The Chilliwack Progress from Chilliwack, British Columbia, Canada • Page 1

1 i c' oh wr fh r-1 i 31 A A Kl 101st YEAR 32 Pages Wednesday, December 25, 1991 II II 11 II II II If II II II II Dirif of Christmas NEWS i 'i "It really helped me get into the Christmas spirit," she says. Chilliwack's generosity and the hope to help others are two of the main themes being found in thank-you notes from hamper recipients to Chilliwack Community Services, Murray says. A single mother facing her first Christmas in Chilliwack was "overwhelmed" by the Christmas spirit shown by the community to make her two children's Christmas a bit brighter. Another woman writes that she had a good idea it was Community Services knocking at her door, but no idea of how much they had brought. After the volunteers set one hamper down in the living room, her excitement turned to disbelief when they told her there was more to come.

"Are you sure there's no mistake," she asked. "There's only myself and two little boys." When the volunteers convinced her there was indeed no mistake, "I started to cry and shook their hands and I went back inside quite in shock." "Thank you from the bottom of my heart, my house is now full," the woman writes. "I can't wait to see my boys' eyes this Christmas morning." The town is full of heartwarming tales of generosity and help By Robert Freeman Staff Reporter Chilliwack is glowing with the true spirit of Chistmas, says Carol Murray, supervisor of the Christmas Sharing program. Needy families helped by the program are startled by the generosity shown by the community and say they will return the kindness when they are again in a position to help others, she says. Volunteer Lynn White, a former Burnaby resident, says she too was "overwhelmed" by the Christmas spirit shown by Chilliwack donors and volunteers.

"It made me feel good that we picked Chilliwack to move out to," says White, who admits being a little "Scrooged-out" with her own worries before she volunteered and saw what joy the Christmas hampers can bring. Church casts out parishioner Long-timeDEben-Ezer Men-nonite parishioner is protesting his ban from congregational meetings. Page A8. Heavenly angels- "1 COMMUNITY 4. A i.

1 I No cause for fear over case of meningitis A 14-year-old Abbotsford girl struck by meningitis is in critical condition at Vancouver Children's Hospital. Although the often-fatal disease is "very virulent," there is no cause for alarm in Chilliwack, says Dr. Bud Webb, head of the Upper Fraser Valley Health Unit. At any given time between 10 and 25 per cent of the population carry the virus which can cause meningitis, "but we don't know why some people develop meningitis from it," Webb says. It's also not known how the virus is transmitted, Webb says.

The Abbotsford girl, a student at Yale Secondary School, became ill Monday evening and was taken to MSA General Hospital. The virus, which has an incubation period of two to five days, causes inflammation of the membranes (called meninges) which surround the brain and spinal cord. Symptoms of the disease include sudden fever, severe headache, sore neck and nausea. There have been 23 meningitis cases in B.C. so far this year, compared with a total 28 last year.

Even with modern antibiotics the fatality rate is 10 per cent. Woman hurt in stolen car crash A Chilliwack woman is in stable condition in MSA General Hospital, while the driver of the car she was riding in faces a number of criminal charges, following a single-vehicle accident Dec. 13. Susan McKay, 38, was a passenger in a vehicle driven by 27-year-old Chilliwack resident Keith Jimmie. Abbotsford RCMP say the car, a 1991 Camaro, was reported stolen from Chilliwack.

Police say the vehicle was being driven at high speed westbound on North Parallel Road when it failed to negotiate a curve, went through a cement barrier and struck a hydro pole before landing in a field. The vehicle was a write-off. Police say McKay was not wearing a seatbelt. Jimmie was protected by an air bag and survived the crash unhurt, say police. Jimmie faces charges of impaired driving causing bodily harm, dangerous operation of a motor vehicle, refusing to provide a breath sample, possession of stolen property and driving while prohibited.

"I V- -a Christmas in bed Spending Christmas holidays at Chilliwack General Hospital hasn't dampened th spirits of the kids staying there. Page B1. ft BUSINESS A Phoio by Kubcn Kwipnians Looking as angelic as possible, these four primary students were sion of The Christmas Story last Wednesday for parents, among those at Vedder Elementary School who performed their ver- Christmas Do's and Don'ts Finding out what's hot and what's not among Christmas gift-givers this year. Page C1. Parishioner may sue church WEATHER Councillers slapped a gag order on Thiessen and removed his voting rights last March after he complained about the council's decision to allow Rempel to continue working in the church.

Rempel, who was a minister of music at Eben-Ezer, faced four sex charges involving Chilliwack teens when Thiessen was banned from speaking. Rempel was convicted on two counts of gross indecency in November. Thiessen gave the church 10 days to respond to a letter dated Dec. 3 asking to have the gag order lifed, his voting rights re-instated and an apology. See Church A3 -Related stories A8 John Thiessen claims his church is attempting to keep him quiet By Paul Bucci Staff Reporter Council members at the Eben-Ezer Mennonite Church are playing games with a parishioner who wants his rights re-instated in the wake of the Walter Aaron Rempel sex scandal, an Abbotsford lawyer charges.

Wayne Norris says he'll likely launch a civil action against the church on bahalf of parishoner John Thiessen in January, partially based on Thiessen's constitutional right to fundamental justice. Santa will have to wear a raincoat in the Chilliwack area this week, says the Hope Weather Station. There will be plenty of 'liquid sunshine' in the next few days. Forcasters predict cloudy conditions with periods of rain will continue until Friday. Highs will be 8.

Lows will be 3. 1 1 1 I UuvJ Kit liZl I Hunger back in '92 Sally Ann reaches its goal, but says the problem won't go away after Christmas by Mark Falkenberg Progress Reporter The local Salvation Army has met its food bank fundraising goal for this year, but some people may still go hungry in the coming year. Les Burrows, community missions director for the Salvation Army, said that as of Monday the charity had reached its goal of $120,000, "give or take a hundred dollars." But he cautioned that the money does not guarantee the steady availability of food for the needy in 1992. Burrows said the number of families needing assistance has increased by more than 70 per cent since last Christmas, and noted that a similar increase in the coming year could see some people turned away empty-handed. Chilliwack Community Services shares such uncertainties with the Salvation Army.

Spokesperson Carol Murray said that after Christmas, "donations do fall off quite a bit." Unsteady contributions, coupled with a recent increase in the number of people requesting help, means that Community Services must sometimes turn people away, she said. Both Murray and Burrows, however, say that donations of food, money and gifts have been plentiful during December. "There were many special donations," Murray said. About Town B10 Business C1-4 Classified C5-8 Community B1-10 Editorials A4 Letters A5 Obituaries A6 Sports B11-16 TV Listings C4 i i 7 c3 HOME DELIVERY 732-1931 1 Dkdn DrKrt trvtnmuiK 100 Salvation Army volunteer Dot Johnson works at the church on Brooks Road, helping to pack food hampers going to needy families in the Chilliwack area. Approximately 600 hampers will be given out this week.

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