OPINION ON CONFLICT District issues legal summation
NEW ASSISTANT CHIEF HIRED
Rob Collins will start new role March 17
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POLICE SEEK SUSPECT Two women have reported a suspicious man
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COUNTDOWN TO THE
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14 Friday, February 7, 2014
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Downtown plans include tech centre Alina Konevski
MISSION RECORD
Although the final tenants of the district’s new downtown building are still to be confirmed, officials have major plans for 7337 Welton Street – including creating a technological centre of excellence, housing the B.C. Winter Games, and potentially even moving some District of Mission functions to the building. The district purchased the approximate 11,000 sq. ft. building – central to the district’s downtown revitalization plan – for $1.95 million in December. Just an hour after officially taking possession of the former Buy-Low Foods building on Friday, Mayor Ted Adlem cut the red ribbon during an opening ceremony and staff, councillors, and members of the public wandered the spartan rooms and strategized how best to use them. Downtown business association board president Carlo Billinger congratulated the councillors on the purchase on Friday. “There’s a lot of talk in the past, but you guys are the first ones that actually made the difference ... It’s a courageous step to take, because you have to justify what you’re doing, and I believe … we can come up with a long-term plan that will show the people that this was a right decision to do. Great big thank you for stepping to the plate.” The first new tenant will be the B.C. Winter Games, which will stage its command centre in the front 5,266 sq. ft. space from next week through to the games themselves from Feb. 20 to 23. The building’s sole existing tenant, the Fraser Valley Child Development Centre, will remain in the back 3,000 sq. ft., out of which
the non-profit provides services to children with developmental needs. Other plans are less solidified, with district officials actively negotiating to bring exciting new tenants to the space. The first is to set up a technological centre of excellence in the front of the building. The centre – a brand new concept for Mission – would be an incubation facility for emerging information and communications technology (ICT) companies, where the companies would receive help from the non-profit Sumas Regional Consortium of High Tech in commercializing and marketing their products. A study by Mission’s Economic Development Select Committee identified ICT as a niche opportunity for the city a few years back. Tech companies are growing, have CARLO BILLINGER a low resource footprint, and provide high-paying jobs, explained Stacey Crawford, economic development officer with the District of Mission. At the same time, Mission provides a location that is more affordable than other tech enclaves in the Lower Mainland, such as Burnaby and Surrey, while being close enough to a major commercial centre, Vancouver. Crawford admits it is a leap of faith, but “we do believe we have the environment that these specialists tend to want to be around and live in, and we are taking advantage of that.” The district is in talks with Ray Szabada, president of i-Open Technologies and one of the pioneers behind the tech centre of excellence idea, to move his company to 7337 Welton St. as early as July. If the deal is
. . . long-term plan will show people this was the right decision . . .
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Halq’eméylem language taught in Mission schools Alina Konevski MISSION RECORD
Three decades after the province’s last residential school closed in Mission, Halq’eméylem is being incorporated into the regular curriculum at seven schools in the district. “A second language is good no matter what, but it’s especially significant because
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of the historical, cultural, and emotional significance,” said Deroche elementary principal Sue McLeod. “Our aboriginal population lost their language through the residential schools and the Indian hospitals. It’s pretty significant that this is now provided for these students and their families.” Seven of 10 students at Deroche are aborigCONTINUED ON 13
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Peter Lindley, Halq’eméylem teacher at Deroche elementary, gives students and staff a Halq’eméylem translation of their English names during a ceremony on Feb. 4. ALINA KONEVSKI PHOTO