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BC CONSERVATIVES CHOOSE CANDIDATE Michael Henshall will run for MLA in Chilliwack-Hope
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RCMP MUSICAL RIDE TO VISIT HOPE Two performances planned during the Brigade Days weekend
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BARRY STEWART / THE STANDARD
Wheelchair races
Carson High (right) gets the jump on classmates Kalea Richardson and Coleman Jones in a wheelchair race during a gym class at Coquihalla Elementary on Monday. Eleven sports wheelchairs were loaned to the school this week by Let’s Play B.C., a program which promotes inclusive play for all students.
SKATERS PREPARE FOR CARNIVAL Annual event will feature routines themed around Dr. Seuss stories
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Adamson’s travel expenses under scrutiny Alina Konevski Black Press
A Fraser Valley Regional District director is under fire for claiming over $28,000 of public funds for travel expenses — double that of the next highest director — without a single receipt or other supporting document. Dennis Adamson and Wendy Bales are the only two directors who have not yet provided supporting documents for their 2011 travel expenses, after the board concluded an audit last year. “We weren’t told to keep receipts,” Adamson said outside of the board meeting last Tuesday. The 2011 audit reviewed the travel expenses of 38 officials. Adamson’s were the highest at $28,546. Bales’ were second highest, at $14,032. Following them, two officials came in at
around $12,000, and seven were be- and Bales was searching for her docutween $6,500 and $1,000, 13 people ments at home. below $1,000, and 14 people at $0. Chilliwack mayor Sharon Gaetz, Most directors who did not claim any who is also chair of the FVRD board FVRD travel expenses for of directors, is the driving 2011 sit on city councils force behind the audit. She in addition to the FVRD says the undocumented exboard, and charge their expenses are a matter of transpenses to the city, says Adparency and responsibility amson. to taxpayers. As part of the audit, both “This has been an ongoAdamson and Bales reing discussion within FVRD ceived notices on Sept. 18, the last couple of years, 2012 requesting details on DENNIS ADAMSON where directors are fed up the nature of their trips to with what we see to be an Chilliwack, Vancouver, and abuse,” says Gaetz. other locations. She wants to find out whether AdAn official memo from Jan. 13, amson and Bales will need to pay back 2013 indicates that neither has provid- the expense claims if they can’t find ed the information, because Adamson the supporting documents. “lost his 2011 calendar in which he The two directors, on their part, inlogged all the details of his meetings,” sist that they tried to submit support-
ing documents several times in the last few months, but the FVRD head office cancelled the auditor meetings. Now they are being unfairly targeted. “Wendy (Bales) and I usually vote total opposite to the rest of the board. We both ran for the NDP. This is politically motivated, and we’ve never walked away from (the audit). We’ve done nothing wrong, and all we’ve done is serve our people to the best of our ability, within the rules that they told us,” says Adamson. Bales insists that she has her documents ready to submit. “I almost welcome the auditor to go through all my paperwork, because sometimes the implied guilt will last forever on the agendas,” she told the FVRD board last Tuesday. Adamson and Bales oversee the two Continued on 3
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