The Burnaby NOW's look back at the year that's passed began last week, and we conclude our year in review in today's edition. Below, we take a closer look at the news and people from the second half of the year -
JULY
Students from Maywood Community School were on hand at Metropolis at Metrotown to release thousands of ladybugs on July 28.
The bugs are a form of natural pest control, and they were released close to the mall's gardens, which included six new eco-sculptures, on display in the upper central plaza.
In all, 150,000 ladybugs were released at Metropolis.
The B.C. Teachers' Federation announced on July 29 that teachers provincewide voted 90 per cent in favour of strike action for the autumn.
According to figures released by the teachers' federation, 28,128 teachers cast their ballots, with 25,282 voting yes. Voter turnout was approximately 70 per cent, including teachers in schools and on-call teachers.
Mayor Derek Corrigan received more than $145,000 in wages, benefits and travel allowance in 2010, according to the city's 2010 remuneration and expense report, released in July 2011.
Corrigan made $114,031, a 17 per cent increase from his 2009 salary.
In July 2010, the city's indemnities committee determined the mayor was due for the raise to bring his salary in line with other mayors in the region. It was retroactive to January 2010.
In late July, Corrigan and councillors had their pay increased by slightly more than three per cent for 2011.
The SPCA investigated a July 2 incident where a six-month-old puppy died after being locked in a car parked at BCIT.
The puppy had been in direct sunlight, inside the car, for approximately three hours. The Burnaby RCMP arrived just after the owners of the puppy had unlocked the car. The dog was taken to a veterinarian but died shortly afterwards. The car did have its sunroof cracked open, but the temperature inside the car was recorded at 68 C.
Suhail Shanti, wanted on a first-degree murder warrant in Oklahoma, was arrested on June 24 at the Pacific Highway border crossing.
When American customs agents checked those fingerprints against their national database, they discovered the warrant against the 48-year-old Burnaby resident.
The 1983 case involved a homicide in the small city of Poteau, Oklahoma. The victim was an international student believed to be from Morocco.
Burnaby's city manager, Rick Moncur, topped the list of City of Burnaby employees making more than $100,000 at $225,539 in 2010, according to a staff indemnities report released by the city in July.
The number of staff members making more than $100,000 has more than doubled since 2007. In 2009, 73 staff members made the list. In 2010, that number jumped to 110.
"Do not feed the wildlife" signs were placed by city staff in areas where residents spotted large rat populations.
It was one of the measures the city was taking to address complaints about rats in Burnaby.
Rats were primarily spotted along the Molson trail and near the SkyTrain line, along Beresford Street at Gilley, MacPherson and Dow avenues, Metrotown SkyTrain station and Central Park. There were also sightings in North Burnaby.
A longtime community figure passed away on July 12 - Grace Joe, former winner of Burnaby's Kushiro Cup, awarded to Burnaby's Citizen of the Year. Joe received the honour in 2002 for her outstanding contributions to the community.
Joe was a registered nurse who taught nursing in Victoria, Vancouver and New Westminster.
AUGUST
A Burnaby woman was treated for burns to her arms after fire engulfed an old house at 1205 Sperling Ave. on July 28.
According to Burnaby fire department Capt. Erik Vogel, the blaze at the home occurred in a front room, and the woman suffered injuries when she tried to drag out a burning mattress.
A woman found dead in her Vancouver home July 26 was identified as Melanie Alexis O'Neill, a Simon Fraser University professor.
Around 10 p.m., police discovered O'Neill's body in her residence.
Burnaby resident and history buff Len Amiel wrote a book about the history of the ice industry in the region: When the Ice Age Came to Vancouver: 1892 to 1990.
His grandfather was one of the early pioneers connected to the ice, ice cream and fuel companies in the early days of Vancouver.
In addition to writing When the Ice Age Came to Vancouver, Amiel also penned another self-published book: This Crazy English Language.
Amiel, 82, believes that reading and writing help maintain his mental health.
Benedict Bernabe Tomajin, 24, of Burnaby was charged with one count of second-degree murder after the fatal stabbing of his 45-year-old mother, Josie Tomajin, on Aug. 8.
A record-breaking crowd of about 8,000 turned out under clear blue skies for the 12th annual Burnaby Blues and Roots Festival on Aug. 13. The festival, held at Deer Lake Park, included performances by k.d. lang and John Mayall.
The City of Burnaby sold a parcel of land at 4394 Beresford St. to a developer proposing a 38-storey highrise apartment building for the site.
The development includes plans to restore the Daniel and Amelia Mowat Residence, built in 1913, and move it to McKay Avenue.
The development would also include a four-storey residential podium on Silver Avenue and a four-storey commercial podium on Beresford Street.
Local politicians offered condolences following the death of New Democratic Party leader Jack Layton.
The 61-year-old passed away Aug. 22 in his Toronto home, a month after he stepped aside as leader to fight a second bout of cancer. Burnaby-Douglas New Democrat MP Kennedy Stewart and Burnaby-New Westminster MP Peter Julian spoke about the difficulty of the loss - to Layton's family and the NDP.
SEPTEMBER
Sept. 6 marks the beginning of a partial strike for teachers, who are refusing to do administrative work, like issuing report cards and meeting with principals. Richard Storch, president of the Burnaby Teachers' Association, told parents they can still communicate with teachers if they want to know how their kids are doing during the strike and in the absence of reports cards.
Mayor Derek Corrigan said spending millions on establishing a municipal auditor general's office is a waste of money. The provincial government had asked municipalities for their feedback on the idea.
According to Corrigan, the role could be covered by the inspector of municipalities or by expanding the B.C. auditor general's role.
The last video store in the Heights neighbourhood closed it doors, after Blockbuster went into receivership. The Hastings Street location had been operating since 1994. No reason was given, apart from changes in Blockbuster's "competitive landscape."
The Burnaby Mental Wealth Society struggled to keep its doors open after Fraser Health cut the centre's funding.
The society has been around for 18 years and helps people with mental illnesses, but Fraser Health decided to fund similar services at the Canadian Mental Health Association's new clubhouse in North Burnaby instead.
A small group of parents and people with disabilities picketed MLA Harry Bloy's office in Burnaby over cuts made by Community Living B.C. Because Bloy was social development minister at the time, he was respon-sible for Community Living B.C., the government agency that helps people with developmental disabilities.
The government insists funding has been increasing, but advocates say it's not enough to keep up with burgeoning demand for services.
OCTOBER
The City of Burnaby declares General Fusion as safe. The business builds components for fusion generators but does not have any nuclear material on site. City officials inspected the site following concerns from a nuclear theorist at UBC that General Fusion's work was dangerous and unrealistic. General Fusion is working to cre-ate a nuclear fusion power plant, but the work is in the early research stages.
The Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission needs to approve any generators involving nuclear reaction.
After weeks of talk, Parents' Voice publicly declares itself a political party and announces plans to run five school trustees in the municipal election: Gordon World, Homara Ahmad, Long Xue, Helen Ward and Charter Lau.
Parents' Voice started as an ad-hoc group opposed to the Burnaby school district's policy to protect staff and students from homophobic bullying.
Tugboat crews found the body of a newborn baby in the Fraser River upriver of a railroad bridge just off Fraser Park Road near a correctional facility in South Burnaby.
RCMP said the baby appeared to be a newborn and asked that the mother step forward.
The Burnaby elections office released the list of candidates for the Nov. 19 civic election. Four candidates were in the mayoral race: TEAM Burnaby's Tom Tao, mayor Derek Corrigan of the Burnaby Citizens Association, and two independents: Sylvia Gung and Allen Hutton.
Cameron library branch reopens after a bedbug scare in Burnaby. Metrotown was the first branch affected. After dead bedbugs were found at the Metrotown branch in September, the Burnaby Public Library had all of its branches inspected.
Books in affected areas at Cameron were sent to the Metrotown branch to be heat-treated, and a pest-control company was brought in to steam clean the furniture and bookshelves.
Local gay rights activist Kaitlin Burnett launches the Purple Letter Campaign, urging the provincial government to adopt a provincewide policy to deal with homophobia in schools. Burnett wants a policy for all schools, including private Catholic ones.
NOVEMBER
Burnaby man Adis (aka Ady) Golic is found guilty of two B.C. Securities Act charges, related to a company of his that involved a muffler that supposedly reduces greenhouse gas emissions by 97 per cent. According to one of the Crown prosecutors, Golic was illegally distributing shares in an attempt to raise money for his company. Despite the conviction, Golic was happy to be partially acquitted on other related charges, and he still maintained his innocence.
A death threat against a Burnaby teacher surfaces at the first all-candidates meeting for school trustees in the civic election. With Burnaby Parents' Voice in the race, tensions were high over the school district's antihomophobia policy. James Sanyshyn, vice-president of the Burnaby Teachers' Association, brought a copy of the death threat to the all-candidates meeting and presented it during question period with the candidates. He asked Charter Lau of Parents' Voice if he knew anything about any "hate threat," to which Lau replied no. Parents' Voice later offered a $2,000 reward for any information leading to an arrest and conviction in the case. Parents' Voice also questioned why the death threat was brought up during the election if it happened in June.
Charter Lau finds himself in a bit of hot water over a website for a Christian group he's connected to. The site featured questionable statements about curbing the "influence of Muslims," which Mayor Derek Corrigan brought to the attention of the local mosque.
Representatives from the mosque were concerned but kept a nonpartisan stance in the run-up to the election. Lau couldn't comment on the remarks at the time but maintained that he works with Muslims all the time.
For the second time, the Burnaby Citizens Association took all seats in the city - school board, council and mayor - in the Nov. 19 election. TEAM candidates were mostly in second place but did not secure a single seat.
Burnaby Parents' Voice trustee candidates managed to garner 14.5 per cent of the vote, and Gordon World vowed to continue being a thorn in the side of school trustees.
The future of Burnaby's multisports centre was looking a bit brighter after a $23-million donation from the centre foundation's chair. Construction had previously halted due to funding issues. The centre will feature training and rehabilitation facilities, offices, a gym, a cafeteria and retail businesses. The new completion date is the end of 2012.
DECEMBER
Burnaby ranks 26th on Maclean's magazine's list of most dangerous cities.
Prince George is number 1.
The ranking is based on crime severity compared to the rest of Canada and level of violence. The ratings were based on annual crime data from Statistics Canada.
The Burnaby Teachers' Association wants more protection for gay kids in schools. The provincial government announced on Dec. 15 that they are hoping to hire someone to train schools on how to better deal with bullying, but Richard Storch, president of the BTA, wants more school districts to adopt a policy that specifically addresses homophobia.
A Dec. 17 fire in the Edmonds area had RCMP suspecting arson was at play. The fire was in the basement of a home in the 7700 block of 11th Avenue. RCMP said they did not believe it was targeted, but it was suspicious. One man was taken to hospital with minor injuries.
A Burnaby woman and her two young daughters were killed in a Dec. 21 car crash on the TransCanada Highway on their way home from Calgary. Their vehicle was heading west when it crossed into the oncoming lane and hit a tractor trailer. The three were killed instantly.
The annual Christmas Bird Count turned up some interesting local findings. Anna's hummingbird, which is normally found in more southern areas or on the coast, seemed to be making itself at home in Burnaby.
Local birder George Clulow speculated that it could be a reflection of climate change. The tiny hummingbird seems to be tolerating the winters in Burnaby.
