Grow-op appeals now possible

Matthew Hoekstra, Staff Reporter

Owners of properties used to cultivate drugs will be on the hook for thousands of dollars in costs if busted by the police, but will now have the right to appeal the fees.

The proposed “property maintenance and repair (grow op) bylaw” was first tabled at the May 9 city council meeting but referred to staff.

The revised bylaw, presented to a council committee Monday, includes an appeals process and will be considered by council June 13 for first, second and third readings. Council is expected to quickly give final approval to the bylaw so it will come into effect July 1.

The bylaw allows the city to collect all costs associated with busting marijuana grow ops and amphetamine production labs, including RCMP, Richmond Fire-Rescue, city hall and cleanup costs.

With fees such as $300 for city administration and inspection, $250 for a re-occupancy permit, $300 per hour for a fire truck and hourly wages of police, fire and city staff, the total bill could run into the thousands of dollars.

The appeals process allows property owners to dispute an invoice in front of city council, which would have the right to confirm, cancel or reduce the fee.

Landlords will only have to pay the drug bust fees if regular inspections are not done.

Landlords are required to conduct inspections once every three months and give written notice to tenants as outlined in the Residential Tenancy Act.

According to community bylaws manager Don Pearson, the bylaw is meant to dissuade people from allowing their rental properties to be used as grow operations.

Having a ball

Martin van den Hemel, Staff Reporter

The Richmond RCMP’s regimental ball on Saturday raised $25,000 to support a program aimed at steering Richmond’s youth away from drugs.

Local dignitaries, including Richmond Mayor Malcolm Brodie, Richmond MP Raymond Chan and Richmond-East MLA Linda Reid, joined Richmond RCMP Supt. Ward Clapham for the fundraiser at the Ramada Inn that included a silent auction and an inspirational speech by Vancouver Olympic boss John Furlong.

Furlong spoke about the unique opportunity locals have to foster the Olympic spirit through not just the construction of the speed skating oval on River Road—which he promised would be the premiere athletic facility of its kind in the world—but by conveying to our children the importance of living up to our promises and the values that the Olympics holds most dear: equality, brotherhood, fair play, participation and cooperation.

Entertainment for the evening came in the form of Luisa Marshall as Tina Turner and Riley Inge, formerly of The Temptations.

Turner’s tunes had the ballroom rocking and the dance floor packed.

Richmond RCMP Cpl. Peter Thiessen thanked the local corporate community, which donated items for the silent auction as well as two eye-popping raffle prizes: a trip for two to anywhere in the world that Air Canada flies, and a Vancouver-Jasper VIA Rail trip that included hotel accommodations and return transportation.

The beneficiary of the evening was D.A.R.E., (Drug Abuse Resistence Education) an RCMP program that arms children in Grades 5/6 with information about how to resist the temptation of drugs and alcohol.

The anti-drug program is a co-operative effort between the community, schools and the police, with a curriculum that includes presentations on the effects of drug use and abuse, ways to recognize and resist pressure to experiment with tobacco, alcohol and other drugs, while also bolstering self esteem and interpersonal skills.

Jimmy Ng hockey tourney scores $10,000

Martin van den Hemel, Staff Reporter

This year’s Jimmy Ng Memorial Road Hockey Tournament was the most successful ever, with more than $10,000 raised for the RCMP’s anti-drug education program.

While in one sense it was more of the same—with Agent Orange again flashing their ball-handling and goal-scoring superiority with a win in the finals over the RCMP’s C-Watch—organizer Bob Baziuk was delighted with the way the community rallied together to raise this event to new heights.

Baziuk offered kudos to the more than two dozen volunteers who helped the tourney run without a hitch. The third annual two-day tournament raised a total of $10,687. The money was raised through the tourney’s registration, concession stand sales, donated door prizes, a 50/50 draw and corporate donations.

Under the weekend’s blazing sun, only a handful of referees (Jack Evans, Bryson Davies, Jordan Davies, Chris Faulder, Tom Forbes, who were joined by head referee and timekeeper Brian Davies) worked tirelessly to keep an eye on the games to ensure testosterone didn’t drown out fair play. Eric Gilfillan served as the head statistician and emcee.

Save-on-Foods, which finished second last year in a final’s loss to Agent Orange, took third on Sunday.

Midway through Saturday’s games, a new twin-engine Zodiac boat was unveiled for the Coast Guard Auxiliary Unit No. 7 during a special ceremony. Ng was a volunteer with the unit when he passed away while on duty when his cruiser was broadsided during a high-speed crash in September of 2002.

Ng’s parents, Dr. Chris and Therese Ng, were on hand for much of the tournament.

Proceeds from this year’s event will fund the drug-abuse resistance education, or D.A.R.E., program, which targets Grade 5/6 children with an anti-drug message.

Star-laden gala set for summer

Matthew Hoekstra, Staff Reporter

An all-star lineup of performers and entertainers will arrive in Richmond later this summer for a major fundraising gala at River Rock Casino Resort.

Grammy-award winning B.C. music producer David Foster announced yesterday the David Foster & Friends Charity Gala will be staged at the resort’s new 1,000-seat luxury theatre Sept. 10.

Foster’s “pride and joy” Josh Groban will perform, along with the producer’s latest protégé, 15-year-old Renee Olstead. Acting friends Halle Berry and Hugh Jackman have also agreed to appear. At a press conference yesterday, Foster said he’s also searching for an “undiscovered Vancouver talent” to perform at the gala.

The evening, sponsored by Great Canadian Gaming Corporation, B.C. Lottery Corporation and TD Securities Inc., will benefit families with children in need of major organ transplants.

“It will be an intimate evening of extraordinary entertainment, with gourmet grazing, a live celebrity auction, and concert with some of my closest friends in the entertainment industry,” said Foster. “These kids and families desperately need our help, and I am honoured to be a part of it.”

The David Foster Foundation has raised millions of dollars for B.C. children over the past 19 years. The gala will be the first of its kind in the Lower Mainland and is expected to become an annual event.

Tickets are being handed out mostly by way of corporate sponsorships, but if any tickets are available to the public, they’ll go on sale later this month, said Great Canadian spokesperson Howard Blank.

Manslaughter conviction upheld

Martin van den Hemel, Staff Reporter

Richmond’s Sarbjit Singh Dhanda won’t be free anytime soon after he failed this week in his bid to have his manslaughter conviction overturned by the B.C. Court of Appeal.

The court unanimously dismissed Dhanda’s appeal of his conviction in the death of Vancouver’s Kamalbir Jawanda.

Jawanda was twice shot in the face at point-blank range with a shotgun on the doorstep to Dhanda’s Williams Road home in September of 2001. The shooting was the culmination of tit-for-tat vandalism that stemmed from a rivalry over a girlfriend.

Dhanda’s lawyer had argued that the B.C. Supreme Court verdict was irreconcilably inconsistent because he was acquitted of the attempted murder of Jawanda’s cousin Indebir—who was shot in the leg—yet convicted of the manslaughter of Jawanda himself.

He further argued that the trial judge erred in admitting certain evidence and in her charge of the jury.

But B.C. Supreme Court Justice R.T.A. Low disagreed.

“It is my opinion that the evidence permitted the jury to reject the defence of self-defence with respect to count 1 on the basis that the appellant acted on (provoked) anger...but that when he fired at Indebir Jawanda moments later he acted in self-defence because he reasonably thought that the crowbar Indebir Jawanda carried was a gun.”

Dhanda was sentenced to eight years in prison.

In the days and weeks before the fatal shooting, Dhanda and Jawanda and their friends vandalized one another’s vehicles and homes in retaliatory attacks.

Dhanda was dating Jaspreet Atwal, Jawanda’s girlfriend, at the time of the shooting.

She was in Dhanda’s home when Jawanda and his cousin began smashing the windows of the cars in the driveway as well as the home’s windows.

Drug appeal granted

Martin van den Hemel, Staff Reporter

A Richmond man has successfully appealed his drug conviction on the grounds a search warrant was based on “inaccurate information and on statements that were misleading.”

Duc Thuan Luu was convicted in June of 2003 in Richmond provincial court of marijuana production, possessing marijuana for the purpose of trafficking, electricity theft and mischief in relation to an RCMP bust at a Richmond home on April 27, 2001.

During his trial, Luu’s attempts to have certain evidence excluded was unsuccessful, despite the fact the trial judge rule there had been a violation of his Charter rights.

The trial judge ruled that the breach “was not serious” and that the police constable who swore the information “conducted herself...in good faith and her conduct could be explained by her lack of experience.”

But during Luu’s appeal to the B.C. Court of Appeal, the Crown conceded the trial judge “erred in his approach to the seriousness of the breach,” Court of Appeal Justice I.T. Donald ruled last week.

“In particular, the trial judge failed to take into account the evidence that the information to obtain prepared by an inexperienced officer was examined by a senior sergeant, and yet that officer saw nothing wrong with the document.”

The Crown conceded the appeal should be allowed and Luu be acquitted of the charges.

Donald allowed the appeal, and Justice R.T.A. Low and R.E. Levine agreed.

Luu had been handed a six-month conditional sentence, a one-year term of probation as well as a 10-year firearms prohibition.

City reviews safety of bike routes

Harold Steves, Staff Reporter

Cyclists might have an easier time riding on Richmond roads if a staff investigation into the safety of cycling on city streets yields changes.

City staff are reviewing relationship between cyclists and parked vehicles on arterial roads.

Coun. Harold Steves said cyclists are forced to swerve around parked cars on some routes, creating dangerous situations.

“That’s one of the reasons you don’t get many people using bikes in Richmond, because even where we do have bike lanes, we sometimes have parked cars along the curb,” he said.

Steves suggested the city lease part of the rail right-of-way at Railway Avenue and Steveston Highway for a parking lot to remove vehicles parked in the bicycle lane.

Tax notices bring home TransLink windfall

Jeff Nagel, MetroValley News

TransLink is again defending its decision to hang onto a $13-million tax windfall driven by sharp property value increases.

A steep hike in the levy for the Greater Vancouver Transportation Authority, combined with major assessment increases, means most homeowners in the region will pay TransLink double what they did last year—at least $80 more this year.

A home with an Greater Vancouver average assessment of $358,000 will pay $170 to TransLink this year.

A $500,000 house now pays $236.

TransLink spokesman Ken Hardie said the extra money will help fund a series of projects and improvements that might have had to wait.

They include a centre line barrier for the Patullo Bridge—the site of a series of head-on collisions.

Also moving ahead faster is the 204 Street overpass in Langley, Hardie said.

“It wasn’t in our major road projects, but we’ve included it in there now,” he said.

He conceded TransLink would have found a way to proceed with the Patullo Bridge median this year even if it didn’t collect the tax hike.

“We would have had to find the money from other projects,” he said.

Other upgrades he attributes to the tax levy is expansion of community shuttle or bus service at Bowen Island or Lion’s Bay.

The City of Burnaby added a note to its tax notice to underline the TransLink increase and blame it on expenditures including the RAV line connecting the airport to Richmond and Vancouver. It also took direct aim at the refusal to adjust the rate.

“The GVTA has rejected requests to reduce their property tax rates to compensate for the inordinate increase in property value assessments,” it says. “This will result in a significant and ongoing revenue windfall for the GVTA.”

Hardie said the RAV reference is incorrect.

“The real expenditures on RAV won’t start until next year,” he said. “In the capital plan, RAV is less than 10 per cent of what we’ll be doing.”

More significant, he said, are the northeast rapid transit extension and a planned major increase in the bus fleet.

Music to a director’s ears

Matthew Hoekstra, Staff Reporter

•Richmond Orchestra and Chorus presents the Land of Hope and Glory

•Saturday, June 4 at 8 p.m. at Fraserview MB Church (11295 Mellis Dr.)

•For information and tickets call 604-276-2747 or e-mail info@roca.ca.

It isn’t every day one of Richmond’s great musical minds is staring down 64 sets of chipmunk cheeks, rabbit teeth and big eyes. But that’s only because rehearsals are once a week.

As the conductor of the Richmond Chorus, Brigid Coult is responsible for guiding a pack of varied voices through a territory of mixed music to melodic bliss. Demanding a facial expression common to wild animals focuses her singers’ voices “to the front of the face,” creating a fuller sound. This is part of the communication Coult has with the chorus that an audience doesn’t see.

Her gift of connecting with voices of the chorus has led Coult through 11 successful seasons and caught the attention of her peers. Earlier this month the B.C. Choral Federation awarded Coult the coveted Amy Ferguson Award, which recognizes an outstanding choral director who also excels in vocal teaching.

“It’s wonderful to be acknowledged like that,” she says from her south Richmond home this week, on the eve of the chorus’s final concert of the season Saturday.

The award’s namesake was the founder and conductor of the renowned Nelson Boys’ Choir. From 1931 until her death in 1972 Ferguson was mentor and guide to hundreds of young people in the Nelson area as a voice and piano teacher and choral director. Many of Ferguson’s students went on to distinguished careers as vocal soloists and teachers.

Coult was born and raised in England. Her father was a scientist by profession but a musician at heart. That meant music wafted throughout the family home and spurred an interest in the violin, piano and viola. An instrumentalist entering university, Coult later found how much she adored the challenge of being a singer.

She came to Canada in 1982 on a trip that was supposed to take her back to the United Kingdom. What helped convince her to stay was singing at Vancouver’s Christ Church Cathedral and then getting involved with the B.C. Choral Federation.

She took on the role of Richmond Chorus director in 1994 and helped it grow both in numbers and musicianship. She also joined the national award-winning Elektra Women’s Choir.

Today, besides her chorus duties, Coult is director of music at St. Mary’s Kerrisdale Anglican Church, president of the Association of Canadian Choral Conductors and teaches voice and piano privately.

Coult says she feels blessed she has been able to do so much of what she loves and having the chance to touch so many people as a choral director.

Although compliments from Coult are rare, her basic philosophy to teaching music is it has to be rewarding for the student. For a strong performance, she’ll allow, “It wasn’t too long ago that I wouldn’t have challenged you with this piece.” And a simple “Yes!” when the singers ante up an extra bit of adrenaline and energy to hit the right notes.

“One of the things I always try to bear in mind is I’m always working with amateurs—amateurs in the best sense of the word—the people who do what they do because they love doing it,” she says over soft choral music drifting from her home stereo.

She calls her choir a “benevolent dictatorship,” which allows singers to discover their own voices while everyone pulls in the same direction. In other words, the Richmond Chorus is a team: “In a way it’s like sports without the competitiveness. You compete against yourself,” she says.

When she’s not reading books, caring for her two cats or teaching music, she’s choosing new songs that will challenge the chorus and elicit a response from an audience.

“Sometimes it’s a piece of music that I feel they need to do even when they don’t particularly like it, and quite often those pieces are the ones that will stay with them.”

This season it was Beethoven’s Mass in C, which the chorus performed with the orchestra. Next season brings a host of new challenges, including an invitation to sing at Carnegie Hall in New York.

The orchestra will again join the chorus for Saturday’s Land of Hope and Glory concert—an evening of quintessentially British music, including songs from Sir Charles Villiers Stanford, George Frederick Handel, W.S. Gilbert and Sir Arthur Sullivan and Alan Jay Lerner and Frederick Loewe.

Richmond Orchestra and Chorus’ June concert is always light and fun. This one will be a bit of a homecoming for Coult, only without the ancient castles and churches of Europe. She misses the historic architecture terribly, where size, stone and space make for rich music, but returns often to the U.K. to get her fix of history and singing.

“One of my dreams is to get the chorus ready to go to England...because I want them to have that experience of being in those spaces.”

A bevy of the Bard

Matthew Hoekstra, Staff Reporter

When Scott Bellis helped found Bard on the Beach 15 years ago, he never expected people would still be lining up to hear rhymed verse.

But as a testament to the company’s sharp productions and lasting power of Shakespeare, the popular Vancouver theatre festival returns next week under the tents in Vanier Park.

Bellis, a Matthew McNair grad of 1984, says the appeal of Shakespeare lies in the unique communication and expression of the actors.

“It’s all about the language. It’s all about the words. People still do have an appetite for hearing language that is different, for hearing language that is expansive.”

As You Like It is the first of four productions featured in this year’s festival, opening June 8. Set in the forest, the play follows the adventures of several courtiers who are banished from the court to the Forest of Arden, where they find romance and wisdom. The play focuses on Rosalind (Lara Gilchrist) who, disguised as the youth Ganymede, teaches a love-struck Orlando (Tobias Slezak) lessons in love.

Bellis takes on the role of the downhearted Jaques, who spends his time reminding people the world isn’t as rosy as they might think. He also has the famous line: “All the world’s a stage; and all the men and women merely players.”

“I was interested in the idea of playing Jaques because of the melancholy nature of the character and because of his role in the play as kind of the bringer of the darker side of the palate,” Bellis says.

Apart from his various Bard roles over the years, Bellis recently appeared in Solo Collective’s production of Back to Berlin, Ruby Slippers/Studio 58’s The Waiting Room and the Arts Club’s Enchanted April. Throughout his career, Bellis has earned 10 Jessie Award nominations.

With Shakespeare come new challenges for actors. There are certain rules one must learn about the language and the way a Shakespearean play was written.

“Once you learn those technical things, it becomes quite easy,” Bellis says . “We’re often asked...how do you remember all those lines? But because of the rhythm of the language and the fact that it’s so varied and expansive...it’s actually a lot easier to memorize Shakespeare than something that has more limited vocabulary.”

Alternating nights on the main stage is Love’s Labour’s Lost, starring Jennifer Lines and David Mackay—the bright lights in the recent Gateway Theatre production of Here on the Flight Path.

Bellis plays the role of Constable Dull in the romantic comedy, in which the king and his lords pledge to forgo women for three years. But when the Princess of France and her ladies arrive, love blossoms, and so do the disguises and love letters.

“It can break up the run of a long set of performances,” Bellis says of maintaining two roles throughout the summer. “It’s actually a lot of fun to come in and put on a different costume.”

Scapes: Garlic to be

Arlene Kroeker

‘What’s that smell?” Maxine asks as she gets in the car after school.

“The promise of garlic,” I answer.

In the back seat I have a plastic bag full of garlic scapes, those elegant swirls and seedpods that form on top of the hard-neck garlic plants in May.

Maxine pokes around in the bag. “They look like green onions.” She’s right, but they taste like garlic. Anything you do with a green onion you can do with a garlic scape.

This delicious stalk (just remove the stalk tip above the pod before cooking) tastes milder than garlic cloves with a tender-crisp texture. When still in full curl, scapes are tender, but once they have straightened and the flower top is mature, they are tough and unappetizing.

The scape is a by-product of growing garlic, removed to enhance the growth of the garlic bulb.

Most garlic growers compost their scapes instead of utilizing them in their June diet. But thank goodness garlic growers like Tom and Maggie Leslie recognize that what was once considered a wasted part of the plant has value as a unique food that can be added to soups, stir-fries, mashed potatoes, salads, or anything really.

Garlic scapes are a perishable product that must be picked within two weeks of budding, but they store well. You can keep batches in brown paper bags in the refrigerator for upwards of three weeks. They can also be chopped and frozen. Fresh cut of course is preferred.

You won’t find them at your local grocer, but you will find them at New Moon Acres garlic farm at 12260 No. 2 Rd. (Tel: 604-271-1645.) But just until the end of June.

Garlic Scape Pesto

Since the scapes are fresh for only a few weeks, the garlic pesto is also seasonal food. The scapes make a beautiful green pesto that has a rich garlic flavour without a hot garlic bite.

6-7 garlic scapes, chopped

1 cup olive oil

1 cup Asiago cheese, grated

Process until smooth. For a quick dinner, toss fresh angel hair pasta with the pesto, some toasted pine nuts, olives, and fresh tomatoes. This pesto spread is delicious on pizzas or sandwiches. Add to mayonnaise for a pesto/mayo spread.

Spinach & Garlic Scape Pesto

3 cups packed fresh spinach leaves

1/2 cup parsley leaves

2/3 cup grated parmesan cheese

1/2 cup walnuts

10 chopped garlic scapes

2 tbsp basil

1 cup extra virgin olive oil

Process until smooth, then drizzle in oil.  Makes 2 cups.  

Sautéd Scape Dressing

1 medium onion, chopped

2 cloves garlic, minced

1-inch chunk fresh ginger, minced

6 garlic scapes, rough chopped

1 1/2 tsp coriander

1 tbsp sea salt

2 tsp chili flakes

1/2 cup pure olive oil

Sauté onions in olive oil for one minute then add the rest of the ingredients. Continue until onions are soft.

Place in blender and add:

2 cups lemon juice

1/2 cup mirin (a Japanese sweet rice liqueur)

2 tsp sea salt

1 cup extra virgin olive oil (or more)

Blend all ingredients, adding olive oil until desired consistency is reached. Chill before serving.

Garlic Scape Omelet

1 1/2 cups chopped garlic scapes

1/2 cup chopped scallions

1/4 cup hot water

salt & pepper

4 large eggs

2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

Place garlic and scallions in a pan with 1 tsp oil, 1/4 cup water and a pinch of salt.

Cook covered over medium heat until tender, about 5 minutes. Drain well. Beat eggs with salt and pepper. Add remaining oil to skillet. When oil is hot, shake skillet to spread greens evenly, add eggs. Cover and cook over medium low heat until top is set, about 2-3 minutes.

Roasted Scapes

Take scapes and place them in a lightly oiled roasting pan, top with kosher or sea salt. Cover the pan and roast in a 400°F oven for 30 to 45 minutes or until they are just beginning to turn brown on the bottom. Serve as a side or main dish. Tastes like roasted garlic but creamier.

Garlic Scape Pesticide

(Not for ingesting)

Garlic has a long history of fungicidal properties and is effective against aphids, white flies and other garden pests and is totally harmless to pets and children.

10 – 12 garlic scapes, chopped

2 tsp mineral oil

2 cups water

1 tbsp oil based liquid soap such as Palmolive

Soak the chopped garlic scapes in mineral oil for 48 hours. Add the soap to the water and then add the water mixture to the garlic mixture and stir. Strain and store in a glass jar. Use 1 – 2 tbsp of this mixture to 2 cups of water and place in a hand sprayer.

It’s ready to use against a wide variety of plant pests.

Arlene Kroeker is a columnist with The Richmond Review.

Airport puts brakes on drag strip

Dan FergusonMetroValley News

An attempt to provide young drivers a safe place to race in Delta has been cancelled by the Boundary Bay Airport because the organizers failed to give the municipality or the airport manager advance notice.

“I don’t disagree with the idea,” said Delta Coun. Bruce McDonald, “but it wasn’t well-considered.”

McDonald said it appears the organizers, which included the Vancouver Police and Richmond RCMP, did not think to notify the municipality at all and didn’t contact Delta Police until the night before last weekend’s event, which drew dozens of fast cars to an abandoned air strip used for driver training courses.

The response by the municipally owned airport was swift, according to event organizer Andrew Field, the manager of the Boundary Bay Driving Center.

“I was phoned Tuesday and told, very succinctly, to close up,” Field said.

“I was shocked. It blindsided me.”

Field said he was warned that no further drag racing or any other non-airport activities will be permitted and that he must relocate his company that provides advanced driver training to various clients including Lower Mainland police, insurance companies and car manufacturers.

“I’m looking for a place right now,” Field told MetroValley News Friday.

Airport general manager Sandra Stoddart-Hansen said she was “disappointed” to learn about the drag racing from media reports.

Stoddart-Hansen said the airport lease agreement with her management company, Alpha Aviation, clearly specifies that the facility is only to be used for airport activities.

“We are in the business of being an airport” Stoddart-Hansen said.

Delta Police Const. Sharlene Brooks confirmed local police were not consulted about the event, adding they would not have sanctioned it.

“Though the intentions may have been good, there’s obviously some safety concerns,” Brooks said.

“These are not professional drivers. You’ve got no medical or fire department support if there’s a mishap.”