The Lake Cowichan
Gazette
Ohtaki delegation: Twinned with friendships
Feature: Small Business Week in Lake Cowichan
PAGE 10
PAGES 14-20
WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 17, 2012
SD 79 election slated for November 2013 Tamu Miles Gazette Editor
On Oct. 11, Minister of Education, Don McRae announced that there will be an election in November of 2013 for a new board for School District 79. The decision comes, perhaps not surprisingly, after mayor and council from the Town of Lake Cowichan presented an emergency resolution to members of the Union of B.C. Municipalities at an annual meeting in Victoria on Sept. 28. This resolution asked that the UBCM petition the province to issue a ministerial order for elections to be conducted in a local government where vacancies are caused by ministerial intervention. In a telephone interview, Min. McRae explained that he would like to see a democratically elected board reengaged in the district. “I’ve made the decision that we will have a by-election . . . in November of next year. ” said McRae. He also stated that one of the reasons for waiting until next November for the election, besides the fact that they are typically held at that time of year, is to give Cowichan Valley residents enough notice. “I just want to make sure that people have well advance notice so that if they wish to participate as a candidate or as an electorate that they do so because traditionally mid-term elections, or byelections, don’t have a great turn out,” said McRae. Duncan Brown, a former trustee on the SD 79 board, says he is more than a little disappointed that the minister did not decide to call the election for this year, if not in January of 2013. “People have to realize that we have a publicly appointed official that’s got the power to override all the policies that are there and to pick and choose which ones he
wants to follow and make new policies up if he chooses to do so, all without any mandate from the community,” said Brown. Brown would still like to see a face to face meeting between Lake Cowichan mayor and Council and McRae, but Mayor Ross Forrest said he is not sure that a meeting is necessary now that an election has been called. With elections happening in November of next year, it will mean that any newly elected board will have less than a year before another election takes place. “We really don’t start to sit until January,” said Brown. In the meantime, the appointed trustee, Mike McKay decided at the Oct. 3 school district board meeting to defer any decision to adopt Policy 1500 to a later date. Policy 1500, as it is currently drafted, would give the appointed trustee the ability to change or amend other district policies without consultation from the public or the districts policy committee. McKay says the decision to defer this policy came about because of feedback and concerns that were expressed by Diana Gunderson, a delegation at the meeting, along with six letters read at the meeting that also shared concerns and perspectives on the policy. McKay said he does not know when the policy will come back to the table, but it has been given to school board staff to modify and address the concerns presented which centred around transparency and openness. “There will be other public input opportunities as well,” said McKay. “We will keep working on the policy and receive feedback. We want to make sure that it meets the test of being open and responsive.” “Policy 1500 is a far cry from the structure that we had,” said Brown.
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Bike Rally
gets kids out despite rain
Tamu Miles
Mariah Segee waits as Con. Jim Preston engraves her name in her bike at the Lake Cowichan Fire Department’s bike rally on Oct. 13. Approximately 12 kids participated in the event, with younger kids learning skills and older kids participating in a race through Friendship Park behind Palsson Elementary.
South Shore paving has been delayed until early 2013 Tamu Miles Gazette Editor
On Oct. 12, Mayor Ross Forrest announced that the awaited paving of South Shore Road has had to be postponed until sometime in early 2013. He says that the tender for the project was put out late by the ministry, “and now it’s getting kind of late because now the weather is changing of course.” The town has been working closely with the ministry to decide the next best plan of action. “The plan now is we’re going to begin early in the new year. There will be a roundabout built, and then [the road will be] paved,” said Forrest. The paving is to be complet-
ed as soon as the paving season starts, meaning once the weather turns dry again. “Whenever the weather gets decent, they can start paving,” said Forrest. This could mean around May, but hopefully sooner. “We have to do some winterizing and some changing of a few things because the intent all along was for it to be paved before the end of this year but now we have to sort of winterize what we have there, like probably finish the medians off and do some work on the storm drains and stuff.” Forrest says that this change in plans is not all bad news. “In a way, I’m actually happier
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about it because we never, ever felt comfortable about them paving the road and then putting the roundabout in. It seemed backwards to do that because you’d be tearing up some of the new pavement. Right from the very beginning we were a little more comfortable with [the roundabout being] included; where it was done first.” Forrest explained that the town completed the work it was responsible for, in preparation for the project, on time. “It got kind of late in the year with the tender process. We could have taken the chance and paved now, but change of weather . . . it would have been risky.”
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