The Chilliwack
Progress Thursday
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A group of kids fund raise to fight cancer.
Local dancers take on the world.
Parksville stands in GWG’s provincial path.
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 8 , 2 0 1 3
Recycling rezoning hearing set for Tuesday Jennifer Feinberg The Progress A property on Cannor Road might one day house a facility to deal with materials such as low-level PCB-containing oil, and mercury-filled lamps. A rezoning hearing is set for Dec. 3 at Chilliwack city hall to consider a proposal to facilitate the construction of a new waste recycling and transfer station. The application is to rezone a 1.78 ha portion of the 9.1 ha property on what is known as the Cattermole Lands on Cannor Road, near Highway 1. The property is currently zoned heavy industrial, which would not permit the waste recycling use so a rezoning is required, with a special industrial zone, M6, proposed, according to the staff report. That is considered the “most appropriate zone,” for the facility, it said, since the zone specifically permits some uses “with the potential to be incompatible” with surrounding land uses. If approved, the zoning would allow the monthly recycling of up to 500,000 mercury and non-mercury lamps, and 5,000 litres of electrical transformer oil with a PCB level of between 50 and 500 parts per million. Hazardous materials eligible for transfer would include flammable and corrosive liquids, as well as “toxic and infectious substances.” The rezoning would allow a 500-drum maximum, plus three trailers in the loading dock. Examples of materials not permitted in the proposed M6 zone would be pathological, radioactive or electrical waste. All activities would have to be conducted indoors and the applicant would have to enter into a Good Neighbour Agreement with a protocol for dealing with complaints. Continued: ZONING/ p23
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The byelection for Chilliwack school trustee is this Saturday. JENNA HAUCK/ PROGRESS
Trustee candidates countdown to Saturday Katie Bartel The Progress This Saturday will determine the future for one candidate vying for a seat on Chilliwack school board. Election day for the school trustee byelection is Saturday, Nov. 30. Four polling stations will be open from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. at Chilliwack middle school, Sardis elementary, Cultus Lake elementary and Rosedale traditional – all in the gymnasium. Candidates include Ben Besler, Dan Coulter, Karen Jarvis, Corey Neyrinck, Harold Schmidt and Rob Stelmaschuk.
Election results will be posted on The Progress website at www. theprogress.com Saturday evening as soon as they’re released. Candidates have been campaigning for the past month, attending all-candidates meetings, answering media questions, and some going door-todoor to get the vote out. However, school board elections, often viewed as the “forgotten election,” have notoriously produced low voter turnout. The last municipal election in 2011 had 15 per cent of the eligible voter population voting – the second worse turnout in all of B.C. And yet, everyone – not just
parents – have a stake in the success of public schools. School trustees are responsible for setting and maintaining the school district’s budget; for creating policy to guide the school district; and for hiring a superintendent. Many of the decisions made by trustees today will affect the community for years to come. In the final question posed to school trustee candidates, The Progress asked why Chilliwack residents, whether they have children or not, should vote in the Nov. 30 byelection. These were the responses from the candidates who replied. Harold Schmidt: Who you
vote for will determine policies that affect yours and every child’s education, including, among others, those with special needs, giftedness, and those who are bullied. A large percentage of your property taxes are set by and designated for school district use. The freedoms, rights, and privileges you enjoy now can only survive if individuals exercise these as a responsibility and a right in any democratic process. Corey Neyrinck: The community should go out and vote because everyone always is sayContinued: BYELECTION/ p5