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Chiefs dominating Express in first-round.
New jet boat adds depth to SAR.
Students get tips on the art of story telling.
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Chilliwack budget ready for public input on March 17 Jennifer Feinberg The Progress
Mary Martz will be heading back to Ukraine more than once this year with a team of others from Chilliwack and the Lower Mainland. JENNA HAUCK/ PROGRESS
Building support for Ukraine Jennifer Feinberg The Progress Mary Martz of Chilliwack has only been home for a few weeks, and is already planning a return to conflict-torn Ukraine. “I’ll be leading a team of volunteers,” said Martz, project manager with Hungry for Life. “It’s a very quick trip this time. The need is great.” They’ll arrive on the ground in western Ukraine by mid-April with the goal of buying bulk supplies of food, to assist refugees, widows and families in need. They’ll be looking to source
non-perishables, like canned meat, rice, buckwheat flour, vegetable oil to last about a month. “Our main mission will be to show love in action,” said Martz. They’re heading to a town outside the armed conflict area. Hungry for Life is helping with logistics to facilitate the trip, but the relief workers are all volunteers, who’ve raised their own funds to offset any costs. A team of eight, including Martz, will see volunteers from Chilliwack, Abbotsford and North Vancouver. “There is still room for three more,” she said, adding the
Fraser Valley team fell into place very well on its own. The conflict in Ukraine gained worldwide attention when it broke out in April 2014 after Russian Federation’s military forces invaded and occupied key Ukrainian installations. There were bloody skirmishes between Ukrainians and separatists that have seen more than 5,000 people killed. Martz went about a year ago to help an orphanage that was struggling. It’s hard for many people to understand what the conflict is about, the Ukrainian born Martz
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noted. She has siblings, parents and friends still living there. Despite a ceasefire that was called, both sides have been using the time to re-arm. It is a mission of faith that the B.C. team is undertaking, but the work is also action-based to feed the hungry, with more than a million people displaced. “All donations are 100 per cent going to this project, and everybody is paying their own way. “Most of what we do is more about action than talking. They ask us, ‘Why would you come all
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Chilliwack is planning an exceptionally lean budget for 2015, but at least one city councillor expressed discomfort with some of its priorities. The 2015 financial plan is the leanest budget in almost 20 years with a proposed 1.49 tax rate increase — which will mean about $23 in taxes on a typical Chilliwack home. Several city councillors praised the continued fiscal restraint at the Tuesday meeting discussion, as well as welcoming the strong boost to public safety. The budget includes the hiring of two additional RCMP officers, two firefighters and a trainer, along with one more bylaw enforcement officer in Chilliwack. Road repairs will roll out to the tune of $12.6 million over four years. Construction will start soon on the Rail Trail with a pedestrian link as well as park improvements, and replacing storm drain culverts. But Coun. Sam Waddington said he felt compelled to vote against the 2015 financial plan bylaw in the end. He tried to get the bylaw withdrawn on Tuesday afternoon, but the motion to reconsider failed when it couldn’t get a seconder to support the idea. “I don’t mean to throw a wet blanket on the parade,” he said. “I know staff worked hard.” Coun. Waddington questioned the expenditure of $6.5 million on replacing the local curling rink in 2018, and made a comparison using the idea of building a “rock gym” for climbers, suggesting there may be the same level of support in each community. “It’s a lot of money for a private club,” he noted about curling, adding that there were a handful of things he would like to see more “scrutiny” on in terms of city spending. He also questioned the cost and advisability of renovating the existing city hall building as opposed to moving it downtown.