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Volume 57 No. 38
Sentinel
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Northern
www.northernsentinel.com
Kitimat City High loses LINK worker Cameron Orr Kitimat City High has lost their Community LINK worker as the Kitimat Child Development Centre dealt with reduced LINK funding this year. Coast Mountains School District Chair Art Erasmus said that the district receives a certain amount of money for LINK programs but this year they received far more requests for the funding than was available. The Kitimat Child Development Centre (CDC) is contracted for some services in the Kitimat area and Erasmus said they received $110,000 this year in LINK funds, with another $40,000 going directly to the schools from the district for related programming. But that amount is down $80,000 for the CDC, the Centre said in a press statement. LINK stands for Learning Includes Nutrition Knowledge, and is used both for food programs and for assisting vulnerable students. Erasmus said that demand for LINK funding last year was almost entirely equal with the supply of money they received from the government, but demand went up for 2012 while money went down. Last year, $750,000 was available with $730,000 in requests. This year they had $1.2 million in requests for only $600,000 available. “So last year we could meet just about everything. This year we could meet half of what was requested,” he said. The CDC said in their statement that the reduction in LINK services was made with input from their Community Oversight Committee. There will be coverage for both elementary schools and Mount Elizabeth Middle Secondary School this year. “This reduction in coverage is very concerning as vulnerable youth are affected by another service cut,” the CDC said. “The LINK program in Kitimat employs social workers to work collaboratively within the schools supporting students and families so student success at school is enhanced.” The loss will be felt among the student body at Kitimat City High, says principal Sheila McInnis. Particularly as the high school has felt a series of cuts over the past couple of years; she said hours have been cut to their rehabilitation workers, they lost a full time teacher a year ago, administration time has been cut back and a district counsellor position has also been lost. “Having the Community Link worker really helped fill some of those voids,” said McInnis. Continued on page 3
Wednesday, September 19, 2012
1.34 INCLUDES TAX
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Look out below! Evan Pinto makes like an airplane and lifts off, coming dangerously close to landing on racer and good friend Connor Scott during a provincial motocross competition in Kamloops this month. Both came out of the stunt unharmed. For more on Pinto’s performance, see page 12. Submitted by Pinto family.
Haisla sign land agreement A newly announced Haisla Framework Agreement between the province and the Haisla Nation will give the area First Nation the option to acquire land for future natural gas export developments. This would allow the Haisla to work directly with companies in developing projects. Haisla Chief Councillor Ellis Ross, along with Ida Chong, minister of Aboriginal Relations and Reconciliation, and Rich Coleman, B.C.’s minister of energy and mines, signed the agreement from Vancouver on Friday. Haisla councillor Joanne Ross was also in attendance for the signing of the agreement. The land available comprises approx-
imately 700 hectares along the Douglas Channel, plus 102 hectares of what Chong called “unsubmerged land” along the waterfront. “A key emphasis of council since our election last summer is the focus on the lands and territory,” said Ross as he addressed reporters in Vancouver. “We see land as an essential element in building a strong and sustainable economic future for the Haisla people.” He said he has been encouraged by the B.C. government’s progress in finding “new ways to get things done” away from the treaty table. “[This agreement] allows the Haisla to look at land in Haisla territory in a different light. It gives the Haisla and asso-
ciated projects this certainty for the LNG proposals and other projects coming forward in our territory,” he said. He said the land, which surrounds the Haisla’s own territory, referred to on maps as Haisla Reserve #6, has a lot of interest from potential developers. Aside from the already known liquefied natural gas (LNG) proposals for this area — Shell, BC LNG Co-Op and KM LNG — speakers in Vancouver alluded to a fourth, unnamed LNG proponent for Kitimat, as well as another unnamed one for Prince Rupert to complement their two already in the works. Ross said that the Haisla intent is to develop projects responsibly. Continued on page 3
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