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The voice of Delta since 1922
FRIDAY, MARCH 31, 2017
Optimist celebrating 95 years First edition of this community newspaper rolled off press in March of 1922
Ninety-five years ago this month the first edition of The Weekly Optimist rolled off the press. Vincent Dunning came west from Alberta, where he was operating two newspapers, to accept an invitation from the Delta Board of Trade (the predecessor of the Delta Chamber of Commerce) to fill a vacancy left after the demise of the Delta Times in 1914. Dunning set up shop in the
INSIDE TODAY’S EDITION Check out our anniversary magazine that chronicles the Optimist through our
95 years, from our founding way back in 1922 to present day.
former saloon of the Ladner Hotel, at the corner of 48th Avenue and Delta Street, just a block from where the Optimist has its offices today. About 500 copies were printed of that first issue, which consisted of four
pages. Although Vincent Dunning left the area the following year, the Dunning family continued to own and operate the Optimist for a half-century before selling its remaining shares to Ernie
DELTA
Bexley. The Bexley family operated the paper for a quartercentury before selling to the current owner, Lower Mainland Publishing, which is now part of the Glacier Media Group. Tsawwassen resident Alvin Brouwer is both president of Lower Mainland Publishing and publisher of the Optimist. The Optimist is currently housed in a century-old church at the corner of 47A Avenue and Delta Street.
OPTIMIST
Father of two killed in Deltaport Way crash IAN JACQUES
C o n t r i b u t i n g Wr i t e r
SUBMITTED PHOTO
Delta police officers investigate a two-vehicle collision on Deltaport Way Wednesday morning that claimed the life of a 40-year-old Surrey man.
A 40-year-old father of two from Surrey is being remembered by friends and co-workers following his tragic death in a two-vehicle accident on Deltaport Way early Wednesday morning. Delta police have not released the man’s name, but a GoFundMe page set up by friend and co-worker Johnny Levy has identified the man as Steve Mahli, a member of the International Longshoremen’s and Warehousemen’s Union Local 502. “Our brother and fellow 502 coworker tragically lost his life on the way home last night,” wrote Levy on the page. “The loss to his two young children and his family is tremendously heartbreaking.
“We can all relate to the fears of a young family when losing someone vital to their well-being. Steve was a great dad, a good guy and an honest friend to so many of us. Let’s give together to help take care of those loved ones he has had to leave behind.” As of yesterday morning, more than $36,000 had been raised on the page. Around 2:40 a.m., DPD responded to a collision between a car and a semi-truck. According to police, initial indications are that the car, driven by Mahli, crossed into the westbound lane and hit the truck head-on. Paramedics rushed the man to hospital, but he died of his injuries enroute. The driver of the semi-truck, although not physically injured, was transported to hospital and treated for shock.
THE
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