TUESDAY OCTOBER 1, 2013
LOCAL ARCHERS
10% Tuesday
CROSS CANADA
AIMING FOR CHINA
SOLAR TREK
A man is making his way across the country on a solar bike.
Archers from Kimberley and Cranbrook fundraise.
October 1st
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See LOCAL NEWS page 3
See LOCAL NEWS page 3
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PROUDLY SERVING KIMBERLEY AND AREA SINCE 1932 | Vol. 81, Issue 191 | www.dailybulletin.ca URBAN DEER
Mayors meet with Premier
Minister suggests joint task force on urban deer issues C AROLYN GR ANT editor@dailybulletin.ca
PHOTO SUBMITTED
Two of Kimberley’s citizens are now Canadians. August Paw and Thaw Thi (pictured here with their youngest daughter Ku Lueh Tha) took their Oath of Citizenship last Thursday in Kelowna.
Sometimes a meeting is valuable even if there is no appreciable movement on an issue, says Mayor Ron McRae. Such was the case when McRae along with Wayne Stetski of Cranbrook, Gerry Taft of Invermere and Garry Litke of Penticton, along with other municipal officials met with Premier Christy Clark on the issue of urban deer. It is important to keep the issue top of mind with the provincial government,
McRae says and to keep reminding the government that municipalities cannot bear all the costs of dealing with deer on their own. “I thought the Premier was receptive to the conversation,” McRae said. “She asked good questions. “Minister Steve Thomson was also there and he has more of a history with the issue. He suggested we take a look at striking a task force and look at a management plan in cooperation with the province.” McRae said that Kimberley and Cranbrook are well ahead of other communities in dealing with deer, with Invermere not far behind and could bring a lot of resources to a task force.
Proud new Canadians A long road C AROLYN GR ANT editor@dailybulletin.ca
It is almost six years since August Paw, Thaw Thi and their daughter Hser Dri Htoo arrived in Kimberley after a long journey from a refugee camp on the Thai-Myanmar border. Brought to Canada by the East Kootenay Friends of Burma, they arrived to a new home furnished by volunteers, and began the transition into Kimberley, and Canadian, society, helped along the way by volunteers. Over the past six years, much of their extended
family has been brought to Canada as well, and they have another daughter Ku Lueh Tha, who was born in Canada. Last Thursday, in Kelowna, August Paw and Thaw Thi proudly took their Oath of Citizenship and became Canadians. “It’s been a long road for this hardworking family. They’ve been studying non-stop since they found out that their application was accepted almost two years ago. I’ve never seen anyone so dedicated,” said Pam Bailie, CBAL’s ESLSAP (English as a Second Language Settlement Assistance Program) co-
ordinator for Kimberley. August Paw and Thaw Thi would like to thank all the CBAL volunteers who helped them on this journey to citizenship: “A great big heartfelt thank you to Heather King, Gayle Webb, Ellen Chase, Cailey Chase, Flo Brokop, Ken McRae, and Ali Douglas for the countless hours spent teaching Canadian history, politics, geography and culture. It was all worth it.” “We wouldn’t have passed the test if it hadn’t been for the CBAL program and all their volunteers. They spent so much time with us and it was
very hard. Thank you so much. And thank you to Susan for driving us to Kelowna so that we could take the test and to Pam who took us to our ceremony. We are very happy now.” “EK Friends of Burma is very proud of August Paw and Thaw Thi for passing the increasingly difficult Citizenship test,” said Shaunna Jimenez of Friends of Burma. “This family has flourished in Kimberley thanks to the wonderful support of so many friendly, helpful residents. See Page 3
Convincing the province on St. Mary Lake Road C AROLYN GR ANT editor@dailybulletin.ca
The efforts to get the province of British Columbia to reclaim responsibility for the St. Mary Lake Road could be a long road to nowhere. When Mayor Ron McRae told Council that he was going to approach the Ministry of Transportation around responsibility for St. Mary Lake Road, longtime Councillor Albert Hoglund’s ad-
vice was ‘good luck, but don’t hold your breath’. It seems that advice was sound. “I was part of the Regional District of East Kootenay presentation to the Ministry,” McRae said. “Jane (Walter, Area E representative) and I got three minutes. They took notes. They seemed somewhat interested but there was more interest in the Elk Valley floods and remnants of that.” Still, McRae says the City won’t give up. City staff will be meeting with local Highways staff soon around a number of issues and will bring it up again.