THE WEDNESDAY
2010 WINNER
MAY 11, 2011 www.tricitynews.com
TRI-CITY NEWS Holy jumping chinchillas!
May Day, May Day
SEE LIFE, PAGE 14
SEE PAGE 15
Mother’s Day kicks off market season
INSIDE Tom Fletcher/10 Letters/11 A Good Read/19 Arts/21
Opponents blast PoCo tower plan Proponents say health concerns about cell towers are unfounded By Gary McKenna THE TRI-CITY NEWS
If a cell tower is built at Greenmount Park in Por t Coquitlam, it would ruin the view and jeopardize the health and safety of nearby residents. That was the message PoCo council heard Monday night during a public input opportunity that saw people from across the Lower Mainland pack council chambers to speak out against a proposal from Rogers Communications. The company said the tower, which would stand 120 m from Coquitlam River elementary school, is necessary to improve cellular service in the area. David Werthman, an opponent of the project, said council should oppose the initiative because there is not enough information on the long-term health impacts of cellphone towers.
“If that tower goes up... most of the people are going to remember who put it there,” Werthman told council. “It wasn’t Rogers — it was you.” According to Rogers, the cell tower would comply with all Industry Canada and Health Canada regulations, limiting electromagnetic energy in the frequency range from 3 kHz to 300 gHz. Exposure to these levels, the agencies said, is considered safe for the public. But Peter Endisch, a Tri-City resident, said federal regulators have been wrong about things such as asbestos and garden chemicals in the past. He said Health Canada’s record is “abysmal” and that council should not base its decision on the organization’s research. He added: “Technology is great but at what cost?” But not everyone who spoke at Monday night’s meeting opposed the tower. Of the 28 people who spoke during the two-hour hearing, 22 were against the tower and six supported it. see TOWER MUST MUST,, page 12
Best in B.C.
CRAIG HODGE/THE TRI-CITY NEWS
The Coquitlam Farmers Market opened for the first time this spring on Mother’s day and Jodie Thom and her 14-month-old son Dylan Santos shopped for some fresh produce. The market will be held from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. every Sunday through the end of October in the parking lot at Dogwood Pavilion in Coquitlam (corner of Poirier Street and Winslow Avenue).
They had to wait several months to do it but the boys’ soccer team from Dr. Charles Best secondary school captured the provincial championship. See page 26