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Wayward wallet, cash returned Cabby finds hundred-dollar bills blowing in the street Jennifer Feinberg The Progress It’s not everyday that you lose a wallet with more than $1,000 in cash and you get it back. But it happened to Nicholas Bosch of Chilliwack. He had filled up his car at the Esso at First and Young, and then drove away, not realizing his wallet was on top of the vehicle. His black Buxton wallet flew off the roof with $1,000 in $100 bills fluttering into the street. Chilliwack Taxi cab driver Surinder Narula was driving eastbound down First Avenue, with a fare, at about 3 p.m. last Friday when he spotted the money rolling in the breeze. He pulled the cab over, paused the meter and started picking it up, finding six bills, and then the black wallet. His customer hopped out and gathered some of the cash, and they put it all together. A passerby also picked up some money and handed it to the driver. “It was so windy, the money had blown down the block,” said Narula. They had every intention of hunting down the owner to return it if possible, he said. They often find things left behind in their taxis, like phones or tablets, and they return the items as soon as they can track down the owners. Chilliwack Taxi general manager Kuldeep Singh took the reins and drove out to the Chilliwack address listed on the driver’s licence in the wallet. He left his business card and a note about what his cab driver found, and left with the hope they’d get a call. Bosch told Singh when he called the local taxi company that he was “shocked” that he was getting his wallet back, with most of the cash intact. He appreciated the gesture very much. The next day he visited the offices of Chilliwack taxi to thank them and have Continued: WALLET/ p7
A worker separates material from a local demolition site into special bags for handling asbestos on Wednesday. GREG KNILL/ PROGRESS
Stop work order issued at Shannon Court again Greg Knill The Progress Workers clad in protective gear were sifting through debris at a Chilliwack demolition site this week, separating by hand anything that might be contaminated with asbestos. But the work was short-lived. The Yale Road site had been shut down two weeks ago by WorkSafe BC following concerns the contractor had failed to ensure the building was free of asbestos before the demolition began. Provincial legislation requires contractors to have a building inspected by a qualified individual before demolition begins to ensure no asbestos is present. If found, the material must be properly handled and disposed of. Failure to do that, says
WorkSafe BC, exposes workers to a “high risk of serious injury, serious illness or death.” The demolition site is at the former Shannon Court Motel near Yale and Menzies. Work began on Aug. 6, but was shut down by the end of the day by WorkSafe BC inspectors. A “stop work order” was posted at the site while tests were done to see if asbestos was present. Asbestos, when sealed and left undisturbed, is not necessarily dangerous. However, if the fibers become airborne they can cause cancers and other lung diseases in workers years later. Indeed, asbestos has emerged as B.C.’s top workplace killer, with 581 related deaths in the past decade, 77 of them last year. That statistic has prompted WorkSafe BC to step up enforcement in the province to ensure
asbestos is being handled properly. The agency conducted 210 inspections last year and found 43 per cent of hazardous material surveys were inadequate, often failing to detect asbestos that further tests proved was present. Often used in insulation, the material can also be found in drywall, floor tiles, cement pipes, linoleum and spray-on fireproofing. Five B.C. cities – Vancouver, Coquitlam, Port Coquitlam, Saanich and Nanaimo – require demolition permit applicants to first provide hazardous material survey results. Chilliwack does not. At the Shannon Court site, asbestos was confirmed Friday and a plan put in place to remove the debris. However, work was halted again Wednesday when an
inspection by WorkSafe BC found that “safe work procedures were still not adequate for new conditions found at the site.” Inspectors are continuing to investigate and will provide additional information once their report is complete. Once removed, the asbestos will likely be transported to Alberta – the closest area outside Metro Vancouver (which only accepts waste from its region) that handles asbestos. Not all the contaminated debris makes it that far, however. In June about two dozen large bags of asbestos were found dumped just off Chilliwack Lake Road. No charges were ever laid in that incident. editor@theprogress.com ~ With files from Jeff Nagel and Jessica Peters
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