#1. SURREY MAYOR PARTICIPATES IN YOGA CAMP
Surrey Mayor Dianne Watts was one of the many enthusiastic participants at Swami Ramdev’s yoga camp. Here she is seen greeting the swami and then joining the thousands who have been flocking to the camp to benefit from his yoga techniques.
According to one organizer, there have already been cases in which participants have announced that after one day of pranayam breathing exercises combined with yoga, they have lost two to four pounds. There will be an event for youth, free of charge, on Saturday, August 2 from 8 to 9 a.m. at the Cloverdale Exhibition Grounds. Youth up to the age of 25 are encouraged to participate.
#2. SURREY CIVIC COALITION NOMINATES CANDIDATES FOR NOVEMBER ELECTIONS
The Surrey Civic Coalition has nominated its candidates for November’s Civic and Board of Education elections in Surrey.
Lynda Toews, SCC President, described the slate as the perfect combination of diversity, knowledge, experience and fresh, youthful energy. “Our candidates represent the future of Surrey, and I am very excited to see our campaign getting under way.”
The candidates nominated for Surrey City Council are Bob Bose, Rina Gill, Jim McMurtry, Grant Rice, and Stephanie Ryan.
For Surrey Board of Education, the candidates are Terry Allen, Ijaz Chatta, Laurence Greeff and Laurie Larsen.
* Bob Bose and Terry Allen are incumbents on City Council and the Board of Education respectively. Both are veterans of Surrey politics, finishing at the top or very near the top of the polls in the last election.
* Rina Gill, new to the SCC slate, is an independent businesswoman who recently received the Member of the year award for her local and national volunteer activities with the Indo-Canadian Chamber of Commerce.
* Jim McMurtry is something of an experienced candidate in Surrey, having run twice before for Surrey Council, and once as a Federal Liberal candidate. Dr. McMurtry is well-known in Surrey as a teacher, coach and environmental activist.
* Grant Rice is also new to the SCC slate, a community activist who successfully led a four-year neighborhood struggle to down-zone the St. Helen’s Park area. Rice is about to complete his Bachelor of Commerce, and is President of the Southwestminster Ratepayer’s Association, a Director of the Surrey Association of Sustainable Communities, and actively involved with the new Surrey Urban Farmer’s Market.
* Stephanie Ryan is the youngest member of the SCC slate, though she brings with her a BA in Political Science and some years of experience with the Alma Mater Society at UBC, most recently as President of the Arts Undergraduate Society. She has recently been appointed as an alternate member of the Surrey Public Art Advisory Committee.
* Ijaz Chatta ran as an independent for council in the previous civic election. The realtor and father of four is now seeking a seat as an SCC candidate on the Surrey Board of Education. Chatta is also active on the Executive of the Pakistan Canadian Cultural Association.
* Laurence Greeff is a Langley teacher and a passionate advocate for public education, Aboriginal education and services for students with special needs. Greeff hails originally from South Africa, but has been working in the B.C. public education system for thirty years.
* Laurie Larsen returns the to the SCC slate for School Trustee, having come within a few votes of being elected in 2005. Laurie is President of CUPE 402, former President of the Enver Creek Parent Advisory Council and active with the local Rotary Club.
#3. SOCIETY OPENS SECOND RECOVERY HOUSE IN SURREY
This week, the Realistic Success Recovery Society opened its second recovery house in Surrey, Trilogy Two.
Gary Robinson, the society’s Executive Director, said: “There is a dire shortage of quality, caring recovery facilities in the City of Surrey. Every good facility that opens means that lives are saved. Opening Trilogy Two provides the Society with the opportunity to assist another 10 men to get their lives together. In the 15 months of operating Trilogy One seven men have got over one year clean. They have been reunited with their families and with their jobs. We are proud to be part of the solution to this terrible disease that affects so many people.”
MLA for Surrey-Newton Harry Bains, cut the ribbon. Bains said: “Gary Robinson is a fine example of a person who has faced a difficult challenge and worked to recover and now is setting an example for others. Gary proves success is possible and rewarding.”
Other people celebrating the event were Teresa Townsley, school trustee and Vice-Chair of the Delta Board of Education and a member of the Board of Directors, Melanie Zanatta from the UBC Department of Oral Biology and the society’s Treasurer, Donna Welby, Community Coordinator for the Society, Susan Lewis, Program Director for the Society, former residents and current alumni, members of the Launching Pad Recovery Society and members of the Easy Does It Club.
Susan Sanderson, the society’s President, said: “It’s a proud day for everyone, residents, alumni and the community. People getting their lives back together is a wonderful thing to celebrate.”
#4. SURREY CIVIC COALITION’S CANDIDATE RYAN SLAMS COUNCIL
Stephanie Ryan, a Surrey Civic Coalition candidate for City Council, this week said: “Surrey City Council again showed its true colours when it voted to re-zone a parcel of A-1 (agricultural) land for the purpose of paving it over and constructing a 421,000 square foot concrete warehouse.
“Many people at the public hearing spoke to the fact that once prime agricultural land is paved over with concrete, it can not be reclaimed as farmland. It is lost as agricultural land forever.
“But only Councillors Bob Bose and Judy Villeneuve voted against this project.
“Meanwhile, this past Sunday, July 27th, the Farmland Defence League of BC held a well-attended dinner at the Semiahmoo Fish & Game Club to celebrate the decision made 35 years ago to protect much of our prime agricultural land in BC through the Agricultural Land Reserve (ALR).
“Protecting and preserving our farmland is even more important than it was back in 1973. We are facing multiple challenges in terms of food security: food shortages are occurring around the world; the price of oil is making the cost of importing food much more expensive; and more and more people are realizing the environmental and health benefits of growing food locally.
“(Surrey) Mayor (Dianne) Watts and her Surrey First councillors use sustainability as a buzz word. They even passed a Sustainability Charter for the city. But sustainability includes being able to feed ourselves from our own land as much as possible. Once upon a time, 86 per cent of the vegetables we ate were grown locally.
“Sustainability means preserving the precious farmland that we have left in the Lower Mainland and the Fraser Valley, whether or not it is already protected by the Agricultural Land Reserve. It means properly leveraging this land so that we can maximize the productivity of food production.
“Why then would our current city council vote to destroy precious agricultural land and build a giant warehouse which, ironically enough, will be used as a food distribution centre for food trucked in from afar?
“I strongly believe we have a responsibility to our children, and future generations, to leave behind as much farmland as possible so they are able to feed themselves.
“The City of Surrey's land-use and zoning policies must properly reflect the principles in the recently-released Sustainability Charter, which speaks to the fact that we ought to support local food production for our children and grandchildren.
“What the mayor and her council have done is just plain wrong.”
#5. FLAVOURS OF SURREY: CELEBRATING AGRICULTURE, CULINARY TALENT
Hundreds of Surrey residents celebrated Surrey’s local culinary talent and agriculture at “Flavours of Surrey” on Sunday, July 27. The food tasting feast, which took place at the Historic Stewart Farm at 13723 Crescent Road, involved seven local chefs who prepared an array of dishes with a focus on locally grown or produced agriculture.
“It makes a lot of sense to celebrate Surrey’s agriculture with the Flavours of Surrey Event,” said Acting Mayor Mary Martin. “This event brings together local agriculture, local businesses and the public in an interactive and fun environment to promote awareness about agriculture.”
Historic Collishaw Farms donated organic blueberries and International Herbs provided local greens and herbs to the chefs.
Participating restaurants and businesses included Fieldstone Artisan Bread, Sea Horse Grill, Kla-how-eya Culinary Arts, Henry’s Outdoor Barbeque, Delitalia Fine Foods, Rasoi Fine Indian Cuisine, Holy Smoke Organic Coffee and Dolce Gelato. Along with food tasting there was beer tasting provided by Big Ridge Brewing Company and wine tasting by River’s Bend Winery.
Attendees of the festival were tapping their toes to the musical talents of “Wheat in the Barley” and “Jennifer Kennedy.” There were also plenty of activities for the children, including baby chick petting and an interactive agriculture tent. It was an afternoon full of fun, food and festivities for the whole family.
Residents are encouraged to find out more about agriculture in Surrey at www.agriculture.surrey.ca
|
