The chafer beetle infestation that has plagued the Tri-Cities has hit a cemetery where a national hero is buried.
Birds and animals have been digging up the grounds at the city of Port Coquitlam cemetery - the resting place for Terry Fox.
City parks co-ordinator Bill Herbst said staff noticed the problem last fall and, this spring, they plan to remove the dead turf and apply a new layer of topsoil and grass seed.
The cost for the repair is not yet known.
Other Port Coquitlam city news:
A forested part of a Port Coquitlam park has been thinned out for "public safety reasons," a city official said last week.
The northern section of Lions Park - just south of Lougheed Highway - was recently cleared of blackberry, salmonberry and other bushes.
And soon an arborist will take a look at the area trees to determine what can be saved though it is expected up to 10 dead or dying trees will be removed for safety, said Ron Myers, PoCo's manager of parks, planning and design.
The logs now on the ground are remnants of an old dump site and previous tree failures, added city arborist Chris Pardek.
A city spokesperson said the clearing was done to "improve visibility, make it safer and easier for the public to access the park and the new playground, and as a crime-prevention measure"; however, homelessness problems were not specified.
In its 2015 budget presentation last month, the parks department noted the Lions Park renovation project is to wrap up this year and city staff will be reviewing the "ongoing homeless challenges within the park."
According to the city's website, Lions Park will be fitted with a new children's playground, washroom, promenade and gathering plaza. As well, 19 trees will planted around the play area and 10 trees along the new path.
Developed in the 1950s with money from the PoCo Lions Club, the Lions Park improvement plan has been in the works since 2007.
@jwarrenTC
