The Chilliwack
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Tuesday
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Released Seven suspects in
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drug bust released
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120 YEARS YOUR COMMUNITY
NEWSPAPER
1891-2011
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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, M AY 1 7 , 2 0 1 1
Richmond theft leads to take down in Chilliwack An incident that began as an armed carjacking in Richmond ended in and armed take-down in Chilliwack Monday afternoon. Local RCMP were initially told a lone male, wanted in connection with the theft of a black 2010 Mercedes just after 10 a.m. from Bashirs Auto Cosmetics vehicle car detailing was located in Abbotsford and heading toward Chilliwack. Police set up patrols on routes leading into the city, but didn’t spot the vehicle. Tracking data from a cellphone in the vehicle, however, police believed the suspect had headed into the Cultus Lake area or Chilliwack River Valley. Police, including members from the Emergency Response Team and Police Dog Services, scoured the main roads and forestry roads looking for the vehicle. Their break came when a witness reported seeing the vehicle along the Chilliwack Lake Road. Police eventually spotted the vehicle travelling back down Chilliwack Lake Road toward the city and took a position behind it. Meanwhile, additional RCMP attempted to lay a spike belt near the Tamihi Bridge in hopes of stopping the vehicle. When the Mercedes drove around that belt, they attempted a second stop near the Vedder Bridge. This time the vehicle hit the belt, but carried on northbound on Vedder Road. Police eventually cornered the suspect in the parking lot of a Domino’s Pizza outlet at the corner of Keith Wilson and Vedder where the lone Police are considering several charges. The male suspect, A 36 year old male, a resident of Vancouver, will be remanded in custody and his first court appearance will be set for Tuesday, May 17.
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A Great Blue heron takes off from a branch at the Great Blue Heron Nature Reserve on Tuesday afternoon. JENNA HAUCK/ PROGRESS
Community garden set to take root Partnership will grow produce on a half-acre plot Jennifer Feinberg The Progress It’s just a non-descript plot of land in Sardis right now. But a thriving community garden for Chilliwack will soon be plowed beside the Mathieson Centre on Wells Road. Food Matters Chilliwack (FMC) has joined forces with Chilliwack Society for Community Living (CSCL) in a unique partnership
that will see vegetables, herbs and more grown in a half-acre plot. Joining forces with Food Matters on a community garden “seemed like a natural fit,” said Julie Unger, CSCL director of adult day and children’s services. The new partnership stemmed from an earlier fruit gleaning project the groups did together and it blossomed from there. “The key word in ‘com-
munity garden’ for us is community,” said Unger. The local agency, CSCL, supports adults with developmental disabilities, as well as children with special needs. In conjunction with the community garden project, they’ve issued a Big Green Grow-A-Row challenge to their umbrella organizations, to see which group can grow the most food this summer for the local food bank.
“We think the garden will be an amazing opportunity for individuals we support to learn from the community about gardening, as well as to teach the community what diversity looks like,” said Unger. The proposed garden site will be located on land donated years ago to the agency. The cool and rainy weather this spring has delayed things by a few weeks. “We’re hoping to get it plowed somewhere in
the next two weeks,” she added. About 40 to 50 people showed up at the first community garden meeting held last week at the Mathieson Centre, said Rachel Poupore of Food Matters Chilliwack. “The interest in this community garden project is just skyrocketing,” she said. “It was so rewarding to get people in a room, talking about what they can bring to the table.” Community gardens Continued: GARDEN/ p6
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