The Chilliwack
Progress Wednesday
3
15
Helping
Big Band
Chiefs
Making a difference in Afghanistan.
Artist makes music with nature.
Chiefs tighten defence as they head to island.
Feature
26
Scene
Sports
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 • W E D N E S D AY, D E C E M B E R 4 , 2 0 1 3
Coulter hits the ground running
■ P ROVINCIAL C HAMPIONS
Voter turnout 2.3 per cent Katie Bartel The Progress Dan Coulter knows he has a steep learning curve ahead of him and is excited for the adventure. With just one year to prove himself, Coulter, the newest trustee to join Chilliwack school board, is already looking at ways of making a difference in the Chilliwack school district. He wants to get more students involved at the board level, and hopes to entice the Chilliwack board to write an open letter to the B.C. government, including the premier, finance minister and education minister – similar to that of Vancouver school board – advocating for more public school funding. “I don’t know exactly how [this year’s] going to play out; it’s going to be a big learning curve,” he told The Progress earlier this week. “I’m really going to have to just get in there and dig.” Last Saturday Coulter won the Chilliwack school board byelection earning 520 of the votes cast, beating out second place finisher Harold Schmidt by 181 votes. Voter turnout for the byelection was tepid, at best. The 1,453 ballots cast were far short of the nearly 10,000 cast in 2011, which was the second worst voter turnout in the province. With roughly 64,000 eligible voters in Chilliwack, participation was around 2.3 per cent. The Chilliwack school district has approximately 1,800 teachers and support staff and 14,000 students. Coulter, who billed himself as the first “progressive” candidate to seek a seat on Chilliwack school board, was endorsed by CUPE BC and former school trustee Louise Piper, whose resignation necessitated the byelection. He also had the support of former NDP MLA for ChilliwackHope, Gwen O’Mahony Continued: COULTER/ p6
The GW Graham junior varsity Grizzlies celebrate after winning the AA provincial football crown with a 23-20 win over Parksville’s Ballenas Whalers on Saturday. The Grizzlies are the first Chilliwack team to win the provincial title. Story, page 23. JENNA HAUCK/ PROGRESS
The economic argument for pipeline expansion Jennifer Feinberg The Progress The message from Kinder Morgan to the Chilliwack Chamber of Commerce was about “maximizing” potential from its proposed $5.4 billion Trans Mountain pipeline expansion. The numbers – including estimated jobs, taxes and economic spinoffs – were rolled out Thursday in an upbeat lunchtime presentation at the Coast Chilliwack Hotel by Greg Toth, senior director for Trans Mountain Expansion Project.
Communities will act as “hubs” for the pipeline twinning project, but they need to prepare should the pipeline project be approved for construction in 2016. “The one message I want them to take away is that we are working hard to maximize local opportunities,” said Toth, after the luncheon. “That is the vision of our president Ian Anderson, and that is the vision our project team is working toward.” Skilled jobs and other spinoffs are coming this way for communities who position themselves
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accordingly, he said. The pipeline project would snake through parts of the Fraser Valley, including parts of Chilliwack and Abbotsford, although the exact route has yet to be finalized. A facilities application to triple the size of the Trans Mountain pipeline is due to be filed with the National Energy Board on Dec. 16, after 18 months of public engagement. That explains the timing of the talk at the Chilliwack Chamber luncheon. “I think it’s a great thing for Chilliwack,” said Brian Brind,
owner of a Husky station, while introducing Trans Mountain engineer Greg Toth to the luncheon crowd at the Coast Chilliwack Hotel Thursday. Brind, a Hope truck stop owner, recounted how his bottom line increased 23 per cent, and the only cause he could attribute it to, was a job completed by a pipeline company in the area. That’s the kind of spinoff project officials are talking about. But not everyone is convinced. Earlier this month, activists Continued: PIPE/ p14
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