TUESDAY APRIL 22, 2014
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HIGHLIGHTING HISTORY
EDITH CELEBRATES 108TH BIRTHDAY
A new feature starts today with a look at Parksville’s past
Resident of Stanford Place says her secret to long life has been a pacifist attitude
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REPORT CARD ON SCHOOLS
BSS near bottom Local teachers’ union prez doesn’t give list credence JOHN HARDING editor@pqbnews.com
The Fraser Institute’s latest report card on schools is out, and local high schools didn’t fare well. The report looked at 293 secondary schools in the province. Kwalikum Secondary School placed 204th, Ballenas Secondary School 266th. Mount Arrowsmith Teachers’ Association president Debbie Morran said she doesn’t give the report card much credence. She said the same when the Fraser Institute released its report card on elementary schools earlier this year, rankings based mostly on the results of provincially-mandated Foundation Skills Assessment (FSA) tests taken by students in grades 4 and 7. The only other time B.C. students write FSA exams is in Grade 10. “I think it’s even more difficult to lend any weight to the (high school) standings when it’s only Grade 10 students writing (the FSA tests),” said Morran. However, the Fraser Institute says it bases its high-school rankings on provincial exams — not the Grade 10 FSAs — which are written by all students in grades 10, 11 and 12. The institute’s report card lists what it says is “average exam marks” for students. At Kwalikum in 2013 that was 68 per cent, while at Ballenas it was 66.3 per cent. The institute’s ratings system (out of 10) had Kwalikum at 5.2 and Ballenas at 3.7. Kwalikum had 130 Grade 12 students in 2013. Only 0.7 per cent of those students were classified as English as a Second Language (ESL) students and 10.4 per cent were special needs. Ballenas had 182 Grade 12 students in 2013, 0.9 per cent ESL and 12.7 per cent special needs. See TRUSTEES’ ROLE, page A6
LISSA ALEXANDER PHOTO
EASTER BUNNY VISITS FOSTER PARK: Kids hopped around Foster Park in Parksville Saturday afternoon, getting their faces painted, enjoying cotton candy, eating hotdogs, and waiting for the word to start collecting the mass of shiny chocolate eggs covering part of the forest floor. Above, Jaida, left, and Victoria Elfstrom had some treats while waiting for the hunt to begin.
IN THE HILLIERS/COOMBS AREA
Another drugs-related explosion For the second time in two months, police and fire department personnel have been called to deal with an explosion allegedly related to the production of illegal drugs. The Coombs/Hilliers Volunteer Fire Department and Oceanside RCMP were dispatched to a trailer court on Shawn Road in Coombs on Thursday night after reports of an explosion. Police say when they arrived at the scene, they found two youth with mi-
nor burns outside a trailer. Police say the front window of the trailer and its surrounding frame had been blown out by an apparent explosion. According to the RCMP, the youth admitted that they were using a volatile fuel (butane) to make cannabis oil when an explosion occurred. Police say the youth were very lucky to only sustain minor burns in the explosion. “Everyone needs to be aware of just how dangerous this process is,”
Oceanside RCMP Cpl. Jesse Foreman said through a news release. “Luckily these boys were relatively uninjured. Two explosions resulting from illicit drug production in Oceanside, in less than two months, should serve as warning that this is a foolish and dangerous practice.” Foreman said drug-related charges are being considered by the Oceanside RCMP. — NEWS Staff
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