The Chilliwack
Progress Friday
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Chilliwack Agropur plant closing Consolidation plans will affect 42 local employees Jennifer Feinberg The Progress Chilliwack’s Agropur milk processing plant on Yale Road east will be closed by this time next year, affecting 42 employees. The decision was made public on Wednesday by Agropur Cooperative and is part of the “optimization” of its B.C. milk processing operations. Mayor Sharon Gaetz expressed regret that Agropur is moving out of town. The dairy plant had history as a Sealtest site and Milk Maid before that, and Gaetz said she wished there was some way they could remain in Chilliwack. “That site had become an important landmark, a “fixture” to locals seeking an ice cream or other dairy products,” she said. The plant, located next to Little Mountain Greenhouse on Yale Road East will be shut down by late October 2016. “To remain competitive, Agropur must review and optimize its processing operations on an ongoing basis. Following the recent acquisition of the Burnaby facility, Agropur has decided to consolidate its operations and redirect production to its two other plants in British Columbia,” said CEO Robert Coallier. The Chilliwack employees will be entitled to a support program and the opportunity to apply for equivalent positions at other Agropur facilities, as well as severance pay and continued access to Agropur’s Employee Assistance Program. Agropur officials noted they are keenly aware of the impact locally and will try to minimize it. “The decision to close Chilliwack and transfer its volume to our existing B.C. manufacturing facilities was a difficult one,” said Serge Paquette, president of Agropur Canada. “It is in no way reflective of the hard work and commitment of our employees at Chilliwack.” jfeinberg@theprogress.com twitter.com/chwkjourno
G.W. Graham Secondary School students performed the annual Remembrance Day production for local veterans at the Masonic Hall on Oct. 30. Written and directed by Damon Fultz, the cast will perform the production in the school theatre on Nov. 10. Here, Blake Pyne delivers a monologue as a Canadian soldier who fought in Afghanistan. DON SCHOENENBERGER PHOTO
Remembrance play more than a moment of silence Sam Bates The Progress The Remembrance Day ceremony at G.W. Graham Secondary School stands apart from most. For the past 14 years, it has included a special theatre production to commemorate the historical day. Each year, local veterans are given a premiere performance a week earlier at the Chilliwack Masonic Hall. Emotions are raw, and tears flow with the applause. This year was no different. Theatre director and drama teacher Damon Fultz was motivated to bring meaning back to Remembrance Day after sitting through an “awful” ceremony in 2000, which consisted of a
poorly memorized rendition of In Flanders Fields, followed by a 10-minute video. Coming from a family of veterans, “I just felt that something more meaningful had to happen. So that’s when I started this amazing journey.” Fultz’s Remembrance Day productions have a real impact, because they are real. Every story, every painful memory, every graphic detail came from the lips of actual veterans, or family members on their behalf. Fultz listened to more than 40 individuals in legions, living rooms, or bars, wherever they were comfortable. Some stories he heard were quintessentially Canadian. Like when troops stepped off the
line in Afghanistan and walked into a Tim Hortons. Or the ball hockey game that continued all through the night. But mostly, he heard stories that broke his heart. A small cast of Grade 12 students bring those stories to the stage in Fultz’s Afghanistan War script this year. The multi-media production features live action and music that draws you into the intense emotion, in combination with authentic video footage and photography from the front lines that allows the audience to see the bigger picture. Even Fultz still shudders at some of the footage. “I’m trying to get people to react emotionally,” he explained, “because then they can start thinking.” Actors Blake Pyne and
Damien Commodore deliver powerful monologues. They talk about missing home. What it’s like to disarm an IED bomb. Where they hid from ‘Timmy Taliban’ gunfire. Having to ask yourself, “Am I a killer?” They recall the sound of screams after a thundering explosion. And the smell of the blood on their uniform from a child they tried to save. And they reveal what it’s like for those who made it home, only to lose everything. And for some, their lives. For the veteran audience, the production is a way to thank them and their families for the scarifies they’ve made to ensure our freedom and safety. Continued: WAR/ p3
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