INSIDE: Martin says political correctness not long for this world Pg. 8 T U E S D A Y
November 30, 2010
10 N E W S ,
SPORTS,
WEATHER
&
E N T E R T A I N M E N T chilliwacktimes.com
Kent leads the way with stiffer grow fines
Making Happy
Holly-Days Teen siblings hoping to make Christmas brighter for other teens
BY TYLER OLSEN tolsen@chilliwacktimes.com
I
BY PAUL J. HENDERSON phenderson@chilliwacktimes.com
O
ver the holiday season several organizations work hard to collect donations of toys to give as presents to children whose families otherwise couldn’t afford them. Just this past weekend the Chilliwack Mt. Cheam Rotary Club held the Chilliwack Athletes for Toys and Tots Fund volleyball tournament where participants brought toys to brighten the holidays for young kinds. But teenagers in families that can’t afford anything extra this time of year “People usually are often overthink about little l o o k e d . Tw o kids more so we local teenagers want to change are trying to get that. Siblings Dexmore presents ter and Holly for teens.” Va n d e r Wy k h a v e c re a t e d Dexter Vander Wyk a new charity, Happy HollyDays, to collect presents for teenagers. “We are trying to bring cheer to older kids,” Dexter told the Times. “People usually think about little kids more so we are trying to get more presents for teens.” The idea came to life after Holly told her friends to make donations to a charity rather than give her a present at her birthday. “I came up with the idea to start my own See HOLLY, Page 4
Bruins find their scoring touch
Paul J. Henderson/TIMES
Dexter and Holly Vander Wyk created a new charity to collect presents for fellow teens from families in need. Presents can be dropped off at Mt. Slesse school where Holly is a student.
f the City of Chilliwack wants to hit the owners of marijuana grow houses harder, it doesn’t have to look far. The District of Kent recently upped its fine for grow house owners from $400 to $3,500, but those dollars represent just the tip of the financial iceberg facing unwary grow house owners; for years it has been levying fees more than six times that on other grow-op owners. Kent chief administrative officer Wallace Mah said the district has billed an Agassiz property owner more than $20,000 to recover police, fire and district costs associated with a grow-op caused fire that burnt down his Pioneer Road auto body shop in July. Police said they found 230 marijuana plants at the back of Willy Chapman’s auto body shop. The grow-op was responsible for starting a fire and because of that, the district is billing Chapman for the cost of putting the blaze out. Chapman isn’t the only person being asked to pay up. The district also recently sent out a bill for $12,433 to another home owner. So far this year, it has collected more than $50,000. Because the municipality also pays 70 per cent of policing costs, it also passes that bill onto the owners of grow houses. “All these costs need to be borne by the home owner,” Mah told the Times. “If the grow-op caused the fire we charge all the costs to put out the fire.” Chilliwack charges nowhere near as much as Kent, despite efforts to recover costs. Last month the Times reported that even owners of houses where multiple grow houses have been busted faced fines in the $3,000 to $4,000 range. The city has the ability to level a $10,000 fine, but hasn’t because it is unlikely that a judge would impose such a hefty penalty. The Kent fees skirt the issue by seeking See FINES, Page 4
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¢