The Chilliwack
Progress Tuesday
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Sports
News
Life
Martial arts
Grow a row
Camp
Karate masters meet in Chilliwack
53 pounds of food donated
Sally Ann sends kids to summer camp
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, J U LY 1 7 , 2 0 1 2
B AUBLES
The Falls golf course re-opens
ON THE
B EACH
AT HARRISON
‘Drastic’ changes to clubhouse Robert Freeman The Progress The Falls Golf Club got back into the swing with a “soft” opening of the hillside golf course Saturday. “We have built an incredible team to bring life back to the course and provide memorable golfing experiences,” Jamie Baxter, general manager at the Golden Eagle Golf Club in Pitt Meadows, said in a Thursday news release. Baxter, who spoke to The Progress on behalf of the Aquilini Investment Group, which now owns both the Falls and Golden Eagle, said golfers would find the same 18-hole championship course “in excellent shape” with the most “drastic” changes seen in the clubhouse fixtures and updated kitchen. The golf course had fallen into disrepair after former owner Rick Wellsby at Blackburn Developments started bankruptcy proceedings in early 2011 when a $75-million debt threatened to swallow the course and the residential resort built around it. There had been talk that the Aquilini Investment Group, which now holds controlling interest in the golf course, wanted to “reconfigure” some of the holes for residential development to make the course economically viable. Some homeowners feared reconfiguration could lead to some homes without a view of the golf course. But city officials made it a “principle” of a new comprehensive development plan for the eastern hillsides to protect homeowners who had purchased homes whose value relied, in part, on golf course views. Baxter said golfers registered for the Saturday “tee time” at The Falls would find “the same layout” as the original 18-hole course. A more formal re-opening of the golf course will be held “down the road,” he said. Aquilini officials could not be reached for comment on the re-opening and its residential development plans, but last month the company stated in a letter to city council its “full and Continued: FALLS/ p6
People on the beach are seen through mouth-blown, hanging glass vases made by Sonya Labrie during the Harrison Festival of the Arts on Saturday. Go online to theprogress.com for a slide show of images later this week. JENNA HAUCK/ PROGRESS
Cleanup overdue at Foley Lake Jennifer Feinberg The Progress Once pristine areas around Foley Lake up Chilliwack Lake Road were littered with shotgun shells, diapers, mattresses and camping equipment. Three truckloads of trash were removed from that hardhit area, as part of the 36th Annual Chilliwack-Vedder River Cleanup event on Saturday. They made the trip and tackled the area up the valley because it was such a mess this spring, said organizers. A decent turnout of 104 peo-
ple from Chilliwack and other parts of the Lower Mainland, showed up Saturday morning to don work gloves, and pick up garbage up and down the world-class river system. The number of volunteers was up by 25 from the last time, said organizers with the cleanup society. “It’s one of the best things I’ve done in a long time,” said Mayor Sharon Gaetz, who was helping out at the cleanup. “It’s so rewarding.” Chilliwack MLA Gwen O’Mahony was spotted pitching in as well. Mayor Gaetz was happy to
hand out garbage bags to a family camping nearby, and found they were eager to pitch in once asked. “Part of the problem is educating visitors from the city who don’t realize that what they bring in, they should take back with them when they leave.” The most common item was carelessly dumped empty beer cans — everywhere you looked. “They just toss them out of the cars,” she said. Although the collected garbage totals were less than past events, there was a solid turn-
out by dedicated river stewards. One of the large items was a discarded pool table, along with an old television and lots of tires. Since the first cleanup about 10 years ago, about 80,000 tonnes have been taken off the riparian zones of the VedderChilliwack system. Plans are under way for the group’s BC Rivers’ Day celebration on Sept. 30 with registration at the Chilliwack Fish and Game club house. More at www.cleanrivers.ca. Video: youtu.be/0C9tr0pWvag jfeinberg@theprogress.com twitter.com/CHWKjourno
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