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THURSDAY, APRIL 11, 2013
Proudly serving Williams Lake and the Cariboo-Chilcotin since 1930
VOL. 83. No. 30
$1.30 inc. Tax
Gov’t funds 2013 DRY GRAD CAR RAFFLE GETS SPECIAL TREATMENT fight invasive The grand prize in the 2013 Dry Grad car raffle is going to be extra special plants this year. Aric Pigeau from
Gaeil Farrar photo
Prince George (front) and his cousin Wayland Bennett have painstakingly spent dozens of volunteer hours turning the vehicle into a fine work of art. “I just winged it,” says Pigeau, a welder and heavy duty equipment operator who designed the “tribal” style pattern. “It’s my hobby.” Wayland works at Taylor Automotive and took some of his holidays to help paint the 1992 GMC, two-wheel drive automatic pickup donated by several local businesses as the grand prize. Tickets are only $10 each. Second prize is a Broil King Signet 90 LP barbecue; third prize a $150 gift certificate for concrete or gravel; and fourth prize is a World Famous six-man tent.
The provincial government is providing $91,000 to the Cariboo Regional District and $22,000 to the Cariboo Chilcotin Coast Invasive Plant Committee to control the spread of invasive plants. The funding will be invested in activities such as raising public awareness, surveying invasive plant populations and actively treating high-priority sites to control the spread of invasive plants. Invasive plants are not native to a particular ecosystem and have the potential to displace long-established species. They can cause considerable economic and environmental damage. Invasive plants may disrupt natural ecosystems, reduce biodiversity, increase soil erosion, alter soil chemistry and adversely affect commercial crops.
Inside the Tribune NEWS A2 Sugar Cane signs agreement. SPORTS A11 Bowl for Kids Sake this week. COMMUNITY A17 Wii Olympics tournament fun. Weather outlook: Expect a few flurries Friday but sunshine on the weekend.
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City rebranding meets stiff opposition Monica Lamb-Yorski Tribune Staff Writer City council heard loud and clear Tuesday many residents do not accept the idea of branding Williams Lake with the slogan “Welcome to the Republic of Life.” Around 100 residents, including four former mayors and a councillor, filled city hall for council’s regular meeting to drive home the point. Two weeks ago during a committee of the whole meeting Taiji Brand Group unveiled the branding package to city council and staff. Once images that accompanied the marketing package, including a logo and the slogan were made public, people started contacting mayor and council, launching opinions on Facebook sites, writing letters to the editor and doing radio interviews to let people know they were unhappy. Resident Ken Wilson in a radio interview said perhaps “Willy’s puddle” was a better slogan option. Wilson also addressed council
Tuesday, saying many people in the community are upset about the branding project. “Many people are upset at city council for not involving the taxpayers,” he said. “Taxpayers are saying the cost ($41,000) was too high and that there are people in Williams Lake that could have come up with something more palatable.” He alleged the Williams Lake and District Chamber of Commerce wasn’t consulted, however, Mayor Kerry Cook clarified that chamber president Jason Ryll was part of the working group throughout the branding project. Wilson quoted a former mayor saying the logo, meant to resemble a belt buckle, looked like a shield. He asked for a show of hands from the chamber and around 90 indicated they were opposed to the brand. Eight, all under the age of 40, indicated they liked it. Prior to Wilson’s delegation, Carol Taiji of Taiji Group made a public presentation. At the onset, Taiji said coming
up with a brand is never a perfect process. “A lot of effort was made to create the level of engagement that was appropriate,” she said. A truism of branding is trying to reach a target audience. One of the discussions they had with Alan Madrigga (the city’s manager of economic development) was around community resilience and the desire to attract people who want to move to Williams Lake by choice. “We had a very specific target in mind. We’ve worked with many small communities and mid-sized communities and everybody is trying to retain and attract a young workforce,” Taiji said. To build a brand that speaks to that target audience requires a certain language and approach and it isn’t necessarily the same language used by people in the community. “Our group attached ourselves to the Republic of Life because during the entire process the group said we did not want to have a generic
brand. It felt like a poor investment for the city.” They were prepared to choose something that felt provocative. The group defined “republic” as a body of people freely engaged in the pursuit of a common passion. “No political overtones, nothing to do with people south of the border, it was just the notion of people determining their own future as individuals.” It was also meant to be a fun play on words to get people’s attention. At the same time it needs to work for everyone and that is the challenge, Taiji agreed. Mayor Cook told the crowd the item has received the most response. “It’s definitely brought a lot of strong feelings and huge response from people. I think there’s a lot of good to that because it shows how passionate people are about Williams Lake,” she said. See CITY Page A3