The Chilliwack
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Fraser Valley Philharmonic brings ‘Mostly Mozart’.
Chilliwack’s water ‘Best in B.C.’
Chiefs recruiting California kids.
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, J U N E 3 , 2 0 1 5
Sex cards distributed to middle school students, ‘inappropriate’
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Jessica Peters The Progress The school district has apologized to parents of middle school students who received “graphic and inappropriate” cards describing sexual acts and sexual street slang. The cards were given to a few of the students at C.H.A.N.C.E. Alternate last Thursday, following a presentation on healthy relationships. They were tucked into a takeaway bag of items for some, but not all, of the students. The presentation was given by Sto:lo Health, and the material to be used was previously approved by Chilliwack school district staff when it was presented at the Sto:lo alternate school. But the explicit cards used in the C.H.A.N.C.E. bags were not approved, said Rohan Arulpragasam, assistant superintendent of schools. And now, the school district is apologizing to all families affected by the distribution of the material. The decks of cards, created for and distributed by the AIDS Committee of Toronto, describe several different types of sexual acts and urge readers to perform the acts in safer ways. They use what could be deemed as obscene references and vulgar language. The Progress spoke with ACT about their card’s intended use and audience. “The A-Z sex cards that we produced are intended for gay, bi and queer men who are generally in bars or bathhouses,” said Chris Thomas, communications coordinator for ACT. “They are used in outreach as an engagement tool, something to get guys into conversations that can be difficult to get off the ground. They’re one of our Continued: CARDS/ p11
New bowler, Del Affleck (left), gets advice from Chilliwack Lawn Bowling Club member Jim McNeil during an open house at the greens on Saturday. The club, located at the corner of Edward Street and Princess Avenue, is welcoming new members to join. Lawn bowling season runs from May to September. For more info, email chilliwacklawnbowlingclub@gmail.com, or call club president Carol Bell at 604-823-6324. You can also go to sites.google.com/site/chilliwacklawnbowlingclub. JENNA HAUCK/ PROGRESS
Highway median barrier still saving lives Jennifer Feinberg The Progress The cable-wire barrier stretched along the Chilliwack section of the Trans Canada Highway has done it again. A driver left the highway last week, hitting the median wire near Prest Road, before rolling over. The motorist, who may have suffered a medical emergency before the crash on Friday morning, was later transported to hospital with unknown injuries, said RCMP. But the driver survived the highway crash, possibly as a direct result of bouncing off the high-tech wire barrier and coming to rest in the grassy median.
“It certainly did its job in this case,” confirmed RCMP Staff Sgt. Dave Peet, head of Fraser Valley Traffic Services, speaking about the median wire barrier that runs from Annis Road to Lickman Road. “Those wires save lives. This is a real technological advance in road safety and engineering. You don’t have to go any further than the I-5 to also see them in action across the line.” The wire tension is “incredible,” he noted. The barrier has the unique ability to absorb the enormous impact of vehicle collisions, keeping them from catapulting back out toward traffic and crashing into other vehicles. “Anytime you can prevent a
FOR LIFE’S ’S
head-on crash, you’ve done something right,” said Mike Weightman, road safety coordinator for ICBC in the Fraser Valley. When the first section of wirecable barrier went up along Highway 1 in 2007, it was the first time the technology had ever been installed on a major B.C. highway, with wire ropes supported by collapsible posts and anchor polls. By design, the energy of any impact is absorbed by the wires and posts, which reduces the chance of injury and vehicle damage. It was a notorious section of the Trans Canada with a history of cross-over crashes. The local MLAs of the day pushed Ministry of Transportation to try out the
wire barrier concept, with the support of local community members. They went ahead with the wire barrier, installing it at a cost of about $364,000, with about $30,000 chipped in from ICBC. The idea was to cut down the number of fatal crashes and severity of injuries on the grassy medians separating the lanes of traffic. The first extension of the median wire barrier went in going east from Prest to Annis Road at a cost of just over $632,000. Then it was extended all the way to Lickman Road, in a joint provincial and federal project that cost about $1 million and was completed in 2010. jfeinberg@theprogress.com twitter.com/chwkjourno
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