South Delta's year that was - in photos

 

 
The Delta Optimist December 30, 2011
 
 
 
January: Edgar Dunning may not have been there in person but he was certainly there in spirit as a large crowd gathered to celebrate the grand opening of the Delta Archives and Edgar Dunning Reading Room. Located on the ground floor of the former courthouse next to municipal hall, the new facility provides state-of-the-art storage of Delta's historic documents and photos. The facility was named in part to honour Dunning, one of the founding members of the museum society and its first president. The former Delta Optimist editor and publisher, who was regarded as Delta's most trusted storyteller, passed away the previous fall. Family members as well as many dignitaries and civic officials were on hand for the grand opening held on the day it would have been Dunning's 101st birthday.
 

January: Edgar Dunning may not have been there in person but he was certainly there in spirit as a large crowd gathered to celebrate the grand opening of the Delta Archives and Edgar Dunning Reading Room. Located on the ground floor of the former courthouse next to municipal hall, the new facility provides state-of-the-art storage of Delta's historic documents and photos. The facility was named in part to honour Dunning, one of the founding members of the museum society and its first president. The former Delta Optimist editor and publisher, who was regarded as Delta's most trusted storyteller, passed away the previous fall. Family members as well as many dignitaries and civic officials were on hand for the grand opening held on the day it would have been Dunning's 101st birthday.

Photograph by: Delta Optimist , file photo

A number of stories made headlines in South Delta in 2011. Here's a month-by-month look at some of the top ones of the year...

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January: Edgar Dunning may not have been there in person but he was certainly there in spirit as a large crowd gathered to celebrate the grand opening of the Delta Archives and Edgar Dunning Reading Room. Located on the ground floor of the former courthouse next to municipal hall, the new facility provides state-of-the-art storage of Delta's historic documents and photos. The facility was named in part to honour Dunning, one of the founding members of the museum society and its first president. The former Delta Optimist editor and publisher, who was regarded as Delta's most trusted storyteller, passed away the previous fall. Family members as well as many dignitaries and civic officials were on hand for the grand opening held on the day it would have been Dunning's 101st birthday.
 

January: Edgar Dunning may not have been there in person but he was certainly there in spirit as a large crowd gathered to celebrate the grand opening of the Delta Archives and Edgar Dunning Reading Room. Located on the ground floor of the former courthouse next to municipal hall, the new facility provides state-of-the-art storage of Delta's historic documents and photos. The facility was named in part to honour Dunning, one of the founding members of the museum society and its first president. The former Delta Optimist editor and publisher, who was regarded as Delta's most trusted storyteller, passed away the previous fall. Family members as well as many dignitaries and civic officials were on hand for the grand opening held on the day it would have been Dunning's 101st birthday.

Photograph by: Delta Optimist, file photo

 
January: Edgar Dunning may not have been there in person but he was certainly there in spirit as a large crowd gathered to celebrate the grand opening of the Delta Archives and Edgar Dunning Reading Room. Located on the ground floor of the former courthouse next to municipal hall, the new facility provides state-of-the-art storage of Delta's historic documents and photos. The facility was named in part to honour Dunning, one of the founding members of the museum society and its first president. The former Delta Optimist editor and publisher, who was regarded as Delta's most trusted storyteller, passed away the previous fall. Family members as well as many dignitaries and civic officials were on hand for the grand opening held on the day it would have been Dunning's 101st birthday.
January: Kip Gaudry, a former senior director for Delta, was sentenced to 18 months in jail for possessing thousands of images and movies of child pornography. Gaudry pleaded guilty to one charge of possessing child pornography. He was later charged with a 1973 sex crime.
February: The husband of the woman whose burned body was found along Deltaport Way in 2006 was found guilty of her murder. Former Surrey teacher Mukhtiar Panghali Singh was found guilty of murdering his wife Manjit and then burning her body to conceal evidence. In March, he was sentenced to life in prison with no parole for 15 years.
February: Delta council unanimously supported a recommendation to apply to put the contentious Southlands property back in the Agricultural Land Reserve. Mayor Lois Jackson halted the pubic hearing after it was evident how much the community was divided. A mayor's summit was then held and later Century Group president Sean Hodgins came back with a new housing proposal for 950 units. The new proposal will go for public input in 2012.
March: Longtime Conservative MP for Delta-Richmond East John Cummins announced he's stepping down from federal politics. He would go on to become leader of the BC Conservative Party. Dale Saip won the nomination to be the new Conservative candidate for the riding but it was pulled. Vancouver resident Kerry-Lynne Findlay was handed the nomination. She handily won the federal election in May.
March: The Tsawwassen First Nation moved closer to a major residential development for lands near the ferry terminal According to the neighbourhood plan, 1,684 resident units would be built comprising single-detached (50 per cent), townhouse (35 per cent) and apartment (15 per cent) homes. Once completed, the residential developments would increase the population on the reserve by 4,381 people. The First Nation, not long afterward, announced a plan to build two big shopping centres comprising 1.8 million square feet.
April: Delta took another step in seeking an international designation for Burns Bog as council approved a draft application to have the bog, as well as the provincial wildlife management areas within the Fraser River delta, designated as a Ramsar Wetland of International Significance.
April: A new vision for Ladner's waterfront and downtown core was starting to take shape as over 200 people attended an open house hosted by the Downtown Ladner Waterfront Redevelopment Advisory Committee. Several proposals including allowing higher building heights were discussed. Delta recently announced it has selected Quay Property Management to submit a detailed proposal for the redevelopment of the Delta-owned properties along the Ladner waterfront.
May: Brunswick Point farmer Ken Montgomery was among several farm families who would get their farms returned. The province announced that a deal, which also involved the Tsawwassen First Nation, had been reached for the families to buy back their lands that had been expropriated in the late 1960s for an industrial development which never occurred.
May: Businessman Ron Toigo (middle) and his celebrity partners were on hand for the official sales launch of the Tsawwassen Springs housing development. Singer Michael BublŽ (left) and record producer Bruce Allen (right) joined at the $400 million development. Once completed, it will comprise 490 homes, new golf course and other amenities.
June: The Delta/Surrey border became one of the key gathering points in the Lower Mainland for Canuck fans who celebrated the team's run for the Stanley Cup. Thousands gathered at Scott Road and 72nd Street when the team made the finals and with each win. Unlike downtown Vancouver, there was no violence when the team lost the deciding game.
June: Port Metro Vancouver began a pre-consultation process regarding the proposed Roberts Bank Terminal 2 project. The purpose of the pre-consultation was to ask for input how stakeholders would like to be consulted. T2, if approved, would be a new three-berth container terminal in South Delta. Opponents, warning of the environmental and social impacts, question the need for T2.
July: Mayor Lois Jackson wasn't pleased with the outcome of a Metro Vancouver vote which would see additional property taxes to help pay for transit improvements. Jackson, who chaired the Metro Vancouver board, said Delta residents already short-changed by TransLink won't be happy about a $23 hike on their property tax bill. In addition to the Evergreen Line, the Metro mayors supported a plan called Moving Forward, which includes other improvements, including upgrading SkyTrain and SeaBus stations.
July: Federal and provincial agriculture ministers were at a Ladner farm In July to announce funding to help BC farmers recover after last year's disastrous fall. Torrential rainfall that started the previous September left many farmers unable to harvest crops from saturated fields.
August: The province moved forward with legal action to get Delta police and the municipality to pay for a former NHL player's expensive health care bills after he was beaten up at a North Delta bar five years ago. Garrett Burnett spent 20 days in a coma after he was smashed on the head with a bar stool at Cheers Nightclub. Police chief Jim Cessford said he took exception to what said about his department. Burnett had already filed a lawsuit against Delta, but that was thrown out later in the year.
August: The government promised to drop the harmonized sales tax by March 31, 2013 following the results of the mail-in referendum on the controversial tax. The province announced the old PST and GST will return with the exemptions that had existed prior to the HST. Elections BC said 54.73 per cent in B.C. voted to scrap the HST with 45.27 per cent voting to keep it in place. In Delta South, only 46.46 per cent voted in favour of extinguishing the tax, while 53.54 per cent voting to keep it. Ladner resident Bill Vander Zalm (top) led the Fight HST.
September: Delta rid itself of a costly headache by finally finding someone willing to take the contaminated Delta Shake and Shingle site. Council approved a transfer agreement with Ocean Trailer for the firm to take the former demolition landfill property for a buck. The considerable cost to clean up and monitor the site made it a tough sell. The site in the 8900-block of River Way and 9000 block of River Road has been inactive since a major fire burned there for 10 weeks in 1999, prompting Delta to declare a state of emergency.
September: It's looked like potato and other vegetable crops were rebounding nicely, according a longtime local farmer impacted by last year's disastrous growing season. Peter Guichon said the warmer weather over the weeks helped turn things around in a big way. Farmers in Delta and the Fraser Valley experienced massive crop losses the previous year due to the torrential rainfall. .
October: Another location was pitched for a second artificial turf playing field in Ladner. The Delta Secondary PAC proposed building a synthetic turf field DSS. Dugald Morrison Park had been identified by the parks and recreation department as the site where a new turf field should go, however, and council later in the year approved that plan.
October: Civic politicians approved a new agricultural plan for Delta, aimed at making the industry more viable. Although the Delta Agricultural Plan, which was two years in the making, is complete, much work remains to implement the strategies.
November: Mayor Lois Jackson won a fifth term in the civic election. She handily won over former councillor Krista Engelland, Heather King, who left her council seat to run for mayor, and Tsawwassen resident John Meech. Meanwhile, some new faces joined council and the school board. Jeannie Kanakos made a return to council, while newcomer Silvia Bishop also won a seat. The school board, which had 20 candidates, has three new faces with Val Windsor, Donna Burke and Nick Kanakos.
November: A Jan. 18, 2012 date has been set for the membership of the TFN to vote on a major shopping centre plan. The economic development corporation earlier in the year announced it entered into an agreement with Ivanhoe Cambridge and the Property Development Group to develop up to 180 acres. Hundreds of stores including several large retailers would be added. Should TFN members approve, detailed designs would begin immediately with site preparation to commence in the summer 2012. Both malls would have a 2015 grand opening.
December: Delta police released the name of the Delta Secondary teacher charged with sexual assault after an alleged incident at the school. Robin Wait, 43, is now facing two charges of sexual interference of a person under 16 and two counts of sexual assault stemming from the Nov. 4 incident and a previous incident that occurred in May. Police were called to the Ladner high school Nov. 4 after a female student reported that she had been assaulted by an unknown adult near the school gym.
 
 
 
 
 
 
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