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TUESDAY OCTOBER 2, 2012
Break-ins on weekend Police responded to approximately 75 calls for service over the weekend, including break ins, mischief, and firearm complaints. • On Saturday Sept. 29 at 2:15 a.m., police attended a vehicle fire on Pigeon Avenue that fire crews were putting out. Police located a male acting suspiciously nearby who, after further investigation, was taken into custody and suspected for being responsible for the fire. The police investigation is continuing and charges are pending. • Later, at 7:55 a.m., police responded to complaint of a vehicle that had its drivers side window smashed out overnight. Nothing was reported to be stolen, but a small rock was found inside of the truck, which was likely used to break window. The vehicle was in a parked garage on Mackenzie Avenue North for mechanical repairs. See FIREARMS Page A2
Inside the Tribune NEWS City to review parking.
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False alarm
Monica Lamb-Yorski photo
The Williams Lake Fire Department responded to concerns there might be a gas leak in the Western Wood Heat building on Highway 97 Sunday around 5:30 p.m. Firefighters smashed the front window to gain entrance but, along with Fortis BC staff, were unable to locate any gas leaks. Deputy Fire Chief Des Webster says the fire department also investigated a second call of a gas smell on Western Avenue, but again did not find anything. Fortis received several complaints from people who said they smelled gas. However, nothing materialized.
School closures, consolidation rationale given A3
SPORTS A9 Olympians coming to town. COMMUNITY A12 Dog agility a special outing. Weather outlook: Mix of sun, cloud/chance of showers today, high of 7 C. Sunny Wednesday, high of 12 C.
Gaeil Farrar Tribune Staff Writer The Initial Options Report released for public consultation by the School District 27 board Sept. 25 includes some background information on reasons the board is proposing to close and reconsolidate schools in the district. According to the report the proposals were made after extensive review of previous research by the district including the Our Kids Our Future report released in May 2009 that included data collected and reviewed from pubic forums held in the district and other sources of data gathered toward creating an education and operational plan for the district. The board also developed a new set of guiding principles on which to based their decisions. The guiding principles include providing excellence in education, choice, and opportunity; clear and transparent communication; sound
and efficient fiscal management; and embracing the district’s unique factors including rural and remote schools, geography and cultural diversity. In the Williams Lake area the proposal is to close Glendale, Wildwood and Kwaleen elementary schools. The plan also includes restructuring Williams Lake and Columneetza secondary schools from their current status as separate grades 8 to 12 secondary schools into one grade 7 to 12 secondary school on two campuses. The rationale for creating one grades 7 to 12 secondary school instead of going with the junior/ senior secondary model is to minimize school transitions for students. Previous research indicates that the more school transitions students experience, the more likely they will be to quit school early. The report notes that Columneetza and WLSS are currently func-
tioning below capacity as separate Grade 8 to 12 schools but neither school is able to accommodate 100 per cent of secondary students. Creation of a middle school on one campus may also require some physical changes and would restrict the availability of some specialty programs at the secondary level. Several communities in B.C. use a single secondary school with two separate campuses for similar reasons. In efforts to align the secondary program with the goals of B.C.’s Education Plan, which includes more personalized learning options, the school district intends to hire an external facilitator to coordinate the restructuring. Programs would also be designed to better respect the Our Kids, Our Future document, hockey academy, fine arts programming and other currently existing programs. The model promises to retain
or increase the choices and opportunities for all students and that resulting operational changes will provide better certainty for students in the availability of desired courses and programs; more focused content for teaching staff; and a better range of offerings for all students. The report states the challenge for grades 7 to 12 school configuration is at the administration level, not at the student or teacher level. It noted that Grade 7 students could be located in one school as a “pod” and could be afforded “explorations” opportunities in specialty spaces. Raising Grade 7 students in Williams Lake area from elementary to the secondary level will allow the district to create financial efficiencies in the system by consolidating the nine existing schools in the Williams Lake bowl into six elementary schools. See PROPOSED Page A3