The Chilliwack
Progress Thursday
3
31
52
Flood Prep
Tenore
Basketball
Shoring up Carey Point as threat grows.
Good things come in threes.
Foes become friends with Junior Cascades.
News
Scene
Sports
Y O U R C O M M U N I T Y N E W S PA P E R • F O U N D E D I N 1 8 9 1 • W W W. T H E P R O G R E S S . C O M • T H U R S D AY, M AY 1 0 , 2 0 1 2
Rescue plan ready for Paramount, say fans Jennifer Feinberg The Progress
is now located at the new campus, but now its programs are going beyond nursing and dentistry and into kinesiology with a state-of-theart “human performance” centre. UFV’s soccer team may move from Abbotsford to the Chilliwack campus as a result of the kinesiology program. Evered said the “town square” design of the main building, with classrooms and labs surrounding a central meeting place, also “encourages people to draw together.” He envisions students from the nearby trades centre mingling there with students from the academic side, and the “synergies” that may develop as a result. “It’s those kinds of synergies ... that often lead to exciting new developments,” he said.
A business plan to refurbish the old Paramount theatre to show classic films and more will be unveiled by Friends of the Chilliwack Paramount at a community meeting at the old Arts Centre on Monday. “There has been lots of behind-the-scenes work happening since we were given the 90-day extension,” says Friends of the Paramount spokesperson Laura Reid. “We are very excited about the business plan.” Extensive research was done by the group since March, analyzing similar business ventures before they narrowed in on a “model” they think will work in the downtown core. “The Friends of the Paramount are confident their plan will be a catalyst to bring residents back downtown, not only to watch classic films, but to eat and shop, as well,” said Reid. They still are seeking input and support from Chilliwack residents and businesses and are urging those interested to show up at the meeting. “We’ll be asking the community to help us get the plan going,” Reid said. The old Paramount has been boarded up since November 2010, when Landmark Cinemas gave the land and building to the City of Chilliwack. The group was granted a 90-day extension until June 21 under a new request for proposals to come up with a plan that would save the iconic downtown theatre from the wrecking ball. Council warned when they were being asked to hold off on the demolition that there would
Continued: CAMPUS/ p5
Continued: FRIENDS/ p10
Craig Towes, UFV’s director of campus planning, stands in the new university campus which features natural wood and glass ceilings. JENNA HAUCK/ PROGRESS
New UFV campus ready for September opening Robert Freeman The Progress
Trades and Technology Centre will lead to “synergies” from which the university will find new ways to serve the Fraser Valley. “I think we’ve done some marvelous things already bridging trades with business,” Evered said, referring to the ability for UFV students certified in a trade to also earn academic credits for a business degree. “We’re going to see new disciplines emerge,” he said, including new developments in health sciences that will lead the way to healthier lifestyles. Evered envisions new programs in food safety and food security and in dietary approaches to managing health problems “Clearly, what we eat is critical to our health,” he said. UFV’s health sciences faculty
$1.25
4-12H M12
DLN 8692
The move to UFV’s new $45 million Chilliwack campus is underway this week as officials prepare for the arrival of students in September. The finishing touches on the new campus project — a mix of renovations to the former military engineering school and new building construction — will likely continue over the next couple of months. “We’re at the tail-end of construction,” Craig Toews, campus planner, told The Progress Tuesday, but moving the old campus on Yale Road to the new site at the Canada Education Park is a “major project” in itself. On Friday, VIPs like Advanced
Education Minister Naomi Yamamoto and Chilliwack-Fraser Canyon MP Mark Strahl, will join UFV president Mark Evered for a ribbon-cutting ceremony at the new campus. “It’s a phenomenal facility,” an obviously elated Evered said Wednesday. “It’s our opportunity to reach the state-of-the-art facility for the kinds of programs we’re establishing in Chilliwack.” And the new campus is just the start of a “master plan” that envisions further building projects over the next 30 years. “This is really just the start of development on the whole 85 acres,” Evered said. He’s also confident that consolidating UFV’s Chilliwack facilities — the new campus is just a short walk from the existing $21-million
45930 Airport Road 604-795-9104
0
%
FOR 48 MOS.
ON ALL NEW 2012 starting from Plus documentation fee of $399 + taxes.
$
19,600