The Chilliwack
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Local RCMP dog Cargo is remembered for his service.
These Kids Wear Crowns coming home again.
Paul Linza: Emergency responder.
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Bus drivers’ biffy cost $56,000
■ T REE T OPPERS
Jennifer Feinberg The Progress
It’s a funny-looking structure in front of Salish Park. It’s the new, city-built washroom facilities for Chilliwack transit drivers, at an estimated cost of $56,000. “It was built because the bus drivers had nowhere to go, other than trying to rely on the kindness of local merchants,” said Mayor Sharon Gaetz. “It was all part of updating our transit system.” Part of the costs were associated with plumbing and electrical work, which isn’t “chump change,” she added. It was also time to address the deficiency of a dedicated washroom for the drivers. “They are very appreciative. It was time to do something about it,” said Gaetz. The small facility will be for the exclusive use of Chilliwack transit drivers only. “I see it as us looking after our bus drivers. We needed to do that. When they ask for something reasonable, like a bathroom, we’ll make it happen for them.”
Bella Melnuk, a Grade 6 student from Robertson elementary, helps decorate a Christmas tree as part of the Festival of Trees at the Coast Chilliwack Hotel on Wednesday. A dozen children from the school decorated one of 10 trees on display in the hotel lobby. Robertson’s theme was ‘green tree’ and all of their handmade ornaments were made from recycled materials such as popsicle sticks, film canisters, jigsaw puzzles, yarn, pine cones and even old math worksheets. The trees were donated by Highland L Christmas Tree Farm. JENNA HAUCK/ PROGRESS
jfeinberg@theprogress.com Twitter.com/chwkjourno
Who makes policy still an issue at school board Robert Freeman The Progress
City of Chilliwack will pay about $56,000 for a washroom for transit operators as part of recent changes made to transit routes.
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Chilliwack school trustees continued to wrangle over policy matters at the Tuesday board meeting, but managed to agree on a few items like a Rotary Club football sponsorship at G.W. Graham middle/secondary School. And the spending of $217,392 for two 42-passenger wheelchair buses. But most of the three-hour meeting was taken up by debate, heated at times, about who
makes school board policy — the trustees or district staff. The board earlier approved hiring a consultant in the hope of finding a way out of its dysfunctional morass. A motion on interim policy development was the first battleground Tuesday. The motion recommended that after a new policy or policy amendment comes to the board, it would go to staff for research and to draft a policy that would be returned to trustees for final approval. The motion also called for
the deletion of Policy 200 — the development of policies and regulations — and the deletion of the board policy committee from Policy 222 that sets out the board’s committees. Trustee Doug McKay, who made the motion, must have seen the opposition it would encounter from other trustees. “This is not a clandestine plan to circumvent policy,” he began. “It mirrors what we do right now, with the exception that instead of trustees crafting or drafting policy ... staff would do it.”
“What we are giving up as trustees is the writing of policy,” he said. But that didn’t sit well with trustees Heather Maahs, Martha Wiens or Silvia Dyck, who believe it is the responsibility of elected trustees to make policy. Dyck opposed the motion because she felt it “redundant” as board policy already states that policy matters come to trustees first for review, and then they direct staff to develop a policy. Continued: BOARD/ p15
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