Slain pawnbroker knew dangers of the trade

Sonny lee, 50, dealt in high-end items such as gold watches, diamond rings

Martin van den Hemel and Chung Chow, Staff Reporters

Pawnbroker Sonny Lee was no stranger to violence.

He pulled a Houdini act a few years ago when he escapeddespite having his hands tied behind his backout a back door in the midst of a daytime robbery by two brazen bandits dressed and armed like cops.

The robbery occurred when Lee's Jewellers and Loans was located directly across the street from city hall and the RCMP detachment, well before Lee relocated his business to its current spot near No. 3 Road and Westminster Highway.

Lee's brush with danger wasn't enough to push him out of the risky business that brought him so much success, including homes, cars, girlfriends and other businesses both here and in Asia.

But despite all the safety precautions he took inside his current store, and his martial arts training, that success ultimately cost him his life.

Lee was found murdered inside his store Friday night by police who had been alerted by a friend.

The friend, who spoke to The Richmond Review on condition of anonymity, said he's known Lee for about 10 years and became concerned after he spoke to his landlord, who works for Lee at the local hair salon Lee owns on No. 2 Road, Cutting Edge Hair and Aesthetics Studio.

The landlord said Lee's family wasn't able to find him despite the fact his Toyota 4-Runner was parked behind the store.

When Lee's friend peered into the store, there were signs of a robbery. A security camera appeared to be pointed toward the wall and the stool Lee usually sat in was knocked over.

Police found Lee's lifeless body soon after, sparking an intensive investigation that now involves about 50 police officers from the local detachment and the newly formed Integrated Homicide Investigative Team.

At this point, police aren't revealing how Son Hon Lee, 50, died.

But if the motive was robbery, there were plenty of valuables still on display in the store when the killer left. Video cameras and diamond rings were still sitting in the store's barred front window display.

"He was a good guy," the friend said, although he wouldn't go as far as saying Lee was really honest. During the friend's divorce, he tried to unload some jewelry to Lee, who gave him a "shitty deal."

Despite that encounter, the pair struck up a friendship, during which Lee revealed he had a local girlfriend, a wife in Vietnam and two children, a girl in her late teens and a boy in his 20s.

By all accounts, Lee was a successful and knowledgeable businessman who really knew what he was doing.

He was also well aware that his line of business had its perilous pitfalls.

Judy, a Hair Well Hair Service stylist, remembers Lee well.

"He was a nice guy."

She recalls clearly the morning Lee came screaming into her business during that armed robbery. Judy's co-worker had spotted a suspicious car parked near the stop sign at Anderson and No. 3 Road, and had jotted down a licence plate number, when Lee came in, yelling "Help! Help! Call 911."

By the time police arrived, the bandits had escaped with a bag full of valuable loot.

Lee didn't always see eye-to-eye with his customers.

On the Tuesday before his body was found, Lee was scheduled to appear in Richmond provincial court.

He had been sued by prominent Vancouver lawyer Sheldon Goldberg over a $10,000 gold Rolex watch that had been sold to Lee at his pawnshop. But Lee didn't show up on Tuesday and Goldberg was awarded $10,000 plus court costs. Goldberg did not return The Richmond Review's phone calls by press time Wednesday.

Lee's friend said he spoke to Lee's daughter who said that Lee had simply forgotten about the court date and was hoping to reschedule it. He was planning to do that Wednesday. But that never happened.

Bill Levick, a Pizza Express delivery man who works next door to Lee's Jewellers, said he noticed something odd about the store earlier in the week.

Levick said Friday that the neon blue-and-red "OPEN" sign, usually turned off every night by the store's owner, had been switched on for the past two or maybe three nights before Lee was found. Levick said he works late, long after the jewelry store closing time of 5:30 p.m., and that sign is usually turned off by then.

Levick said police arrived at the scene when he started work at 4:15 p.m. Friday. A tarp was put up a couple of hours later.

Police held a press conference on Tuesday afternoon, hoping to generate some tips from the public about what they saw last week near the pawnbroker. Investigators are trying to create a firm timeline of what happened in the hours and days before his body was discovered on Friday afternoon.

Thus far, not a single tip from the public has been received, Richmond RCMP Cpl. Peter Thiessen said.

And that's disconcerting considering the bustling intersection and amount of people that walk by that store every day. The store is located a stone's throw away from a bus stop.

Police specifically want to know if anyone had contact with Lee on Wednesday, whether in person or by way of telephone. They also want to know of any people seen in and around the store that day, which may have been the last time he was heard from alive.

According to Lee's friend, who alerted police, Lee drove his girlfriend Cathy to work at her West Broadway salon on Wednesday morning. She last spoke to him around 1:30 p.m. that same day.

An employee at Victoria Psychic Shop, located above the pawn shop, described Lee as a friendly man.

"He was a good fellow. He got along with everybody," said the woman, who asked not to be identified.

"I did knock on the door today," she said Friday night. "I knocked with my key. There was no answer."

The employee said she noticed something odd with a sign hanging at the bottom of the store's door long before police arrived.

The sign, with an adjustable clock face that shows when a person expects to return, was placed low on the door, rather than higher up, where Sonny usually put it.

That sign appears to have been up since Wednesday and never taken down.

The employee said Sonny was security conscious. To get inside the store, she said Sonny would have to buzz a person in through a locked glass door. Every night, when Sonny closed up, he would clear the store's front window of jewelry, video cameras and other valuables.

"He wasn't afraid, I'll tell you that much."

Three dedicated investigative teams are all stationed inside the local detachment and are working around the clock to solve this case.

But without help from the public, that may never happen.

"We have no information from the public. None. Zero. And that's concerning to us," Thiessen said.

Anyone who was in and around the jewelry store and saw anything during the middle of last week is asked to call Richmond RCMP at 604-207-4807 or CrimeStoppers at 1-800-222-TIPS.

Attempts to contact Lee's family, who live in Vancouver, were unsuccessful.

The plan will go on, says TransLink's chair

Doug McCallum says $4-billion transportation plan is not in jeopardy, despite RAV demise

Julia Caranci, Regional Reporter

The untimely death of the RichmondAirportVancouver rapid transit project will not affect the region's $4-billion transportation plan or its financing, said TransLink chair Doug McCallum this week.

RAV, a rapid transit system that would have connected Vancouver International Airport to Richmond and Vancouver via a corridor running above and underground along Cambie Street, was budgeted at $1.5 to $1.7 billion and was to be completed in time for the 2010 Olympics. The cost was to be shared between TransLink, the airport authority, and the federal and provincial governments.

Critics of the scheme, including TransLink board members Jon Kingsbury and Derek Corrigan, called the project overly ambitious with the potential for major cost overruns, and voted against it at last Friday's open meeting.

The plan was defeated at that meeting by a 7-5 vote.

Officially, TransLink has decided to explore a more cost-efficient public development of the rapid transit line. But the future of the project remains uncertain.

McCallum, who has been a strong supporter of RAV, told the MetroValley News Group Monday that while the federal and provincial money for RAV may be gone, TransLink's $300-million budget for the project will remain and could be used for other projects.

He admitted RAV was one of "the four posts" or four major projects integral to the $4-billion transportation plan, a wish list of projects to improve roads and transit services in the Lower Mainland, which included a northeast sector rapid transit line, the replacement of the region's trolley bus fleet and the new Fraser River Crossing.

"We will carry on with the other three posts," said McCallum, adding the board will meet in the near future to look at the transportation authority's priorities again in light of this major change.

If RAV cannot be revived in a more cost-efficient form, the matching funds for the project$450 million from the federal government and $300 million from Victoriawill likely fund other infrastructure projects in B.C., said McCallum, although the money won't necessarily stay in the Lower Mainland.

As for Friday's decision, McCallum is disappointed.

"I feel sad for Vancouver residents and Richmond residents. That corridor (Cambie Street) is already in gridlock and it's going to get worse. We can add more buses but that only creates worse gridlock."

Coquitlam Mayor John Kingsbury said RAV "was just getting more and more and more expensive, to the point where we were going to take out money from all other regional programs, so we had to stop that."

He said light rapid transit technology, which is currently being used in Calgary and Portland, should be considered for rapid transit extensions to Coquitlam and Richmond.

"They can be both built within the funding cap from the GVRD and have them completed by 2010," he said.

—with files from Janis Cleugh

Casino complex dubbed River Rock

Waterfront resort scheduled to open on June 25

Chris Bryan, Staff Reporter

It was originally going to be called Great Canadian Place, but the company building a new casino complex at the former home of BridgePoint has opted for something a little...earthier.

River Rock Casino Resort is the name, an homage to its home on the banks of the Fraser River and the West Coast materials being used in Great Canadian Casinos' flagship facility.

"It will look very much like YVR," company spokesperson Howard Blank said. "A lot of stone, trees, water. It will look very much like a lodge."

The casino will open its doors June 25 at 2 p.m. Vancouver bluesman Jim Byrnes will perform in the casino, as will Bobby Bruce, a.k.a. Nearly Neil.

The company plans to have the all-suites hotel, with rooms between 700 and 2,000 square feet, open in January. The showroomwhich will convert from a dinner theatre setting to an auditorium in less than eight minuteswill open in the spring of 2005.

The casino will have 950 slot machines and 78 gaming tables, making it the largest full service resort in Western Canada.

"It will be a world class facility," Blank said. "It's all about entertainment."

Great Canadian received Richmond city council's endorsement of a liquor licence on Monday night, which is pending from the province.

Also Monday, council's general purposes committee approved a resolution voicing its opposition to New Westminster's plans for a casino on the border with Richmond, and is calling on that city to defer the proposal until more information is provided and Hamilton residents have been consulted.

The committee is seeking more information about the development itself, as well as servicing, traffic and environmental impacts that might result.

Blank said his company isn't concerned about another casino opening just a 10 minute drive away.

"It makes us rise to the competition," he said.

Suspended Richmond obstetrician allows his B.C. doctor's licence to

Martin van den Hemel, Staff Reporter

A local obstetrician and gynecologist who was stripped of his practising privileges at Richmond Hospital after numerous complaints by his patients in 2002 is no longer licensed to practise medicine in B.C.

The College of Physicians and Surgeons of B.C. says Dr. Timothy Lau-Fat Ng's licence expired at the end of February. Without a licence, he cannot practise medicine here.

Lau was the subject of an extensive investigation in 2002 by the college, which found he "does not have the requisite skill and knowledge to practise medicine." To be reinstated, he was ordered to complete a minimum three-month period of practice in a hospital under the supervision of a mentor. And until he completed those orders, he was barred from practising medicine in a hospital setting anywhere in B.C. although he could continue to practise out of an office.

Ng was a defendant in several civil lawsuits. He was named in a wrongful death suit involving the delivery of twins at Richmond Hospital in 2001. In that case, the mother died 12 days after a caesarean section.

At least two other lawsuits involving Ng have been settled out of court.

Airport takes over firefighting

New crew takes over from Richmond Fire-Rescue

Chris Bryan, Staff Reporter

Firefighting duties at Vancouver International Airport officially fell into the hands of airport employees April 30, as the contract with Richmond Fire-Rescue expired.

"We looked around the world for the best training we could find," said Craig Richmond, the airport's vice-president of operations. "The public will not notice any difference. It's our primary business; the business of the airport is safety."

Staffing levels under the new service will be roughly the same as before, with six "emergency response specialists" on shift 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Before, it was seven firefighters, but Richmond said the new employees will be supported by an average of two airfield maintenance staff at any given time.

Also, the airport recently added a fourth fire truck to its fleet, a 3,000-gallon Oshkosh with infrared and GPS (global positioning system) navigation.

Transport Canada requires a minimum of one firefighter per truck, and suitable staffing and equipment to respond to an emergency in the middle of the runway farthest from the terminal within three minutes.

Richmond said these regulations are being met.

In setting staffing levels, they were defined based on the need to have "reserve in case there's more than one emergency at once," he added. "I would compare their training and equipment with the very best in the world."

At most airports in Canada, firefighting duties are handled by airport employees.

The airport authority provided its own firefighting until 1995, when Richmond Fire-Rescue was contracted to do the work.

The contract expired in June 2000 and after a long series of discussions, the two parties were unable to reach an agreement. In the meantime, the airport authority was shopping around. Richmond Fire-Rescue finally gave the airport an ultimatum, and the two parties decided to part ways.

Fire chief Jim Hancock said his department needed to provide stability for its employees, and there was anxiety about the future of the 37 jobs at the airport.

"Dangling them on a string for any longer was just counterproductive," Hancock said.

The airport's Craig Richmond would not say how much the non-profit business paid for firefighting with Richmond Fire-Rescue, or how much it is paying now.

"There are a lot of reasons," he said by way of explanation. "We have a lot of contracts with private companies. There are competitive reasons for it."

But Richmond added: "It's certainly not anything we ever cut corners on. I'm very satisfied with the training they've had."

According to the airport authority, each firefighter in its new crew received about 1,000 hours of training, which Richmond said "is probably a new standard in North America."

Last year, the new emergency response specialists participated in a nine-month training program at the International Fire Training Centre at Teesside College in England. Teesside is accredited by the U.K. Civil Aviation Authority to deliver mandatory training for all U.K. airport firefighters.

And since January, they have been doing scenario training through the Justice Institute of B.C., responding to simulated medical, confined space, hazardous material and aircraft emergencies.

But the president of the union representing Richmond firefighters is skeptical that there will be the same level of service as was delivered under Richmond Fire-Rescue.

Regardless, local firefighters will continue to provide backup support for the airport, said Geoff Lake of International Association of Fire Fighters Local 1286.

"We're going to do our best," Lake said.

"I can't speak for YVR. What others doI don't know and I can't guess. We'll do the best we can to back up people that have no experience."

How the new team was selected

Recruitment for the airport's specialized firefighting team began in January 2003. From a field of more than 950 applicants, 350 candidates were selected to participate in physical and cognitive tests over a three-day period.

These tests included a hose drag, a 12-minute run, a confined space test, weight lifts and a ladders climb, and were the first step in selecting a team with the physical fitness, motivation and communication skills to work together effectively under extreme duress, according to the airport authority.

Those who passed the first round were given psychomotor and cognitive testing, the results of which were compiled to formulate an overall rating for each remaining candidate.

Top candidates were then interviewed and a team of 24 was was selected.

Probe launched into gas prices

Competition bureau has received money

Julia Caranci, Regional Reporter

An investigation has been launched into whether a recent spike in retail gasoline prices stems from price fixing.

The federal Competition Bureauwhich has the authority to investigate illegal practices such as price fixing and anti-competitive consumer practicesannounced last week it has launched a probe based on "a large volume of complaints from consumers and independent retailers regarding retail gasoline prices."

Fuel prices have reached an all-time high in the Lower Mainland, with prices at the pump soaring above 98¢ a litre at some stations Tuesday.

At least one independent gas station manager recently told MetroValley News Group that prices will climb over $1 per litre in the coming weeks, then is expected to fall back slightly.

Incensed drivers are voicing their concerns.

While the competition bureau regularly get complaints concerning the gas industry, the bureau's assistant deputy commissioner Richard Taylor said Monday there were several hundred calls last week alone from consumers regarding the 10¢ to 15¢ jump in fuel prices.

Increasing and decreasing prices in collusion to eliminate competition and influencing retailers' prices with threats or promises are illegal under criminal provisions of the Competition Act.

If such offences can be proven, the perpetrators face fines of up to $10 million and five years in prison.

The last time such a probe was launched was over a year ago, when a similar spike in gas prices occurred. The investigation found that an increase in crude oil costs was behind the increase.

It will take approximately three months to complete the investigation. If there is enough evidence to pursue the case, the bureau will launch an inquiry, which could lead to charges.

In the interim, the bureau is encouraging the public to continue voicing its concerns.

"We rely on consumers to come forward and provide information to us," said Taylor.

"We also will seriously consider offering immunity in return for providing evidence in a case."

To register a complaint or offer evidence, contact the competition bureau at 1-800-348-5358 or compbureau@cb-bc.gc.ca

Gas facts

• Gasoline begins as crude oil, the price of which is set by OPEC, the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries, an 11-country collective of oil-exporting countries. OPEC member countries are Algeria, Indonesia, Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, Libya, Nigeria, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Venezuela. They produce 41 per cent of the world's oil and their exports represent 55 per cent of the oil traded internationally.

• The price of crude oil is based on supply, demand, and global stability. There can be up to a two-month delay for crude oil prices to affect the cost at the pump. Distribution and profit margins also affect the price of fuel.

• Gas is heavily taxedwith a 9¢ provincial tax, an 11.5¢ transit tax in the Lower Mainland, a 10¢ federal excise tax and seven per cent GST on top of that.

The road to stand-up

Chris Bryan, Staff Reporter

As a child, Ron James was a skinny little freckle-faced thing.

"I was 45 pounds until I was 30 years old," explains the Nova Scotia-born comedian, who will perform his one man show "The Road Between My Ears" at Gateway Theatre this Sunday and Monday.

"And 30 pounds of that was my head. When the circus came to town, my mom had to hide me."

As funny as he must have looked, it was only later in life that James realized it was his calling to be a stand-up comedian.

"It's been very good to me," the 46-year-old says of the decision to embrace standup less than 10 years ago.

Many people will recognize James from his role in the TV series Blackfly, set during the 1783 Canadian fur trade, or his performances on Late Night with Conan O'Brien, Just for Laughs or CBC Radio's Madly Off In All Directions.

His standup routines combine intelligent observations and a Maritimer's folksy irreverence, skewering everything from consumer culture to the torments of Canadian camping.

Like many actors who do stand-up comedy, it was adversity that drove him to it.

In the early '90s, James was down in California at the request of film director Ron Howard, to shoot My Talk Show, a syndicated TV series. It was short-livedit cancelled before it got off the ground.

James was out of work for 11 months, with a wife and two kids to support.

So he took some risks. The result was a 90 minute, critically-acclaimed one-man show called Up and Down in Shakey Down: One Man's Journey Through the California Dream. It was eventually made into a 90-minute TV special, and kick-started a whole new career in stand-up.

"Adversity and struggle made me care about what I wanted to do with my life," he says.

Within a few years, he was selling out halls all over Canada and landing appearances on late-night talk shows.

"I've enjoyed taking the audience on a real spin," he says of his second career. "I can read the wind now."

James calls "The Road Between My Ears," an "homage to people and place."

He promises it will tickle the funny bone and stimulate the mind at the same time.

"I like the plumber and the professor, sitting side by side, to be laughing at different things in the same joke."

Although he's been doing standup for only 10 years, James has been in the acting business for 25. And in the early years he was doing comedy as a regular member of the Second City comedy troupe, noted for its famous alumni like Mike Myers, Dan Ackroyd, Martin Short, Bill Murray and Gilda Radner.

James says he enjoys being cut loose, getting by on his wits, alone under the spotlight.

"Comedy, as much as the specials on TV, has been good to Canadians," James says. "But it's only a one-sided experience. But if you do it on stage, it's a communal experience."

In every city he visits, he always works some local content into his routineand his Richmond stop will be no exception.

"B.C. is...always ripe for satire," he says. "You're either chained to a tree or you're chopping the bugger down."

James performs Sunday, May 16 and Monday, May 17 at Gateway Theatre (6500 Gilbert Rd.) at 8 p.m. For tickets call 604-270-1812.

Chor fest is a fiesta

220 singers are taking part in a Latin-themed choral festival in Richmond this

Chris Bryan, Staff Reporter

More than 220 singers from across the province will converge on Richmond this weekend for the 25th annual gathering of the B.C. Choral Federation.

This year the theme is Latin and bears the moniker "Chorfiesta!," with Richmond's Sal Ferreras and his band backing up the final performance of the weekend, 3 p.m. Sunday at A.R. MacNeill Secondary.

The participants will be preparing for this big finale with three days of rehearsals beginning Friday night.

The choir federation's annual conference brings choristers from across the province to sing under the direction of expert conductors from across North America and at times from England (Simon Preston in 1982 and John Rutter in 1991).

The founding conference was held in Vancouver in 1978. The event is typically called Chorfest, and really got started in Vernon in 1983, when the logo was an apple core and the conference was titled "Core Fest."

This year, Chorfiesta! is being hosted by the Richmond Orchestra and Chorus.

The conference is held on the long weekend in May when it is away from the Lower Mainland, and on another convenient weekend when it is in the Lower Mainland region. Core choirs agree to prepare the repertoire in advance, and to host pre-conference rehearsals to introduce other choristers to the music before coming together to "polish" the music for performance.

The format varies depending on the host choirs' proposals.

Over the weekend, singers will be working under the instruction of Morna Edmundson, one of Canada's best-known choral conductors. Edmundson is the co-founder of the Elektra Women's Choir and the associate director of Coastal Sound Music Academy.

As an active member of the International Federation for Choral Music, she has a keen interest in the folk roots of choral repertoire and enjoys delving into its sounds and colours.

Over the past few years, she and her choirs have worked several times with Ferreras and the other instrumentalists who will be part of Chorfiesta, and she is looking forward to sharing the uplifting energy of this music with the choir and audience this weekend.

The concert Sunday will see the addition of 50 voices from the B.C. Youth Choir for the finale, bringing the total to 270 singers.

For ticket reservations and information call 604-276-2747. Sunday's finale is at 3 p.m. at A.R. MacNeill Secondary School, (6611 No. 4 Rd.). Tickets are also available at the door.

Taking a run at healthy living

Student organized 10-kilometre run to benefit Make-a-Wish Foundation

Martin van den Hemel, Staff Reporter

It sounds simple enough: organize a 10-kilometre community run in Canada's fittest city.

But ask the students at Hugh Boyd Secondary School who are finalizing the myriad behind-the-scenes details for this Sunday's Reach Out and Run fundraiserto benefit the Make-a-Wish Foundation and the Richmond Alcohol and Drug Action Teamand they'll tell you it's not nearly as simple as it sounds.

Since September, the students have spent literally hundreds of hours creating this event from the ground up, starting with an idea: creating a community event that promotes healthy living and an active lifestyle while giving students opportunities to be leaders with specific tasks and responsibilities.

It hasn't been easy, but Hugh Boyd principal Neil Kamide said he's proud of what his students have accomplished.

"It's been an interesting journey for these kids," he said.

"I don't believe I've been involved with something that's required so much in such a short period of time. I'm proud of the effort they've made."

From seeking approval from the City of Richmond, to speaking with the Richmond RCMP about planning a safe route, to searching for sponsorship and promoting the event through the media to local residents, these students haven't simply been learning.

They have been putting into practise everything they've been taught, and gaining valuable experience in the process.

"We've all just learned so much from this," said Grade 12 student Sara Li, who says working on this event has helped her come out of her shell.

"No matter what, I don't think we've failed," said Li, who aspires to be a child psychologist.

Although only 50 had signed up for the event as of two weeks ago, another 100 have registered last week and things continue to look up.

Allen Chen, also in Grade 12, said self-confidence has never been a problem for him, but now he's better able to act within a team setting and deal sensitively with different personalities. Everyone is held accountable for their responsibilities, he said, and students have experienced how being dependent on others can impact them and the successful completion of a task.

Jemina Tolentino said simply figuring out where to begin was difficult enough.

When they tried to make a timeline, they found that beginning with one task often required another task to be completed first. Soon they found they were going in circles.

But thanks to help from Richmond Kajaks volunteer Don Dunfee and The Running Room's Neil Wakelin, the team ironed things out and drew up the plans of what was needed. That included setting up an on-line registration system, ensuring event promotion by issuing press releases to the television, radio and newspaper media, and making presentations to schools, talking to school administrators and principals to spark participation. They even handed out brochures at the Vancouver Sun Run.

Tolentino said she's learned to manage her time better, as have others who have also juggled their academic studies, sports, student council, graduation committee, the school's cultural committee and part-time jobs.

For Sawa Matsumura, although she's also in the leadership program, she's learned when to be a leader and when to be a follower. In certain situations, it may be better to defer to someone else with more experience and assist in a task, rather than being unnecessarily redundant.

Matsumura learned the importance of taking risks after she successfully navigated a 20-foot high rope course at Trinity Western University in Langley.

"Without my classmates' support I wouldn't have been able to do it."

Deciding to organize this scale of event was a risk, but one they've handled well, she said.

"It could have been a huge failure."

Instead, this health and fitness event has them feeling better about themselves, too.

WHAT: Reach Out and Run 10-kilometre run

WHERE: Hugh Boyd Park at No. 1 Road and Francis

WHEN: Sunday, May 16

8 a.m.participants sign in and warm up8:30 a.m.10-km run begins 8:45 a.m.2-KM run/walk around park begins

HOW: Sign up at http://reachoutandrun.no-ip.com

WHY: To benefit the Make-a-Wish Foundation and Richmond Alcohol and Drug Action Team

WHO: Organized by the Hugh Boyd Leadership Academy and open to teens, children, seniors and parents.

FEES: Adults 19 and over$24/ Teens 14 to 18$17/Children 13 and under$15

ROUTE: The certified 10-kilometre route begins at the school, weaves through the Monds neighbourhood up to Francis Road, then west along No. 1 Road to the dyke, and then along the dyke to Terra Nova, where it loops around and returns along the same course and finishes at the school.

Airport takes over its own firefighting

Chris Bryan, Staff Reporter

Firefighting duties at Vancouver International Airport officially fell into the hands of airport employees April 30, as the contract with Richmond Fire Rescue expired.

"We looked around the world for the best training we could find," said Craig Richmond, the airport's vice-president of operations. "The public will not notice any difference. It's our primary business; the business of the airport is safety."

Staffing levels under the new service will be roughly the same as before, with six "emergency response specialists" on shift 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Before, it was seven firefighters, but Richmond said the new employees will be supported by an average of two airfield maintenance staff at any given time.

Also, the airport recently added a fourth fire truck to its fleet, a 3,000 gallon Oshkosh with infrared and GPS (global positioning system) navigation.

Transport Canada requires a minimum of one firefighter per truck, and suitable staffing and equipment to respond to an emergency in the middle of the runway farthest from the terminal within three minutes.

Richmond said these regulations are being met.

In setting staffing levels, they were defined based on the need to have "reserve in case there's more than one emergency at once," he added. "I would compare their training and equipment with the very best in the world."

At most airports in Canada, firefighting duties are handled by airport employees.

The airport authority provided its own firefighting until 1995, when Richmond Fire Rescue was contracted to do the work.

But in August 2002, the City of Richmond sent a letter to the airport saying it didn't want the contract between the airport authority and Richmond Fire Rescue to be renewed when it concluded in April 2004.

The airport's Craig Richmond would not say how much the non-profit business paid for firefighting with Richmond Fire Rescue, or how much it is paying now.

"There are a lot of reasons," he said by way of explanation. "We have a lot of contracts with private companies. There are competitive reasons for it."

But Richmond added: "It's certainly not anything we ever cut corners on. I'm very satisfied with the training they've had."

Each firefighter receieved about 1,000 hours of training, which Richmond said "is probably a new standard in North America."

Last year, the new emergency response specialists participated in a nine-month training program as the International Fire Training Centre at Teesside College in England. Teesside is accredited by the UK Civil Aviation Authority to deliver mandatory training for all UK airport firefighters.

And since January, they have been doing scenario training through the Justice Institute of B.C., responding to simulated medical, confined space, hazardous material and aircraft emergencies.

Selecting the emegency response team

Recruitment for the airport's specialized firefighting team began in January 2003. From a field of more than 950 applicants, 350 candidates were selected to participate in physical and cognitive tests over a three-day period. These tests included a hose drag, a 12-minute run, a confined space test, weight lifts and a ladders climb, and were the first step in selecting a team with the physical fitness, motivation and communication skills to work together effectively under extreme duress, according to the airport authority.

Those who passed the first round were given psychomotor and cognitive testing, the results of which were compiled to formulate an overall rating for each remaining candidate.

Top candidates were then interviewed and a team of 24 was selected.

Bait cars parking in Richmond

Martin van den Hemel, Staff Reporter

Police are hoping to hook local car thieves with the introduction of the bait car program to Richmond.

An undisclosed number of continuously-monitored bait cars, equipped with kill switches and cameras, were placed in Richmond last week.

The cars were placed in areas that the Richmond RCMP have flagged as problem spots. The type of cars will depend on what's popular with local car thieves. The idea is to provide tempting targets.

Richmond Mayor Malcolm Brodie helped give the media a demonstration of the high-tech gadgetry that's aimed at reducing car thefts in the Lower Mainland. Ultimately, it is hoped that the program will be a general deterrent.

After successfully turning the ignition key, Brodie looked like he was off and running in this grey late 1990s model Honda Civic two-door coupe.

But as soon as Surrey RCMP Const. Tim Shields asked the system dispatcher to disable the vehicle, the Honda's engine shut down almost instantaneously.

Shields explained that the system works off the cellular phone network and the global positioning system, which constantly relays information back and forth between the vehicle and the dispatcher. As soon as a car is broken into, the system alerts the dispatcher, who in turn alerts the police. Officers have been specifically trained in the effective and safe use of techniques to capture these car thieves without putting the thief, public or police in danger.

Aside from being able to cut the engine, images of both the driver of the vehicle and his passenger are recorded by video, Shields said.

The City of Richmond has been the exception compared to other parts of the province, where car thefts climbed nine per cent during the first four months of 2003 compared to the same period a year earlier.

Richmond actually saw its numbers drop three per cent during that period, down from 1,417 thefts to 1,373. By way of comparison, Surrey saw a four-per-cent rise, from 7,711 to 8,040

"We know it's serious and we have to do something about it," Shields said.

The cars are supplied by the Insurance Corporation of B.C. and the program is operated by the Solicitor General's office.

RAV line could be RIP

TransLink board defeats bid to proceed with rapid transit line

Chris Bryan, Staff Reporter

A defeated motion at TransLink's board meeting Friday may have been the fatal blow for the proposed rapid transit line connecting Richmond, the airport and downtown Vancouver.

Surrey Mayor Doug McCallum, chair of the regional transportation authority and a big supporter of the project, said the decision means the region won't see a line to the airport for 20 years.

But Richmond Mayor Malcolm Brodie disagrees.

"I hope there's more life in it than that," Brodie said following the Friday vote.

The 12-member board, which is made up of Greater Vancouver politicians, was debating a motion to move the project to the "best and final offer" stage, an eight-week "accelerated" process that would result in the selection of a successful consortium to design, build, operate and maintain the 19.5-kilometre Richmond-Airport-Vancouver rapid transit line linking Richmond Centre, the airport and Waterfront Station in Vancouver.

The motion was defeated 7-5, with Brodie and McCallum in support, as well as Surrey Coun. Marvin Hunt, Vancouver Mayor Larry Campbell and Langley City Mayor Marlene Grinnell.

Opposed to the motion were Burnaby Mayor Derek Corrigan, Coquitlam Mayor Jon Kingsbury, City of North Vancouver Mayor Barbara Sharp, New Westminster Mayor Wayne Wright, Pitt Meadows Mayor Don MacLean, and Vancouver councillors Raymond Louie and David Cadman.

Opponents questioned the wisdom of embarking on a public-private partnership (P3) and worried that, if the RAV line proceeded, plans to extend the Millennium Line to the northeast sector would be left to languish.

Corrigan believes both projects can be done within the existing funding.

"The system they developed was essentially beyond the Mercedes, it was a Rolls Royce system. It would ask so much (money) we wouldn't be able to accomplish other priorities."

After defeating the original motion, the TransLink board asked staff to explore "all alternatives for the cost-efficient public development" of building the RAV line and a line to the northeast sector using the existing funding.

Corrigan said what he's proposing is actually more in sync with what Richmond wants: an at-grade system on not just the Richmond portion, but end-to-end on both rapid transit lines.

"I think we can work together to have a win-win for both sectors," he said. "Instead of a Rolls Royce, two Chevys. Richmond has already accepted a Chevy for their portion, so there's no compromise. We're actually working at what Richmond wanted for their community."

Brodie agreed there could be a silver lining if TransLink is able to convince the province and the federal government to stick to their funding commitments.

"But I'd hate to play a game of bluff because of the funding levels we've been given," Brodie said. "I think it's a very dangerous game."

Richmond Centre Liberal MLA Greg Halsey-Brandt doubts there could be a significant reduction in project costs.

"I don't know what we could get that would be cheaper, or whether the money would still be there for it," he said.

On Thursday, Ottawa had boosted its funding commitment for the project to $450 million. The province and the Vancouver International Airport Authority each committed $300 million, and these commitments could now be revoked.

Corrigan is confident the money won't disappear.

"We're going into both provincial and federal elections. I don't know that they can take their toys and go home," he said. "We're trying to find the best way to spend taxpayers' money."

Although it has been suggested Premier Gordon Campbell might intervene to push the project ahead, Halsey-Brandt said the province will respect the TransLink vote.

"The premier has been quite clear it's a local decision," Halsey-Brandt said. "If they don't want it, we're certainly not going to ram it through."

The province has stipulated RAV must be done with a private sector partner.

However, Halsey-Brandt said he would raise the issue with his colleagues next week to see what options are available.

A statement issued by the Vancouver International Airport Authority Friday suggested it isn't optimistic about RAV's future.

Alastair Mullin, an aide to federal Public Works Minister Stephen Owen, said Ottawa respects the decision.

"But the funding in this particular case was funding applied for a specific proposal," he said "That being said, if there are future proposals we would look at them with the same diligence as we did this one."

100 years in Richmond

Christine "Teeny" McKinney celebrates a century

Chris Bryan , Staff Reporter

Christine "Teeny" McKinney folds her hands over one knee and smiles.

"You're going to break the camera, you know," says McKinney, who on May 13 will turn 100old enough that her nephew, Don Gilmore, also lives in the same care home, Gilmore Gardens, named after their family.

Ask her how she made it this far, and she'll just shake her head.

"In my wildest dreams I never thought I'd reach this age," she says. "I think everybody in this building knows it's my birthday. You get on the elevator: How old are you now? No secrets."

McKinney's secret of longevity may never be known, but by listening to her a little, it's possible to guess.

She might tell you about a recent event where she was asked to speak.

"It wasn't because I was popular. It was because I was old."

She told the crowd: "I'm getting nervous. I think I'm going to lose my teeth."

Or she'll tell you about the short book about her life she prepared for her grandchildren back in 1995.

"I don't know if they've thrown it away yet," she says.

She's a master of the deadpan, and still finds humour in a world where so much has changed, and so many people she's known have gone.

Like anyone whose life covers such a vast territory, it's hard to compete with the richness of her past. She comes from a time when one could, literally, know everyone else in Richmond. Her father was there in 1879 when Hugh Boyd held this municipality's first council meeting at his house on Sea Island.

And she recalls when "downtown Richmond," or Brighouse, had three stores: the Red and White, Mrs. Travers the hairdresser and the gas station.

"Now it's too big," she says.

Most people got around by rowboat when Teeny was born back in 1904, in her grandparents' home at Dyke Road between No. 4 and No. 5 roads.

Her parents, James and Nellie Gilmore, lived on Westham Island at the time. Seeing the young family rowing across for a visit, Grandma would wring a chicken's neck and have it cooking before they arrived.

McKinney soon lived in a house on 100 acres at No. 4 and Dyke Road.

She got to school by horse, riding her Shetland pony, Teddy, to elementary school on Steveston Highway. When she moved on to high school way up at Bridgeport, she rode as far as the stables at Shell and Steveston, where she caught the Interurban Tram to school.

At the church youth group at South Arm United she met John Alton McKinney. They married in 1923 and lived in a house at the corner of Steveston and No. 2 Road for 58 years, raising two kids and farming.

McKinney's proud to say that during the internment of Japanese-Canadians during the Second World War her family helped hide furniture and other items belonging to local families in her basement and her barn so they wouldn't be confiscated.

These days, she enjoys playing cards and visiting with relatives.

She's taught all her children and grandchildren to play everything from poker to crib to fish.

Recently, though, she's had to give it up.

"My eyes are going, so I can't see," she explains.

But she still looks strong and walks the hallways of Gilmore Gardens every morning to stay in shape.

On Thursday, some maintenance workers doing work nearby had a hose on the floor outside her room.

"If I fall over that," she quipped, "I'll sue."

The horrors of crystal meth

Martin van den Hemel , Staff Reporter

Parents need to get informed about the latest highly-addictive drug to destroy Lower Mainland families before it becomes a horror that hits their home.

That's what one anguished mother told a group of about 150 adults, children, teens and parents at Wednesday's forum on crystal meth at West Richmond Community Centre.

Deborah Sullivan recounted how she made the agonizing decision to let her two adult sons go to jail so they would be forced to combat their addiction, rather than hire a top-notch lawyer to help them avoid incarceration for the crimes they had committed.

"Crystal meth is a lie that destroys people," Sullivan said in an emotional presentation that brought her to tears. She encouraged parents to arm themselves with as much information as they can about this deadly drug, which is not only cheap but creates a euphoria that can last up to 12 hours.

Also known as ice (methamphetamine hydrochloride), crystal meth is a drug that's as addictive as cocaine and heroin and is fast becoming the drug of choice because its high lasts so long, is affordable and easily manufactured.

Also known as glass, it comes in chunky crystals and is cooked up in clandestine labs. It is closely related to amphetamines but has far greater effects on the central nervous system and brain, causing paranoia and hallucinations and violent rages. According to a Lower Mainland survey done by Pacific Community Resources in 2002, nearly one in five youths between 12 and 25 years old had tried the drug.

Nurse Dawn Dixon said crystal can be snorted, smoked, injected or ingested and brings about a euphoric rush. Since meth is an appetite suppressant, it routinely results in malnutrition and weight loss. At the same time, users feel an "increased sexual liberation," putting them at risk to contract sexually-transmitted diseases.

Sullivan spoke about the drug from a mother's point of view. Although her sons didn't know of her plans at the time they were in court, she said it seemed like the right decision to force them through their recovery while behind bars.

"Their eyes are again bright and there's laughter in their voices," she said of her sons.

And her message to parents and those hooked on crystal meth: "Don't give up because you're not alone...there is a light at the end of the tunnel."

Recovering drug addict Chelsea Trites, who grew up in Coquitlam, started smoking when she was just nine, and drinking alcohol and smoking marijuana by the time she was 13.

Although she had been actively involved in bike racing, that fell to the wayside when she became hooked on crystal meth and started running away from home and skipping school.

"I was really ripping my family apart," said Trites, who has been clean for 11 months now and moved to a new community. "I burned everything around me...there was nothing left."

After several cycles of trying to get clean only to relapse a short time later, Trites is confident her addiction is now behind her.

"All of my friends in life that I kept losing during these relapses, they're back and not going anywhere."

"I just want people to get something from this," Trites said about the forum, which also included presentations from RCMP Const. Jazz Gill and toxicologist Wayne Jeffery. "It's really important to have some family support."

Christa Mullaly, prevention specialist from the Richmond Alcohol and Drug Action Team, was pleased with the turnout. Though Richmond doesn't have an identifiable run-down area where people congregate to use drugs, like Vancouver's Downtown Eastside, the problem of crystal meth use definitely exists here too. She's hoping the forum has acted as the first step in creating an "open dialogue" on the issue.

Mullaly said there are more young women than menusually between 14 and 25 years oldaddicted to crystal meth. That's likely because the drug acts as an appetite suppressant, and those recovering don't feel like eating and worry about gaining weight and maintaining their body image. This acts as another pressure to return to using the drug, which costs only $10 for an hours-long high.

Toxicologist Wayne Jeffery, who once worked for the RCMP and is a former pharmacist, spoke about the legislation involving field sobriety tests for drivers, among other things.

While alcohol is easy to test for by way of the ubiquitous breathalyzer machine, verifying whether a driver is high on drugs is harder to prove and test for.

Jeffery gave a number of signs for parents to look for in their children if they suspect a drug addiction. The effects on the mind range from decreased fatigue, increased confidence, restlessness and talkativeness in low doses, to hallucinations and psychosis in high doses. In terms of impact on the body, low doses result in increased heartrate and blood pressure, and decreased appetite to fever, chest pain, irregular heartbeat and death due to overdose in high doses.

Gill spoke about the dangers posed by the dozens of clandestine drug labs around the province, which are expected to double in number over the next year.

He also discussed the challenges police officers face when dealing with addicts, who are often violent, aggressive and delusional.

Mullaly said more events are coming up in Richmond this year to deal with all types of addictions, from alcohol and drugs to gambling.

For information about crystal meth, call Richmond Alcohol and Drug Action Team at 604-270-9220.

Focus on Nursing

Promoting health

Don Fennell, Staff Reporter

Cathy Houldson isn't sure what spawned her interest in nursing, just that it's all she ever wanted to do.

"When I was a small child I was intrigued somehow and wanted to be a nurse," says the Children and Youth Program leader at Richmond Health Services.

Humbled by her recent Award of Excellence in Nursing Administration from the Registration Nurses Association of B.C., Houldson has been in public health since 1976. She's worked the last decade in Richmond after spending 18 years with the Vancouver Health Department.

She has seen, and experienced, first-hand many changes in health care since she graduated from nursing school in 1964. In the early part of her career dealing with infectious diseases was common. Preventative care is more common these days, she says.

This includes working more closely with other local community agencies to prevent both illness and injury and assisting people to help themselves from pre-natal screening to caring for senior citizens. Screening programs to pick up any development delays in children to diseases prevented by vaccines are explored. Good eating habits, active play and healthy relationships are also important factors in an individual's overall health, she says.

Described by colleagues as a "transformational leader," Houldson fosters and builds upon the unique abilities of individuals in establishing an effective working group.

She promotes the McCreary Adolescent Health Survey to Richmond schools. The findings help provide important data used in planning youth services and guiding health services staff to improve practices and services, she says. It is vital health care workers know what the issues are so that they can help remedy the situation.

Houldson is also a founding member of the Critical Thinking and Research Interest Group, which looks at how nurses carry out their work and attempts to keep them current.

"It came out of a professional interest to look at how we could critically (decide) what is best practice," she says.

Currently, Houldson heads up the children and youth program for two- to 24-year-olds. She says healthy relationships are important in promoting good health. Recent research shows that with early intervention children have a better likelihood of being happy and well-balanced as adults.

But one area of concern is an increasingly sedentary lifestyle among children and youth. Houldson says they are not getting the same level of exercise as the previous generation. With their increasingly hectic schedules, families are also more prone to eat at fast food outlets which don't always meet their nutritional needs. All of this is contributing to a growing problem of obesity among young people.

The Richmond health department has recently introduced an interactive game based on Snakes and Ladders which promotes good health. The feedback from students has been positive, she says.

"It's not `thou shalt not'...but getting them to understand what the choices and consequences are," she says. "It's quite powerful as a result."

Houldson says she is proud of the advances in health services in Richmond during the last decade, particularly those that have brought workers closer to the public.

While it's going to take a while to measure all of the results, she's confident it's a positive step in the right direction.

From breakdown to back to work

Program helps those with mental illness return to the work force

Tia Abell, Staff Reporter

If her son hadn't been sitting in the back seat, this mother-of-three would have accelerated into a telephone pole.

"I'd always been a happy out-going person. I like to have fun," says Hope (not her real name), 40. "But, when you're depressed, you go into a deep dark pit. It's the worst thing I've ever been through in my life. I couldn't look after the kids, I couldn't eat, I couldn't cook. (Recovery) is like coming back again."

After her breakdown, Hope found help at DRS Vocational Services, a Human Resources Development Canada-sponsored program that assists people with physical, emotional and mental health barriers get back to work.

She's agreed to talk with The Richmond Review for Mental Health Week, May 3-10, but doesn't want to be identified.

"Because some of the stress is at work, I have to be careful," she says during a phone interview. "There's still a stigma with mental illness."

This stigma can make it tough for anyone with a mental illness to findnever mind keepa job. Worse, people with mental illnesses may even stigmatize themselves.

Moira Anderson, a co-ordinator and employment counsellor for DRS Vocational Services, says a lot of people with mental illnesses carry the extra burden of feeling that their illnesses define them.

"Having a job and maintaining employment takes a whole (healthy) person, not just skills," she says. "One of our clients had a lot of skills, she was a teacher, but during a mock interview she didn't discuss her skillsonly her eating disorder and her mental illness.

"Many of them have suffered from mental illness since childhood, and they believe they are their mental illness."

Anderson sees clients from all walks of life, from computer programmers to retail sales associates. About 97 per cent suffer from mental illnesses like stress, depression and schizophrenia. Some have dual diagnoses, and if they have a re-occurring illness, uncomfortable gaps may appear on their employment record.

It can be difficult to explain such a gap to a potential employer and in fact may be better to address another way, Anderson says.

"A lot of times they'll do a volunteer position for awhile."

The employment counsellors also work with employers to help dispel myths about mental illness.

"Some employers cringe when we approach them; it's easier for people to understand physical disabilities," Anderson says.

"In today's job market, there's so much competition employers have their pick of highly skilled employees who will work for minimum wage or $10 per hour. Going in with a mental illness shoots them out of the water right away."

The statistics tell the story: unemployment rates run from 70 to 90 per cent for people with mental health disabilities, according to the Canadian Mental Health Association.

Anderson notes that while mental illness can be hereditary, the stress of the workplace can be a trigger. Yet having a job and feeling productive is beneficial to mental health.

Sometimes the answer is a change of career. Or, as with Hope's case, it's about learning new coping skills. At DRS Vocational Services, clients learn lifeskills (including stress-management), job-search skills and get help with career exploration if a change is needed.

Hope says when her breakdown happened, she'd been under stress at her job, her beloved grandmother had just died, and she was deeply troubled over health problems suffered by one of her daughters, who has special needs.

And she'd missed the signs of an on-coming emotional meltdown. Although her family has a long history of depression, she didn't see any of it in herself.

But what a difference a year can make.

Hope is back at work at her job as a cashier for a large supermarket and is healthy and active again.

"The counsellors (at DRS) were fabulous," Hope says. "They really helped me to understand what I was going through.

"It really helped me to identify the two areas that were giving me the most stress in my life. Now I ask for help and don't take on other people's stress. I'm learning to leave things more.

We say `yes' to too many things. I'm learning how to say `no' and that's a big one."

For more information on DRS Vocational Services, call 604-270-7721.

Housing boom may mean cheaper rents

Julia Caranci, Regional Reporter

Renters in the Lower Mainland have more choice than they've had in years, and may soon see more benefits, including cheaper rent, as thousands of tenants leave their leases to sign mortgages.

For years, the vacancy rate in the Lower Mainland remained lowbetween 1.7 and two per centand rental costs stayed high due to high demand and low supply.

In 2003, the average rent for a one-bedroom apartment was $734 in Richmond, according to Canadian Mortgage and Housing Corporation figures. In all Lower Mainland municipalities, rental costs increased from 2002 to 2003.

However, unusually low interest rates and a hot condo market could change these trends in the near future. As a result, the rental market has opened up. Vacancy rates are presently between three and four per cent in many parts of the Lower Mainland.

Linda Mix, spokesperson for the Tenants' Rights Action Coalition, said in a market-driven economy landlords should now be decreasing their rates, just as they would increase them in a climate of low vacancy.

"I think good landlords will do what they can to attract good tenants," she said.

Mix added that those who increase rents in this high vacancy market will lose stable tenants to better deals.

However, Lynda Pasacreta, chief executive officer of the B.C. Apartment Owners and Managers Association, is recommending landlords increase rents each year to cover repair costs on older buildings and keep up with inflation.

"They are dealing with old stock," shesaid. "They need new roofs and new pipingthey have higher gas costs."

But she did acknowledge renters could see more perks being offered to attract tenants if vacancy rates remain high, including winning a trip or a month's free rent. Already some higher-end suites that used to rent in the range of $1,200 per month have seen decreases to between $900 and $1,000, she said.

In some Ontario cities, where vacancy rates have at times been in the teens, some landlords have gotten into discount wars, offering as much as three months free rent to attract tenants. Pasacreta said the trend will probably be less dramatic in the Lower Mainland.