Damage to Ruth Johnson Park from rainfall estimated at $4.2 million
Before the storm
The City of White Rock’s Ruth Johnson Park experienced significant damage to its slopes, walkways and trees following extreme rainfall in late January, resulting in an estimated $4.2 million in repair work and triggering a request for help from the Province.
The City also closed Coldicutt Ravine on Jan. 31 after record rainfall damaged the ravine and the lower portion of Ruth Johnson Park. Coldicutt Ravine is closed indefinitely. Two areas of the park remain closed.
The City hired GeoWest Engineering Ltd. of Abbotsford to assess the ravine and park damage. GeoWest reports multiple slope failures, sunken stairs and walkways and erosion in both locations. Conditions on the east ravine are considered treacherous.
Repairs are already underway in Ruth Johnson Park and further detailed assessment is being carried out in Coldicutt Ravine.
City Council heard on Feb. 18 that the cost estimate is $4 million for the east side of Ruth Johnson Park and $200,000 for the west. The City has applied to the B.C. Disaster Financial Assistance program and will likely apply for DFA assistance for Coldicutt Ravine following completion of the detailed assessment.
Repair work is underway on the west side of Ruth Johnson Park.
Signs are posted at Ruth Johnson Park and Coldicutt Ravine to ensure public safety.
Coldicutt Ravine is closed indefinitely due to slope instability.
Today - Pink Shirt Day
Celebrated annually around the globe, Pink Shirt Day began in Canada in 2007 when two students, David Shepherd and Travis Price, took a stand against homophobic bullying after a new year 10 student was harassed and threatened for wearing pink.
You can purchase your pink shirt day t-shirt at any London Drugs Store. Together we can make a difference.
Inspired by their personal experiences with bullying, a group of preteens ages eight to 12 in the City of Surrey’s MYzone Peer Mentorship Program have launched an anti-bullying awareness campaign ahead of Pink Shirt Day.
The campaign, which aims to educate the community on what bullying looks like, and what to do if you or someone you know or see is being bullied, includes a variety of images and messages that illustrate examples of bullying and their four recommended steps to take if experiencing bullying: walk away, ignore, talk it out, and seek help.
The anti-bullying campaign started through the grassroots exploration of real issues that affect the MYzone Peer Mentorship Program participants and their peers at school, at home, online, and in the community. The group started by learning about human rights and how the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child exists to ensure that every young person can live a happy and healthy life.
As a group, they felt the responsibility to share what they had learned with the community, so that they could help promote everyone’s right to be “protected from being hurt and mistreated, in body or mind”
February 23, 2020
Thank You White Rock & South Surrey
White Rock walkers and their supporters have raised over $102,000.00, and across Canada $5.6M has been raised for charity by Sources and communities all across the Country! White Rock surpassed their goal launching the city again into the Top 10 money earners in all of Canada. Take a bow walkers and donors.
Scott Kristjanson
1. Out of 144 Coldest Night of the Year Registered Cities in Canada, White Rock finishes 8th in Canada and best in British Columbia!
2. $103,000 was raised by CNOY White Rock!
3. 391 walkers registered, and 54 Teams!
4. The City of White Rock finished 6th Place in the White Rock CNOY out of 53 Teams
February 20, 2020
BNSF Soils Beach - Again
The BNSF Railway is continuing their behaviour of dumping landslide debris onto the shoreline of Crescent Rock Beach in south Surrey. After the latest slides on Jan. 31, 2020 following heavy rains, BNSF crews excavated tonnes of muddy debris and trees that had fallen onto their tracks from the Ocean Park bluffs. This material was placed onto the waterfront side of the rail corridor where it then flowed down onto the beach, covering it with this debris.
There are three slide zones just south of the 24 Ave. Christopherson Steps staircase in south Surrey. The largest one measures 15 x 7 metres in size by 1 metre deep or the equivalent of 7 dump truck loads of fill. To make matters worse, this slide material was dumped in the very same area as another slide on Jan 10, 2018 that was also excavated onto the waterfront. It covered a large portion of the beach frequented by naturists and made it unusable for nude recreation for two years until storm waves eventually washed this muddy debris away. It is unknown how many other new slide dump sites there are on the 6.5 km. of shoreline between Crescent Beach and White Rock.
While this illegal dumping is always reported to BC's RAPP line, DFO's fisheries report line, the RCMP and Ministry of Transportation by SUN, there appears to be no consequences to the Railway and no court action is taken against them. For some historical perspective, this comes after a March 2007 DFO investigation found the BNSF in violation of the Fisheries Act for this type of dumping and a March 2009 slide near Kwomais Point that was deposited into the ocean where a dead sea otter was found directly next to the debris field.
This latest BNSF landslide debris dumping incident will once again be reported to the DFO, RAPP and RCMP plus the information forwarded to the Friends of Semiahoo Bay Society and the Semiahmoo First Nation. Please feel free to use, post or publish the attached landslide photos taken yesterday at Crescent Rock Beach at your discretion.
White Rock Whalers Playoff Action
The White Rock Whalers played valiantly but unfortunately their play-off run ended last night in North Van.
Our thanks to all of our fans who supported us at home and on the road throughout this season! See you next year.
Ronnie Patterson and team!
Garbage Pick Up Service
The City of White Rock wants your input into the future of solid waste management.
The City is hosted an information open house last night at our community centre.
Learn more about solid waste collection in White Rock and share your thoughts. Whether you are a homeowner, renter or a business, we want to hear from you.
The City will also be seeking input through a survey available online and in hard copy at the City’s recreation centres.
Start or grow your business in Surrey – and join the more than 18,000 other business owners who already have!
View the complete list of licensed resident business owners in Surrey to see who is already here, and who might be opening up in your neighbourhood soon. We update our Business Directory every quarter, organized by address.
Tomorrow evening (Friday) THE WAY COOL BAND takes to the Club 240 stage(Crescent Beach Legion). Now that is cool, way cool in our books. Tickets $20.00 @ the door.
Has it really been 10 years?
BLUE FROG celebrates 10 years of magical musical memories in early May. They have chosen the perfect artist to perform for the big 10th anniversary party.
For years DON has been ringing the alarm bell regarding rail safety, slope stability as well as BNSF railway illegally dumping slide debris on the beach. Those actions have brought the rebuke of the Department of Fisheries and Oceans.
I'm sure these dogs would be welcomed into any pub and provide the patrons with countless hours of entertainment.
Chesney's Chestnuts
A bear walks into a bar..
The bar tender asks, "what will you have?" the bear says, "vodka and ahh... ahhhhhhh.... ahh coke".
The bar tender says, "why the big pause?"
The bear says, "I don't know, I was born with them"
Community Calendar
WHITE ROCK FAMILY CAREGIVERS LEARN ABOUT FEELINGS OF GUILT
Monday, March 2
Among all the emotions caregivers experience, guilt may be one of the toughest.
"Caregiver guilt is often fueled by the demands of the role, the expectation of others and the expectations of our toughest critic - ourselves," says Avalon Tournier, a Support and Education Coordinator for the non-profit Alzheimer Society of B.C. for White Rock and the rest of the South Fraser region.
To help residents living with the emotion, the Society brings its Strategies for Guilt workshop to the area on Monday, March 2.
