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Chilliwack Minor Football is hosting another event this weekend, and if you missed it last time, you will have another chance to see the Grey Cup and get your picture taken with it. Not only that, but 2 members of the Grey Cup champion BC Lions are coming with it, QB Travis Lulay and kicker Paul McCallum. The event will be held this Sunday, January 29 at the YMCA on Hocking Ave from 4-5pm.

It’s the next chapter in one of Chilliwack’s great success stories. The Sardis Drumline has played the Rose Bowl, Quest Field in Seattle, and of course, at the 2010 Winter Olympics. Now….they’re going to China.  This was the idea of Sardis Principal Bob Long, who has been to China and felt this would be a great fit. Drumline bandleader Bruno Gagnon was in studio with Scott and Lisa this morning, and says they’re headed over there on March 12th for 10 days, where they will perform on the Great Wall, the riverfront in Shanghai, and downtown Shanghai. He also has a student who was born there, and they’ll be playing his old middle school. Gagnon says there is no equivalent to the Sardis Drumline in China that he’s aware of, but they have a lot of great drumming styles there, and his students have been researching and practicing those styles.

The kids/families are paying for their tickets out-of-pocket, but they also need to bring their equipment over and they’re bringing a ceremonial dragon costume for the performance. Of course, they would also like to help the kids with some of the cost, and Gagnon says they were looking to raise $25,000 for the trip. The good news is, they’ve already come up with $20,000! They do have a couple fundraising events coming up. They will play at the Chilliwack Chiefs game tommorrow night against Merritt, and they will also hold a concert at the school on Feb 21st at 7pm. Tickets for that are $10, and you can buy them at the game tommorrow or at the school.

You may have heard of the 100 mile diet, where you eat only food grown within 100 miles of where you live.
Well, the beauty of living in the valley, is you can get even closer to home.  The new Yarrow Eco-Village is hosting a Ten Mile Tasty Tour this Saturday, and residents of the neighbourhood will cook for you.  Vivian Vaillant says its not even a big deal that the weather has been bad.

“If we can serve you a ten mile lunch in January, imagine what it will look like in August!  We’re doing a ten mile tasty tour….we’re going to tour the eco-village, go through what makes us eco and go through some of the house plans.  Then we’ll go to the community school, and have a lunch that features all local Yarrow providers.”

The tour is happening Saturday at 10 and 1:30, or you can come for the lunch at noon.  Space is limited for this event…tickets are $20, and you can call 756-1479, or email welcome@yarrowecovillage.ca.

A group of Chilliwack parents have been lobbying for several months for the school district to look in to early French Immersion.
Now they have their wish as the board voted Tuesday to begin a feasibility study.
Board chair Louise Piper says the job of the board is to listen to the community.

“When we had our forum back in September regarding the french immersion classes we have now, we heard from the parents then.  They’re very well organized and we like to hear from them…they came to the meetings and they provided information.  They did their part, and now we want to do ours.”

Not everyone is in favour of the idea.
District parent advisory council president Gord Byers says the DPAC is concerned about where the resources to bring in the program will come from and says this maybe should have waited until the job action was resolved.   Trustee Barry Neufeld was the only one to vote against it at the meeting, saying he knows it’s not the popular decision, but he doesn’t believe there is any proof that there are benefits to the program, and he says it might actually segragate students. 

The study must be completed before November.

In May of last year, 67 yr old Kenneth Paquette was beaten to death at the Thunderbird Motel in Hope.  This week, the man accused in his death has plead guilty.  RCMP were called to the Motel on May 27th, where they found Paquette suffering from extensive injuries…he later died.  43 yr old Richard Vallee was arrested and charged with 2nd degree murder, but he has now plead guilty to the lesser charge of manslaughter.  Vallee will be sentenced in Chilliwack in April.

Some good news for members of the Cheam Golf Centre.  The city said today that 100% of the costs associated with terminating the lease agreement with the course will be recovered.  They terminated that 22 yr lease in November because of outstanding rent and property taxes dating back to April, 2011.  The city said at the time that they had taken the neccessary steps, inlcuding delivering a notice of default in October, and members showed up one day to find the course locked up and empty.  They were concerned they would not recover the money they had spent on their memberships, but the court decision has now come down….the lease is being re-instated, and the city will recieve payment of approx. $60,000 in addition to its legal costs.  The owner, Earl Francis, says he is committed to opening the course again as soon as the weather permits, and will honour all 2012 memberships.

A young man accused of stabbing someone after being asked to pick up his garbage has been charged.
Back on November 11th, a 43 yr old man was walking his dog near the Newmark apartment complex, and noticed a group of young people littering.  He asked them to pick the garbage up, a confrontation ensued, and he was stabbed.  RCMP Cpl. Tammy Hollingsworth says they have some positive news.

“We do have a 22 yr old Chilliwack man, Christopher John Nadin has been charged with aggravated assault and assault with a weapon.”

We hear he was actually charged back in December.  He was released on conditions including a strict curfew, however….he doesn’t have to be in court to face the charges until early 2013!!  Hollingsworth says that’s how long these cases are getting caught up in the system these days.
She says more bad news is, the victim has still not recovered from his injuries.  He still can’t work and one of his lungs isn’t functioning properly, so he’s still seeing the doctor frequently.

The Fraser Valley Regional District is reminding Metro Vancouver that according to the Ministry of Environment, Metro must consult with the FVRD before building any waste to energy facility.
Board chair Sharon Gaetz says they’re writing Metro a letter amid reports that Metro is about to start looking for proposals.

“We’re a little dismayed.  We feel that the stallion is trying to charge out of the gate, and we want Metro to remember that that is the mandate from the Environment Minister.”

Gaetz says Metro chair Greg Moore did say he may have been a bit overenthusiastic and was just trying to demonstrate how much interest there is among contractors to build the facility.
Gaetz says FVRD has reason to be cautious since they feel like there still hasn’t been any meaningful consultation through the process.

Kinder Morgan claims it’s not a huge deal, but local environmental groups say this is exactly why oil pipelines are dangerous.  The company says it plans to have an oil spill in Abbotsford cleaned up at some point today.
The spill took place yesterday in the Upper Sumas area at a tank farm that’s part of the Trans Mountain pipeline system.
That pipeline moves crude from the Alberta tar sands to the West Coast for shipment on tankers.
Kinder Morgan says the incident is not significant, but Ben West with the Wilderness Committee says residents in the area were complaining of headaches and nausea from the smell and a nearby elementary school kept the kids inside yesterday. 

Not good timing, considering Enbridge is trying to build a massive pipeline across BC to the coast…thats in the public consultation phase right now.  West says we’re in the middle of this massive consultation, yet Kinder Morgan is allowed to proceed with expansion of the Trans Mountain system without consultation.

If clean, safe drinking water is integral to a community’s well being, then Hope is about to be a lot better off, thanks to a major funding announcement yesterday.  $450,000 is coming out of Canadas Gas Tax Fund to upgrade the East Kawkawa Lake water system.
MP Mark Strahl says currently, water lines are sitting at the bottom of drainage ditches, and are vulnerable to contamination.

“It was a system they had inherited when they annexed one of the areas here outside of town, so it’s an older system that doesn’t meet current standards and they’re improving that infrastructure to make sure that area residents are able to have a clean and safe water supply.”

The upgrade will connect more residents to the districts water system, and will also include a monitoring system to better gauge water use and better identify potential leaks in the future.