July-August news

August 21, 2017:   Photos, poetry shines a light on Riverview Hospital
The exhibit is at Port Coquitlam city hall.  

 Tri-City artists Sherry Carroll, Bill Atfield, Fari Lotfali and Manfred Kraus  use their craft to show Riverview Hospital as a place of "hope, healing and inspiration" in an exhibit at Port Coquitlam city hall this month.

The display is on until Sept. 5.

Meanwhile, they are inviting poets to submit their words about the historic Coquitlam grounds as part of a contest that closes Sept. 30. Email entries to:    scartsandculture@live.com.

August 9, 2017  Could rail overpasses improve safety for cars?
Gateway Transportation forum mulls options for enhancing rail to ports, including four projects in Coquitlam, Port Coquitlam

July 27, 2017   Saving what's left of Riverview Hospital
The city of Coquitlam has commissioned a Port Coquitlam curator and her photographer partner to inventory the Riverview Hospital artifacts that have been in storage for years.

Tree Fest 2017

Well the location has been moved this year, BC Housing has been exerting its new powers over the site, and this years Treefest has been located on the far edge of the property in a very wet, noisy site.


Treefest 2017 will be held on Sunday, September 10th from 11:00 am - 4:00 pm at the Riverview Hospital Grounds located at 2601 Lougheed Highway. Bring the entire family to this free annual celebration of trees.

Activities include: hourly guided tree tours, history bus tours, antique radio museum tours, a heritage building walking tour, community displays, live music, food truck, and a Blackberry Tea.

The festival site is located on the Riverview Hospital Grounds at 2601 Lougheed Highway at the baseball diamond at Pine Terrace and Holly Drive.  Access the site via the Colony Farm Road entrance off of Lougheed Highway.  There is free on-site parking.

For more information, visit the
     Riverview Horticultural Centre Society Treefest page.

Treefest is presented by the Riverview Horticultural Centre Society ( RHCS ) and supported by the BC Housing, Burke Mountain Naturalists ( BMN ), City of Coquitlam, Kwikwetlem First Nations( KFN ), and Maple Creek Streamkeepers( MCS ).

Media Contact:  Carole Edwards
Tel: 604-461-3864
Email: cedwards6@gmail.com

A poster for this event  is available for download here

So where is it you say?, click on this Google Earth file, to find out ( must have Google Earth installed )

 Location of Treefest is shown in red

Silly season is upon us

Keep Riverview public, NDP's Horgan says
Coquitlam press conference lays out party's plans for mental health and addiction services.

Port Coquitlam MLA Farnworth runs on record
Profile on NDP MLA Mike Farnworth

Letters: ‘Shocked’ at Riverview Hospital walk fees
The Editor, Re. “Riverview red tape for society volunteers” (The Tri-City News, April 14).

[  Editor note:   Still in shock over this "fee" being charged, an obvious exertion of authority by some faceless bureaucrat.
    The RHCS services have been immense to the property, and the mental health of the residents, and any fees, should have been waived, by some grandfathering clause.

 Where do WE get these damn faceless government talking heads from ? ]

Typical bureaucracy at play

Red tape worries Riverview Hospital activists
Group hit with $50 per hour fees for hosting Riverview tree tours in Coquitlam
[ Typical bureaucratic B.S. ]

Letter: Riverview could be an asset to health of the community
The Editor, Re. “Maples replacement is announced again” (Tri-City News, March 31

Letter: A lesson from the 1990s

Found this You Tube user page RVH101

Riverview in local news

Some good news about the historical artifacts, no news about the actual hospital site.

Expert to take stock of Riverview artifacts in Coquitlam
One of the best collections of historical medical gear in western Canada will be catalogued this year for future display in Coquitlam.  [ed. note: hopefully the entire collection will be photographed digitally and shared online.  Makes one wonder what happened to all the materials that the B.C. Archives removed from the collection, never to be seen again......]

Letter: Mentally ill need Riverview in Coquitlam
The Editor, I recently listened to audio of the Minister of Health Terry Lake describing the change in focus of mental health treatment in B.C.

UPDATE:   [ ed. note: more recent dialogue from the local paper, and a reply to the above letter. ]
 Editorial: Opening Riverview for rehab
Acting quickly is important to reduce drug overdoses, but programs also have to be well staffed and properly resourced

Letter: Riverview Hospital in Coquitlam provided valuable help to patients, families
The Editor, Re. “Mentally ill need R’view” (Letters, The Tri-City News, Jan. 20).

Bring opioid treatment to Riverview Hospital: Coquitlam mayor
The urgency of the opioid addiction crisis requires an immediate solution, and Coquitlam Mayor Richard Stewart says there's one available at Riverview Hospital.

Sad loss of key volunteer

Donna and Ken Crosby were key volunteers at Treefest, the annual celebration of the heritage tree collection on the Riverview Hospital site.      photo: V. Otton 


Photo and article from the Burke Mountain Naturalists newsletter:  January 2017 Issue 281BMN Loses Stalwart Volunteer Donna Crosby

 by Elaine Golds 


     Many BMN members will be saddened to learn of the passing of Donna Crosby on December 24. Donna was a long-time and stalwart BMN member whose passion was for Riverview and its very uncertain future. I had the pleasure of serving with Donna on Coquitlam’s Riverview Stewardship Committee for many years. 

      As a member of that group, representing the RV Horticultural Centre Society (RHCS), Donna made a contribution that truly deserves to be remembered. She always did her homework and attended every meeting well prepared with very strategic questions about the management and future of Riverview’s tree collection. The answers we typically received were vague and often not especially helpful. Donna politely kept the government and consultant staff on their toes with her incisive questions and by constantly referring to written comments taken from minutes of previous meetings. I think that over the years, it was Donna’s well thought-through and careful questions that gradually built up the confidence of the City staff members, and that ultimately helped to build a solid and trusting relationship between BMN, RHCS and the provincial consultants handling the Riverview file. Donna was consistently gracious, diligent, persistent and always polite; the strategy she chose was very effective. 


      For several months prior to the each annual Treefest, there were seemingly endless calls and emails between Donna and Riverview and City staff. She had the good sense to be able to anticipate problems and this was generally what made the organization of Treefest proceed without problems. In years past, Donna’s husband Ken was another of the volunteers upon whom Treefest depended. 

      A few months ago, Donna lost Ken after nursing him at home over a slow decline. This year, she had the unenviable task of organizing Treefest without Ken by her side. 

       Donna had superb organizational skills. I recall one meeting at Donna’s home where we were discussing a relatively minor aspect of Riverview’s history. To clarify the point under discussion, Donna went to her records and, in minute or two, returned with copies of the documents we had been discussing!
 
       Donna also spent countless hours preparing for the monthly public tree walks at Riverview. Over the years, the numbers of knowledgeable volunteers to lead these walks has gradually diminished. Thankfully, Norma Gillespie has kindly risen to the challenge of promoting Riverview’s tree collection. During the past few years, Norma has led many successful public monthly tree walks and awakened many people in our community to the impressive tree collection found at Riverview. Donna attended almost all of these monthly tree walks. She always was quietly present just in case she was needed - she well knew what a challenge it could be if forty people showed up anticipating a professional tree tour. 

Donna was a sincere and wonderfully dedicated volunteer. She will be much missed


ed. note:

  Kenneth Bruce Crosby ( 4 June 1941 -  24 April 2016 ) 

was a retired Coquitlam firefighter, always helping out when needed.

  Donna and Ken put in many years of passionately pushing the cause of preserving Riverview for whom it was intended; the health care of the people of Canada.

 Donna May Crosby,  nee, Donna May Elliot  9 May 1941 - 24 December 2016 ( obituary )