CHILLIWACK HOBBY POULTRY FARM LATEST VICTIM OF AVIAN INFLUENZA 95 laying hens destroyed in hopes of stemming spread of virus
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Wrestler, teacher, entrepreneur and artist
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THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 12, 2015
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Angered by city’s failure to consult
A drop in the water bucket Critics give mixed reviews to new water act
First Nations want open talks on Aevitas plant
BY PAUL J. HENDERSON phenderson@chilliwacktimes.com
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ulti-billion dollar Swiss company Nestlé won’t exactly be crunched by provincial government changes to water pricing coming into effect next year. The new Water Sustainability Act (WSA) puts a price tag on the 265 million litres of water Nestlé takes out of the ground east of Chilliwack, bottles and resells to customers. The water, which the company currently extracts for free, will come at a rate of $2.25 per million litres, which amounts to less than $600 per year. “Never mind that the Nestlé Chairman who was quoted saying that water should not be a human right probably spends that much on dinner some days, the real question is ‘does this rate provide enough revenue to ensure that water is protected for the long term?’” says Chilliwack-based WaterWealth Project’s interim executive director Ian Stephen. “That is a question that remains open.” Overall, WaterWealth responded to the government’s announcement of the WSA with mixed reviews. The WSA rates will only recover the cost of implementing the act including, for the first time, groundwater regulation. Environment Minister Mary Polak
BY PAUL J. HENDERSON phenderson@chilliwacktimes.com
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Greg Laychak/TIMES
Tanner Scott (left) and Benjamin Hagkull (right) simulate a jump ball in wheelchair basketball during a fun practice at Cheam Leisure Centre on Monday.
15: it’s the magic number W BY GREG LAYCHAK glaychak@chilliwacktimes.com
atching Benjamin Hagkull and Tanner Scott play a friendly match of one-on-one wheelchair basketball at the Cheam Leisure Centre, a spectator would see two teammates mixing defensive wheel work and blocking with dribbling and shooting on the offensive side. However, through the eyes of the Canadian Games’ classification
Inclusion is the key to wheelchair basketball . . . and every part of life system, one would see seven points worth of athletes on the floor. It sounds so functional, but player ratings are a big part of the sport. Every coach must make sure there are no more than 15 total points on the court during play, while utilizing that number for the most effective team. But more interestingly, it’s what
allows Hagkull and Scott to play side-by-side in this month’s Canada Winter Games in Prince George, and what essentially makes wheelchair basketball one of the most diverse sports in existence in terms of inclusion. “If you’re super fast you can stop { See BC GAMES, page A16 }
bout two dozen members of the 50-or-so organizations that make up the coalition opposed to a hazardous waste recycling facility planned near the Fraser River in Chilliwack met Friday to strategize their next moves. “For anything that happens along this stretch of the river we need to take a precautionary approach,” BC Rivers Day and World Rivers Day founder Mark Angelo told the group. “We have to be more respectful of the river.” The coalition is opposed to the site of an Aevitas Inc. recycling facility that would deal with, among other things, PCBs and mercury just a couple hundred metres from the Fraser. Sto:lo cultural historian Sonny McHalsie spoke to the group, and discussed the First Nations history of the area surrounded as it is by waterways, including the Fraser River, the Vedder Canal, and the McGillivray Slough. He also talked about cemeteries near the site on the low slopes of both Chilliwack and Sumas mountains. { See AEVITAS, page A3 }
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