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Facio's Facebook fiasco

Leo Facio was not the mayor of Harrison Hot Springs when Devin McClelland-Begon drowned in the lagoon, last July.

But anyone who happened upon a Facebook group — set up to protest the decision to remove a memorial for the teen — wouldn’t know that.

The group has now been removed from the popular social media site, and it only had a seven members. But Facio still wants it known that he was indeed not the mayor when McClelland-Begon drowned, or when the memorial was removed.

“Somebody’s reported it, and they took it off,” he said, about a month ago.

When Facio  was told about the site, he immediately took action. He wrote a letter to the Village of Harrison Hot Springs, asking them to send a legal letter to the deceased’s family, outlining the mistake and asking for an apology.

The Village declined to get involved, responding in a letter that “the Village cannot address your concerns for something it has not participated in.”

The Facebook group was removed shortly after Facio received the letter. It called Facio, incorrectly as the mayor, “soo heartless and uncaring.”

Friends and family of McClelland-Begon were upset when a makeshift memorial was removed by Village staff last year. They fundraised to put up a proper memorial bench, something Facio says they have succeeded in.

Facio’s run as Harrison’s mayor ended in 2008.



Jessica Peters

About the Author: Jessica Peters

I began my career in 1999, covering communities across the Fraser Valley ever since.
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