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THURSDAY, MARCH 7, 2013
Daylight savings time begins Remember to turn your clocks ahead an hour before going to bed Saturday night as we spring forward into daylight savings time. ICBC asks drivers to make an effort to adapt to the time change. According to an ICBC survey, 34 per cent of B.C. drivers admit that the time shift does affect them and make them feel less alert after the time change. Studies show that the switch to daylight savings time can have a dramatic effect on disrupting our regular sleep cycle as it puts us out of sync with our circadian rhythm.
Inside the Tribune NEWS A2 Hit and runs plague lakecity. SPORTS A10 Mt. Timothy celebrates 25 years. COMMUNITY A15 Distance education students busy. Weather outlook: Expect sunny skies Friday and Saturday with snow/rain on Sunday.
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STAMPEDE QUEEN CONTESTANTS MEET CITY COUNCIL
Monica Lamb-Yorski photo
The 2013 Stampede Queen contestants received their banners and crowns after being introduced to Williams Lake City Council Tuesday evening during Cowboy Heritage Week. Pictured are contestants Miss Daybreak Rotary Rachel Abrahamse, Miss M.H. Excavating Kyra Stuart, Miss Rotary Club of Williams Lake Karina Sukert, Stampede Queen Alexis Forseille and Stampede Princess Terris Billyboy.
Help for Indoor Rodeo to be reconsidered Monica Lamb-Yorski Tribune Staff Writer City council will reconsider a request from the Williams Lake Indoor Rodeo for the use of city trucks and operating engineers at its next committee of the whole meeting on Mar. 12, after saying no to the request at an in-camera meeting held Feb. 26. Since 2007, the city has supplied truck and operators to haul dirt into the arena prior to the rodeo, normally held during the third week of April, and in the past four years the city has hauled the dirt away afterwards. The estimated cost to provide the service is $10,000, the city said. The organization requested help in a letter to mayor and council Dec. 4, 2012. “This support helps our organization enormously and greatly helps to cut some of our high costs of putting on an indoor rodeo,” the letter noted, adding the rodeo normally attracts 5,000 plus people attending, competing and volunteering. At the in-camera meeting council received a report from the
city’s director of municipal services Kevin Goldfuss, who said the original agreement was to have contracted volunteers haul the dirt out of the arena, but that the city had to take that over when it became difficult to find contractor volunteers. “The city had to pay city staff to do this work hand the cost to remove it in 2012 was approximately $6,000,” Goldfuss said, adding the total is $10,000 when the hauling in of the dirt is factored in. Staff realized it would have to ask council for permission, he added. Coun. Surinderpal Rathor said while he could not justify spending $10,000 of the city’s money on the indoor rodeo, he felt the item should be reconsidered because he had learned the association is willing to pay for half of the cost. “I request that the report be taken back to a committee of the whole meeting,” Rathor said. Coun. Laurie Walters agreed the request needs more consideration. “I appreciated the report from staff. This information about costs is new to me as a councillor, but I can’t support the recommendation not to support it because of the
value the indoor rodeo brings to the community,” Walters said. “I think there is a way we can work this out and change the direction to enable the city and the association to get together.” Historically it was a volunteer effort, Coun. Sue Zacharias said. “Now there are costs coming into the city. I know corporations in town do work with other events such as the Stampede and will do an in-kind donation of goods or materials.” Businesses used to do the work for the indoor rodeo, but when
work “got slow” and businesses had to leave town to find work elsewhere, the volunteer and corporate support dwindled away, Zacharias suggested. “I’m of the thinking that there are corporations out there that would volunteer material and time if they were asked.” Council, consisting of acting mayor Danica Hughes, councillors Rathor, Walters and Zacharias voted in favour to reconsider the request and invite a delegation from the rodeo association to attend the committee of the whole meeting.
City contract ratified Monica Lamb-Yorski Tribune Staff Writer City workers in Williams Lake belonging to the International Union of Operating Engineers Local 882B have ratified a four-year collective agreement. On Monday, Mar. 4, members voted 94 per cent in favour of accepting the offer from the employer.
The union represents about 110 full-time and part-time city workers. On Feb. 16, the workers began a legal strike that continued until Feb. 27. The IUOE Local 882’s business manager Saundra Taylor commented Tuesday that “it’s nice to be done.” The members are very grateful to the community for all the public’s support we received during the strike, she said.