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Vol. 89 Issue 44 • Wednesday, October 31, 2012 • www.arrowlakesnews.com • 250-265-3823 • $1.25
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Grizzly slaughter highlights bear unawareness, CO service stretched thin By Claire Paradis Arrow Lakes News
Conservation Officer Blair Thin is one of two officers stationed in Castlegar responsible for bear-human conflict in an area that stretches from Salmo CLAIRE PARADIS/ARROW LAKES NE to Edgewood to Polson Summit.
Howard Cann first spotted the large grizzly by the side of the highway that runs along Summit Lake between Nakusp and New Denver. “It was bleeding all over its right side,” said Cann, who also saw the huge animal fall over a couple of times before it stumbled off. Cann, a hunter, guessed that the animal had been shot, but wasn’t about to go chasing after it to find out. Instead, he called the Conservation Officer Service around 10:30 in the evening on Tuesday, October 23. The large boar grizzly by Summit Lake was fifth in line for attention from the Conservation Officers, however. The previous day, Blair Thin had been called to deal with a sow and three cubs who had been ripping into ducks, turkeys and chickens in the Brouse Loop area. “They had hit at least three farms
in the area four or five days prior to us hearing about it,” said Blair Thin, one of two COs for the area that includes Nakusp. The Conservation Officers are responsible for an area that spreads from roughly Edgewood to Polson Summit toward Grand Forks and out to Salmo, which means their time is often either spent working or travelling for their work. Unfortunately, the call came after one farm owner had been charged by the sow. The farmer shot and killed the mother bear and one cub. Thin actively trapped the two remaining cubs who are being shipped to a bear rehab centre near Smithers. This family was not new to the area, and in fact was well-known to COs. The mother and three cubs had already gone through Arrow Park and Burton, killing a half dozen turkeys there and wounding a dog. Hoping winter would be coming soon enough that the bears would stay
in their dens and not make their way back for more fowl fast food, the endangered bear family was placed on the top of Blue Grouse Mountain. But they weren’t quite ready for bed, and had made their way back into the Brouse Loop human population, seeking out farmed fowl. Once the orphan cubs were captured, Thin transported them to Castlegar where they were picked up by Northern Lights Wildlife Society and transported up north where they will be put through a rehabilitation program. Bear rehab with the society will take place over the winter, and then the cubs will be returned to their area of origin. According to their website, the Northern Lights Wildlife Society aim to release bears who have not become accustomed to people back into the wild after rehab. Although the program was initially greeted with mixed reac-
See BEAR page 4
Everyone is welcome to help build the Burton Community Learning Centre By Claire Paradis Arrow Lakes News
The Burton Community Learning Centre (BCLC) now has a board, as of August 2012, Isabelle Bergeron announced at the community meeting held at the Burton School. “Just because there are six of us on paper, everyone is welcome to the meetings,” she made clear, inviting the community to be part of the changes taking place at the school. In a quick presentation, Bergeron outlined the board’s vision, values and principles and partnerships, the foundation of what would keep the school open to the community. Learning and wellness, fitness, arts and culture, knowledge and skills, and food security were the values of the board, and their values focus on community ownership and responsibility of the centre, an eye to maintaining sustainable and affordable access to creative programming while being environmentally responsible. School District 10 and the BCLC are developing a shared use agreement for the building, and programs like NSS’s Outdoor
Education are already making use of the Burton School. The school district is responsible for all school-based programs, and according to the agreement will have priority access to the building. Having SD10 as a partner means there will be no alcohol or smoking in or around the learning centre. The community also has a variety of programs that use the building, including volleyball, basketball, movie nights (next one is on Hallowe’en and looks appropriately spooky), Parenting Teens and the Burton Reading Centre (Tuesdays and Thursdays 6:30-8 p.m. and Saturdays 1-3 p.m.). More community events – coordinated by the BCLC – are coming up, in the form of art classes, and “Just for the Health of it” classes. Tim Talbot is responsible for booking the space, so anyone in the community who is interested in a booking can contact him at tim.woodever@ gmail.com or 250-265-9080. The BCLC is also looking into partnerships with CBAL, WorkBC and Selkirk College. Funding has already begun, with BCLC raising funds by catering SD10 events held at the Burton School.
Liz Gillis, Shelley Bortnick, Tim Talbot, Jolyene Moroz, Dan Freeman and Isabelle Bergeron are the BCLC board for the Burton Learning Centre. CLAIRE PARADIS/ARROW LAKES NEWS
Denise Perry Superintendent-Secretary for SD10 told the group that schools are the heart and soul of a community, and that the district is keen to keep the Burton school open as a learning centre. In that vein, Perry said the district would look into courses that
could be held in the school and contribute towards credits for graduation. At the moment, there are plans in the works to hold an 80hour Level 1 Search and Rescue course for students 16 and older at the learning centre. More courses are to come.
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