100 Mile House Terry Fox Run
A15
District of 100 Mile House 2011 Provincial Finalist 2012 Provincial Participant
Special Mention: Capturing the History of 100 Mile House
Ted Blowes National Chair, Communities in Bloom
100 Mile House scores four CiB blooms
108 Ladies Golf Club ends in grave situation
Peter Hart takes a trip down memory lane
A3
A21
B1
Shirley Fowler Provincial Chair, BC Communities in Bloom
People, Plants and Pride…Growing Together
OCTOBER 3, 2012
• 44 Pages • Two Sections
$1.34 includes HST
School closures on trustees’ slate of budget options Carole Rooney Free Press
The potential closure of both the 100 Mile House Junior Secondary and Buffalo Creek Elementary schools are among the options presented to the approximately 80 people who turned out to a School District #27 (SD27) special board meeting on Sept. 25. Reconfigurations of all remaining south-end elementary schools from kindergarten to Grade 8 and Peter Skene Ogden Secondary School (PSO) to grades 9-12 are also on the board’s slate of options. Another three schools are slated for possible closures in the Williams Lake and fringe area. SD27 chair Will Van Osch says nothing is set in stone and trustees want to hear public input and ideas, but began with simply presenting and clarifying the options rather than taking comments at the board meeting. This was to encourage people to take time to consider them and form clear questions they may have for the board, he adds, and then bring them with
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their ideas to one of the upcoming meetings. “There was a bit of trepidation ... but I think, all in all people, understood why we’ve designed the process the way we did.” 100 Mile House Elementary School Parent Advisory Council (PAC) president Angela Cole says the board’s proposal to close the junior secondary, and sell off the land and buildings, seems to be based on the hard facts. “I know they have not had an easy decision to make and ... there were a lot of years of prior research [and] a lot of compiled data to go through. “I believe they have [those figures], but I also believe there may be alternatives, and if there are, this is the most open board I have seen.” The potential closure of Buffalo Creek Elementary School likely doesn’t have a better option, she adds. “In a business sense, it was probably smart. It’s sad to see, and I hope that everyone finds their jobs filled, but we have to start looking at how much money we are losing. We cannot sustain it this way; our system will crumble if we continue to operate in the way we are [now].” The proposed shift in Williams Lake is to K-6 and grades 7-12, but Van Osch says the reason two different configurations are proposed for north and south is to minimize transitions for students moving to another school. See SCHOOL… page A17
Val Severin photo
A bull elk, estimated to be five or six years old, has returned for the third year to hang out with cows on 100 Mile Ranch property.
People asked to protect visiting elk Arlene Jongbloets Free Press
A magnificent bull elk has been spotted on 100 Mile Ranch property on the outskirts of 100 Mile House. While elk are not a common sight in this area of the Cariboo, this particular animal has been hanging around since mid-August and this is the third summer he’s
shown up, says ranch manager Greg Messner. “He’s out there herding the cows. Last year, he showed up for one week in the beginning of September.” Messner is concerned that the elk might be seen as game for hunters, as he may be visible from the Canim-Hendrix Lake Road, within a couple of kilometres of 100 Mile House.
He wants people to realize this is private land the animal is on and hunting is not permitted. Messner says he hopes that by making its presence known to the public, people will watch out for it and serve as extra eyes for anyone hunting illegally on the property. “Let’s just respect him and let him do his thing and return to his home in one piece.”