Main Street Festival
Celebrate Summer Saturday, June 16th ✴ 9 am – 5 pm
HONOUR WALK
GOING DOWN HILL
After 18 years, Wilson family still looking for answers
McBike hosts men’s free ride clinic
SPORTS/A15
NEWS/A1 S
THE INTERIOR NEWS 105th Year - Week 23
Smithers, B.C.
Wednesday, June 6, 2012
www.interior-news.com
Single Copy • $1.34 ($1.20 + 14¢ HST)
Mayors search for solutions Decrease in federal funding hampers local OUR TOWN/A5 I N S I D E governments OUR TOWN A5 SKIING LEGEND
Rod Cunningham has the repsect of skiers in the Bulkley Valley
LETTERS A7 SPORTS A15 COMMUNITY A10 THREE RIVERS B1 CLASSIFIEDS B7
FEATURES INVESTORS GROUPA8
WEATHER Wednesday HIGH: 16 LOW: 5
Thursday HIGH: 16 LOW: 6
Friday HIGH: 15 H LOW: 5 L
Saturday HIGH: 18 LOW: 5
By Dan Mesec Smithers/Interior News
Smithers Mayor, Taylor Bachrach, was in Penticton, B.C. last week for the inaugural BC Mayors’ Caucus to discuss common issues B.C. municipalities are facing today. Responsible for providing communities with 60 per cent of their infrastructure, municipalities are feeling the pressure of services downloaded to the them by the federal and provincial governments. Over the three-day conference, B.C. municipalities looked to forge a new deal with the provincial and federal governments to provide services their constituents expect. As Surrey Mayor, Dianne Watts put it, “The current model is
HIGH: 16 LOW: 6
HOT WHEELS Firefighters were called to the alley between Vancouver and Victoria streets behind Railway Avenue last Friday to attend to a vehicle fire. The cause of the fire was unknown at press time. Percy N. Hébert photo
Wilson family prepares for memorial walk By Marvin Beatty
Sunday
broken and as Mayors we need to meet to discuss a collaborative approach.” With over 80 mayors in attendance the inaugural meeting allowed mayors, north and south, to collaborate on solutions for common issues facing their communities. “The caucus was a great opportunity to network with other mayors and come up with strategies to address our shared issues,” Bachrach said. “Local government is efficient at delivering services, but the downloading of services has created challenges for us in fulfilling our mandate.” This past year the federal government downloaded even more costs to municipalities, including a tax increase for the local RCMP detachment. It was an unexpected surprise that municipalities have no control over. Eliminating unconditional transfer payments from the province to local governments is just another pressing issue for communities that was discussed at length during the conference. See MAYORS on p. A4
Smithers/Interior News
Saturday, June 9 at 1 p.m. a walk begins at the Lake Kathlyn School parking lot. It’s neither a fundraiser nor a cause
for celebration. It’s a walk to keep alive the memory of Ramona Lisa Wilson, a 16-year-old Smithers girl who went missing 18 years ago. She was eventually found to be the victim of a homicide.
It’s a walk intended to shed light on what may have happened to the teenager after the day she went missing, June 11, 1994. The walk will end with prayers, about an hour later, when those gathered stop
at Yelich Road where Ramona’s body was found, April 9, 1995, in a wooded area just west of the Smithers Airport. Last year, according to Ramona’s sister, Brenda, over 100
people walked with her family to pay their respects and to help the community heal. “It’s been quite difficult for the rest of my family because there’s just no closure and it’s hard to cope with that,” Wilson
said. “I can see it taking a toll on my family, my mom, my brothers and I’m just hoping the answers will come forward before something happens to them. See MEMORY p. A3
Now Carrying . . . Rudolph’s Pure Pork Sausages Locally made. www.bulkleyvalleywholesale.com
see page A-24
Hwy 16, Telkwa