While 2020 will forever go down as the year of the COVID-19 global pandemic, and the topic dominated our news coverage for the last 10 months of the year that’s not all we covered at The Chilliwack Progress.
Remarkably, only two of the top 10 most read stories on www.theprogress.com were directly COVID related.
Through it all, human tragedy – fatal accidents, missing people, a man saving his daughters – is what compel readers to click links and read about their community.
But there’s more.
Here are the top 10 most read stories written by Chilliwack Progress reporters in 2020. Take a look back.
1 – Chilliwack doc tells it like it is from inside the ER
Dr. Marc Greidanus tells it like it is from inside the emergency room at Chilliwack General Hospital in this Q&A posted on April 2, 2020, very early on in the pandemic.
2 – Chilliwack RCMP identify missing, potentially armed man
People are always compelled by the tragedy of a missing person, whatever the reason. David McCullum, 39, was last seen in the Columbia Valley area in April, but sadly a little while later his body was found.
3 – Fatal collision Sunday leaves Chilliwack father and five children with minor injuries
This tragedy could have been much worse as a driver who T-boned a family in September died, but the family all survived.
4 – Rosedale man sees significant spike in BC Hydro bill after purchasing electrical vehicle
Somewhat surprisingly this was the fourth read story on our website in 2020, and some were critical of the subject of the story. Hydro bill spiked after buying an electric car? What did he think was going to happen? But it was a compelling look at a technology that is becoming increasingly popular, and would have been of interest to current and future EV car owners, and not just locally.
5 – Two more new businesses to fill empty space at Cottonwood Mall in Chilliwack next year
Let’s go to the mall! Don’t ever say people don’t read stories about retail business in their community. This story about what is coming in 2021 to the Cottonwood Mall was widely read.
6 – Chilliwack dad rescues his two young daughters after truck plunges into Cultus Lake
Stories of tragedy and hardship always receive a wide readership, but it’s nice when it’s a near tragedy, and turns out to be a story of a family hero.
7 – Three Chilliwack doctors left scrambling after being ‘unexpectedly ordered’ out of clinic space
This was an unusual situation as many people are left scrambling to find a family doctors, and these three were ordered out of their clinic by their landlord amid a pandemic, a situation that obviously resonated with readers.
8 – After their two dogs died of meat tainted with antifreeze, Chilliwack family wants to warn others
Stories about dogs suffering are always compelling as so many people have pets. This story from April was particularly shocking, and followed up with more recent alleged poisonings of dogs near the Vedder River in the fall.
9 – Two children killed in ATV accident in Chilliwack River Valley Sunday
Tragedy in the wilderness around Chilliwack is all too common.
10 – Chilliwack number of reported COVID-19 cases released
After asking Fraser Health for months to no avail, the Canadian Centre for Disease Control finally released municipality-by-municipality COVID-19 case numbers. Frustratingly for journalists, the release of these numbers was quickly halted as Dr. Bonnie Henry called it “dangerous.” It wasn’t until late in 2020 when reporters were finally allowed access to the numbers again.
Do you have something to add to this story, or something else we should report on? Email: editor@theprogress.com
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