THURSDAYMARCH 26, 2015
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FRAGMENTS AND MASKS
OXYGEN THERAPY GETTING POPULAR
Photographer, painter combine in one of TOSH’s many exhibits
People of all ages taking advantage of hyperbaric chambers
A35
A6
EDUCATION FUNDING
Flynn firing at premier School trustees say cuts will be ‘devastating’ JOHN HARDING editor@pqbnews.com
The chair of the Vancouver Island School Trustees Association — Nanoose Bay’s Eve Flynn — has attacked the provincial government over its request for school boards to find $54 million in “administrative savings,” calling it “both devastating and detrimental” to the education system. “Your government’s indiscriminate expectations will ensure the erosion of the B.C. Education Plan,” Flynn wrote, adding that the association was also disappointed in Premier Christy Clark “characterizing our valued employees as ‘low hanging fruit’. ” In its February budget, the provincial government asked school districts to come up with a total in B.C. of $29 million in savings this year and $25 million next year. In her letter as VISTA chair, Flynn, also the chair of the board of trustees for School District 69 (Qualicum) suggested students will be negatively affected by boards finding these savings. “The professional growth of our teachers, guided by our district’s educational leaders, will be disrupted and will have a direct impact on our student achievement,” wrote Flynn. Education Minister Peter Fassbender has a different take on the cuts. In a widely-distributed op-ed after the “administrative savings” request was revealed in last month’s budget, Fassbender wrote: “We’re targeting more money for student instruction because we know parents want more teachers and classroom supports, not more administration. They want more of their tax dollars to deepen student learning, not duplicate payroll functions.” See MINISTER DEFENDS, page A7
PETER MCCULLY PHOTO
A pedestrian tries to navigate the crossing of Village Way at the Qualicum Road intersection. Qualicum Beach town council decided it will not pay for an illuminated pedestrian crossing at this intersection any time soon.
QUALICUM BEACH PEDESTRIAN AND VEHICLE SAFETY CONCERNS
Which intersection needs work first? AUREN RUVINSKY
writer@pqbnews.com
Village Way and Qualicum Road won’t get an illuminated pedestrian crossing any time soon, disappointing the new Qualicum Woods Residents’ Association. Council requested a staff report on the possible “special crosswalk” after the association asked for safety improvements to the intersection at the March 2 council meeting. “While this instruction is quite explicit, it is felt that the discussion
would benefit from a more comprehensive review…” started the staff report which suggested looking at the wider context. A key point in the staff report, said director of engineering Bob Weir, is the evaluation matrix they developed for the Age Friendly Transportation Plan in 2013 ranking potential projects based on safety, usage, vulnerable users, cost and the impact on the wider transportation network. That older report lists a roundabout at the intersection as the ninth
highest transportation priority in town, and a traffic signal as the 21st priority. The top three priorities are improvements at Hwy 19A at Country Club Drive, Hwy 19A at Memorial and Berwick Road at Veterans Way (at The Gardens). The 2013 report refers to ICBC statistics listing the Qualicum Road corner as the worst in the city for personal injury and second to Country Club for total crashes. See IMMEDIATE ACTION, page A9
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