The Chilliwack
Progress Tuesday
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Jaeda Sanada steps up to help Japan earthquake victims
Busted Pot store shut down
Cancer fight Part three in a teen’s
by police
battle with cancer
120 YEARS YOUR COMMUNITY
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1891-2011
Y O U R C O M M U N I T Y N E W S PA P E R • F O U N D E D I N 1 8 9 1 • W W W. T H E P R O G R E S S . C O M • T U E S D AY, J U N E 2 8 , 2 0 1 1
Union ups ante for faster fire response
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Jennifer Feinberg The Progress Chilliwack needs more firefighters to mount a truly effective response, says the Chilliwack Professional Fire Fighters Association. Mayor Sharon Gaetz says they’re not in a position to add personnel because of tight budgets and lingering fallout from the recession. The union is calling on the City of Chilliwack to “rekindle” the plan to add more staff. “Recent fires have underscored the need for faster and more effective response Recent capabilities,” said Keith Corbett, President fires have of the Chilliwack underscored Professional Fire Association. the need for Fighters The Promontor y townhouse fire last faster and week was an example more effective cited where only two firefighters were on response duty initially. B.C. safety stancapabilities dards require there to be a minimum of ~ Keith four firefighters on Corbett scene before a burning structure can be entered. “Only two or three firefighters as initial responders are not enough to perform interior search and rescue in a burning structure.” A previous plan to add four professional firefighters a year was “solid recognition” of the need to play catchup, he said. It would have dramatically improved response times and rescue capabilities of the department, but the city cancelled the hirings for financial reasons. “Money cannot override public safety all the time. It cannot be the deciding factor when it comes to saving people’s lives and property,” said Lorne West, a Surrey firefighter, and a senior official with the International Association of Fire Fighters. The mayor said she was disappointed with the union’s decision to use the media to press its negotiating demands, pointing out the economic
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Youth left alone with dead mother ‘invisible’ Watchdog unleashes scathing report Katie Bartel The Progress A young girl with Down syndrome, left alone with her dead mother for at least a week, was not only neglected by the system, she was invisible to it, an investigation has found. A report released Monday morning by B.C.’s child watchdog, Mary Ellen TurpelLafond, uncovered a significantly flawed system of services for children with special needs.
The report was the result of an investigation into the case of a 15-year-old Chilliwack girl with Down syndrome and other special needs who was found at home alone on Sept. 14, 2010 with the decomposing body of her dead mother who had been deceased for several days. “Many people in our province were saddened and outraged when they heard of these events, but equally sad and outrageous is what we found
when we scrutinized the circumstances in which she lived most of her life, especially the three years before the injury,” said Turpel-Lafond. The report found the girl was eligible for a range of supports, but received few. Her physical and medical needs were not adequately assessed. Her hearing was compromised with outdated and notworking hearing aids, to the point where one care worker believed her to be deaf and did not investigate further. There was no comprehensive or collaborative plan in place for this
child’s development or for her future. “She was all but invisible to service providers who should have been focused on her wellbeing,” said Turpel-Lafond. “Her significant needs were neglected by many people for weeks and months before her mother’s death. The system of services and supports that was supposed to help her thrive was passive. And the result was long-term neglect.” The girl’s mother also had complex medical needs, struggled with addictions, and lived Continued: REPORT/ p8
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Thousands of people packed downtown Chilliwack on Sunday to check out the vehicles that lined the streets for the Village Classic Car Show. Above is a shot of Yale Road looking east near Five Corners. Go to www.theprogress.com to see a slide show from the event. JENNA HAUCK/ PROGRESS