INSIDE: Marching together to fight violence against women Pg. 3 T U E S D A Y
March 8, 2011
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Mouat soars to Fraser Valley championship
E N T E R T A I N M E N T abbotsfordtimes.com
Open Door doing it right The only perfect rating of 3,000 daycares inspected CHAD SKELTON Vancouver Sun
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very six months, all staff members at the Open Door daycare in Abbotsford have to go through a thorough evaluation. Each employee has to fill out their own five-page self-evaluation and then sit down with the daycare’s director, Jennifer St. Jean, to go over their strengths and weaknesses. – JEAN KONDA-WITTE (LEFT), RANDY HARRIS (ABOVE)/TIMES
Above: Robert Minler’s white Honda hit a hydro pole then careened into a cement wall early Sunday morning, killing the former Rick Hansen football player. Left: A memorial was erected at the scene of the fatal crash on McCallum Road. For more photos of the crash scene, visit www.abbotsfordtimes.com.
“It’s fun. Never a dull moment.” – Jennifer St. Jean director
“Just so they know how they’re doing . . . what they are doing right and maybe something they can improve on,” said St. Jean. “Because we always want to be, like any workplace, a better place to be.” Twice-yearly staff evaluations are just one practice that sets Open Door apart from a lot of the other daycares in the region. Open Door, which has been operating since the 1980s, has a volunteer who comes in once a week to clean the toys. And it uses a monthly checklist to ensure every toy and piece of playground equipment is in working order and safe. Provincial child care regulations contain strict staff-to-child ratios for all daycare facilities: eight-to-one for toddler care, 10-to-one for preschool. Open Door’s policy is to exceed those ratios by an extra staff member in each program, something St. Jean says means there are always lots of extra eyes on the playground and extra hands to help out. “Our child-staff ratio is so great that we’re always constantly watching and scanning the children, so fewer accidents happen,” she said. “We’re on top
Suspended driver dies in crash Fled police before careening into cement wall
ROCHELLE BAKER RBaker@abbotsfordtimes.com
man to get out from behind the wheel well before being stopped by police, MacDonald suggested. he suspected drunk driver involved in a Just before midnight on Sunday, RCMP fatal crash in Abbotsford after speeding highway patrol contacted the APD about an away from police early Sunday morning erratic driver on 264th Street in Aldergrove was driving while prohibited. who had struck a barrier and was headed Robert Minler, 21, was driveast. Soon after, an APD officer ing despite having his licence more photos @ on Clearbrook Road spotted the suspended for 90 days due to an abbotsfordtimes.com white Honda Civic speeding immediate roadside prohibition southbound with no lights on. issued on Jan. 29, confirmed Abbotsford Police The officer turned around and eventually Const. Ian MacDonald. pulled the vehicle over in a church parking lot MacDonald said it wasn’t possible to deter- near intersection of Trethewey and Maclure mine if Minler fled because of his suspension roads, MacDonald said. or suspected impairment. While the officer was waiting for backup, the “It’s impossible to speculate as to what was car took off and headed south down Gladwin going on in the driver’s mind,” he said. Road. “I don’t know if we’ll ever be able to . . . what Police did not pursue, but soon after the was going on will only be known to him.” Civic sped past another driver eastbound on However, given the reports of erratic driv- George Ferguson Way, only to crash moments ing, it would have been wise of the young later just east of McCallum Road.
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“. . . based on the erratic driving reported and later witnessed by police, it’s suspected the driver was impaired.” – Const. Ian MacDonald APD
“The car hit a hydro pole and then careened into a cement wall,” said MacDonald. “The first person on scene was the civilian the driver had passed seconds before.” Minler was pronounced dead on scene. Investigators are awaiting a toxicology report, said MacDonald. “But based on the erratic driving reported and later witnessed by police, it’s suspected the driver was impaired.” Minler had his licence suspended a number of times in the past. He was prohibited from driving for a year in July of 2009 following his arrest and conviction see CRASH, page A5
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