Progress
The Chilliwack
Wednesday
3
15
26
Tail Fight
Music
Football
Mermaids beached at local leisure centres.
Songwriter’s circle returns.
Alberta adds another Grizzly grad.
News
Scene
Sports
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, M A R C H 2 3 , 2 0 1 6
Police pick off the distracted drivers Jennifer Feinberg The Progress Every call, text and tweet can wait. That’s the thinking behind the March Distracted Driving Enforcement campaign that is nationwide. Chilliwack drivers at Vedder and Luckakuck Way got a vivid reminder to leave the phone alone — or face a $167 fine and three points. A total of 77 tickets were handed out, and most were for distracted driving, like using a cell phone. “No call or text is so important it’s worth risking your life.” said Cpl. Mike Rail ”Let calls go to voicemail and ignore your text messages while driving.” Stats show someone is five times more likely to crash if they are on the phone or not paying attention to the road. Distracted driving kills 81 people on average every year. “It’s devastating,” said RCMP Const. Michael Sabulsky, acting corporal in charge of the Chilliwack detachment’s Traffic Section. “Today’s focus is distracted driving offences so we are focused on cell phones, as well as seat belts and anything else that presents a danger to the public.” A total of 37 people got dinged for being on their cell or other electronic device. Another 18 got written up for not wearing a seatbelt. Sixteen had a defective vehicle, and one got a 3-day Immediate Roadside Prohibition for alcohol. The local effort of the national Distracted Driving campaign was by Chilliwack Traffic section with partners Safer City, ICBC, Speed Watch and Fraser Valley Traffic Services. There was a constant stream of vehicles being pulled over on that sunny afternoon. “We got here earlier than planned,” said Sabulsky. “We haven’t stopped writing (tickets). We have probably 12 officers here and can’t keep up with the number of offences that we are seeing.” So why isn’t the message getting through to put the phone down? “That’s a good question,” the officer said. “We have all become so used to using our cell phones that I think it’s a habit for many people to simply have in their hands, and they tend to look down at it while driving. Well it’s not safe. It kills people and causes massive amounts of property damage.” Volunteers during the enforcement campaign were busy educating drivers, while officers wrote tickets or acted as spotters, including one in a cherry-picker above traf-
District learning to do with less (again) School district looks to absorb $1.3M shortfall Jessica Peters The Progress
It’s devastating, dangerous and deadly, said RCMP Const. Michael Sabulsky, acting head of the Chilliwack Traffic Section, about the impacts of distracted driving. The March Distracted Driving Enforcement campaign was held Thursday in Chilliwack, and 37 people were caught on their phones. RCMP Cpl. Lee Dyson used a high-powered scope to spot violations in traffic from the bucket of the cherry picker during the enforcement effort. JENNIFER FEINBERG/ THE PROGRESS
fic, used high powered scopes to see drivers using devices from great distances away. “It was an extremely successful day in both enforcement and awareness action,” said Const. Sabulsky. Violation tickets (77) served Thursday: 18 - Failing to wear seat belt
37 - Using electronic device 16 - Defective vehicle 1 - Improper motorcycle helmet 1 - Red light at intersection 3 - Notice and orders (unsafe vehicles) 1 - Three-day immediate roadside prohibition (alcohol)
It’s going to be another lean year for the Chilliwack School District, as the second year of an administration savings cut imposed by the government rolls out across the province. This year’s portion of that plan was released last week, in the Provincial Operating Grants Manual. Between this school year and next, Chilliwack will have received a budget shortfall of $1,284,249. “Overall, very disappointing,” said Gerry Slykhuis, secretary treasurer for SD33. But because of planning made in last year’s budget, he said the district is in good shape to deal with the smaller grant amount. “At this point, we’re not looking at big cuts this year,” he said. He is looking at ways to absorb the loss of revenue leading up to the next budget committee on April 27, where he’ll present the preliminary budget. Board trustees will have their first look at that budget on May 3. While he still has some work ahead of him, Slykhuis doesn’t foresee the school district dipping into reserves to offset the lowered revenue. He will be looking into other contingencies, he said, and won’t be inclassroom cuts. For example, last year’s addition of bussing fees helped balance out the loss of funding at the administration level. Slykhuis has been a secretary treasurer since 2004, first up north and then here in Chilliwack. He said the cutbacks seem to be getting worse as time goes on. “It’s just one surprise after another,” he said. Continued: BUDGET/ p5
Moving? Building? Renovating? We can optimize your gear or design a Smart Home System to meet your budget & lifestyle! 100% Local for over 23 years! • Call for an appointment today! Retail 85¢ Box $1.00
PLUS PST
NEW STORE HOURS: Mon-Fri 1pm-5pm or by appointment • Sat 10am-6pm
45950 Alexander Ave behind Great Canadian Oil Change
604-795-6655 www.musicworx.ca
3/16W_MW23
C a l l t h e I n s ta l l a t i o n E x p e r t s !