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Chilliwack news!


More of last week's headline news
here
Tuesday
April 8th is: All Is Ours Day
Tuesday
April 8th is: All Is Ours Day
Tuesday March 9th is:
Commonwealth Day
Chilliwack Prices This Week
110.0 Esso
- Young Rd. Mon 9th
100.4 Tempo -
Young
Rd. Sun 7th
Last Week
100.9 Shell -
Vedder
Rd. Thurs 4th
102.9 Husky - Young
Rd. Sat 27th
Cheapest
19.0 Venezuela, S. America
Today's Crude Oil Price
$80.48/bbl
down
$81.86/bbl yesterday
Courtesy of Bloomberg Energy
Local gas prices posted by us at:
www.van.bc.gastips.com
Advertise here!

January 2010
Real
Estate Report Chilliwack

A Voice Staff Report
The Chilliwack and District Real Estate Board (CADREB) MLS report for
January 2010.
Total residential real estate sales in Chilliwack during January
this year were 137 which
is nearly double the 76 sold during the same time period last year.
Single
Family Homes
CADREB reports that there were 66 single family detached homes sold in
January which is double the 33 that were sold during the same
time period in 2009. Currently there are 421 new SFH listings from a
total of 1,102 this month compared to 1,321 in 2009
Town Homes
Town home sales have more than doubled this year over the same period last year. There were
37 town home sales in January 2010 compared to 26 in 2009. Currently in
Chilliwack there are 205 listed for sale.
Mobile
Homes
Mobile home sales in January were about the same as they were last year.
4 were sold in January 2010
compared to 3 in January 2009.
There are 43 current listings which is down from the 59 which were
listed last year over the same period.
Apartments
Apartment sales were way up in January this year with 11 sold compared to
just 4 that sold over
the same time period in 2009. Total listings for sale in January
were 210 which is down from the 266 listed in January 2009.
Homes with
Acreage
A total of
4 homes with acreage were sold in January this year compared
to 5 that sold in the same period last year. There are 92 total listings which is
down from last year which had 95 listed in December 2008.
Total residential sales in Chilliwack for January 2010 was a
whopping $40,612,346 way up from
last year which saw $21,915,901 in sales during January 2009.
For more information visit their website:
www.cadreb.ca

Open Air Burning is
permitted from March 1 to April 30 and again October 1 to November 30 7 am
to 10 pm subject to the following conditions:
Land clearing burning
is prohibited year round. Specific location of the burning site must comply
with setbacks listed in the bylaw. An adult must be present at all times
during the burning. Burning is only permitted when the Environment Canada
Venting Index is listed as "GOOD" to "FAIR"
For more information on
the Ministry of Environment requirement, including the venting index,
click here.
Permits are $25 per
burning season. Bylaw violations will result in fines ranging from $250 to
$1000 per offence.
Citizens on Patrol
Volunteers
Needed

Chilliwack Citizens On Patrol (CCOP) is looking for
volunteers. CCOP assist the RCMP by patrolling the streets of Chilliwack on
Friday and Saturday evenings, looking for suspicious activity or any
situations that may require police or emergency personnel.
CCOP is non-confrontational and merely observes and
reports. Volunteers must be 19 years and older and training is provided.
Please contact the Community Policing Society at 604-393-3012 for more
information or to volunteer.
Ad space available

Have You Checked Out The
Chilliwack Museum Lately?

Winter Hours
Tour the museum and get in touch with Chilliwack's
roots.
Mon to Fri 9:00 am - 4:30 pm
Saturdays 11:00 am - 3:30 pm
45820 Spadina Ave.
604-795-5210
www.chilliwack.museum.bc.ca
March 9th is Hope's
Paralympics Torch Celebration Day
Day
7 - The Torch is in Hope
Celebrate with Hope 3 pm to 6 pm.
March 11th
Party The relay will turn into a
24-hour celebration event through Vancouver and the area surrounding Robson
Square.
March 12th Opening Ceremonies
Ticket range from $30 to $175 and for
most events tickets are $20. Closing ceremony is at Whistler $60.
For more information:
www.vancouver2010.com
Pathway To Hope Celebration

The Fraser Valley Brain
Injury Association is looking for donations of new items for the Silent
Auction at their Pathway To Hope Celebration on March 27th at the
Northview Golf & Country Club in Surrey.
For more info call:
604-557-1913 or e-mail: info@fvbia.org
See more more in events
here.

April 24th. See more information on this
community fundraiser event
here.

This is a Baynes family
community fundraiser See the
events listing for
more info.
Voice Community News
Friday February 26th 2010
Weighing in for Wally
Catch And A Cut
Fishing is great on the Vedder River
Staff report
Weighing fish in on Friday for the Wally Hall
Steelhead Derby at Fred's Fishing and Tackle on Yale Rd.
Yarek Koziura (right) of North Vancouver hooked a beauty Friday morning
in the Chilliwack-Vedder River. His fish was about 8 lbs.
Dean MacDonald (below) of Maple Ridge weighs in his gorgeous 14.2
lb. catch while a customer catches a hair cut in the background at
Gene's.

Dean MacDonald weighs his steelhead in for the
Wally Hall derby Friday morning at
Fred's Fishing
and Tackle on Yale Rd near the Chilliwack-Vedder River.
Wally Hall
Steelhead Derby runs from Dec 1st to Mar 31, 2010.
Whether you're in the derby or just fishing for fun, every Steelhead weighed
in at Fred's Custom Tackle receives a discount off any regular priced item
(excluding Simms products) in the store on the day of your weigh-in relative
to the size of your fish. For example, if the fish is under 15 pounds you
receive a 10% discount. 15-20 pounds - 15% and fish over 20 pounds - 20 %.
Sounds like fun, that is the whole idea. Good luck!
Thought of the day - Never shake hands
with a fisherman after he holds a fish.
© Copyright (c) The Valley Voice

Craig Hill/Voice photos
Olympic fans were a no-show at Central Community Park Saturday to watch
Olympic medal games on the big screen.
As I stood in the light morning
drizzle at Central Community Park Saturday with some steamy joe in hand, I
looked around and noticed that I was alone. The massive screen was showing
curling and no one else was watching but myself and a red-coated security
guard. There were actually more curling rocks on the screen than in the park
watching it the entire time I was there.
The curious thing for me here is
that after all of the complaining and whining last week in the media about
not using the big screen TV, where were all those people now? Hello.
Perhaps the weather was to blame
for the lack of people watching the Olympics on the big screen at Central
Community Park Saturday. We certainly can't blame it on a lack of Olympic
spirit because there is plenty of that as citizens demonstrated three weeks
ago when the torch came through town.

Last week on short notice, the
City of Chilliwack announced they were going to set up the little-used giant
TV screen, rain or shine, in Central Park on Saturday for some medal events
and again on Sunday at the Landing Sports Centre (Ag-Rec building) for the
men's gold medal hockey game
and closing ceremonies.
Three kids did eventually show up for some eagerly
anticipated cotton candy right at nose level.
The screen became the object of
media's attention last week when someone decided to complain about it
sitting idle throughout the Olympic celebrations and games in Chilliwack.
Editorials were written and
everyone seemed to have a say about the expensive screen that was supposedly
rusting away in some warehouse. But that was before people were clued into
the fact that the Olympic parade came with it's own big screen and the city
couldn't use their screen. I don't know if anyone noticed but VANOC has some
pretty tough rules that covered everything from what people ate to what they
wore in venues.
Having said that, the city did
drop the ball by promoting Abbotsford's Olympic venues instead of coming up
with ideas for this town. City of Chilliwack officials are always open to
hearing from the public. It's invaluable information to them and it's fair
to citizens also when they listen.
So instead of collectively
whining about a lack of Olympic events in Chilliwack, those who complained
should turn that energy inward and come up with fresh ideas for the rest of
us.
One more thing, thanks to the
city for giving me my very own mega screen TV.
The screen will be set up at the
Landing Sports Centre Sunday. Doors open at 11:30 am for the men's gold
medal hockey game at 12:15. Later, watch as Canada hands over the Olympic flag to the
next Winter Olympic hosts, Sochi, Russia at the Olympic Closing Ceremony from
5:30 pm until 9:30 pm.
© Copyright (c) The Valley Voice
Big Screen Fails to Draw Big
Crowds To Park
Fizzle in the drizzle Saturday but where are the screen complainers?

Joe Reporter
Voice Local News
Sunday February 28th 2010
A Squatters Haven
Another Abandoned
Building Burns At Base
Is this the last or are there
more
to come?
Craig Hill/Voice

Craig Hill/Voice photos
The twisted remains of an abandoned building
(above) is all that remains after a fire razed it on Thursday. At one time
the structure housed a sergeant's mess hall when the Chilliwack Forces Base
was operational. Last year a spectacular blaze destroyed several other
abandoned buildings also on the base. That fire was believed to have been
intentionally set.

An abandoned building (top) sits next to the mess
hall which burned. Curtains still hang on upper level windows while the
bottom remains boarded up. Will this be another arson target for suspected
squatters?
With some amendments the building could be put to
use to temporarily house Chilliwack's homeless.
© Copyright (c) The Valley Voice
Voice Event News
Monday March 1st 2010
No bufords allowed pawdnuh!
The
Wild Wild West of the New Millennium
PBR
runs roughshod over Heritage Park
Craig Hill/Voice
Thirty wild west wizards knew how to git 'er done Friday night as they
bucked, bounced and bailed from the tops of thirty rank animals in the Pacific Bull Riding Association Championship
at Heritage Park. And
nobody "kissed a bull."

Craig Hill/Voice photo
A
rider is inverted as he flies off a bull during the PBR Canada Tour Championship Bull
Riding event at Heritage Park Friday.
A solid following of bull riding
fans filled much of Cannor Arena stands to watch their cowboy hero's ride
through 8 seconds of hell on bulls with names like Big Bopper and Junior for
a handful of prize money and an extra helping of prestige.
Today's contemporary riders bear
little resemblance to their early counterparts who struggled to survive on a
small cash prizes from the dusty rodeos in unnamed towns exemplified in
movies like John Huston's, The Misfits.
Far more than just local barnyard
legends, these guys are on the A-circuit in the wild wild west of the new
millennium. They wear reinforced helmets, kevlar vests and they travel in
$100,000 tour buses and the good ones can make $1 Million a year on today's rodeo
circuit.

But when they explode out of the
chute on top of animals that weigh as much as a car, it's still the same
old bones being broken as it was 60-years-ago.
When it comes to choosing the
bulls that the PBR uses, they typically look for ones that buck, kick real
hard and have good spinning action.
Australian Harve Stewart accepts congratulations
for
winning the Championship.
Riders get extra points if they
spur or kick the bull and also when their arms wave and feet fly around.
It's simple, you just look like your riding through hell even when you get a
"Buford" (a bull that just runs around and wont buck.)
Harve Stewart, an Aussie cowboy,
is the current national bull riding leader and he also took first place in
the championship at Cannor Arena Friday. The year is still young but so far
he's won almost $18,000 and has 1201 points.

Merrit's Ty Pozzobon, 18, came in
second in the championship which was his first win of the year. "He is
currently in the first year of a 4-year Scholarship in Texas," said his
mother, Leanne Pozzobon, who was at the show cheering her son on. "He won
about $4000 tonight maybe."
This bull made a run for it and was roped back to the corral.
Randy Quartieri, from Los Alamos
New Mexico, told the Voice after the show. "I rode tonight, didn't do very
good," he said.
Carey Victory from Mission was
fairly new at the sport when he "kissed a bull" and hurt his arm pretty
badly but he shrugged off the injury as part of the job. "I broke my humerus bone but
they took a nerve out and nerves take longer to heal then bones," he said.
“I'll be back in a few months.”
Victory said the training bulls
were easy on him as a student.
"I went to bull riding school in
Alberta for 3-days. We were on a bull in 2-hours. The contractor would bring
bulls out that maybe they used in high school rodeos, they were kind of
mediocre, they came from the schools and they came from the juniors. Just a
little less rank so that when 16-year-olds or 14-year-olds are getting on
bulls then every bull rider is getting taught first. Different levels of
bulls kind of like rider's (ability), “ he said.
For those that aren’t aware, bull
riding is without a doubt the most dangerous event in rodeo and probably in
all of sport. To stay aboard the bull, the rider holds onto a flat braided rope, which
is wrapped around the bull's chest just behind the front legs and over it's
withers. The tail of the rope is threaded through a loop on the other end
and tightened around the bull. The rider then wraps this tail around his
hand, sometimes weaving it through his fingers to further secure his grip.
In order to score, the rider must not allow his free hand to touch the bull
or himself, and he must keep from being bucked off before the eight second
time limit has been reached.
For more information and to
follow your favourite riders visit:
www.pbrcanada.com or
www.wwerodeo.com
For the photo gallery go
here.

© Copyright (c) The Valley Voice

Voice Environment News
Monday March 2nd 2010
To outstrip the wind
The
Eagles Have Landed
Bird count numbers down from 2008
Craig Hill/Voice

Submitted photo
Some
of the hundreds of bald eagles seen and counted during the Fraser Valley
Eagle Festival at the Chehalis estuary last year.
There are only two top eco
viewing sites in North America; the Squamish estuary and Eagle Point
Community Park at Chehalis. At last count, there were about 70,000 bald
eagles worldwide and approximately 20,000 of those reside in BC.
The Fraser Valley Eagle Festival (FVEF) has been counting the diurnal
birds of prey since 1995. The group was formed after the Habitat
Conservation Trust Fund and the Wild Bird Trust created the
Harrison/Chehalis Bald Eagle Festival. Later they became a registered
society and their name was changed "to broaden the scope of the Festival."
Jo-Anne Chadwick, owner/operator
of Fraser River Safari, a company that coordinates exploratory river tours
guided by David Hancock and work with the Festival said they also work
toward preservation and conservation of the estuary and increase awareness
through fun activities like the eagle count.
"We work with all our (viewing)
sites to create a better experience for guests while working to protect the
environment at the same time," she told the Voice in an
e-mail.
Last year was a banner year for
people showing up to count at the Chehalis River Estuary. Over 1200 visitors
counted 1,208 eagles from the viewing platform with "clickers" over two days
last November. Even though that number seems like a lot, the figure is
actually down from the 2,185 birds counted in 2008.
The FVRD last week reported 2,108
eagles were counted in 2009 however the birds were enumerated after the
Festival was over.
"The 2,100 eagles were counted
later in the season as the numbers usually peak in
mid December or even January in some years," said Chadwick. "Saturday's
numbers were higher as the weather was better. We count at each site with
our clickers and average out the numbers."

The park is home to a range of
other waterfowl and bird species like trumpeter swans herons which the group
also counts during the 2-day festival. A park ranger with two spotting
scopes is on site and visitors have access to a tent and patio heater where
they can warm up on those chilly November days.
Submitted photo
David Hancock gives interpretive tours on the river.
Park activities include jet boat
eco-river tours; walking tours and environmental presentations. Naturalists
and interpreters are usually on hand to present historic and ancient
aboriginal sites as well as displays from local artists are featured.
Once you've witnessed an eagle
rocket down on a spawning salmon like an F-14 jet locking on a target,
you'll know then and there that you have seen one of natures most wondrous
sights.
This year's festival is on Nov
20th & 21st and the count will be done by David Hancock first thing in the
morning or each day.
How to get there
Eagle Point Community Park,
Morris Valley Road between Sandpiper Golf Course and Tapadera Estates. Take
Morris Valley Road off Lougheed Hwy. It is located just past the Sand Piper
Golf course on your right. Watch for FVBEF signs and Harrison with #4 on it.
Because of the sensitive wildlife habitat, pets are not permitted within the
park.
www.fraservalleybaldeaglefestival.ca To join in the Festival this
year.
www.fraserriversafari.com
To book river tours.
www.hancockwildlife.org
To view some live eagle nests online.
© Copyright (c) The Valley Voice

Voice Community Arts News
Monday March 2nd 2010
"Hats Off" Gallery Show
Spinning Their Wheels
Guild weaves some homespun happiness
Staff report

Staff/Voice photos
One group of hats and
fashion accessories from on display in the "Hats Off" show at the Chilliwack
City Hall gallery at 8550 Young Road.

Rumplestiltskin has nothing on these ladies and
that's no yarn.
Chilliwack Spinners and Weavers have a gallery
showcasing dozens of handmade fashion items and accessories from 22 artisans
at the City Hall gallery until April 18th.
There will be an opening reception on March 4th at
7 pm where you can meet and greet the spinners and weavers.
Spinning and weaving has been around since the
pioneering days and one of the reasons behind the Guild's show is to pass on
their traditions to interested youth. This colourful and interesting show is
not to be missed.
The Guild meets from September through June at the
Arts Center on the first Thursday of every month. They also hold drop-ins
Thursday mornings at 10 am
For more information call the Chilliwack Community
Arts Centre at: 604-792-2069 by e-mail to:
info@chilliwackartscouncil.com or visit their website:
www.chilliwackartscouncil.com
© Copyright (c) The Valley Voice


Chilean Earthquake Relief
The
Salvation Army in Chile is taking donations for earthquake victims. If you
can donate then contact Chilliwack's Care and Share Centre 604-792-0001
Voice City Hall News
Thursday March 4th 2010
2010-11 Budget

City Seeks Public Input On "Lean and Mean" Budget
Policing costs shoot through the roof in latest financial plan
Craig Hill/Voice
Chilliwack's 2010 Budget plan is
in and it's described by Mayor Sharon Gaetz as a "Lean and Mean" one.
Council gave the revised 2010
Operating Budget a first reading. Also, in a first for the city, a Public
Information meeting will be held at the next council meeting on March 15th.
The purpose is to allow residents the opportunity to voice concerns or pose
questions regarding this year's budget draft.

Chris Crossman, General Manager
of Operational Services delivered the 2010-11 Budget package to City Hall at
Monday's council meeting saying that the financial outlook is improving for
Chilliwack.
"Chilliwack is well positioned
for the economic slowdown that we're now seeing signs of coming out of,"
said Crossman.
The highlight of the budget was
that property taxes will only increase 3.9% this year and next. Occupants of
the two largest slices of the fiscal pie were school and police.
Out of the 3.9% tax increase, a
significant chunk of that (2.7%), was from inflationary policing costs which
the municipality had little control over and didn't intentionally download
the increase onto taxpayer's backs. The new PRIME BC rates are also
reflected in the increase which unexpectedly cost the city an additional
$50,000 after the Solicitor General Kash Heed's announcement last November.

Policing takes up 29% of the
total budget and School taxes account for 36%. The city's hands were tied
when it came to the RCMP cost increase who loaded a 2.7% inflationary
increase directly onto local taxpayer's backs which totaled a whopping
$1,243,000 over the previous budget while overspending and what some see as
mismanagement by the the District #33 School Board led to increased school
taxes. Transportation is also a major expense and eats up 20% of the budget.
During the speedy slide
presentation, Crossman told council that there are other items that fall
under the "Transportation" budget. "Transit, drainage, dikes and the
maintenance of the roads and the rehab program are all in there," he said.

Crossman described this year's
budget as a "lean operation" with a "pay-as-you-go philosophy" that results
in lower taxes for Chilliwack property owners and also that tax relief is
given every year.
With the Cheam Centre and the
Cultural Centre coming online there was another $630,000 in costs associated
with those two projects slated to finish this year.
Mayor Sharon Gaetz said the
planned session for public input on the budget is a brave new approach for
council to take and she welcomes anyone who wants to speak on budget issues
to do so either in person then or to submit their comments and questions in
writing.
"This is something new for
council," said Gaetz. "Council hasn't usually provided an opportunity for
people to come and speak in a public information meeting about it and we
will entertain any questions at the end of a session. So we're looking
forward to that happening and we just really hope that people appreciate the
fact that we've worked really hard to keep this as a lean and mean budget
that will be presented to our public."
The meeting is slated for 7 pm at
the City Hall on March 15th. Citizens can speak to the budget in
person or submit comments in writing to: Mayor and Council, 8550 Young Road,
Chilliwack, BC V2P 8A4 Fax: 604-793-1813 or e-mail to:
budget@chilliwack.com
*Slides were taken from the
City Hall presentation.
© Copyright (c) The Valley Voice

Voice News Release
Friday March 5th 2010
Spring Fishing

It's Angling Season!
Ministry of Environment reminds fishers to get licenced for the 2010 opening
Staff report/Voice
The Ministry of the Environment
sent out a reminder to fishermen
Vedder River fishermen.
Voice file photo
across BC to remember to
renew
or buy their 2010-11 angling
licence now that the April 1 to March 31 season is just a couple of weeks
away. The Non-Tidal licences can be bought prior to the opening and also
after the fishing season starts.
E-licenses
When you purchase an e-license
(online licence) for the first time the system will give you the number.
Remember to write this number down and store it in a safe place. When you
are buying it make sure you select the correct year for the licence. If you
forget your angler number, contact the Help Desk by phone at 1-877-855-3222
Monday to Friday, 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. See below for link.
Returning Anglers
Anglers who have bought an e-licence
in the past will just need their angler number, date of birth and the phone
number used at the time of registration. To pay online you will need a valid
credit card. VISA, MasterCard and American Express are accepted.
Basic Licence Prices
Annual Angling Licence $36
One Day Angling Licence $10
Eight Day Angling Licence $20
Annual Licence for Disabled $1
Annual Licence for Age 65 Plus $5
You can buy a licence in
Chilliwack at: Fred's Custom Tackle - 5580 Vedder Rd. Chilliwack 604-858-7344
Licences can be bought online at:
www.fishing.gov.bc.ca.
Freshwater Fishing Regulations
Synopsis at:
www.env.gov.bc.ca/fw/fish/regulations
© Copyright (c) The Valley Voice

Voice Community News
Saturday March 6th 2010
Planet Stewards

Vedder River Crew Gets Special Recognition
Keeping it clean and green
Staff report/Voice

Submitted photo
From left to
right: Sharon Gaetz Mayor Chilliwack, Don Langford CVRCC director, Lew Chater CVRC, Jack Short CVCC, Patrica Ross FVRD board chair, Chris Gadsden CVRCC, Gerry
Dickey CVRCC, James Atebe Mayor Mission, David Lamson FVRD Area "E "
director and Randy Tancock South Coast Conservation Officer.
After the weekend warriors and
the parties, after the bottle smashers and butt flickers and even after the
illegal dumpers, comes a group of volunteers devoted to a clean, green and
healthy Chilliwack Vedder River. Thoughtful people who clean up the mess
left behind by a few thoughtless river users.
Last week the Fraser Valley
Regional District (FVRD), the City of Chilliwack and the Ministry of the
Environment wanted to show their appreciation to the Chilliwack-Vedder River
Cleanup Coalition (CVRCC) for the mostly unsung work they do which frees up
city staff to look after other things like the dikes and drains.
So at the regular board meeting
on February 23rd, a plaque was presented to the group for their volunteer work
and for the organizing of 3 to 4 river cleanups a year since 2002.
Coalition Director, Chris
Gadsden, was grateful for the acknowledgement. "The directors were pleased
to receive this recognition on behalf of the Adopt-A-River groups and the
great volunteers that take part in these cleanups each year," he said.
The beautiful cedar plaque is
emblazoned at the top with the FVRD logo and in the lower corners with the
Provincial Government and the City of Chilliwack logos.
Larger view of Coalition plaque.
It reads:
"Presented to Chilliwack
Vedder River Cleanup Coalition. On behalf of the Fraser Valley Regional
District, The Province of British Columbia and The City of Chilliwack, We
wish to sincerely thank you for your volunteer efforts in promoting a clean
river environment and fisheries habitat for the Chilliwack Vedder River.
February 2010."
The plaque was ordered through
Elite Trophies in Chilliwack who then had it carved by Wood Adventures in Kamloops. It
features an interesting fish inlay with offsetting natural wood panels.
Doug Wilson, FVRD Parks Manager,
said he wasn't sure what kind of fish was on the dedicatory plaque.
"As far as the fish on the front
it is simply that, I don't think anyone can say whether it is a Steelhead or
salmon, other than a fish. We wanted to make sure however that it didn't
look too much like an Orca," he said.
During the river cleanups people
walk along the river picking up trash that careless campers and park users
leave behind. Garbage bags are provided and the Coalition parks containers
for people to toss the garbage into. The cleanups are based out of the Heron
Reserve off of Keith Wilson Rd. in Sardis.
Adopt-A-River is designed to
improve the state of Chilliwack River by combining river stewardship and
community effort. The idea is inspired by the successful Adopt-a-Highway
program that has kept many roadways clean in North America. CVRCC has broken
the Lower Chilliwack River into many small segments (1 to 2km long) that can
be adopted by the general public.
It enables civic clubs,
individuals, garden clubs, businesses, churches and other organizations to
maintain them. Volunteers perform litter pick-up approximately four times
per year. This program helps to reduce the cost of cleanup and allows more
freedom for the City Public Works crew to do jobs that can't be done by
volunteers such as drainage maintenance.
Ultimately this program will help
citizens develop a sense of ownership and pride in their community, and
participants will build camaraderie with their fellow volunteers. In
recognition of the service being provided to the community, the City will
install a sign on the adopted river segment with the group's name.
Currently there are 22 groups
involved in the Adopt-a-River program.
If you're interested in helping
clean up the environment and get some exercise at the same time, visit their
website: www.cleanrivers.ca
© Copyright (c) The Valley Voice

Voice Local News
Saturday March 6th 2010
Community Investments
Fighting Fire With Paper
Columbia Valley Fire Department gets $30,000 boost from local developer
Staff report/Voice

The Cottages at Cultus
Lake are served by the CVFD. Photo courtesy of CCI Ltd.
In January, Cultus Country
Investments Ltd. made a cash contribution to the Fraser Valley Regional
District (FVRD) specifically for the Columbia Valley Fire Department (CVFD)
and at the last FVRD board meeting they were officially recognized for their
charity.
Cultus Country Investments Ltd.
designed and built the $100-million gated Cottages at Cultus Lake community
on 45-acres on the Columbia Valley Road next to Aquadel Golf Course.
The residential land investment
company, headed by Development Manager Jon Van Geel and partner Dave Baslor,
recognized that their newly constructed 218-unit cottage development in the
resort would put an additional load on the current system and on the
volunteer fire fighters.

"The CFVD is an important amenity
to our area," Van Geel said in an e-mail to the Voice. "Fire
Chief Brad Henderson and his wife Darcy are very committed to the safety of
the Columbia Valley residents. Darcy, a driving force, has been in contact
with us many times over the past several years asking for our corporate
assistance where we can. They regularly
Staff/Voice photo
have fund raising events for
The Cultus Lake FD backs up
the Columbia Valley FD.
their equipment needs and we
have provided old buildings to
simulate house fires for their volunteer training."
Brad Henderson, CVFD Fire
Chief, expressed the department's appreciation in a letter to Van
Geel dated February 11, 2010.
"This donation will be
treated with great consideration as the tanker is one of two substantial
purchases on our plates," wrote Henderson. "The second is the replacing
of our rescue truck, which we have been postponing for as long as
possible. Your generosity will help to speed the process, and will be
treated with the utmost respect." Henderson added that "Our department
also wishes to compliment the efforts your company has made in assisting
us by way of installing hydrants for us to use. Your commitment to
building safe and attractive homes, with an overall commitment to
"community" is noted and applauded."
The nostalgic-style cottages have
current fire protection standards built into them however the infrastructure still needed "fire-flow hydrants" to provide faster access
for the Freightliner pumper truck which is coming and also a burling pond
water reservoir.
The CVFD also needed new hydrant fittings, hoses and updated emergency
equipment.
Van Geel's company also has
employees who volunteer at the CVFD and so the company has been made aware
through them what the department needs in terms of equipment.
"Funding for public amenities is
always a challenge and is magnified when these amenities require volunteer
help. We believe Columbia Valley is a tight nit community in which Cultus
Country Investments is a part. They have few amenities and it is our duty to
help out where we can," said Van Geel.
The CFVD, which falls under the
jurisdiction of the FVRD, serves the resort area and the Soowahlie First
Nation community. Their volunteers are trained and continually update their
training as First Responders to stay on top of the latest fire fighting
techniques. They were fairly busy with 43 calls last year.
Additionally, if you are thinking
about joining the CVFD as a volunteer please call: 604-858-8426 Monday to
Friday from 9 am to 5 pm or visit the Fraser Valley Regional District
website: www.fvrd.bc.ca
Cottage buyers can find more
information at the sales office: 1785 Columbia Valley Rd., Lindell Beach or
by visiting their website:
www.cultuslakecottages.com
© Copyright (c) The Valley Voice

Voice News
Sunday March
7th 2010
Breaking news
Car
Cooks On Cook St.
Early morning car fire
destroys vehicle
Staff report/Voice

Craig Hill/Voice photo
Fire crews douse an
early morning car fire in the 9400 block of Cook Street. The fire, which
started about 6 am, destroyed the car's interior. It's not known how it
began but speculation was that it started from an electrical short in the
wiring. No one was hurt in the blaze. The firefighter holding the hose is
female!
© Copyright (c) The Valley Voice
Voice Community News
Sunday February 28th 2010
Parking Zen
From Island 22 To
Island 24/7
Overnight parking slated for park this summer
Craig Hill/Voice

Voice file photo
Island 22 boat launch with the parking area to the right (not shown) in the
photo.
This summer the Fraser Valley
Regional District (FVRD) will initiate a pilot project to allow overnight
parking at Island 22. The gravel lot can hold about 150 pickup trucks and
trailers and the ramp has room for a dozen to launch from at any one given
time.
Island 22 Park is a world-class
fishing spot for salmon, trout, steelhead and sturgeon. In peak season, the
launch is bustling with tour guides bringing in clients clients from various
parts of the planet and at times it seems the fishermen are almost as
abundant as the fish. Almost.
Up until the summer of 2007, the
campground was operating and provided for overnight use but left little
room for vehicles to park while camping on the Fraser River.
Historically, fishermen drove in
there, launched their boats and those camping on the gravel bars and
riverbank just left their vehicle parked at Island 22, at their own risk of
course.
Later the City and the FVRD
agreed to co-manage the park. In a myopic move and without any consultation
with the fisher community, they decided to stop overnight parking due to
what they said were "insurance liability issues" and towed any vehicles left
there overnight.

Great for the tow truck companies
but not so for the fishers. It frustrated a lot of people.
Last year in November, Fred
Hellmer of Fred's Fishing & Tackle and a delegation of parking supporters,
presented the case to the Regional Parks Committee to have overnight parking
again.
A truck unloads boat at the park. Voice
file photo.
On Friday, Hellmer spoke with the
Voice. "They made a commitment to try and make it happen. For
me it's a no-brainer, we should have it," said Hellmer in his store on
Vedder. "It's good business. If you want to park your car there and pay for
it."
Hellmer added that Chilliwack
needs to enhance area fishing and work with fishers. Towing vehicles isn't
small-town-friendly.
"If you're putting a sign out
saying 'Chilliwack is Open For Business', that is the opposite message.
You're telling people don't bother coming here. Go to Kilby or go to
Mission," he said.
Another issue that was overlooked
when the decision was made to stop overnight parking was the problem of
safety. Fishermen in trouble. The first sign of a problem could be an
abandoned vehicle. In the past, who was to know exactly who was out on the
water and for how long?
Under the proposed system,
authorities could know when someone is overdue simply because their parking
hasn't been paid or they park beyond the weekend. Checks could be made of
vehicles if the gate attendant logged their expected return times next to
their vehicle plate numbers.
Hellmer said that the biggest
liability of all could come if someone died as a result of the gates being
locked.
"Let's just say that you and I go
out, and we don't have any intention of leaving our vehicle there overnight.
Let's say we fall out of a boat and so when the gate gets locked, what
happens? They tow. If you don't phone anybody like the RCMP and you find out
the next day somebody drowned, that to me is more of a liability," said
Hellmer.
Having the gates unlocked and
open 24/7 on weekends would also facilitate faster response times for Search
and Rescue efforts during the busiest days when problems are most likely to
occur.
The business of fishing is bigger
than big in Chilliwack. It's the bread and butter for tourism in the city.
The City, the FVRD, the Parks Department, local business and fishers should
all work together to facilitate the sport year round.
"It's going to be a wonderful
thing to have overnight parking there, absolutely for sure," said Hellmer.
The parking project begins
weekends only from June 30th until September 5th. and there will be an
attendant on site.
Overnight parking fees
Schedule:
• $20/night to launch and park
their vehicle adjacent to the boat launch.
• $50/3 nights on long weekends
• $50 extra for reg. seasonal
boat launch pass for unlimited nights. ($100 total)
• $100 extra on commercial guide
passes for unlimited nights. ($200 total)
In 2008, the park made almost
$8500 above their operational costs and last year that figure increased to
over $14,500. Those are quite the overages. The budget for servicing and
maintaining the project will be $5,000. Parking revenues are expected to
offset the costs.
There is no doubt this park is a
money-maker. However it remains to be seen if the extra money will be used
locally to enhance the overall fishing experience there, like installing new
launches or upgrading existing ones and improving services, or if it will be
used some place else that doesn't benefit Island 22 directly.
Any long-term management strategy
for the park has to include overnight parking. If the park board wants to do
right by fishermen and enhance business around the sport fishing industry,
then they'll embrace the parking opportunity and expand it to 365 days a
year.
© Copyright (c) The Valley Voice

Voice News
Monday March
8th 2010
Canadian Forces
Sappers Train At Island 22
Water under the bridge
Craig Hill/Voice
The Fraser River with it's variable currents
and
conditions is an ideal
place to learn to assemble rafts
on
the water and for just over a week that's
what a squadron of Sapper Engineers, sent
from the Department of National Defense,
has been doing at Island 22.

Craig Hill/Voice photos
Sappers in training
leave land behind after lunch at Island 22 Park Monday. Sapper Nicholas
Cressman is in the upper photo.
This week from March 2nd -10th a squadron of
Sappers from the Canadian Forces School of Military Engineering (CFSME) in
Gagetown, New Brunswick has been in Chilliwack learning how to erect bridges
and rafts at Island 22 and the weather couldn't be nicer compared to the
east coast right now.
CFSME was originally located in Chilliwack because
the mild, short winters provided year-round training opportunities. In 1997
they relocated to Gagetown after CFB closed here.

On Monday, the combat engineers worked with four
specialized bridge erecting boats, called "BBEs", each one towing a section
of floating bridge decks that are hooked together into raft flotillas.
It's the Sappers who go into a combat zone first
and often have to work under enemy fire.
Armed with plastic forks and knives these troops
attack their lunch.
The BBEs facilitate movement and support of
friendly forces by ferrying equipment and traffic across rivers and lakes
while impeding the enemy's movement. Usually, a combat engineer is also
trained as an infantry rifleman.
ICER Sapper Nicholas Cressman, who was on radio
sentry duty, told the Voice that he gets his basic training and combat
engineering at the CFSME in Gagetown but comes from Edmonton. "It was nice
to get away to the west coast. I'm enjoying the change," he said. "It's
lovely."
Master Cpl.Troy Van Tassell who is an instructor
from the military school also said the change was good. "They decided to
change the pace and they sent us here where I teach "Boat Ops"," explained
Van Tassell. "We'll be here until the 16th and then we're going back to
Gagetown."
For more information on how to join the Sappers go
here.
For the photo gallery go
here 
© Copyright (c) The Valley Voice

Voice Community News
Tuesday March
9th 2010
The sound of silence

There'll Be Peace In The Valley
Residents see end to Columbia clamour after 3-year battle
Staff report/Voice
It might not be as peaceful in the valley like in the old Elvis gospel
standard but it's a lot quieter now that a court ordered injunction was
issued against a loud property owner in the Columbia Valley.
Neighbors of Bradley Van Geel at 50721 O'Byrne Road, had enough of his
racket disturbing their tranquility. For more than 3-years after the first
complaints, the parties still happened , the dogs still barked all night and
the heavy traffic still came and went.
The neighbours wrote letters and filed complaints with city noise bylaw
department. For 3-years Van Geel operated with impunity and in total
disregard for the community, thumbing his nose at the FVRD and even refusing
to pay fines for bylaw infractions. The FVRD responded to the pugnacious Van
Geel by taking him to court January 29th.
The city noise bylaw section 4(b) of states that: "No person being the
owner or occupier of any private land or premises, or being for the time
being in charge thereof, shall suffer or permit to be made thereon or
therein any noises or sounds which disturb or which are liable to disturb,
the quiet, peace, rest, enjoyment, comfort or convenience of the
neighbourhood or of persons in the vicinity."
That's fairly plain English but Van Geel still didn't get it. So the
courts helped change his mind with the lawsuit going against him.
In the judgment, Honourable Mr. Justice Sewell, agreed that there was a
problem and acknowledged the complaints from Van Geel's neighbors.
"It is not disputed that there are a number of dogs penned up outside on
the Property and left largely unattended for long periods of time. There is
ample evidence that, as one would expect, these dogs bark and howl
throughout the day and night. In addition there have been numerous occasions
when parties or celebrations have created excessive noise which has
unreasonably disturbed the peace and enjoyment of the Snerles and Reimers,"
wrote Justice Sewell.
Van Geel obtained affidavits from other neighbours in the area indicating
that they have rarely if ever heard noise coming from his property. But
Justice Sewell noted that "These neighbours live a considerably greater
distance away from the property than do the Snerles and the Reimers."
In a letter to the FVRD dated February 28th, 2010, the Snerle and Reimer
families wrote they have their serenity once again and the letter also
thanked staff for the more than 3-years work involved.
"We do have our historically peaceful lifestyles back and we are
extremely grateful to all involved," the letter read. It also went on to say
that "No doubt, this action has also re-enforced, both to residents and
visitors, that that there is a sense of law and order, or decorum, to be
kept in the Valley."
In the future, Van Geel faces being arrested if he continues to thumb his
nose at the noise complaints. He is prohibited from making more racket which
would disturb the neighbourhood but that probably won't happen because he
has bought another property and plans on moving there.
Pity his new neighbors.
© Copyright (c) The Valley Voice


Canadian Paralympics
Medal Count
Games are March 12th to the 21st
Gold Silver Bronze Total
n/a n/a
n/a n/a
Voice Local
News
Thursday February 18th 2010
Weird Winter Weather

Chilliwack Sees More Warm
Temperatures in February
Spring unlocks the flowers
that paint
the laughing soil
–– Heber
Photo courtesy of Lyvia Rose.
Staff
Report

Craig Hill/photo
A crocus on Courbold
Avenue trumpets an early spring Wednesday afternoon.
T
here is an upside to the freakishly warm weather we're having –– spring is
sprung sooner. But it's not recommended to take your snow tires off just
yet despite the balmy temperatures in the Fraser Valley recently because
winter isn't officially over until went March 21st,
A combination of clear, sunny skies and a dry
outflow wind is expected to extend through the weekend driving temperatures
up into the double digits. Even with the 13°c
degrees expected, we're still not close to setting a record for the hottest
day in February. That happened in 1968 when the mercury soared to 20.6°c.
The average for February is 8°c and the record
low for the month was a bone-chilling -16.7°c.
© Copyright (c) The Valley Voice
Voice Event News
Friday February 18th 2010
City Hall Press Release

Residents Can Watch Olympic Ceremonies On The Big Screen
Bring a chair, hot choc and a
dash of some Olympic spirit to the park next weekend
Staff Report

Voice Olympic file photo
The
city's giant LED screen will be setup the entire day at Central Community
Park on Victoria Ave. next weekend for a series of Olympic medal events and
moved to the Landing Sports Centre Ag-Rec building on Spadina Ave. for the
closing ceremonies the following day.
The following is a press
release courtesy of the City of Chilliwack.
CHILLIWACK, BC
–– Calling all
Chilliwack residents! Come out and help us cheer the Olympic athletes next
weekend on Chilliwack's giant LED display screen.
Central Community Park
On Saturday, February 27, join us
outside at Central Community Park from 10:00 am until 9:30 pm to watch the
Men's Alpine Skiing, the 4-Men Bobsled finals, Long Track Speed Skating and
the Bronze Medal Men's Hockey Game.
The Landing Sports Centre
Then on Sunday, February 28,
cheer on the Men's Hockey finalists at the Landing Sports Centre as they
battle for Olympic gold. Doors open at 11:30 am for the 12:15 pm game start
time. Later, watch as Canada hands over the Olympic flag to the next Winter
Olympic hosts, Sochi, Russia; at the Olympic Closing Ceremony, from 5:30 pm
until 9:30 pm.
"Chilliwack residents have
Olympic fever," said Mayor Sharon Gaetz. "It began at our Torch Relay
celebration and has spread across the community. You know you have it if;
you've been wearing red and white clothing for the past weeks, if Canadian
flags have suddenly popped up around your home and your vehicle, or if your
voice is hoarse from cheering on our Olympic athletes!"

The Olympic events will be
broadcast on Chilliwack's 11' x 17' portable LED screen, which was custom
designed by iCapture Media Systems Ltd., located in Chilliwack. The screen
was funded by a $330, 000 matching grant to the City from the Province of
BC's Olympic/Paralympics Live Sites (OPLS) program. The screen has
approximately 250,000 LED lights and
Central Community Park last summer during
Party In
has been used at many
the Park festivities. (Voice file photo)
community events such as
local sporting activities,
special events and was invaluable when used as a community message display
during the 2009 Floods.
The OPLS made specific funding
opportunities available to communities located outside the Greater Vancouver
Regional District and the Whistler-Squamish corridor. The matching funding
was provided for the construction or upgrading of facilities that leave a
lasting Olympic legacy within the community.
Chilliwack's legacy project
consisted of three parts: the upgrade and renovation of the Landing Sports
Centre, which included the lobby and washroom expansion and accessibility
lift, as well a main floor partition, the construction of an outdoor
amphitheatre in Central Community Park and the portable LED display screen
that will be used in the park and Centre over the weekend.
The total cost of all the
projects was $1.59 million. The legacy of these projects has benefitted
Chilliwack residents and community groups since their completion in 2006 and
will continue to do so well beyond the 2010 games.
For more information contact Gord
Pederson, Director of Parks,
Recreation and Culture at
604-793-2904 or visit the city's website:
www.chilliwack.com

Voice Local News
Sunday February 21st 2010
Air Apparent
A

Surplus Cash From Regional
Air Quality Budget Pays For Station
Agassiz will be getting a
particulate matter monitor
Staff Report
Voice file photo.
gassiz is getting an Air Quality Monitoring Station which will measure PM
(particulate matter) monitor in the area and a $360,000 surplus in the
Regional Air Quality budget will fund the new station so there won't be any
shedding of tears from the tight-fisted Fraser Valley Regional District (FVRD).
The project has been in the works
since 2007 when the FVRD recommended the installation of at least two new
measuring stations. It will be a costly venture. The price tag is a hefty
$9000 for an ozone monitor and approximately $35,000 for a PM monitor.
Metro Vancouver has an old,
outdated ozone monitor that they're willing to give or sell cheaply to the
FVRD for use in Agassiz, but the aged system isn't compatible with Metro's
new data acquisition network and eventually, if used, will have to be
upgraded anyway.
Generic photo of PM monitor.
The question for the FVRD is
whether they will use antiquated equipment or buy new stuff. Installation of
new equipment would be done at no cost by the suppliers.
Originally, Pacific Agri-Food
Research Centre staff and city officials had their sites set on a spot near
the existing weather station in Agassiz. But because the location was on an
unpaved road and is adjacent to farms, dust from both would contaminate the
PM readings. Last word was that it had been decided the location of the
station will be at the District of Kent Hall.
© Copyright (c) The Valley Voice

Voice Community News
Monday February
22nd 2010
One God, one faith
Multifaith World Social
Justice Day
Chilliwack City Hall overruneth
with goodness
Craig Hill/Voice

Craig Hill/Voice photos
Harold Rosen from the Bahá'í Faith Community spoke to the Multifaith
gathering at City Hall which was set aside for World Social Justice Day on
Sunday.
O
ne God, one faith. That was the message at City Hall on Sunday where a
Multifaith gathering saw almost 50 people representing a dozen different
religions congregate for an afternoon of fellowship. The mood was reverent
and for two hours the City Hall was as tranquil as it will ever be.
There was no hand-clapping or
applause just a quiet appreciation for the musical presentations which came
from Nabil Fadai on the piano and a trio of singers from the Chilliwack
Music Academy who sang a beautiful rendition of Mozart's "Ave Verum".

There were representatives from
the many religions throughout the city and they came together, not in
religious rivalry, but in religious harmony to celebrate each other's tenets
and exchange thoughts about their own belief systems.
The Bahá'í of Chilliwack
coordinated the 9th annual gathering as part of the World Day of Social
Justice –– a global
event with the purpose of bringing awareness to the plight of impoverished
people ill around the globe.
This year, the program's theme
was the "Prosperity of Humankind" which originally came from a 15-page
publication by Baha'i International that addresses things like fair
distribution of wealth, human rights, gender equality and economic justice.

Bahá'í emcee Harold Rosen, had a
welcome message and a social justice type of reminder that the land City
Hall is on is Sto:lo territory.
"We thank you for being here at
City Hall here on traditional Sto:lo land," said Rosen. "Land that is
blessed by millennia of livelihood of many untold
Chilliwack Arts Centre singers on Sunday at City Hall.
generations of our first nations
brothers and sisters. We delight in all our relations and diverse sampling
joining us here today."
The Prosperity of Humankind
offers a "vision of prosperity that is both material and spiritual," Rosen
told the audience. "Such prosperity must benefit all of the planet's
inhabitants without distinction. The document challenges the purely
materialistic assumption of global development planning. It looks at human
nature and it declares that human nature is intrinsically spiritual. We are
aspiring beings motivated by transcended ideals. Ideals like justice and
compassion, community and wisdom."
According to Rosen, science and
religion can see eye-to-eye in an attempt to find common ground.
"The complimentary nature of
science and religion are when science and technology are guided by morality
and spiritual principles and humanity's advancement knows no bounds," he
said.
For excerpts from the meeting and
to see the photo gallery go
here.
© Copyright (c) The Valley Voice

Voice Local News
Tuesday February
23rd 2010
On Guard For Thee
Chilliwack Mountie Chosen As
Flagbearer At Olympic Ceremonies
The best of the best
of the best
Craig Hill/Voice
As the 2010 Olympic games draw to
a close
there'll be more pride, pomp and
circumstance, more pageantry and more flag protocol ceremony duty for RCMP
officers to perform.
Cst. Rodzor Jean Baptitse
Back when the rest of us were
being swept up in torch run fever, the Mounties put out a call amongst their
own ranks for flagbearers at the opening and closing of the games. They were
instantly swamped with a pool of hundreds of names to sift through.
What RCMP brass looked for were
members who's ages and lifestyles paralleled the athletes competing in the
games, or in other words, they wanted the best of the best of the best.

After rendering the list down to
a cast of 64 officers, one of the names on the roster was Haitian-born,
Chilliwack Cst. Rodzor Jean Baptitse.
Baptiste, an engineer by trade in
Haiti, immigrated to Canada in 2003.
Frame capture from NBC footage
Chilliwack Cst. Baptiste (second from left) carries the flag
in
the opening ceremonies at BC Place.
Once here, he tried to use the
Haitian degree but it wasn't accredited in this country.
Undaunted and determined to succeed in Canada, he enrolled in university
courses only this time in accounting. By the end of 3-years he had
both the degree and his Canadian citizenship.
Somewhere along the way he
spotted an RCMP recruiting advertisement, signed up, was accepted and then
went through rigorous training in Regina before graduating to his first
posting in Chilliwack where he settled with his wife and two children.

Life was going to script for the
Baptiste family in Canada. Then the earthquake hit. Two days before his wife
had arrived in Haiti on a holiday trip to see family. All communications
were severed and he had no way of knowing if she was alive or dead.
Finally, after several
excruciating days, news came in that she was alive but his brother, aunt,
cousin and many friends weren't as fortunate and perished in the
catastrophe.
Last month, the Voice
covered a story, (see Feb 1st. "Earthquake Hits Chilliwack RCMP Hard") about
members from Crossfit Training in
Chilliwack who came together and raised funds for Haitian relief after
learning that one of their own had lost family in the quake. The money was
donated to the Red Cross as per Baptiste's wishes.
Carrying the flag into BC Place
couldn't have been an easy thing to do with only a couple of billion people
watching. Baptiste calmly told media in Vancouver that he was thrilled to
escort the flag into BC Place for the opening.

"I kept thinking, My God, is it
really me in Canada, carrying the flag? A Mountie. I wanted to cry” he said
with a strong French accent. "Once I stood on that stage, holding that flag,
I knew I would never wear my red serge the same way again. It would never be
a chore to polish my boots. I
Governor General Michaelle Jean meets Cst.
Baptiste at
am a Mountie. I am a
the airport last Tuesday.
(submitted photo)
Canadian."
On the following Tuesday,
Baptiste had an equally inspiring moment at the airport when he met his
idol, Governor General Michaelle Jean, also originally from Haiti. Plus,
he'll once again have the honor of carrying the flag at the closing
ceremonies next Sunday.
This is just one story, one
thread, in the 2010 Olympic tapestry that has wound it's way through the hearts
of Canadians. Clearly the RCMP couldn't have found anyone more Canadian or
more proud to wear the red serge and wide stetson.
Baptiste and his family are doing
what many born here won't ever accomplish –– they're living the Canadian
Dream.
© Copyright (c) The Valley Voice

Voice Local News
Wednesday February 24th 2010
Baggers and Bedposts

Bowl For The
Kids
For Kids' Sake
Big Brothers & Big Sisters
fundraiser kicks-off
March 12th
Staff report
There's
A New Girl In Town
Shirley Wilson, is the new
Executive Director of Big Brothers and Big Sisters for the Upper Fraser
Valley, appeared on Starfm's morning show with Scott and Lisa to talk about
the upcoming Bowl For Kids Sake in Chilliwack. The following is excerpts are
from that conversation earlier this week.

Official Kick-off To The Bowl-a-thon
It's starting tomorrow
morning (Tuesday) for all of our Fraser Valley agencies at the Abbotsford
Sports Entertainment Centre at 8 am we're serving some current and past
mayors some breakfast and we're going to Wii-bowl with some "littles."
Abbotsford Venue Shared With Olympic Festivities
We actually don't have to (move
Olympic events and activities). We're going to be doing some "live" screen
viewing of some hockey games but we're up in the VIP Lounge and if you've
been up there, it's quite nice and long and we can actually set up some
special tins and bowl as well.
Who'll Be Hangin'
Our Abbotsford mayor, George
Ferguson, has agreed to step up, he's a little over 80-years-old now and
he's going to bowl with a "little" and the Fraser Valley agencies, which are
of course Upper Fraser Valley Big Brothers, Big Sisters, and Abbotsford,
Mission, Ridge Meadows and Langley are all coming together with current
dignitaries and former mayors who participated and supported youth in our
community for all that time, about 40-years toll.
Practice Makes Perfect
I think is going to be one of
those interesting challenges where the "littles" are going to have the home
team advantage (over the "bigs").

On
Wii Bowling
I have played Wii bowling and I
am the big loser in my household.
The
Main Event
Bowl For Kids' Sake is the
Signature Fundraiser for Big Brothers & Big Sisters in the Upper Fraser
Valley. It's a national event as well and locally it is extremely well
supported and it's really important to Big Brothers - Big Sisters, this
event.
Setting The Bar Higher This Year
This year we're looking to raise
$80,000. It is a lot of money but will be well used. Last year's Bowl-A-Thon
raised $72,000.
Bigs
& Littles
We provide professional trained
mentors who are screened and provide safe opportunities for our youth to be
entered (in) with caring adults.
Wait
Lists Are Worth Waiting For
It is been typically a 2-year
wait for a young boy to be matched with a male. We do have a shortage of men
who step up to be mentors. It is an unfortunate waiting list and we're
trying to shorten that list.
Volunteers Are Ageless
There's no restrictions. They
need to be an adult and they need to be able to complete the screening
process successfully which is quite rigorous. It's one of the things that
Big Brothers/Big Sisters is known for. In terms of the age, we actually are
seeking some more senior citizens to come along and it's a great
relationship between a "little" and a senior. We have a program called
"Between Generations" but we also look for those young adult role models who
are great and inspired and inspiring.

Oh
Bowl For the Kids For Kids Sake!
March 5th is our first date and
that's in Hope. We only have one lane left, that's great, and we start here
on March 12th right to the 31st at Chillibowl and we have three of those
sessions are sold out completely and we still have some other room
available. Some are going quite quickly and some still have some other
space, but we need to sell it out.
Registration and Pledges Online
This is our fourth year doing
that and it's available and when it's used it's really great. It's
efficient, it's safer than carrying cash on ya, so I highly encourage you to
come to our website and use that option. It's really easy. You can just go
online, register yourself or register your team and then you can e-mail
directly from the website and you can encourage your friends to come right
back online and make that donation on your behalf. There's actually a new
added feature. You can upload a Facebook badge as well.

Great
Prizes
If you're an individual bowler
and you are the top pledge fundraiser you will actually win an exciting trip
for two to Vegas.
To get signed up call Big
Brothers at: 604-858-0828 or visit our website:
www.bigbrothersandbigsisters.ca or drop by the office at: 45195
Wells Road.


New
To Chilliwack?

Welcome Wagon
Call Carol
604-858-4662
Businesses welcome also!
www.welcomewagon.ca

Help Someone Who Needs You
St. John Ambulance

At Home, Work or Play
You see them at all of
our local events. They do a great job serving Chilliwack but there aren't
enough volunteers to attend every duty request call, so they need you.
#202
– 45928 Hocking Avenue, Chilliwack 604-792-1338
E-Mail:
Chilliwack@bc.sja.ca
or
visit their website:
http://bc.sjatraining.ca/

Mother's Against Drunk Drivers Fraser Valley Chapter
Volunteers Needed For Chilliwack

Committed to stop impaired driving and support
victims of this crime.
For more information visit the website:
www.maddufv.com

* Paralympics torch is in
Hope, BC today. 3 pm to 6 pm at Memorial park downtown.
* Wicca-Pagan coffee meet 7 pm
dragonfly_1237@hotmail.com
for more info.
*
Jewelry-making for kids at the Yarrow Library today, 2 to 4 pm, grade 5
and up.
*
Pottery Tuesdays starts tonight, 6:30 pm to 9:30 pm. Arts Centre
604-792-2069
More
info and things to do in Extra! Extra! below.
Top Local Headlines

Community Police
Crime Prevention
Needs Your Help

Volunteers needed.
Crime Prevention Office
45877 Wellington Ave.
604-393-3001


Voice On The Hill

The Voice is pleased to have MP for East Van
Libby Davies giving us reports regarding her work on issues in Ottawa and Vancouver. Anyone who has
met
Libby and seen her in action over the years can attest to the fact that
when she talks ... people listen.
This Week: March 4th
An
Intense Parliamentary Session Ahead
Debate to centre on PM's power as Parliament returns
The speech from the throne and the federal budget will be the top two items
on Parliament's agenda when it reconvenes Wednesday after a lengthy and
controversial prorogation. But the biggest political flashpoints in the
coming session are likely to come over two other items that have a common
denominator: attempts by the House of Commons to put some restrictions on
the traditional powers and privileges of the prime minister.
"I think it's going to be a fairly intense session," said NDP House Leader
Libby Davies. "It's going to be a difficult working environment."
This Week: February 24th
Open Letter To Ministers
Helena Guergis
Minister of State Status of Women - 733 Confederation Building, House of
Commons
Ottawa, ON K1A 0A6
Dear Minister
Guergis,
I write to urge
you to commit to renewed funding for the Sisters in Spirit initiative of
the Native Women's Association of Canada, without delay.
As the Minister of
State for the Status of Women you have repeatedly praised the Sister in
Spirit initiative in the House of Commons as being a “great research
project...extremely successful in raising awareness to the issue of
violence against aboriginal women and girls.”
As recently as
December 2009, the Secretary of State for the Status of Women described
the initiative as the “groundwork,” from which to “attack the root
causes of violence against aboriginal women and girls.”
It is confusing
then, why there has been hesitation from the Status of Women to move
forward and implement the important programs identified and developed
under this successful project.
The Sisters group
is in a position to begin implementing child welfare, justice and
anti-poverty programs to help some of the most vulnerable women and
children in Canada, but cannot as they await word from your office as to
their future.
Again, I ask that
you act swiftly to approve funding for Sisters in Spirit to support the
implementation of these important initiatives.
Continued
here


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Hockey Night In Chilliwack

Chilliwack
Bruins
Scoreboard
Wins Games
30 68
Next home game
Friday March 12th vs. Portland - 7 pm
Fan Appreciation Night
Ticket info call 604-792-GOAL
Buy an Ad!
Do you make the best burgers in town?
Let
Chilliwack know about it!
Current Weather
0°c
Chwk-Vedder River Level
Today 1:30 am - 0.91m
Yesterday - 0.93m
A
Final Word
One or Two Pages Si Vous Plait!
If you are wondering why this
page appears to be busy, it is designed this way to give you as much
information as possible in one scroll without having to click through to
other pages. Many sites keep
you clicking through page after page to get to the information. It has to do with advertisement views. Page
views here may take a bit longer to load but we think it's worth waiting for. Thank you.
Our Readers Write
Do you have a voice and want it heard?
"Voice" your opinion with us!
February 18th 2009
Ray Ferris Speaks Out
On Baynes's Children Custody Hearing
Dear Ed
One of your
reporters was standing outside the Chilliwack court house a few days ago and
gave me his card. I did not have time to talk to him, but I offer you the
attached information, which is germane to his concerns. In addition to what
is attached a couple of other issues have arisen.
A social worker
admitted to having obtained a document illegally and having deleted all his
emails dealing with the source of the document. Judge Crabtree has ordered
him to retrieve them. Another important item is that the medical opinion
evidence may be ruled inadmissible.
The judge has
already banned the doctors from assuming any cause for any of the injuries.
(The principle hear is that a doctor is not able to determine whether an
injury is deliberate or accidental from medical evidence only.) The
likelihood of deliberate injury is determined from a combination of medical
evidence and profile. Profiles with a history of negligence and frequent
injury, lack of lifeskills etc.
The Baynes present
an excellent profile. With the medical evidence being so shaky, the ministry
appears to be trying to re-invent the family profile by bringing on various
character assassination witnesses who offer only smear and innuendo. They
hide behind anonymous "collateral informants", which of course is pure
hearsay.
Unfortunately,
section 14 of the CF&CSA requires people to report if they have reason to
believe a child is at risk, but nowhere is anonymity guaranteed. It is just
that the ministry always try to operate in secrecy. They have a lot to hide.
Ray Ferris
Author of the
"The Art of Child Protection"
The Voice welcomes readers to voice their opinion on any issue and
we reserve the right to edit letters for
diction and grammar or content. The viewpoint
is that of the writer and The Voice may or may not agree with the
author.
Write the editor: thevalleyvoice@shaw.ca
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March 4th 2010
March is Fraud
Prevention
Awareness Month

Keep your
identity Safe
Ottawa, March 1, 2006 — Law enforcement agencies from
Canada and the United States joined forces today, in Ottawa, to officially
launch Fraud Prevention Month and explain how partnerships are key in
fighting the global scourge of fraud.
“Fraud
is a serious problem that undermines consumer confidence and drains billions
from legitimate markets around the world. It cannot be solved by law
enforcement alone,” said Sheridan Scott, Commissioner of Competition. “As
Chair of the Fraud Prevention Forum, we work closely with partners in law
enforcement, consumer and volunteer groups, government and the private
sector to fight fraud aimed at consumers and businesses.”
During
the month of March, Fraud Prevention Forum (FPF) members will raise
awareness of the dangers of fraud, while educating the public on how to
“Recognize it, Report it and Stop it.” Millions of printed fraud prevention
material will be distributed and public service announcements will air
across the country, in English and French.
"The
concept of crime prevention is to prevent victimization. By educating and
involving the community in crime prevention initiatives, it is anticipated
that we will see a reduction in crime,” said Detective Superintendent Bob
Goodall, OPP Anti-Rackets Section. “It is essential that law enforcement,
the private sector and consumers work together to identify, apprehend and
prosecute those responsible and to prevent future occurrences."
The
FPF’s reach is international. This month, over 24 countries who form the
International Consumer Protection and Enforcement Network have committed to
raising public awareness worldwide, with their own Fraud Prevention Month
campaigns.
“Law
enforcement agencies are very concerned about financial crime and we are
working diligently with our domestic and international partners to combat
this transnational problem,” said Wayne Watson, Chief Superintendent, RCMP.
“People operating frauds are increasingly using international borders to try
to escape the consequences of their actions,” said C. Steven Baker, Director
of the U.S. Federal Trade Commission's Midwest Region. “The U.S. and Canada
are leading the world in showing that we can work together and protect
consumers on both sides of the border.”
Tips to Stay
Safe

Keep personal information confidential
Do not
give out personal information over the phone, through email or over the
Internet unless you initiated the contact and know who you're dealing with.
Do not include personal information in regular, unencrypted email or enter
it on an unencrypted website as your information will not be secure.
Keep your personal information safe
An
identity thief will pick through your garbage or recycling bins, so be sure
to shred receipts, copies of credit applications, insurance forms, etc.
Protect
your PIN and passwords
Do not
reveal your PIN or passwords to anyone, including employees of RBC, family
members and friends. When conducting a transaction at an ATM or retail
(point-of-sale) location, keep your Client Card/Credit Card within sight and
shield the keypad when entering your PIN.
Unusual transactions
Beware
of "Too Good To Be True" offers. Be wary of unexpected offers or requests
that are "too good to be true" such as "you've inherited a large sum of
money but in order to claim it, send us a deposit first". You should also
never agree to conduct financial transactions on behalf of strangers.
Contact the authorities
If you suspect you are a victim of fraud, contact your bank immediately.
Report the crime
To
report incidence of fraud or to learn more about how to protect themselves
from fraud, Canadians can call PhoneBusters, the national anti-fraud call
centre, at 1-888-495-8501. In addition, citizens are encouraged to contact
the Chilliwack RCMP 604-792-4611
Canadians can also report fraud on-line through Reporting Economic Crime
Online (RECOL) at www.recol.ca
RECOL is an RCMP initiative that involves an integrated partnership between
international, federal and provincial law enforcement agencies and the
private sector.
Information here can be found on
www.competitionbureau.gc.ca
and safety tips from
www.rbc.com
Note: Investment Fraud seminar
March 25th at Evergreen Hall, 9 am
Director Kathryn Bigelow Makes History At
Oscars With "Hurt Locker"

AP photo
shows Marie Osmond at son's funeral.
Story
snippets from AP writer Jennifer Dobbner.
PROVO, Utah – Marie Osmond's 18-year-old son
was remembered at a funeral service Monday with fond words, laughter and
music from his famous singing family. Michael Bryan's uncle, Donny
Osmond, also appealed to God in an opening prayer. "Bless my sister," he
said, breaking into tears. "Bless my sister and her family. He was a man
of his word. He wasn't a talker, he was a doer." Police in Los Angeles
have said Bryan died Feb. 26 from an apparent suicide after jumping from
the eighth floor of the Metropolitan apartment building. An official
cause of death is pending the results of an autopsy and toxicology
tests. "Thank you for those beautiful 18 years," said Marie Osmond, who
had not planned to speak at the service. The service ended with a
traditional Mormon hymn, sung sweetly by Marie Osmond and her famous
brothers — Alan, Merrill, Jay, Wayne, Donny and Jimmy.

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classifieds page for nothing! Some restrictions apply.
Send your ad to:
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EXTRA! EXTRA!

Chilliwack
Events
Listed below are current events in
Chilliwack. Many are free and low-cost for you
and your family to enjoy and participate in.
Our budget at the Voice is a small one and we can't afford
to attend all events however if you would like coverage for your event please e-mail us to
make media pass arrangements. thevalleyvoice@shaw.ca
Complete events page
here

March
9th
Tuesday - 4 pm to 6 pm
2010 Paralympics Torch Relay in Hope
The
2010 Paralympics Torch Relay will be much different from the Olympic Torch
Relay as the lighting of the Paralympics Flame will not originate in Greece
but will instead take place during a ceremony in Ottawa on March 3rd, 2010.
The lighting ceremony will involve torchbearers who represent each province
and territory.
March
9th Thursday - 2 pm to 4 pm
Jewelry
Making!
Grades
5 and up can learn to make beautiful earrings and bracelets with beads and
wire! Registration required at the Yarrow Library 604-823-4664 or you can
call Susan at: 604-793-7238 or e:mail to:
sjbarclay@telus.net or visit
their website:
http://swiftcraftymonkey.blogspot.com
March
9th
Tuesday - 7 pm
Wicca - Pagan Coffee Meet
The
Second Tuesday of every month at 7pm For details and location e-mail Kim at:
dragonfly_1237
@hotmail.com
March
9th
Tuesdays - 6:30 pm to 9:30 pm
Pottery 2
Advanced
pottery students can learn new wheel throwing techniques from a professional
studio potter. Learn about altering and making functional vessels with handles,
knobs, and lids, learn glazing techniques and how to load a kiln too, all
through interesting projects. Glaze class held at “Greendale Pottery”; date TBA.
*Course cost plus
$15.00 for clay. **Starter tool kits available for $20.00
Tuesdays | March 9
- April 13 (7 classes)
6:30 - 9:30pm |
Kreative Kidz Room
m $190 ~ nm $210 |
Ages 17+
Instructor: Holly
McKeen Chilliwack Arts Council Phone (604) 792-2069
info@chilliwackartscouncil.com
March
10th
Tuesday - Day Trip
Seniors Bus Trip to
Culinary School on Granville Island
Join
a busload of friends for a tasty trip to Vancouver and see Granville Island. For
more information call: 604-793-9979
March 10th
Wednesday - 7 pm
Chilliwack Mini
Med School "What Was Your Doctor Thinking?"

Come join us for an evening of
informative, and possibly life-altering learning. This is a free event
open to everyone and run by the Chilliwack Family Medicine Residents.
Presentations will be at Evergreen Hall, 9291 Corbould Street, in the
Slesse Room, located one block from the hospital. All sessions will
begin at 7pm, light refreshments and snacks will be served. For more
information, please call 604-703-6968.
March 10th
Wednesday -10:30 to 11 am
The Trollsons Perform The Selkie at the Chilliwack
Public Library
The
Trollsons present a lively 30-minute storytelling
show that the audience helps to tell! The Selkie is
based on traditional folklore that appears in many
different parts of the world. Audience members join
in the action and become part of the unique
storytelling style. This program is open to all
families and ages. For more information call Wanda
Lindsay 604-823-4664 or visit their website:
www.fvrl.bc.ca
March 10th
Wednesday - 7 pm
Bright Star - Film Festival Movie 2 of 6
The
Chilliwack Arts Council and the Toronto Film Festival co-present the
Council's 2010 International Film Series. Tonight's movie is called
"Bright Star". Movie is shown at the Paramount Theatre on Yale Rd.
downtown. Tickets are only $5. Series passes for all 6 movies in the
series will be available. For more information call the Chilliwack
Community Arts Council: 604-792-2069
To find out more about these events and see
the
most comprehensive events listings page in Chilliwack go
here.

Check
out Canada's most famous astrologist Georgia
Nicols MA.
who writes the
finest forecasts in your stellar news.
Why be a moon when you can be a star with
Georgia's horoscopes! She is known all over the world for her intelligent, poignant and
humorous horoscopes. The Voice is very fortunate to have her
here in Chilliwack with us.
This Week
March 7th to
March 14th
All Signs:
Mars has been retrograde since December 20 of
last year. (Time flies when you’re unconscious.) Finally, this week it goes
forward! This is why you felt you weren’t accomplishing much, or that
whatever you were doing was an uphill struggle ...
Your weekly horoscope
Continued here.
Made in

Canada
Made in

Canada
Today In History
March 9th 2010
The 68th day of the year
There are 297 days left in the year
1796
Napoleon Bonaparte, the future emperor of France, married Josephine de
Beauharnais.
1862
During the Civil War, the ironclads Monitor and Virginia (formerly Merrimac)
clashed for five hours to a draw at Hampton Roads, Va.
1916
Mexican raiders led by Pancho Villa attacked Columbus, N.M., killing more
than a dozen people.
1933
Congress, called into special session by President Franklin D. Roosevelt,
began its 100 days of enacting New Deal legislation.
1934
Yury Gagarin, the world's
first man in space, was born. He died on
March 27, 1968
1945
U.S. B-29 bombers launched incendiary bomb attacks against Japan during
World War II, causing widespread devastation.
1954
CBS newsman Edward R. Murrow critically reviewed Wisconsin Sen. Joseph R.
McCarthy's anti-Communism campaign on "See It Now."
1959
Mattel's Barbie doll, created by Ruth Handler, made its public debut at the
American International Toy Fair in New York.
1975
Work began on the Alaskan oil pipeline.
1977
About a dozen armed Hanafi Muslims invaded three buildings in Washington
D.C., killing one person and taking more than 130 hostages. The siege ended
two days later.
1981
Dan Rather made his debut as principal anchorman of "The CBS Evening News;"
he signed off for the last time on the same date in 2005.
1989
The Senate rejected President George H.W. Bush's nomination of John Tower to
be defense secretary on a 53-47 vote.
1992
Former Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin died at age 78.
1997
Gangsta rapper The Notorious B.I.G. was killed in a drive-by shooting in Los
Angeles at age 24.
2004
Convicted sniper John Allen Muhammad was sentenced to death in Virginia.
2006
Bowing to ferocious opposition in Congress, a Dubai-owned company
relinquished its quest to take over operations at U.S. ports.
The main source for
text information here is the NY Times Inc. in addition to assorted Canadian
news sites. Images are borrowed from various websites.
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© 2008
The Valley Voice | All Rights Reserved | Mansfield Communications Ltd.
Made in

Canada
A Message From
The Publisher
The Valley Voice is new and striving for perfection. Help
keep our information relevant and up-to-date. If you find errors or missing
information in the news items, please let us know. We're here to serve you
and the Chilliwack community.
The Valley
Voice's mandate is to
provide unbiased and independent news for Chilliwack. We are small-town-friendly and answer all of our e-mails. We're never too busy to ignore people who write
us that want a voice or wish to become involved.
Local writers and shooters are welcome to submit event
stories/photos. We always accept local Chilliwack news tips, story ideas, comments and photo
submissions from the community. If you are interested contact me at
the e-mail address below.
Community papers are about the community and my experience in the
past with producing local newspapers has always involved all members of the
community. Informed people who know their community.
My credentials
aren't backed by stacks of degrees nor do I need them
to write coherently about what's going on in the community. I have spent a
few years in the trenches writing about and living in Vancouver's infamous
downtown eastside. In fact I lived 3 blocks from Main & Hastings, ground
zero, for ten years and during that time carved out a passion to
provide real honest news with integrity and conviction and a passion to serve
the community.
I've come to know this community as well as anyone in
Chilliwack. I've lived here for almost 10 of my 51 years of existence. Grandma on mother's side lived here for 75 years and raised 10 kids (Irene Armstrong) and Grandpa, on my father's side, owned the old
Cottonwood Corners restaurant in the 1950's (Ivor Hill) and was a great fly
fisherman back when you could haul steelhead as big as a Mac truck out of
the Vedder River. Grandma's
(Jeanette Quesnel) gr-grandfather also on
dad's side, was Jules Maurice Quesnel
who trekked across Canada and then down the Fraser River with Simon Fraser
in 1808 and after whom the city and river of Quesnel are named.
At this site's
inception it was my intention to have an
advertisement-free not-for-profit news website however I
would like to pay our writers and columnists for their great stuff. So with that in mind, any
revenue that The Valley Voice generates through the site will be used solely
for the purpose of paying writers and photographers for their work and for
the costs of running and upgrading the website's bandwidth.
It might be that at some
point in the future, with support from the community, we'll go to print with
your news in an interesting,
informative and entertaining format based on my own experience producing
Spare Change newspaper in Vancouver, a grassroots social-minded
community paper and producing magazines with industry leaders like
Squire Barnes from Global TV Sports as well as working with other local
community newspapers.
Thank you for
visiting and I hope that you will make this a part of your daily, weekly or
monthly internet reading itinerary.
Craig Hill
The Valley Voice
News
thevalleyvoice
at shaw.ca

Broadcasting Hall-of-Famer Rafe Mair and Canada’s best known political commentator has
joined us
at the Voice with his "The Flow" column.
Rafe's hard-hitting no nonsense perspective makes him a hero to some, to be vilified
by others. Love him or hate him he is sure to stir the pot on
up-to-date and relevant issues that affect us all.
This Week: March 5th
Morton's
Case Against Fish Farms
The plain fact is that
Alexandra Morton shouldn't have to prove a damned
thing.
By international law
we're bound by the Precautionary Principle, meaning that those who
would invade the environment must demonstrate beyond a reasonable
doubt that they can do so safely. To put it bluntly, industry has
done absolutely nothing to meet the onus of the Precautionary
Principle.
All the fish farmers
have proved is that they've contributed to Campbell's party and all
the Campbell government has proved is that they got the message loud
and clear.
The Campbell government,
when it comes to the environment, doesn't give a damn what it does
or says as long as
the money's there.
Since Alex blew the
whistle nearly a decade ago every independent fisheries scientist
has confirmed that sea lice from fish farms were wiping out
migrating wild salmon smolts. Every peer reviewed paper confirms
Alex's findings all of which were also peer reviewed.
Campbell Knew All
Along
Campbell, who makes
Pinocchio a minor leaguer, has consistently alleged
that he has science on
his side yet is unable to produce a single independent report to
support him.
"Knew all along" - a
tough charge?
Not a bit. Because, you
see, BC wasn't the first place to have their wild salmon savagely
destroyed by lice from fish farms. When I met with Irish scientists
under the eminent Dr. Patrick Gargan a few years ago in Galway, one
of them looked at me at said, and these were his words which I won't
mince: "Can't ye fucking well read out there in Canada? Don't you
know what happened in Norway ... Scotland ... here in Ireland? Can't
ye fucking read?"
We can, but Gordon
Campbell won't.
The federal government
was also warned in 1991. Norwegian MP John
Lilletun came to Canada
to tell us that Norwegian salmon farmers were
coming here to get away
from higher environmental standards they faced
back home. Clearly, the
warning fell on deaf ears.
The Former Norwegian
Attorney General Speaks Out
Many of us could read
and spoke out again and again based upon this
evidence. Now we can
hear from Georg Fredrik Rieber-Mohn, a Norwegian
judge who, as
Attorney-General drew up important environmental protection
guidelines for Norwegian fish farms. Here's what he recently said -
and I advise Campbell and his toadies to cover their eyes. During
his remarks he alluded to the pending hockey game between Canada and
Norway and said this:
In 1999, I was proud to
present the so-called "wild salmon plan" which
proposed national
protection for the 50 best salmon rivers and the 9 most important
fjord-systems across Norway - the national laksfjords - where salmon
farms would be prohibited.
However, intense
lobbying from the salmon farming industry watered down the proposals
so that by the time they passed the parliament in 2007 the protected
fjords had become smaller and gave less protection against the
salmon farming industry.
The result has been a
heavy defeat for wild salmon and a huge win for sea lice. Scientific
research published by the Norwegian Institute of Nature Research
indicates that the areas protected from open net cage salmon farms
are simply too small to offer adequate protection from sea lice.
Scientists in Norway
detail growing sea lice resistance to the chemicals designed to kill
them. The Norwegian Food and Safety Authority recently reported
nearly 100 cases of chemical treatment failures as sea lice are now
immune.
So serious is the
situation that the Directorate of Nature Management - the Norwegian
Government's conservation adviser - has called for drastic
reductions in farmed salmon production and slaughter of farm stock
to reduce the sea lice burden.
Put simply, we had an
open goal to save wild salmon but we missed the
target. Now we are
dealing with the consequences of poor defending.
Atlantic salmon in the
wild in Norway are now threatened with extinction
in many rivers in
Norway. There are many causes to this decline, but in
vast areas the farming
of salmon is the main factor. Escaped farmed salmon is a huge
problem added to the problem of uncontrolled growth of sea lice.
Scientists foresee remarkable damaging effects in new areas in
the future
In Norway we are
underdogs to save wild Atlantic salmon - like in today's hockey game
- but nature is resilient and wild salmon can make a comeback if
given a fair chance.
The lessons to be
learned from Norway are painfully clear but the solution is an easy
one.
If you want to protect
wild salmon then you have to move salmon farms
away from migration
routes. Juvenile wild salmon have to run the gauntlet past salmon
farms on their way out to sea and scientific reports show that they
are decimated by sea lice - with
reports of up to 90%
mortality in some regions.
Even the owner of Marine
Harvest - the world's largest salmon farming company and #1 in both
Norway and in British Columbia - agrees that we
must move the farms.
When he was fishing on the River Alta - one of
Norway's most majestic
wild salmon rivers - in 2007 John Fredriksen made
a plea as a passionate
angler to relocate open net cages to save wild
salmon.
Last year, I was
honoured to meet with sea lice scientist Alexandra Morton in Oslo. I
listened with a sense of deja vu as she outlined how Norwegian
companies - who control over 90% of BC's salmon farms - are
spreading sea lice to wild salmon. I watched Canadian filmmaker
Damien Gillis's film "Dear Norway" Help Us Save Wild Salmon" and I
was struck by a strong sense of solidarity and eerie familiarity (my
pride in the work done
by my colleagues merited my emphasis.)
Yet there is still hope
for wild salmon in both Norway and Canada. With
the world watching there
is a growing sense of public awareness globally
and a passion to save
wild salmon./
In the name of God,
won't Campbell and federal fisheries minister Gail
Shea not listen now?
Heroes and Villains
We in BC have an
industry, two governments and a media we should be
thoroughly ashamed of.
On the other hand, we have a gallant lady who came from California
to watch whales and stayed to make the saving of our wild salmon a
sacred task and getting nothing but abuse for her efforts from
industry, government and media.
Alexandra Morton
deserves the undying affection and deepest gratitude of
us all.
You can show your support via Rafe's
websites:
More here in The Flow

www.rafeonline.com
www.saveourrivers.ca