coquitlam
Port coquitlam
Port Moody
Surrey policing moves could impact Tri-City taxpayers.
Tree clearing concerns Prairie Ave. resident.
Old fire hall site will not be put up for sale
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2019
ELECTION / What you need to know: pages 17-21
PORT MOODY
Vagramov going back on leave ‘We need to turn down the dramatics,’ he says in statement GARY McKENNA gmckenna@tricitynews.com
Larkin Ryshak, a Grade 6 student at Maillard middle school, prepares ballots for the school’s mock election on Wednesday. Students were able to cast their own vote for local candidates in the upcoming federal election after learning about all the parties’ platforms as well as hosting some of those candidates. For more federal election coverage, see pages 17-21. MARIO BARTEL/THE TRI-CITY NEWS
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Port Moody Mayor Rob Vagramov announced Tuesday night that he’s heading back on leave. In a statement, the firstterm mayor, who is currently facing a sex assault charge, said he has been able to put the issues he ran on, including moderating development and reviewing the city’s official community plan, “back on track” in the month since he resumed his duties. “With that done, we need to turn down the dramatics, and focus on the work at hand,” he said. “There is no legal requirement for me to be away from my elected role, but today I am exercising my discretion to go back on leave without pay until I am cleared of the charges held against me.”
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He added that he values the community input he has received over the last few weeks and asked his supporters “for some patience at this time.” Vagramov noted some of the hostility from community members directed at him since the charges first came to light. “I know that this won’t satisfy everyone,” he said Tuesday. “From what I can tell, some people out there won’t be happy until they see my head on a stake.” When contacted by The Tri-City News, Vagramov said he would not be commenting beyond his prepared statement. “I’ve said all I have to say,” he wrote in a text message. Vagramov originally took a leave of absence last March after a special prosecutor approved the charge against him. At the time, he denied the allegations and said he needed to focus on his defence. see
DECISION, page 11
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