S E R V I N G
M I S S I O N
S I N C E
1 9 0 8
85¢+HST 85
THURSDAY, JUNE 2, 2011
WEATHER BEHAVES FOR NATIONALS Raceway hosted competitors from all over the region
PAGE 8
GARAGE FIRE IN HATZIC Mission firefighters were called to a residential fire on Lougheed Friday night. PAGE 5 The Mission train bridge suffered no structural damage after it was hit by a loaded gravel barge, and rail traffic returned to normal just before 6 p.m. Tuesday. JASON ROESSLE PHOTO
NEW CHIEF OF POLICE
Gravel barge strikes train bridge BY JASON ROESSLE Mission Record
Rail service resumed just before 6 p.m. Tuesday after a fully loaded gravel barge slammed into one of the pilings of the train bridge
which spans the Fraser River between Mission and Abbotsford. The incident happened Tuesday at approximately 12:30 p.m., said Canadian Pacific Railway spokesperson Mike LoVecchio. The swing bridge was open when the barge
made contact with the piling. Gravel had to be moved off the barge before it could be dislodged from the piling. Once it was moved, CPR conducted a damage assessment, which included putting a diver in the water to inspect
A Langley Mountie will take over from Insp. Pat Walsh as Mission’s top cop. PAGE 5
the piling. No damage was found, said LoVecchio. All trains were rerouted to cross at New Westminster while the span was out of service. “That’s a key bit of infrastructure,” he said.
Celebrate
Seniors’ Week JUNE JUN NE 5-11, NE 5 11 1 2011
HST is good for province, says Hawes BY TOM FLETCHER AND JASON ROESSLE Black Press
One of Mission’s MLAs maintains the Harmonized Sales Tax is the right idea. Abbotsford-Mission MLA Randy Hawes said, “Every expert says [the HST] is good for the economy. If we go away from it, it will hurt every person. We cannot go backwards.” The provincial government representative noted no other jurisdiction on the globe has
returned to a different system after the HST was implemented. “The further one per cent cut in 2014 puts nearly everyone on the plus side” financially, he continued. The B.C. government promised last Wednesday to cut the harmonized sales tax rate by two percentage points over the next three years, and issue $175 rebate cheques for each child and lower-income senior this year. The program is aimed at persuading voters to keep the HST in a mail-in referendum that
begins this month. If the HST survives, the first one per cent rate cut would take effect July 1, 2012. Finance Minister Kevin Falcon said the changes mean the average B.C. family will see an overall tax reduction of $120 a year when the HST rate reaches 10 per cent. The HST currently costs the statistically average household an additional $350 a year, although there are wide variations among actual households. Falcon acknowledged that some families would continue to pay more until 2014.
POPULAR DUO LAUNCH WEEK Bernie and Red are kicking off Seniors’ Week. See The Record’s six-page section. PAGES 10-15
Have y your vehicle’s
COUPON
00
15
$ 33245 GLASGOW AVENUE AVENUE, MISSION
OFF
Not valid with anyy other specials p or coupon. No cash value. One coupon/customer.
Symons Excel Tire Centre
Expires: June 30/11
Any Brake Service over $125
(Located next to commuter rail)
604.826.9119 We’ve Built our Reputation on 38 Years of Quality Service.
www.symons-exceltire.com
Come in for y your Free Inspection. •TIRES •SHOCKS •BRAKES •TUNE-UPS •ALIGNMENTS •CUSTOM EXHAUST •AIRCARE