THURSDAY MARCH 14, 2013
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BUSY BREAKERS
A GUIDE TO FUN ON ST. PATTY’S DAY
A33
B1
Swim club competing at meets in B.C. and in California
Traditional food, green beer and merriment in general in our region
SPRING BREAK
One week next year Teachers not happy with level of consultation LISSA ALEXANDER reporter@pqbnews.com
Spring break will only be one week for local students next year. The board of education voted Tuesday night to pass next year’s school calendar reducing the two-week spring break to one, and the president of the local teachers’ association voiced concerns. “The question and concern I have for you all tonight is, has the district fulfilled its requirement for a consultation?” said Deb Morran, president of the Mount Arrowsmith Teachers Association (MATA). Morran, along with representatives from CUPE and the District Parent Advisory Council (DPAC), was given the chance to address questions about the calendar before it was put to vote. Morran said it’s incumbent upon every school board in the province to undertake a consultation period with all partners, and in doing some research she found that no other district, with the exception of Powell River, has undertaken such a brief consultation process. She also said she doesn’t think a public board meeting is an appropriate place to have a meaningful exchange. At the last school board meeting, a draft calendar was presented where the two-week break had been amended to one week. Then superintendent, Jim Ansell, said the week was taken away because MATA brought three grievances forward regarding the calendar process and instead of fight them and pay thousands of dollars they returned to the standard calendar of one week. See MILLIGAN, page A7
NEIL HORNER PHOTO
NO INJURIES: Parksville firefighters rip the siding from a trailer on Arbutus Road Tuesday as they work to get at an electrical fire underneath. Nobody was hurt in the blaze, but the trailer was badly damaged by the fire and smoke.
OCEANSIDE HEALTH CENTRE
Services will be phased in JOHN HARDING editor@pqbnews.com
Services at the Oceanside Health Centre will be phased in over a threemonth period ending Sept. 30, the Vancouver Island Health Authority announced Wednesday.
The centre (OHC) will open as scheduled on June 24, but its hours of operation will not be at the level promised, urgent medical care will not be available until Sept. 16 and primary care will not be on-stream until Sept. 30, according to VIHA’s news release.
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When the centre opens June 24 it will have imaging and labs services and a host of other VIHA programs currently operating in other buildings around the region. The centre’s hours will mirror those of the existing facilities. See X-RAY, page A7
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