Wednesday April 29, 2015 www.saobserver.net $1.25 GST INCLUDED
Murder case heads to court By Tim Petruk
KAMLOOPS THIS WEEK
Murder proceedings against a man and woman accused in a 2008 schoolyard shooting death in Salmon Arm began this week in a Kamloops courtroom. Tyler Myers was shot to death next to Bastion Elementary School on Nov. 21, 2008. The 22-yearold’s body was discovered the following day. Four years later, a 20-year-old man and a 21-year-old woman were arrested and charged with first-degree murder. Because both accused were youths at the time of the alleged murder, neither can be named. At the time of the arrests, police said both of the accused were known to Myers. On Monday, lawyers began three weeks of voir-dire hearings aimed at sorting out issues with evidence ahead of an anticipated jury trial getting underway in August. The evidence heard during the voir dires is bound by a court-ordered publication ban.
Man implicated in fatal crash By Tracy Hughes
EVAN BUHLER/OBSERVER
Looking for logos: With the new school district administration building in the background, District Parent Advisory Council executive Kari Wilkinson, Pearl Hiemstra and Heather Hamlin Gravells want to see changes, including decal identification on all school district vehicles.
DPAC wants top-down cuts
Education: Parents concerned about expenses, ‘fancy’ vehicles. By Tracy Hughes
OBSERVER STAFF
OBSERVER STAFF
A Salmon Arm man is facing charges after a two-car crash on the Trans-Canada Highway near the B.C.-Alberta border on April 24 left a 37-yearold Calgary man dead and another injured. Golden-Field RCMP say the crash happened at about 7:15 p.m., three kilometres east of Field. “At this time we believe that the eastbound vehicle failed to negotiate a curve striking an oncoming westbound vehicle,” Const. Spencer Lainchbury said in a media release. The 32-year-old Calgary man driving the westbound vehicle was treated by paramedics at the scene, but his passenger, a 37-year-old Calgary man, died at the scene. The driver of the eastbound vehicle, a 33-yearold Salmon Arm man, was seriously injured and airlifted to hospital in Calgary but is expected to survive. See RCMP on page A2
Members of the District Parents Advisory Council have come up with their own ideas for making the $1.8 million cuts needed to balance School District #83’s budget – and they are wielding sharp pencils and not shying away from controversial topics. “Parents have had enough,” says Kari Wilkinson, who became president of the District Parents Advisory Council (DPAC) earlier this month. Upset about the school district’s proposed budget cuts, the DPAC decided to present its own version to school district trustees and administration at a meeting last week. “I think it’s fair to say the reaction included raised eyebrows and ruffled
This week After a few years of decline, minor baseball is making a comeback. See A15 for more. Theatre-lovers can enjoy Pack of Lies on stage for the next two weekends. See A20 for a review.
feathers,” says Wilkinson. Glenn Borthistle, district superintendent, says the board values the public input it has received, both in meetings with the DPAC and the various employee groups, as well as the response from parents and the general public in the form of letters or phone calls. “We have received a lot of feedback and a lot of fair comment. The district and board will be reviewing all the submissions as part of our budget process which will continue right up to the meeting on May 12.” That is the date when the school board is expected to vote on the final budget options. Currently, more cuts have been suggested than needed, so some of the proposed cutbacks will be reinstated in this year’s budget. “We are following up on everything
to look at how to tighten up what we are doing,” says Bobbi Johnson, school board chair. Wilkinson says parents on the DPAC think there needs to be more accountability and transparency when it comes to the budget process and expenses. She worked with the DPAC executive including secretary Heather Hamlin-Gravells and treasurer Pearl Hiemstra, to develop their own budget options. The school district’s proposed reductions to the 2015/2016 budget include cutting student services such as literacy intervention, music, speech and language support, services for deaf and hard-of-hearing students and See Board on page A4
Index Opinion ....................... A6 View Point .................. A7 Life & Times ............... A8 Time Out................... A10 Sports................A15-A17 Arts & Events ... A19-A22 Vol. 108, No. 17, 44 pages