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ARTS: Check out PoCo’s tree show [pg. 26]
WEDNESDAY, AUG. 15, 2018 Your community. Your stories. dinner
ON THE FARM
TRI-CITY
NEWS
NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA, bATMEN
bEARS
Bear goes to mall, goes to sleep & goes to the woods Bear also spotted near Starbucks in downtown PoCo Diane StranDBerg The Tri-CiTy News
The search for food has brought curious black bears into the Tri-Cities, resulting in one young male being tranquilized and relocated, and another getting time in the spotlight via social media. Friday, Coquitlam RCMP were called to Henderson Place mall, where a bear went in the commercial vehicle underground parking lot. “I don’t know why it wandered down there,” said Sgt. Grant Wong, who was on duty when the bear wandered from PoCo Place Mall to Henderson.
Conservation officers arrived at 3 p.m. and, after assessing the situation, tranquilized the young bruin, then kept it overnight for observation. “There was no aggression or threatening behaviour towards anybody,” Sgt. Todd Hunter of the BC Conservation Officer Services told The Tri-City News. The next day, the bear was released in the forest, well out of the city, after officers found it to be healthy. Also Saturday morning, coffee drinkers at Starbucks in downtown Port Coquitlam got more than a shot of caffeine to jolt them awake when they saw a bear sauntering by. A video sent to Global TV and posted to Twitter showed the bear walking by the shop located next to PoCo city hall. see CAUTION URGED, page 3
SCAMS
Family & Mounties: beware cheque scam Diane StranDBerg The Tri-CiTy News
Paul SteeveS PHOtO
Volunteer workers and a contractor pose in front of Colony Farm bat “condo” as construction work nears completion (from left): Jeff Rudd, Wayne McCallum, Kiyoshi Takahashi (the condo designer), John Grzesiak (contractor) and Paul Steeves. See story, page 9.
A Coquitlam family is warning people to beware of a scammer who is approaching people at bus stops asking to exchange a cheque for cash. The fraud reportedly took place at about 9:30 p.m. Friday, Aug. 3 at a bus stop on Kitchener Avenue in Port Coquitlam. Police say it was an isolated incident and a new version of a cheque-cashing scam that
often leaves people out of pocket. “Any fraudster, any person who is trying to do a scam, is going to go after someone who is vulnerable, often it’s seniors or new Canadians,” said Cpl. Michael McLaughlin of the Coquitlam RCMP. In this case it was a teenager who was bilked of $400 and his sister is spreading the word to make sure other people don’t fall victim to the same crime.
see FAMILY, page 8
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