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A year of challenge and change

We began our look back at the headlines of 2011 in the Wednesday, Dec. 28 edition of The Record.

We began our look back at the headlines of 2011 in the Wednesday, Dec. 28 edition of The Record.

Below, we continue our examination of the top headlines of the year, starting in May:

MAY

New Westminster's two NDP members of Parliament are returning to Ottawa after being re-elected in the May 2 federal election. Fin Donnelly will represent New Westminster-Coquitlam, and Peter Julian wins his fourth term as MP for BurnabyNew Westminster.

New Westminster school trustees vote to accept superintendent John Woudzia's conclusion that the school district should keep its one-week spring break. The decision comes after the district canvasses parents about the concept of having a two-week break.

The Beedie Group goes to work on a new industrial building in Queensborough that will be a warehouse to be used by Kruger Products. Ryan Beedie says the building is like a 12-acre building and will be the largest single footprint warehouse ever built in Metro Vancouver.

The City of New Westminster decides that a single-stream curbside recycling program is the best way to divert more waste away from landfills and incinerators. Instead of separating their recyclables, the single-stream system will allow residents to put all of their recyclables in one cart as the items will be sorted at a processing plant.

A former New Westminster priest who pleaded guilty to sexually assaulting two young girls in 1992 is now found to be doing fill-in work at a Catholic parish in Ontario. Father John McCann, 83, had been working at an Ottawa church when a victims' advocate group blew the whistle on his past. He subsequently left his public duties with the church.

Three suspects are accused of cruising the Fraser River at night to steal boats, tools and marine equipment. New Westminster police charge three suspects, after recovering several thousands of dollars worth of allegedly stolen goods.

New Westminster city council supports a local business's plan to expand its current construction and demolition waste operation in the Braid industrial area but doesn't endorse its proposed plastics recycling facility that would convert ground plastic waste into ultra sweet crude oil. Harvest Power Inc. is seeking federal funding to build a $16-million facility to reclaim, reuse and recycle construction and demolition waste adjacent to its current operation.

Police in Alberta arrest and charge a man they say is linked by DNA to an unsolved sexual assault in New Westminster that dates back to February 2010. Leduc RCMP, working with the Edmonton Police Service and Vegreville RCMP, arrested a man in January after a reported sexual assault and found his DNA matched DNA collected from other sexual assaults.

Queensborough youth create a legacy in art, by creating murals that will adorn a fence that borders the pedestrian walkway up to the Queensborough Bridge.

The on-again off-again plan to replace the aging Pattullo Bridge with a new crossing is on again. TransLink indicates it will be pursuing its original plan to build a new $1-billion, six-lane bridge to replace the aging structure, after an independent engineer determines the bridge can't be safely widened.

Residents cheer when TransLink officials announce there will be no United Boulevard extension in New Westminster in the foreseeable future. The decision comes after New Westminster residents and council express concern about the options being considered and their impacts on the community.

Hume Park Elementary School student Lauren Vanags is crowned as the city's 141st May Queen. It's a big day for New Westminster's smallest school, which has 26 students.

New Westminster MLA Dawn Black presses the provincial government for answers about expansion plans for Royal Columbian Hospital. She voices concern that there's been no action on the hospital's expansion plan, which was submitted to the government nearly a year ago.

JUNE

Canuck fever hits the Royal City as the Vancouver Canucks win their way to the Stanley Cup finals. For local pubs, the playoff run means big crowds.

A team of city officials do a detailed site inspection of the Harvest Power plant after the company's expansion plan highlights a number of issues related to the storing and sorting of recycled materials, building permits, business license and dust pollution. Neighbouring businesses report that the dust from the plant has created air quality issues for several years.

New Westminster Police Service resorts to pomp and circumstance when it holds a rare change of command ceremony to mark the retirement of outgoing Chief Constable Lorne Zapotichny and the promotion of Dave Jones to the chief constable's position.

New Westminster's latest condo development sells out completely in a matter of hours. Developers for Eight West, a four-storey mixed used development at the former Canadian Tire site, say the demand for one-and two-bedroom units is even greater than expected.

A two-year-old child falls to her death from an eight storey window in an uptown apartment building. Within an hour of the fatal fall, another child falls out of a third storey window elsewhere in the city but survives after landing on grass.

Hume Park Elementary School families heave big sighs of relief when school trustees give them until March 2012 to increase their enrolment numbers. The idea is to give the school community time to develop an educationally and fiscally sound plan, with support from district staff, to increase enrolment at the school, with a report to be presented to the board by March 31.

New Westminster city council gets an earful from residents who are opposed to the Elizabeth Fry Society's rezoning application. They fear the rezoning, which would allow for construction of a four-storey building to accommodate child-care and office space for the society, would pave the way for more commercial buildings along Sherbrooke Street.

New Westminster police Const. Jeffrey Klassen will not serve any jail time for a 2009 booze-fuelled assault on a late-night delivery driver. Klassen gets a sentence of oneyear probation and 100 hours of community service.

Urban Wood Waste Recyclers, (a division of Harvest Power) works on a plan to address issues about air quality. It's also addressing issues that need to be resolved relating to zoning inspections, plumbing permits and building permits, and the need for a development permit for uses on the site.

The city takes steps to address cloudy water issues that have plagued Moody Park Outdoor Pool since its opening in 2009. The city hopes that an additional filter in the mechanical room will address water quality issues, which have required the pool to be closed for maintenance for one hour between the afternoon and evening swims.

A gravel barge collides with the Queensborough rail bridge, putting it out of commission. The rail bridge, which has been in operation since 1911, handles eight to 10 crossing each day, on average.

Canada Games Pool staff is credited for saving a 28year-old man who suffers a heart attack while working out at the facility. While lifeguards began CPR, staff called emergency services to Canada Games Pool.

Butterflies are released to symbolize the new life that an expansion will bring to Queens borough Community Centre. Work on the new 13,180 square foot expansion is getting underway.

B.C. Teachers' Federation announces that teachers from across B.C., including New Westminster, have voted 90 per cent in favour of strike action in the fall. When school resumes in September, teachers will go into "teach only" mode, which means they won't attend meetings or do administrative work.

JULY

The design of New Westminster's future civic centre needs a bit of fine-tuning, but it's nearly complete. The $35-million facility, which will be built at the corner of Eighth and Columbia streets by December 2013, will include a theatre, convention space, art studios, an art gallery, a tourist information centre, the city's museum and archives, the Canadian Lacrosse Hall of Fame and a restaurant.

A New Westminster police officer is slashed with a knife after approaching a man in Queen's Park who had been reported to be in distress. After being hit without warning, the officer was able to hit the suspect - possibly breaking his nose. New Westminster police later release a composite drawing of the suspect and a photo of a four-inch folding knife used in the slashing incident.

Ballenas Project Management receives the city's approval to build a 21-storey building on Columbia Street despite concerns from many nearby residents. In a four-to-three vote, council approves the rezoning. Many area residents voice concerns about the traffic safety on Elliott and Clarkson streets, access to the building, parking problems, loss of views for neighbouring buildings, potential damage to the neighbouring buildings during the construction process and the building's fit in the neighbourhood.

Honour House, the first facility of its kind in Canada, celebrates its grand opening in New Westminster. It will provide a home away from home for first responders or military personnel (and their families) who are in town to access medical treatment.

City council reverses its earlier decision to retain the Centre Block tower at the Woodlands site. Councillors support its demolition, much to the delight of former residents.

The Elizabeth Fry Society asks city council to table its rezoning application until it gets more information about Fraser Health's expansion plans for Royal Columbian Hospital, which is located across the street from the proposed building. New Westminster city council rescinds readings of bylaws that were part of the controversial proposal in Sapperton.

The Royal Columbian Hospital Foundation's B.C. Vacation Home Lottery loses money because of slow ticket sales. The foundation fulfils all its obligations but needs to borrow about $3 million from its reserves. It had hoped to sell 120,000 tickets at $10 apiece but only sold 44,000 tickets.

Water gushes out of the ground when a water main breaks on Sixth Street, where construction is taking place. The water flooded the basements of some local businesses and forced the city to cut water service to the area until the water main was repaired.

AUGUST

New Westminster MLA Dawn Black announces she won't be seeking reelection in the next provincial election.

Accolades from the likes of Ed Broadbent and Carole James pour in when the former Member of Parliament and current New Westminster MLA announces she'll be leaving politics.

Thousands of people turn out to celebrate the 12th Street Music Festival, which has expanded from past years. While it includes family-friendly events like a pancake breakfast and entertainment, it's the presence of the Hells Angels Motorcycle Club that upsets some local residents, police and city officials. The Hells Angels set up a booth at the event, where it sold merchandise.

New Westminster Police investigate a double stabbing in the 400 block of Columbia Street that sees two victims sent to the hospital for treatment of non lifethreatening injuries.

The month-long saga of the busted Queensborough rail bridge ends as rail traffic resumes. The bridge's protection pier, span and swing mechanism were heavily damaged when a gravel barge crashed into it on June 28.

Organizers of the second annual Pride Week are "over the moon" after attendance is beyond their wildest expectations. About 1,500 people attended the pride party in Tipperary Park.

Arts come alive in New Westminster during the Cultural Crawl. The event included a variety of events, including English tea parties, poetry recitals and arts activities for kids.

Uptown businesses on Sixth Street are increasingly frustrated with the length of time it's taking to replace water and sewer lines. Some are facing costs associated with damage from a burst water main and a slowdown in business.

Local New Democrat Party politicians grieve the death of federal NDP leader Jack Layton, who loses his battle with cancer at the age of 61. Local residents pay respect to Jack Layton by signing a book of condolences to be sent to his family. Layton died of cancer on Aug 22.

Former MP Paul Forseth decides to seek the provincial Conservative nomination for New Westminster, rather than running for TEAM Burnaby's civic slate as he'd originally planned to do.

Our Year in Review will continue in the Jan. 4 edition of The Record.