The Chilliwack
Progress Thursday
23
9
Scene
37
Neighbours
Sports
Singing
Dog Days
Chiefs
Sardis Secondary is Singing in the Rain.
Paws and applause for. Randy Newbury
First place Chiefs take on the Cents.
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, N O V E M B E R 2 2 , 2 0 1 2
Grizzlies head to provincials
■ K ETTLE D RIVE K ICKS O FF S ATURDAY
In the program’s first year the AA team earns a berth in the AAA championship Eric Welsh The Progress
On Dec. 1 the GW Graham Grade 8 Grizzlies football team will take to the field at BC Place Stadium for a provincial title game against Notre Dame. It will arguably be the most significant football game a team from Chilliwack has ever played. Yes, there have been minor football teams who have advanced to provincial championships. The midget Giants did it in 2009 and the peewee Giants did it in 2010, coached by current GWG bench boss Laurie Smith. Admirable accomplishments both, but here’s what makes the Grizzlies so exceptional. We’re talking about a first year program. At this time last year, GWG football was little more than a concept on paper. Starting a program is no small task and usually carries substantial growing pains. Taking a group of teenagers, some with football experience and some without, and moulding them into a winning team is supposed to take time and most coaches will be happy fielding a competitive team that might be good enough to make the playoffs. So what do these kids do? They roll through the regular season with just one setback. They lose 32-22 to Pitt Meadows in week one of the regular season, and they don’t look back. They finish 5-1, good for first place in their AA conference. Then the fun really starts. Smith’s crew is bumped up to the AAA playoffs. The reward for his middleweight squad is the opportunity to get clobbered by the AAA heavyweights. Continued: HISTORY/ p6
Bob Provost, 82, has been volunteering with the Chilliwack Salvation Army’s annual Christmas kettle campaign for 10 years. The annual campaign starts this weekend and features, for the first time, a way for donors to make contributions by texting HOPE1003 to 45678. See story, page 5. JENNA HAUCK/ PROGRESS
Gains being made helping children at risk But more needs to be done, council hears Jennifer Feinberg The Progress
Chilliwack has the highest percentage of vulnerable and atrisk children and youth in B.C. That was one of the troubling facts offered by Karen Steegstra, Chilliwack’s Child and Youth Community Coordinator, in her National Child Day report to Chilliwack council on Tuesday. “The visible need we might see as we drive through the
downtown core is only the surface of challenges facing many children, youth, and families in Chilliwack,” Steegstra told council. “I was shocked to discover that Chilliwack has the highest percentage of vulnerable children and at-risk youth in our province.” She was also “deeply disturbed” to learn that a Community Action Team had to be established to “combat the
sexual exploitation of youth” in Chilliwack, and that cocaine use here is relatively minor compared to the prevalence of the highly-addictive crystal meth. For many local kids, she noted, the only meals they get are the ones dished out in school breakfast and lunch programs. But in meeting a range of service providers and directors of local programs, Steegstra also said she was very impressed by the “high level of compassion” they showed for the at-risk and vulnerable, and the passion for
ensuring youth get the resources needed to be successful. It was noted that Early Years programming had significant social benefits, according to the research, and these types of prevention and intervention programs and services are offered locally at Gateway, Chilliwack Community Services, Sardis Doorway and the Fraser Valley Child Development Centre. “When it comes to collaboration among agencies and Continued: PRIORITY/ p7
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