Mosquitoes have lots of bite

Hot weather and high tides provide ideal breeding ground this year

Martin van den Hemel, Staff Reporter

If you thought the mosquitoes this year were particularly plentiful, you weren't alone.

A combination of unusually warm temperatures and high tides provided ideal conditions for these itch-inducing insects to breed this year.

Richmond public health inspector Steve Chong said the city has received more complaints this year than in the recent past.

More than two dozen complaints have been fielded so far this summer, but Chong said his mosquito-fighting team is doing its best.

"This year has been worse."

Whenever the tides top 14 feet, something that's happened often this year, that creates a countless number of pools along Sturgeon Banks, outside the west dyke.

And these pools, with their stagnant water, provide just the environment mosquitoes thrive in.

That's part of the reason why most of the complaints have come from West Richmond, including Seafair and Steveston, which is near the dyke, Chong said.

But his team of seven has been trying to bite back by spreading a special larvicide that's aimed at ending the mosquito's lifecycle before it begins.

But the crew has 177 kilometres of ditches, as well as 100 hectares along Sturgeon Banks to cover, something that takes about seven days to do before the process is repeated anew. They've been hard at work since May and will forge on until the end of September.

For all the misery, Chong pointed out that local conditions aren't alone to blame.

Mosquitoes can fly 15 to 20 kilometres and that leaves open the possibility that Richmond's neighbours to the immediate north and south could be the source of some of the pests.

Neither Vancouver, which has lots of potential breeding grounds along southwest Marine Drive and the Musqueam lands, nor Ladner have their own mosquito fighting measures, he said.

So how can you fight off those nuisance bugs?

There's a relatively new device on the market that sells for around $300 and claims to attract mosquitoes and then kill them.

Although the health department doesn't endorse any products, Chong said the principle behind this device seems sound.

Like the carbon dioxide that the city uses with its light traps to draw mosquitoes, this device works in the same fashion.

But there are cheaper ways to fend off mosquitoes.

Aside from insect repellent, residents can cut down on the breeding grounds on their own property.

Clogged drain pipes provide a still source of water, vital to mosquitoes. So do objects that catch rainfall without letting it drain.

Homeowners can install screens on their doors and windows, and cut back on garden shrubs, where mosquitoes retreat in order to avoid the sun.

(For more information about mosquitoes and prevention, check out the Vancouver Coastal Health Authority web site at www.vch.ca or the B.C. Centre for Disease Control at www.bccdc.org)

Asked about the West Nile virus, Chong said health officials were anticipating its arrival this year.

But so far, so good.

The virus will likely first be seen in birds before humans, and so far neither has tested positive in British Columbia.

The virus spreads in large part thanks to birds.

Once a bird is infected by West Nile-carrying mosquitoes, the bird becomes a vector, carrying the virus along its migration routes. When these infected birds are bitten by other mosquitoes in a new area, they transmit the disease to the insect, which then in turn can transmit it to humans.

As of Tuesday afternoon, only two birds had tested positive for the virus in southern Oregon with no human cases thus far.

California, on the other hand, has seen hundreds of humans hit with the virus, mostly in that state's southern half. But only three human cases have been reported in northern California.

Chong said the lack of cases in Washington State makes it unlikely the virus will make it to British Columbia this year.

"Every week that passes, the risk diminishes," he said.

HEU official to lose post

Chris Allnutt will not be reappointed in October

Julia Caranci, Regional Reporter

The Hospital Employees' Union has told one of its most prominent members to say good-bye to his position.

Secretary-business manager Chris Allnutt, who was the public voice for the union during the hospital workers' strike earlier this year, will not be reappointed when his term expires in October, the union announced Friday.

Allnutt was also the chief administrative officer and spokesperson for the union. He sat as a member of its provincial executive. He has worked for the HEU since 1989 and was appointed secretary-business manager in 1996.

Some union members have been critical of HEU officials, particularly after striking hospital workers were legislated back to work and forced to accept a concession package in May.

HEU provincial president Fred Muzin said Friday the union will move in a different direction this year, but would give no specific reason why Allnutt won't be reappointed.

He did say Allnutt was surprised when Muzin broke the news to him.

It isn't clear whether Allnutt will continue on with the union at all after his term expires in October.

He is eligible for a "modest" severance, although Muzin declined to comment on the amount.

Allnutt is currently on a leave of absence that union officials say is related to the decision not to reappoint him. Zorica Bosancic, HEU assistant secretary-business manager, has assumed Allnutt's responsibilities in his absence.

Delegates to the biennial convention in October ratify the decision made by the provincial executive, who appoint the secretary-business manager.

Councillors say nein to canines in Terra Nova Park

Committee goes against staff recommendation

Martin van den Hemel, Staff Reporter

Banning dogs from the proposed new $6-million Terra Nova Rural Park would frustrate residents, be difficult to enforce and penalize responsible dog owners for their irresponsible counterparts in the community.

But despite the staff recommendation against an outright dog ban, councillors appear poised to bring in a no-pooch zone anyway. At Tuesday afternoon's parks and recreation committee meeting, the committee was unanimous in recommending the ban.

The plan, in its current form, calls for between $6 million and $8 million to be spent on the 63-acre park, which is bound by the Terra Nova subdivision to the east, Sturgeon Banks to the west and the Fraser River to the north. One proposal is to re-open the park's bodies of water to the Fraser River, thereby allowing various species of fish to access the area, where chum salmon once spawned.

Coun. Harold Steves said he has seen first hand the damage a dog can do to wildlife and their habitat, and doesn't believe the two can co-exist.

While staff recommended a one-year pilot project which would allow dogs in a specific area of Terra Nova, Steves said the city has already conducted a pilot project along the West Dyke over the past several years and it hasn't worked.

"I've witnessed dogs rip the dickens out of bird nests."

During the spring about a half dozen times every year, he sees dogs running loose in the Sturgeon Banks area, and smash bird eggs and disturb wildlife.

He's convinced the same scenario would be repeated at Terra Nova.

"If we're trying to preserve the wildlife habitat at Terra Nova Park, we can't take that chance."

Steves also noted that three families appeared at Tuesday's meeting and spoke on favour of a complete ban.

Coun. Bill McNulty said there are 3,500 licensed dogs in Richmond, and with about three people per average family, that amounts to about 10,000 dog owners. But there's 160,000 people who don't own dogs, he said.

"Maybe we should create a people park. That's not to say we're against dogs."

McNulty said he's seen it time and again where irresponsible dog owners don't clean up after their pets, and is worried that this will translate into other problems on this jade jewel in Terra Nova.

"If we allow dogs now, it's very hard to take it away," McNulty said.

Staff had recommended that council give the go-ahead to create a comprehensive dog management strategy for the park, as well as the West Dyke Trail and Garry Point Park.

In addition, staff suggested that the city create two zones in the park that include a controlled dogs on-leash zone, as well as a no-dog zone as part of a one-year pilot project.

The other option, one that committee members appeared to be favouring at a meeting two weeks ago, was not recommended by staff.

The staff report states that "some of the possible implications of...creating a no-dog zone over the whole 63 acres" include:

• limiting a popular recreational past time for many residents. The vision approved by the public for the park was to balance recreational uses with heritage and environmental uses;
• penalizing the responsible dog owners for the few irresponsible owners;
• difficulty in enforcing a no-dog zone due to the size of the park and time needed to access someone in the middle of the park;
• increased frustration of residents being banned from a local park. Experience in other municipalities have indicated that creating a no-dog park is very difficult when it is adjacent to a residential area;
• an increased enforcement regiment would be required.

"For these reasons, staff does not recommend this option at this time."

McNulty said he's visited some of Richmond's parks which allow dogs, and said more often than not, he doesn't see the dog owners carrying plastic bags for clean-up.

"That shows me their treatment of dogs in off-leash areas."

He's worried that opening up Terra Nova to dogs would create an even bigger problem, noting the sensitivity of some of the wildlife in the area.

"The dogs aren't the problem. It's the owners."

If there's a ray of hope for dog owners, it's the fact that only three members of council attended Tuesday's committee meeting.

That means there are five other councillors, as well as Richmond Mayor Malcolm Brodie, who haven't weighed in on the issue yet.

It's all about inspiration

RAG exhibition engages creative spirits

Tia Abell, Staff Reporter

• Arts Centre User Groups exhibit at Richmond Art Gallery
• *Featuring the Chinese Calligraphy and Painting Club, Creative Jewellers Guild, Richmond Artists Guild, Richmond Photo Club and Richmond Weavers and Spinners
• Runs Sept. 2-26 at Richmond Art Gallery (180-7700 Minoru Gate). Gallery hours are 9 a.m. to 9:30 p.m., Monday until Friday and 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday. Info: 604-231-6454.

Sometimes creativity is not just about engaging viewers-it's about inspiring them to join in.

That's the main impetus for the Richmond Art Gallery's Arts Centre User Groups show opening Sept. 3, an annual exhibition that celebrates the artists, artisans and hobbyists who share the Cultural Centre.

And, of course, it's a great opportunity for local talent to strut their stuff in a professional space.

"We're very proud to do (this show)," says Margreth Fry, president of the Richmond Artists Guild, one of the five groups in the show. "It's a beautiful lighted area and very important for us to have that time-so that people can see how much art has developed in Richmond."

About 32 guild members will be showing their best paintings, in acrylic, oil or water colour and ranging from naturalistic to abstract. Celebrating their 50th anniversary next year, the guild's 60-plus members regularly show and sell art in local malls or at the cultural centre-but beginners are always welcome, Fry says.

"We love to accept new members; there are so many things to learn, we are a vibrant, exciting club."

Seeking new members is perhaps the main commonality between the clubs showing-that and a deep appreciation for the spirit of creativity and for their chosen mediums.

For this exhibition the mediums include gold and pearls, light, ink and even wool, as the other groups showing this year are the Creative Jewellers Guild, the Richmond Photo Club, the Richmond Weavers and Spinners and the Chinese Calligraphy and Painting Club.

Some of these clubs have been around a long time. The jewellers guild, for example, has been active in Richmond since the late-1950s, says Eric Kemp, the guild's display chair. The group has about 35 members-about five of whom are Americans-and all are amateurs, although the group brings in professionals to give talks.

"We work mainly in metals and create our own pieces of jewelry," Kemp says. "There'll be gold pieces, some silver, necklaces with coloured stones (at the show). I'm pretty impressed with some of the stuff we have."

One of the members has made silver chains from hand. A few also do lapidary and set stones they've polished themselves.

"It's all entirely coming out of their own minds," Kemp says. "(The show) encourages people to view, or to think of (creative jewelry) as something they may want to do."

Tove Luers, Richmond Weavers and Spinners chair-elect, is also looking forward to getting the word out on her group. "A lot of people don't know we exist. But we have lessons and people can come out and take part."

The group will show 10 pieces-floor rugs, table runners, a scarf, a tea towel, a baby blanket and a basket of hand-spun yarn.

"There's no theme, just a collection of what people like and what we would want people to see. The standard is quite high."

Unlike some of the other exhibitors, none of the weavers and spinners are out to sell their work-there just isn't a market for it in Richmond, Luers says. But working with textiles has other attractions.

As for most artisans and artists, much of the pleasure comes from the act of creation, from working with the materials. And that's something the group would like to share with the public.

"We are a small and close-knit group," she says. "We have a lot of fun. It's very relaxing and it takes you back to a time when things were a bit slower. We're fibre-holics, it's very addictive."

–Tonight's opening reception is from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m.

Sea Islanders lend a hand for public art project

Tia Abell, Staff Reporter

Hands from across Sea Island will soon be immortalized in a bronze tribute to community spirit.

Designed to sit outside the new Sea Island Fire Hall and Safety Building, the Shaping Hands public art sculpture will be made up of bronze hand prints welded into a globe.

The sculpture is a community participation project, one in which local residents-and their hands-are forming a key part. About 130 people signed up to press their palms in plaster at the Sea Island Community Centre on Saturday to make casts for artist Bart Habermiller's use.

"We wanted something hands-on-there are going to be hands from people of all ages, even newborn babies," says Ingrid Trouw, a volunteer committee member for the Sea Island Fire Hall Public Art Project.

Initiated about a year ago, the municipally funded, $40,000 project was awarded to Habermiller in the spring. The Calgary artist beat out 19 others from across Canada and the U.S. with his design.

"We decided on (Habermiller's) project because it related well to our theme-community and safety," Trouw says. "Because we're a close-knit community, the hands are interconnected."

The circle of hands, to be about 36 inches in diameter and set 24 inches off the ground, is a sculpture to be touched. While the artist will use a patina to darken the metal palms, his plan suggests areas will lighten as people touch them-another element of public participation in this project.

A Maltese cross, a symbol of fire crews, will be worked into the design as will the palm prints of a couple of local heroes such as Dan McIvor, a recipient of the Order of B.C. and the Order of Canada. McIvor was instrumental in the development of the Mars water bombers.

She notes it's no accident the tilted shape resembles the geographic globes found in schools and libraries around the world.

"It's about how we're inter-connected, not only in our community, but all over the world. That's the importance of helping each other."

Unfortunately, not all the hand casts will be turned into bronze for the sculpture.

And there's only one way to tell if your prints made the cut, Trouw says.

It's a good thing the sculpture is designed to be touched.

Monthly Musical Expressions launched

Singers Arlene Hewitt and Troy Schiewe headline Saturday's debut

Don Fennell, Staff Reporter

While she's busy building her own music career, Richmond singer/songwriter Cherelle Jardine has always believed it's important to help other local artists pursue their dreams.

In 1994, she helped to form Salmon City Music, a local-based group of musicians to perform at community functions. Now, Jardine has taken the concept a step further with Musical Expressions.

In conjunction with the City of Richmond's 125th anniversary celebrations, Jardine is hosting an eclectic monthly showcase of local music by Richmond artists. The first show is this Saturday at 8 p.m. at the Richmond Cultural Centre (7700 Minoru Blvd.).

"There were no real venues in Richmond in support of independent music," says Jardine. "But it's time, so I took the idea to the city which is helping to promote this."

Musical Expressions gives local artists a chance to showcase their talents, she says, adding that there are many talented individuals who simply don't get the promotion they need to jump start their careers.

"I'm excited about this," she says. "Right now we're booked almost through March."

The monthly show will run through June 2005, but Jardine hopes the shows will resume again the following September.

Singers Arlene Hewitt and Troy Schiewe will headline the first show, which also features award-wining artist Adrienne Moore, who will be painting original works on site.

Hewitt is a versatile singer who has a passion for many styles of music from Celtic to jazz and pop country to folk. Besides performing with the jazz group The Starry Night Trio, she composes her own songs which express both a celebratory and soulful look at life. She has performed for a variety of audiences at receptions, dinner theatres, community celebrations and has appeared on Canada AM.

Schiewe is blessed with what has been described as "the perfect country voice"-a natural twang reminiscent of the rockabilly singers from Kentucky where his grandfather was born.

"I've never even been to Kentucky, but I guess it's a combination of genetics and the music I grew up singing," he says.

Schiewe's songs cover a wide spectrum, reminding one of Dwight Yoakam, Blue Rodeo and even the Everly Brothers.

"When I first started singing as a kid, it was Every Brothers tunes with my own brother," he says. "I'd have to say that I am probably the biggest Everly Brothers fan around. I always do one of their songs in my shows."

A keyboard player, he took up the guitar in 1999 and also started to write again after a 10-year absence from music.

"That was hard to do," he says. "Music had always been a huge part of my life, but I got married, went back to school, and build a house. I always kept a finger in it, but it had to take a back seat for a while."

A member of the Nashville Songwriters Association, he's currently trying to pare down 30 songs he has written for his debut CD, Sounds My Daddy Taught Me which is in honour of his father who died three years ago.

"He was a big influence on my musically and had a huge range of tastes," he says. "What I write today can be attributed to what he introduced me to at an early age."

Admission to Saturday's show is $5. Tickets are available at the door.

Dress code policy will raise awareness

Most Richmond schools already have guidelines on proper attire

Matthew Hoekstra, Staff Reporter

A new district-wide dress code policy will have little impact on schools this September, but it will draw attention to the issue of inappropriate clothing in the classroom, says the chair of the Richmond school board.

"I think there's going to be a heightened awareness," Linda McPhail said.

Early last month, Richmond school trustees decided to give schools the power to create their own dress codes, provided they meet general district guidelines.

The issue first came to the board last fall after some parents expressed concern over immodest clothing in schools.

Key to the new guidelines is that the entire school community should dress in a way that "shows respect" for themselves and others.

Schools may now establish "reasonable requirements" of dress, but may not impose a uniform.

But the new policy doesn't mean school officials were frantically drafting dress codes over the summer. McPhail said most schools already had one.

"I don't think there's going to be a lot different," she said.

"That's what this (policy), in my mind, was-empowering the administration at a school to do this and to kind of back them up," she said.

What has changed, McPhail said, is that schools should be creating awareness about their dress codes and revisit them once a year.

As a former vice principal of J.N. Burnett Secondary School, district administrator Glenn Kishi said a dress code appeared in the school's student handbook before trustees adopted the policy.

Said Kishi: "Most secondary schools probably have something already."

Seniors' home has too many storeys for city

Independent living residence likely won't go ahead now

Matthew Hoekstra, Staff Reporter

A plan to build a four-storey independent living seniors' residence in Steveston is likely dead after Richmond council sided with residents and opted for a shorter building.

NCL Real Estate Management Ltd. is seeking to rezone most of a two-acre site at No. 2 Road and Moncton Street to allow for a 109-unit residence in a predominantly single family home neighbourhood.

A small group of nearby residents complained the height of the building would impact their quality of life and property values. At a public hearing Monday, council listened, unanimously electing to instruct staff to return with a two-storey proposal.

"The community is adamantly opposed to a four-storey development," said Coun. Bill McNulty.

The current proposal is "too overwhelming" for nearby residents, said McNulty, adding the area plan limits the building's size to two storeys.

In correspondence to council, Steveston resident Gregg Rafter said he is not opposed to the development, just its height.

"There is no reason to allow such tall buildings to be constructed adjacent to single-family dwellings, and, in our view, nothing more than two storeys (including parking) should be allowed."

The proposal calls for a seniors' residence with rental suites ranging from 325 to 600 square feet.

Almost one-fifth of the building is planned for common amenity areas including a dining facility, social lounge, library, hair salon and exercise room.

The residence would not offer medical services, but would provide meals, social and recreational programs, housekeeping and laundry.

McNulty said there is a need for seniors' housing in Richmond, and he believes the project's architect can come up with a shorter building that would utilize more available land on the site.

But proponent NCL Real Estate Management Ltd., Coun. Rob Howard's company, might not come back with a new proposal.

Howard, who absented himself from all council discussions involving the project to avoid a conflict of interest, said he was "bitterly disappointed" at council's decision and said it will "very likely mean we will not proceed."

"We felt so sincerely that this would be heralded as a really responsible development and something that the community really wanted and something that the community needed," he said.

He said designing an economically viable seniors' residence is difficult, and the proposed number of suites are needed to afford amenities to draw people in.

"At two floors spread over that size of a site, economics just aren't there."

Having spent nine months to find a site for the development and 12 months in civic process, Howard said his company will have to take the proposal to a different municipality.

The proposed project mirrors other Richmond developments: Oak Tree House and Gilmore Gardens.

Residents oppose development

Replacing seven homes with 51 is going overboard, they tell city

Martin van den Hemel, Staff Reporter

A group of residents on Steveston Highway strongly urged the city's planning committee to reconsider a proposal to transform seven parcels of land into 51 townhomes.

Judith Sunley, who lives on Kimberley Drive, was critical of the city process which she said neglected to include widespread neighbourhood consultation.

While she's not opposed to development, she said this proposal would result in a major change in the neighbourhood, at the northeast corner of Gilbert Road and Steveston Highway.

The level of densification is not acceptable, she said. She'd rather see a much smaller number of townhomes, perhaps in the range of 14 to 20.

"I am very upset by this process," she told councillors Tuesday afternoon.

She took issue with the staff report, which implied that there had been extensive consultation.

In the report authored by city planner Janet Lee, she wrote that "extensive consultation has taken place to review the development proposal with neighbours and listen to their concerns. Although numerous concerns were expressed throughout the process, many of these have been addressed in the current proposal."

Hudson also questioned whether it was appropriate for city staff to negotiate the amount the developer must pay to the city even before this proposal is approved.

If approved, the developer Patrick Cotter Architect Inc. has negotiated a payment of $95,000 to the city in lieu of the requirement to build indoor amenity space. There will also be a $51,000 community amenity contribution.

In a letter, Sunley wrote: "This rezoning will only bring financial and community hardship to a neighbourhood that has done nothing to deserve this type of action."

Hudson was joined by other residents at Tuesday's meeting. They echoed her sentiments that adding 51 new families to the area will have a major impact on the appearance and feel of the neighbourhood, property values and traffic.

Area resident R.J. Conklin wrote: "It will be difficulty to sell our home now, even though the development has not yet extended to our own backyard. A real estate agent has confirmed that fear."

Coun. Rob Howard pointed out that density and affordability go hand-in-hand and is a necessity to provide low-priced housing.

While the proposal will now go forward to a public hearing, both councillors Harold Steves and Sue Halsey-Brandt suggested the housing at the rear of the project look more like the single family homes they are backing onto.

Steves said he believes there's too many units being requested, and suggested that he might vote against the project unless that issue is addressed.

The architect has agreed to have another meeting with neighbours.

Coun. Bill McNulty, chair of the planning committee, also recommended that a larger area of homes be notified of the development.

Roll out the barrels

City of Richmond poised to subsidize water-conservation program

Martin van den Hemel, Staff Reporter

The City of Richmond isn't planning on becoming a big box discount retailer, but it could soon be offering 50 per cent off on rainwater barrels.

The city's public works and transportation committee agreed with a staff recommendation Wednesday to implement a subsidized program as part of a water-conservation effort. Council must still approve the plan.

Water services manager Steve McClurg wrote in a report that by implementing the program, the city's will "reaffirm our conservation leadership and our commitment to environmental stewardship."

"Rainwater barrels provide a source of water for lawns and gardens that does not tax the municipal water system," he wrote.

"The combination of residential water metering and rainwater barrel programs promotes and increases the public's awareness to conserve drinking water."

If council agrees, some $10,000 in funding will be used to purchase up to 75 garden water savers (a 202-litre container that can be hooked up to the rain gutter, self flushes when it's full and has no openings for mosquitoes to fly in) and 25 flexahoppers (a 341-litre half barrel which overflows to the storm drain and has a childproof opening).

Coupons for the 50 per cent subsidy would be available to Richmond residents at city hall's tax counter, and the barrels would be available for pick-up at the city's Lynas Lane recycling facility.

So how much could the community save through this program?

According to the staff report, there was sufficient rainfall to fill the barrels 11 times during the high-demand period between June and September of 2003. The total amount of water saved would have a value of $1.37 at each household during this period.

Staff note that the rainwater barrel would provide an source of water for non-drinking purposes during emergencies that would knock out the city's water supply.

College eyed for former ALR land

Richberry Farms applies to change zoning to include education use

Martin van den Hemel, Staff Reporter

Seven properties along Westminster Highway may become the future home of a private university college.

Richberry Farms, which owns the land on the 20000 block of Westminster Highway, near No. 9 Road, has applied to the city to change the zoning to allow for the building of a possible educational institution.

Kingston College is a potential tenant for the site, Richberry Farm officials have told the city.

Richberry was successful in its bid to have the properties excluded from the province's agricultural land reserve in 2001.

Later that same year, Richberry applied to rezone the property to business park industrial district, which was finalized last June.

City of Richmond's Wayne Craig, program coordinator, recommended that the rezoning be approved.

"Rezoning of the subject site as proposed conforms to the (official community plan) designation and would be compatible with the surrounding land uses," Craig said.

At Tuesday's planning committee meeting, Coun. Harold Steves said he would like to see a little more open space in any future development.

Ex-council candidate charged with assault

Dean Hsieh to appear in court on Monday

Martin van den Hemel, Staff Reporter

Council candidate Dean Hsieh, a member of the city's 2010 Olympic Opportunities task force, has been charged with assaulting his wife.

The incident is alleged to have occurred on Thursday, June 24 and Hsieh, 48, has been barred from going to the McCutcheon Place home he shared with his wife Angela, or contacting her.

He is next scheduled to appear in Richmond provincial court on Monday for an arraignment hearing at 10:30 a.m. He is free on a personal undertaking, which is a promise to the court.

Hsieh ran under the Richmond First banner in his first run for a council seat in 2002, and finished 11th with 6,990 votes, 2,400 votes fewer than Rob Howard, who was the eighth and final councillor elected.

He is also a member of the board of directors of the Richmond Community Foundation.

Reached Thursday afternoon, Hsieh said he had no comment.

"This is in the courts, so there is no comment...The allegation is the allegation, and until it's proven there's only allegations."

Asked if he plans to step down from any of his community positions, Hsieh said: "No, not until the court proceeding is resulted."

Hsieh wouldn't say whether he intends to enter a not-guilty plea.

"I will let you know when this thing is over."

Hsieh's lawyer, Jim Humphrey, was on vacation and unavailable for comment.

Hsieh was appointed for a three-year term on the City of Richmond's board of variance in 2002.

Attempts to reach Hsieh's wife were unsuccessful.

Friends and acquaintances of Hsieh were shocked at the allegations when contacted by The Richmond Review.

"I've never sensed any violence from him," said one friend, who has known him for several years.

Neither Coun. Kiichi Kumagai nor Coun. Bill McNulty, who ran along with Hsieh on Richmond First's 2002 slate after the council veterans left the Richmond Non-Partisan Association, were aware of the charges and said they didn't know Hsieh well enough to comment.

Transportation upgrades eyed for city centre

29 changes urged by task force seek to address traffic, parking and transit issues

Martin van den Hemel, Staff Reporter

The city is hopeful that 29 changes will address traffic, parking and transit issues in the city centre area.

On Wednesday, the city's public works and transportation committee agreed with staff and endorsed 29 recommendations and two of three requests made by the City Centre North Transit Task Force.

The issue will now be forwarded to an upcoming council meeting.

Highlights of the recommendations include:

• area merchants are to investigate the operation of a shuttle bus that connects area malls with the Sexsmith Park and Ride lot;
• reviewing the feasibility of removing the complete ban on right turns at red lights at certain intersections on No. 3 Road;
• expedite the remaining improvements of the City Centre Transportation Plan including the Browngate Road extension;
• assess and, if feasible, improve capacity of the northbound left-turn lane on No. 3 Road at Leslie Road (to the Real Canadian Superstore);
• expedite extension of Corvette Way (west of Capstan Way and No. 3 Road) to improve access to businesses on the west side of No. 3 Road;
• establishing a new City Centre shuttle service operated by TransLink, the region's transportation authority.

There were also three requests made by the task force, which worked with city staff and input from TransLink, Coast Mountain Bus Company and other agencies in making the recommendations.

The first request was to allocate pay parking revenues generated in the city centre north to fund road, parking and pedestrian improvements.

Staff stopped short of recommending this request.

Instead, transportation planner Joan Caravan urged that city council consider this separately as part of its review of the city's pay parking program.

The committee did agree with the staff recommendation that the city take the lead in seeing that these changes become a reality, and that the city act as a strong advocate for implementing the transit improvements.

Spinal cord injury nets man nothing

Kelowna man loses lawsuit against Richmond doctor

Martin van den Hemel, Staff Reporter

A former service advisor at Richmond Honda has lost his lawsuit against a local doctor over a spinal cord injury.

Frank Ward, who currently lives in Kelowna, originally sued Delta Hospital and several doctors who treated him, claiming that they failed to earlier d

Ward, 65, dropped the lawsuit against the hospital and all but one of the doctors, but chose to continue the action against Richmond's Dr. Gordon Mackie.

B.C. Supreme Court Justice Stephen Kelleher dismissed Ward's claim earlier this month, in part, because Ward "gave a highly improbable account of his circumstances on many occasions."

Ward claimed that in December of 1996, he went to Delta Hospital's emergency department, two days after he fell down a flight of stairs. He testified he complained that when he turned his head to the right, he fell to the left.

In his testimony, Ward claimed he told his doctors about this on many occasions, but the medical records and memories of the doctors involved don't corroborate that assertion.

Dr. David Esler, an emergency physician who saw Ward that December day, did not record a complaint of Ward falling to the left when turning his head to the right. Dr. Esler referred Ward to an internal medical consultant, who sent Ward to Richmond General Hospital for a lung scan.

Justice Kelleher made reference to this incident because of Ward's description of the trip.

"Mr. Ward testified that he was not transported safely but rather made to sit on a `Coke box' in the back of the ambulance and his head was `flopping all over the place.' He stated that one of the ambulance attendants thought that Mr. Ward had a spinal injury and was `scared.'" But "both ambulance attendants testified that no patient has ever been transported in the fashion Mr. Ward described. If there had been any suspicion of a spinal cord problem, they would have taken special precautions to immobilize Mr. Ward. He was not placed on a box of any kind, but was secured in the ambulance."

Months later, in May 1997, Ward suffered a serious fall at work, where he struck his head on a wall and did not have the strength to get up.

In the days that followed, Ward saw his doctors, who noted a "marked change in his condition that needed to be addressed promptly."

It was then that Ward was diagnosed with a cervical myelopathy. Ward's doctors felt that his condition developed in April or May 1997.

Several expert witnesses testified in the case, including Seattle neurologist Dr. Ted Rothstein, who concluded that Dr. Mackie "failed to meet the standard of neurological practice." Rothstein said it was his opinion that Dr. Mackie failed to take an adequate medical history, did not pursue a diagnosis with a confirmatory test and did not arrange a follow-up exam to determine whether additional symptoms had developed.

Dr. Mark Matishak, a neurosurgeon at Royal Columbian Hospital in New Westminster, expressed the view that four of the physicians who saw Ward "all failed to recognize `the history and symptomology of a progressive cervical myelopathy.'"

Two other expert witnesses, including Dr. Winston Gittens, a Royal Columbian Hospital neurosurgeon, and Vancouver neurologist Dr. Robert Keyes, disagreed. They reviewed Ward's medical records and found no evidence of neurological compromise when Ward attended Delta Hospital in late 1996.

Dr. Keyes concluded that all of the treating physicians "performed reasonable and appropriate diagnoses, assessments and treatments."

Justice Kelleher made special mention of Dr. Rothstein's opinion, which he found "disclosed a certain lack of objectivity when he was asked in cross-examination whether an accurate history from the patient is necessary for an accurate diagnosis...He seemed to be saying if the patient's recorded history is inaccurate, it is the fault of the person taking it rather than the patient's."

Local charged in massive organized crime plot

Richmond's Go Fu Feng, 38, charged with conspiracy to produce ecstasy

Martin van den Hemel, Staff Reporter

Investigators say they've shattered a sophisticated organized crime plot which has so far netted more than $750,000 in cash, 730 kilograms of marijuana, 12 kilograms of cocaine, 71 kilograms of ecstasy and nearly 1,800 kilograms of a chemical capable of making 21 million doses of crystal ecstasy.

On Tuesday, police announced the seizures as well as the arrest of three Lower Mainland men, including 38-year-old Richmond resident Go Fu Feng.

Feng, along with Burnaby's Sum Peter Li, 54, and Bryan King Chun Tsang, 20, have been charged with conspiracy to produce ecstasy.

That charge relates to the discovery of the ecstasy precursor chemical, which was found July 21 in a shipment that purported to contain 400 cartons of soy sauce and 450 cartons of rice noodles.

Canada Border Services Agency examined the shipment and found 66 cartons that were labelled as soy sauce but actually contained jugs filled with a suspicious yellow liquid, which turned out to be a controlled substance known as MDP2P.

The police were called in, and during the course of a month-long investigation delivered the shipment from Delta Port to a Vancouver storage facility.

That's when investigators discovered what they contend is a major inter-provincial drug smuggling operation between Vancouver and Toronto.

Local investigators enlisted help from Toronto's Combined Special Forces Enforcement Unit, which resulted in the seizure of cash and drugs in various locations throughout the Lower Mainland and Toronto between Aug. 14 and Aug. 20.

Investigators also seized 650 cartons of cigarettes.

The marijuana, cocaine and powdered ecstasy were found in another storage site and have resulted in Burnaby's Li being charged with possession for the purpose of trafficking ecstasy, cocaine and marijuana.

Police described Li as a "highly involved member of organized crime."

Cell phone safety debate radiates

Computer chip device claims to prevent exposure to electromagnetic fields

Philip Raphael, Staff Reporter

Are cellular telephones and the electromagnetic fields they create actually a health hazard to those who use them?

That's likely a question only time will ultimately provide a definitive answer to as the scientific community continues to study the long-term effects of exposure. But a Richmond man who has recently begun marketing a high-tech device designed to protect cell phones users from any potential risks believes he may have the answer now.

"I see this whole debate over whether cell phones are harmful to be similar to the situation years ago surrounding the tobacco and asbestos industries when people first started getting sick," says Duncan McNiven.

"Then, the industries claimed there was nothing wrong with their products."

Today, it's a different story, he says.

"I can see liability issues over cell phones stretching out five or 10 years down the road when we really find out what the effects have been."

Two months ago McNiven became a sales representative for a product called the Biopro Cell Chip, a dime-sized, wafer-thin computer chip that when attached behind the mouthpiece and close to the antenna claims to harmonize electromagnetic fields produced by cellular phones, rendering the emissions harmless.

McNiven sells the $69.95 chips through his own company called TelUtil (www.telutil.com). They are produced by Biopro Technology, which is based in Carlsbad, California, and were developed from technology produced by the Russian space program which used them to protect astronauts from radiation during space missions.

The health concerns to those cell phone users back on Earth run a variety of illnesses and conditions, from brain tumours and migraines, to fatigue and memory loss.

"I've never owned a cell phone, and never will unless I had one of these things (chips) on it," says McNiven. "I thought it would be like putting my head inside a low powered microwave oven."

McNiven's experience as an aircraft navigation systems technician with the Canadian Armed Forces helped pique his interest in electromagnetic field emissions from cell phones and their effects.

"Each time we'd have a plane on the ground to work on it, we'd make sure people kept away from its antennae because they emit the same thing," he says, adding that cell phone users are placing the antenna of their hand sets close to the heads during use, something that can produce "warm ear," or a tingling feeling along the arms and chest after prolonged exposure.

The belief is that the magnetic field can disrupt cellular development and leave a person prone to developing a host of ailments after prolonged exposure.

But according to Health Canada's web site, the energy cellular phones emit is not considered harmful, given current scientific studies on the subject.

Electromagnetic energy is used in radio communications and broadcasting, as well as in medical treatments and industrial heating. According to Health Canada, unlike the ionizing radiation given off by X-ray machines, RF electromagnetic energy from cell phones and other devices cannot break chemical bonds.

That means it is unlikely to damage a body's genetic material.

However, cell phones are not completely free from risks. Health Canada advises that driving while using one can increase the chance of a road accident. And cell phones may interfere with medical devices such as pacemakers, defibrillators and hearing aids. They can also cause interference with aircraft electronics.

If you are concerned, Health Canada advises reducing the risk by limiting the length of cell phone calls. Using a hands-free device that keeps cell phones away from a user's head and body is another way of decreasing exposure.

Cellular phone industry officials also claim there are no proven health risks associated with cell phone use.

Speaking from the Canadian Wireless Telecommunications Association's headquarters in Ottawa, communications director Marc Chorma told The Richmond Review there has been no scientific evidence they are a hazard.

"First of all there is no health concern, and second, the association strongly advises users not to add any third party equipment to their phones that claims to offer protection," he said. "We do not endorse that in any way."

Chorma said cell phone users should always operate their handsets according to the directions outlined in their owner's manual.

"Nothing should be added, or removed from a cellular phone when in operation," Chorma advised.

He added there have been firms in the U.S. market that have been ordered to stop selling cellular phone shield devices due to the claims the manufacturer was making.

Chorma said there is much misinformation on the subject of cellular phone safety in the marketplace that the telecommunications association, which represents service providers and manufacturers in the Canadian market, has to answer.

And there is a lot at stake in getting the correct message out there as revenues in the Canadian cellular phone industry reached $7.6 billion last year. There are an estimated 14 million wireless telephone customers in Canada, as of the second quarter of 2004. That figure represents 46 per cent penetration of the market, Chorma said.

And that is expected to reach 52 per cent by 2005, proving Canadians continue to be enamoured with the convenience of on-the-go communication, although other countries have taken that love affair with the cell phone to even greater limits.

In comparison, cell phones have a 57 per cent market penetration in the U.S., whereas Sweden and Japan have surpassed the 100 per cent mark.

"That means users in those countries have more than one cell phone in use," Chorma explained.

Meanwhile, McNiven is busy trying to get a share of Canadian cell phone owners to at least contemplate the value of a preventative measure that may keep them safe to a perceived danger.

"I've had some success with people who see this as a good thing. But there are skeptics out there," he says. "If they can't see it working, they tend not to believe it's valuable to them."

When stories morph into butterflies

Tia Abell, Staff Reporter

Holly Newman wants to give you a hand-crocheted butterfly-in exchange for a story.

The artist crocheted 1000 butterflies, some taking up to three hours, for her current Richmond Art Gallery installation, The Gift Exchange.

Running since July 9, the exhibition will be transformed this weekend when Newman exchanges her butterflies for personal experiences with the winged beauties.

She'll tuck butterflies into envelopes to mail to those who have already offered stories at the gallery, while those showing up between 10 a.m. and 5 p.m. Aug. 28-29 will be able to record stories on tape or paper and receive their crocheted gifts from the artist herself.

Later, the collected stories will be used for another exhibit.

The gallery's cultural programmer, Nan Capogna, says the Newman was inspired to do the installation after the birth of her child.

"Crochet was taught to her by her mother, it's something that's passed down, like stories," Capogna says. "It's looking at the idea of exchanging gifts and what this means. It's also looking at monarch butterflies, the labour and determination needed as they migrate to Mexico at all costs."

The crocheted butterflies will migrate, too, as they move out of the gallery and into the community. By The Richmond Review's deadline, at least 100 were spoken for.

"Hopefully the exhibit will just disappear," Capogna says. "And then it will all metamorphose into something else."

Richmond Art Gallery is at 180-7700 Minoru Gate.

Life saver receives thanks, 54 years later

Daniel Pi, South Delta Leader

More than 50 years ago Frances Sutherland saved the life of a two-year-old Richmond boy.

On Wednesday evening, Aug. 24, the Tsawwassen resident was finally thanked by Albert Marcoux, now 56 and living in East Vancouver.

It was an exciting reunion for Sutherland and a much publicized one after Marcoux first went public to tell his miraculous story of survival and how he was too young to thank his life savers.

"I'm still way up in the air with this," Sutherland says. "It was quite thrilling to meet him."

That meeting took place on the front lawn of Sutherland's home. Amid TV news cameras and reporters, Sutherland says "he (Marcoux) said 'oh my guardian angel' and he gave me a big bear hug."

Sutherland first met Marcoux on May 3, 1950 when she resuscitated him after he fell into a ditch near her family's home at 905 Blundell Rd. in Richmond.

It was Marcoux's mother, living nearby at 786 Garden City Rd., who first alerted Sutherland and her father, Victor Adams, that the boy had fallen into the ditch head first with only the soles of his shoes sticking out of the water.

Sutherland's father, Victor-who passed away in 1978-had a ladder leaning next to the house that he used to pull the boy out of the water.

Sutherland says her father kept the ladder ready because he had used it several times before to help pull people out of the deep, almost six-fee- wide ditches.

"I can still remember the sucking sound when dad pulled him out," Sutherland says of the mud that covered the boy's face.

Then a nursing student at Vancouver General Hospital, Sutherland immediately set to work clearing the muck from Marcoux's mouth and began to resuscitate him.

The boy survived and the two families went their separate ways. Sutherland continued with her nursing studies and worked as a nurse at Vancouver General Hospital and in Toronto. She married, raised a family, and retired from nursing to Tsawwassen about 10 years ago.

Throughout that time, Sutherland says she sometimes thought about Marcoux and whether he fully recovered or not.

"I just wondered how he was, he'd been without oxygen for several minutes," she says.

Wednesday's meeting is just the first of many, Sutherland says, adding "there's sort of a bond we have now."

Shuttle service eyed for Crestwood

Matthew Hoekstra, Staff Reporter

A public consultation process for a new TransLink community shuttle slated for the Crestwood area by December generated little interest.

Only 10 people attended a day-long open house in June at the Cambie Community Centre, prompting a neighbourhood survey, which was delivered to 350 residences along the proposed route.

That survey generated only three responses.

However, city staff report concluded "there is overall support of the new transit service by the majority of residents in the area."

The proposed route of the 20-passenger diesel-powered minibus would connect Richmond Centre with the Crestwood and southeast Cambie business areas.

The plan, developed by Coast Mountain Bus Company, TransLink and the city, would also provide coverage to some residential neighbourhoods next to Cambie Road.

Daily ridership of the service during its first year is estimated at 290 passengers daily. Susan Danard of TransLink said that estimate comes from the Richmond Area Transit Plan, released in 2000, when planners used telephone surveys to project ridership.

She said the demand for the transit service originated from the people of Richmond, and low interest in the public consultation process is not indicative of ridership.

"Often...if people are happy with something they won't show up. If they're unhappy, that's when people will make more of an effort to come out and speak," she said.

The service will require the installation of up to 19 new bus stopsa cost of $10,000 to the city that TransLink may help fund.

A council committee will consider the proposed routing of the shuttle service this week.