The Chilliwack
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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, O C T O B E R 4 , 2 0 1 2
Ecovillage gets final green light Servicing issues for unique Yarrow community get resolved Jennifer Feinberg The Progress
Yarrow Ecovillage members are now ready to move forward on their mixeduse development. “I think we can double underline the word ‘finally’ on this one,” said Coun. Jason Lum, at the Tuesday council meeting, referring to the six years Ecovillage members had been working toward final approval. Chilliwack council reconsidered and adopted a rezoning bylaw Tuesday that changed the zoning of the property from Rural Residential to an Ecovillage designation. The project had been held at third reading since 2006, until certain servicing requirements could be met, with issues arising from fire flow and waste water treatment concerns. Coun. Lum offered his congratulations on the rezoning milestone, and thanked staff as well as members living in the intentional and sustainable community known as Yarrow Ecovillage. “It’s been a long go,” he said. “It’s a neat place and I encourage you to go see what they are doing at the Ecovillage. It’s unique and they’ve integrated well into the community.” One of the ecovillage founders, Michael Hale, said after the meeting it was “gratifying” to get the blessing of staff and council in this way. The staff report noted that all the “outstanding technical issues” related to servicing had since been addressed. Now they can go ahead with constructing a wetland for waste water treatment and drainage, and the purchase of an electrical generator to increase water pressure to address fire flow issues. Continued: YARROW/ p7
Schoolmates at Ecole la Verendrye and the Cops for Cancer Tour de Valley team cheer as Makayla Morissette, 11, gets her head shaved at the school on Monday. Two staff members at Magicuts volunteered their time to help with the event. JENNA HAUCK/ PROGRESS
Tour de Valley cheers student’s sacrifice Jenna Hauck The Progress
Makayla Morissette jumps around the schoolyard, her six long pigtails bouncing up and down. Someone asks her if she’s nervous. “Nope!” she says with confidence. Are you excited, she’s asked. “Yep!” she says with a huge smile. The 11-year-old is about to get her hair cut — then shaved. It’s in memory of her grandmother, Gwen Sinding, who
died of cancer in August, 2011. During the summer, Makayla asked her mother, Adriana Brooks, if she could shave her head to raise money for cancer research. She didn’t want to simply cut her hair and donate it. She didn’t want someone else to shave their hair with her for support. She wanted to donate her hair, then have it shaved down to almost nothing — and she wanted to do it by herself. On Monday, in front of her schoolmates at Ecole la Verendrye, Makayla proudly sat in a chair and one-by-one, her naturally highlighted,
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brown-blonde pigtails were snipped off. Every time she held one of the nine-inch bunches of hair up in the air, people cheered. With her now-short and uneven hair sticking up in all directions, Jean Pothier from B.C. Sheriff Service, took an electric razor to her head to make the first shave. He was one of 25 cyclists that stopped by the school for the head shave that day along with his Tour de Valley team from Cops for Cancer. The team will be covering 875 km of road in the Fraser Valley alone over nine days,
from Sept. 27 to Oct. 5. The Tour de Valley team has raised more than $250,000 so far for the Canadian Cancer Society. For a team of one, Makayla herself has raised a fair bit of money for cancer research. She set a goal of $1,000, and surpassed that on Monday. She has now set a new fundraising goal of $2,500. To donate to Makayla’s fundraiser, go to www.justsplashit. com/mak/makaylapage.htm and click on the graphic. photo@theprogress.com twitter.com/PhotoJennalism