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Sentinel
Northern
www.northernsentinel.com
Volume 57 No. 17
Wednesday, April 25, 2012
1.34 INCLUDES TAX
$
Adult housing project moves forward Cameron Orr An open house at the Hirsch Creek Golf and Winter Club introduced the community to Jack Oviatt’s proposal to build adult housing, called The Meadows. The plan for this year has two three-unit housing complexes built essentially behind where the two large inukshuks are now at the corner of Quatsino and Lahakas Blvd. The project is being billed as “active adult housing” and is set to fill the gap between owning a large home and being in retirement, said project co-ordinator Mark Minifie. “We’re promoting an active adult community for people who are retired. Kitimat has some great pensions, [and] we want to see those people stick Jack Oviatt explains in detail the plans for The Meadows to keen listeners at the Hirsch Creek Golf and Winter Club. The week following around,” he said. The units are all council voted to approve Oviatt’s development permit application. designed with accesMinifie said they’re feeling out inter- and a lot more interest I’d happily build 12 project,” said Minifie. “We’re giving our sibility in mind. There land to this project, a lot of our time, a lot are no stairs at all either in the units or to est for the units for the time being with the more of these buildings.” Even with that desire, it’s not out of of our contribution.” access the units and the hallways are de- plan to build two buildings this year and He said they just hope to break even signed wider to allow for possible wheel- add buildings each year for as long as de- monetary considerations. Jack Oviatt and mand allows. The overall plan allows for Minifi e both say that the company is not on the costs once it’s done. chairs. 12 buildings, or 36 units. making any profi t from developing these The units will be sold and then operThe units are also adaptable so things “We’re just trying to test the market,” homes. ated as a strata. can be lowered and walk-in bath tubs can he said. “If I have a lot more commitment “We are not making a nickel off this more on page 3 be installed.
Trustees adopt two week spring break Janine Workman and Cameron Orr The Coast Mountains school district will adopt a twoweek spring break for the upcoming school year. At a monthly school board meeting last night trustees voted unanimously in favour of the longer break, which had been brought to public consultation at meetings earlier this month in Terrace, Kitimat and Hazelton. Saying the public response to the two-week break was largely positive, Kitimat trustee Ray Raj brought the motion forward. “This is not a money saving thing,” Raj said, noting that the change would be approved for only for one year right now.
The issue was brought up at the March school board meeting because a two-week break would offer students and their families more time to travel or leave the area. Concerns on parents and guardians finding alternative care for their children was also discussed. However, support for the additional time off was largely positive during the public consultations, prompting the board to go ahead with the amended calendar. The move to adopt a two week break is welcome news to the Kitimat District Teachers Association (KDTA), whose president, Reid Nelson, spoke in favour of the proposal at the public consultation in Kitimat. “At the consultation meeting the [KDTA] expressed
their enthusiasm for a two week spring break for a variety of reasons,” said Nelson. “One of those would be the availability to improve travel in and out of the community at that time of the year. Another one expressed specifically by teachers was the amount of time necessary to recuperate.” He continued, “We’re really enthusiastic. We appreciate that the board has gone this route. It looks like a real plus.” Newly-sworn in Kitimat trustee Linda Campbell asked if non-teaching staff paid by the hour would be affected, and board chair Art Erasmus said an agreement had been made with their union, the Canadian Union of Public Employers, so the longer break will be of no cost to workers. continued on page 2
BC LNG handed export licence ... page 8