A bursary is being established in honour of a New Westminster resident who wrote about his experiences in growing up in South Africa.
Erich Rautenbach, 63, died on April 18 from an aggressive relapse of leukemia. He was born in Namibia and grew up in Cape Town, but left South Africa as a fugitive when he was 21, after escaping from police custody.
“After some months in Europe and the Middle East as an undocumented refugee, he arrived in Canada where he eventually settled in the Sapperton neighbourhood, raising four sons with his wife Mary Ann McKenzie, and returning to South Africa and Namibia as much as possible,” said a press release.
Rautenbach’s memoir of his early days in South Africa, The Unexploded Boer, was published in 2011.
“Described as ‘a wild story of rebellion and retribution,’ the book vividly recreated the hippy/glam subculture of 1970’s Cape Town and followed Erich as he tried anything to avoid conscription into the South African army, leading to incarceration in infamous prisons including John Voster Square and The Fort,” said the press release. “It received strong critical acclaim.”
A celebration of Rautenbach’s life is being held on Friday, June 1 at 3 pm. at Centennial Lodge in Queen’s Park. The family is planning to create an annual bursary to be given to a Cape Town high school student who shows promise as a writer. Funds are being raised in Canada and South African through a Go Fund Me campaign, which can be found at tinyurl.com/CTHSscholarship.
Lawn-watering restrictions underway
Metro Vancouver’s lawn watering regulations are now in effect in an effort to conserve treated drinking water during the hot and dry summer months.
Stage 1 regulations took effect May 1 and remain in place until Oct. 15. Even-numbered addresses can water their lawns Wednesday and Saturday mornings from 4 to 9 a.m. and odd-numbered addresses can do so on Thursday and Sunday mornings.
Metro Vancouver notes that recent snowpack surveys conducted in the Capilano, Seymour and Coquitlam watersheds found them to be higher than normal for this time of year. The region believes the snowpack and the lawn-watering regulations put Metro Vancouver in a good positon for the coming summer.
“The annual regulations on outdoor water use have consistently proven to effectively conserve water and lessen the demand on the region’s water transmission system during the driest part of the year,” said Darrell Mussatto, chair of Metro Vancouver’s utilities committee.
Focus on flooding
As communities in B.C. keep an eye on the snowpack levels and water levels on waterways around the province, Fraser River Discovery Centre is preparing to plunge into the potential for flooding on the Fraser River.
Fraser River Discovery Centre is continuing its ongoing Fraser River Dialogue series, with a look at flood management planning with the Fraser Basin Council. The presentation takes place on Thursday, May 31 from 6:30 to 9 p.m. at Fraser River Discovery Centre, 788 Quayside Dr.
A study led by the Fraser Basin Council in 2016 found the potential for a major Fraser River or coastal flood in the Lower Mainland is growing – and the impacts could be very serious for business, communities and residents.
“Twenty- to $30-billion in economic impacts are now projected from a major Lower Mainland flood – and that would be four to five times the losses from Alberta’s devastating floods in 2013,” said Stephen Bruyneel, executive director of Fraser River Discovery Centre. “That’s a key reason our next Fraser River Dialogue will be a conversation with Steve Litke, a senior program manager with the Fraser Basin Council who will offer a closer look at flood risks we face and the multi-jurisdictional work underway to develop a regional flood management strategy.”
Launched in 2017, the Fraser River Dialogue series is a forum for public education and discussion on important issues related to the living, working Fraser River.
Tickets to the Fraser River Dialogue are $25 and include a wine and cheese reception (no-host bar), self-guided tour of the new Journey Through the Working River exhibit and a set at the fireside chat. Tickets are available at www.fraserriverdiscovery.org.
