TUESDAY
S I N C E
1 8 9 5
JULY 3, 2012
Washington squad takes tourney title
Vol. 117, Issue 127
110
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Page 11
INCLUDING H.S.T.
PROUDLY SERVING THE COMMUNITIES OF
ROSSLAND, WARFIELD, TRAIL, MONTROSE, FRUITVALE & SALM SALMO
Teachers Rain fails to dampen Canada Day spirit accept new contract BY BREANNE MASSEY Times Staff
BY TIMOTHY SCHAFER Times Staff
Rolling one over in the West Kootenay has different connotations than it does across the province. But the deal accepted by 40,000 public school teachers on Friday on a new contract to end a year-long labour dispute has been classified as a “rollover” of the contract teachers held from 2006-2011. Kootenay Columbia Teachers Union president Andy Davidoff said in a recent interview with the Castlegar News that the key of the deal—accepted by 75 per cent of voting members on Friday—was to not impose a contract. It also meant the two sides will start bargaining again in a month on issues such as post to fill, lay-off and recall provisions, and professional growth, he said. “If we can’t agree on those things then the status quo prevails,” he told News reporter Craig Lindsay. “Then what we do is start bargaining again in eight months. But it avoids the legislated agreement, the harsh fines and further punitive legislation—and that’s important.” The two-year contract—one of which included a work-to-rule campaign—includes improved benefits and seniority provisions but no wage increases, negotiated under a provincial government policy that said any wage increases must be offset by concessions elsewhere in the contract. The dispute largely focused on wages, with teachers initially asking for a 15 per cent pay increase, although there were other issues such as class size and class composition. The B.C. Public School Employers’ Association will hold a vote for trustees next week on final ratification on the deal. The instability of the last year may not be a thing of the past, however, with the new contract set to expire in June of next year, just a month after a provincial election. But a ‘yes’ vote means disruptions from the last school year— teachers refusing to perform certain administrative tasks such as filling out report cards—likely won’t affect students when classes resume in the fall. The B.C. Teachers’ Federation recommended teachers vote in favour of the contract, but the union complained it only agreed to the deal because the province would have otherwise legislated a new contract. — with files from The Canadian Press
Greater Trail has been burdened by heavy precipitation lately but the forecast wasn’t foul enough to dampen Canada’s 145th birthday. Over 200 people came out to Beaver Creek Park for the annual Canada Day event hosted by the Trail Kiwanis Club. Families throughout the entire community were lured out to the event because of the sudden change in weather—for once this summer it was sunny. People celebrated by dancing—in groups and pairs—to classics, like Neil Diamond, a tribute paid forward by local performers North of 60. While people applauded the group’s outstanding performance, many families took advantage of the activities planned for children. The Trail Parks and Recreation had several volunteers offering free face painting. In addition, volunteers handed out goody bags to families. Some kids only took breaks from the plethora of activities only long enough to enjoy the barbecue and a piece of cake. “We almost ran out of hotdogs,” Kiwanis barbecue volunteers reported. “But we
Resolution officer appointed in sewer dispute BY TIMOTHY SCHAFER Times Staff
The city’s sanitary sewer dispute is sinking into provincial scrutiny with the appointment of a dispute resolution officer. Lois-Leah Goodwin, executive director of Intergovernmental Relations and Planning under the Ministry of Community, Sport and Cultural Development, has been appointed as the dispute resolution officer to help settle the matter of who
It’s been a fun long weekend... now it’s time to re-supply • Free parking
• Food court
BREANNE MASSEY PHOTO
Blaire Sigson, 23, took the opportunity to show her superhero patriotism on Canada Day at the Beaver Creek Park celebrations Sunday. Sigson, who works with Trail Parks and Recreation’s Camp Cawabunga, is back in the West Kootenay after living in Hong Kong. For more photos see Page 20.
(had) enough burgers left.” Trail councillor Rick Georgetti and Trail Kiwanis Club treasurer Wayne Hodgson cut the cake just before rain encompassed the park and people used the gazebo to shield their cake from the downpour Unfortunately it began raining around noon and local performers were asked to pack up their instruments for safety reasons. The Lower Columbia All First Nation (LCAFN) group expressed concerns about the possibility of damaging drum-skins in the rain, and used the opportunity to mingle with locals. “We couldn’t perform today, but I thought we should come out and show our support for the area,” explained LCAFN volunteer Terrie Miller while handing out headbands to children. The LCAFN group expects to appear in many other West Kootenay events throughout the summer. Unfortunately, the event came to an early close, around 1:30 p.m. However, the celebration got its usual sendoff with the fireworks performance from the Kootenay Boundary Regional Fire Department at dusk in Gyro Park.
• Free kids playroom and ball pit
pays for what in the delivery of regional sewer service between Trail, Rossland and Warfield. Goodwin is required to now review the matter and, under the Community Charter, direct the dispute to binding arbitration. “(I will) consider if the dispute should be directed to mediation or another nonbinding resolution process,” she said in a letter to Trail council June 5.
Goodwin will be concluding her review and be in a position to provide direction on the next steps in the process in mid June. Trail city council had notified the province in late May it wanted to engage in the process of arbitration with the City of Rossland to determine the correct percentages of shared costs for sewage service in the Greater Trail region. For four years the question of who pays
what portion of the cost of sewer service among Trail, Rossland and Warfield has been booted around like a political football. Trail currently pays close to 70 per cent of the regional budget following a formula created in the late 1960s, based mostly on population and projected growth. In early April Rossland council dismissed an eleventhhour attempt from Trail to avoid arbitra-
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tion. Trail council had drafted a cost sharing proposal based on population, though it previously agreed with a mediator report that suggested the old formula was unfair, and a new formula should be based on 50 per cent population and 50 per cent water consumption. The legal price for the process is expected to outweigh the cost difference quoted in the proposal—around $20,000.
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