INSIDE: When it comes to failed driving tests . . . nobody beats us Pg. 7 T U E S D A Y
April 5, 2011
sodbusting 3 Soggy a beautiful mess N E W S ,
SPORTS,
WEATHER
&
E N T E R T A I N M E N T chilliwacktimes.com
Rallying to save Bruins
Social media helps in reaching voters
Will funds for pediatric centre disappear with hockey club?
BY PAUL J. HENDERSON phenderson@chilliwacktimes.com
A
ll four Chilliwack-Fraser Canyon federal election candidates have an online presence to get out their messages, although some have a better handle on the digital world than others. Most Chilliwack voters may like to see things done the traditional way—flyers, signs, knocking on doors—and those tools don’t disappear, but 10 days into the election and those looking for your vote are turning to social media more and more. Green Party candidate Jamie Hoskins—the youngest and most web savvy of the group—has sent out 59 tweets on his Twitter account set up long before he was a candidate, on March 24, 2010. He has 92 followers and follows 149 people. He also has a Facebook page liked by 69 people that is increasingly filling up with links and comments. Hoskins also has a website at www.jamiehoskins.com that serves as an entry point to the Green Party of Canada as well as a portal to all his social media tools. Liberal candidate Diane Janzen has sent out 18 tweets since launching her Twitter account on March 24. She has 33 followers and she is following 37 people. Janzen has also set up a Facebook page (liked by 50 people) where she posts comments, links to other stories and links to her YouTube page, where she has posted two videos. She has a website at www. dianejanzen.com where she blogs See ELECTION, Page 6
BY TYLER OLSEN tolsen@chilliwacktimes.com
Paul J. Henderson/TIMES
Alice Rolleman—mother of Jody Rolleman killed in a crash on Highway 1 in Chilliwack in 2006—speaks outside the Chilliwack Law Courts, where Balwinder Biring faced a sentencing hearing Friday.
‘I miss his smile’
Moms tearful at sentencing hearing for trucker who killed their sons in 2006 crash BY JENNIFER SALTMAN The Province
F
our-and-a-half years after the crash that killed Jody Rolleman and Marvin Elgersma in Chilliwack, their mothers still can’t talk about them without dissolving into tears. Alice Rolleman described her son as strong, sensitive and happy. “He was the kind of son that was all heart,” she said. “He was very strong and a very, very giving person.” Alice Elgersma said Marvin was a responsible, hardworking young man who always had a smile on his face. “I miss his smile so much,” she said.
The women were surrounded by family and friends as they sat in a B.C. Supreme courtroom in Chilliwack Friday to watch the sentencing hearing for the trucker who caused their sons’ deaths. Balwinder Biring, 36, pleaded guilty last year to two counts of dangerous driving causing death and one count of dangerous driving causing bodily harm. Court heard that shortly after 9 p.m. on Sept. 11, 2006, Biring was driving his tractor-trailer unit east on Highway 1 near the Prest Road overpass when he lost control. As he tried to pass another semi, Biring’s left wheels went into the soft shoulder and his trailer shifted and rolled to the left, sliding across the westbound lanes. At the same time Jody Rolleman, 25, was driving west in a pickup back from a boat trip in the Interior. He had his friends Marvin Elgersma, 26, and Justin Locke, 25, with him. Rolleman saw the trailer and tried to swerve out of the way but the driver’s side of the truck hit the trailer. “He had no time to react as this trailer was skidding along the entire highway ahead of them,” Crown prosecutor John Lester said.
W
hile Chilliwack Bruins fans will rally Wednesday at Prospera Centre to keep the team in the Fraser Valley, it appears a different Western Hockey League franchise could be playing home games in Chilliwack in the near future. Lawyers for Bruins part-owner Brian Burke have sent a letter to CKNW reporter Jim Mullin that takes the radioman to task for comments made on-air about Burke, who is also the general manager of the Toronto Maple Leafs. Of more importance for Chilliwack hockey fans, the letter declares that “Mr. Burke and his partners have been discussing selling the Bruins to Mr. Lee to support the WHL’s and Mr. Lee’s desire to have an established team in Victoria rather than an expansion team.” The letter adds: “this will not leave Chilliwack without a WHL team. The WHL is in the process of negotiating the movement of another WHL team to Chilliwack.” Multiple rumours have identified the Prince George Cougars as a possible target. But those rumours were squashed Sunday by team general manager Dallas Thompson who—speaking for his fatherin-law, owner Rick Brodsky—told the Prince George Citizen that
See TEARS, Page 4
See RALLY, Page 5
WWW.OCONNORGROUP.COM
FREE 143 PT pre-owned inspection and one year membership!
only at
604-792-2754 DL#5952
02124924
8645 Young Street, Chilliwack 604-792-5151 www.jadamandsons.com
06198229
Plumbing Service Department Price 60¢