The Chilliwack
Progress Tuesday
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Live longer, live happier.
Motorcycle crash closes Young Road.
Happy memories for former Olympic athlete.
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 U E S D AY, M AY 2 2 , 2 0 1 2
Plan reached to reconfigure The Falls golf course Robert Freeman The Progress The Falls golf course and resort in Chilliwack has apparently chipped its way out of the rough after meeting with city officials Friday. Details of a new development plan for the area were unavailable by press time Friday, but Michael Thornton, president of Silver Falls Development Inc., said “a very well thought out plan” had been reached. Earlier, Thornton said he was told by city staff that “reconfiguration” of the golf course for residential development would not be allowed. But he said some of the golf holes had to be moved for residential development to make the project “viable” for the Aquilini Investment Group. “With permission to develop the holes, then we can replace them and still have a great golf course,” Thornton said. “If they’re going to take away our ability to properly develop the site ... probably nothing (of the Aquilini proposal) will survive,” he said. But Chilliwack Mayor Sharon Gaetz said the city “never told Mr. Thornton that we would not at least consider his/ Aquilini’s requests.” However, she added that the city is also obliged to “balance the needs” of the Aquilini Group with those of Streetwise Capital Partners Inc. “We will consider any proposal, but have to balance the needs of both development groups, and just as important the residents who have purchased homes at The Falls,” she said. “Staff is hoping to work with both groups on the development of a new plan.” Streetwise managing director Kareem Sethi told The Progress his company does have development plans for the area and is not simply a “vulture fund” as described in court documents of bankruptcy proceedings against Blackburn Developments, developer of the hillside golf resort. Continued: FALLS/ p9
John Jansen (right) board chair for the Chilliwack Hospital and Health Care Foundation and Dr. Mark Evered of UFV sign a partnership during an announcement outside the Cheam Centre on Thursday afternoon. JENNA HAUCK/ PROGRESS
‘Pulling together’ for better health Robert Freeman The Progress Grab an oar, Chilliwack, and help pull this community into better health by taking part in programs soon to come from the new Chilliwack Hospital and Health Care Foundation. “We all need to become a part of this and grab an oar,” Chilliwack businessman Harry Mertin said about the new fundraising foundation. “If we do that, there will be such a wake behind this boat ... you won’t believe it,” he said. “We will have health care costs under better control, and we will have people not going to hospital unnecessarily, which means the people who do go will get better treatment sooner.” The Chilliwack foundation is
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taking a new approach to fundraising, an approach that clearly has former B.C. Health Minister John Jansen and UFV President Mark Evered excited about the possibilities. Jansen and Evered signed a partnership Thursday that will see the foundation and university work together on developing new community health initiatives. “We’re doing things that is looking outside the box, a first in the province, and it’s going to make a huge difference,” Jansen said after the signing event held at the Cheam Leisure Centre. He said the Health Sciences faculty at the new UFV campus will work with the foundation “to find ways to involve the community in being more healthy and cognizant of health issues.” And Chilliwack, a proven lead-
er in community health initiatives, appears ready for the new fundraising concept that asks not just for donations, but for everyone to take an active role in creating health programs. “The enthusiasm level out there is just phenomenal,” Jansen said. “Our community is different. We have a different footprint, and I think we can really do something here that is unique.” Harv McCullough, UFV’s vice-president external and former dean of the Trades and Technology faculty, said the partnership with the new foundation is a natural fit for the university. “We’re both working toward a healthy community,” he said, and when government is cutting back on post-secondary spending, the university needs to find
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alternate funding sources like corporate and private donations. “It’s a new (fundraising) concept here for us, and that’s the message we need to get out, and another way of getting that out is through the new foundation,” he said. “The general public doesn’t seem to realize the need to find additional funding sources,” he said. And while UFV students in programs like nursing, dentistry and kinesiology at the Health Sciences will be directly involved in studies leading to new solutions to community health problems, students in trades training are also learning about safe practices and safe building materials that contribute to better health. Continued: TROUBLING/ p11
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