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Friday, September 19, 2014
Students expected back on Monday
Long, hot summer
Book ‘em: District 79 staff and teachers expect to launch into action Friday if ratification vote passes
As you’ve probably guessed: this summer the warmest, longest and likely sunniest summer in 25 years Don Bodger
Don Bodger
News Leader Pictorial
News Leader Pictorial
C
owichan Valley students will be back in class Monday, pending the anticipated acceptance by teachers of a tentative contract agreement reached between the B.C. Teachers’ Federation and the provincial government. School District 79 staff has been diligently preparing a plan for the late start-up to the 2014-15 school year and will put it into action once results of the teachers’ vote were known at around 9:30 p.m. after press time Thursday. “Assuming it’s ratified, schools will be open Monday,’’ said SD79 superintendent Joe Rhodes. “It’ll be a two-hour early dismissal day. “Friday becomes a preparatory day for teachers to get back in. Tuesday, we’re back and full into it.’’ Rhodes advised parents to Joe Rhodes: bumps and wrinkles check the SD79 website Friday for all the pertinent details about back to school they’ll Andrew Leong need to know. Buses will be running Monday for the shorter day and then it’s full steam ahead back Todd Heard does a little waterskiing on Shawnigan Lake on Aug. 9, just one of the many people enjoying the warmest Cowichan summer in memory. into the regular routine. “There’s going to be lots of bumps and lots of wrinkles,’’ warned Rhodes. “All in all, we’ll get kids into school Monday and get it sorted out.’’ Exact timetables will certainly require an adjustment period, among other things. Some of the components of the new teachers’ contract, and reasons for acRhodes acknowledged Friday will be hectic, but cepting it, according to the BCTF website are: not as bad for support staff as it could have been. • More teaching positions. “The Education Fund will mean hundreds of new “Because they didn’t picket the actual school sites teaching positions. The new fund negotiated will see $75 million this year, in the summer, the schools are pretty clean,’’ he said. building to $85 million, go exclusively to hiring more classroom and specialist I'm moving! You can find me at my new office located in teachers.’’ Some of the maintenance issues will be dealt with the old at in110 - 80pockets. Station Street in remedy to Immediate funds teachers’ “By using the grievance as time goes along, but there are no leaking roofsEaton's• building downtown Duncan. I look forward to seeing you there. get more money on the table, it takes the uncertainty around court rulings in or anything requiring major work at the moment, the future and turns it into meaningful financial gains in the present. The $105 according to Rhodes. million can be used as a one-time payment to members that will be distributed “I’m optimistic we’re in as good a shape as we can equitably.’’ Chris Schultz, CFP®, BBA, RRC® be under the circumstances of being behind picket • Prep time gains forAdvisor most elementary teachers. “Most locals only have 90 Investment lines all summer,’’ he said. minutes of prep time per week. This agreement will increase that to 100 minutes Scotia Capital Inc. On the teachers’ side, Cowichan District Teachers’ and then again to 110 minutes.’’ 110 80 Station Street Association president Naomi Nilsson said voting • Benefi ts improvements. vast majority of teachers will have access to Duncan (BC) V9L“The 1M4 on the tentative agreement was being conducted at betterTel.: extended health and dental coverage, and Teachers Teaching on Call will (778) 422-3240 various sites Thursday afternoon. see improvements in lieu of benefits.” chris.schultz@holliswealth.com more on page A3
On the move!
Details on the teachers’ deal
On the move!
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he calendar summer of 2014 ends Tuesday and is going down as the warmest and sunniest in the last quartercentury, maybe longer. Chris Carss, a volunteer weather observer for Environment Canada, doesn’t have data prior to 1991 when he came to Chemainus, but since that time, nothing compares to this never-ending summer. In fact, Carss pinpoints this long stretch of weather actually goes back to May 12, which he terms the beginning of our meteorological summer. Based on statistics from the main two summer months of July and August, summer 2014 beats the previous warmest summer in 2003 by slightly less than one degree Celsius. “The daily mean summer temperature...was 20.6 this year in Chemainus while inland localities — which are significantly cooler at night — were lower at 19.8,’’ Carss pointed out. The mean monthly temperature, an average of daily low and high temperatures, was 19.8C for Chemainus in summer 2003. In 2014, the mean monthly value for Chemainus reached 20.6C, almost a full degree warmer. As for mean maximums, in Chemainus it was 25C in 2003, with the daytime shoreline cooling effect, while slightly higher inland at 26.1C away from the shoreline effect. “In 2014, the mean maximum at Chemainus was 25.6C for the summer which was about 1.5C warmer than in 2003,’’ Carss indicated. “Communities farther inland were also warmer at 26.1C. However, the warmer inland daytime highs were the same at 26.1C both years. “Whether the summer of 2014 was warmer or the same as 2003 depended on where you were and if you are comparing afternoon high temperatures or daily means based on the maximum and minimum temperatures. “What seems likely is that this meteorological summer — or period of summer weather — is going to be longer than in 2003 for a new record, and the core summer months of July and August of 2014 are a bit drier and sunnier than in 2003.’’ Rainfall for the two years from June to Sept. 18 comes out as a dead heat, with 26 days with rainfall during the same period both years. “For the core summer months of July and August, there was 12 wet days in 2003 and 10 wet days this year,” Carss noted. Carss does not keep official records of sunshine hours. “But during the summer in our climate, there is usually a good inverse relation of the number of wet days to the number of sunny days,’’ Carss indicated. “So based on that, I think 2014 had the sunniest summer as well. If the summer weather continues into early October, it will also be the longest summer weather in the can past quarter century.’’ I'm moving! You find me at my new office locate
I’m moving! You can find me at my new office located in the old Eaton’s building at 110 - 80 Station Street in downtown Duncan. I look forward to seeing you there. holliswealth.com Trademark of The Bank of Nova Scotia, used under license. HollisWealth is a division of Scotia Capital Inc., a member of the Canadian Investor Protection Trademark of The Bank of NovaIndustry Scotia, used under license. HollisWealth is division of Scotia Capital Inc., a member of the Canadian Investor Protection Fund and the Investment Regulatory Organization ofaCanada. Fund and the Investment Industry Regulatory Organization of Canada.
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I'm moving! You can find me at my new office located in the old Eaton's building at 110 - 80 Station Street in downtown Duncan. I look forward to seeing you there.
On the move!
the old Eaton's building at 110 - 80 Station Street in downtown Duncan. I look forward to seeing you ther Chris Schultz, CFP®, BBA, RRC® Investment Advisor Scotia Capital Inc. 110 - 80 Station Street Duncan (BC) V9L 1M4 Tel.: (778) 422-3240 chris.schultz@holliswealth.com