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New Gold’s New Afton Mine off to a successful start Page A3
TUESDAY
Tuesday, July 10, 2012 X Volume 25 No. 55
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THIS WEEK
Richard Hebda is on the hunt for dinosaurs Page B1 Thompson River PublicationsPartnership Ltd.
City payroll jumps $3M By Andrea Klassen STAFF REPORTER andrea@kamloopsthisweek.com
After dipping down slightly in 2010, the city’s payroll rose by nearly $3 million in 2011. According to the city’s 2011 remuneration and expense report, released last week, the overall payroll for the city is up to $49.8 million, from $47 million. There are now 35 city employees collecting more than $100,000 in gross pay — which includes taxable benefits like vehicle and parking allowances and MSP and life-insurance premiums. That’s up slightly from 2010, when 32 employees were above the $100,000but still down from INCOMPARISON: mark, 2009, when 49 people collected six figures. City managers/CAOs The city’s highest-paid Kamloops: $200,000 employee, former CAO Kelowna: $250,000 Randy Diehl, saw his pay Nanaimo: $223,000 increase to $199,823 from Chilliwack: $231,306 $195,942. Maple Ridge: $246,488 Most other directors — the city’s highest-paid staffers — saw a bump of about four per cent from 2010. Public works and sustainability director David Duckworth, the city’s second highest-paid employee, went to $154,970 from $148,548 in 2011. Director of finance and IT Sally Edwards’ salary grew to $148,624 from $142,948. CAO David Trawin — then still in his former role as director of development and engineering services — went to $148,624 from $143,092 in 2011. Parks, culture and recreation director Byron McCorkell’s pay went up by two per cent, to $151,587 from $148,508. Trawin said some of the payroll increases are partly the result of the contract the city signed with its unionized staff in the December 2010, which called for two per cent increases for each of its three years. When the new contract was settled, the city also reviewed managers’ salaries “to bring them back into market,” Trawin said. “We found out that the directors were well below what other directors are in other municipalities so they’ve been phased in to catch up.” Trawin said the city’s goal is to be in the middle of the pack when it comes to pay. “I don’t think we should be the highest compared to other communities. I don’t think we should be the lowest,” he said. “We need the average in terms of attracting quality people.”
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Honoured 67 years later By Michael Potestio STAFF REPORTER reporter@kamloopsthisweek.com
Nick Waslenchuk remembers with clarity his first major mission in Bomber Command during the Second World War. The mission over the Ruhr Valley in Germany resonates as if it happened yesterday. All major targets, such as those in the Ruhr Valley, were heavily defended. “And, when you see the first one of your planes going down, out of control, and you wait and see how many parachutes come out, and you see no parachutes come out, you know they never got a chance to bail out,” said Waslenchuk. “That’s something that you’ll remember all your life.” And, 67 years after the Second World War
ended, veterans of the Bomber Command were finally remembered in the form of a memorial, unveiled on June 28 in London, England. The 88-year-old Waslenchuk, a Kamloops resident, was among 40 Bomber Command veterans who crossed the Atlantic with Minister of Veterans’ Affairs Steven Blaney for the memorial’s unveiling in London’s Green Park. “It was just the highlight of my lifetime,” he said of the trip that he nearly missed. Waslenchuk had been in the hospital up until two days before the veterans were to depart. But, he made it. The Department of National Defence flew the veterans across the pond and Veterans’ Affairs Canada helped offset the cost of ground travel and accommodations.
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Bomber Command veteran Nick Waslenchuk of Kamloops and son Dennis view the new memorial at Green Park in London, England. The 88-year-old was among 40 Bomber Command veterans of the Second World War who joined Minister of Veterans’ Affairs Steven Blaney at the June 28 unveiling. Veterans’ Affairs Canada photo
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