Hope Standard Thursday, August 14, 2014 A5
News
meet jamie’s crew
Sister city visit
Brandon Kodallas Brandon has been involved at JDMT for years doing flagging and swamping. Last season, he also kept busy driving the company Tundra as part of the Incident Response Team that assists operations in B.C. and Alberta. Now with some towing and recovery courses under his belt, he’s ready to move up the ranks of heavy rescue.
Deb Gerlach Deb is new to the world of towing and recovery and recently completed her flagging course so that she could work alongside her long-time boyfriend, light- and heavy-duty driver Wayne Sihata. As a flagger, she takes pride in keeping everyone safe and in good spirits out on the highways, even when conditions are at their worst. Drawn in part by the mountains, Deb moved to Hope last summer and says she loves living in a town that has such a friendly community.
SUBMITTED PHOTO
Mayor Susan Johnston (middle) met with Seiji Okada, Consul-General of Japan, and his wife at district hall last Thursday. They discussed the relationship between Hope and its sister city Izu, Japan, and the possibility of Hope members of council and youth visiting Izu in the future. The district has not gone to Izu for several years while Izu has sent delegations here several times, which included youth exchanges. They also discussed Okada’s research into the lives of Japanese immigrants and their families living in Canada since the late 19th Century. The mayor took the Okada’s on a short tour of the Japanese Gardens and district hall. As a further token of Hope’s well wishes for the people of Japan, and Izu in particular, a copy of the book Forging a New Hope was sent to the consulate to aid in their research.
Highway Thru Hell Fact
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JDMT and the Highway Thru Hell crew faced a record-breaking snowfall on the Coquihalla during Àlming in February 2014. 300 centimetres of snowfall fell in the month of February alone.
Black Press
A Fraser Institute report on aboriginal schools, released last Thursday, was a slap in the face for B.C.’s on-reserve schools. The report, Myths and Realities of First Nations Education, highlighted a lack of structure, over funding, and abysmal graduation rates compared to public schools. Many on-reserve schools don’t meet provincial educational standards, the study found. It noted on-reserve graduation rates averaged below 40 per cent compared to over 75 per cent in provincial schools. It also found that national per-student funding for First Nations on-reserve students is equal to, or in some provinces, more than funding for all other Canadian students. However, Tyrone McNeil, president of the First Nations Education Steering Committee (FNESC) said the report is a blatant misrepresentation of fact for on-reserve schools in B.C.
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“It’s just typical bologna coming out of the Fraser Institute,” said McNeil. “The Fraser Institute’s problem is that they pan nationalize everything. There is no doubt there are some regions in Canada where First Nations may not have curriculum standards or teacher certifications. But B.C. First Nations is beyond that.” Since 1998, all teachers employed in on-reserve schools in B.C. must be provincially certified. As well, organizations like FNESC and the First Nations Schools Association have been working for years on standardizing curriculum and upgrading infrastructure to meet the provincial standard. They’ve partnered with the provincial government, as well as other educational bodies like the BC School Trustees Association and BC Teachers Federation. “None of that is referenced in the Fraser Institute report at all,” said McNeil. McNeil said the report wasn’t surprising given the source.
“Fraser Institute basically finds the weakest region in the country and then tries to inform the public that that’s the standard across the country,” he said. “It’s obviously wrong, but they get away with it.” In B.C., there are 130 on-reserve schools, 26 of which go to Grade 12. At Seabird Island’s kindergarten to Grade 12 school, 20 per cent of students attending are non-aboriginal. The provincial government currently provides reciprocal, per-student funding to on-reserve schools as long as they meet the minimum provincial standard. Last year, it provided approximately $10 million in per-student funding. “It’s important for B.C. readers, when they look at the Fraser Institute report, to recognize that what we’re doing in on-reserve K-12 schools isn’t recognized in that report anywhere,” said McNeil. “It’s pretty telling when the province is coughing up $10 million to our system – they’ve got tremendous trust in what it is we’re doing.”
UFV + NASA Looking for signs of life.
Tuesday-Friday 9:00am-5:00pm
t Hope Drive -I a donatio n with n to Hope Search & Rescue .
WATCH EACH WEEK FOR A NE HIGHWAY THRU HELL FACT W A CHANCE TO WIN 2 TICKE AND TS TO THE SEASON 3 PREMIERE PART Y PLUS A HIGHWAY THRU HE LL MERCHANDISE PACK AGE!!
New report on First Nations schools Katie Bartel
Highway Thru Hell Posters available a
1.877.869.8440
F: 604.869.8460 info@jamiedavistowing.com Head Office: 19683 Silver Skagit Rd. Hope BC V0X 1L2
Serving British Columbia (Hope) and Alberta (Fort McMurray, Lac la Biche, Edmonton)
HIGHWAY THRU HELL FACT QUIZ WRITE THE ANSWER TO THE QUESTIONS IN THE SPACE PROVIDED. FACTS WILL BE LISTED HERE EACH WEEK FROM JULY 24 - AUG. 21. #1
Who rescued a Great Pacific TV director?
#2
How many hours of footage was shot in season 3?
#3
How many trucks are in JDMT fleet?
EN TO WTER IN
#4
Name:
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Once you have completed the entry form, drop your entry off at the Hope Standard office, 540 Wallace St. or email it to sales@hopestandard.com before 5 pm on August 26th. Prizes will be accepted as awarded, no cash value and no further correspondence will be entered into.
UFV researchers are helping NASA understand the environment of odd life forms. Investigating the universe from the bottom of an ancient lake, right here in BC.
Published Thursday
ufv.ca/40 AH-2014-0012