INSIDE: Study says valley folks too fat and generally unhealthy
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F R I D A Y
April 22, 2011
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Autism making transition difficult
N E W S , S P O R T S , W E A T H E R & E N T E R T A I N M E N T chilliwacktimes.com
Missing in action
Thieves take up residence in Ryder Lake area
Another noshow for Strahl at UFV debate
BY PAUL J. HENDERSON phenderson@chilliwacktimes.com
BY TYLER OLSEN tolsen@chilliwacktimes.com
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yder Lake has become home to a number of “entrenched criminals” who have taken advantage of the area’s seclusion to set up a base out of which they operate and steal and process copper wire, according to residents and the police. “Ryder Lake has been a busy area for us over the past few months. There is a number of individuals, some of them residing in that area, that we know are involved in criminal activities,” said “It’s secluded, Chilliwack it’s out of the RCMP Sgt. Marty Blais. way, it’s off “ I t ’ s secluded, the beaten it’s out of path.” t h e w a y, Sgt. Marty Blais it’s off the b e a t e n path,” said Blais when asked why Ryder Lake has attracted criminals. “The seclusion offers the individual an opportunity to get involved in criminal activity, to operate with anonymity.” The Mounties’ Crime Reduction Unit has begun focusing on the area, and Blais said several arrests have already been made, including for possession of stolen property, drugs and weapons. Blais spoke to a pair of worried residents Wednesday. “They’re quite concerned of these guys driving up and down See RYDER LAKE, Page 4
Tyler Olsen/TIMES
Workers loaded Chilliwack Bruins equipment, signage and furniture into moving vans Wednesday morning.
GOODBYE BRUINS BY TYLER OLSEN tolsen@chilliwack
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The Chilliwack Bruins are finished. Western Hockey League officials announced Wednesday that the sale of the Bruins to RG Properties has been completed and that the team will play in Victoria next season. The league held a press conference Wednesday at Victoria’s SaveOn Foods Centre in Victoria, to announce the relocation of the Bruins. “This is what Victoria has been waiting for, and we’re very excited to be returning to the city,” said WHL commissioner Ron Robison. “This arena is a perfect fit and Graham Lee has been in relentless pursuit of the WHL ever since plans for the arena were announced 10 years ago. But relocation is never easy and Chilliwack was a good hockey centre..” The press conference marked
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◗ Bruins went helmet in hand asking the city for $175,000 in January. See Page 5 ◗ With the sale complete those involved start spreading the blame. See Page 11 the first time Robison had spoken publicly about the sale of the Bruins since March, when he said the league preferred keeping teams in their current locations. Robison and former Bruins owners Brian Burke and Darryl Porter spoke to Chilliwack media, including theTimes, Wednesday evening. Robison said Chilliwack “was a great hockey centre. We think it’s a viable market moving forward. But the circumstances have to be right for it to be successful.” Porter said the owners feel terrible about having to sell and move
the club, but that there was no other option. Porter also said that they are working with the Bruins Pediatric Centre to come to an agreement over the $120,000 the team promised to contribute over 10 years. He said the team is working with the Hospital Board and the two sides will jointly announce a plan soon. As the league announced that the Bruins were moving, workers dismantled the Prospera Centre centre-ice scoreboard and moved desks, tables, banners and even sumo suits into three U-Haul trucks sitting in the middle of the arena. The team will wrap up operations within the next month, and staff will be laid off. The Victoria team will not be named the Bruins. Instead, fans are being invited to submit their suggestions for the team’s nickname.
- with files from Cleve Dheenshaw, Victoria Times-Colonist
ducation issues took centre stage at the all-candidates meeting held at the University of the Fraser Valley in Chilliwack on Tuesday night. But the conspicuous absence of Conservative candidate Mark Strahl led off the evening discussion attended by more than 100 students and others. “I think it is completely unacceptable that the Conservatives have made their candidate unavailable,” NDP candidate Gwen O’Mahony said in her opening remarks. The partisan comment led to great applause, as did much of what O’Mahony and Green candidate Jamie Hoskins said, which possibly illustrated why the Tory candidate decided to skip the meeting. All other candidates were in attendance: O’Mahony, Diane Janzen (Liberal), Jamie Hoskins (Green), Dorothy-Jean O’Donnell (Mar xist-Leninist) and Clive Edwards (Western Block). After an introduction by moderator and UFV chancellor Brian Minter, candidates introduced themselves and then answered questions submitted in advance. Questions involved topics including: support for single parents at school, student loan interest costs and loan forgiveness, selling water, Canada’s military, health transfer payments, child poverty and the Alberta oil sands. There were few clashes between the three main candidates, Janzen, See MISSING, Page 13
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