EAGLE VALLEY
NEWS
Emergency boat arriving soon in the Shuswap Page 3
Parkview says no to bullies on Pink Shirt Day Page 7
Wednesday, March 7, 2012
Vol. 53 No. 10 Sicamous, B.C., • 1.25 (HST included) • www.eaglevalleynews.com
One down:
Sicamous Eagle Steven Powers goes upstairs on Revelstoke Grizzlies netminder Ethan Wood in the second frame of game four in the playoffs. Revelstoke rallied to tie Sicamous’ three-game lead and push the playoffs into game seven, where the Grizzlies were shut out with a 4-0 loss. The Eagles now move on to play the Kamloops Storm. See more on page 8. Photo by Lachlan Labere
Teachers say job action about diminishing resources By Lachlan Labere Eagle Valley News
While B.C. Teachers’ Federation leaders and supporters are in Victoria, shouting “we will resist” outside the B.C. legislature, there’s a somewhat more subdued protest occurring on Main Street in Sicamous. A dozen or so teachers carrying signs walk up and down the street, smiling and waving as people drive by. While they’re not shouting slogans of protest and resistance, they are not happy with the direction the province is taking when it comes to education. A lack of funding has already led to the closure of one school in the area and, these days, the high school, Eagle River Secondary, is feeling the pinch. “Our LRT (learning resource teach-
er) got cut again this year, we have less CEAs (certified education assistant) this year than we’ve ever had. I think we have five and they’re not even full time,” says ERS math/science teacher Desiree Marshall-Peer. “We have no full-time counsellor, we have no full-time librarian. It’s beyond ridiculous the amount of services that have been cut from our schools in the last five years, let alone the last 10.” Last week the BCTF received approval from the B.C. Labour Relations Board to escalate their job action with a three-day walkout that began Monday. The move was in response to the provincial government taking steps to legislate an end to the teachers’ job action, which began in September. Referred to as the “Education Improvement Act,” Bill 22 See Students on page 2
On strike: Sicamous teachers Liz Piazza, Richard Simm, Desiree Marshall-Peer and John Pickup pound the pavement on Monday raising awareness about what’s happening in B.C.’s education system. Photo by Lachlan Labere