Ice back in at New West arena By Garth McLennan, Acting Staff Reporter fter being out for the summer lacrosse season, the ice has once again returned to New Westminster’s historic Queens Park Arena. A hard wood floor is typically installed each year to accommodate the city’s various lacrosse programs, many of which are based out of the arena. The ice is usually put back in at the beginning of September, but that was delayed several weeks by the Mann Cup lacrosse finals, which ran from September 4-12. The finals featured the eventual champion Brampton Excelsiors who defeated the hometown New Westminster Salmonbellies in a tight seven-game series. New Westminster has an extensive minor hockey program, running teams at varying levels of competitiveness at the tyke, atom, peewee, bantam, midget and juvenile stages, all playing regularly out of Queens Park. A number of senior hockey teams also practice and play there. The arena is used seven days per week at almost all times. Queens Park Arena has a long history in New Westminster and has been home to numerous championship lacrosse and hockey teams over the years. 24 Mann Cups (the highest championship in lacrosse) and four Western Hockey League titles, including two Memorial Cup national championships in the 1970’s by the New Westminster Bruins major junior hockey club have been won at Queens Park. The arena was built in 1930 and has been renovated several times since then, with the most recent in 2001 with the dressing rooms being rebuilt. Queens Park Arena seats 3,500 people with standing room also available. News Shorts By Kristina Mameli Burnaby toddler a hero Kate Dou, a 21 month old, helped prevent the spread of a fire in her apartment building last week. Dou woke her parents Sunday morning by imitating the sound of the fire alarm blaring in the apartment below. Firefighters found a man overcome by smoke inhalation in the apartment building at Willingdon Avenue and Imperial Street, a pot burning on his stove. Thanks to Dou, they arrived just in time. The man has since been released from hospital. Kate Dou Killer loose in Coquitlam Terrance Scott Geisbrecht, a 46-year-old paranoid schizophrenic killer was released on a day pass from Forensic Psychiatric Hospital in Coquitlam, but did not return by his 10 p.m. curfew. In 2004, he killed two men in Fort St. John but was found not criminally responsible and sent for treatment at the facility. He is described as a six-foot-two, 265 pound Caucasian with dark brown hair and eyes and was last seem wearing jeans, a jean jacket, a black and green shirt and black shoes. He has the potential for violent behaviour and anyone who sees him is asked to immediately call 911. Vancouver Public Library revisits decision to cancel suicide class for terminally ill Board advises staff to reconsider Exit International’s how-to workshop Kristina Mameli acting news editor he Vancouver Public Library has been urged to reconsider a decision to ban Australian right-to-die group Exit International’s how-to workshop on suicide. The group was banned from presenting the workshop after it and a public meeting were originally approved by the library. The workshop would educate people in detail on how to commit suicide. Dr. Philip Nitschke of Exit International admitted that the workshop is the subject of controversy and maintained that for this reason it is restricted to the terminally ill and those over advice which said that allowing the workshop to go ahead could be interpreted as encouraging people to kill themselves, which directly contravenes Section 241 of the Criminal Code. Section 241 states that aiding or counselling anyone to commit suicide is an indictable offence, which, if convicted, could hold a maximum sentence of 14 years, whether a suicide takes place or not. The library’s board advised Whitney to seek further legal advice Wednesday and present his findings in two weeks. Nitschke does not think that Exit International’s workshop contravenes the Criminal Code and is hoping the the age of 55. The decision came after city librarian Paul Whitney received legal and police library’s decision will be overturned. The public meeting and workshop were scheduled for November 3.