Alberni Valley News Thursday , April 4, 2013
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◆ COVER STORY
Debora Steel/Courtesy Ha-Shilth-Sa
Charlie Max Lincoln of Kincolith in northern British Columbia receives his copy of a painting he did in art classes when he attended Alberni Indian Residential School.
Art gave students their identity Joseph who worked in the kitchen at AIRS. “She was our mother,” he said. Joseph provided protection, some extra food from time to time and hugs when they were needed, Lincoln explained. She always told him to be proud of where he came from. Shelley Chester never knew her mom, Phyllis Tate, who gave her up for adoption. Still, seeing her mother’s paintings was an
emotional experience. Chester choked up when declaring she didn’t know what she wanted to do with the originals. “To touch something that she created is really something,” Chester said. Myrna Cranmer said it’s been 41 years since she left residential school. She understood the label survivor, she said. “I get it, but I prefer warrior.” The school, she explained, made her
Georgina Cootes describes why there are no homes in her painting of a Kildonan beach done during art classes with Robert Aller in the 1960s.
tough. The artwork was first displayed at the Truth and Reconciliation regional event in Victoria last April. The works left with the university can be seen in an upcoming exhibit at UVic’s Legacy Art Gallery located at 630 Yates St. starting May 8.
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From / A3 “When I first saw it, my heart nearly stopped,” he said. Aller had told him to ‘draw whatever your heart feels.’ The art classes allowed the children to remember the people they came from; unlike the school environment where children were strapped for speaking or singing in their traditional languages, he said. Lincoln also took time to thank a Miss
Debora Steel/Courtesy Ha-Shilth-Sa
Debora Steel is editor of Ha-Shilth-Sa, the Nuu-chah-nulth Tribal Council’s newspaper.
ACRD keeps budget increase below 2% WAWMEESH G. HAMILTON Alberni Valley News
The numbers have been crunched and residents in the Alberni-Clayoquot Regional District will be paying 1.26 per cent more in taxes this year. Directors passed the ACRD’s $16 million budget on March 27. The ACRD is projecting to take in $4.6 million in taxes, which is one per cent more than it took in
last year, ACRD Chief Operating Officer Russell Dyson said in a press release. Construction debt incurred with the building of West Coast General Hospital is being paid down, which has resulted in a 10 per cent decrease in the Regional Hospital District tax rate, Dyson said. ACRD residents will see more than a one per cent fee increase for some services, but other services are
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holding the line at last year’s rates, he said. And residential taxes are projected to be affected by a change in property assessments. Property values vary per region, as does service provision per residence, so an average value or increase is difficult to quantify and provide, Dyson said. Other budget highlights include a revamping of its website, development of a trails master
plan, and continued implementation of the Alberni-Clayoquot Health Network. Rural residents are also set to benefit from the ACRD’s commitment to the 2013 Regional Water Improvement Project. Nearly 100 per cent of the regions share in federal gas tax funds are being invested in rural water systems. The move allows for critical infrastructure upgrades, he said.
Featuring special guest Huckleberry Pie!
Saturday, June 8
Alberni District Secondary School
ON SALE NOW Tickets are available by cash only at the Rollin Arts Centre, open Tuesdays – Saturdays from 1 1 - 4 pm www.StrawberryShortcakeOnTour.com
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