INSIDE: Opposition to hazardous waste recycling plant growing Pg. 3 T H U R S D A Y
December 19, 2013
19 ❭❭ N E W S ,
SPORTS,
WEATHER
&
A classic batch of Letters to Santa
E N T E R T A I N M E N T ❭ ❭ chilliwacktimes.com
Smudging sends mixed smoke signals BY CORNELIA NAYLOR cnaylor@chilliwacktimes.com
A
request to perform ceremonial smudging and an aboriginal pipe ceremony in a school building has raised concerns on a Chilliwack school board committee. Earlier this year, the Chilliwack Métis Association, which rents out
“I expected that because it’s controversial. The idea is, in a school setting you have many cultures, you’ve got a lot of white people that don’t understand native culture.” William Foy the community space at Central elementary for monthly evening meetings, requested permission to conduct smudging, a traditional aboriginal practice that involves
burning sweetgrass, sage or cedar for purification and to help to create a positive mindset. The association’s activities could also involve a pipe ceremony, tra-
ditionally used by First Nations to establish good faith between groups of people. Since no school board policy exists for such activities in school facilities,
superintendent Evelyn Novak forwarded the request to the board’s education policy advisory committee (EPAC), where some members raised concerns about the message the board would send if it allowed the practices. “The committee members raised questions around the ambiguity of
See SMUDGING, Page 6
Extortion trial ends with final sentence
DOG SHOW WHAT A GOOD BOY
BY CORNELIA NAYLOR cnaylor@chilliwacktimes.com
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Ken Goudswaard/TIMES
Purebred dogs weren’t the only things being groomed and pampered at the recent Auld Lang Syne Dog Show held at Heritage Park. Tiffany Skinner decided to put her scissor skills to good use as she trimmed up fellow dog handler 12-year-old Andrew Mueller.
ll three men behind a botched 2009 extortion attempt on a Chilliwack man have finally been sentenced. Casey Sean Corbett pleaded guilty in Chilliwack Provincial Court Friday to extortion and breaking bail and was sentenced to 20 months house arrest. In September 2009, Corbett and two other men tried to terrorize a Chilliwack businessman out of half-a-million dollars with threatening phone calls. Corbett had purchased the phones for the plot but disappeared for more than three years after being released from custody after his 2009 arrest. A warrant was issued for his arrest on Nov. 19, 2009, but authorities still didn’t know where he was in January 2012, during the trial of one of his co-accused.
See EXTORTION, Page 7
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