SECURITY CAMERAS DOWNywesseeseseeseeceseeseeecssesensesend Langara College security cameras remain offline after being installed a year ago LECE MED, oh Wy Check us@ut online at langaravoice.ca This week look for special features onVancouverFashion Week and an MS patient’s bid to complete iis novel Ryerson Ryerson United Church, on 45th Avenue, stands tall above Debra Bowman. CHANDLER WALTER photo Neighbours voice concern over tower By CHANDLER WALTER cross the street from Ryerson United Church, black and white “No Ryerson Rezone” signs pepper front lawns as an act of defiance against the church’s plans to redevelop. The neighbours’ biggest concern is the church’s sale of a section of land that will be used for a 10 to 12 storey building. The money from the land deal and other redevelopments will go to- wards funding improvements to the 100-year-old church that currently suf- fers from water damage and is in need of seismic upgrades. Brian Robertson lives on 48th Ave- nue, and has a “No Ryerson Rezone” sign on his front lawn. Robertson said that many of the neighbours do not trust the developers on the project, Wall Financial Corporation. “The development as we’ve seen it has just completely been a case of zone busting, and it does not fit with the neighbourhood at all,” Robertson said. Debra Bowman, the coordinating Printed on recycled paper minister of Ryerson United Church, said the church’s main goal is aiding the community. In order to do that, she said, they plan to build a new memorial centre on the west side of the church. “We’ve been doing community pro- gramming for 100 years in the neigh- bourhood and we want to be able to continue it, and to do that we need to have a lot more space,” she said. Bowman said the reception from the neighbourhood has not been too kind. “We’ve [been called] cheaters, liars, it’s been pretty brutal,” she said. Bowman was resentful of the accusa- tions. “If we were greedy, we wouldn’t do this. This has been a painful, long, heartbreaking process,” she said. Kerrisdale is home to mainly single- family residences. Beth Walters, a resi- dent of 48th Avenue, is worried the den- sification creeping further south from 41st Avenue will eventually eliminate any sense of community. “There’s a lot of concerns that it may just be the catalyst that ruins Kerris- dale,” she said. Continued on langaravoice.ca Sajjan's South Van plan Canada’s new defence minister sets goals to serve the people of his home rid- ing, Vancouver South By CHANTELLE DEACON ty as amember of Parliament is to inspire the younger generation to become future leaders. Sajjan, the newly appointed defence minister, said South Vancouver is his home and despite a busy schedule, the Vancouver South riding is still his main focus. Sajjan plans to help youth and se- niors in the community. According to Sajjan, looking after se- niors in South Vancouver is important and he said he plans to introduce a new senior centre at Sunset Community Cen- tre. “It’s critically important to me, even though there is enough senior commu- nity centres in Vancouver, elders can not travel the same distance,” he said in an exclusive interview with The Voice. “We need to take care and thank the elders who have given us this wonderful oppor- tunity.” In addition to his focus on South Van- couver’s senior population, Sajjan wants to support the younger generation as well. “We are only temporary and we have to create the new leaders of tomorrow,” he said. Sajjan wants to connect with students in Grade 8 to 10 at John Oliver Secondary H:: Sajjan says his major priori- School, King David High School and Saint Patrick Regional Secondary School. “T want to figure out a mentorship pro- gram with them and get them connect- ed, and encourage them to answer the question, why?” he said. Sajjan said that as an MP, he would not forget the people of South Vancou- ver. “We want to make sure we support the people that need it, but at the same time support the parents so they encour- age their kids to succeed,” Sajjan said. CONTRIBUTED photo Voice reporter Chantelle Deacon sat down with Harjit Sajjan to discuss his plans to stay true to his riding. 66 We have to create the leaders of tomorrow HARJIT SAJJAN MINISTER OF DEFENCE Arbutus gardens may be at risk Gardeners are worried about their plots’ future along the Arbutus Corridor By ASHLEY SINGH may lose their plots after the City of Vancouver’s $55 million pur- chase of the Arbutus Corridor last week. According to the Vancouver City Planning Commission, the 320 garden plots along the corridor will remain where they are, but local gardeners aren’t convinced. The possibility of ad- ditional gardens won’t be known until the design of the transportation green- way is completed. “We don’t feel too happy about the deal because they’re saying it’s going to be public land. We put hard work into these plots, I’d hate to lose it,” said Betty Wong, a local volunteer garden- er. Alex Tosnadi, another local garden- er agreed with Wong, but for different reasons. “Tm all for the city trying to modern- ize this land, but I’m a senior, I already Cris gardeners worry they have to pay taxes and I’m not looking forward to paying more just so they can take away these gardens,” Tosnadi said. Last spring, Canadian Pacific Rail- way removed several garden plots for being on private land and community gardeners held protests against the de- construction. Tobin Postma, from the city’s communications department, said that as long as the current plots are on public land, they should be safe. “The gardens that were removed [last year] were encroaching on private property and were never permitted by the city,” Postma said. Tosnadi and Wong are both retired and garden as a hobby. They each man- age plots and grow various vegetables © such as spinach, garlic and tomatoes. “T love working on these plots an getting to watch these plants growl’ fr GARDENS in the area MARPOLE OAKRIDGE FAMILY PLACE LANGARA COLLEGE FARMERS ON 57TH SOUTH VANCOUVER FAMILY PLACE Source: www.vancouver.ca ASHLEY SINGH photo Community garden plots along the Arbutus Corridor. Check out our web exclusives at http:/langaravoice.ca