CITY 13
Hurley pulls ahead in poll
OPINION 26
Fed up with stinky weed
COMMUNITY 36
5
Meet your neighbours
THINGS TO DO THIS WEEKEND FRIDAY OCTOBER 19, 2018
There’s more at Burnabynow.com
LOCAL NEWS – LOCAL MATTERS.
Polarizing statue faces an uncertain future as high school set to be replaced
What’s next for the Viking?
F
or nearly a quarter century, the stern gaze of a 16-foot metal Viking has greeted students arriving at Burnaby North Secondary each morning, but that monument’s days may soon be numbered now that the school is being replaced. Education Minister Rob Fleming was in town recently to announce $79 million to replace the 62-year-old school by 2021. And one of the first questions out of most people’s mouths, according to principal Dave Rawnsley, is about the Viking. “Once we get past the logistics of where the building will go and what it might look like and what is a modern learning environment, then it always goes to ‘Where’s the Viking going?,’” he told the NOW. Anecdotally, Rawnsley said opinion about whether to keep it appears to be split about 50-50. There’s been talk, he said, of replacing it with a more modern, stylized figure, of coming up with something less male, of reconsidering the idea of Vikings as a school symbol at all. Continued on page 11
SEE PAGE 15
Story by Cornelia Naylor
SCHOOL LANDMARK: This viking head has stood guard at Burnaby North Secondary for nearly a quarter of a century, but questions remain about where it will end up being moved to – or if it will be removed – when a new school is built on the same property. PHOTO CORNELIA NAYLOR
Sidewalks too tricky for scooters, strollers: senior Maria Rantanen
mrantanen@burnabynow.com
Wayne McQueen navigates the bumps and broken sections of sidewalk along Smith Avenue in the Metrotown area in his motorized scooter. The 71-year-old manages to be mobile in his scooter despite having a condition called charcot foot, a result of his diabetes, which can cause the bones in his feet to break if he walks. But he doesn’t understand why a big city like Burnaby can’t get its sidewalks into shape for people like him in scooters or mothers pushing strollers. “It’s very hard to manoeuvre with a mobility device,” McQueen
said, adding that he’d like to see ramps on all corners along Smith Avenue. “It also would help young women with their strollers to have a ramp.” At Smith and Sandell, the sidewalk, which is only on one side of the street, ends with no curb letdown, but a pathway going east with bark mulch allows McQueen to eventually cross the street. Farther down at Hertford and Smith there is also no curb letdown, so McQueen turns east and goes down half a block until he can access the road where there is a private driveway, then he rides along the street until he finds another driveway to get back onto the sidewalk. In places, there are small, steep
Free Home Evaluation
Call AL KABANI today 778-773-4646 RE/MAX Central
Burnaby, BC V5H 4C2
$5 off any Share platters
| Since 1985 | #1-5050 Kingsway,
778-773-4646 AL KABANI
inclines on the sidewalk beside a driveway where he gathers speed in his scooter to make it up the hill, something that makes him fearful for his safety. “I could have tipped the thing over backward because it’s too steep,” he said of the sidewalk beside a driveway. McQueen said he often feels nervous riding his scooter in traffic as he goes down Smith Avenue to his doctor’s appointment with traffic. “I think (city officials) need to take into consideration standards for making things mobility-safe – that doesn’t seem to be their priority, that’s just my opinion,” said McQueen, who has lived in Burnaby since 2008.
alkabani@remax.net
Nando’s Kingsway y 4334 Kingsway, Burnab 604-434-6220 Expiry Date: November 30th, 2018
Rough terrain: Wayne McQueen sits on his scooter, which is parked on one of the tricky stretches near Metrotown. PHOTO MARIA RANTANEN
Order Take-Out. Call 310-SPOT (7768) or order online at www.whitespot.ca