual im-ages (seeing yourself havingachieved your goal) but allof your senses and feel-ings – you create a blueprintfor success. You engageyour subconscious mindand consciously create newhabits of thinking aboutyourself and your future.To get me through the in

between times of medicalschool, I started using hyp-nosis tapes from the publiclibrary. Most useful was arecording on relieving stressand anxiety by well-knownpsychologist, Dr. Lee Pulos.By amazing coincidence

(that some would call syn-chronicity), Dr. Lee Puloswill be teaching a workshopon “The Power of Visualiza-tion” from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.on Saturday,May 23 at theVancouverMasonic Hall1495West Eighth Ave. Thisseminar is open to both thepublic as well as health pro-fessionals. The cost is $175/person.Formore information,

contact the Canadian Societyof Clinical Hypnosis (BC) at(604) 688-1714 or hypnosis.bc.ca.Dr. Davidicus Wong is a

family physician. You canread more about achiev-ing your positive potentialin health at davidicuswong.wordpress.com.

Visualize for positive change

In the case of lifestyle changes, the greatest challenges are old habits. Themanwhowants to quitsmoking repeatedly fights against the habitual pattern of smoking in response to old triggers.


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©2015 Mercedes-Benz Canada Inc. Lease offer based on 2015 2500 144" Cargo Van (Stock #S1501913). National MSRP $41,300 *Total price of $44,960 includes freight/PDI of $2,895, dealer admin fee of $595, air-conditioning levy of $100, PPSA up to $45.48 and a$25 fee covering EHF tires. **Additional options, fees and taxes are extra. 1Lease example based on $510 per month (excluding taxes) for 60 months. Lease APR of 4.99% applies on approved credit. Down payment or equivalent trade of $5,000, plus first payment andapplicable taxes are due at lease inception. Cost of borrowing is $6,186. Total obligation is $39,910. Lease offer only valid through Mercedes-Benz Financial Services. 2Please note the $5,000 discount has been applied/included in the calculation of the monthly leasepayment, it is only valid on 2015 Sprinter Cargo Vans delivered before May 31, 2015. †Three years of scheduled maintenance covers the first 3 factory scheduled maintenance services or 3 years, whichever comes first; and is available only through finance and leasethrough Mercedes-Benz Financial Services. Scheduled maintenance interval for model year 2015 Mercedes-Benz Sprinter is the earlier of 1 year or 25,000 km. The specific maintenance services included are described in the applicable Owner’s/Operator’s Manual andService/Maintenance Booklet. 3Extended Limited Warranty covers up to 6 years or 160,000 km (whichever comes first) and has a value of $1,895. Only applicable on lease and finance offers. Offers are non-transferable, non-refundable and have no cash value. 4Basedon a comparison of the Automotive News classification of full-size commercial vans. 5Based on Greenhouse Gas Emissions Standard Testing of 2014 model year Sprinter 2500 cargo van, 144"wheel base, standard roof, at 50% load capacity, and at highway/city speedsaccording to the standards of the “CONTROL OF EMISSIONS FROM NEW HEAVY–DUTY MOTOR VEHICLES [Title 40 Code of Federal Regulations – Part 1037]” as conducted by Mercedes-Benz in September 2013. Stated fuel consumption based on highway drivingcycle. Your actual fuel consumption may vary. Not for comparison purposes. Fuel efficiency test results determined using Government of Canada approved test methods are not available. Offers may change without notice and cannot be combined with any other offers.Certain limitations apply. Vehicle license, insurance, and registration are extra. Dealer may lease or finance for less. Offers may change without notice and cannot be combined with any other offers. See your authorized Mercedes-Benz Boundary Vans Centre for detailsor call the Mercedes-Benz Vans Sales Centre at 604-676-3778. Offer valid until May 31, 2015.

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THIS MONTH ONLY

1. Showcasing new works from emerg-ing theatre artists, the rEvolver TheatreFestival takes over the Cultch May 20 to31. Plays include The Art of Building aBunker, Caws & Effect, Double Recessive,Hell of a Girl and The Progressive Polygamistsamong others. For tickets and details, go toupintheairtheatre.com/revolver-festival orthe cultch.com.

2. Three-man musical ensemble theAl-loy Orchestra performs a live score toaccompany the screening of the twisted1924 silent filmHeWho Gets Slapped.Starring Lon Chaney as a sad-sack clownwho relives the greatest humiliation of hislife, day after day, the live film event screensMay 21, 7:30 p.m. at Vancity Theatre.Details at viff.org.

3.Hailing from Queens, New York, bigand bearded rapperAction Bronsonbrings the goods to the Vogue TheatreMay 21, 8 p.m. in support of his full-lengthmajor label debut,Mr. Wonderful. Ticketsat ticketfly.com.

4. Lisa C. Ravensbergen and ThomasHauff star inGod and the Indian. Setagainst the backdrop of Canada’s Truthand Reconciliation Commission, DrewHayden Taylor’s play explores what is pos-sible when the abused meets the abuser andis given a free forum for expression. It runsMay 20 to 30 at the Firehall Arts Centre.For tickets and more information, call 604-689-0926 or go to firehallartscentre.ca.

Arts&Entertainment GOTARTS? 604.738.1411 or [email protected]

May 20 to 22, 2015

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Arts&Entertainment

STATEOFTHEARTSCheryl [email protected]

The grandmother speaksfrom the belly of the beastin Boca Del Lupo’s con-temporary take on Little RedRiding Hood.She remarks on how

scary wolves look from theoutside but how empty thewolf is on the inside.“And what it must be like

to be a wolf and have every-body be afraid of you,” saidBoca Del Lupo’s artisticproducer, Jay Dodge.The reimagined fairytale,

called Big Bad, will pre-miere at the VancouverInternational Children’sFestival, May 26 to 31.Boca Del Lupo’s artis-

tic director Sherry J Yoonand Dodge consultedwith a child psychologistand students in Grades 1to 4 in the making of thismultimedia production thatwas commissioned for thefestival.“Empathy is a big part

of dealing with danger andfear, understanding wherethe other person is comingfrom, and it’s really funny,”Dodge said.The grandmother,

played by award-winningplaywright and actor LuciaFrangione, refers to Wikipe-

dia while she’s in the wolf’sbelly and notes wolves don’tactually eat people.“The more you know, the

less there is to be afraid of,”Dodge said.A movie-like segment of

the production features awoodsman, a “bumblingboob” according to Dodge,who uses a selfie stick and

live feed akin to Skype orFacetime to take the audi-ence on a journey outsidethe theatre.The mother character will

get audiences involved inhelping her craft a monsterwith paper and live video.What danger looks like

today isn’t as simple as itperhaps was when CharlesPerrault penned Little RedRiding Hood,which was

published in 1697.“Wolves don’t look like

wolves so much anymore,when you think about Inter-net predators,” Dodge said.He and Yoon wanted to

explore the tension betweenkeeping your child safewithout making them afraidof the world in the show,which is meant to appeal toaudiences of all ages.Big Bad’s creators hope

the fun and engaging per-formance will provide par-ents, teachers and kids witha vocabulary to refer back toin discussions about safetyand potential dangers.Boca Del Lupo combines

its fearlessness in telling sto-ries with technological so-phistication, as it did draw-ing on real-life accounts ofconflict photographers withPHOTOG., its know-how

in creating all-ages pro-ductions as it has done atStanley Park and beneaththe Burrard Street Bridge,and its love of collaborationto create Big Bad.“We get a lot of energy

out of working with peoplefrom different disciplines,”Dodge said. “That’s whatkeeps it surprising anddelightful both for us in thecreation process but alsoI think it translates to theaudience as well, it takes itto the stage.”Mara Gottler, co-founder

of and costume designer forBard on the Beach, fash-ioned the costumes for BigBad, and craft artist ValerieThai helped Boca Del Lupodesign the monster-makingsegment.Boca Del Lupo also

presents a Micro Perfor-mance Series that supportsthe creation and develop-ment of new works bylocal, national and interna-tional artists working acrossdisciplines in intimate andsmall-scale forms at theAnderson Street Space onGranville Island. The nextinstallment, May 28 to 30,is I Think I Can, an interac-tive model railway instal-lation by Terrapin PuppetTheatre from Australia.Big Bad will run at the

Granville Island RevueStage. For more informa-tion, see childrensfestival.caor bocadellupo.com.

@Cheryl_Rossi

BocaDel Lupo shows empathy for thewolfBig Bad updates Little Red Riding Hood with modern, interactive flair at Children’s Fest

BigBad, BocaDel Lupo’s contemporary takeon LittleRedRidingHood, premieresat theVancouver InternationalChildren’s Festival,whichrunsMay26 to31.


Arts&Entertainment

THEATREREVIEWJo [email protected]

For one fleetingmoment Ithought, “Oh, a new, locallycreatedmusical about theHeights”— that lively stretchof East Hastings chockablockwith delis, eateries, freshproduce stores, used books,a great hardware store andcoffee bars galore.But of course, the titular

“Heights” is a run-downnorthern Manhattan neigh-bourhood in New YorkCity with its predominantpopulation of Dominican-Americans.With music and lyrics by

Lin-Manuel Miranda andbook by Quiara AlegríaHudes, In the Heights wasnominated for 13 TonyAwards, winning four,including Best Musical,Best Original Score andBest Choreography. It wasalso nominated for the 2009Pulitzer Prize for Dramabut was beaten out by GinaGionfriddo’s ferociouslygritty Becky Shaw. Not inthe same dramatic ball-park as Becky Shaw, In theHeights is a fine musicalwith a happy ending.The action happens over

three hot days in July in theHeights, and choreogra-pher Lisa Stevens cranks itup with sizzling salsa andcalorie-burning breakdanc-ing. Outstanding in the“busting a move” depart-ment are Julia Harnett,Alexandra MacLean, Julio

Fuentes (dance captain),Michael Culp and hot asa jalapeno pepper ElenaJuatco (Vanessa).Costume designer Car-

men Alatorre cuts loosein the Fourth of July clubscene with skimpy, body-clinging dresses in the red/yellow/orange palette; everywiggle gets the layers of frillsshaking.Set designer Ted Roberts

puts us on a street withinview of the WashingtonBridge (all a-twinkle atnight): a “bodega” (cornerstore that sells Lotto tick-ets), Daniela’s Salon andRosario’s cab station. Abovethe storefronts are old bricktenements. The band,

under the direction of KenCormier, sits elevated stageright behind a scrim.The glue that sticks this

together over two-and-a-half hours is composedof intertwining love sto-ries: Usnavi (appealinglygoofy Luc Roderique) andVanessa (Elena Juatco),Benny (Chris Sams) andNina (Kate Blackburn),Nina’s parents Kevin(Francisco Trujillo) andCamila (CaitrionaMurphy),and everyone else loves oldAbuela (Sharon Crandall).Daniela, the hairdresser witha heart of gold, is played byIrene Karas Loeper.In Bill’s Notes (a Coles

Notes knock-off available

in the lobby and well wortha read), Bill Millerd, ArtsClub artistic managingdirector and director of IntheHeights says, “Casting

the showwith Vancouver-basedmusic theatre artistswas a challenge consideringnot only the setting for thepiece but also the demandsof the type of music andlyrics that Lin-Manuel haswritten. Not everyone cando hip hop or rap.” But thelarger challenge is the paucityof Latino theatre artists inthis town. The cast does itsbest, but it would be reallyfabulous to see it with a castof Dominican-Americanor Puerto Rican-Americansingers and dancers. There’sjust a little somethingmissinghere. One of my favouritesongs, “Enough,” is sung byCaitrionaMurphy, ostensi-bly— but not believably— aPuerto Rican immigrant.Murphy does a terrific job ofthis song, telling her husbandand squabbling daughter“enough,” but we have toimagine the character, Ca-mila Rosario, as a passionateLatino woman blazing away.It’s a stretch.The songs, while beauti-

fully sung, are not memo-

rable and not every ear istuned to catch all the wordsin some of the rap numbers.There are times when Iwished for surtitles althoughI know the language beingsung is English.But In the Heights is a

heartwarming story. Nina,having dropped out of Stan-ford, will go back to schooland, with luck, she will stilllove Benny after she gets herBA. Usnavi and Vanessawill settle down together;Kevin and Camila will enjoyretirement; and Abuela —because she’s just so darnednice and cheery and gener-ous with her money—willgo to heaven for her reward.It’s lively and colourful;

it will try to convince youthat no matter where youlive —West Vancouver orthe Downtown Eastside–there’s no place like home.For more reviews, go to

joledingham.ca.In the Heights is at the

Stanley until June 7. Fortickets, call 604-687-1644 orgo to artsclub.com.

In theHeights is a cultural stretch forArts ClubTony Award-winning musical set in largely Dominican-American neighbourhood of NYC’sWashington Heights

TheArtsClub’s lively andcolourfulmusical In theHeights runsuntil June7at theStanley.

KUDOS&KVETCHESTrifecta of lossIt’s been an emotional

week here at K&K head-quarters. On Friday, theIrish rock band U2 closedout a two-night stand atRogers Arena and leftVancouver to embark on aworldwide tour. On Sundaynight, television seriesMadMen came to an end withthe surprising conclusionthat Don Draper inventedthe latest incarnation of Mc-Donald’s sketchy lookingmascot the Hamburglar. Orat least we think that’s whathappened (we drank a fewtoo many Old Fashioneds atourMadMen-themed partyof one). And onWednes-day, iconic late night talkshow host David Lettermanwill finally call it a day after33 years. Here’s a rundown

of what we’ve lost this weekand what we’ll miss.Name of the departed:

U2.Why they left us:To

make more money, pro-mote that album that keepsshowing up on our iPhoneeven though we keep delet-ing the songs, to find whatthey’re looking for.What we’ll miss the

most:Tweets about bandsightings at Chambar, sto-ries about tweets about bandsightings at Chambar, thatvideo of guitarist the Edgefalling off the stage andheadline writers’ hamfistedattempts to pull off an Edgetumbling over an edge pun.

Name of the departed:MadMen.Why it left us: the series

had run its course, the showdidn’t have the budget to fitthe entire cast with authen-

tic 1970s-era pubic hairtoupees, the Hammacondaneeds to be free!What we’ll miss the

most: the way Don Draperwould sharply say “what?”and then stare blankly intothe distance like a spiritu-ally bankrupt ghost, RogerSterling’s new moustache,creepy Glen.

Name of the departed:David Letterman.Why he left us: to spend

more time with his wifeand son in rural Montana,escape the blinding glarefrom Paul Shaffer’s shinyhead, travel back in time tokill Jay Leno.What we’ll miss the

most: our faded youth thatonce gave us the ability, en-durance and stamina to stayup late enough to watchLetterman.

@KudosKvetches


SATURDAY, JUNE 6, 20159:30 a.m. - 4 p.m.

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ATHLETICS

Megan [email protected]

Playing a high-speedgame of hide-and-seek tagduring recess at GeneralWolfe elementary, the twofastest kids in the schoolyard grew up to be citychampion sprinters.Conny Bregman andMat-

thewChan were almost un-touchable, swiftly racing eachother down in a children’sversion ofManhunt morethan half a decade ago.“She’d come really close

to catching me,” saidChan, 18.“He’d always be the last

one left,” said Bregman,who’d catch him “everynow and again.”Bregman and Chan won

gold, she for the HamberGriffins in the girls 100mfinal and he for Lord Byngin the boys 100m finalat the city track and fieldchampionships, hostedat UBC on May 11 bythe Vancouver SecondarySchool Athletic Associa-tion for public schools.Winning the event in

12.72 seconds, Bregmanshaved off time to reacha new personal best anddroppedmore than half asecond from the 13.21 resultthat clinched her the goldmedal last year as a Grade 11student. At the 2014 provin-cial championships, Breg-man finished sixth in B.C.At the B.C. high school

championship next monthin Langley, she feels pres-sure to make the top eightand even wear the Griffinsmaroon and teal blue onthe podium, but will bepleased with running fasterthan she’s run before.“As long as I’m improv-

ing, I’m happy,” said theathlete who will study atLangara in the fall.Bregman also won the

200m sprint and long jumpat the city championship,beating the silver-medallistby 59 seconds to win with a

time of 25.85 and out-jump-ing the closest competitor by24 centimetres to win with adistance of 5.13 metres.She ran second in the

4x100 relay to help propelHamber to a fifth-placefinish at the city meet andtied Vancouver Techni-cal’s Hannah Johnston forthe best-overall aggregatewith 30 points each.

Chan — racing for LordByng where he is en-rolled in a specialty musicprogram and plays thetrumpet — ran the 100min 11.23 seconds, beatingthe second-place finisherby a quarter of a second,more than the .22 secondshe outpaced his closestcompetitor in the 200m.He covered the longer

distance in 23.41, not apersonal best but enoughto win and save a little forthe 4x400m relay, whichLord Byng finished off thepodium in fourth.He also jumped 6.10

metres to win gold in theboys long jump.For his three gold med-

als and other high-placingresults, Chan won the

boys aggregate with 30points, two more thanteammate Kieran Lumb’s28. Chan has broughthome the best-over-all ag-gregate prize in Grade 8,10 and now 12. In everyyear except last when hewas injured, Chan haswon the 200m sprint.At provincials, Chan is

eyeing a top-three finish

on the track.“I really want to get on

the podium again,” hesaid. “It’s incredible tohear your name called andhear people cheer.”He is committed toWest-

ernUniversity next year andhas been offered a spot onthe track and field team byDerrick Johnston, theMus-tangs coach and formerlyChan’s club coach with theVancouver Thunderbirds.Bregman doesn’t train

with a club, but insteadworks at twice or thriceweekly school practicesunder Hamber coach Sta-cey McEachern, and playsfield hockey in the fall andbasketball in the winter forthe Griffins.The athletic director at

Hamber says Bregmanis one of the most natu-rally gifted athletes to comethrough the school’s doors.“Her physical literacy iseverything a P.E. teacher orcoach could ask for,” saidHamber’s Inderpal Sehmbi.“She can do everything,”In addition to their

shared elementary schoolon Ontario Street not farfrom Hillcrest Commu-nity Centre, Bregman andChan both have older sib-lings that influenced themin the same, key way.Bregman’s older brother

Isaac and Chan’s older sis-ter Florence ran track andsprinted for their schools.The younger siblings tooknote.“I wanted to be like

him,” said Bregman, whopicked up her brother aftertrack practice on the sameblack, hard-top track thatshe uses now.“She came home with

a pair of spikes,” saidChan, remembering hissister’s high school career.“I didn’t know what theywere but I wanted a pair.”He watched a video of

his sister crouching intoform, ready to take off at thegun. “She exploded fromthe blocks,” said Chan. “Itwas just amazing.”

@MHStewart

Playground speedsters grow into goldWinners at city track and field championships

Conny Bregman andMatthewChan—of the Eric Hamber Griffins and Lord Byng Grey Ghosts, respectively— are the 100m, 200mandlong jump city champions. They compete nextmonth at the B.C. track and field championship in Langley.PHOTODANTOULGOET

The B.C. high school trackand field championships runJune 4 to 6 at McLeod Park inLangley, drawing some of thetop competition from aroundthe province. The combinedevents of heptathlon anddecathlon run May 22 and 23at the same venue.Vancouver’s brightest

includeConnyBregmanand

MatthewChan, both the city’sall-roundaggregatewinnersat the senior agegroupat theVancouverSecondarySchoolAthletic Association champion-shipMay11. The sprinterswillcompete in the100mand200mevents, plus the long jumpandpossibly various relays.HannahJohnston,aVanTech

TalismanwhotiedBregman

for theall-aroundaward,wongold in the100mhurdles,400mhurdlesandthetriple jump.Her time of 1 minute,

04.01 seconds in the longerhurdle event is the fastestrecorded time since 2008,when records started. Sinceswitching to triple jump fromlong jump this year, her 10.71meter result was also the

best recorded.Johnston, a Grade 11 stu-

dent, medalled at the juniorlevel, taking gold in the 300mhurdles and is a podiumfavourite this year.Kieran Lumb, Chan’s team-

mate at Lord Byng and alsoin Grade 12, won the seniorboys 1500mmiddle-distancerun and took silver in the

3000m event behind JulesVern harrier Simeo Pont.At the juvenile age group,

still with four years aheadof her in high school, JulieKawaii Herdman, at the citymeet won the high jump,long jump and 200m sprint.Killarney’s Grade 10 stand-

out, Joe Laird, won the juniorboys aggregate by taking the

javelin, shot put and longjump despite starting onlythis season.Paul Fischer, a Grade 9

Tupper Tiger, won the 400mand 800mevents, but alsomade a remarkable statementin the long jump. His 5.83distance took gold in his agegroup, butwas secondonly toChan’s at the senior level.

City’s best prepares to meet B.C.’s brightest


vancouver courier may 20 2015

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