Renfrew-Collingwood Community News

News stories from the Renfrew-Collingwood community in East Vancouver

Tag Archives: RCC News 20 years


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Staff changes at RCC News: Long-time editor steps down

BY JULIE CHENG

Julie Cheng in the garden with mason bee homes.
After stepping down as editor of the Renfrew-Collingwood Community News, Julie Cheng will have more time to take care of her garden and mason bees. Photo by Bryden Fergusson

My involvement with what’s now called the Renfrew-Collingwood Community News started more than 25 years ago when it was first founded as part of the Building Communities through Cultural Expression project. It has been an amazing journey as the editor of this local newspaper for more than 15 years to encourage people to share their thoughts and speak up in the community.

But now, it’s the right time for me to step down. Paul Reid, the original founder of this newspaper, takes over the editorial duties and I’ll stay on as the online editor.

It has been a privilege and a joy to have shared your stories, artwork and events with the wider community all these years. The RCC News has always been a way for me to bring neighbours together and build community.

I first learned about community-building when I sat on the board of Collingwood Neighbourhood House in the early 1990s with such local luminaries as Terry Tayler, Don Van Dyke, Rob Burkhart and David Hanuse. Paula Carr, CNH’s visionary executive director back then, taught me one important value that I still live by today: Everyone has a gift to share.

This has translated, through the RCC News, as “everyone has a story to tell.” I came from an immigrant family whose parents kept their head down, worked hard and didn’t have a voice. That’s why my motto with the RCC News has long been “every voice matters.”

Over the years the newspaper mobilized community in many different ways. RCC News was there when Green Thumb Theatre saved the historic Carleton School House (Carleton School House: Green Thumb to the rescue, October 2011). More than 10 years later, we’re still getting the word out about saving a local school with our recent story to stop the subdivision of school grounds at Bruce Elementary.

Our regular series evolved and have been popular over the years. Paul Reid and Emily Tam give us the scoop on local restaurants in the Eating Out column. Loretta Houben gives us history galore, starting from her memories of Chatty Cathy and moving on to her Family Tree Tips and Collingwood Corner series. And the Read On! series by Sophia Han and Tony Wanless has been a staple for English learners across the community.

I’ve so enjoyed sharing your charming voices and remarkable gifts in stories such as the ones celebrated during the newspaper’s 20-year anniversary (just search Renfrew Collingwood RCC News 20 years). Our wonderful contributors include Akberet Beyene, GeekBoy, Susan Wong, Deanna Cheng, Esther Yuen, John Mendoza, Crecien Bencio, Yoko Tomita, Ann Wong, Rania Hatzioannou and her student writers. More recent writers and artists have included Karen Vanon, Penny Lim, David Penny, Robert Edwards (aka The Other Guy), Vince Prasad, Carmen Rosen and Still Moon Arts Society as well as students from the Windermere Leadership program, who have long fought for climate justice. There are so many more contributors – thank you to you all.

Please keep telling your stories and supporting the newspaper as RCC News celebrates its 25-year milestone. You can send your stories to Paul Reid at editorial@cnh.bc.ca.

Copyright Renfrew-Collingwood Community News


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We’re moving on up!

How Collingwood Neighbourhood House moved from Kingsway to Joyce Street

To commemorate the 20-year anniversary of the Renfrew-Collingwood Community News, we’re revisiting past stories that have particularly inspired us. This article was first published in the Fall-Winter 1994 issue of the Collingwood Collage, a predecessor to the RCC News.
My favourite memory from the RCC News is writing the story about the Collingwood Neighbourhood House moving from Kingsway to Joyce. The story showed the growth of CNH and our work with Julie Cheng (editor) and others on the Communications Committee.
− Jeff Mazo

Times are changing again. What had been an ongoing process for the last few years finally came down to a two-hour city council meeting on June 24, 1994.

After many community consultations and endless meetings, the Vancouver Land Corporation (VLC) project along Joyce and Vanness was finally approved. As a result, Collingwood Neighbourhood House (CNH) will be moving (in the next few years) to a larger and permanent building at Joyce and Euclid.

All those concerned with the project were invited to the council meeting to voice their opinions. Only a handful of people spoke before council. They included David Podmore (VLC president), Chris Taulu (Joyce St. Area Planning Committee), Rob Burkhart (CNH president), Ken Greene (Collingwood businessman) and various residents of the area.

Like the previous public consultation meetings, there were models and sketches of the proposed development on display. There were also many questions and concerns still being raised about the development. These concerns included the increase of traffic, the effect of shadows from tall buildings, and the increase of the population density. Some speakers also saw problems with the unit sizes proposed for housing and the effects that the development could have on the neighbouring City of Burnaby.

Ultimately, there were only nine speakers and their positions were as follows: six for the development and three against it.

The council members’ vote was unanimous, but the individual councillors’ opinions of the project varied. For instance, Councillor Libby Davies voted for the development, but with reservations. She said there were some “skepticism and concern(s)” about the development such as increased population density.

She also suggested that since the entire project is to be built in phases, the community should use the pause between the phases to look carefully at the project again. If the community does not like what it sees, they can go back to city council.

On the other hand, Councillor Gordon Price voted for the project without reservations, but was surprised that there was little opposition to such a massive development.

Mayor Gordon Campbell praised the consultation process within Collingwood and said it should be a model for other community developments.

If all goes according to plans, VLC will break ground by spring of 1994, and Phase I, with the new neighbourhood house, will be completed in 1995.

Copyright 2018 Renfrew-Collingwood Community News

 


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November 2018 issue of RCC News is here

RCC News November 2018

This issue of the RCC News is full of the many wonderful people, events and programs happening in our neighbourhood.

Get your latest issue of the RCC News at your local coffee shop, grocery store, library and community centre.

Or click on the cover image to view the new issue.

In this issue:

  • The Annex is open! CNH’s arts and culture hub
  • RCC News 20 years: Happy 100th birthday to John Harlow
  • #MeToo hits close to home: November 25 is the International Day for the Elimination
    of Violence against Women
  • Seniors bus trip to salmon hatchery and spawning grounds
  • Tips for leaving a legacy
  • Miss Wheelchair Canada 2018: Breaking beauty misconceptions

Do you have a local story to tell or an event to share? We’d love to hear about it! Email rccnews-editorial@cnh.bc.ca.

The deadline for the December 2018 issue is November 10. We welcome story submissions from 300 to 400 words long. Accompanying photos must be high resolution in a jpg file at least 1 MB large and include a photo caption and the name of the photographer.