aboriginal centre New group aims to tackle low graduation rates. Page 7 Support group Cancer patient’s friends rally for weekend run. Page 27 Strong start Nanaimo Clippers focused on weekend’s home games. Page 3
Theatre group stages comedy Page B1
Celebrating
1988
2013
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THURSDAY, OCTOBER 3, 2013
VOL. 25, NO. 54
Cougar killings offer lessons for residents
Conservation officers say human actions often lead to animal death By ChriS BuSh THE NEwS BULLETiN
CHRIS BUSH/THe NewS BUlleTIN
group hug
Cops for Cancer Tour de Rock riders RCMP Const. Ed de Jong, of Gabriola, left, RCMP Staff Sgt. Ray Carfantan, Island District RCMP, Jennifer Faerber, Jet FM 98.9, Const. Misty Dmytar, Nanaimo RCMP and RCMP reserve constable Terry Curry mug for the camera during their stopover in Diana Krall Plaza Monday. The annual Tour de Rock, which raises money for childhood cancer research and Camp Goodtimes, wraps up in Victoria Friday (Oct. 4).
School district projecting increase in enrolment By Karl yu
THE NEwS BULLETiN
Final student enrolment numbers for the school year have not been released but Nanaimo’s school district is projecting a slight increase. The district is estimat-
ing that there will be about 12,833 students for 201314. “We’re expecting around 7,500 elementary and 5,300 secondary for this school year,” said Nanaimo school district communications director Donna Reimer. Last year, school district
Quality & Service at Budget Prices Wisecrack Of The Week
I invented the cold air balloon, but it never took off.
enrolment was at 12,808 for elementary and secondary, not including any alternative educational programs or international students, but it’s too soon to say if numbers actually increased. “It may not be an overall increase, we won’t know
until we finish the final [numbers] and the verification takes awhile while we go back and forth with the Ministry of Education to verify the numbers. Once we get the final numbers, we’ll take a look and see,” Reimer said u See ‘ENROLMENT’ /4
A commissionaire’s too-close-for-comfort brush with a cougar that ultimately ended the animal’s life carries lessons and warnings for the public, says a conservation officer. The incident happened at the Saltair Mill in Ladysmith on Sept. 22 at about 8 a.m. when the watchman spotted the cat eyeing him from some lumber piles in the mill yard about 100 metres away. “It was coming towards him, so he runs to his guard shack,” said Stuart Bates, conservation officer. “He had to cover about 10 metres and when got to the guard shack and closed the door, the cougar was behind him outside the door, which means that cougar covered 100 metres in the time it took him to cover 10 – which is why we tell people, ‘Don’t run.’” Because the cougar stayed near the mill, located on Ludrow Road on the Ladysmith waterfront, following the incident, the time of day it occurred and that the animal had no qualms about chasing a full-grown man, Bates responded to the scene with a houndsman. Within 10 minutes of arriving, the dogs tracked the cougar to an old office building, within 50 metres of the guard shack. “[It was] 10 metres behind that building, it was still sitting there,” Bates said. “A young male about three years old, and yes it was put down unfortunately. When they start showing that kind of behaviour in that kind of location … Transfer Beach is right there if it wants to keep going.” u See ‘COUGAR’ /5
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