With the end of 2021 nigh, it’s easy to say it was – much like 2020 – a year to remember. But just how good is your memory of events on the Semiahmoo Peninsula in the past 12 months? Put your knowledge to the test with this short quiz:
1. The current Mayor of White Rock is:
A. Wayne Baldwin
B. Darryl Walker
C. Catherine Ferguson
D. Aaron Hinks
2. What decision by White Rock council – aimed at helping waterfront restaurants during the pandemic – was reversed after just two months, ending the related initiative six weeks earlier than some had expected?
A. Ordering non-food businesses to close on weekdays
B. Increasing pay-parking rates
C. Allowing leashed dogs on the promenade
D. Restricting Marine Drive to one-way traffic
3. Which former White Rock Renegades pitcher retired from softball after throwing the final pitch of the bronze-medal game at the Summer Olympics in Japan – a game which Canada won?
A. Sara Groenewegen
B. Danielle Lawrie
C. Shaina Eyre
D. Jocelyn Cater
4. In what uncomfortable location was a “drug-filled dialer bag” found concealed following a traffic stop in South Surrey in May?
A. In the driver’s brassiere
B. In the passenger’s rectum
C. In the passenger’s shoe
D. Under the driver’s tongue
5. What area of South Surrey is eyed to help address a “critical” shortage of industrial land in Metro Vancouver?
A. Crescent Beach
B. Grandview Heights
C. South Campbell Heights
D. Douglas
6. What local structure marked its centennial this year, but without the hoped-for fanfare?
A. Peace Arch News
B. Peace Arch Curling Centre
C. Peace Arch Hospital
D. The Peace Arch
7. Which South Surrey retirement residence was kept in lockdown for seven weeks due to COVID-19?
A. Westminster House
B. Evergreen Baptist
C. Crescent Gardens
D. Whitecliffe
8. South Surrey’s Cole Izsak received a provincial Medal of Good Citizenship this year for “outstanding service and commitment to helping others.” What work has he been involved with?
A. Impaired-driving education
B. Foster care
C. Addictions recovery
D. Community policing
9. Which popular longtime White Rock restaurateur succumbed to COVID-19 in October?
A. John Carroll
B. John Horgan
C. John Deere
D. John Lennon
10. Which club voted in a new board after a proposal to give its property to the City of Surrey sparked division?
A. Mann Park Lawn Bowling Club
B. Semiahmoo Fish & Game Club
C. Peace Arch Stamp Club
D. South Surrey Rotary Club
11. Which mayor was charged with public mischief after initiating an RCMP complaint against others?
A. Darryl Walker
B. Scott Medlock
C. Malcolm Brodie
D. Doug McCallum
E. Kennedy Stewart
12. For what five-year-long investigation – of an incident that left nearly 100 people homeless – were arrests announced in August?
A. White Rock parkade collapse
B. Destruction of White Rock’s pier
C. Five Corners fire
D. Contaminated water
•••
Craving more questions? Here’s a few from outside the boundaries of the Semiahmoo Peninsula:
13. Which Hollywood legend known for his role as a hard-drinking newsman in The Mary Tyler Moore Show died this year at age 91?
A. William Shatner
B. Ed Asner
C. Hardy Staub
D. Charlie Watts
14. What contributed to the deaths of nearly 600 people in B.C. between June 18 and Aug. 12?
A. Food poisoning
B. Extreme heat
C. FOMO
D. Failure to wear a lifejacket
15. Who was the first private citizen to enter space in his own spaceship?
A. Jeff Bezos
B. Kale Pauls
C. Richard Branson
D. Ian Hanomansing
16. Which B.C. community was devastated by a June 30 wildfire that also resulted in two civilian fatalities?
A. Hope
B. Langley
C. Fort McMurray
D. Lytton
17. What is a well-known example of an “atmospheric river”?
A. Pineapple Express
B. Pina Colada
C. Hava Nagila
D. Storm Barra
Answers below:
Check how you did on our year-end quiz:
1. B (Darryl Walker)
2. D (Restricting Marine Drive to one-way traffic)
3. B (Danielle Lawrie)
4. B (In the passenger’s rectum)
5. C (South Campbell Heights)
6. D (The Peace Arch)
7. A (Westminster House)
8. C (Addictions recovery)
9. A (John Carroll)
10. B (Semiahmoo Fish & Game Club)
11. D (Doug McCallum)
12. C (Five Corners Fire)
Bonus-question answers:
13. B (Ed Asner)
14. B (Extreme heat)
15. C (Richard Branson)
16. D. (Lytton)
17. A (Pineapple Express)