Thoughtful replacement
Last November I wrote a column about a grieving mother devastated that a commemorative planter she and her daughter had purchased and attached to a memorial bench dedicated to her son had been stolen.
Linda Richardson was so heartbroken about the loss she wrote the Courier an angry letter because she needed to vent and didn't know where to turn.
Richardson would tend to the planter at the bench on Kits Point as a way to feel closer to her son Terry, who died in March 2010 a few days shy of his 28th birthday. Two weeks ago, Richardson wrote to say she hadn't visited the bench since because she still felt sad. But one morning recently she stopped by on her way to work.
"And to my utter surprise found that someone had replaced the planter, a beautiful one. An incredible feeling of joy came over me. Someone cared enough to have gone to the effort to replace the stolen planter," Richardson wrote. "I hope this special person reads this as I would like to thank then from the bottom of my heart for such a truly kind and thoughtful gesture."
Goatgate
NPA park board commissioner Melissa De Genova told me this week that in response to the outpouring of concern from the public regarding the unknown fate of the Stanley Park goats, she's putting forward a notice of motion about the issue.
Langley hobby farmer Trevor French adopted 17 goats and four sheep from the Stanley Park Farmyard and petting zoo after the attraction closed in January 2011 due to park board budget cuts. Some of those goats may have been sold at auction and ended up as meat. (See page 7 for the Courier's interview with French.)
De Genova is asking the park board to mandate that the remaining animals and birds adopted from the farm be visited by staff every six months until they die. De Genova said bringing the motion to a park board meeting would allow the public to speak on the matter. That item is expected to be included on the agenda of the next park board meeting Feb. 27.
"I've received a lot calls and emails from people about the goats, but no one could speak about them," says De Genova. "This will allow them to express their feelings."
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