Celebrate Safely:

Abbotsford Police are encouraging residents to celebrate Diwali safely.

The APD recognizes festivals such as the South Asian festival of light this week contribute to a vibrant and engaged community, said Const. Ian MacDonald.

However, police want to ensure the safety of participants, and private and public property.

As on Halloween and Canada Day, fireworks are popular at Diwali, and there are inherent risks when you combine them with crowds, MacDonald said. Police will ensure anyone using fireworks has valid permits.

“People might be in breach of city bylaws, but our first concern, of course, would be their safety.”

Strong Start:

A new StrongStart centre was officially opened at Harry Sayers Elementary on Friday.

The free early learning program for preschool aged children is the 11th centre to open in Abbotsford.

Childhood educators lead kids in activities such as stories, music, and arts, to help them grow linguistically, emotionally and socially, and become comfortable in a school-like setting.

The Abbotsford school district received $50,000 in provincial funding for the Harry Sayers StrongStart program.

“With each new centre we ensure that more children and families in our community are getting the

support they need to build the early literacy skills that are so essential to life-long success,” said

Abbotsford-West MLA Michael de Jong at the celebration.

Third in Growth:

Abbotsford’s census metropolitan area (CMA) has been rated third in Canada when it comes to small business growth between 2004 and 2009.

The report, released by the BMO Bank of Montreal economics department, puts the Abbotsford CMA – which includes Mission – behind only Toronto and Guelph.

Abbotsford has seen a 10. 2 per cent growth, compared to 15. 1 per cent in Toronto and 13.8 per cent in Guelph.