106th Year - Week 39 PM 40007014
Money raised to date:
$188,120 GOAL
$400,000
Wednesday, September 25, 2013
STARTING RIGHT Steelheads begin season with Challenge Cup victory.
SPORTS/A10
PERRY PERFORMS Mark Perry releases new CD, People and Places.
A&E/A20
INSIDE OPINION A6 & 7 SPORTS A10 COMMUNITY A16 OUR TOWN A19 THREE RIVERS B1 CLASSIFIEDS B4
Single Copy • $1.30 ($1.24 + 6¢ GST)
CUPE staff avoid strike By Nolan Kelly Smithers/Interior News
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CUPE support workers have reached a tentative agreement on a new collective bargaining deal. The contract, announced late Wednesday night, would give workers a 3.5 per cent pay increase over two years. School districts will have to pay for the increase from within their existing budgets and will have to submit a plan to provincial authorities detailing how they will pay for the wage hike. Each individual school district will have to come up with its own plan for addressing the shortfalls caused by the wage hike, something that worries CUPE Local 2145 president Barbel Schroeter. “I don’t want to speculate on how that money would be found, but obviously we are a little worried it might affect our members in terms of hours,” Schroeter said. “It’s a concern, but its up to them, its not up to us to tell them how to do it.” School District 54 superintendent Chris van der Mark understands Schroeter’s concerns, but said it’s far too early to speculate on where the money will be found. “I have an idea of where the money might come from, and it probably won’t
be coming from the areas Barbel is worried about,” he said. “But, at this point I think that speculation would be inappropriate. Once the board has had a chance to look at everything, then we will have a better idea where the money will come from.” From the CUPE side, the deal is seen mainly as a positive, though there are concerns about continued belt tightening due to a lack of provincial financing. “I wouldn’t call it a complete victory because there is no new funding — we had hoped for new funding,” Schroeter said. “We asked for four per cent and we got 3.5 per cent.” Union members must approve the deal by December. “It still has to go to the membership for ratification, so it’s not exactly a done deal,” Schroeter said. The new deal means both sides will avoid the threat of a strike and an interruption to the school year. “We have a very good working relationship with Barbel and her members,” van der Mark said. “We will sit down and see what everything will look like, but from our perspective we certainly hope it gets ratified so that we can continue to work on providing the best possible education we can to our students, without interruption.”
TAKE BACK THE NIGHT Beth Larsen sings the Warrior Song prior to the start of the Take Back the Night community demonstration Friday night.
Ryan Jensen photo
Wolfe wins new Fisheries Act trial By Ryan Jensen Smithers/Interior News
Gordon Wolfe has won his appeal of two illegal fishing charges under the B.C. Fisheries Act. Wolfe had previously been found guilty on charges of fishing with a barbed hook and using illegal bait. A third charge, obstruction, was dismissed during the original trial in September 2012. He was fined $1,500 for each of the Fisheries Act charges and prohibited from fishing for 18 months. Wolfe also had to
forfeit the fishing gear he had with him when he was arrested. Both the convictions and the sentence were appealed by Wolfe. “It was a matter of principle,” Wolfe said. “I felt I was wrongfully convicted. I kind of felt like I was cheated. There were no fisheries violations that occurred that day.” On Sept. 6 Hon. Justice Ehrcke presented the reasons for making the order for a new trial. In the original trial, the judge found Wolfe to not be a credible witness. The question of Wolfe’s credibility
was due to what Justice Ehrcke called a, “misapprehension of evidence.” Wolfe said his fines were heavy handed, amounting to 10 times the normal ticket handed out in such cases, especially considering these were his first charges. “In my opinion, they singled me out,” Wolfe said. After the original trial, Conservation Service Sgt. Kevin Nixon said the judge wanted to make an example of Wolfe as he was a former employee of the Fish and Wildlife branch of the Ministry of
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Environment. “For a judge to assess a fine of $1,500 for each offence definitely sends a message,” Nixon said. “It’s a good precedent and will certainly send a message to the public.” The charges stem from a Nov. 11, 2009 incident in which Conservation Officer Cam Schley observed Wolfe fishing on the Bulkley River with what he thought was illegal tackle and bait. A decision will be made in the next few weeks as to whether the charges will be refiled or stayed by the Crown.
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