The Chilliwack
Progress Thursday
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In The Pink
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Pink tractor delivers cancer message at fair.
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Record number of SAR calls Saturday Jennifer Feinberg The Progress It was one emergency after the other for Chilliwack Search and Rescue on Saturday — their busiest day in the team’s history. “There were four separate incidents,” said Chilliwack SAR search manager Doug Fraser. “Those were the only calls we had all weekend, but it was non-stop.” Two incidents saw recreational vehicles driven over embankments on Aug. 2, as well as swimmers who got stranded and a lost hiker. Chilliwack SAR is the second busiest SAR team in the province, but search manager Dan McAuliffe, who has spent more than 30 years as a SAR volunteer said: “Four calls in one day is unprecedented.” The first was mid-afternoon Saturday on the long weekend, when an ATV rider went over an embankment on Liumchen Bench Road near Cultus Lake. (See story, page 6.) A Bell 407 helicopter from Valley Helicopters was on-scene to allow SAR crews to put together a HETS long-line rescue, and the rider was flown directly to Royal Columbian Hospital by air ambulance. While they were still on the first call, Chilliwack SAR was called to assist Hope SAR for another chopper based rescue at the Nickelmine Road recreation area north of Hope. This time it was a dirt bike driven over a steep embankment and had fallen more than 200 feet. HETS rescue technician Josef Seywerd was shocked by the rider’s relatively unscathed condition as he was being brought back up from the scene. “Aside from a few scrapes he appeared to be uninjured,” said Seywerd. While out on the second rescue, Hope SAR contacted Chilliwack SAR by radio to alert them to another emergency.
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Ken Stobbs’ family has owned a cottage on the Chilliwack River for more than 40 years. He now spends less time there due to constant noise from ATVs on the other side of the river. JENNA HAUCK/ PROGRESS
Paradise lost: Homeowners decry ATV noise Alina Konevski The Progress The reputed tranquility of the Chilliwack River Valley is attracting more and more permanent residents into new subdivisions off of Chilliwack Lake Road. But those living closest to the river are having their peaceful retreats disturbed by the sound of all-terrain vehicles. “This was a very, very, very quiet area. It just seems to have been invaded,” said Ken Stobbs. His family has owned a cottage on Bell Acres Road for four decades, where Stobbs, now a Vancouver resident, has spent most summer weekends. The family bought the property when
it was surrounded by wilderness and farmland. Now it’s in a subdivision with approximately 100 other properties. The lots lie alongside the Chilliwack River. Directly on the other side of the 50-metre wide divide is Crown land with a network of designated ATV trails. Residents say the sounds of all-terrain vehicles travels straight across the water. “It just rockets right across, just like they’re going past our bedroom water,” said Stobbs. “We have stopped going (to the cottage) basically because of this. It’s a really horrific situation.” On the morning of Saturday Aug. 3, a long weekend, the muffled sounds of quads and
dirtbikes were a common background noise. A handful of loud vehicles went by within the hour. According to several residents, it gets much worse, with the loudest going past as often as every few minutes. For those riding on the trails on the other side, it is easy to forget that there are several hundred residents a river width away, because the forest service road and trails are almost completely surrounded by woods. There are only a few places where a gap in the trees opens up to reveal the houses on the other side. Surrey resident and ATV rider Matt Paradis, for example, had no idea that there were permanent residents alongside the river. It
was his first time to the area on Saturday. “It’s hard to find a place where you can go and do this kind of stuff. They’ve cut it out of a lot of parts,” said Paradis. One third of the 250 campers at the designated campgrounds around Tamihi Bridge last weekend had ATVs, according to the recreation site supervisor. Another rider, a Chilliwack resident named Clayton, has been dirtbiking on the trails every week this summer. He knows about the houses on the other side and sympathizes with the noise complaints, but feels he has the right to ride the trails. “It’s one of the only places to Continued: FVRD/ p3