Wednesday, March 25, 2015
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Volume 95 - No. 12
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www.ldnews.net
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$1.30 GST inc.
BURNS LAKE
LAKES DISTRICT NEWS Gala honours concert Kira Larson plays If You Ever Meet a Whale at the honours concert of the Lakes District Festival of the Performing Arts. More on page 12. FLAVIO NIENOW PHOTO
Are CFLs safe? Many Canadians have been replacing their regular incandescent light bulbs with compact fluorescent lamps (CFLs). While CFLs are promoted as being energy-efficient, their use has been raising some health concerns.
Story on page 5
Generous donation by Health Auxiliary The Health Care Auxiliary of Burns Lake has donated more than $30,000 to that the Pines Complex Care Facility (the Pines).
Proposed cutbacks to affect Burns Lake
Over 20 per cent of staff at the Lakes District campus of CNC have received layoff notices FLAVIO NIENOW
A total of 10 employees were given layoff notices at the Lakes District campus of the College of New Caledonia (CNC) due to an effort to balance the college’s budget. Some of these employees will be hired back with reduced hours. Henry Reiser, CNC President, said the college is facing a $2.8 million deficit in 2015/16. Rei-
ser said the deficit is partially due to an increase in fixed costs such as utilities and regularization costs. “We have no control over those factors, and we have no additional funding to cover those costs,” he said. Reiser said another factor having a significant affect on the budget was a decision the college made a few years ago to keep tuitions at a lower cost for students. “In 2005, a two per cent tuition and fees cap was put on, and our fees have been substantially lower than the provincial average,” said Reiser. Out of the 10 employees being laid off at the Lakes District campus, six of them are members of the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE), and four of them are represented by the Confederation of University Faculty Associations of B.C. (CUFA BC).
Understand Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder
According to CUFA BC’s collective agreement, layoffs must be notified by March 31. According to CUPE’s collective agreement, employees can be laid off at any time throughout the year. Michelle Culberson, CUPE member and Programs Coordinator at CNC, said these layoffs were devastating news for the Lakes District. “We are a small campus, but we do big things,” she said. “Everyone here cares so much about what they do. This is devastating in so many levels because this is our family.” In order to address the deficit in the budget, Reiser said the college will also work to restructure programs, suspend intakes in some programs and reduce offerings in other programs. “This will give us an opportunity to refresh and revise the programs so that we can relaunch them with appropriate tuition levels and fees, and reduce ...see LAYOFFS ▼ P3
ONLINE University/ College Courses FASD 325 FASD Brain and Behaviour ......April 15 FASD 320 Human Development ...............April 15 FASD 330 Addictions..................................April 15
Story on page 7
Midgets are third best in B.C. The Burns Lake Minor Hockey Midget team took the third place after competing in the 2014-2015 B.C. Hockey Tier 4 Championships held in Clearwater, B.C., during the week of March 14-19.
Story on page 11
Learn from home!
Phone: 250.692.1700 • Fax: 250.692.1750 • Toll Free: 1.866.692.1943 545 Highway 16 West • PO Box 5000, Burns Lake, BC • V0J 1E0 Email: lksdist@cnc.bc.ca • Website: www.cnc.bc.ca/lakesdistrict