Winners Book - General Excellence 2013

Transcription

General excellence 2013
Table of Contents
General Excellence - Class 1011 Circulation up to 1,249
3-7
General Excellence - Class 1012 Circulation 1250 to 1999
8-12
General Excellence - Class 1013 Circulation 2,000 to 2,999
13-17
18-22
23-27
28-32
33-37
General Excellence - Class 1018 Circulation 25,000 and over
38-42
General excellence 2013
General Excellence
Class 1011 - circulation up to 1249
General Excellence 2013
General Excellence
Judge: John DeMings
Best All-Round Newspaper
first place
Second place
Third place
� Negotiations underway for condo property
Wapella
woman wins
$250,000
- Page 2
HERALD
WHITEWOOD
2008 Dodge
Caliber SXT Wagon
Extended Hours
$10,900
Single copy:
Monday - Friday 8 am to 9 pm
Saturday . . . . . . . 8 am to 7 pm
Sunday . . . . . . . . 9 am to 7 pm
To view this car and all other high-end pre-owned
inventory check out www.drummondsauto.com
(GST Included)
538-3230
Highway 26 East, Meaford
$1.25
Volume 120, No. 28
Junction of 1 & 9
Another
highway
collision
Swarmed!
WEDNESDAY, JULY 11, 2012
W W W . M E A F O RD E X P RE S S . C O M
SUMMER SPLASH!
Dallas Bell runs through the sprinkler while Connor Schell cheers on his new splash pad friend. The Meaford splash
pad was a crowded spot on Friday, July 6, as most of Southern Ontario experienced record high temperatures.
BY CHRIS FELL
STAFF
The Municipality of Meaford’s new
CAO is looking forward to living and
working in this community.
The Express spoke to newly hired
CAO Denyse Morrissey just a few
hours after the municipality announced
she would become the new CAO.
“I’m really looking forward to being a resident of Meaford and finding a beautiful home. Hopefully it
has a great garden,” she said during
a brief interview. “I will be looking
for homes in Meaford this weekend.
The ‘for sale’ sign goes on my house
tomorrow and hopefully it sells
quickly,” she said.
Morrissey currently lives near
Oshawa in the small community of
Courtice. She is currently working for
the City of Oshawa as the Director of
Recreation and Culture Services. She
has extensive experience in the world
of municipal government and will
start with Meaford on August 13.
Morrissey said she plans to be in
Meaford on Monday, July 9 to meet
Continued on Page 2
2011 FORD EXPLORER
the intersection in 2011 and found no
safety issues in the design of the junction. A few minor visibility issues with
signage was found in the human factors study however, and have still not
been rectified.
“Recommendations are under
review and short-term recommendations are under consideration for this
fiscal year. Recommendations that are
not completed immediately will be
placed in the Ministry's Safety
- continued on page 14
Photo by Darin Bennett
Darin Carr of Moosomin removes bees from under a building at the Darin and
Jodi Bennett farm just west of Whitewood. It is estimated that over 100,000
bees were nesting under the building.
Tom Bumstead
[email protected]
Now
Selling cars for 38 years!
Whitewood area
Farmyard is swarmed
by over 100,000 bees
BY DONNA BEUTLER
When the Bennetts, Jodi and
Darin, say they had a bee problem at
their farm yard west of Whitewood,
they weren’t kidding.
The Bennetts first noticed the bees
about 10 years ago, under a corner of
their house and have attempted to get
rid of them from time to time by spraying them. They once ripped the corner
of the house, now a dog and cat kennel, out and, using a spade and pry
bars, dug out the hives and honeycombs, dug as deep as they could with
the spade, thinking they got it all.
Jodi Bennett told the Herald that
one day last year the bees swarmed
the old house when she was in it, leaving her stuck in the building. This
year, after the bees swarmed her
again, the couple decided to try to deal
with the problem once again.
Bennett says she hoped she would
get some response to her internet
request for help in dealing with the
bees but most responses said to “Raid”
them. Finally, she says, Darin Carr
from the Moosomin area arrived, complete with his bee suit, came and took
a look and then came back two weeks
later, prepared to gather up the bees
and transport them back to his place
and put them with the rest of his bees.
The bees, says Bennett, carry little
green pieces of leaves and are known
as leaf-cutter bees. It took Carr four
hours but he finally filled two large
bee boxes, estimating that he had
gathered up over 100,000 bees, the
largest infestation he’s ever seen. He’s
confident that he got the queen bee,
telling the Bennetts that as long as
they got the queen bee and the babies,
everything should be good.
“It’s been very interesting,”
Bennett told the Herald, “and very
neat to see, but it’s going to be nice
that they’re gone.” Bennett says. The
hole is open now and there are a few
stragglers left but after a few days,
we’ll spray them and close everything
up.
Bennett’s husband Darin took several pictures of the process of removing the bees as it took place, getting
stung a couple of times on the face.
Bennett says that with the bee
problem solved, she hopefully won’t
ever have to cancel customers to her
kennel because of bees again!
Whitewood Herald
Whitewood, SK
The North Thompson Times
Clearwater, BC
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Two occupants in each of two cars that collided at the junction of Highways #1 and #9 on July 7 were sent to hospital with undetermined injuries. The intersection of the Trans Canada and #9 has seen many collisions since the double lane opened in 2006 and the Dept. of Highways says safety recommendations are being reviewed.
With temperatures soaring
last week and no relief in
sight, the Municipality of
Meaford opened several cooling stations at a number of
municipal facilities until temperatures begin to subside.
Cooling stations will be
open at these locations:
• Meaford and St. Vincent
Community Centre/Arena daily from 9 a.m. to 8 p.m.
• Meaford Hall from
Monday to Friday from 9
a.m. to 4 p.m. and weekends
from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m.
• Meaford Museum everyday from 10 a.m. to 4
p.m., with the exception of
Friday when the hours will
be 12 p.m. to 6 p.m.
• Meaford Public Library
on Fridays from 10 a.m. to
5 p.m. and Saturdays from
10 a.m. to 3 p.m.
Meaford also has the
Splash Pad at McCarroll Park available for the
youngsters to cool off in
this heat.
The Blue Dolphin Swimming Pool is also open
daily for public swimming.
Check the Pool’s summer
hours at www.meaford.ca.
Memorial Park also features
all kinds of public beach
space for those wanting to
go for a dip to cool off.
New CAO looks forward to living in Meaford
34,963 km
Accident sends four to hospital
Nissan of Owen Sound
SUNSET STRIP
519-376-0974
Meaford opens
cooling centres
BY CHRIS FELL
STAFF
The future of the Meaford Public
Library remains unclear.
Meaford council at its regular
meeting on Monday, July 9 was
scheduled to vote on a resolution
that if passed would have begun soil
testing at the Meaford Harbour for
a possible future relocation of the
library to that area of the town.
However, councillor Mike
Poetker withdrew the resolution at
the meeting.
“I will be bringing it forward
again,” Poetker said at the meeting,
adding that he pulled the resolution
back after municipal staff presented
council with a lengthy report about
the harbour lands and possible future uses for those properties. The
municipality has been working on
developing a Harbour Strategic Plan
and the harbour is a key area in Meaford’s various economic development studies.
“Planning staff prefer a library
within the downtown core,” the
report stated. “Should the harbour
be reconsidered as a location for a
future library, a comprehensive plan
should be developed to address environmental/soil considerations; directional signage and advertising; and
alternatives to ensure that the site
remains accessible and tied to the
downtown core and its functions.”
After the meeting councillor
Poetker said it was proper to pull
back his resolution in order to study
the report from staff.
Continued on Page 2
Intersection safety being
questioned once again
BY CHRIS ASHFIELD
The safety of the intersection of
Highways 1 and 9 at Whitewood is
once again being questioned by local
residents after another major collision
occurred at the junction, the second in
just a matter of weeks.
The most recent collision occurred
on July 7 at around 10 a.m. when an
eastbound vehicle traveling along
Highway 1 struck a vehicle that was
southbound on Highway 9. Each vehicle had two occupants and all were
transported to hospital with unknown
injuries.
A similar crash happened at the
junction less than three weeks earlier
when two SUV’s collided on June 19,
sending two of four people to hospital.
Since the Trans-Canada Highway
was twinned through Whitewood in
2006, approximately 50 collisions
have occurred at the intersection of
Highways 1 and 9, one of which
resulted in the death of a teenage boy.
Preliminary 2011 figures from SGI for
the intersection show that there is an
average of two collisions per year
resulting in four injuries and no fatalities. And according to local RCMP,
almost all the collisions are a result of
human error.
The Department of Highways conducted both an engineering safety
study and a human factors study of
Formerly
$1.25 • 24 PAGES
Future of
Meaford
Library still
unclear
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General Excellence
Judge: John DeMings
Best Editorial Page
first place
COURIER-EXPRESS- JULY 11, 2012 |
4
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Third place
General Manager - Carol Lamb
Editor - Scott Woodhouse
Published every Wednesday by Metroland Media Group 68 Sykes
St. North, Meaford N4L 1R2.
OPINION&LETTERS
Bluewater District School Board has an honesty problem.
In the most recent budget process, the board opted to
cut the special education budget, eliminating the two remaining teachers in the gifted education program called
TRAIL.
The province requires that all school boards have a
gifted education program, but does not make specific
rules about what the program looks like or how it is delivered.
The school board claims it did not “cut” the gifted
education program and will still be offering the 416 students a suitable replacement to the TRAIL program.
But there are no details on what the program will look
like, how it will work, or who will run it. The gifted
education committee, established by the school board,
was left completely out of the decision and is now being
asked to come up with ideas for next year.
Parents with gifted children had no idea the program
was on the chopping block until the cuts were made and
the teaching positions eliminated.
Gifted students, who are only labeled as such after
rigorous testing created by the provincial government,
learn differently. They pick up new concepts quickly
and flourish if they are allowed to move on instead of
repeat those lessons.
By not providing those students with resources and
opportunity to work ahead, the Bluewater District
School Board is hindering their learning and preventing
them from reaching their potential.
Well, maybe.
Since the board has only announced cuts, and not actual plans for next year, we really have no idea what’s in
store for these children.
Somehow, a group of volunteer committees and paid
school board administrators have to come up with an
option that fits the budget and satisfies the Ministry of
Education.
There’s no room for failure, and not much time to
think this over - students return to the classroom in September.
The school board is going about this in a very backward way, showing little regard for the gifted education
program, the students, the parents and the committees
they promised to consult. The board likes to say they
act in the interest of the students, but it’s only a line if
there’s no action to reinforce the principle.
The cuts are made, the teachers are gone. Now they
turn to the stakeholders for help.
Maybe trustees and administrative staff are too far
removed from students to really understand.
Why did the board cut first and plan second? Did anyone try for more grants from the province - did anyone
look for program sponsorship?
Bluewater school board, you need to listen to parents,
trust your experts, and plan ahead - but above all, be
honest about the results of your actions.
Second place
A solution for
library problem
This year I’m IN the Run/Walk/Stroll
I hoping that anybody I’ve encountered
This column is supposed to be about the
over the past few months has noticed that 16th annual Meaford Harbour Run/Walk/
I’ve been - umm - getting smaller!
Stroll. This year, instead of just taking picI’m loath to write that I’m on a “weight tures and watching everybody compete,
loss” plan. It’s not really a plan. I’ve been I’m in the event! I have entered myself in
losing weight the old fashioned
the competitive walk portion of the
way: I’ve been eating less and
event and I’m currently collecting
moving more.
pledges/sponsors (call me at The ExShortly after Christmas I realpress 519-538-1421 ext 24 or email
ized I had to do something. Over
me at: [email protected] if you
the course of a couple of weeks I
would like to make a pledge!). All
was sick with Strep and my back
the funds raised for the event go to
went out very badly causing me a
the Meaford Hospital Foundation.
lot of pain. My waist size had hit
My nightly walking route is in ex40 and I realized I needed to make
cess of five kilometres and I’ve been
R
EPORTER’S
changes.
monitoring my nightly times since
NOTEBOOK
From that point on I started
March. My times have been improvChris Fell
walking vigorously and carefully
ing and I can now maintain a walkmonitoring the calories I took in
ing pace of more than four miles per
each day with the help of an App I down- hour over the entire course I do each night.
loaded on my iPhone.
I’m hoping I can continue to drop enough
I’ve had excellent results and have shed a pounds and eventually start a regular jogsignificant amount of weight. I can fit into ging regime. When I started my walking
smaller clothing, I feel better and I haven’t program I had the Run/Walk/Stroll in mind
been sick or felt anything wonky in my back for this year. Next year I’m hoping I’m far
for months.
enough along in my program to run in the
I digress. I don’t want this to be about event.
weight loss. I hope I can write a: “I reached
The Run/Walk/Stroll is this Saturday
my goal weight...” column in the near fu- (July 14) at 9 a.m. sharp. I hope to see a lot
ture!
of people in the event and in the crowd!
[email protected]
Rebecca Lowe
[email protected]
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Express
Meaford, ON
Editor:
I see that the Harbour Library construction idea has been revived. Now
my wife and I read books daily and
so do many of our friends. But of all
the people we know, as lifelong residents of Meaford, only two or three
ever attend the library. I suspect that
is true of many residents.
All Meaford residents know that
tackling a building project like this
on the most valuable land in the
municipality is going to be another
costly affair. However, there is apparently a group that sees a great
need for such a facility for the people who would use it. Therefore, I
propose a solution that should please
all. The Library Board could prepare
a ballot that could be available to all
new library supporters that allows
them to say: “I want a new Harbour
Library” and “I want my taxes raised
by $(enter dollar amount here) a year
to pay for it.”
This would answer three questions:
1. Tell how many people want a
new harbour library
2. How much they want it
3. It would automatically establish
a budget for the new building, equipment, operations, staff, etc.
A separate benefit would be that
Meaford is spared from another crippling expense.
Jim Gardner
Cut environment,
fund big oil
Editor:
The profits for Big Oil have been
released for 2011. They are up over
60 per cent from 2010:
Exxon Mobile - $41.1 billion,
Shell - $28.6 billion,
Chevron - $26.8 billion,
BP - $23.8 billion,
Conoco Phillips - $12.4 billion.
The Harper Conservatives subsidized, gave tax relief and cash to
Big Oil to the tune of $1.2 billion in
2011. Yes, that is one billion, 200
million taxpayer dollars.
How’s that for an Economic Action Plan?
M. Loewen Taylor, Thornbury
Vice President and Regional Publisher:
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Director of Advertising:
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Reg. Distribution Manager
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Reg. Accounting Manager: Dana Liscoumb- [email protected]
We acknowledge the financial support of the Government of Canada
through the Canadian Periodical Fund of the Department of Canadian Heritage.
General Excellence
Judge: John DeMings
Best Front Page
first place
Second place
Economic
Development
� Negotiations underway for condo property
Wapella
woman wins
$250,000
- Page 2
HERALD
WHITEWOOD
Meet the committee
Page
Single copy:
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Vol. 32 No. 13
•
Page
Volume 120, No. 28
Another
highway
collision
Swarmed!
...Inside
Minor
hockey
celebrates
season end
www.whitewoodherald.com
Junction of 1 & 9
BY CHRIS ASHFIELD
The safety of the intersection of
Highways 1 and 9 at Whitewood is
once again being questioned by local
residents after another major collision
occurred at the junction, the second in
just a matter of weeks.
The most recent collision occurred
on July 7 at around 10 a.m. when an
eastbound vehicle traveling along
Highway 1 struck a vehicle that was
southbound on Highway 9. Each vehicle had two occupants and all were
transported to hospital with unknown
injuries.
A similar crash happened at the
junction less than three weeks earlier
when two SUV’s collided on June 19,
sending two of four people to hospital.
Since the Trans-Canada Highway
was twinned through Whitewood in
2006, approximately 50 collisions
have occurred at the intersection of
Highways 1 and 9, one of which
resulted in the death of a teenage boy.
Preliminary 2011 figures from SGI for
the intersection show that there is an
average of two collisions per year
resulting in four injuries and no fatalities. And according to local RCMP,
almost all the collisions are a result of
human error.
The Department of Highways conducted both an engineering safety
study and a human factors study of
3
$1 (GST incl.)
Visit us online:
Intersection safety being
questioned once again
2
History
Bringing You the News since 1984
Saskatchewan’s Oldest Continuing Weekly Newspaper – Published since 1893
Monday, July 16, 2012
Third place
Vicki Brooker photo
Alex Kurash Memorial winner
Warren Ference was the proud recipient of the Alex Kurash Memorial Trophy, presented by Doug Bassett
at Friday’s Elk Point Minor Hockey windup. The trophy is presented annually to the most improved peewee
hockey player, judged by criteria that include coachability, positive attitude and a desire to learn.
BY VICKI BROOKER AND DOUG BASSETT
Review Staff
Elk Point’s 2011-2012 minor hockey season officially
drew to a close on Friday night with one of the biggest
windup banquets in recent history, where players, volunteers and parents were all praised for their part in making
this a memorable and progressive winter of hockey.
To start off the program, Elk Point Minor Hockey president Jackie Ludlage led a standing ovation for the players,
from Micro Novice to Peewee, honouring their skills and
good sportsmanship.
Ludlage then called EPMH treasurer Margaret Bayduza,
referees-in-chief Lisa Warawa and Twila Stafford. registrar
Lisa Van Maarion, bingo coordinator and banquet organizer Melinda Henderson, secretary Lori Poitras, booth coordinator Maria Cueva, fundraising coordinator Val Poulin,
vice-president Sandi Capjack and “Mr. Hockey,” Doug
Bassett, to the stage to accept commemorative t-shirts in
appreciation for their efforts.
A round of applause went out to coaches, managers and
the many volunteers who helped last fall to prepare the
arena for the season.
Then it was time to introduce each team on the Elk Point
roster. Peewee Avalanche coach Dwayne Odgaard introduced manager Christine Graus, assistant coaches Rodney
Graus , Megan Tucker and, not in attendance, Kevin
McGillivray, and commented on the year. “We had 17 kids,
and only four of them were returning peewees. It’s a team
game, if you want to have success, and we came a long
way.” Odgaard said the team “went as far as Wabasca and
Macklin, SK to play, and I have to say, some of these multimillion-dollar buildings don’t have the ambience that our
A. G. Ross Arena has, with Mr. Hockey calling out the players’ names, and the music blaring. This town is the best
place to play hockey.”
(Continued on Page 5)
Albertans heading to the polls on April 23
BY STAFF WRITERS
Premier Alison Redford has called an election for April
23 and local leaders are predicting it will be one of the most
interesting elections Albertans have seen in a long time.
Last week, incumbent candidate for the Progressive
Conservatives, Ray Danyluk, spoke on the looming election.
“I just want to say I’m ready,” said Danyluk. He was
optimistic that an election would be called in the near
future. According to provincial law, the Election
Amendment Act, an election has to take place between
March 1 and May 31 this year.
Danyluk says he strives to be a representative of communities and the Lac La Biche-St. Paul - Two Hills constituency. “I’m not going to stop doing that.” He feels the
Accident sends four to hospital
Photo by Darin Bennett
Darin Carr of Moosomin removes bees from under a building at the Darin and
Jodi Bennett farm just west of Whitewood. It is estimated that over 100,000
bees were nesting under the building.
comes to meeting people and speaking about our policies,” he added.
“Over the past year, we’ve been working hard trying
to meet as many voters as possible,” said Wildrose candidate Shayne Saskiw. Saskiw said voter turnout will be
key this election, adding many people stayed home in
2008 because there was no credible alternative to the
PCs.
This election, “It’s going to be a stark contrast between
a PC government that’s no longer listening to Albertans
versus a Wildrose government, which believes in decentralization of health services, lower power bills, restoring
property rights and fixing our health care system.”
(Continued on Page 12)
Photo by Chris Ashfield
Two occupants in each of two cars that collided at the junction of Highways #1 and #9 on July 7 were sent to hospital with undetermined injuries. The intersection of the Trans Canada and #9 has seen many collisions since the double lane opened in 2006 and the Dept. of Highways says safety recommendations are being reviewed.
the intersection in 2011 and found no
safety issues in the design of the junction. A few minor visibility issues with
signage was found in the human factors study however, and have still not
been rectified.
“Recommendations are under
review and short-term recommendations are under consideration for this
fiscal year. Recommendations that are
not completed immediately will be
placed in the Ministry's Safety
- continued on page 14
constituency has been going in a very good direction, with
much work being done in education, infrastructure, on
local highways, and for health care.
Local Liberal candidate John Nowak, whose party
announced its platform last month, said the delay in
announcing a date for the election has hurt the PC’s campaign.
“I’m glad they finally realized that the longer they put
it off the worse they’re starting to look,” Nowak said.
“All of the Liberal candidates have been door knocking
and spending time with stakeholders throughout Alberta.”
“We don’t have the dollars the PCs or the Wildrose
have for large scale phone, radio or TV advertisements,
so we’re going to have to just outwork everybody when it
Whitewood area
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TEAM REALTY
5014 - 50 AVE., ELK POINT
Farmyard is swarmed
by over 100,000 bees
BY DONNA BEUTLER
When the Bennetts, Jodi and
Darin, say they had a bee problem at
their farm yard west of Whitewood,
they weren’t kidding.
The Bennetts first noticed the bees
about 10 years ago, under a corner of
their house and have attempted to get
rid of them from time to time by spraying them. They once ripped the corner
of the house, now a dog and cat kennel, out and, using a spade and pry
bars, dug out the hives and honeycombs, dug as deep as they could with
the spade, thinking they got it all.
Jodi Bennett told the Herald that
one day last year the bees swarmed
the old house when she was in it, leaving her stuck in the building. This
year, after the bees swarmed her
again, the couple decided to try to deal
with the problem once again.
Bennett says she hoped she would
get some response to her internet
request for help in dealing with the
bees but most responses said to “Raid”
them. Finally, she says, Darin Carr
from the Moosomin area arrived, complete with his bee suit, came and took
a look and then came back two weeks
Whitewood Herald
Whitewood, SK
later, prepared to gather up the bees
and transport them back to his place
and put them with the rest of his bees.
The bees, says Bennett, carry little
green pieces of leaves and are known
as leaf-cutter bees. It took Carr four
hours but he finally filled two large
bee boxes, estimating that he had
gathered up over 100,000 bees, the
largest infestation he’s ever seen. He’s
confident that he got the queen bee,
telling the Bennetts that as long as
they got the queen bee and the babies,
everything should be good.
“It’s been very interesting,”
Bennett told the Herald, “and very
neat to see, but it’s going to be nice
that they’re gone.” Bennett says. The
hole is open now and there are a few
stragglers left but after a few days,
we’ll spray them and close everything
up.
Bennett’s husband Darin took several pictures of the process of removing the bees as it took place, getting
stung a couple of times on the face.
Bennett says that with the bee
problem solved, she hopefully won’t
ever have to cancel customers to her
kennel because of bees again!
Elk Point Review
Elk Point, AB
Bowen Island Undercurrent
Bowen Island, BC
General Excellence
Blue Ribbons
Eagle Valley News, Sicamous, BC
Express, Meaford, ON
The North Thompson Times, Clearwater, BC
The Valley Sentinel, Valemount/McBride, BC
Whitewood Herald, Whitewood, SK
Judge: John DeMings
JUDGE’S COMMENT
It was a treat to see some of the ideas and efforts of newspapers in this class, and
I will happily borrow some of the ideas. On the other hand, too often stories were
too long, headlines too bland, and photos lacked punch. The winning papers,
particularly the Whitewood Herald, generally escaped that, with strong colour
photographs and bold headlines.
Making a newspaper exciting for readers takes work, a challenge for overworked
news staff. Create enticing headlines to go with succinct lead paragraphs. Pull
readers into the story. Good photos don’t happen by accident, although the best
advice is often as simple as “Get closer.” Even when available, good photos deserve
prominent play. Go for larger size when you have a decent photo, and plan for
colour whenever it is available.
In many entries it would have been nice to see page 3 better utilized for news,
rather than largely given over to advertising. Pages 1 and 3, the editorial page
and the sports page are important. Get them right and the rest falls into place.
Advertisers do want to be up front, so many papers should consider moving the
editorial page from page 4 to 6. That enables more room for news and ads.
General Excellence
Class 1012 - circulation 1250 to 1999
General Excellence
Judge: Brenda Jefferies
first place
Second place
Third place
THE
EASTERN DOOR
KAHNAWAKE MOHAWK TERRITORY • www.easterndoor.com
Celebrating
20 years
Friday, July 13, 2012
Vol. 21 No. 27
$2.00
THIS WEEK
Happy powwow
2012!
The Echoes of a Proud
Nation Pow Wow celebrates
our drummers and dancers,
our culture and traditions.
Pages 7. 15
Elections 2012
The Mohawk Council
elections brought about a
certain amount of change,
but big challenges remain.
Pages 4, 6, 12
Cancer conquerors
There weren’t as many
riders this year, but the local
contingent for the annual
Ride to Conquer Cancer
raised a ton of cash.
Page 11
Digging up bones
An archeologist and his team
uncovered some interesting
finds recently at a dig in the
community.
Page 14
BRITTANY LEBORGNE THE EASTERN DOOR
(In-store specials available)
(Until June 30th)
R.B.Q. Licence # 8258 0374 18
MAIL REGISTRATION NO. 40009002
R.B.Q. Licence # 2530 8255 31
The Eastern Door
Kahnawake, QC
The Georgian
Stephenville, NL
The Chronicle
Ladysmith/Chemainus, BC
General Excellence
Best Editorial Page
first place
Second place
Third place
6
High Prairie South Peace News, Wednesday, July 11, 2012
Local
Not so
unclear
A few weeks ago, one of the 100 or so weekly newspapers in Alberta got itself in a pickle. The details of
this pickle aren’t clear.
First, we have to say we love how journalists and
announcers use the phrase or word “not clear” or
“unclear.”
As in, “The cabinet minister was caught at 4 a.m.
leaving a house of ill repute. What he was doing
there is unclear.”
Late night janitorial work, perhaps?
Or how about, “The gunman is holed up in the
bank. After firing several shots at police, he took his
own life. It isn’t clear what he was doing at the
bank.”
Silly, he was trying to open an account, of course.
“Unclear” is a catch-all phrase to make it sound
like we reporters of news know what we are doing.
The real translation is, “We haven’t the foggiest idea
what is going on, and if anybody else knows real
facts, they aren’t talking yet.”
But rather than admit that, let’s just say it’s “unclear.”
Following that, exactly what happened at the
Chestermere Advance is “unclear.”
We do know that over a period of time, the publisher, doing double duty as a columnist for the paper, was lifting some sort of copy from many
sources. We don’t know what copy that was: a line, a
paragraph, a whole column or story. Unknown.
But it was done several times, and the works of
multiple people were copied without credit or acknowledgement. The work was then passed off as
the publisher’s own. Bad, bad.
In his defence, the publisher said that overwork
led to him getting behind. Running the photocopier
was the only way he could get some sleep. It’s lots of
work covering meetings, taking photos, putting the
newspaper together and looking after all the back
end jobs at a news organization.
Now, it’s never occurred to us that lifting copy
from another source could get us through the week.
This is no way to fill pages. In fact, our problem is
usually the opposite. We have way too many story
ideas happening locally that keep us busy. Writing
stories about the Coney Island Circus known as
High Prairie town council alone could fill a newspaper each week. The only reason stories aren’t written is readers wouldn’t believe the silliness, irresponsibility and outright illegalities that take place
at council.
Lifting copy never occurred to our local radio station either. Their choice is to not bother reporting
news at all. Why waste air time talking about civic
affairs? John Q. Listener is more concerned about
the Celebration Hotline. And reporting news might
offend an advertiser.
Both radio and the Chestermere newspaper
maybe should have just said, “There’s something
going on this week. But what is happening is unclear.”
There you go.
It sounds like reporting the news and it doesn’t offend anybody, except somebody who wants news.
- Jeff Burgar
The Chronicle
The Hub
Hay River, NT
As good as info as any
Commentary by
Jeff Burgar
“Well, it sure seems busier.”
“People don’t have any money.
That’s why our business is
down.”
“I’m not as busy as I used to
be, but the town sure seems
busier.”
“I just got back from the city.
Wow was it ever busy there. I
guess our own stores must also
be doing good.”
These are the kind of words
one often hears in the coffee
shops or around the kitchen table. People are interested in how
the economy is doing. There are
all kinds of good reasons to be interested.
For starters, if you are looking
for a job, it helps to know if business is up or down in your town.
If business is up, chances are
business is hiring. If you already
have a job and the economy is
improving, maybe that means
now is a good time to ask for a
raise.
We want
to hear
from you!
If you are in business, and it
looks like things are hopping,
maybe you can think about expanding.
If, of course, you are seeing
your own business improving. If
you aren’t? Well, this is an indication you aren’t the excellent business person you thought you are.
Being in Alberta, and northern
Alberta especially, it’s often hard
to get a real feel of economic
conditions. Energy towns like
Slave Lake, Whitecourt and
Edson, and up-and-comers like
Falher and McLennan, rock and
roll, or go to sleep, depending on
oil prices.
Forest and agriculture towns
have good years and bad years.
Some businesses, like banks,
have all to do not with what happens locally, but what is happening in Toronto or Montreal at
their head office. That, of course,
is what adds to the trouble of calculating.
Even a newspaper or magazine in Edmonton or Calgary is
so out of touch with northern Al-
berta’s local conditions, one can’t
rely on them. A copy of the
American Fortune magazine is
most times, totally useless if you
have to make a big local decision.
It often comes down to ideas
that sound silly, but make a lot of
sense. Big trucks on the highways are a starter. The more
there are, the better business is.
And how about VLT sales?
Our own province of Alberta
just released numbers that show
gambling revenue is up over last
year. Not a lot, but up. As a proxy
for the state of the economy, this
is one place to look. The lineups
at restaurants and movie theatres are another place. People do
spend more on entertainment
and eating out when times are
better.
Really key information in the
VLT news is we still are not back
to peak earnings in 2007 and,
yes, there can be still more
trucks on the road.
Now, if oil prices will just hang
in there...
South Peace News welcomes readers to write letters to the editor. A maximum of 300 words is preferred but
not necessary. Letters must carry a first name or two initials with surname and include an address and daytime
telephone number. All letters are subject to editing. Please send letters to South Peace News, Box 1000, High
Prairie, Alta., T0G 1E0; fax to (780) 523-3039; or E-mail to [email protected]; or drop off letters at
our office located at 4901-51 Ave. in High Prairie.
South Peace News
High Prairie, AB
General Excellence
Best Front Page
first place
The Chronicle
Second place
Third place
The Hope Standard
Hope, BC
The Georgian
Stephenville, NL
General Excellence
Blue Ribbons
Gravenhurst Banner, Gravenhurst, ON
The Chronicle, Ladysmith/Chemainus, BC
The Digby Courier, Digby, NS
The Eastern Door, Kahnawake, QC
The Georgian, Stephenville, NL
The Hope Standard, Hope, BC
The Hub, Hay River, NT
The Macleod Gazette, Fort Macleod, AB
The Roblin Review, Roblin, MB
The Valley Echo, Invermere, BC
JUDGE’S COMMENT
Every entrant in this category fulfilled its mandate: providing comprehensive
coverage unique to the communities they serve. While some obviously have
more resources at their disposal than others, it was obvious that even the smallest
operations take their roles seriously - and love doing it.
This year’s top selections, The Georgian, the Eastern Door and The Ladysmith
Chronicle take their game to the next level though the masterful use of design
elements, fearless editorial pages and, of course, terrific writing and organization.
Another aspect that set them apart was the encouragement of strong reader
engagement through streeters, polls, letters and the use of submitted photos. I
suspect the arrival of their community paper is a weekly highlight for residents
in all of the communities that participated in this year’s general excellence
competition - congratulations to you all.
General Excellence
General Excellence
Judge: Joe Merlihan
first place
Second place
Third place
Bracebridge Examiner
Bracebridge, ON
Taber Times
Taber, AB
Healthy Living For advice on managing relationships and beating the heat, see our special segment B1-2
$1.25
SEAL TALE
Newsstand
(HST included)
Today’s Weather
Visiting marine mammal could
hold key to Arctic mystery
A4
Sunny
High 29°C
Low 15°C
2012
CCNA
SQUAMISH’S COMMUNITY NEWSPAPER THURSDAY, JULY 12, 2012
CANADIAN
COMMUNITY
NEWSPAPER
AWARD 2012
www.squamishchief.com
Disc golfers
run into
hazards
Two courses ordered
dismantled; group urged
to work with DOS officials
to legitimize use
B E N LY P K A
bly [email protected]
W
PHOTO BY DAVID MCCOLM/WWW.DAVIDMCCOLM.COM
KICKING IT IN: Squamish’s Neal Kindree dashes toward the finish during the final few kilometres of Stage 7 of the seven-day B.C. Bike
Race on Saturday (July 7) in Whistler. After taking almost a four-minute lead during Stage 6 in Squamish, Kindree overcame a flat tire during
the final stage to capture the Epic Solo Men’s title, edging Chris Sheppard by a mere 15 seconds. For stories see Sports, pages A25 and A27.
ith the flick of a wrist, a little luck and some friendly
wind, almost anyone can become a star in the world
of disc golf.
Advocates of the game say it’s a fun, family-friendly sport
that all ages can play. There are dozens of courses throughout the province, with places to play in remote areas like
Pender Island to small towns like Lytton and even Whistler
resort.
A small group of disc golf enthusiasts put together courses in
Valleycliffe, Mamquam and Brackendale, but appear to have
run into some resistance. Discs are no longer flying at two of
the three courses since last Thursday (July 5).
The underground Squamish disc golf group was forced to
dismantle the Valleycliffe and Mamquam courses, which
were located on private land. Disc golf enthusiasts say the
people want to play but it could be a long time before they
can legally hit the links in Valleycliffe or Mamquam again.
“Kelowna, Whistler and all of these other areas have them
and I don’t think council knows how popular they are and
how great the results out there have been,” said local disc golf
advocate Dax Braby. “We just don’t see what the problem is.
We’re the least impact out of everything. You walk in the forest and see dirt bike jumps all over the place and we’re using
land that’s unusable. All we’re doing is walking around.”
According to David Rittberg, a land developer with the Cardinal Group, the problem is that the group set the courses up
on his property without permission.
“Right now it’s not a permitted activity,” he said, noting he
was unaware of the course until the group advertised a Father’s Day event on his land. “They never asked for permission
to construct these courses and we have not approved them.
We want to see everything removed.”
DISC CONTINUED PAGE A4
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Scan this code for the latest news
at www.squamishchief.com
Nancy Hamilton
The Chief
Squamish, BC
8
062 16 0000 2
1
General Excellence
Judge: Joe Merlihan
Best Editorial Page
first place
Second place
A10 | FRIDAY, MARCH 30, 2012
Third place
THE CHIEF
Page 4
REFLECTING THE COUNTY
THE
COURIER WEEKEND
FRIDAY, July 13, 2012
OPINION
CHARLOTTE COUNTY
editorial
PRINTED EVERY FRIDAY BY GLACIER MEDIA INC.
Mailing address: Box 3500, Squamish, B.C V8B 0B9
Street address: 38117 Second Avenue, Squamish
EDITORIAL
T
Not a done deal yet
here’s a pleasant trend emerging from the local provincial court, and one that in all honesty, needs to continue.
For a while, it seemed as if drunk driving was one of
the major issues facing this county. And apparently, it has
been dealt with relatively effectively, for the major issue
now percolating through the provincial court system is
drivers who continue to drive, even though they have lost
their driving privileges – often for having driven while impaired.
It doesn’t take much to argue that if someone is prohibited from driving as part of a penalty for some driving
act, such as speeding, dangerous driving or drunk driving,
then the penalty has little impact if drivers are allowed to
drive, or if when caught, those prohibited drivers aren’t
appropriately punished.
Judge David Walker and his compatriots on the bench
are in a tough spot when it comes to driving in this county. The distances one must travel to conduct even basic
business are far greater than one will experience in urban
environments.
For that reason, loss of driving privileges is tougher
upon rural residents than those in urban domains.
The obvious point is that cautious, safe, law-abiding
citizens do not need to fear such prohibitions. Drive competently, drive sober, and one need not suffer such penalties. That’s the behaviour pattern that must be encouraged, after all.
So, by issuing tougher sentences to some of the prohibited drivers who have been caught driving despite such
bans, the courts are taking a strong, positive step to making our community safer. It is to be applauded.
A
re Squamish residents letting their thirst for anything that has the
potential to boost the local economy blind them to potential pitfalls
that might be associated with the proposed Sea to Sky Gondola?
Maybe, maybe not, but as a result of the recent coverage about the
project in the Lower Mainland media, it’s a possibility we have to consider.
For the first eight-or-so months of its life in the public eye, the gondola —
which would transport guests from a former gravel pit just off Highway 99 to
the top of a ridge leading to Mount Habrich and Sky Pilot — has sailed
through the public input and approval processes. It has already received the
blessing of the District of Squamish and is halfway through the rezoning and
Official Community Plan (OCP) amendment process with the Squamish-Lillooet Regional District (SLRD). It also still has to pass muster with B.C. Parks
and with the Ministry of Forests, Lands and Natural Resources.
The reception the project has received so far is a credit to the proponents’ efforts to present their plans to anyone who’s interested and their
willingness to make changes to the proposal to accommodate the
concerns raised. Their decision to re-orient the route slightly to the south is
one example of that. The fact that they launched their proposal — whether
by luck or design — when economic development was the hottest
hot-button issue in town has also weighed in their favour locally.
Environmental concerns have been raised. Some wonder whether a
marked increase in the amount of pedestrian and bike traffic around the
top station will also increase the
pressure on, and potential for conflict
with, megafauna such as bears and
cougars. That’s an issue we haven’t seen
explored in detail. Really, though, the
opposing voices were muted until those
from outside the Squamish area became
aware of the project, specifically of the
plan to “reclassify” a one-kilometre-long,
20-metre-wide swath from the park to
allow for the gondola towers.
Most of the voices that have weighed in
on the issue recently are from outside
our area, and it’s tempting to dismiss
them as being out of touch with the
needs and desires of Squamish-area
residents. However, Stawamus Chief and
Shannon Falls provincial parks are part
of the natural heritage of every British
Columbian, not just those living within a certain proximity.
Like it or not, their voices matter, too, and this is not about majority rules. To
some extent, this writer has to agree with the Sierra Club’s George Heyman’s
contention that reclassifying land from a Class A provincial park is not a
something to be done capriciously. Is it a show stopper? This writer would
hope not, because from what we’ve seen so far, the project seems like a
win-win on most fronts. But more public consultation and careful consideration are clearly needed before the project gets the provincial seal of approval.
— David Burke
THE ISSUE:
Sea to Sky
Gondola
WE SAY:
Like it or not,
outsiders’ voices
matter, too
Online Poll
How do you feel about reclassifying provincial park land for the gondola?
It’s fine.
This week’s
online question:
Where do you stand
on the council payraise issue?
38%
Not crazy about it, but go ahead.
34%
Hold on, we need more public input.
6%
Opposed.
21%
Total votes: 391
Cast your vote at
www.squamishchief.com!
A. Thumbs up. They’re
vastly underpaid now.
B. Thumbs down. We’re
already facing a tax
hike.
C. Thumbs down. They
just got a raise.
D. Undecided.
- Faulkner
COURIER
WEEKEND
All aboard Squamish’s gondola
I
watched with surprise over the
past few weeks at all the
“breaking news” about how a
proposed gondola is going to
split up Stawamus Chief Provincial
Park.
The developing story was all over
national newspapers, on the radio and
even led the CBC Vancouver newscast
one day.
It’s too bad all these major media
outlets haven’t been following The
Chief.
Like almost anything that’s about to
be built in Squamish, the entire
process for the gondola has been
moving at a glacial pace and the folks
at GroundEffects Developments Inc.
have been doing all the right things as
far as public consultation goes. From
the start of the project, they’ve also
been going through all the proper
avenues with the District of Squamish
(DOS).
The entire concept was launched
last July and after several open houses
it became clear that the vast majority
of Squamish residents supported the
idea. Just take a look at The Chief’s
latest online poll in which over 70 per
cent of respondents want the project
to go ahead.
Back in November, 48 people spoke
in favour of the gondola at a public
hearing and it was at that meeting that
the Squamish Nation chief, council
and elders all gave the project the
thumbs up. The DOS approved the
application for the gondola’s base area
rezoning on Feb. 7, and on Feb. 27 the
REPORTER’S NOTEBOOK
BEN LYPKA
SLRD passed first reading on re-zoning
for the gondola’s upper terminus.
So, what’s the problem?
Well, apparently people in Vancouver and the Lower Mainland don’t
want to see their weekend wilderness
getaway changed in any way. It doesn’t
matter that gondola officials have had
more than 80 public meetings and
have even changed their plans to
accommodate climbers — this type of
intrusion onto nature is just never
going to be acceptable.
What about the positive impacts that
the gondola will have on Squamish?
Jobs, money and tourists are three
things that come to mind. Above all
else, it gives Squamish residents
something to do. A project like this will
only benefit Squamish and make
people actually stay in town rather
than hike the Stawamus Chief, turn
around and head back up the
highway.
It’s also a clever project when you
think about a large part of the
travelling public that Squamish has
largely ignored — seniors. They
already outnumber young people at
a high rate and it’s only going to sway
in that direction even more as time
goes on.
Not everyone has a bike, enjoys
hiking or rock climbs. The gondola is
the perfect opportunity to bring those
people to Squamish and allow them to
experience everything our community
has to offer. Maybe even partner up
with the West Coast Railway Heritage
Park or the Britannia Mine Museum to
promote other fun recreational
activities available in the area.
This is a project that will impact
Squamish, benefit Squamish and
create opportunities for Squamish. So
why should we care what Lower
Mainland
residents have to
say about it?
A project like
•••
this will only…
Editor’s note:
Because of an
make people
error in editing
and production, actually stay in
an erroneous
town rather than
photo, title and
hike the Chief,
byline for the
column that
turn around and
appears in this
head back up
space was
included in the
the highway.
March 23 edition
of The Chief.
The column (“Teach your children
well, indeed”) was actually written by
“Just a Thought” columnist Steven Hill.
The Chief regrets the error.
2011
CCNA
CANADIAN
COMMUNITY
NEWSPAPER
AWARD 2011
SEA TO SKY REGIONAL MANAGER
Sarah Strother
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a message for those in darkness
I
t may be harsh, it may be unpolished, but there are times when
things must be said, when the
right thing to do is the thing that
one isn’t supposed to.
By merely mentioning the fact
that a local youth took his own
life recently, this column violates
a credo, a code of conduct, for
journalists. Media outlets aren’t
supposed to write about such
things. The belief is that if we
write about someone taking his or
her own life, others may be persuaded to do the same.
But silence, and codes of conduct haven’t helped lately: there
have been at least three suicides
in the county – that I know of –
in the last four weeks. It’s a sign
that something is wrong, horribly
wrong: suicides are the canary
in the social coal mine, and this
community has had too many.
If this topic seems a bit familiar, well, it is. Last week, Gerald
MacEachern wrote what I thought
was a moving piece calling for the
community to speak up, to do
something.
On Wednesday, a different column rested in this space, better
written, structurally, better flowing. A column that wasn’t written
late, pushing the paper past deadline.
Then, on Wednesday evening,
as he made his monthly report to
St. Stephen council, I heard RCMP
Sgt. Bob MacKnight note that even
as he spoke, one of his officers
was responding to calls for a possible suicide attempt.
Earlier this week, I noticed
an obituary for a young man
who had graduated, only a few
years ago, from St. Stephen High
School. What caught my attention is the lack of chatter. Nobody
had spoken of a long battle with a
chronic disease. Nobody spoke of
a tragic car crash, ATV mishap, or
Borderlines
Vern Faulkner
other cause of death.
Those two events collided,
lingered in my mind, and somewhere early Thursday morning,
as I lay awake in bed, I knew I had
to write this.
I have to repeat Gerald’s call to
action. Something is wrong in this
community. Maybe it’s the poverty, maybe it’s the lack of jobs.
Maybe it’s a confluence of things.
For whatever reasons, we’ve had
prominent artists and young
people with everything to live for
decide to check out, permanently.
Right now, someone may be
pondering the same thing. And I
ask, for just one moment, to read
to the end.
Hold on, keep going for a few
more minutes, please: that’s the
path to a better future.
I can’t say I’ve ever been truly
suicidal. Like most, I guess, I’ve
pondered the idea in a purely
philosophical, a theoretical “what
if,” sense, but I’ve never been so
dark, so lost, that ending it all
seemed like a good idea. No, I
haven’t been there, but I’ve been
damned close. And I’ve known
more than a few that have been
closer, that have wallowed in that
moment, have even written notes
and begun the final steps.
So no, I haven’t been in the
same place. If you’re suicidal, I
won’t, and can’t, insult you by
saying I understand how you feel.
That’s a BS statement. Even if I
had been there, I can’t see into
someone else’s soul, sense their
misery. I can only relate to my
own.
All I can do speak from personal experience wallowing in my
own dark pits, and from talking
to those who have gone a little
deeper into the darkness and contemplated that most final act. I
can only say it can be better.
So here’s my darkness in three
short sentences: I’ve been homeless. I’ve been without a job. I’ve
suffered what seemed like lifeshattering breakups. Dark times,
yes, and even though everything
seemed hopeless a few times in
my past, it really wasn’t. It can get
better: clearly, my own current
situation is proof it can.
I suppose I could write further
platitudes about crisis lines, counselling, and the like. That’s valid
information. But when it seems
like the brown stuff is hitting
the air propulsion device, and all
hell’s breaking loose, making use
of those resources is tough.
But it’s a step. If where you are
at, right now, is dark and seemingly impossible, I only ask that
you live for the next hour. When
60 minutes has passed, press for
two hours.
Find joy. Be it in a loved one, a
friend, a flower, a bird feeder or a
tranquil pool, find it. Then, when
the darkness subsides a little and it will – look ahead to the next
day. Do that enough times, and
you’ll find that you’ve endured
a week. Keep seeking help, find
support, find hope – somehow.
Don’t be silent. And don’t let
the darkness win. Life itself is the
most precious gift we have.
Don’t waste it. Please.
Faulkner is the editor of the
Courier/Courier Weekend. Email
[email protected]
Courier Weekend
St. Stephen, NB
Bracebridge Examiner
Bracebridge, ON
General Excellence
Judge: Joe Merlihan
Best Front Page
first place
Second place
Northern competition heats up the cold weather at Hay River’s K’amba Carnival. See page 10.
w
it j . c
i s sr
.
w
w
Newsstand
a
(HST included)
Today’s Weather
Visiting marine mammal could
hold key to Arctic mystery
Tuesday, March 6, 2012
Vol. 35 No.43
A4
Sunny
High 29°C
Low 15°C
An in de pe n de nt ne wspa pe r
se r ving Nor ther n Alber ta
a n d the Nor thwe st Te r r itor ie s
since 1977
2012
Disc golfers
run into
hazards
Alberta regulators prepping for rise in fracking
Photo: Meagan Wohlberg
The ERCB in Alberta is reviewing their regulations to
ensure they mitigate the risks
of horizontal hydraulic fracturing. See page 6.
Two courses ordered
dismantled; group urged
to work with DOS officials
to legitimize use
Canada lose s the
‘PEARL’ of the North
Canada’s northernmost Arctic research station is being
forced to close for lack of
funding, leaving a hole in
ozone research. See page 7.
B E N LY P K A
Dÿne Dédliné Yatié
bly [email protected]
Æerehtå’íscho
Denínu Kuç Yatié
Chipewyan Dictionary
W
PHOTO BY DAVID MCCOLM/WWW.DAVIDMCCOLM.COM
KICKING IT IN: Squamish’s Neal Kindree dashes toward the finish during the final few kilometres of Stage 7 of the seven-day B.C. Bike
Race on Saturday (July 7) in Whistler. After taking almost a four-minute lead during Stage 6 in Squamish, Kindree overcame a flat tire during
the final stage to capture the Epic Solo Men’s title, edging Chris Sheppard by a mere 15 seconds. For stories see Sports, pages A25 and A27.
ith the flick of a wrist, a little luck and some friendly
wind, almost anyone can become a star in the world
of disc golf.
Advocates of the game say it’s a fun, family-friendly sport
that all ages can play. There are dozens of courses throughout the province, with places to play in remote areas like
Pender Island to small towns like Lytton and even Whistler
resort.
A small group of disc golf enthusiasts put together courses in
Valleycliffe, Mamquam and Brackendale, but appear to have
run into some resistance. Discs are no longer flying at two of
the three courses since last Thursday (July 5).
The underground Squamish disc golf group was forced to
dismantle the Valleycliffe and Mamquam courses, which
were located on private land. Disc golf enthusiasts say the
people want to play but it could be a long time before they
can legally hit the links in Valleycliffe or Mamquam again.
“Kelowna, Whistler and all of these other areas have them
and I don’t think council knows how popular they are and
how great the results out there have been,” said local disc golf
advocate Dax Braby. “We just don’t see what the problem is.
We’re the least impact out of everything. You walk in the forest and see dirt bike jumps all over the place and we’re using
land that’s unusable. All we’re doing is walking around.”
According to David Rittberg, a land developer with the Cardinal Group, the problem is that the group set the courses up
on his property without permission.
“Right now it’s not a permitted activity,” he said, noting he
was unaware of the course until the group advertised a Father’s Day event on his land. “They never asked for permission
to construct these courses and we have not approved them.
We want to see everything removed.”
DISC CONTINUED PAGE A4
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Scan this code for the latest news
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The Chief
Squamish, BC
8
062 16 0000 2
$1.00
Alberta’s refusal to fund another oilsands upgrader sends
bitumen refining - and natural gas demand - out of the
country. See page 3.
CANADIAN
COMMUNITY
NEWSPAPER
AWARD 2012
2011 national award winner - “Best All-Round Newspaper”
Upgrader absence - the
swansong for MGP?
CCNA
SQUAMISH’S COMMUNITY NEWSPAPER THURSDAY, JULY 12, 2012
V
Healthy Living For advice on managing relationships and beating the heat, see our special segment B1-2
$1.25
SEAL TALE
Third place
1
LQFOXGHVDQ(QJOÕVK&KLSHZ\DQ3KUDVHERRN
SOXVQRWHVRQ&KLSHZ\DQJUDPPDUDQGYHUESDUDGLJPV
Revitalizing Chipewyan
A new, comprehe n sive
Chipewyan dictionary is helping to bring back the language
in South Slave communities.
See page 11.
Bush planes and bloody snow: Aurora College students skinning caribou during winter camp in the South Slave wilderness look on as Northwestern
Air’s recently repaired twin otter gets ready for take off. The plane suffered a broken wheel after a rough landing on the frozen lake earlier that week.
See pages 8 and 9 for more on the Environment and Natural Resources Technology Program winter camp.
Residential schools commission calls for
healing through education
By MEAGAN WOHLBERG
The education system,
once used to tear Aboriginal
families and cultures apart,
should now be used to help
heal wounds lingering from
generations of residential
schools in Canada, says an
interim report released by
the Truth and Reconciliation
Commission (TRC) last week.
The commission, charged
with leading efforts to repair
post-residential school relations in the country, calls for
more Aboriginal control over
education as an important step
for reconciling the trauma
experienced by residential
school survivors and their
families.
“They (survivors) want the
institutions that invested so
much over many decades in
undermining their cultures
to invest now in restoring
them,” Justice Murray Sinclair, chair of the TRC, wrote
in the report.
“They want control over
the way their children and
grandchildren are educated,”
the report said. “Reconciliation will come through the
education system.”
Of the 20 recommendations
made by the report, many call
for a review of what is being
taught in schools and request
that a public awareness campaign be launched in every
province and territory to educate people about the history
of Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal relations in Canada
and the harmful impacts of
residential schools.
There can be no movement
toward reconciliation without an
understanding of the rationale,
operation and overall impact of
the schools,” said Sinclair. “The
truth about the residential school
system will cause many Canadians to see their country differently. These are hard truths,
but only by coming to grips
with these truths can we lay the
foundation for reconciliation.”
Along with the report, the
TRC released a new historical
document, They Came for the
Children, which explores more
than 100 years of the residential school system in Canada.
“It is our hope that this resource will serve a useful, ongoing purpose in furthering efforts
to educate Canadians about this
part of our history,” said TRC
commissioner Marie Wilson.
NWT Education Minister
Jackson Lafferty received the
first copy of the publication
and noted it would be used
in the territory.
“Through curriculum and
teaching resources, we are
ensuring that all students,
teachers and education resource staff in the NWT education system achieve an understanding of the residential
school era and its legacy in
our history,” he said.
The report noted that many
of the 3,000 former students
and staff heard by the commission in interviews hope
education will lead to further
understanding and, thus, respect for Aboriginal people
as they undergo the long and
difficult healing process.
See TRC on page 15.
The best little newspaper in Canada
The Fitzhugh
Jasper, AB
Northern Journal
Fort Smith/Fort Chipewyan, NT
General Excellence
Blue Ribbons
Bracebridge Examiner, Bracebridge, ON
Bugle Observer, Woodstock, NB
Courier Weekend, St. Stephen, NB
North Island Gazette, Port Hardy, BC
Northern Journal, Fort Smith/Fort Chipewyan, NT
Taber Times, Taber, AB
The Advertiser, Grand Falls-Windsor, NL
The Advocate, Pictou, NS
The Chief, Squamish, BC
The Fitzhugh, Jasper, AB
The Kincardine Independent, Kincardine, ON
Judge: Joe Merlihan
JUDGE’S COMMENT
As with every category, the quality of submissions really runs the gamut. Given the
small circulation in this class, of course, there are resource constraints to consider,
especially when it comes to the size of the editorial staff. Still, that’s no excuse for
a lack of effort. The papers that distinguished themselves are those that appear
attuned to their communities, those intent on making an effort when it comes to
providing coverage.
There are some papers too reliant on press releases and other filler material; more
effort should be made to generate stories in-house. With the chain papers, there is
sometimes a tendency to lift stories and even opinion pieces from sister publications. While that’s understandable at times, it should be kept to a minimum. Photography is a very visible component differentiating one paper from another. Most
community newspapers don’t have the luxury of a dedicated photographer, relying
instead on reporters to wear two hats. Not every reporter is a budding visual artist,
but taking in-focus pictures is the minimum that can be expected. Staffing resources can also play a part in the presentation of the paper.
Design and layout are all over the map in this category. Some papers clearly make
more of an effort. Good design is good whether there’s one person doing the work
or half a dozen. In that vein, an editorial staff committed to generating stories and
strong photography can be helpful in improving the look of the paper ... and reducing the need for a plethora of house ads.
Particulars aside, it’s good to see that even in the smallest markets weekly papers
continue to serve their communities, bringing to readers unique news and opinions that can’t be replicated as easily as proponents of online technology would
have us believe.
General Excellence
General Excellence
Judge: Frank McTighe
first place
Second place
Third place
SERVING THE WEST COUNTRY SINCE 1923
FIRST
PLACE
CANADIAN
COMMUNITY
NEWSPAPER
AWARDS
BEARSMART: Bear safety information session held at Nordegg. D1
:
Vol. 90, No. 27 | Tuesday, July 3, 2012
Rocky Mountain House, Alberta
www.rock-e.ca | $1.25 (inc. GST)
B.C. hinders
Howse Pass
highway?
MPs discuss issue with county
BY SARAH MAETCHE
STAFF REPORTER
Canada Day draws all kinds of characters
The National Historic Site was full of cute little kids with painted faces, enjoying every activity the site had to offer on Canada Day such
ELIN THORA JENSDOTTIR | THE MOUNTAINEER
as cake and flags. More inside.
Change is good for WRPS
Students responding with higher marks: superintendent
BY STU SALKELD
EDITOR
The provincial government recently released
Accountability Pillar results for schools across
Alberta. For the uninitiated, Accountability Pillar is
reams of statistical data about things like provincial
achievement tests.
According to the results, students in Wild Rose
Public Schools are getting better grades and
more of them are completing Grade 12, and the
superintendent couldn’t be happier.
“The things we are wanting to see real
improvements on, we are starting to see the
beginnings of what we wanted to see,” said Celli by
phone June 28.
Celli said there were significant improvements
in high school completion rates, a reduction in
drop-out rates, better Provincial Achievement test
results, higher Rutherford Scholarship eligibility
and higher Diploma Exam participation rates.
Celli said he was very happy to see the graduation
rate up four per cent. The drop-out rate fell by about
two per cent.
“We’re just about at the provincial average,” he
said.
While higher grades were good, Celli noted there
wasn’t much improvement in the “excellence”
category, which means students achieving grades
higher than 80 per cent. But he said Rome wasn’t
built in a day.
“I’m very comfortable because I’ll take more
kids writing the exams than the more politically
attractive excellence rate,” he added.
Missing man
now found
BY STU SALKELD
EDITOR
9
PHONE: 403-845-3334
FAX: 403-845-5570
E-MAIL:
[email protected]
OFFICE:
4814 - 49th St.
Rocky Mountain House
Alberta T4T 1S8
6
HOW TO REACH US
26570 60090
Central Alberta media outlets
were buzzing last week as they
alerted the public to a missing
Rocky Mountain House man. The
man turned up alive and well in
Calgary, according to Rocky RCMP
June 27.
RCMP stated on June 24 they
were looking for 23-year-old Brian
Anderson.
“The Rocky Mountain House
RCMP is seeking the public’s
assistance in locating 23-year-old
Brian Anderson,’” stated a press
release.
“Anderson was last seen June 21,
2012, walking the two family dogs
near his rural home southeast of
Rocky Mountain House, Alberta.
“He is 5’11’’ tall, 200 lbs.,
has blonde hair and blue eyes.
Anderson was last seen wearing a
black t-shirt and blue jeans and has
a distinctive speech impediment.
He is believed to still be in the
company of one of the dogs, a blue
heeler/collie cross.”
Rocky RCMP noted Anderson is
okay and is back home.
“Twenty-three-year-old Brian
Anderson contacted family late
last night and has since returned to
the Rocky Mountain House Area,”
noted a press release from RCMP
June 27.
Discussions regarding the Howse Pass highway
resumed on June 26. County councillors met with
MPs Blake Richards and Blaine Calkins to further
discuss the development of the controversial pass.
“The issue is whether or not it is getting on
the radar screen,” said MP Blaine Calkins. “In
discussions that I have had with provincial
representatives over the years, there is a
willingness on their end to do something, it just
doesn’t seem to get on the radar
screen on the other side of the
highway.
“The highway would cross two
provinces and two national parks so it
is a bit of a complicated issue.”
Calkins stated that he would
continue pressing the issue and that
Blake
the economic pre-feasibility study
Richards, MP from 2005 was now dated.
MP Blake Richards
mentioned that there does
not appear to be any support
of the project from B.C.
“They are a key piece of
the puzzle and they have to
be on board,” he said.
Richards questioned
whether the B.C. government
would be willing to move
ahead with the project close
to a provincial election.
Blake Richards
Calkins mentioned that
Member of Parliament for B.C. is currently twinning
Wild Rose
Hwy. 1 through the Kicking
Horse Pass and may not be
receptive to the idea due to other transportation
priorities.
Several efforts have been made over the past 50
years to construct the transportation corridor that
would allow access to Hwy. 1 through the Howse
Pass, located west of Hwy. 11 and 93 intersection.
The proposed route would provide a more
accessible western route to save travel time and
costs for industry and motorists.
The economic pre-feasibility study was prompted
by the Howse Pass Committee consisting of the
Town of Rocky Mountain House, Clearwater
County and Lacombe County.
The study analyzed the direct
construction costs, travel time cost
savings, and other possible effects
from the development of the roadway.
Outcomes from the study
determined that the pass is
economically viable with financial
Blaine
benefits for B.C., Alberta, and Western
Calkins, MP Canada. An amendment of the
federal Parks Act would be
warranted for the project to
continue.
The proposed route would
bypass Golden and connect
with Hwy. 1 at Donald, B.C.
Construction of the roadway
would occur in Yoho National
Park on the B.C. side of the
provincial border.
The possibility of private
industry funding the highway
much like the Cocquihalla
Hwy. in B.C. would mean
tolls levied from motorists.
“The toll that people would
have to pay in order to pass
through such a small section
Blaine Calkins
of the highway to get from
Member of Parliament the end of Hwy. 11 to the
for Wetaskiwin
start of Hwy. 1 is unfair,”
stated Calkins. “It doesn’t
cost anyone from Calgary to get to B.C. or from
Edmonton to drive west.”
The development of the roadway would
have significant opposition concerning the
environmental impact as well as potential
opposition from the Town of Golden and other
communities.
Roadways connecting B.C. with the rest of
Canada are considered strategic trade corridors
that provide access to trade routes and ports.
According to the Economic Pre-feasibility Study
in 2005, The Howse Pass highway would “reduce the
distance to Vancouver by 95 kilometres resulting
in travel time savings, vehicle operating cost
savings, and a reduction in vehicle emissions in the
ecologically sensitive Banff National Park.”
‘B.C. is a key
piece of the
puzzle and they
have to be on
board.’
‘The highway
would cross two
provinces and
two national
parks so it
is a bit of a
complicated
issue.’
It’s a toss up for graduands
The West Central graduation class of 2012 throw off their caps as the ceremony
ends and the celebrations begin June 28. West Central High School grad coverage
on A9 and St. Dominic High School grad coverage on A5. David Thompson High
School grad coverage next week.
INSIDE THIS WEEK
AGRICULTURE
CAROLINE CLARION
CLASSIFIEDS
DINING|ENTERTAINMENT
OPINION
SPORTS
ROCKY LIFE
B7
B8
D3
C4
A6
B1
C1
BACK TO THE FUTURE:
History columnist Pat
McDonald takes us back to life
in 1924 in Rocky Mountain
House and area. C1
The Mountaineer
Rocky Mountain House, AB
Gulf Islands Driftwood
Salt Spring Island, BC
Powell River Peak
Powell River, BC
General Excellence
Best Editorial Page
first place
The Mountaineer
Second place
Third place
Powell River Peak
Powell River, BC
General Excellence
Best Front Page
first place
Second place
Third place
SERVING THE WEST COUNTRY SINCE 1923
FIRST
PLACE
CANADIAN
COMMUNITY
NEWSPAPER
AWARDS
BEARSMART: Bear safety information session held at Nordegg. D1
:
Vol. 90, No. 27 | Tuesday, July 3, 2012
Rocky Mountain House, Alberta
www.rock-e.ca | $1.25 (inc. GST)
B.C. hinders
Howse Pass
highway?
MPs discuss issue with county
BY SARAH MAETCHE
STAFF REPORTER
Canada Day draws all kinds of characters
The National Historic Site was full of cute little kids with painted faces, enjoying every activity the site had to offer on Canada Day such
as cake and flags. More inside.
Change is good for WRPS
Students responding with higher marks: superintendent
BY STU SALKELD
EDITOR
The provincial government recently released
Accountability Pillar results for schools across
Alberta. For the uninitiated, Accountability Pillar is
reams of statistical data about things like provincial
achievement tests.
According to the results, students in Wild Rose
Public Schools are getting better grades and
more of them are completing Grade 12, and the
superintendent couldn’t be happier.
“The things we are wanting to see real
improvements on, we are starting to see the
beginnings of what we wanted to see,” said Celli by
phone June 28.
Celli said there were significant improvements
in high school completion rates, a reduction in
drop-out rates, better Provincial Achievement test
results, higher Rutherford Scholarship eligibility
and higher Diploma Exam participation rates.
Celli said he was very happy to see the graduation
rate up four per cent. The drop-out rate fell by about
two per cent.
“We’re just about at the provincial average,” he
said.
While higher grades were good, Celli noted there
wasn’t much improvement in the “excellence”
category, which means students achieving grades
higher than 80 per cent. But he said Rome wasn’t
built in a day.
“I’m very comfortable because I’ll take more
kids writing the exams than the more politically
attractive excellence rate,” he added.
Missing man
now found
BY STU SALKELD
EDITOR
9
PHONE: 403-845-3334
FAX: 403-845-5570
E-MAIL:
[email protected]
OFFICE:
4814 - 49th St.
Rocky Mountain House
Alberta T4T 1S8
6
HOW TO REACH US
26570 60090
Central Alberta media outlets
were buzzing last week as they
alerted the public to a missing
Rocky Mountain House man. The
man turned up alive and well in
Calgary, according to Rocky RCMP
June 27.
RCMP stated on June 24 they
were looking for 23-year-old Brian
Anderson.
“The Rocky Mountain House
RCMP is seeking the public’s
assistance in locating 23-year-old
Brian Anderson,’” stated a press
release.
“Anderson was last seen June 21,
2012, walking the two family dogs
near his rural home southeast of
Rocky Mountain House, Alberta.
“He is 5’11’’ tall, 200 lbs.,
has blonde hair and blue eyes.
Anderson was last seen wearing a
black t-shirt and blue jeans and has
a distinctive speech impediment.
He is believed to still be in the
company of one of the dogs, a blue
heeler/collie cross.”
Rocky RCMP noted Anderson is
okay and is back home.
“Twenty-three-year-old Brian
Anderson contacted family late
last night and has since returned to
the Rocky Mountain House Area,”
noted a press release from RCMP
June 27.
Discussions regarding the Howse Pass highway
resumed on June 26. County councillors met with
MPs Blake Richards and Blaine Calkins to further
discuss the development of the controversial pass.
“The issue is whether or not it is getting on
the radar screen,” said MP Blaine Calkins. “In
discussions that I have had with provincial
representatives over the years, there is a
willingness on their end to do something, it just
doesn’t seem to get on the radar
screen on the other side of the
highway.
“The highway would cross two
provinces and two national parks so it
is a bit of a complicated issue.”
Calkins stated that he would
continue pressing the issue and that
Blake
the economic pre-feasibility study
Richards, MP from 2005 was now dated.
MP Blake Richards
mentioned that there does
not appear to be any support
of the project from B.C.
“They are a key piece of
the puzzle and they have to
be on board,” he said.
Richards questioned
whether the B.C. government
would be willing to move
ahead with the project close
to a provincial election.
Blake Richards
Calkins mentioned that
Member of Parliament for B.C. is currently twinning
Wild Rose
Hwy. 1 through the Kicking
Horse Pass and may not be
receptive to the idea due to other transportation
priorities.
Several efforts have been made over the past 50
years to construct the transportation corridor that
would allow access to Hwy. 1 through the Howse
Pass, located west of Hwy. 11 and 93 intersection.
The proposed route would provide a more
accessible western route to save travel time and
costs for industry and motorists.
The economic pre-feasibility study was prompted
by the Howse Pass Committee consisting of the
Town of Rocky Mountain House, Clearwater
County and Lacombe County.
The study analyzed the direct
construction costs, travel time cost
savings, and other possible effects
from the development of the roadway.
Outcomes from the study
determined that the pass is
economically viable with financial
Blaine
benefits for B.C., Alberta, and Western
Calkins, MP Canada. An amendment of the
federal Parks Act would be
warranted for the project to
continue.
The proposed route would
bypass Golden and connect
with Hwy. 1 at Donald, B.C.
Construction of the roadway
would occur in Yoho National
Park on the B.C. side of the
provincial border.
The possibility of private
industry funding the highway
much like the Cocquihalla
Hwy. in B.C. would mean
tolls levied from motorists.
“The toll that people would
have to pay in order to pass
through such a small section
Blaine Calkins
of the highway to get from
Member of Parliament the end of Hwy. 11 to the
for Wetaskiwin
start of Hwy. 1 is unfair,”
stated Calkins. “It doesn’t
cost anyone from Calgary to get to B.C. or from
Edmonton to drive west.”
The development of the roadway would
have significant opposition concerning the
environmental impact as well as potential
opposition from the Town of Golden and other
communities.
Roadways connecting B.C. with the rest of
Canada are considered strategic trade corridors
that provide access to trade routes and ports.
According to the Economic Pre-feasibility Study
in 2005, The Howse Pass highway would “reduce the
distance to Vancouver by 95 kilometres resulting
in travel time savings, vehicle operating cost
savings, and a reduction in vehicle emissions in the
ecologically sensitive Banff National Park.”
‘B.C. is a key
piece of the
puzzle and they
have to be on
board.’
‘The highway
would cross two
provinces and
two national
parks so it
is a bit of a
complicated
issue.’
It’s a toss up for graduands
The West Central graduation class of 2012 throw off their caps as the ceremony
ends and the celebrations begin June 28. West Central High School grad coverage
on A9 and St. Dominic High School grad coverage on A5. David Thompson High
School grad coverage next week.
INSIDE THIS WEEK
AGRICULTURE
CAROLINE CLARION
CLASSIFIEDS
DINING|ENTERTAINMENT
OPINION
SPORTS
ROCKY LIFE
B7
B8
D3
C4
A6
B1
C1
BACK TO THE FUTURE:
History columnist Pat
McDonald takes us back to life
in 1924 in Rocky Mountain
House and area. C1
The Mountaineer
Powell River Peak
Powell River, BC
General Excellence
Blue Ribbons
Gulf Islands Driftwood, Salt Spring Island, BC
Kings County Advertiser, Kentville, NS
Kings County Record, Sussex, NB
Powell River Peak, Powell River, BC
The Barrhead Leader, Barrhead, AB
The Mountaineer, Rocky Mountain House, AB
The Saint Croix Courier, St. Stephen, NB
The St. Paul Journal, St. Paul, AB
The Westlock News, Westlock, AB
JUDGE’S COMMENT
The entries in this class stand as examples of the outstanding work being done
by community newspapers in Canada. The top papers in this class demonstrated
a strong commitment to covering their communities, providing readers with
an engaging mix of hard news, features, opinions and sports in well-designed,
attractive packages. The papers that rose to the top of this class were the ones
whose coverage of the community was extensive, demonstrated by the numerous
stories and photos that were enterprised by staff members.
The writing in the top papers was tight, intelligent and engaging, and the photos
were creative and displayed well on the pages. The best papers had engaging
opinion papers anchored by thoughtful editorials that took stands on issues
important to the communities. Interesting columns, creative cartoons that made
a statement and other elements such as streeters or opinion polls combined with
letters to the editor on local topics made the best opinion pages a true community
meeting place where opinions are voiced and leadership is provided.
The attractive, well-designed and effective ads displayed on the pages of the best
papers contributed to the overall package, proving the value of print advertising
and speaking to the strength of these newspapers. Advertising does follow
readership.
Some of the entries in this class have work to do in terms of providing more
extensive coverage, creating better photographs and packaging it all in a more
effective and attractive fashion. Overall, the newspapers in this class are serving
their communities well.
General Excellence
General Excellence
Judge: Brian Bachynski
first place
Second place
Third place
THE HUNTSVILLE
Forester
VOLUME 135, NO. 28 - HUNTSVILLE, ONTARIO - WEDNESDAY, JULY 11, 2012
PUB. 0040007199
$1.25 INCLUDES TAX
Cougar attack
in Utterson
shakes family
This week
–arts–
Don’t miss Nuit Blanche
North this weekend.
You’ll be amazed!
— B3
–unity plan–
Police discover cat
is declawed
Food security in Muskoka.
– a18
Meet Bernice Greenfield.
— a8
–opinion–
What you don’t know can
hurt you. Annette Casullo
talks about the problem
with auto insurance.
– a7
–coMMunity–
ARTIST AT WORK: Sebastian Graves puts the finishing touches on his masterpiece during
an Arts Space event at the town dock on Saturday afternoon. Children were invited to try
their hands at a number of artistic activities.
PHOTO BY BRENT COOPER
An Utterson family is searching for answers on
the origins of a cougar that viciously attacked the
family’s dog.
The incident occurred around 10 p.m. on Saturday, July 7, on Middaugh Road, in the Utterson area
of Huntsville.
After hearing her family’s 13-year-old German
shepherd Indy yelp, resident Doreen Rick ran outside
to investigate, and found a cougar brutally mauling
the pet.
“It chewed on its head and went right down to the
skull,” she said.
Though Indy survived the attack, he was so badly
hurt that he had to be put down.
Rick’s family believes the cougar was likely someone’s pet, as it was declawed and appeared to be
accustomed to human contact.
“It didn’t have to happen, it wasn’t a wild animal,”
said Cassidy Phillips, the girlfriend of Rick’s grandson. “We basically just want to know where it came
from.”
The cougar was unfazed when Phillips, who was at
the home at the time, let off an air horn in an attempt
to scare it away. When police arrived, the cougar did
not react when officers shone lights on it.
Leaning out the window of their vehicle, police
had to fire multiple gunshots to finally bring down
the cougar.
In the days after, the family’s front lawn was
stained brown where Indy’s blood was shed during
the attack. The attack snapped a buckle on Indy’s collar, and his dog tag is still missing.
So far, the family has ruled out the owner of Guha’s
Lions and Tigers — a nearby farm in Utterson that
— ConTinued on page a10
Public art gallery in financial trouble
Port Sydney chooses its
citizen of the year.
— a5
Page 28
Page 63
Your CommunitY ConneCtion
Wednesday • Friday
FridaY, marCh 23, 2012
established 1960
1 including gst
$
Furnace warnings smothered PAGE 3
Strikers hot at tournament.
— B1
–check us out–
Tom Patrick/Yukon News
This unoccupied house at 305 Alexander Street burned to the ground late Wednesday afternoon. It took firefighters 20 minutes to get the blaze under
control. Neighbouring buildings were not affected and the cause is under investigation.
The ‘new missionaries’ PAGE 7
Whether the weather be good.
VOLUME 52 • NUMBER 23
www.yukon-news.com
group may seek lease with town
By Alison Brownlee
The Art Space gallery across
from River Mill Park may soon
close its doors.
The Huntsville Art Society
opened the doors of its public gallery two years ago this month and
now tough economic times and
fleeting grants are threatening to
close them.
Ron Challenger, acting president of the art society, said the
opening of the gallery was made
–sports–
possible through the generosity of
a downtown property owner and
an arts grant.
But grants are getting tough to
come by, he said.
“And it’s jeopardizing The Art
Space,” said Challenger. Despite
below-market rent, donations,
workshop fees, membership fees
and sales commissions, the notfor-profit art society is struggling
to meet its financial commitments.
Teri Souter, manager of arts,
culture and heritage for the Town
of Huntsville, presented a report
to the town’s community service
committee on July 4 that recommended the town draft a lease
agreement to rent wall space in the
Huntsville Civic Centre’s Partners
Hall to the art society as an alternative to The Art Space. Souter
called the potential arrangement
a win-win situation insofar as the
art society would have a place to
hang their professional work and
the town would have a consistent
revenue stream and a group to
manage exhibitions in the hall.
The art society would use the
wall space to display the work of
its members as well as the work
of nationally and internationally
renowned artists that it invites to
show, as it does at its gallery now.
It would also continue to promote the work of budding area
artists and students.
Brenda Wainman Goulet, vicepresident of the art society, said
Competing interests in the community are
making it harder to raise funds for hospital
By Alison Brownlee
Check out
today’s new deal
The Yukon is enriched
by its many different
cultures.
A proposed retail village is
dividing Carcross.
By Louis Tam
–Mosaic–
Scan here
and read us online.
In it
together
Debating
a vision
www.cottagecountrynow.ca
Donations to the hospital will be integral in
the coming years, says Debi Davis.
Davis, executive director for the Huntsville
District Memorial Hospital Foundation, told
foundation members at the fundraising organization’s annual general meeting on June 19 that
the tough economy has made competition for
donation dollars fierce. But the message she
gave loud and clear was that the foundation
would continue to urge community members
to support the capital project and equipment
needs at their hospital.
“We still need to encourage the people who
live here, the people who use our hospital
including ourselves, to give to the hospital,”
she said. “If we don’t, we’re not going to get
a new CT machine, or whatever the hospital
needs next year when they raise their hands in
an emergency and ask for our help.”
In the coming year, the foundation has committed $1.5 million to the hospital to help fund
items for dialysis, imaging, emergency and
intensive care, obstetrics, palliative care, physiotherapy, chronic care and chemotherapy.
The foundation transferred about $900,000
to the hospital last year for items such as diagnostic imaging equipment, a new drug cupboard and a telemedicine system.
Davis said patients have benefited from
the generosity of donors who helped fund
the capital needs. For example, hospital staff
approached the foundation as well as the
Huntsville Hospital Auxiliary, South Muskoka
Memorial Hospital Foundation and South
Muskoka Memorial Hospital Auxiliary earlier
this year to help fund 18 new vital signs monitors, which cost about $1.3 million.
The old monitors were about 20 years old
and started to fail at about the same time. The
new monitors were needed, and fast.
Bev McFarlane, chief nursing officer, said
the hospitals were facing a crisis of being
unable to monitor patients until the foundations and auxiliaries banded together to fund
the request.
“And the technology has changed so much
in the 15 or 20 years since we had new monitors that it actually is going to improve patient
care,” said McFarlane.
But although the foundation was able to
transfer the funds to the hospital, donations
came in at about half of what the foundation
had received the previous year. Donations were
about $453,385 in 2012 compared to $923,540
in 2011.
Davis said the foundation will develop a
strategic plan to enhance the community’s
Huntsville Forester
Huntsville, ON
The Yukon News
Whitehorse/Yukon Territory, YT
Nunavut News/North
Nunavut, NU
General Excellence
Best Editorial Page
first place
Huntsville Forester
Huntsville, ON
Second place
Third place
Yellowknifer
Yellowknife, NT
Fort Frances Times
Fort Frances, ON
General Excellence
Best Front Page
first place
Second place
Third place
THE HUNTSVILLE
$1.25 INCLUDES TAX
Cougar attack
in Utterson
shakes family
This week
–arts–
Don’t miss Nuit Blanche
North this weekend.
You’ll be amazed!
— B3
–unity plan–
Police discover cat
is declawed
Food security in Muskoka.
– a18
Meet Bernice Greenfield.
— a8
–opinion–
What you don’t know can
hurt you. Annette Casullo
talks about the problem
with auto insurance.
– a7
–coMMunity–
ARTIST AT WORK: Sebastian Graves puts the finishing touches on his masterpiece during
an Arts Space event at the town dock on Saturday afternoon. Children were invited to try
their hands at a number of artistic activities.
PHOTO BY BRENT COOPER
An Utterson family is searching for answers on
the origins of a cougar that viciously attacked the
family’s dog.
The incident occurred around 10 p.m. on Saturday, July 7, on Middaugh Road, in the Utterson area
of Huntsville.
After hearing her family’s 13-year-old German
shepherd Indy yelp, resident Doreen Rick ran outside
to investigate, and found a cougar brutally mauling
the pet.
“It chewed on its head and went right down to the
skull,” she said.
Though Indy survived the attack, he was so badly
hurt that he had to be put down.
Rick’s family believes the cougar was likely someone’s pet, as it was declawed and appeared to be
accustomed to human contact.
“It didn’t have to happen, it wasn’t a wild animal,”
said Cassidy Phillips, the girlfriend of Rick’s grandson. “We basically just want to know where it came
from.”
The cougar was unfazed when Phillips, who was at
the home at the time, let off an air horn in an attempt
to scare it away. When police arrived, the cougar did
not react when officers shone lights on it.
Leaning out the window of their vehicle, police
had to fire multiple gunshots to finally bring down
the cougar.
In the days after, the family’s front lawn was
stained brown where Indy’s blood was shed during
the attack. The attack snapped a buckle on Indy’s collar, and his dog tag is still missing.
So far, the family has ruled out the owner of Guha’s
Lions and Tigers — a nearby farm in Utterson that
Public art gallery in financial trouble
By Alison Brownlee
— a5
The Art Space gallery across
from River Mill Park may soon
close its doors.
The Huntsville Art Society
opened the doors of its public gallery two years ago this month and
now tough economic times and
fleeting grants are threatening to
close them.
Ron Challenger, acting president of the art society, said the
opening of the gallery was made
–sports–
Strikers hot at tournament.
— B1
–check us out–
possible through the generosity of
a downtown property owner and
an arts grant.
But grants are getting tough to
come by, he said.
“And it’s jeopardizing The Art
Space,” said Challenger. Despite
below-market rent, donations,
workshop fees, membership fees
and sales commissions, the notfor-profit art society is struggling
to meet its financial commitments.
Teri Souter, manager of arts,
culture and heritage for the Town
of Huntsville, presented a report
to the town’s community service
committee on July 4 that recommended the town draft a lease
agreement to rent wall space in the
Huntsville Civic Centre’s Partners
Hall to the art society as an alternative to The Art Space. Souter
called the potential arrangement
a win-win situation insofar as the
art society would have a place to
hang their professional work and
the town would have a consistent
revenue stream and a group to
manage exhibitions in the hall.
The art society would use the
wall space to display the work of
its members as well as the work
of nationally and internationally
renowned artists that it invites to
show, as it does at its gallery now.
It would also continue to promote the work of budding area
artists and students.
Brenda Wainman Goulet, vicepresident of the art society, said
Competing interests in the community are
making it harder to raise funds for hospital
By Alison Brownlee
Check out
today’s new deal
Revised interim report proposes formation of a Yarmouth-Argyle riding and a Clare-Yarmouth riding
By Tina Comeau
THE VANGUARD
NovaNewsNow.com
396 Main St., Yar. - Suite 100
(902) 742-4444
www.zachchurchill.ca
PM40064924 R10978
An independent Electoral Boundaries Commission has submitted a
revised interim report that recommends dividing the riding of
Yarmouth so parts of it can be
merged with the Acadian ridings of
Argyle and Clare. The result would
be two new provincial ridings: a
Yarmouth-Argyle riding and a ClareYarmouth riding.
The report recommends that the
proposed
constituency
of
Yarmouth-Argyle contain the Town
of Yarmouth, the area of the Municipality of Yarmouth south of Highway 103 and all of the Municipality
of Argyle. The proposed constituency of Clare-Yarmouth would
contain the remaining parts of the
Municipality of Yarmouth and all of
the Municipality of Clare.
A Clare-Yarmouth riding would
have 12,325 electors and a
Yarmouth-Argyle riding would have
13,525 electors.
In its first interim report following public consultations in the
spring, the commission had recommended no changes to the constituency of Yarmouth and called for
the continued protection of the Acadian ridings in the province, including Argyle and Clare.
But that didn’t fly with the
provincial government, which said
the protected Acadian ridings did
not come close to meeting the identified population average and variance as had been set out in the
commission’s terms of reference.
Justice Minister Ross Landry
wrote to the commission telling it
that the terms of reference were
legally binding and, because the first
interim report did not abide by the
terms, he had declared the report
null and void. He requested that the
commission prepare a revised interim report that fully complied
with the terms of reference. The result of this was seen with the release
of a revised interim report last Friday.
While some individuals and
groups contacted by the Yarmouth
Vanguard said they needed more
time to read and digest the report,
others said they were not in favour
of the proposals concerning the
Yarmouth and Acadian ridings.
The Municipality of Argyle and
the Municipality of Clare have both
stated that they want to see the protected Acadian ridings remain in
place, even though the population of
electors would be less than half of
the average of all other ridings in the
province.
Merging both of the Acadian ridings with a divided Yarmouth riding
does raise the possibility that nonAcadian MLAs could be elected in
Continued on page 7
future elections.
July 5, 2012
1.25+HST
Serving the Communities of Kings County Since 1891 • www.NovaNewsNow.com
INVESTING FOR
4
7
INDEX
13
INCOME
INCOME
Policing concerns An Orange Beret
5631396
Kingston RCMP hear from
residents
Local man promoted to
Search and Rescue squad
Celebrating Kingston
Gala Days draws crowds
Street Talk . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
Court Report . . . . . . . . . . 4
Editorial . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
Events . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
Arts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
Sports . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
TV Guide . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
Classifieds . . . . . . . . . . . 25
Vol. 145, No. 25
HOUSE OF COMMONS
Donations to the hospital will be integral in
the coming years, says Debi Davis.
Davis, executive director for the Huntsville
District Memorial Hospital Foundation, told
foundation members at the fundraising organization’s annual general meeting on June 19 that
the tough economy has made competition for
donation dollars fierce. But the message she
gave loud and clear was that the foundation
would continue to urge community members
to support the capital project and equipment
needs at their hospital.
“We still need to encourage the people who
live here, the people who use our hospital
including ourselves, to give to the hospital,”
she said. “If we don’t, we’re not going to get
a new CT machine, or whatever the hospital
needs next year when they raise their hands in
an emergency and ask for our help.”
In the coming year, the foundation has committed $1.5 million to the hospital to help fund
items for dialysis, imaging, emergency and
intensive care, obstetrics, palliative care, physiotherapy, chronic care and chemotherapy.
The foundation transferred about $900,000
to the hospital last year for items such as diagnostic imaging equipment, a new drug cupboard and a telemedicine system.
Davis said patients have benefited from
the generosity of donors who helped fund
the capital needs. For example, hospital staff
approached the foundation as well as the
Huntsville Hospital Auxiliary, South Muskoka
Memorial Hospital Foundation and South
Muskoka Memorial Hospital Auxiliary earlier
this year to help fund 18 new vital signs monitors, which cost about $1.3 million.
The old monitors were about 20 years old
and started to fail at about the same time. The
new monitors were needed, and fast.
Bev McFarlane, chief nursing officer, said
the hospitals were facing a crisis of being
unable to monitor patients until the foundations and auxiliaries banded together to fund
the request.
“And the technology has changed so much
in the 15 or 20 years since we had new monitors that it actually is going to improve patient
care,” said McFarlane.
But although the foundation was able to
transfer the funds to the hospital, donations
came in at about half of what the foundation
had received the previous year. Donations were
about $453,385 in 2012 compared to $923,540
in 2011.
Davis said the foundation will develop a
strategic plan to enhance the community’s
Huntsville Forester
Huntsville, ON
CHAMBRE DES COMMUNES
Greg Kerr
PM40064924 R10977
Member of Parliament/Député
West Nova/Nova-Ouest
14373 Hwy 1
Wilmont, NS B0P 1W0
902-825-2320 or
1-866-280-5302
[email protected]
www.gregkerrmp.ca
SEAFEST FUN
INDEX
Editorial . . . . . . . . 8
Sports . . . . . . . . 15
The Vine . . . . . . . 33
Tide Times . . . . . 33
Events . . . . . . . . 34
Obituaries . . . . . 35
Classifieds . . . . . 38
Residents turn
out to hear from
Argyle Council on
wind farm
…Page 3
Grand Pré has been designated a UNESCO World Heritage site. CNS Photo
Grand Pré designated a world heritage site
After a children’s parade helped to kick off Seafest festivities last Wednesday, the kids had a lot of fun in Frost Park participating in activities set up for the young people during a Mayor’s Picnic
in the Park. The Seafest festival continues this week. TINA COMEAU PHOTO
By Wendy Elliott
[email protected]
NovaNewsNow.com
Visit NovaNewsNow.com regularly to keep on
top of the breaking news with the click of a mouse
Chris
d’Entremont
MLA/Député
Argyle
www.chrisdentremont.com
[email protected]
Tel: 902-648-2020
Fax: 902-648-2001
4785190
648-2600
HOUSE OF COMMONS
Toll Free 1-877-820-0411
TUSKET
FORD SALES
Tusket, Yar. Co., N.S.
www.tusketford.ca
It’s Back!
Ford Employee Pricing
See dealer for this
summer’s hottest deals
CHAMBRE DES COMMUNES
Greg Kerr
TUSKET
FORD
SALES
5478722
Member of Parliament/Député
West Nova/Nova-Ouest
368 Main St., Suite 220
Yarmouth, NS B5A 1E9
902-742-6808 or
1-866-280-5302
[email protected]
www.gregkerrmp.ca
Nomination Grand Pré has its answer.
Jubilation brought a room full of waiting people to their feet early June 30 when
the Landscape of Grand Pré was inscribed
on the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization’s
(UNESCO) World Heritage List. A deci-
sion had been expected a day earlier, but
deliberations for other countries’ applications took longer for UNESCO’s World
Heritage Committee, meeting in St.
Petersburg, Russia, to sort out.
“Today’s announcement is a tremendous symbolic achievement for the Acadian people whose ancestors persevered
through upheaval and peaceful reconciliation leading up to this historic day,” commented Nomination Grand Pré co-chair-
man, Dr. Gerald Boudreau.
Boudreau, who was addressing the
committee in Russia, called the designation a crowning glory for “the site of so
much importance to the Acadians and
people around the world.”
“We would like to welcome the world
to an exceptional landscape with outstanding universal values,” he added.
His co-chairman Peter Herbin said he
was “so excited” waiting for the unanimous announcement.
“I’m very proud,” he said. “We had an
exceptional proposal and that’s a testament to Parks Canada. We were able to
bring all the communities, all the stakeholders together to share common goals.
This story goes far beyond the deportation to the origins of Canada.”
It was Herbin’s great-grandfather, John
Frederic Herbin, who bought open fields
in 1907 to make a memorial park.
Over the past three years, Nomination
Grand Pré - with the support of three levels
of government, the Kings RDA, members of
local communities, the Mi’kmaq of Nova
Scotia, and the Société Nationale de l’Acadie
and members of the local community – has
worked through the UNESCO process.
group may seek lease with town
Port Sydney chooses its
citizen of the year.
Scan here
and read us online.
Vol. 46, No. 44
Report says go from 3 ridings to 2
MLA Yarmouth
By Louis Tam
–Mosaic–
1.25+HST
The Voice of Southwestern Nova Scotia since 1966 • www.NovaNewsNow.com
Zach Churchill
4944295
PUB. 0040007199
5416349
July 24, 2012
www.cottagecountrynow.ca
5416240
Forester
VOLUME 135, NO. 28 - HUNTSVILLE, ONTARIO - WEDNESDAY, JULY 11, 2012
Vanguard
Yarmouth, NS
Kings County Register
Kentville, NS
Continued on Page 2
General Excellence
Blue Ribbons
The Yukon News, Whitehorse/Yukon Territory, YT
Yellowknifer, Yellowknife, NT
JUDGE’S COMMENT
The General Excellence 1015 Class featured some excellent community
newspapers, but none were better than The Huntsville Forester. This paper was
a pleasure to read, with its well-written leads and good, crisp layout. Many of
the papers in this class didn’t carry features, but the Forester had great features
on regular folks who have interesting stories to tell. That is what community
journalism is all about. It’s easy to cover court and council meetings, but going out
and getting that gem of a story about interesting people living in the community
takes extra effort. Attention was also paid to photography, as nearly all of the
photos were taken with the intention of telling a story.
The Whitehorse/Yukon Territory Yukon News finished second with its strong writing
and excellent photography. The paper has a professional look to it and was a
standout with its news writing.
The Nunavut News/North rounds out the top three, again supported by its strong
writing. The photography lends strength to its news package. Photography was a
weakness in this category. Many newspapers published “posed” shots of people
smiling for the camera. Quality photojournalism consists of photography that
captivates, tells a story and complements news stories. The three winners were
very strong in this category, and the writing was top-notch.
General Excellence
General Excellence
Judge: Lorne Eckersley
first place
CD RELEASE
WRESTLING
Roberts Creek
folk musician
Brett Wildeman
Elphi girls return
with provincial
medals
PAGE 47
PAGE 51
Second place
OPINION ......................... 8
LETTERS ......................... 9
COMMUNITY 25-30, 38-39
OPEN HOUSES ........ 31-37
TRAVEL ........................ 40
8
HEALTH ......................... 41
CALENDAR ............. 42-43
A&E ....................... 45-48
SPORTS .................. 51-54
CLASSIFIEDS .......... 56-67
062 16 0000 2
THURSDAY, JULY 19, 2012
FREE VOLUME 36 // ISSUE 29 // 56 PAGES
www.whistlerquestion.com
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istler & Pemberton
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Volume 12/Issue 30
CULTURE
Vancouver
Symphony Orchestra
set to perform at
Whistler Olympic Plaza
this weekend
P34
MOUNTAIN GUIDE
SPORTS
Off-road course changed to
Lost Lake Park P28
Editorial Page - 2008 CCNA
BEST-IN-CLASS
BEST-IN-CLASS
Canada Post Agreement Number 40069240
FRIDAY, MARCH 23, 2012 Volume 12, Issue 12 ~ 68 pages
www.coastreporter.net
General Excellence
2007, 2009, 2010 BCYCNA
1.00 INCL GST
Newsstand price $
Municipal
staffing
review leads
to $2.5M in
savings
Tanya Foubert
A complete
organizational structure
review of the Resort
Municipality of Whistler
has resulted in a total cost
savings to taxpayers of
$2.5 million over a fiveyear period.
RMOW Chief
Administrative Officer
Mike Furey presented
the outcomes of the twophased review on Tuesday
(July 17) to council as a
last-minute addition to the
agenda.
The annual savings
of $500,000 in staff
reductions, said Furey,
were realized through the
most cost-effective manner
with the least impact on
operations and services.
“We are keenly aware of
finding cost-effective ways
to remain sustainable,” he
said. “We provide a wide
range of services to the
community and the size
of organization is always
thought to reflect the needs
of community as it changes
and grows.
“I think we have found
the balance between
SAVINGS P4
Zoning change possible
for transit facility
Works Academy provided the entertainment
at the St. Patrick’s Day tea at Harmony Hall
in Gibsons last Saturday afternoon. The tea
was hosted by the Gibsons Seniors Society.
See more photos in our on-line galleries at
www.coastreporter.net.
Move to allow private operators P5
D!
CE
DU
RE
Teachers challenge Bill 22
CHRISTINE WOOD
Staff Writer
B.C. teachers have decided to fight Bill
22, the so-called Education Improvement
Act. B.C. Teachers’ Federation (BCTF) president Susan Lambert announced on March
21 that a legal challenge to the controversial
Bill will be mounted in the weeks to come.
The decision came after about 700 teachers gathered for a four-day annual general
meeting in Vancouver. BCTF members decided to proceed with a “bold plan of action
with the ultimate goal of having the so-called
Education Improvement Act repealed,” a
press release from the BCTF stated.
“Christy Clark as education minister
started this fight 10 years ago with her
legislation that stripped teachers’ collective
agreements of our bargaining rights and of
guarantees for the quality learning conditions for students,” Lambert said when the
decision was announced. “The B.C. Supreme
Court found her bills to be illegal and unconstitutional, yet her government has done
nothing to show respect for the ruling, for
public education or for the teachers and
students of B.C. In fact, they’re violating the
rights of teachers and cutting the same services to students with Bill 22.”
She said teachers are deeply concerned
about the effect of Bill 22 on class size and
class composition.
“The legislation removes any effective
limits on class sizes from grades 4 to 12 and
eliminates caps on the numbers of students
with special needs assigned to any particular class. Furthermore, it doesn’t address
the loss of more than 1,500 learning specialist teachers, whose skills are desperately
needed to support all students’ learning,”
the BCTF press release stated.
Of particular concern to teachers is what
the BCTF is calling a “cash for kids clause”
that would see some teachers paid extra for
having classes exceeding 30 students.
Teachers plan to refuse to accept the
additional pay on a matter of principle.
Sunshine Coast Teachers’ Association
president Louise Herle said the idea of paying teachers to teach unmanageable class
sizes is “ridiculous.”
“It again just points to the commodification of education, turning education into
a business when we all know education is
there to serve the students, to serve the parents and really be a great equalizer. Given
the ridiculous eighth year in a row highest
child poverty rate for British Columbia, education has to be there to serve all,” she said.
Herle said she took exception with the
fact Education Minister George Abbott was
in Beijing signing a deal for a new offshore
school in Xianghe on March 21 when the
teachers’ plans were announced.
“He’s in China making our education
into a commodity rather than a service.
Education’s not a business,” she said.
How the BCTF will proceed with the
legal challenge has yet to be decided; however, Herle noted a charter challenge may be
forthcoming.
“It is necessary to challenge this damaging legislation. It’s necessary to challenge it
from all angles,” she said.
In addition to the legal challenge, the
BCTF plans to vote on an action plan on April
17 and 18 that could include a possible full
withdrawal of services in response to Bill 22.
That action plan will also deal with “other
measures” yet to be released by the BCTF.
“Teachers are angry, teachers are frustrated, teachers are committed, and we
won’t give up,” Herle noted.
Bill 22 was passed in the legislature on
March 15. It enforces hefty fines for strike
action taken by teachers during a six-month
mediation period set out by the province.
Government has asked both parties to
submit names of potential mediators they
would like to see take on the task.
Bill 22 also extends the teachers’ existing contract and implements a Learning
Improvement Fund of $165 million over
three years.
Abbott was unavailable for comment by
Coast Reporter press time.
South Coast
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CONINUED ON PAGE 6
MUDDY MESS
Stranded
motorists survey the scene of Friday’s
(July 20) mudslide west of Banff as
heavy equipment works to clear the
eastbound lanes. The Trans-Canada
Highway was completely blocked by
debris, causing major delays, and
overwhelming the Town of Banff.
CRAIG DOUCE RMO PHOTO
Mudslide causes holiday mayhem
CATHY ELLIS BANFF
A massive mudslide west of Banff shut down
the Trans-Canada Highway for several hours
on Friday (July 20), forcing the RCMP to turn
visitors away from the national park tourist
town.
And Parks Canada warns more heavy rainfall could trigger more mudslides, especially
given the combination of record snowpack
high in the mountains over winter and a very
wet June.
“It’s like trying to predict an earthquake,
but if we get another heavy rainfall, I wouldn’t
be surprised if it did happen again,” said
Douglas Kerr, Parks Canada’s operations manager for highways and roads.
“With the conditions we’ve had, the drainage channels are quite unstable. It’s up to
Mother Nature, but I’m preparing for more of
these kinds of events.”
A torrent of mud, trees and rocks swept
down the mountainside onto the highway
about two kilometres west of Banff at about
3:30 p.m., as thousands of tourists flocked
to the mountains or were simply passing
through.
The RCMP turned people away from
Banff, except those with hotel reservations or
residents, setting up a roadblock at the east
gates to Banff National Park around 6 p.m.
MUDSLIDE
CONINUED ON PAGE 4
TIGHT CURVES: Downhill racers jockey for position in the open division final of the Whistler Longboard Festival on Sunday
(July 15). Andrew Chapman, pictured at back left, came all the way from last place to win the event in a controversial finish.
See Sports on Page 27 for a complete wrap of the event. Photo by Adam Taber
Other Hot Deals:
JUSTIN SAMSON PHOTO
LOCAL CLASSIFIED
Kananaskis Country conservation officers
shot and killed a young wolf after it stalked a
man, his child and puppy at the Mount Kidd
campground, Tuesday (July 24).
It’s the first time in the history of
Kananaskis Country parks officials have had
to kill a wolf.
According to Kananaskis Senior Parks
Ecologist Melanie Percy, the wolf was highly
habituated and food conditioned, and was
likely fed along the roadside.
“It was an extremely unfortunate situation.
The careless acts of a few individuals left us
with a situation that was unmanageable and
ultimately cost this wolf his life,” Percy said.
On Tuesday morning, the man, boy and
puppy were walking through the Mount Kidd
Campground when they noticed the wolf following them. They sought refuge in a nearby
bathroom, however, the wolf waited outside
the building for them, before losing interest
and moving on.
Shortly after, conservation officers showed
up and shot the young wolf, estimated to
be two or three years old. A necropsy was
conducted Wednesday (July 25).
“We’re 100 per cent sure it was the right
wolf,” Percy said.
Stalking the young family was the final
nail in the wolf ’s coffin, although it exhibited
alarming behaviour over the past week.
Conservation officers had received word
of a wolf approaching vehicles, coming
close enough to put its paws on cars. The
behaviour suggests the wolf was fed from
TRANSIT
ST. PATRICK’S DAY TEA: Dance
TV GUIDE
JUSTIN BRISBANE KANANASKIS
Changes include elimination of
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EDITORIAL
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www.rmoutlook.com
Phone: 403-609-0220
Caviar and
Yogi Berra
H
ere comes the sun — and
not a moment too soon.
Just when we all thought
webbed toes were a mere
moment away, Mr. Sol has come
along to lighten the days and our
collective moods.
PUBLISHER:
EDITOR:
Jason Lyon
Dave Whitfield
jlyon
dwhitfield
@outlook.greatwest.ca @outlook.greatwest.ca
ADVERTISING:
But not all of us are feeling the glow after
Wednesday’s Sechelt council meeting.
The most voted on bylaw in the history of the
District — Target Marine, no surprise here — is
on again. After being struck down twice in the
courts, we’re hoping that round three isn’t on the
horizon.
So in light of the season and with a tip of the
hat to the great Yogi Berra, we’d like to do a final
dissect on the caviar crusade.
The first Berra quote that springs naturally to
mind — “It’s like déjà-vu all over again” — pretty
much sums up how many of us feel about this
ongoing saga.
Over and over again in a multitude of meetings
and non-binding referendum, the people spoke —
but apparently not loudly enough for everyone to
hear. Clear majorities of voters at every turn said
Target’s business, the production of caviar, is a
clean, sustainable project and one the community
wants.
Berra-ism number two is probably fitting for
at least one neighbourhood: “It ain’t the heat, it’s
the humility.”
This has been a hot issue for more than one
neighbour of Target Marine. Back and forth to the
law courts the issue’s gone, accompanied by a
pot of taxpayers’ loot every step of the way.
While we recognize that democracy is what
drives our great country, in this instance it seems
the minority have had their say and then some.
Dare we suggest that it’s now time for a little
humility? Accept the decision and move on, folks.
Here’s one Berra opinion that many of us could
learn from: “We made too many wrong mistakes.”
When one is dealing with municipal law, it might
be a good idea to measure twice and cut once
rather than ignoring the fine print.
After all, when you’re dealing with bright
people who aren’t willing to go gently into the
dark night, you might want to make sure every
word of the new bylaw can meet the light of day.
This has been a pretty expensive round of
chicken for anyone paying taxes in the District of
Sechelt. We hope this latest incarnation will be
the one that sticks. In other words, we hope the
Sechelt council hit a home run with this rendition.
And finally we’ve come to believe along
with Berra that “You can observe a lot just by
watching.” We have left no stone unturned
in bringing this story to you. We’ve observed
passion, persuasion and persistence. Now what
we’re ready to see is the two best words in the
English language — the end!
We wonder if Berra likes caviar.
— Cathie Roy
Suzanne White
Erin Buehler
ebuehler
swhite
REPORTERS:
VIEWS
Time to have some road sense
T
he first summer long weekend is
in the books. It offers a chance to
remind motorists of a few things
to ensure we have a safe summer on
our roadways.
Thankfully, there were no major
accidents on the Coast last weekend,
but looking around at the driving
patterns of some leads me to believe
that next time we won’t be so lucky.
Lately the Sunshine Coast RCMP
weekly police report has revealed a lot
of drivers behaving badly with several
incidents including lots of impaired
driving suspensions and speeding
violations.
One such incident was on June 23
when a speeder was caught travelling
down the Highway 101 by-pass near
Langdale ferry terminal, clocked
going more than double the posted
speed limit. RCMP issued the driver a
violation ticket for excessive speed and
the vehicle was impounded.
Previously, on June 22, a driver got
her gas and brake pedals mixed up,
causing an accident that could have
been a lot worse. The driver hit the
gas while her car was in reverse; the
vehicle struck a passing cyclist and
pinned the cyclist against a wall. Luck
was on the side of the cyclist, as only
minor injuries were reported. The
driver was issued a violation ticket for
backing up unsafely.
In recent days we’ve also witnessed
government dedicated more funding to
enforcing B.C.’s tough impaired-driving
laws and additional promotion around
responsible driving decisions at key
locations where alcohol is served.
As summer CounterAttack road
checks ramp up this month, about $1
million will be added to enhance traffic
enforcement budgets. This will increase
the number of police roadblocks and
the likelihood of catching those who
ignore warnings about drinking and
driving, as well as those who drive
while impaired by drugs.
Those warnings will continue in
related awareness advertising. A TV
ad airing throughout June reminded
drivers to take their turn as a
designated driver, and a CounterAttack
TV ad began airing province-wide
July 2. Designated driver messages
— highlighted in bars, restaurants,
wineries, golf courses and sports
venues throughout the year — will
also be prominent at special events
this summer.
Police will use the additional
enforcement funding to set up multiple
roadblocks at specific times and in new
locations, as well as other enforcement
tactics to help make B.C. roads safer
into the summer vacation season.
There are no excuses any more.
Let’s all have some road sense when
we’re out travelling this summer. Let’s
drive safely.
Past
DEADLINE
Ian Jacques
several other speeding drivers passing
on the highway when they are not
allowed to, driving too close to other
drivers and just driving unsafely in
general.
Now that summer is here, the
amount of traffic on our roadways has
increased. Children are out of school
and more parents are taking time off
to spend the summer holidays with
their kids. Summer also brings with it
an increased number of visitors to our
Coast, which means more traffic.
Is it too much to ask to travel the
posted speed limit, leave some distance
between you and your fellow drivers
and just, in general, drive safely? You
won’t get to your destination any faster
and, in fact, you may not arrive at your
destination at all if you get into a car
accident.
And as I said above, impaired
driving incidents continue to be of
concern — and not just here on the
Sunshine Coast.
Last week, the provincial
Rob Alexander
Cathy Ellis
ralexander
cellis
Ciaran Thompson Justin Brisbane
cthompson
jbrisbane
PHOTOGRAPHER:
Craig Douce
cdouce
@outlook.greatwest.ca
DESIGN & PRODUCTION:
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Coast Reporter newspaper is a Canadian-owned and locallyoperated community newspaper, published by Glacier Media Group,
a publicly-traded company headquartered in British Columbia, and
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Coast Reporter
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The Carillon
Steinbach, MB
Published weekly and distributed
locally, free of charge by
Great West
NEWSPAPERS
2012.07.26
commentary
Cogito ergo sum
Local Issue Feeding wildlife leads to death of a wolf...
“Happiness is not something ready made. It
comes from your own actions.”
Dalai Lama
Feeding animals
causes death
W
hen visiting or roaming around the Bow Valley don’t
you just love it when occasionally you catch a whiff from
a local restaurant that is so tantalizing, so tempting, so
mouth watering that you simply can’t pass it by?
As a light breeze wafts over you, carrying a heady aroma of
something delectable which then embraces your nostrils, causing you salivate, it’s hard to ignore the fact that you’re suddenly
hungry.
Well, for those unaware – that’s what even dead, rotting food
smells like to much of our toothy wildlife. For bears, wolves and
coyotes, garbage we humans would find absolutely disgusting,
revolting to the nth degree, is like nectar of the gods.
Imagine then, the aromas emanating from our campgrounds
– steaks on the fire, savoury condiments like ketchup and barbecue sauce, sweet goodies like cookies or s’mores… Hey, even a
new bale of disposable diapers has its own perfumed scent. Then
again, to some wildlife, used diapers you haven’t disposed of yet
have an allure as well.
The thing is, feeding wildlife and leaving food in campgrounds,
even if you think it’s cute, making for a great holiday photo, or
you believe you’re keeping said animal from starvation’s door,
feeding often results in dead animals (see front page and pages 15
and 18).
In this valley, we don’t really care if you get slapped with a
ticket or fine for feeding animals or leaving food at your campsite,
we care that it can lead to the death of our wildlife. In the end,
wildlife managers shooting a wolf that became habituated to
humans feeding it is no different than a bear or wolf being killed
by a vehicle because it’s prowling roadways, looking for more
humans to feed it.
You can’t blame wildlife for being drawn in by savoury or
disgusting aromas. Say you’re a 400-pound grizzly and you feel
peckish. What would you rather do, spend a few hours in buffalo
berry (shepherdia) bushes scarfing down thousands of tiny morsels, or mosey on over to a campground to smash open a cooler,
rip through a tent or just troll for leftovers and garbage?
Breaking open a bag of garbage or, say, smashing open a
container of peanut butter, puts a lot more calories in their belly –
right now – than hours in a berry patch.
Wolves, on the other hand, don’t really even have the option
of filling up on berries as they are less of an herbivore. Everything
they catch and kill requires the burning of thousands of calories.
So – run around for a couple of hours trying to catch and kill a
rabbit or young mule deer or, again, patrol a campground for easy
eats? Easy decision.
Feeding from vehicles along roadways is no less a problem, as
wildlife then lose their fear of our cars and are likely to then be
struck as they seek out an easy bite.
Life is harsh and difficult for wildlife, so there’s no way they’re
going to pass up an easy meal.
And that’s where humans come in. Quit feeding our wildlife
and keep your campsite policed and leftovers and garbage-free.
Please.
That goes for our less lethal wildlife as well. Just last week in
Banff a mule deer was spotted near Tim Hortons, right in town,
completely surrounded by people trying to feed it. The thing is, if
that deer suddenly felt threatened and charged out of the crowd
or lashed out with its hooves, it could have resulted in human
injury – again, because people were feeding it.
In the end, feeding wildlife on purpose, or through negligence
in leaving campsites littered, can mean death – and that blood is
on the hands of everybody who took part in promoting unnatural
behaviour in a beast.
vox populi
Must calm bears die?
OPINION
KEVIN VAN TIGHEM CANMORE
If there was a community anywhere that
cared about the well-being of Alberta’s grizzly
population, one would think that ours would
be at the top of the list.
But the echoing silence in the wake of our
recent loss of four female grizzlies seems to
tell a different tale.
Female grizzlies reach sexual maturity later than most animals and reproduce
only every two or three years at best. Their
offspring often die before maturity, especially
in landscapes riddled with roads, railways and
temptation.
That’s why the loss of bear 105 and her
three female cubs from this valley will have
profound, long-term conservation impacts.
Science shows that long-distance relocations
often end soon after in the death of the bears.
What is most troubling is that these bears
were trapped and hauled away for the sole
offence of being relaxed around people. They
weren’t getting into human food or garbage,
which could have made them dangerous.
And they weren’t being aggressive. They were
simply using natural habitats close to where
we live.
Bears are no more inherently dangerous
than humans. Like us, some are timid; others
are assertive. Some are inquisitive; others conservative. Their individual natures, combined
with their life experiences, predispose some
to fear and avoid people, others to accept us
as neutral, and others to actively seek us out.
Bear 105 may well have preferred being close
to occupied areas because experience had
taught her that people are safer than the big
males farther away from town who sometimes
hunt and kill bear cubs.
Bears that associate us with food or danger can be dangerous. But others, like 105,
BEARS
CONTINUED ON PAGE 11
The deadline for letters to the editor is Mondays at noon. Please keep letters to a maximum of 500
words. Letters can be emailed to [email protected], dropped off at suite 201-1001 6th.
Ave. in Canmore or mailed to Box 8610, Canmore, AB T1W 2V3. Phone number required.
Lake Louise, AB
General Excellence
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first place
THURSDAY, JULY 19, 2012
FREE VOLUME 36 // ISSUE 29 // 56 PAGES
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OPINION ......................... 8
LETTERS ......................... 9
COMMUNITY 25-30, 38-39
OPEN HOUSES ........ 31-37
TRAVEL ........................ 40
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MUNICIPAL HALL
ST. PATRICK’S DAY TEA: Dance
Municipal
staffing
review leads
to $2.5M in
savings
Works Academy provided the entertainment
at the St. Patrick’s Day tea at Harmony Hall
in Gibsons last Saturday afternoon. The tea
was hosted by the Gibsons Seniors Society.
See more photos in our on-line galleries at
www.coastreporter.net.
JUSTIN SAMSON PHOTO
EDUCATION DISPUTE
Teachers challenge Bill 22
CHRISTINE WOOD
Staff Writer
B.C. teachers have decided to fight Bill
22, the so-called Education Improvement
Act. B.C. Teachers’ Federation (BCTF) president Susan Lambert announced on March
21 that a legal challenge to the controversial
Bill will be mounted in the weeks to come.
The decision came after about 700 teachers gathered for a four-day annual general
meeting in Vancouver. BCTF members decided to proceed with a “bold plan of action
with the ultimate goal of having the so-called
Education Improvement Act repealed,” a
press release from the BCTF stated.
“Christy Clark as education minister
started this fight 10 years ago with her
legislation that stripped teachers’ collective
agreements of our bargaining rights and of
guarantees for the quality learning conditions for students,” Lambert said when the
decision was announced. “The B.C. Supreme
Changes include elimination of
assistant fire chief position
D!
CE
DU
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#30 Taluswood 3br, 3 bath dbl garage
WOLF
CONINUED ON PAGE 6
MUDDY MESS
Stranded
motorists survey the scene of Friday’s
(July 20) mudslide west of Banff as
heavy equipment works to clear the
eastbound lanes. The Trans-Canada
Highway was completely blocked by
debris, causing major delays, and
overwhelming the Town of Banff.
CRAIG DOUCE RMO PHOTO
Mudslide causes holiday mayhem
CATHY ELLIS BANFF
A massive mudslide west of Banff shut down
the Trans-Canada Highway for several hours
on Friday (July 20), forcing the RCMP to turn
visitors away from the national park tourist
town.
And Parks Canada warns more heavy rainfall could trigger more mudslides, especially
given the combination of record snowpack
high in the mountains over winter and a very
wet June.
“It’s like trying to predict an earthquake,
but if we get another heavy rainfall, I wouldn’t
be surprised if it did happen again,” said
Douglas Kerr, Parks Canada’s operations manager for highways and roads.
“With the conditions we’ve had, the drainage channels are quite unstable. It’s up to
Mother Nature, but I’m preparing for more of
these kinds of events.”
A torrent of mud, trees and rocks swept
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down the mountainside onto the highway
about two kilometres west of Banff at about
3:30 p.m., as thousands of tourists flocked
to the mountains or were simply passing
through.
The RCMP turned people away from
Banff, except those with hotel reservations or
residents, setting up a roadblock at the east
gates to Banff National Park around 6 p.m.
MUDSLIDE
CONINUED ON PAGE 4
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Coast Reporter
Sechelt/Gibsons, BC
TIGHT CURVES: Downhill racers jockey for position in the open division final of the Whistler Longboard Festival on Sunday
(July 15). Andrew Chapman, pictured at back left, came all the way from last place to win the event in a controversial finish.
See Sports on Page 27 for a complete wrap of the event. Photo by Adam Taber
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Kananaskis Country conservation officers
shot and killed a young wolf after it stalked a
man, his child and puppy at the Mount Kidd
campground, Tuesday (July 24).
It’s the first time in the history of
Kananaskis Country parks officials have had
to kill a wolf.
According to Kananaskis Senior Parks
Ecologist Melanie Percy, the wolf was highly
habituated and food conditioned, and was
likely fed along the roadside.
“It was an extremely unfortunate situation.
The careless acts of a few individuals left us
with a situation that was unmanageable and
ultimately cost this wolf his life,” Percy said.
On Tuesday morning, the man, boy and
puppy were walking through the Mount Kidd
Campground when they noticed the wolf following them. They sought refuge in a nearby
bathroom, however, the wolf waited outside
the building for them, before losing interest
and moving on.
Shortly after, conservation officers showed
up and shot the young wolf, estimated to
be two or three years old. A necropsy was
conducted Wednesday (July 25).
“We’re 100 per cent sure it was the right
wolf,” Percy said.
Stalking the young family was the final
nail in the wolf ’s coffin, although it exhibited
alarming behaviour over the past week.
Conservation officers had received word
of a wolf approaching vehicles, coming
close enough to put its paws on cars. The
behaviour suggests the wolf was fed from
s!
Clothing for Active Kid sizes 0-16
NOW
TRANSIT
Move to allow private operators P5
Teachers plan to refuse to accept the
additional pay on a matter of principle.
Sunshine Coast Teachers’ Association
president Louise Herle said the idea of paying teachers to teach unmanageable class
sizes is “ridiculous.”
“It again just points to the commodification of education, turning education into
a business when we all know education is
there to serve the students, to serve the parents and really be a great equalizer. Given
the ridiculous eighth year in a row highest
child poverty rate for British Columbia, education has to be there to serve all,” she said.
Herle said she took exception with the
fact Education Minister George Abbott was
in Beijing signing a deal for a new offshore
school in Xianghe on March 21 when the
teachers’ plans were announced.
“He’s in China making our education
into a commodity rather than a service.
Education’s not a business,” she said.
How the BCTF will proceed with the
SERVING
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SAVINGS P4
Zoning change possible
for transit facility
Court found her bills to be illegal and unconstitutional, yet her government has done
nothing to show respect for the ruling, for
public education or for the teachers and
students of B.C. In fact, they’re violating the
rights of teachers and cutting the same services to students with Bill 22.”
She said teachers are deeply concerned
about the effect of Bill 22 on class size and
class composition.
“The legislation removes any effective
limits on class sizes from grades 4 to 12 and
eliminates caps on the numbers of students
with special needs assigned to any particular class. Furthermore, it doesn’t address
the loss of more than 1,500 learning specialist teachers, whose skills are desperately
needed to support all students’ learning,”
the BCTF press release stated.
Of particular concern to teachers is what
the BCTF is calling a “cash for kids clause”
that would see some teachers paid extra for
having classes exceeding 30 students.
legal challenge has yet to be decided; however, Herle noted a charter challenge may be
forthcoming.
“It is necessary to challenge this damaging legislation. It’s necessary to challenge it
from all angles,” she said.
In addition to the legal challenge, the
BCTF plans to vote on an action plan on April
17 and 18 that could include a possible full
withdrawal of services in response to Bill 22.
That action plan will also deal with “other
measures” yet to be released by the BCTF.
“Teachers are angry, teachers are frustrated, teachers are committed, and we
won’t give up,” Herle noted.
Bill 22 was passed in the legislature on
March 15. It enforces hefty fines for strike
action taken by teachers during a six-month
mediation period set out by the province.
Government has asked both parties to
submit names of potential mediators they
would like to see take on the task.
Bill 22 also extends the teachers’ existing contract and implements a Learning
Improvement Fund of $165 million over
three years.
Abbott was unavailable for comment by
Coast Reporter press time.
South Coast
of $500,000 in staff
reductions, said Furey,
were realized through the
most cost-effective manner
with the least impact on
operations and services.
“We are keenly aware of
finding cost-effective ways
to remain sustainable,” he
said. “We provide a wide
range of services to the
community and the size
of organization is always
thought to reflect the needs
of community as it changes
and grows.
“I think we have found
the balance between
EVENTS
Kananaskis
rogue wolf
destroyed
51
10
40
55
29
45
21
JUSTIN BRISBANE KANANASKIS
Off-road course changed to
Lost Lake Park P28
A complete
organizational structure
review of the Resort
Municipality of Whistler
has resulted in a total cost
savings to taxpayers of
$2.5 million over a fiveyear period.
RMOW Chief
Administrative Officer
Mike Furey presented
the outcomes of the twophased review on Tuesday
(July 17) to council as a
last-minute addition to the
agenda.
The annual savings
Thursday, July 26, 2012
LOCAL CLASSIFIED
Pinecrest
wetlands
restored
Vancouver
Symphony Orchestra
set to perform at
Whistler Olympic Plaza
this weekend
P34
[email protected]
www.rmoutlook.com
1
NEWS
A classical
evening
Tanya Foubert
All your Bow Valley news and information — in one place
CAREERS
8
CULTURE
HEALTH ......................... 41
CALENDAR ............. 42-43
A&E ....................... 45-48
SPORTS .................. 51-54
CLASSIFIEDS .......... 56-67
Third place
Lake Louise, AB
General Excellence
Blue Ribbons
Alberni Valley News, Port Alberni, BC
Coast Reporter, Sechelt/Gibsons, BC
Embassy, Ottawa, ON
Hill Times, Ottawa, ON
Mission Record, Mission, BC
Nelson Star, Nelson, BC
Question, Whistler, BC
Rocky Mountain Outlook, Canmore/Kananaskis/Banff/Lake Louise, AB
Stittsville News EMC, Stittsville, ON
The Carillon, Steinbach, MB
Times Advertiser, Wetaskiwin, AB
JUDGE’S COMMENT
It was an honour to serve as a judge in this category and to see that community
newspapers are alive and well in all parts of the country. Does the quality of the
papers vary? Yes, greatly. But any newspaper devotee understands that a number
of factors contribute to a newspaper’s quality, including a region’s economic
circumstances. It is no surprise that the very best papers in this category tend to be
from communities that are doing well economically. They typically benefit from a
combination of resources and geography. But I think it says a lot that newspapers
from the Kootenays in BC, southeastern Manitoba and the Northwest Territories are
also of high quality and giving every indication that they are thriving in a changing
media world.
Despite the variation in quality, there wasn’t a single newspaper among this year’s
24 entries that I didn’t enjoy reading. It takes a special kind of people to produce
a community paper. Irregular hours, high expectations, never feeling like one has
quite enough time, deadline pressures, traditionally low wages--they all combine
into what one might think would be a field that doesn’t hold much appeal,
especially for younger generations that are growing up in an almost entirely digital
era. But young faces appear regularly on the pages of these newspapers, their
names attached to stories that are important, interesting, edifying, entertaining,
analytical, balanced and often very sophisticated. Clearly, community news has a
lure that continues to cross generational lines.
I congratulate the category’s winners and those receiving honourable mentions.
And I commend each and every entrant. Your commitment to your communities
and this endlessly fascinating form of media is heartening.
General Excellence
General Excellence
Judge: John Kendle
first place
Second place
Third place
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NEWS
PENTICTON WESTERN
The push for a
national championship
begins for the Vees
www.pentictonwesternnews.com
3
Penticton teachers withdraw
from extracurricular activities
news
n
03 | 17 | 2012
NDP leadership candidate speaks
with party faithful in Penticton
9
entertainment
en
t t i
t Shane Koyczan has double
date with Penticton
Flash mob converges on
airport to serenade WestJet
CoMMent
page 8
Cutting publiC serviCe only part of new budgets
www.OBSERVERXTRA.com
That superstitious time of year
Deal averts
strike
at EDCL
Union agrees to offer
after shortening length
of contract to three years
JaMes JaCKson
It wasn’t quite an eleventh-hour deal,
but workers at Elmira District Community
Living managed to avoid a strike this week
by agreeing to a new three-year deal with
their employer.
Local union president Trudy Allen said
that 94 per cent of employees at EDCL,
members of OPSEU Local 253, voted in
favour of the new contract.
“Talks were going on Saturday night,
and we met Sunday morning at 10 a.m. to
finalize the details,” said Allen of the deal,
which was ratified Monday afternoon.
The workers, who had been without a
contract since March 2010, were seeking a
four-year deal that would provide a lumpsum payment of $850 in each of the first
two years per full time equivalency, and a
2.5 per cent wage increase in years three
and four.
EDCL countered with a lump-sum payment of $1,132 combined over the first two
years, a one per cent increase in year three,
and a zero per cent increase in year four.
The deal which was eventually accepted
by the union was that same offered by
EDCL, but with the fourth year removed,
meaning both sides will be back at the bargaining table when this new deal expires
next April.
“We’re hoping to give the employer time
WALL PLAQUE
WITH MIRROR
Like many
athletes,
some
Sugar King
players
have rituals
to keep the
mojo going
Sugar King forward Cash Seraphim has had his hair cut into a Mohawk
and dyed blonde for the team’s playoff run. Many of the Kings have
pre-game superstitions or rituals. See story and photos on page 11.
[colin dewar / the observer]
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day’s council meeting.
Antoniak said that credit for getting the event going goes
to the people that came forward to organize it, including the
Downtown Penticton Association’s Barb Haynes, the dance
studio and Coun. Andrew Jakubeit.
“I simply came up with the idea, but it was Barb and the
dance studio and Andrew (Jakubeit) that pulled it all together
in such a short time,” said Antoniak. “I haven’t seen the ¿nal
product yet, but everything I have heard has been how much
people enjoyed it, and how much we really need this service
here.”
It’s a message that’s been going out to WestJet executives
since the beginning of February, when the company announced
they were considering opening a new regional airline.
So far, social media has played a huge part in the campaign with thousands of followers for the Bring WestJet to
Penticton page on Facebook and thousands of messages being
exchanged on Twitter using the hashtag #WestJetPenticton.
And social media played a crucial role in gathering Saturday’s
mob, with the call to action going out and being shared across
the networks.
“It’s just being able to get out there as a community and
demonstrate what we can do when we all get together. It was
just a very positive experience,” said Antoniak. “I think the
community here are very engaged and passionate and that
sure came out in spades on Saturday. It shows you what this
community will do in terms of getting behind something if
they feel strongly about it.”
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Titanic
captivates
city man
Fascination:
A double
exposure
captures
Scott Larsen
– a freelance
journalist
from New
Westminster who
has been
researching
the stories of
the Titanic’s
Scandinavian passengers – and
a picture of
the Titanic.
BY CHRISTINA MYERS REPORTER
Steve Kidd/Western News
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◗Tracing Page 13
DANCERS FROM Okanagan Dance Studios lead the charge for Saturday’s dance mob at Penticton Regional Airport,
with about 500 people gathering to show how happy they would be if WestJet came to Penticton.
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In the grand story of the Titanic,
it may seem that all that can be said
has been said already: the sinking of
the great ship has held the collective
interest of the world for a century
now, its story being told and retold
through films, books and reams of
historical research so extensive it may
seem that there are no mysteries left
to uncover.
And yet, as the 100th anniversary of the sinking of the Titanic
approaches, there are still unknown
details about the people who lost
their lives – or barely escaped – on
the night of April 15, 1912, and an
appetite among the public to learn
more about one of the most famous
events of the 20th century.
The fascination with the Titanic
makes perfect sense to Scott Larsen, a
freelance journalist who has spent the
last few months immersed in the story.
Steve Kidd
The campaign to bring WestJet to Penticton left the world
of social media and got real last Saturday.
That’s when, dressed in blues and greens and lots of layers
to keep warm, about 500 community members gathered on a
cold, windy afternoon at Penticton Regional Airport to join a
singing, dancing mob sending out the message that the South
Okanagan would really, really like WestJet to start Àying out
of the airport.
“It is fantastic, look at this. Who would have ever believed
that everybody would have such a desire to have another airline in here,” said Lascha Main of the Downtown Penticton
Association, who was guiding people to sign in at a registration table.
DPA volunteers registered about 500 people coming to
take part in the event, which took place on the tarmac in front
of the airport terminal, led by dancers from Okanagan Dance
Studios, who gave the crowd a short training session to teach
them the choreographed dance moves planned for the event.
Penticton Mayor Dan Ashton was out on the tarmac, dancing with the crowd and pleased to see the level of participation.
“This is a terri¿c turnout,” he said, adding that the desire
and the promotion being done to draw WestJet to Penticton
is not because Air Canada Jazz has done a poor job serving
the airport and the South Okanagan community, but that they
would like to see more options for Àying out of Penticton to
all destinations.
“We want to ensure that the people of the South Okanagan
and the Similkameen — that’s 80,000 plus people — have
the opportunity of a jet, especially jet service going east. I
am quite sure there is substantial support,” said Ashton. “We
want to be sure that the opportunity presents itself, especially
for those who want to travel east, that there are alternatives.
By having alternatives, competition, it keeps everyone a bit
sharper.”
“I was so impressed with the turnout and the community
support. It was outstanding,” said city manager Annette Antoniak, who is credited with originating the idea for the dance
mob, a video of which will be sent to WestJet next week, as
well as being shared on YouTube after being unveiled at Mon-
OPINION
[email protected]
Western News Staff
tHe arts
page 16
SPORTS,
◗ 100TH ANNIVERSARY
WEDNESDAY, MARCH 14, 2012
VOL.46 ISSUE 21
news
INSIDE FEATURE: Gay and grey in the city ◗ P10
NEWS,
❯❯
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Mulcair ‘best leader’ or a ‘salesman’
BY JENNIFER MOREAU REPORTER
[email protected]
The New Democrats have chosen
Thomas Mulcair as their new leader, positioning the party to shore up support in
Quebec, according to one SFU pundit.
But New Westminster Conservative Paul
Forseth has a very different take on the
situation.
“I think it was a smart choice on the part
of the NDP,” said Doug McArthur, an SFU
professor of public policy. “They’ve built
this new base in Quebec, and obviously
they have to consolidate that if they want to
move on and become government. I would
say Mulcair is clearly the best leader to consolidate the base in Quebec.”
McArthur said Mulcair “seems very
intelligent and knows policy very well,”
and he has a combative style that would
seem best suited to take on Prime Minister
Stephen Harper.
Mulcair was a provincial Liberal politician in Quebec before he moved on to federal politics as a New Democrat. Mulcair is
also hoping to garner more of the centrist
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vote, McArthur said.
“He wants to bring the centre voters to
the NDP,” McArthur said. “I think that’s
one of the reasons he got so much support.”
Forseth also commented on Mulcair’s
French connection but was less than confident in his governing abilities.
“I think he’s very Quebec-oriented. I’ve
observed him on TV broadcasts over the
last couple of years, and he appears to be
very aggressive, never missing to score a
political point,” said Forseth, who ran as
a Conservative in the last federal election
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for Burnaby-New Westminster and served
as an MP from 1993 to 2006. “The official Opposition (needs to) present a team
that’s competent to govern, because they
are technically the government in waiting.
I don’t think Mr. Mulcair is prime minister
material.”
Forseth characterized Mulcair as a
“salesman first.”
“We really don’t know the real man. He
will say or do anything for the advantage
of his perceived audience. I don’t think we
can really trust anything he says,” Forseth
said.
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General Excellence
Judge: John Kendle
Best Editorial Page
first place
Second place
THE OBSERVER | SATURDAY, ApRil 14, 2012
JOE MERLIHAN PUBLISHER
STEVE KANNON EDITOR
COMMENT
DONNA RUDY
SALES MANAGER
JAMES JACKSON
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Our VIEW / EDITOrIaL
ThE VIEW frOM hErE
Council needs
to escape from
bureaucratic trap
Missing in this week’s Woolwich council
discussion about economic development was
a willingness to question the need for the program in the first place.
It’s clear from a report on the business visitation program
that it has been largely ineffective: just 18 businesses have
been called on by the economic development and tourism
officer since 2010. The explanation for so few results is that
staffer has repeatedly been co-opted into a variety of other
projects that have nothing to do with economic development.
Fact is, there’s precious little to show in the way of economic benefits for the work done since the position was
added to the payroll in 2009.
Senior staff has pointed to the EDO’s work on the Victoria
Glen issue, Grand River Transit route 21 and, most recently,
the community guide. Not economic development. And not
projects much staff time should have been spent on.
The township’s attempt to sell off parkland in Victoria
Glen to help pay for a variety of new buildings was destined
to go nowhere. Despite tepid support and limited ridership,
the bus was a foregone conclusion: poor response was not
taken into consideration. The guide appears to have eaten
up a considerable amount of staff time – not to mention
money – to provide a slightly expanded version of the longstanding recreation guide.
Specifically on the visitation program, which aims to
personalize the relationship between the township and
businesses here, there’s no indication the information that’s
been gathered will serve any purpose. Certainly the sample
size so far is irrelevant; as Mayor Todd Cowan noted, “18 isn’t
even a real straw poll.”
If the township does manage to free up more of the EDO’s
time, the goal is 24 visits per year. Given that there are more
than a thousand businesses in the township, it would take
some four or five decades to get around to all of them. By
that time, the totality of information collected will be mostly
outdated. And even if correlated, it would serve as little more
than an interesting snapshot, not viable economic data.
Questions about business confidence and growth expectations, for instance, are done on a regular basis by the likes of
Statistics Canada, polling firms and large industry players;
the large sample size and frequent updates help create a
helpful portrait. That’s not the case in Woolwich, where neither the scope nor the timing are favourable.
None of this is to lay blame. The position appears to have
been set up without any real goals or benchmarks. Larger
centres provide economic development services that aim to
recruit businesses and employment, often through the servicing of land, incentives, streamlining of red tape and the
like. None of that is in play in Woolwich, which doesn’t have
the financial wherewithal to do so.
Instead, there’s a lot of busywork. And much of it thus far
has included jobs that don’t pertain to the economic development or tourism portfolios. The addition of an extra staff
person makes it easy to spread the workload rather than
becoming more efficient. The generating of reports – classic
bureaucratic time-wasting – helps fill out the schedule and
attempts to justify more of the same.
We’ve seen this become more pervasive in the township
in recent years. It all makes perfect sense inside the bureaucracy. But there’s little if any benefit to the taxpayers, who
are footing the bill. It’s the job of council to curb the bloat
and to ensure there’s value for money spent. That’s certainly
not been the case so far, despite a so-called review of expenditures. The public deserves better.
The explanation of the economic development portfolio at this week's Woolwich council meeting did little to bolster the wish list.
WOrLD VIEW / GWYNNE DYEr
With Assad's apparent victory, the rest of Syria loses
WORLD
AFFAIRS
“we, the undersigned
armed terrorist groups,
hereby promise to stop all
violence in Syria and surrender all our weapons to
the Syrian regime. We will
no longer carry out the
orders of Israel, the United
States, Turkey, Qatar and
Saudi Arabia, who have
been financing our campaign of armed terrorism
against the Syrian people.
Love, the terrorists of the
Free Syrian Army.”
As soon as Bashar alAssad’s regime in Syria
gets “written guarantees”
from the “armed terrorist
groups” to surrender, announced the Syrian foreign
ministry on Apr. 8, it will
comply with its promise
to withdraw its tanks and
artillery from rebellious
Syrian cities. Sorry, no,
there’s more. The regime
also wants “guarantees of
commitment by the governments of Qatar, Saudi
Arabia and Turkey to stop
financing the armed terrorist groups.”
The United Nations and
the Arab League thought
they had a deal. The Syrian
government had promised
the mediator, former UN
Secretary-General Kofi Annan, that it would remove
all its heavy weapons from
urban areas by Apr. 10, and
accept a complete ceasefire by the 12th. But then
Damascus announced that
the international community had been “mistaken”
to think that it was really
going to pull its troops out.
“Kofi Annan has until
now not furnished to the
Syrian government written guarantees about the
acceptance of the armed
terrorist groups to stop
violence in all its forms,
and their readiness to surrender their weapons so
that state authority can
spread on all territory,” the
statement said. In other
words, as soon as the prodemocracy side surrenders
unconditionally, “peace”
– i.e., the tyranny of the
Baath regime – will be restored.
Kofi Annan, the United
Nations and the Arab
League were doing the best
they could, but with no
member country willing to
use military force against
Syria they had no leverage
whatever. If Bashar alAssad really pulled all his
troops out of Syrian cities,
they would then immediately fall into the hands
of the opposition, so he
wasn’t going to do that.
The senior people at the
UN and the Arab League
who approved the deal
were hoping at least to put
an end to the Syrian regime’s use of massive force
against civilians. Assad
was obviously not going to
meekly give up power, but
many innocent lives would
be saved if he could just be
persuaded to stop using
tanks and artillery against
cities. He would probably
continue killing his opponents on a retail basis, but
the wholesale killing would
stop.
However, Assad only
agreed to the UN proposal
in the first place because
Russia and China needed
some diplomatic cover if
they were to go on vetoing
any action against Syria by
the Security Council. But it
turns out that no country is
willing to pay the price in
lives of a military intervention in Syria anyway, so it
doesn’t really matter what
the Security Council says
– and moving to a lower-
Observer
Elmira-Woolwich, ON
profile strategy would have
a significant cost for the
regime.
Suppressing the uprising one murder at a time,
with the regime’s intelligence services and “special
forces” operating in hostile
urban areas, would cost
them a lot of casualties.
The regime calculated
the likelihood of foreign
military intervention, concluded that it was zero, and
reneged on the deal.
It was worth trying to
de-escalate the conflict,
but it isn’t going to happen.
Shelling cities with tanks
and artillery is a highly
inefficient way of restoring
government control over
them, but it keeps the casualties down on the regime
side.
So has the Assad regime
won despite the deaths of
9,000 protesters? Probably.
Non-violent resistance to
tyranny is a powerful tool,
but no political technique
works every time without
fail, and Syria’s Baath Party
was always a hard target.
It is a single-party regime
that is dominated by and
mainly serves the interests
of a minority, the AlawiDYER | 12
THURSDAY, JULY 5, 2012 • THE NEWS • WWW.HAMILTONNEWS.COM •
8
10 | COMMENT
EDITORIAL
OPINION PAGE
AGREE? DISAGREE? HAVE WE MISSED ANYTHING? SHARE YOUR
VIEWS IN A LETTER TO THE EDITOR.
6 www.pentictonwesternnews.com
OUR READERS WRITE
More than
boundary
changes
required
Many reasons
to celebrate
We hope you enjoyed your Canada Day long
weekend.
Whether you enjoyed the day with family and
friends at home, campground, cottage or at one of
the many Canada Day festivities in Hamilton, we
hope your holiday was a memorable one.
We also hope that sometime during the weekend’s
celebrations, you took a moment to contemplate
what a wonderful country we have in Canada.
Our country is not perfect. We have a federal government that too often ignores the basic democratic
principles that make us the envy of those living
under oppression.
We have our spendthrift governments that preach
austerity while pilfering taxpayers pockets to maintain their lofty privileged
lifestyles. We have our
THE ISSUE
internal disputes between
Canada Day is more
political
parties,
provinces, and social
than a nation-wide
classes, but nothing that
party
threatens to tear apart the
foundations of our counOUR VIEW
try.
We have the occasional
Take time to
black eye like the G20
reflect on reasons to
summit debacle, but we
celebrate
have a system of checks
and balances in place to
try to prevent recurring abuses of power in the
future.
One need only cast a glance at the headlines from
around the world — unrest and human atrocities in
Syria, financial crises in Greece, Ireland, Spain and
much of Europe, drug cartel wars in Mexico — to
realize life in Canada is pretty darn good.
If we are not happy with our government, we are
free to speak our minds for change either through
public opinion or the ballot box without fear of punishment or imprisonment.
We live in a country of peace, yet we do not live in
isolation and have shown the will to fight tyranny
and oppression in armed conflicts around the world.
We are also known around the world for extending a helping hand providing aid for others in countries struggling in the face of poverty, famine or disaster.
We are the envy of many around the world and for
this reason we open our doors to those who wish to
make Canada their home.
Once here, we welcome newcomers to make
themselves at home by bringing their cultural traditions to become part of Canada’s multi-faceted tapestry.
And if, for any reason, you wish to move elsewhere
within our borders or outside our borders, you are
free to do so without fear of repercussions against
yourself or those you left behind.
We are still a young growing nation with much to
look back on with pride and much to look forward to
with hope.
So if you were too busy enjoying the Canada Day
festivities last weekend to appreciate what all the fuss
was about take a few moments now to reflect upon
what it truly is to be Canadian and how lucky we all
are to call this country our home.
Third place
re: City to review ward boundaries (June 28)
Watch the games and view the city
London is a fascinating city to visit. Despite
The 2012 London Olympic Games will be a
the size of the city and the congestion of its
little extra special for me this year.
Besides looking forward to watching the streets, sidewalks and subways, we actually
world’s best athletes compete against each found it easy to navigate as tourists.
Armed with our map, we were
other, not to mention cheering for
able to quickly master the transit
Canada’s Olympians, I’m eager to
system, both above ground on
revisit the host city — London.
bus and below ground on the
My wife and I just returned
subway.
from a two-week vacation to Great
But if you are fit and can afford
Britain, which included six wonthe time, walking is one of the
derful days in London.
best ways to tour London.
It will be the first time I’ll actual
You never know what you
be able to say, “I was there,” while
might stumble upon around the
watching the games.
next corner.
I am particularly looking forROD JERRED
For instance, we visited a
ward to the marathon, not only
Twinings store on Fleet street
because Hamilton native Reid
Coltsaert is competing in the event, but where visitors are invited to sit at the back of
because my wife and I nearly walked the entire the store and enjoy a free cup of tea and chat
with other visitors. Another time, we came
route during our stay.
The London Games marathon follows a across a protest in front of the Ecuadorian
return route between Buckingham Palace and Embassy where WikiLeaks founder Julian
the Tower of London. Along the way, runners Assange has taken refuge from prosecution.
But most of all, the view of the city’s skyline
will pass familiar landmarks such as the Houses of Parliament, Big Ben, St. Paul’s Cathedral is an astounding mix of modern architecture
and well-known landmarks dating hundreds
and Trafalgar Square.
For me it will bring back memories of our of years.
The skyline includes visual landmarks such
second day in London when we walked from
Westminster Abbey through Trafalgar Square as St. Paul’s Cathedral, West Minster Abbey, Big
and on to Fleet Street, where we stopped for Ben and the Tower Bridge next to modern
lunch at the Ye Olde Cheshire Cheese Pub, architectural treats such as the 41-storey, bulwhich dates back to the 17th century and let-shaped office building nicknamed the
boasts Charles Dickens as a former regular Gherkin by Londoners. It also includes the
bulbous-shaped glass sphere, which serves as
customer.
While we didn’t press onward to the Tower city hall for the Greater London Authority. And
of London (we had visited it the day before by then there is the London Eye, which not only
bus) we did walk along Oxford Street, one of provides a spectacular view of London, but
the city’s busiest shopping areas, to our hotel has become a familiar part of the city’s skyline.
So when you are watching the athletes
near Hyde Park.
We did visit Buckingham Palace at the end compete in the Olympics in a few weeks, take
of our stay when we walked through Hyde a moment to see beyond the playing field and
Park to the palace and onwards to the famed into the surrounding cityscape. Take it from
me, you won’t be disappointed.
Harrod’s for High Tea.
Hamilton Community News Managing
Besides focusing on the athletes competing
in the Olympic games, I am hoping the televi- Editor Rod Jerred can be reached at
sion coverage will highlight the host city as [email protected] or follow him on
Twitter @HCN_editor.
well.
Prior to the last election, Hamilton's city council was generally
regarded as being incapable of making decisions. This became a topic of
discussion prior to the election and
was acknowledged at the time by
some council members.
This has changed to some degree,
but unfortunately there wasn't
enough new blood elected to make a
big difference.
Again, decision making is a challenge for this council. Issues are not
resolved but rather sent to committee or back for departmental review,
anything to seemingly avoid taking
decisive action. It has been lost on
council members that their primary
focus is to make decisions.
Council's latest challenge is the
ward boundaries review. It is apparent a review is needed. Council has
begrudgingly agreed to one. The
process to arrive at this point is so
typically Hamilton council.
A number of councillors were
against a review in preliminary discussions, but ended up voting for
one.
A couple of concerns are the possibility of increasing the size and
cost of council and losing their job,
should a downsized council be recommended.
The supreme insult comes when
the decision is made to spend
$250,000 and take two years to study
the matter, with any change coming
into effect in 2018.
Let's pretend we are serious
about the voting concerns and have
any changes in place in time for the
next election. I know it can be done
in much less time and at much less
cost to the beleaguered taxpayer.
There is little doubt Hamiltonians are not getting the change for
which they voted.
Don Phillips
Hamilton Mountain
Penticton Western News Friday, March 16, 2012
opinion
Published Wednesdays and Fridays in Penticton at: 2250 Camrose St., Penticton B.C. V2A 8R1
Phone: (250) 492-3636 • Fax: (250) 492-9843 • E-mail: [email protected]
EDITORIAL
Students being used
as a bargaining chip
T
hroughout the long, drawn-out contract
dispute between B.C.’s teachers and the
province, one of the most oft-repeated cries
from the BCTF was that the negotiations aren’t
about money, but about protecting the education
system for the students.
That argument falls a little Àat in light of the
BCTF’s refusal to negotiate under the government’s net-zero mandate and the salary requests
they have put on the bargaining table. Negotiations on class size and composition do support
their claim to be working in the interests of students, though those also bene¿t BCTF members.
All that changed this week as local teachers
unions around the province announced that if Bill
22 passes — it should be in effect today — they
will withdraw from any extracurricular activities.
The teachers say this is the only way they have
left to put pressure on the government and bring
attention to their plight. But, in effect, they are
now holding the students to ransom — the same
students who, last week, they said they were
working in the interests of.
Many teachers put in countless hours of volunteer labour on these activities, which include
sports, ¿eld trips, band trips and other activities.
While the teachers’ right to withdraw from this
kind of volunteer work can’t be questioned, their
use of it as a bargaining tool, however, is very
questionable.
Extracurricular activities are, by their very nature, outside of normal school functions; they are
not a bargaining point in contract negotiations.
But with this move, teachers are planning to deny
students education-enriching experiences in an
attempt to further their own position.
With the cooling off period imposed by Bill
22, it’s about time that both sides in this dispute
settled down to some real negotiations, and that
the teachers stopped trying to get public support
by using the students.
Media becoming the message
Those in the so-called mainstream media have always lived
in a bubble of their own making.
Traditionally, this bubble, it has
been argued, enabled journalists
to report events in an impartial,
dispassionate manner and implied
a certain level of con¿dence in the
balance and truthfulness of what
was being reported to the public.
We depended on the media to give
us the goods and the background
we needed to form opinions.
Watergate was a seminal moment in North American media
history. While Watergate made
Woodward and Bernstein, and
raised the prestige of the Washington Post, it also led to a style of
investigative journalism that may
eventually kill the mainstream media entities. Major networks and
publishing entities spent the last
40 years looking for the “next Watergate” and have been unsuccessful in the search. Since Watergate
was the brainchild of a conservative president, most of the minor
league scandals of the ‘70s and
‘80s were ascribed to the “right”.
Journalists, journalism schools
and j-school graduates set out to
catch the next conservative in the
act of something evil. This caused
conservatives to be suspicious of
the press, and thus drove many in
the press into the arms of liberal
politicians, only too happy to feed
the press any manner of rumour or
innuendo that would show conser-
Mark Walker
At Random
vatives in a bad light.
This history brings us the
“Robocall” scandal making the
rounds in our national media over
the past few weeks. One can be
forgiven for being unfamiliar with
the robocalls story because it is a
story that is entirely media driven, and one for which there is no
evidence and very little fact. The
key for our Parliamentary Press
Gallery in this case is that it is a
Conservative party in power that
enjoys widespread support nationally. Harper’s Conservatives
represent the antithesis of the values held by most members in our
media. The media campaigned
actively against Harper in May,
promoting Micheal Ignatieff despite his clear inability to lead
and actually cheerleading for Jack
Layton’s NDP. The CBC was the
worst offender, coining the notion
of an “Orange Crush” and shielding Layton from any questions
about his repeated visits to massage parlours. Much of the national
media has still not got over the fact
that Canadians ignored their message and voted for a Conservative
majority. Robocalls is the media’s
idea of a vast Conservative conspiracy to use “American-style”
tactics to “steal” the election.
Comparing conservatives to
“the Americans” is a pejorative
used endlessly by the national
media. The media and opposition parties display their contempt
for Canadians who are so daft as
to elect a Conservative majority.
Clearly the ignorant voters must
have been tricked by cunning
Conservatives with robocalls.
Elections Canada (not the
most Conservative-friendly body)
investigated all complaints and
irregularities immediately following the election in May, and while
there were many, they found none
directly perpetrated by the Conservatives, and none that affected
the outcome of any local election.
The Liberals and NDP in Parliament and the national media have
yet to come up with any suspects
or evidence linking the Conservatives to anything. The Liberals, however, have been found to
have made robocalls that did not
meet Elections Canada rules. It
has been nearly three weeks, and
nothing has been uncovered by
the opposition or their enablers in
the media. There is no scandal, no
evidence and no wrongdoing —
yet the national media persists in
pushing the story. Polls indicate
Canadians are not buying the
media line as support for the Conservatives remains unchanged at
about 40 per cent.
Canadians are also not buying
national newspapers or watching
network news shows much anymore either. This drop in subscription and audience is blamed by
media executives on the Internet.
There may well be some truth to
that notion — but not for the reasons media types believe. Just as
in the past election when Canadians ignored the national media
and elected the party best suited
to run the country, Canadians,
and folks in the U.S., are rejecting traditional news outlets and
turning to more accountable and
more transparent sources online to
get the news. We used to rely on
a neutral, balanced news media to
provide perspective. The national
media largely advocates a particular political view, and Canadians’
con¿dence in the media has disappeared. Robocalls is the latest
example of the media unwittingly
becoming the message. The media
bubble has burst — the media has
yet to get the news.
Mark Walker is the publisher of
the Penticton Western News.
To d a y ' s L a u g h
NEWS
PENTICTON WESTERN
2250 Camrose Street, Penticton, B.C. V2A 8R1
Tel: (250) 492-3636 Fax: (250) 492-9843
Publisher: Mark Walker Editor: Dan Ebenal
Sales Manager: Larry Mercier Creative Director: Kirk Myltoft
The Penticton Western News is a member in good standing of
the Canadian Community Newspapers Association and the British Columbia & Yukon Community Newspapers Association.
ONLINE POLL
RESULTS
Last week’s question
Do you fly a Canadian flag at your home?
The Results
Yes
53%
No
47%
The Penticton Western News is a member of the British Columbia
Press Council, a self-regulatory body governing the province’s
newspaper industry. The council considers complaints from
the public about the conduct of member newspapers. Directors
oversee the mediation of complaints, with input from both the
newspaper and the complaint holder. If talking with the editor or
publisher does not resolve your complaint about coverage or story
treatment, you may contact the B.C. Press Council.
Your written concern, with documentation, should be sent to B.C.
Press Council, 201 Selby St.,
Nanaimo, B.C. V9R 2R2.
For information, phone 888687-2213 or go to <www.
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This publication reserves the right to refuse any material — advertising or editorial —
submitted for publication and maintains the sole right to exercise discretion in these
matters. Submissions by columnists and guest writers do not necessarily reflect the
opinion of this newspaper. All material contained herein is copyright.
Vote online for this week’s question:
During heat waves, have you ever made use
of any of the city's cooling centres?
www.HamiltonNews.com
Dundas Star News
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General Excellence
Judge: John Kendle
Best Front Page
first place
Second place
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3
tHe arts
page 16
Wednesday, March 14, 2012
CoMMent
page 8
www.OBSERVERXTRA.com
That superstitious time of year
JaMes JaCKson
It wasn’t quite an eleventh-hour deal,
but workers at Elmira District Community
Living managed to avoid a strike this week
by agreeing to a new three-year deal with
their employer.
Local union president Trudy Allen said
that 94 per cent of employees at EDCL,
members of OPSEU Local 253, voted in
favour of the new contract.
“Talks were going on Saturday night,
and we met Sunday morning at 10 a.m. to
finalize the details,” said Allen of the deal,
which was ratified Monday afternoon.
The workers, who had been without a
contract since March 2010, were seeking a
four-year deal that would provide a lumpsum payment of $850 in each of the first
two years per full time equivalency, and a
2.5 per cent wage increase in years three
and four.
EDCL countered with a lump-sum payment of $1,132 combined over the first two
years, a one per cent increase in year three,
and a zero per cent increase in year four.
The deal which was eventually accepted
by the union was that same offered by
EDCL, but with the fourth year removed,
meaning both sides will be back at the bargaining table when this new deal expires
next April.
“We’re hoping to give the employer time
Like many
athletes,
some
Sugar King
players
have rituals
to keep the
mojo going
Sugar King forward Cash Seraphim has had his hair cut into a Mohawk
and dyed blonde for the team’s playoff run. Many of the Kings have
pre-game superstitions or rituals. See story and photos on page 11.
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Steve Kidd/Western News
DANCERS FROM Okanagan Dance Studios lead the charge for Saturday’s dance mob at Penticton Regional Airport,
with about 500 people gathering to show how happy they would be if WestJet came to Penticton.
day’s council meeting.
Antoniak said that credit for getting the event going goes
to the people that came forward to organize it, including the
Downtown Penticton Association’s Barb Haynes, the dance
studio and Coun. Andrew Jakubeit.
“I simply came up with the idea, but it was Barb and the
dance studio and Andrew (Jakubeit) that pulled it all together
in such a short time,” said Antoniak. “I haven’t seen the ¿nal
product yet, but everything I have heard has been how much
people enjoyed it, and how much we really need this service
here.”
It’s a message that’s been going out to WestJet executives
since the beginning of February, when the company announced
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So far, social media has played a huge part in the campaign with thousands of followers for the Bring WestJet to
Penticton page on Facebook and thousands of messages being
exchanged on Twitter using the hashtag #WestJetPenticton.
And social media played a crucial role in gathering Saturday’s
mob, with the call to action going out and being shared across
the networks.
“It’s just being able to get out there as a community and
demonstrate what we can do when we all get together. It was
just a very positive experience,” said Antoniak. “I think the
community here are very engaged and passionate and that
sure came out in spades on Saturday. It shows you what this
community will do in terms of getting behind something if
they feel strongly about it.”
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The campaign to bring WestJet to Penticton left the world
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That’s when, dressed in blues and greens and lots of layers
to keep warm, about 500 community members gathered on a
cold, windy afternoon at Penticton Regional Airport to join a
singing, dancing mob sending out the message that the South
Okanagan would really, really like WestJet to start Àying out
of the airport.
“It is fantastic, look at this. Who would have ever believed
that everybody would have such a desire to have another airline in here,” said Lascha Main of the Downtown Penticton
Association, who was guiding people to sign in at a registration table.
DPA volunteers registered about 500 people coming to
take part in the event, which took place on the tarmac in front
of the airport terminal, led by dancers from Okanagan Dance
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Penticton Mayor Dan Ashton was out on the tarmac, dancing with the crowd and pleased to see the level of participation.
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“We want to ensure that the people of the South Okanagan
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for those who want to travel east, that there are alternatives.
By having alternatives, competition, it keeps everyone a bit
sharper.”
“I was so impressed with the turnout and the community
support. It was outstanding,” said city manager Annette Antoniak, who is credited with originating the idea for the dance
mob, a video of which will be sent to WestJet next week, as
well as being shared on YouTube after being unveiled at Mon-
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Rocky View Lacrosse product Joel Henry
(right) battles for position with Calgary
Roughnecks’ Curtis Manning during
a National Lacrosse League game at
Scotiabank Saddledome March 3.
entertainment
en
t t i
t Shane Koyczan has double
FLASHING A SIGNAL
WALL PLAQUE
WITH MIRROR
More ground clearance is just one of our physical attributes.
22
9
Steve Kidd
2.5XT Limited model shown
get it
NDP leadership candidate speaks
with party faithful in Penticton
Western News Staff
Union agrees to offer
after shortening length
of contract to three years
Proud to have 2 more inches than a Honda CR-V.™
Duo thinks Rocky View
would make ideal location
for a roller derby league.
news
page
VOL.46 ISSUE 21
Flash mob converges on
airport to serenade WestJet
EDcL | 2
Roller Derby dreams
Penticton teachers withdraw
from extracurricular activities
news
n
Cutting publiC serviCe only part of new budgets
Deal averts
strike
at EDCL
NEWS
PENTICTON WESTERN
The push for a
national championship
begins for the Vees
voluMe 17 | issue 11
Page 43
Wolves among us
[email protected]
03 | 17 | 2012
Joel Henry logs five assists with
Minnesota Swarm in win over
the Calgary Roughnecks in
his NLL homecoming
www.air-alta.com
50lbs SUNFLOWER $28.95
1 Union St., Elmira • 519.669.1115
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Henry’s homecoming
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for
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Ye ars
(403) 948-5411
Vol. 19, Issue No. 11
www.marthasmixes.com
Third place
Penticton, BC
General Excellence
Blue Ribbons
Airdrie Echo, Airdrie, AB
Cloverdale Reporter, Cloverdale, BC
Comox Valley Record, Courtenay/Comox Valley, BC
Cowichan Valley Citizen, Duncan, BC
Fast Forward Weekly, Calgary, AB
Goldstream News Gazette, Victoria, BC
Northumberland News, Cobourg/Port Hope/Colborne, ON
Observer, Elmira-Woolwich, ON
Okotoks Western Wheel, Okotoks, AB
Peninsula News Review, Sidney, BC
Penticton Western News, Penticton, BC
Prairie Post, Swift Current, SK
Renfrew Mercury EMC, Renfrew, ON
Sun/Tribune, Stouffville, ON
The News, Parksville/Qualicum Beach, BC
The Record, New Westminster, BC
Judge: John Kendle
JUDGE’S COMMENT
Putting out community weeklies is both a Herculean effort and a Sisyphean
struggle. We put everything into our weekly news, sales and production cycles,
stretching our resources to the limit, only to do it again... and again... and again...
Assessing this category was an impressive reminder that there are hundreds of
us trying to solve similar puzzles week in and week out. In this era of shrinking
newsholes, diminishing ad reach and greater competition for the attention of
readers, it was heartening to see that there are many thriving weeklies which strive
to deliver quality news, opinion, sports and lifestyle content while accommodating
the demands of ever-aggressive advertisers.
The winners in this category were chosen with that challenge in mind. These three
papers -- and many more in this category -- offer comprehensive packages that
may help point the way for other editors and publishers. Congratulations to them,
and to all who still fight the weekly fight.
General Excellence
Class 1018 - circulation 25000 and over
General Excellence
Judge: Bram Lebo
first place
Second place
Third place
The Leader
Surrey/North Delta, BC
The Daily News
Kamloops, BC
Canada Post agreement: 40069240 Newsstand: $1 GST inc.
Selected best community newspaper in Alberta — AWNA
St. Albert
Flushing rebates
St. Albert to offer
rebates for
low-flush toilets . . . . . . . . .
Bong debate
10
Cathy Heron uncomfortable
with proposed bong
shop bylaw . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
18
Our People . . 21
Opinion . . . . . 31
Nutrition . . . . 56
Books . . . . . . . 58
www.stalbertgazette.com
Wednesday, March 21, 2012 - Vol. 52 No. 23
What’s On. . . 59
Sports . . . . . . 61
Classifieds . . . 68
Employment 75
African safari
St. Albert couple details
their four-month African
adventure . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
38
Serving St. Albert and Sturgeon since 1961
Council picks
next city
manager
Patrick Draper starts work April 23
BY PETER BOER
Staff Writer
After a six-month search, St. Albert
council has chosen a man with a
strong economic development background to be the city’s next top manager.
Patrick Draper, who is currently the
president and CEO of the Toronto
Region Research Alliance, will take
over the role of city manager on April
23, filling the position left vacant since
Bill Holtby was dismissed back in
October.
The city announced the hiring
Tuesday morning at a news conference, which Draper joined by telephone.
“I have been advised by the mayor
and council that there is a fabulous
staff. They’ve been very complimentary about the staff,” Draper said in
describing why he decided to take the
position. “It seems
to be a very close
match with my
interests, skills and
experience.”
In his role as president and CEO of
the Toronto Region
PATRICK
Research Alliance,
DRAPER
an economic develNew CAO
opment organization promoting increased investment
in research and innovation, Draper
worked within the Greater Toronto
Area’s 29 municipalities as well as
post-secondary institutions and “large,
foreign-owned multinational corporations.”
“There’s been a lot of progress made
in terms of economic development in
terms of identifying lands that need to
be brought on stream for deployment
purposes,” Draper said of St. Albert.
See “City manager,” page 3
Habitat gets
$250,000 boost
Leftover provincial funds will help
create more donations, CEO says
BY PETER BOER
Staff Writer
The president and CEO of Habitat
for Humanity says the city’s decision
to give his organization another
$257,000 will make it easier for the
organization to leverage that money
for more donations.
Alfred Nikolai made the comments
one day after city council voted to
give Habitat for Humanity and its
Aurora Place project in Akinsdale an
additional $257,000 in provincial
affordable housing money. The money became available after the
Sturgeon Foundation’s application for
grant funding for a 42-unit addition to
North Ridge Lodge was rejected.
2 Medium Pizzas
with 2 toppings
+ Cheese Sticks
“Well I am very pleased, obviously,”
Nikolai said. “There might be a perception that Habitat for Humanity is
taking money from the community of
St. Albert. We’re putting money into
the community. This is just helping us
make it happen.”
Last November council asked if the
money could be used to fund the
operations of the St. Albert Housing
Society, but they were later advised
the provincial funds could not be
used for operating expenses.
Lory Scott, the city’s affordable
housing liaison, advised council
Monday to use the money for permit
fee rebates and construction costs for
Aurora Place.
See “Habitat,” page 4
2695
$
+ GST
pick-up or delivery
BRIAN CALKINS/OnSightPhoto
TERRIFIC THREE-PEAT – A jubilant Katie Burak is hugged by Paige Knull as teammate Petra Catarig joins in the
celebration after the St. Albert Skyhawks defeated the McCoy Colts of Medicine Hat 68-64 in the 3A provincial
final Saturday in Camrose. The Skyhawks are the first team to ever win the 3A high school women’s basketball
championship three years in a row. See story, page 61.
1 Large Pizza
with 2 toppings
+ Caesar Salad
and Cheese Sticks
$
2395
+ GST
pick-up or delivery
3 Medium
Pizzas
with 2 toppings
$
2695
+ GST
pick-up or delivery
NEW HOURS
TO SERVE YOU BETTER!
Mon - Thurs 11am - 1am • Fri & Sat 11 am - 3am
• Sun & Holidays 11am - 11pm
A Part Of Your Community For Over 20 yrs
St. Albert Gazette
St. Albert, AB
www.nitzaspizzastalbert.com
General Excellence
Judge: Bram Lebo
Best Editorial Page
first place
EDITORIAL
OPINION PAGE
Race to the bottom
Imagine, if you will, Ontario’s future if Progressive Conservative leader Tim Hudak’s party gains power.
Despite Hudak's claims that Ontario has become a
“have-not province” under Liberal leader Dalton McGuinty,
the province would slump even further if his labour ideas
were ever passed into law.
The province would endure even higher poverty rates,
lower average hourly wages for the average employee, a
declining gross domestic product and higher than average
workplace deaths.
It’s a labour environment that is currently being experienced by workers in the 22 American states that are socalled right-to-work.
The numbers don’t lie. Of the 10 states with the highest
poverty rates, seven were right-to-work; and of the 15
states with the lowest average hourly wages, 12 were in
right-to-work states. And right-to-work states have higher
rates of workplace deaths, infant mortality, and lower
spending on educating their citizens.
Right-to-work states also were worse off in terms of
their gross domestic product. Despite the calls for a freer
market, they had slower economic growth than a so-called
free bargaining state. The average annual pay and weekly
earnings for an employee in a free bargaining state was
about 14 per cent higher than a worker in a right-to-work
state.
Right-to-work legislation is a recipe for boosting the
bottom line of corporations, rather than benefiting the
entire community. It is a race to the bottom, with the
middle-class shouldering the largest economic load.
This is the economic climate that Hudak and his Toryhenchmen are itching to bring to Ontario.
In the party’s white paper on labour — dubbed in
proper Orwellian language Paths to Prosperity: Flexible
Labour Markets — he would essentially use legislative tools
to remake Ontario into a U.S.-style right-to-work province.
He would eliminate the Rand Formula, which has been in
place since the 1940s and has been one of the foundations
of labour peace in Ontario. The formula, invented by
Supreme Court Justice Ivan Rand in 1946, created a labour
compromise between the need for stable labour relations
and individuals objecting to union membership. It has
required workers to pay mandatory dues even if they don’t
wish to join. They would then be covered by contracts.
Hudak points out that Ontario has lost 300,000 manufacturing jobs, since the Liberals came to power, more than
the combined total of other provinces. He believes it is time
to do something different. He cites several examples of
Ontario companies relocating to the U.S. — John Deere in
Welland, Siemens in Hamilton and Caterpillar in London
— and uses these examples to show Ontario isn’t competitive.
Yet he misses the true reasons those companies moved
to right-to-work states. It was not only for the beneficial
labour environment, but also the lure of huge tax subsidies
and the Buy American laws.
Former Tory premier Bill Davis would be ashamed to
call himself a Progressive Conservative if a Tory government enacted these draconian laws. Under his watch, he
promoted unions as a tool to deal with the inequity within
Ontario society, and enhanced the well-being of the ordinary person. He knew unions did something government
couldn’t: provide a lift to the struggling middle-class,
which is the backbone of a stable, secure and satisfied
community.
Hudak and his party want to revert back to the confrontational times of North American labour history,
where workers’ rights were ignored, families lived a meager existence, and companies waged war on unions under
the tacit protection of government.
These anti-union ideas – even during a time of record
low corporate tax cuts - bubbling up during a time of economic distress, fuel a perception that the best way to salvage an economy is to cut costs from the bottom up.
Instead, these laws and their ilk are nothing more than
to widen the gulf between the haves and have nots in a
society and perpetuate a race to the bottom, where no one
wins except a select few.
Agree? Disagree? Have we missed anything?
Share your views in a Letter to the Editor.
Q U E B E C ’ S L A R G E S T E N G L I S H W E E K LY N E W S PA P E R
ESTABLISHED 1963 • VOL. XLIX, NO. XIII
OUR READERS WRITE
Vision for
future of
health care
Pride of Hamilton in London
When the Canadian team walks into the
It's been a long road to the Olympics for
London Olympic stadium for the 2012 Sum- Shona Thorburn, who has been representing
mer Games on Friday, five of the athletes will Canada internationally in women's basketball
be from the Hamilton area - Melissa Tancredi, at the youth, junior and senior levels since
Reid Coolsaet, Shona Thorburn, Scott Dickens 1998.
and Denise Ramsden.
While she has been a member of Canada's
They will be joined in the opennational women's basketball
squ
ing ceremonies by another Hamilsquad for the past seven years, this
wil
ton area athlete, Rachael Vanderwwill be her first visit to the Olympic
al, of Stoney Creek, who is a mempics.
ber of the Great Britain women's
Marathon runner Reid Coolsae
basket team.
saet is also making his first appearan
Five weeks later, Joel Dembe, of
ance at the Olympics. When he
run
Waterdown, will follow these athruns the event with his two Canadia
letes into the spotlight as he wheels
dian teammates, it will be the first
tim
into the stadium for the opening
time Canada has sent three men
to the Olympic marathon since
ceremonies of the Paralympic
199
Games in London, England from
1996.
ROD JERRED
Sept. 1-8.
Ancaster native Melissa Tancre
The seven athletes represent a
credi is returning for her second
l soccer
Olympics A ve
wide range of sports — basketball,
soccer, Olympics.
veteran of more than 64 games
long-distance endurance running, swimming, with Team Canada since 2004, Tancredi is a key
cycling and wheelchair tennis — and come member of the squad which hopes to improve
from different backgrounds. But they all share on its showing at the 2008 Beijing Olympics.
a common dream — to compete in the OlymDenise Ramsden's Olympic goal is a little
pic games against athletes of the highest cali- different than the rest of the athletes. Her role
bre from around the world.
as a member of the 2012 Olympic Canadian
It will be an experience they will likely never women's’ cycling road race team is not so
forget and one when we get to share with much to cross the finish line first, but to help
them.
her teammates, veteran Clara Hughes and
For much of their lives, these athletes have newcomer Joelle Numainville, reach the podidedicated themselves to perfecting their um.
sport.
Rachael Vanderwal's journey to the OlymThey have all endured rigorous training pics is a little different than her fellow Hamilschedules and made sacrifices in their per- ton Olympians. Thanks to her grandmother
sonal and career ambitions in order to reach from Lancashire, England, Vanderwaal enjoys
their dream of competing in the Olympics.
dual citizenship and will compete for the BritEach of these Canadian Olympic team ish women's basketball team.
members has a personal story worth telling. In
Joel Dembe first started playing wheelchair
today's paper, we have tried to share those tennis at the Stoney Creek Tennis Club when
stories with our readers in a London Olympics he was 14 years old.
section.
Fourteen years later, he will represent CanAncaster's Scott Dickens nearly gave up on ada in the Paralympic Games.
the 2012 Olympics when he missed the cut for
Win or lose, these athletes are the pride of
the 2008 games by 12 one-hundredths of a Hamilton at the 2012 Olympics.
Hamilton Community News Managing Edisecond.
But he didn't give up and will compete in tor Rod Jerred can be reached at rjerred@hamilthe 100 and 200-metre breaststroke as well as tonnews.com or follow him on Twitter @HCN_
editor.
the 4X100-metre freestyle events.
Stoney Creek News
Stoney Creek, ON
Third place
EDITORIALS
One of the gaps in today's dialogue
on the future of the Canadian health
care system is that we don't have a
vision of what we want to achieve. I'd
like to see our vision for health care to
be that we will have the best health care
system with the healthiest population
in the world. Declaring this vision would
leave no one in doubt as to what we
want to achieve.
The advantage of declaring a vision
for Canada's health care system is that it
would focus our reform efforts at every
level of the system. Each health organization, provider and ministry would
have the responsibility of holding one
another accountable for achieving this
vision. Canadians would have a direct
role as well, by being more engaged and
living healthier. To achieve this vision,
we will need a 'whole of society'
approach to health.
So, what can the Health Council do?
First, we can strengthen our public
reporting role and draw attention to the
best performing systems in Canada or
around the world. We can identify and
promote innovative practices, showing
how they work and how they can be
implemented. We can bring greater
clarity and transparency to any discussion on health care issues and suggest
ways to address them. And we can
encourage the evidence-based transformation that we all know needs to
happen.
Finally, we should expect leadership
and demand it from our ministers,
health administrators and clinicians.
There is a way forward for our health
care system. It will require clear direction
from our leaders, a commitment to
change and a high degree of determination to achieve results. But it is possible.
At the 2010 Winter Olympics, we set
a goal as a nation and set about achieving it because we knew we could. Now it
is time to do the same for our health
care system and the Canadians it serves
each and every day.
John G. Abbott,
CEO, Health Council of Canada
ONLINE POLL RESULTS
Last week’s question
Are you enjoying the current heat wave?
Yes
28%
No
47%
Heat wave?
What heat
wave? It’s
summer.
25%
Vote online for this week’s question:
How many gold medals will Canadian athletes
win at the London Olympics?
www.HamiltonNews.com
Publisher Michael Sochaczevski
Associate Publisher Sari Medicoff
VP Sales David Solomon
Natl. Sales & Mrktng Dir. David Broadman
Production Manager Karen Cross
Credit Manager Carol Balinsky
Classified Manager Charmaine Worrell
Asst. Classified Manager Susan Eidinger
Editor-in-chief Beryl Wajsman
Associate Editor Anthony Bonaparte
Sports Editor Mark Lidbetter
Editorial Staff Joel Goldenberg, Joel Ceausu,
P.A. Sévigny, Kevin Woodhouse,
Walter J. Lyng, Samantha St. Jules,
Ian Howarth, Tracey Arial, Anja Karadeglija,
Robert Frank
Editorial Contributors Marie I. Anelli, Judie Amyot,
Chris Bumbray, Jennifer Cox, Mike Cohen, Alex Di
Pietro, Mitch Gallo, David Lisbona, Bernard
Mendelman, Linda Zlatkin, Irene Chwalkowski,
Jenn Hardy, Geneviève Waller,
Photographers Andrew Soong, Rob Taussig,
Rob Amyot, Owain Harris
The Bedford decision:
For liberty not license
The Ontario Court of Appeal decision in the Bedford case striking down that province’s
anti-brothel laws should be celebrated for reasons far removed from the salacious. The
decision, if properly interpreted nationally, would open the door for liberty not license. It
is in that sense that it is important.
As a point of information, let us remember that the practices inside brothels are not
illegal in Canada. The “oldest” profession cannot be prosecuted merely for the exchange
of money for services. What was illegal in Ontario was the practice of this profession
indoors. What is illegal nationally is solicitation in the public and living off the avails.
What changes with this decision, besides the extra protection afforded to sex trade
workers since they can now hire bodyguards as well, is that this decision sends – not so
subtly – a message that the state has no business interfering in the personal vices and
virtues of individual citizens.
It has been more than forty years since then Justice Minister Pierre Elliott Trudeau
declared that “the state has no business in the bedrooms of the nation.” He overhauled
the criminal code decriminalizing homosexuality among other major reforms. We could
not imagine any personal sexual behavior as being criminal today. But there was a time.
Trudeau enshrined individual sovereignty over collective fiat in our Charter of Rights
and Freedoms. Indeed the Ontario Court used the Charter as part of the reasoning
behind its decision. Appropriately so. Because since 1984 one would be hard put to find
one law in Canada that expanded individual liberty and freedom of choice. Even if the
choices are bad ones. That is the essence of a free society. The right to choose. Even badly.
The past three decades have seen a tsunami of suffocating rule and regulation that
replaced the service state with the command state seeking to dictate every aspect of our
lives. What language we speak, how we talk to members of the opposite sex, where we
smoke, what we eat, sending endless revenue reports, what and how we drive and of
course with each new statist fiat comes a groaning bureaucracy to enforce it funded by
our tax dollars. These experiments in social engineering now account for 15-20% of our
budgets depending on jurisdiction. We have replaced a society that lionized the pursuit
of the full-flowering of individual possibility and entrepreneurship with a society of cowering fear.
Why has this happened? Because we have been too complacent and conformist. And
politicians too controlling and coercive. It’s “sexier” isn’t it to be an elected official who
“commands” instead of “serves.” And of course all these yokes – so illegitimate in natural law – are always couched in terms that it is “for our own good.” That is nothing but
sophomoric sophistry. It is to our shame that we have accepted it.
It is time for us to tell governments that we can take responsibility for our own personal behavior. That the state’s job is to give us services. To use persuasion and education not compulsion and coercion.
And that persuasion should not have to cost us a nickel.
If expanded liberty is the brilliant possibility that could be born out of this decision,
let us demand of our elected officials that they apply other Charter principles to expand
our freedoms as well. The Ontario Court used the “safety of the person” provision in the
Charter to strike down the ban on brothels judging them obviously safer than street
corners. Well the Charter also protects individual choice and minority language rights.
Maybe it’s time that we demand that those be applied for our protection as well. So
many have been the victims of state bullying for too long.
Another part of the Ontario decision also raises a metaphor in other areas. The Court
stated that “living off the avails” should no longer be criminal unless there is coercion.
That if two consenting adults decide to make such an arrangement freely, that is their
choice. Coercion being the operative word. If the Ontario Court of Appeals supports the
legal principle of what is in essence freedom of contract between consenting adults
without the interference of the state and references the Charter as grounds for it, does
this not raise the parallel issue that all citizens have the right to the same protections
in other aspects of their lives including conducting their affairs in the language of their
choice. The Ontario Court spoke of the “security” of the persons involved in the sex
trade. The invocation of security applies equally to protection of communities.
Especially communities here that have been decimated by discriminatory and prejudicial laws.
This could be a decision for all seasons.
16 • THE SUBURBAN, WEDNESDAY, MARCH 28, 2012
WWW.HAMILTONNEWS.COM • STONEY CREEK NEWS • THURSDAY, JULY 26, 2012 •
8
Second place
Letters to the editor
Student disruptions
For about a month, students have been
striking, protesting, and blocking traffic
because they want lower tuition fees. On the
one hand I am sympathetic to their demands,
because I would be in favour of lower taxes,
lower food prices, lower gas prices, etc. If we
make ourselves obnoxious enough, maybe we
will get what we want.
So far, the Quebec provincial government
has not backed down from their annual $325
increase, so I guess we will be stuck with
these pesky students and their ridiculous
demands for the next few weeks.
That makes me think: Should there not be
some limit to freedom of expression? What if
the students keep it up for a few more
months? Should they hold the rest of us
hostage to their disruptive tactics?
During a strike, people withdraw their
labour, are consequently receive no pay. But
these students are not withdrawing anything,
and they suffer no loss of pay. OK, they may
have to make up class time in the summer.
If I really want something, should I be
allowed to 1) stop or hinder traffic, 2) occupy
public spaces (parks, streets), 3) hinder delivery and other vehicles from performing they
duties, 4) block access to people going to and
from work, 5) cause huge extra expenses for
police and public security?
I suggest that these students be given a
fine, and repeat offenders should be put in
jail. If they want a civilized debate, that is one
thing. How far should we let these kids go in
disrupting others' lives?
Ed Hoyer
Roxboro
What a 'Halal' of a mess
With regard to your editorial of last week,
what a funny group of politicians we have.
You would think that they would know better.
Why the fuss and muss of our politicians
over labeling meat according to how it's been
slaughtered. Does anyone at Moishe's really
care?
Shouldn't the more discriminating carnivores among our political intelligentsia be
more concerned with more earthly pursuits?
An overburdened health care system.
Crumbling expressways and bridges.
Unemployment. Welfare addiction. The highest taxed jurisdiction in North America.
Those are the real issues.
As my Momma and her Momma before her
used to say, "What a halal of a mess."
Boyd Crowder
NDG
A solution to graffiti?
With regard to Boyd Crowder's letter entitled “Artful deceit” in the March 21 edition of
The Suburban, there is a solution to the graffiti problem and it has been used with great
success elsewhere. I have offered the solution
to CDN-NDG (and by extension to Montreal)
but unfortunately, in order to have the information CDN-NDG would have to do something really awful, namely ban Le Tour de l'Ile
de Montreal from the streets of the borough,
until the participants of Velo QC events were
invited to raise funds for charity. The city
claims that they cannot dictate to Velo QC
what they should do with their events. That of
course is a joke as Montreal gave about $1
The Suburban
Montreal, QC
Nanaimo News Bulletin
Nanaimo, BC
General Excellence
Judge: Bram Lebo
Best Front Page
first place
Second place
Third place
The Leader
Surrey/North Delta, BC
The Daily News
Kamloops, BC
NORTHERN LIFE
DOWNLOAD OUR iPHONE APP TODAY!
GREATER SUDBURY’S COMMUNITY NEWSPAPER
THURSDAY, JUNE 28, 2012
MARG SEREGELYI
No more pencils, no more books ...
Lansdowne Public School French Immersion students (from left) Luca Zimmerman, Andrew Amalfitano, Alyssa O’Brien, Mackenzie Doyle, Lia Lorenz and Vanessa Tessier gear up
for Canada Day weekend as they celebrate the last day of school. Students in Sudbury have been cleaning desks and lockers, but not before enjoying year-end trips. For a list of
Canada Day and summer activities, check out Northern Life’s local listings on page 10 or visit NorthernLife.ca.
Vigil for Elliot Lake
‘It sounded like thunder,’ survivor says
BY HEIDI ULRICHSEN
[email protected]
TWITTER:
@NL_HEIDI
Rebecca Kelterborn was watching a play in the Elliot’s Not Here
restaurant in the Algo Centre Mall
in Elliot Lake June 23, when part of
the mall’s roof collapsed roughly 20
feet from where she was sitting.
“You heard this sound,” she
said. “It was like rain, and then it
sounded almost like someone was
dialing the radio. Then it sounded
Rebecca
Kelterborn and
Brodi Beagan
attended a
June 26 candlelight vigil
for victims of
the Elliot Lake
mall disaster.
Kelterborn
was in the mall
when the roof
collapsed.
HEIDI ULRICHSEN
like thunder, and the walls started
to shake, and the doors came open,
and you saw this smoke.
“Everyone just kind of stood
there, trying to figure out what had
happened. It was very easy for us.
We went out the door. You almost
didn’t expect there would be this
much devastation, considering the
rest of us got to walk out, and knowing people 20 feet away didn’t get
the same opportunity.”
Kelterbor n, an Elliot Lake
native who moved to Greater
Sudbury in September, helped to
organize a candlelight vigil that
took place in Bell Park at around 10
p.m. June 26.
As heavy equipment ripped
away pieces of the mall in an
attempt to free those trapped in the
structure, Kelterborn led a group of
about 30 people in prayer.
Although not a close friend,
Kelterborn said she knows Lucie
Aylwin, a mall lottery kiosk worker
believed to be one of those trapped
in the rubble.
“She’s the kind of person where
you walk up to the kiosk for smokes
or a lottery ticket, and she just
remembers you every time,” she
said. “It doesn’t matter if she’s seen
you once. She always has something
nice to say.”
Stephanie Quinn, who also
attended the candlelight vigil,
said she’s known Aylwin since
high school. She said her mother
was one of Aylwin’s co-workers,
IN-CAMERA
INVESTIGATION
Ombudsman looking into
closed-door sessions
at city hall/Page 3
Anger over
industrial
park decision
BY DARREN MACDONALD
[email protected]
TWITTER: DARRENMACD
MINER’S MAYHEM
Participants tackle 4-km
obstacle course/Page 24
Follow us on
SEE FOOD, PAGE 7
Northern Life
Sudbury, ON
Despite impassioned arguments
from some councillors, the city has
decided that part of the cost to
upgrade a major industrial park
in Sudbury will be shared by the
40 business owners with property
there.
The decision prompted Ward 8
Coun. Fabio Belli to leave the council table in protest; one business
owner from the park was so angry
after the meeting, he simply said he
“shouldn’t talk to the media” and
stormed off.
The current state of infrastructure is so poor at the Lasalle Elisabella Industrial Park that businesses there can’t expand or use all
of their property. Concerns centre
on poor water pressure and constant sewer smell, which not only
make working there unpleasant,
SEE BUSINESSES, PAGE 7
General Excellence
Blue Ribbons
Burnaby Now, Burnaby, BC
Chilliwack Times, Chilliwack, BC
Nanaimo Daily News, Nanaimo, BC
Nanaimo News Bulletin, Nanaimo, BC
North Shore News, North Vancouver/West Vancouver, BC
North York Mirror, North York, ON
Northern Life, Sudbury, ON
Outlook North Vancouver, North Vancouver, BC
Peace Arch News, Surrey, BC
Saanich News, Saanich, BC
St. Albert Gazette, St. Albert, AB
Stoney Creek News, Stoney Creek, ON
The Daily News, Kamloops, BC
The Langley Times, Langley, BC
The Leader, Surrey/North Delta, BC
The Now, Surrey/North Delta/White Rock, BC
The Suburban, Montreal, QC
Waterloo Chronicle, Waterloo, ON
Judge: Bram Lebo
JUDGE’S COMMENT
The winners in this category each incorporate the elements of a strong community
paper. They have broad coverage of local news, events, sports, arts, business and
politics, with editorials that are local, relevant, timely and opinionated. Designs are
professional but not sterile: neat and organized with consistent fonts and styles,
judicious use of rules, call-outs, pull-quotes, teasers and other design elements; the
best designs employ industry best-practices while still communicating the local
aesthetic and paper’s brand. The best papers also have lots of vibrant and original
photos that show action, emotion, consequences and, above all, tell the local story
.
It was very close between the top three. Though the second and third-place
winners are both beautifully put-together, ultimately the St. Albert Gazette comes
out in front on the strength of its editorials, fantastic range of coverage and
commendable attention to design, advertising and editorial content right through
to the last page.
Overall among the entrants, there was a wide range of quality, with scores between
31 and 105. From these scores, two patterns were evident. First, that B.C. is home to
some of our best community papers. Second, it’s clear that the cost-based strategy
of sharing content between papers, be it editorials, wire stories, photos or features,
degrades the “community” aspect of a community paper and hence its relevance
readers; ultimately, the community is deprived of local coverage and a voice.
Fortunately, many entrants are taking the quality-based strategy required to
succeed in fulfilling the purpose of community newspapers. That is, to tell and
record the local story, providing a sense of place and connection to readers.

Winners Book - General Excellence 2013

Transcription

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