We began our look back at the headlines of 2011 in the Wednesday, Dec. 28 edition of the Burnaby NOW.
Below, we continue our look at the stories that made headlines in Burnaby over the past year, starting in April-
APRIL
Garth Evans announced his plans to run as the Liberal candidate for the BurnabyNew Westminster riding in the 2011 federal election.
New Democrat Peter Julian was the MP for the riding at the time and won the spot again in the election.
Nikkei Place began collecting cash donations for the Red Cross Japan Earthquake Relief fund, following the massive quake and tsunami in Japan on March 11.
Seniors' advocate Gloria Kravac won Burnaby's Kushiro Cup for the 2010 Outstanding Citizen of the Year. The announcement was made on April 4, and she received the award at an annual appreciation dinner on May 6.
The provincial government announced it was giving Burnaby child-care centres money to help ease the impact of all-day kindergarten. Thirty-four local centres were given a one-time payment of roughly $45 per licensed space.
The government distributed the money - more than $49,000 in Burnaby - to help centres deal with lower enrolment because more five-year-olds attended full-time kindergarten in 2011.
Police and fire crews investigated a sizeable sophisticated synthetic drug lab on April 8 in Burnaby.
A 42-year-old Burnaby man was one of three people arrested in the investigation into the activities at the house in the 8200block of Manson Drive.
Members of the RCMP's federal drug enforcement team also arrested a 33year-old Mission man and a 24-year-old Abbotsford woman as they were leaving the residence.
The portable building on the Stoney Creek Community School grounds was named the Jennifer Atchison Environmental Centre in recognition of the environmentalist who passed away in the summer of 2010. Atchison, who was born in 1938, was a Burnaby streamkeeper and a founding member of the Stoney Creek Environment Committee.
Burnaby's last bingo hall, Boardwalk Gaming Centre, closed down. It was replaced by Club 16, the fitness club coowned by Trevor Linden.
On April 13, Electronics Arts employees, along with volunteers from Kids Against Hunger Canada, packaged more than 80,000 protein-rich meals to be sent to Japan, to help feed people still recovering from March's earthquake and tsunami.
Prime Minister Stephen Harper was greeted by antiwar protesters when he visited the city in mid-April. Harper was in Burnaby to speak about his plan to introduce tough-on-crime legislation.
Burnaby's multi-family food scraps pilot project was expanded to include the city's elementary and secondary schools.
In April, council approved the plan to expand the project next fall for up to seven schools in the district.
South Burnaby residents Thomas Chan and Donna Polos started an online petition in April to revise Burnaby's tree bylaw from 1996.
The city is currently looking into the bylaw before going to the public for more feedback in the spring of 2012.
Burnaby's first medical marijuana dispensary opened on April 15. The
Metrotown Medicinal Society was raided by the Burnaby RCMP at the end of July but remained open afterwards.
There was a botched robbery and dramatic police takedown next door to the Burnaby NOW. Police officers swarmed around the entrance to the business complex at 3430 Brighton Ave. and the Production Way SkyTrain station on April 20.
It was a celebration of all things dancerelated at the Shadbolt Centre for the Arts at Deer Lake on April 16. The Shadbolt Centre held an Art on the Spot day to promote modern dance and recognize International Dance Day, held on April 29.
After two accidents where a man and a woman died, the road around Burnaby Mountain had more safety measures implemented. A solar-powered, electronic speed-reader board was placed along Gaglardi Way between Broadway and Burnaby Mountain Parkway. The location was selected because ICBC data showed that there had been approximately 88 crashes that resulted in injuries or fatalities during the past five years in that area.
About 100 parents descended on the Burnaby school board meeting on April 26, upset over a policy to prevent discrimination against gay, lesbian and queer staff and students. The ad hoc group filled the room beyond capacity, with many holding signs reading: No 5.45 - in reference to the board's then-draft policy 5.45, meant to prevent homophobia and discrimination in schools.
MAY
Peter Julian won a fourth term as NDP MP for the Burnaby-New Westminster riding on May 2.
NDP candidate Kennedy Stewart won in a tight race for the Burnaby-Douglas riding.
The NDP made a stunning breakthrough nationally, winning 102 seats and becoming the official Opposition to the Conservatives, who, with 167 seats, got the majority government they've been looking for since 2004.
The Burnaby Board of Trade hired a new president and CEO - former Business in Vancouver publisher Paul Holden, the board announced in late April.
Holden was group publisher and director of custom publishing at Business in Vancouver Media Group prior to his new appointment.
Well-known Burnaby blogger Derek K. Miller passed away from complications of colorectal cancer on May 3.
His last words, posted as his final blog entry at www.penmachine.com, became famous, with more than eight million people around the world visiting his website and the #welovederek hashtag becoming a worldwide trending topic on Twitter.
The Royal Canadian Legion Branch No. 148 in Burnaby Heights announced on May 9 that it might be holding its last Remembrance Day event in November 2011.
The Legion struggled with covering its property taxes, and asked the city for full partial exemption.
Burnaby council said it was up to the province to create a provincewide exemption for Legions and continued to provide a partial exemption for 2012.
Steven Roy Laxon was arrested in connection with a 2008 unsolved death in Burnaby - that of 51-year-old Zdzislaw "Jim" Kutyla, a Polish immigrant with an import business in Vancouver.
Laxon was charged with seconddegree murder.
An apartment fire at 7341 Kingsway at about 2 a.m. on May 7 left nine families searching for a place to live.
All of the families eventually found temporary or permanent housing with help from a group of Edmonds-area organizations, politicians and residents.
JUNE
June 1 was the fouryear anniversary of the disappearance of Burnaby resident Bryan Braumberger.
His family had offered a $30,000-reward for information leading to his safe return and the arrest, charge and conviction of those responsible.
The city's top cop announced on June 8 that he was leaving the Burnaby RCMP. Chief Supt. Rick Taylor told the detachment that he was being transferred to another position within the RCMP but outside of the Lower Mainland.
Taylor officially took over from the retiring Carl Schmietenknop in August 2007.
Chief Supt. Dave Critchley replaced Taylor in August.
Carole Taylor became chancellor of Simon Fraser University during a June 17 convocation ceremony at SFU's Burnaby campus.
She is a well-known Canadian business leader and former broadcaster.
She's also an Officer of the Order of Canada and a former B.C. finance minister.
The Burnaby Village Museum celebrated its 40th anniversary with free admission for the season, including during the current Heritage Christmas event.
The museum is located at 6501 Deer Lake Ave.
The Burnaby Mental Wealth Society lost its funding from Fraser Health after missing an application deadline by a matter of minutes.
The society, which has had its clubhouse at 6112 Sussex Ave. for about 13 years and operated in the city for 18 years in total, is at risk of losing the centre if permanent funding is not secured.
Two Burnaby residents were among the first peopled charged after the riot in Vancouver following Game 7 of the Stanley Cup finals.
Burnaby resident Edgar Ricardo Garcia, 20, was charged with aggravated assault after two men were stabbed in 700-block of Hornby Street.
In another incident, a 22-year-old Burnaby man, with no previous criminal convictions, faced charges of assaulting a peace officer, break-and-enter, mischief and participation in a riot.
