Guilty plea Nanaimo man admits to killing father during camping trip. PAGE 7 Ancient artifact Volunteers help build temporary museum at Beban. PAGE 16 Accordion player Norwegian singer performs for Nanaimo audience. PAGE 3
Clippers preview PAGE B1
WE
BUY
GOLD AND FINE JEWELLERY
www.nanaimobulletin.com
THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 13, 2012
VOL. 24, NO. 59
P: 250.585.1648 3392 Norwell Drive
City prepares for wave of retiring staff
COFFEE BREAK
More than half of managers eligible to retire in four years BY TOBY GORMAN THE NEWS BULLETIN
CHRIS BUSH/THE NEWS BULLETIN
Keith Macdonald, a painter who jokingly refers to himself as a residential artist, takes advantage of his position and a sunny, late summer morning to enjoy a cup of coffee and the view from the Rogers Block on Commercial Street Tuesday.
Shelter continues to battle ringworm infection BY CHRIS HAMLYN THE NEWS BULLETIN
Nanaimo and District SPCA remains under quarantine for ringworm with 18 cats and two dogs confirmed with the skin disease. “[The quarantine] is going to be in place for a while,” said Leon Davis, Nanaimo branch manager. “The oral treatment takes three weeks and then there is reassessing.” The branch closed its doors Aug. 30 when ringworm was discovered on
three kittens in a litter surrendered to the shelter Aug. 29. “Ringworm is out in the community and all we can do is remain strict with our security protocol,” said Davis. “All 30 of our cats are in individual cages, we are closed to adoptions and surrenders from the public and the animals are cleansed with a lime/sulphur solution every four days.” Davis said the quarantine is taking a toll on both shelter staff and the animals. “The dogs take the cleaning pretty well, but cats don’t like to get wet
at the best of times. They don’t understand it’s good for them,” Davis said. The public continues to drop off much-needed towels outside the shelter’s gate on Labieux Road and Hill’s Pet Nutrition supplies all B.C. SPCA shelters with free food, but Davis doesn’t see any end in sight soon. “It all depends on the test results. The results from our second culture should be back next week,” he said. “What we need to see is a couple of negative cultures in a row.” news@nanaimobulletin.com
City hall is preparing for an unprecedented number of workers, both management and union, who will be eligible to retire in the next four years. According to the city’s 2011 annual report, 51 per cent of the city’s unionexempt managers, 37 people, are eligible to retire with an unreduced pension by 2016. The report also says that 29 per cent of the city’s 450 permanent CUPE workers, about 130 people, and 22 per cent of International Association of Fire Fighters Local 905’s 100 or so members, will also be eligible to retire with full pensions by 2016. That potential exodus, says Terry Hartley, human resources director for the city,
could present some staffing challenges for the city. “The 30 per cent number, overall, is pretty standard for municipalities and probably, as well, even in the public sector,” said Hartley. “It’s demographics.” T h e C o n f e re n c e Board of Canada reports that B.C. will be facing a shortage of 160,000 skilled workers by 2015, which means municipalities will not be able to rely on either inter-provincial migration or immigration to solve the labour shortage. To c o m b a t t h e potential workforce shortage, Hartley said the city has created a succession planning process, aimed at developing people already employed by the city to take over more senior jobs as they come available. ◆ See ‘CITIES’ /4
Come See Our
We are complete EXTERIOR EXPERTS
FALL SPECIALS at the HOME SHOW
Serving Nanaimo and Vancouver Island.
October 12th to14th, 2012
Residential
Commercial
EXTERIOR EXPERTS SIDING • WINDOWS • DOORS
250-933-1181 www.exteriorexperts.ca