The Chilliwack
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Review spices up the Cultural Centre.
Chilliwack teens offered ‘good, clean fun’.
BCHL Showcase returns to Chilliwack.
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, F E B R U A R Y 2 1 , 2 0 1 3
Public meeting on chlorination set for Tuesday Jennifer Feinberg The Progress
It wasn’t by accident that city officials rented the biggest venue in town — the Chilliwack Alliance Church — for the public meeting Feb. 26 to discuss the touchy subject of drinking water chlorination. Mayor Sharon Gaetz said they wanted to give as many Chilliwack residents as possible a chance to voice opinions about chlorination of Chilliwack’s pristine drinking water at the event to be hosted by Fraser Health. Glen MacPherson, head of public works, gave council a detailed report Tuesday on Chilliwack’s official reaction to Fraser Health’s chlorination edict, mapping out where they’re at now, and the next steps. The formal response to Fraser Health had three main points, he said. They are asking for data, or the actual evidence, upon which the chlorination decision was made; for consideration of alternative options; and, for a public consultation opportunity for Chilliwack residents. This came on the heels of the order by Fraser Health from Feb. 1 for Chilliwack to begin adding a secondary disinfectant, chlorine, to the awardwinning drinking water, and to continually monitor the levels of the disinfectant. It’s caused a maelstrom of reaction at city hall. Hundreds of emails from angry residents as well as media calls have poured in to the mayor’s office. Some broadcast reporters from outside Chilliwack are getting the facts wrong, adding to the confusion and anger. So is there E.coli in Chilliwack water? The head of public works posed the question himself, and then answered it: “There is a big resounding ‘no’ there.” MacPherson emphasized the three incidents of “minimal” E.coli detection, in 2009, 2011 and 2012, were isolated and confined to hillside reservoirs, which operate separately from the main water distribution system. “Other than the three incidents, there is no E.coli in the water, and certainly it is not there today,” he said. He underlined that Fraser Health has acknowledged that it views Chilliwack’s groundwater source, the Sardis/Vedder Aquifer as “excellent,” and sees no risk in it. “What can I say, looking over 25 years of records, there was zero E.coli was found in the main distribution system,” MacPherson said. Continued: WATER/ p13
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Joe Krajnyak, principal at Promontory Heights elementary, speaks with students about a playground at the school which was vandalized recently. JENNA HAUCK/ PROGRESS
Paying the price for school vandalism Alina Konevski The Progress
A slide at a local elementary school was torched again this week, another act of petty vandalism that is a common nuisance at Chilliwack schools. “It’s unfortunate it happened. It’s a great place to play...and it’s one less thing for kids to play on,” says Promontory Heights Elementary School principal Joe Krajnyak. The slide was previously burned twice in 2011. This time the damage was less extensive, with only a six inch hole as result. But this made the slide unusable and unsafe, and the City of Chilliwack has already taken it down.
Two weeks ago, the same school had some windows broken in, and thieves took a fire extinguisher, for which the district will need to pay. That was one incident of a spate of 28 acts of vandalism at Chilliwack schools since January, most of which were break-ins. The norm is five or fewer per month. “They appear to be related. This isn’t an upward trend that we’re experiencing...This is an anomalous blip in the stats around break-ins,” says district secretary-treasurer Maureen Carradice. “The vast majority of the vandalism that we experience is defacement of the building.” RCMP caught two people in the act of a break-in on Feb. 10,
and laid charges after a chase. The Chilliwack residents, a 32-year-old woman and 34-yearold man, were released on conditions and are due to appear in court on Feb. 26. RCMP speculate that the thieves were after electronic equipment, and expect the charges will end this year’s unusually high rate of vandalism. The school district spends about $200,000 of its annual facility grant on various loss prevention measures. Lately, some schools have received upgraded security systems, motion sensors, cameras, and reinforced doors and hardware. The district also installed several pricey roll shutters and security screens. The “dark campus” program, in
place for five years, is meant to deter graffiti, but may be facilitating theft, noted Carradice at a school board meeting last week. Krajnyak says that the district is doing all it can, because of the challenge of monitoring and predicting vandalism. “I don’t think anyone can do any more than can be done. It’s random acts. You can’t prevent random acts of vandalism.” Promontory Heights is one of the schools farthest from the city centre. “There are a lot of false alarms,” adds Carradice. The City’s vandalism costs were $87,785 in the final quarter of 2012, a $22,333 decrease from 2011, according to a report released Tuesday.
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