Coquitlam
Port Coquitlam
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Changes in commercial property assessments, too
A .48% residential tax hike is planned in PoCo for 2020
Price of electric vehicle charging up in Port Moody
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tricitynews.com
2020
Coq. man wins $500k in lotto + Schoenborn up for another hearing + What do Canadians think about vaping now?
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Port Coquitlam family among 176 dead in Tehran plane crash The son, 15, was a student at Riverside secondary school Stefan Labbé slabbe@tricitynews.com
A Port Coquitlam family of three was among 63 Canadian victims on board the Ukrainian Airlines flight that crashed shortly after takeoff Tuesday from Iran’s Tehran Imam Khomeini International Airport. The Tri-City News has confirmed that father Ardalan Ebnoddin-Hamidi, his wife, Niloofar Razzaghi, and their 15-year-old son, Hamyar Ebnoddin-Hamidi, were on their way home after a twoweek vacation. In total, 176 lives were lost in the crash. Kei Esmaeilpour, a family friend and head of the Civic Association of Iranian Canadians, told The Tri-City News the mother was about to start a full-time career as a teacher in Surrey after finishing her studies at UBC. The father, Ardalan, was active in the community, help-
ing to organize all-candidates meetings in the lead-up to elections, and bringing his son along to help, Esmaeilpour said. “They liked to help the community,” said Esmaeilpour. “I’m really heartbroken. Remembering him, he was a great symbol of an immigrant coming to Canada.” Even those who only knew the family in passing were struck by their friendliness. “I always got a smile from them,” said neighbour Allen Jones, who moved next door in December and hadn’t yet got a chance to know his neighbours well. “They seemed really nice.” Another neighbour, Alexandra Cabelka was shocked by the news. She said her family and the Hamidis bought their Port Coquitlam houses around the same time four years ago. Every week, more friends would come over to the house to visit. In the winter, they would chat while shovelling the snow; in the fall, they went for a beer. “Oh my god,” she said when a reporter visited her house. “I feel sick.” see
‘I’M THINKING’, page 17
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Ardalan Ebnoddin-Hamidi (right), his wife, Niloofar Razzaghi (left) and their 15-year-old son, Hamyar Ebnoddin-Hamidi, a Riverside secondary student, were on their way home after a vacation when they perished in a plane crash in Iran. FACEBOOK
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