In Remembrance

At 4:45 this evening,  a small, brief and quiet gathering will be held in The Grove in downtown  Newton.  We will be coming together to honour the life of Julie Paskall, who was attacked  outside the Newton Ice Arena one year ago tonight.
This is meant to be a time of quiet, thoughtful reflection: Not a time for blame or politics or controversy.  Some will bring poems. Others will share a special reading.
For some of us, the senseless attack on Julie was deeply personal. We ask for the media's respect and understanding.

 For those who wish to attend, please bring  tealights or candles if possible and if desired, flowers.
 We plan to walk from the Grove to the memorial site afterward to place flowers and candles. 
We will conclude  before 5:30.
Thank you
Update:  Thank you to all who attended the intimate gathering this afternoon. A very special thank you to the Paskall family members who joined in. You are all very brave. We share your pain, and we will not forget your mom.

One year later.

ReNewton Year in ReView

 A lot happened in Newton in 2014.

  Stay Tuned for an Upcoming Post..... 

ReNewton Year in ReView.

 It was one hell of a year.

One Step toward Retrofitting Suburbia

 Think of the places in Metro Vancouver that attract people and commerce. Commercial Drive in Vancouver is one very successful area. People feel good about living, working and visiting this neighbourhood.

 Maybe it's time for Surrey to return to the "old school" main streets that encourage walking and a sense of community. We need to get away from our car-centric culture. In order to do that, Surrey needs to change its  commercial parking requirements.

Sprawling suburban parking acreages are so 70s. Time  for change.   

Full Blog Post by Matt Taylor here

Keep Your Human Paws off Surrey's Salmon Please!

 Judging from an encounter I had yesterday while walking through our neighbourhood park, it appears we might very well need to do a little public awareness campaign on the importance of Surrey's many salmon spawning streams. I am fortunate to have one just steps from my back yard gate.

 Three men were walking along the trail through the park, one of them carrying a large fishing net. We started a friendly conversation and they told me they were on their way to scoop up the salmon  they'd spotted earlier.  

One of them said they done this before. I explained why it wasn't such a great idea and that we needed the salmon to lay their eggs and that it was hey, kind of important, ya know?  

The circle of life and all that jazz.

And besides, these fish are not what you might call 'fresh catch of the day'. They're banged up and so close to mush it would take a braver soul than me to chow down on one of these Coho.

  Talk about Ew!    

After our little chat they turned around and walked out of the park. I sincerely hope they won't try that again. 

  After all, a female salmon can lay up to 5000 eggs and that's a lot of fish in our coastal waters.

JOY TO The GROVE !

 Saturday, December 13,  4-6 PM

Make plans to join

 Friends of the Grove

 for a fun family event of music, hot chocolate, and Christmas goodies, plus lots of raffle prizes too!

 If you are able to donate a gift card or other prize please send a message to  hey-jude@telus.net