The Chilliwack
Progress Thursday
27
3
Scene
44
News
Sports
Ladies
Braidwood
Chiefs
There are lots of laughs in the Players’ Guild Leading Ladies.
Taser changes working, judge says.
Red-hot Chiefs face tall task on Island.
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 1 8 , 2 0 1 2
Restorative justice gets green light for funding
■ L OOKING
FOR
L EADS
AT THE
J OB F AIR
Jennifer Feinberg
They’re one of the busiest
The Progress
Jennifer Feinberg The Progress
Chilliwack’s Restorative Justice group got most of the money it was requesting for 2013 under the city’s Community Development Initiatives funding. Council approved a total of $31,500 on Tuesday — the same amount it gave last year to the Chilliwack Restorative Justice and Youth Advocacy Association, and just short of the $34,000 the group was requesting. “We were trying to slowly increase the funding so we could grow our program,” said CRJYAA executive director Kim McLandress, after the council meeting. “We’re extremely thankful for the support the city provides.” About a third of the funding is in cash, she said, while the city also covers inkind costs for office space on Wellington Avenue, utilities and supplies. Recognized as restorative leaders in the province, the local group has been holding offenders accountable to their victims and the community since 1998. It assists them in making amends and repairing the harm they’ve done. As an alternative to the formal criminal justice system, restorative justice provides support to victims and offenders alike, facilitating things so an incident can be resolved directly between affected parties — without going to court. “We are listed as the third busiest program in British Columbia which has to do with our strong partnerships with RCMP and businesses within the community,” McLandress wrote in the funding application. In 2011 they opened 159 files, and more than 3,800 people have benefited from the program since it started. “We are proud to note that since the Continued: JUSTICE/ p5
Open houses rolled out for OCP review
Jennifer Dollard of Teck, a mining company, speaks with potential employee Mark Schmid during the B.C. Jobs Start Here Job Fair hosted by the Government of B.C. at the new UFV campus on Tuesday afternoon. For more info, go to www.bcjobsplan.ca. JENNA HAUCK/ PROGRESS
$1.25 1-12T CS17
The question of how Chilliwack should manage its growth between now and 2040 is being officially launched. A public consultation plan was rolled out at city hall Tuesday to provide a series of feedback opportunities in the upcoming review of the Official Community Plan. The first open house is set for Nov. 22 at UFV in Sardis, while another session will be held at Evergreen Hall on Nov. 26. But aside from the traditional open house format, city officials will also engage the public using everything from social media to Chiefs’ events. Council received a staff update on Tuesday in a presentation called ‘2040 Chilliwack: OCP Review Public Engagement Program’ from Karen Stanton, manager of long range planning. The OCP review process will take about a year. It’s being triggered because the population of Chilliwack has topped 83,000, closing in on the OCP review threshold of 85,000 people. “It’s imperative for the citizens of Chilliwack to get involved in this process,” said Acting Mayor Jason Lum, after the council meeting. Continued: OCP/ p4