INSIDE: Dignity camp a step closer to reality Pg. 3 T U E S D A Y October 29, 2013
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E N T E R T A I N M E N T abbotsfordtimes.com
Memorial grows as mother grieves
Still no answers in death of Alexcia McKamey ROCHELLE BAKER RBaker@abbotsfordtimes.com
T
he roadside memorial to Abbotsford toddler Alexcia McKamey is ever growing. A pink umbrella shelters a portrait of the blue-eyed baby girl dressed in a flower headband and matching tutu. A pile of plush toys, favourite playthings and half a dozen pairs of sunglasses are piled at the base of white cross adorned with balloons and bouquets of flowers. Families traversing Discovery Trail along Maclure Road stop in the fall sunshine to wonder what happened to the smiling toddler pictured in the photographs at the site. They are not alone. Alexcia’s mother Jacqueline is also still waiting to learn how and why her 14-month-old daughter died on Sept. 20 in Chilliwack. Foul play is suspected in the death of the baby girl and the Integrated Homicide Investigation Team (IHIT) is investigating. The night Alexcia died, RCMP were called to a home in the Promontory area of Chilliwack, where they found an infant in medical distress. Alexcia was taken to hospital but
– BROOKE MCKAMEY/FOR ABBOTSFORD TIMES
Jacqueline McKamey spends hours each day grieving at her 14-month-old daughter Alexcia’s memorial site in Abbotsford. She still doesn’t know what happened to her baby whose death is being investigated by the Integrated Homicide Investigation Team. For more photos of Alexcia and her memorial, download the Layar app onto your smartphone and scan the logo on the right side of this page. attempts to revive her were unsuccessful. Autopsy results are still pending. But the wait is killing Jacqueline,
who wasn’t even able to see Alexcia until seven days after her death. “That’s the hardest part of it,” says the young mother, who adds the
nights are hardest to bear. “I have a million and one questions and what ifs. “I need to know, so I can stop
wondering if there’s something I could have done.” see GRIEF, page A4
2014 budget calls for less than one per cent tax increase ROCHELLE BAKER RBaker@abbotsfordtimes.com
A
bbotsford homeowners may be facing a tax hike of under half a per cent in 2014. Preliminary figures suggest residential taxpayers could be facing a tax increase of 0.4 per cent, according city council budget meetings held on Thursday.
Total increase for average Abbotsford homeowner may be less than the price of a night out at the movies Homeowners of a typical house valued at $400,000 would pay an extra $9 a year in property taxes plus a scheduled five per cent increase in sewer user fees for capital works, or $13, resulting in a total increase of 0.8 per cent, or a total of $22.
Most residents won’t be facing any new increases to water, solid waste, or urban storm drainage fees in 2014. However, for rural properties on the city’s west side, waste fees will increase over the next two years
from $192 to $204 in 2014, and another $16, to $220 in 2015, to bring the costs in line with urban solid waste pickup fees. In 2014, based on an average 330 cubic metres of water consumed, a typical home will pay $379 in water
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fees and $274 in sewer for a total bill of $653, up from $640 in 2013. In comparison, Mission residents paid an average of $819 in water and sewer fees in 2013. Homeowners in Langley Township paid $798 for water and sewer, while Chilliwack homeowners paid $555 for the services. see BUDGET, page A6
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