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PEOPLE: Surrey woman recognized for rescuing couple from house fire

  • The Surrey Fire Service awarded a commendation to Yvonne Bernardy-Dearden on Friday for her quick action and courage in helping save a sleeping couple from a house fire. Just before 6 a.m. on May 25, Bernardy-Dearden was on her way home from work when she spotted flames coming from a home in the 17000-block of 0 Avenue. The fire was burning in the attic space of the home - that's why the smoke alarm did not go off. When fire crews arrived the house was fully engulfed and was upgraded to a second alarm.

  • Surrey's Cecilia Pang has been named a winner of Plan Canada's Top 20 Under 20 award for 2015.An accomplished pianist, painter and writer, Cecilia, 16, has created a website that provides academic resources to students and fundraises to support sanitation initiatives in the Philippines and education in Nicaragua.Cecilia is one of 20 youth from across Canada recognized for their innovation, leadership and achievement at an awards ceremony that took place June 4 in Toronto.

  • Kwantlen Park Secondary student Olivia Helmer has been awarded a TD Scholarship for Community Leadership valued at up to $70,000.Olivia founded the REACH club at her school for kids who would normally eat lunch alone. She also approached city officials to provide her club with meeting space and she secured free sports passes for members. Olivia will receive tuition for an accredited university or college in Canada, $7,500 a year for living expenses, summer employment within TD Bank Group for up to four years, and mentorship and networking opportunities. She was presented with her scholarship in Toronto on Friday (May 29).

Are there people you know who should be in the news? Send your submissions for our People column to bsimpson@thenownewspaper.com. Please put 'People column' in the subject line.



Beau Simpson

About the Author: Beau Simpson

As an editor who started his career in 2000 with the Nanaimo Daily News, I am finding there is still much to learn about community journalism, especially in our digital age
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