ALLEN ANNOUNCED | Vernon Community Expo to feature local talent Andrew Allen Oct. 19 [A7]
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Sunday, April 15, 2012
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Agencies lose web funding RICHARD ROLKE Morning Star Staff
The information highway may become a dead-end for some North Okanagan residents. Many groups aren’t sure if they will be able to continue public access to the Internet after the federal government eliminated funding to the Community Access Program. “It will be quite a loss,” said Gay Jewitt, with the Whitevalley Community Resource Centre in Lumby. There are about 15 locations in the North Okanagan that receive CAP funding. “There are a lot of people who can’t afford a phone with Internet capability or a computer,” said Lisa Froom, with Vernon’s Upper Room Mission, adding many of her clients can’t afford food. About 10 people a day use the computer station at the mission. “They are using it for job searches or looking for housing,” said Froom. “They may use the computer to connect with their family for the first time in years. Our goal is to move people forward.” The mission has received $3,600 a year from CAP. The Junction Literacy and Youth Centre assists disadvantaged teens and it has received $3,960 a year from CAP for four computers. “If we don’t find a way to replace the funds, we would have to remove the computers and our youth would no longer have access to computers,” said Debbie Schiller, executive director. “Through Facebook, our staff often support kids who are struggling with a variety of issues because that is there main form of communication. Some kids get help from our staff to develop and print resumes, do job searches and send e-mails to potential employers.” Schiller insists Ottawa’s cuts are short-sighted. “There are youth who don’t have home computers, espe-
LISA VANDERVELDE/MORNING STAR
Donna Robicheau, Computer Access Program site supervisor at the Upper Room Mission, is concerned about the loss of Internet funding. cially if they are couch-surfing, living in poverty or not in school” she said. Internet use at the Whitevalley Community Resource Centre is similar to that other sites. “People are accessing government forms and applying for school,” said Jewitt. Computer training has been provided to seniors who want contact family through social media. “It helps reduce the isolation,” said Jewitt. “The need for providing sites hasn’t gone away — connecting people.” Twenty-one Okanagan Regional Library branches have CAP computers, and the funding cut means an $80,000 hit for the agency. But while she isn’t sure where the money may come from
for 2013, executive director Lesley Dieno doesn’t expect public access will cease. “Our mandate is to provide education and information and one of the main ways we do that is through computers.” Colin Mayes, Okanagan-Shuswap MP, defends the government trying to bring spending under control. “In 1995, when the program was started, access to computers wasn’t what it is today.” Mayes says there are options for people to access computers including Service Canada offices. “There are Internet cafes, it’s not that expensive (to get Internet capability). You have to set priorities with the limited dollars you have.”
Foord fondly remembered for his local legacy RICHARD ROLKE Morning Star Staff
Vernon has lost a legend. Tom Foord, founder of Kal Tire and a passionate philanthropist, died Thursday, one month short of his 90th birthday. “He has strong family values and came from a small town,” said Archie Stroh, a former Kal Tire senior vice-president, of Foord’s giving nature. A native of Instow, Sask., Foord came to Vernon in 1945,
the hometown of his wife Norah. They met while they were both in the military in Newfoundland during the Second World War. In 1953, he founded Kal Tire and through hard work and perseverance, the company expanded. It is now Canada’s largest independent tire dealership, with 4,600 employees in 20 countries. “He was a huge long-term thinker,” said Stroh. Tom Foord “He believed in customer service and he was a team builder.”
Foord always insisted there was a specific reason for Kal Tire’s success. “It’s as simple as the people here. I have done a good job of selecting people to work with me and that’s got us where we are today,” he said in 2005. Foord’s roles shifted from Kal Tire president to chairman in 2005, with son-in-law Ken Finch taking on the presidency. In 2009, Finch became chairman and Foord’s son Robert was promoted to president. While he was always focused on the business, Foord’s influence in the community flourished.
“Vernon has always had a special place in my heart. The least I can do is pay it back for some of the things the community did for me,” he said in a 2007 interview. He played a critical role in developing the People Place, which provides nonprofit agencies with affordable space. He also rallied behind the North Okanagan Neurological Association’s plans for a new child development centre. “He guided us and opened doors to a lot of people for us,” said Janice Foster, NONA president.
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