Pit bull attack leaves two hospitalized.
in New Westminster

» Early morning mauling causes serious but non-life-threatening injuries

Alex Stanton
Staff Writer

[ the spring of 2013, the City
of New Westminster abolished
a bylaw deeming certain breeds
of dog as vicious and in need of
special provisions for both dog
and owner. Pit bulls, prior to the
ruling, were included on that list

of breeds deemed vicious enough :
: life-threatening injuries. New
: Westminster animal control

: services have removed the dog

to ban from New Westminster.
Following an incident in the early
morning of July 23, civil servants

and residents alike are calling into :
: deciding whether to euthanize

: the dog or return it to the couple,
: who are presumed to be the

: owners.

question these bylaw changes.
At approximately 2:45 a.m.
at an apartment building located
at 325 Ash Street, neighbours
reported what sounded like
people screaming and a dog
barking to the New Westminster
Police. Upon arrival, they found
a pit bull—already ina safe
place, quarantined on the suite’s
balcony—as well as a man and
a woman with serious injuries

: to the head and face. Two small

: children were in the apartment at
: the time, unharmed and having

: apparently slept through the

: entire incident.

The man, and woman,

: who was covered ina blanket
: to hide her face and head, were
: taken out of the building and
: to Royal Columbian Hospital

with serious but ultimately non-

from the dwelling and are still

Since the pit bull has no

: tags, James Doan, supervisor

: for New Westminster’s animal

: services, isn’t giving a definitive

: answer as to whether they are the
: dog’s owners. Animal services

: are looking into whether the dog
: has had an incident similar to

: this in the past—a factor which

: will undoubtedly play a big role

: in deciding this dog's fate. What
: exactly prompted the sudden

: attack has not been determined

: yet.

Some residents are

: uncomfortable with the

: possibility of the dog being

: returned to the couple; one

: neighbour, Lori Hilton, spoke to
: CBC News, remarking during a

: brief interview that “No matter

: how good [pit bulls] can be, they
: can change on a dime. They are

: like walking sharks.”

In contrast to the

: neighbours, Doan made sure,

: during an interview with the

: New Westminster NewsLeader,

: to point out to the public that no
: good comes out of stereotyping

: certain breeds of dogs as

: inherently vicious and dangerous
: to the public.

“It could be any animal,”

: Doan remarked.

 

 
  

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Inaugural All
completed in Coquitlam

 

q

Nations Festival» ,

 

» Events held at David Lam campus and Coquitlam Town Centre Park

Lauren Kelly
News Editor
Mi news@theotherpress.ca

An three-day Coquitlam
estival took place over the

weekend of July 23-25. Named the
All Nations Festival, the festival is
a celebration of the Coast Salish
peoples.

The Coast Salish peoples are
a group of tribes who span the
Pacific Northwest, specifically
BC, Washington, and Oregon.
The Lower Mainland is the Coast
Salish peoples’ territory, and
they were the original residents
of Coquitlam—then named
Kwikwetlem, meaning “red fish
up the river.” Some members of
the Kwikwetlem First Nation now
live on two reserves in Coquitlam,
and the rest live in Western
Canada.

The Douglas College
Campus and Evergreen Cultural
Centre hosted the Kwikwetlem

: Colloquium on July 23 and 24.
: It included panel discussions,

> traditional art and foods, and

: dialogue with artists, scholars,
: and cultural leaders. Finishing
: this part of the festival with

: a discussion on Coast Salish

: stories was Lee Maracle, an

: award-winning novelist, poet,

: and performance storyteller from :
: North Vancouver. She is an expert :
: on Coast Salish culture and has
: been referred to as a “walking

: history book.”

The Ideas Stage at Lafarge

: Lake hosted discussions on

: reconciliation, salmon, legal

: rights, and Tri-City citizen

: engagement. There was also a

: discussion about the expansion
: of the oil pipelines, which

: First Nations groups have been
: strongly opposed to. Another

: feature was a Green Energy Fair
: on Saturday, which included solar :
: panels and electric cars for guests }
: to look at, as well as discussion

: on protecting the Tri-City
: region from global warming and
: environmental threats.

The festival had 20 musical

: acts, including 2014 Juno award

: winner George Leach, classic

: rock band Doug & the Slugs,

: and Bill Henderson from the

: band Chilliwack. One performer,

rapper Ronnie Dean Harris, is
a descendant of a Kwikwetlem

: First Nations chief. There were

: also two sets from Vancouver's DJ
: Hedspin, winner of the Canadian
: and National Redbull Thre3style
: titles.

The festival brought together

: aboriginal culture and discussion
: in order to involve the Tri-City

: community with First Nations

: issues, After a successful first

: outing, the All Nations Festival

: will move forward into next

: year, bringing with it hopes for a

more culturally understanding,
environmentally friendly future

: for the Tri-Cities and Canada.

Image from Irwin Oostindie via Facebook

 

ThE OTHER PRESS Is
HOSTING A RAFFLE!

Win cool prizes, ranging from a variety of gift cards
to candy!

All you have to do is attend a meeting at the Other
Press, in room 1020 at the New Westminster
campus, between now and September 28. Fill out
this raffle ticket, and you're entered to win. It's just
that simple!

Meeting dates, all at 6 p.m.:
July 27; August 31; September 8; September 14;
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Raffle will be drawn on September 28. Prize must
be collected by winner at a meeting of the Other
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NAME

 

EMAIL

l Email editor@theotherpress.ca for more details.

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