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WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 1, 2010
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INSIDE FEATURE: Tenor returns for benefit ◗P11
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City puts kids first in charter BY THERESA MCMANUS REPORTER tmcmanus@royalcityrecord.com
The City of New Westminster is one of the first B.C. communities to approve a charter that enshrines a “children first” agenda. “The New Westminster Children’s Charter supports the efforts of the city in creating a more child-, youth- and family-friendly city,” said a report presented to council on Monday. “Council’s endorsement of the charter is further evidence of the city’s leadership in this area and will be instrumental in having other bodies and organizations endorse it.” Council has endorsed the New Westminster Children’s Charter in principle and supported the posting of the charter in all civic facilities. “It reaffirms a lot of the work the city is doing about making New Westminster a friendly place to raise a family, to raise children,” said Coun. Jonathan Cote. The staff report said the New Westminster early childhood development committee has been promoting a “children first” agenda. The committee’s efforts have included developing a website (www.kidsnewwest.ca), hosting events for families and training sessions for early childhood development professionals and preparing studies in support of the development of child development hubs in the Queensborough and uptown/ downtown neighbourhoods. The committee recently developed the New Westminster Children’s Charter, which is based on the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child. The report noted that the United Nations ◗Charter Page 4
Photo contributed/THE RECORD
War paint: Chris Hennebery, an artist and former Armed Forces Reserves solider who spent two decades with the Royal Westminster Regiment, will soon be heading off to Afghanistan through the Canadian Forces Artists Program.
Artist bringing brushes to war zone
Former soldier to capture impressions of Afghanistan BY ANDREW FLEMING REPORTER afleming@royalcityrecord.com
A former soldier is getting ready to head off to war-torn Afghanistan, only instead of carrying a rifle, he’ll be armed with pencils and paintbrushes. Chris Hennebery, 42, spent more than 20 years as a member of the Royal Westminster Regiment and wants to (literally) draw attention to the stories of reserve soldiers
who leave their lives and family behind to serve their country overseas. Sometime next spring (the military won’t let him give the exact dates), the married father of two young children will be trading the cozy confines of his office at a downtown software development company for the mean streets of Kandahar as part of the Canadian Forces Artists Program, a military initiative that allows volunteer artists to document the experiences of Canadian troops at home and overseas. “I’m getting embed status as an embedded artist,” said Hennebery, who will also
be accompanied by a photographer. “We’re going there almost as media. I’ll be an independent, outside eye looking at them as they do their job, and I’ll be trucking around in the desert with them. “ Hennebery, who has the rank of sergeant and studied painting at Emily Carr University, never served overseas during his time in the reserves but has plenty of friends who have. He said the tales of Reserve Forces – part-time volunteer soldiers who have regular civilian jobs – don’t always receive the same level of attention ◗Artist Page 4
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