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Vol. 64, Issue 104
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College Celebrates 39th Annual Convocation DA RRYL SCHMIDT
College of the Rockies President and CEO, David Walls, presided over the College’s 39th convocation ceremony on Friday, May 29. In his address, Walls commended students for their courage in pursuing education as a means to transform their lives and encouraged them to continue to be lifelong learners into the future. The ceremony began with the presentation of academic medals. The Lieutenant Governor’s Silver Medal, awarded to a student who has exceled in a vocational or career program and who contributed in a positive way to life at the College, was presented to Chantelle deJersey. Chantelle completed the Certified Dental Assistant program and plans to continue to remain and work in Cranbrook. The Governor General’s Bronze Medal, considered to be the greatest honour that can be bestowed upon a graduate of a two-year program, is awarded to the student who has achieved the highest academic standing
SUBMITTED
Left to right: College of the Rockies Board Chair Dave Handy celebrates with academic medal recipients Kyler Robertson, Chantelle deJersey and Hannah Van Der Roest, and President and CEO David Walls. upon graduating from a twoyear diploma or associate degree program. This year’s recipient was Kyler Robert-
son. Kyler graduated from the Business Administration Marketing program and has recent-
ly returned from studying in the Dominican Republic on a scholarship where he was able to complete some of his
College of the Rockies courses online. Kyler will be returning to the College to complete the Bachelor of
Business program.
Administration
See COLLEGE, Page 4
Five kayakers rescued RDEK directors spar over from Kootenay River local fire dispatch services TRE VOR CR AWLEY
FOR THE TOWNSMAN
Five people in three kayaks were rescued after they overturned in the Kootenay River near Skookumchuck on Saturday afternoon. Search and Rescue Teams were activated by the Emergency Coordination Center after receiving a report of persons needing assistance. Kimberley RCMP, Police Dog Service and BC Ambulance were also involved in the call out. The call for assistance was received Saturday, May 30 at 2:30 pm after the kayaks overturned in the swift water. Two of the kayakers were able to safely get to shore and call for help. Two others managed to make it to shore downstream and one was missing.
Nine SAR members from Kimberley and Cranbrook were involved. With the variable conditions of the river two SAR members conducted an assessment with a helicopter. Two subjects were spotted and safely removed. The third subject was spotted and after transporting the other subjects to a waiting ambulance they were able to go back and safely pick up the last subject. Two of the subjects had minor injuries. The results could have been tragic for all involved but the risk was significantly greater for one person who was pinned against a log jam by the flowing water for a period of time.
See KAYAKERS, Page 3
Board directors sparred over fire dispatching services and the option renewing a contract with the City of Cranbrook at last week’s Regional District meeting. The contract, which is handled by the Cranbrook emergency services and dispatches fire services to 14 areas within the RDEK, is set to expire in December. The board directors discussed the merits of renewing the fiveyear contract, which would come with a significant cost increase, or going to a ‘Request for Proposal’ (RFP) from other service providers. Though the RDEK hasn’t moved to the RFP process, there have been expressions of interest
from outside dispatching service providers such as North Island 9-1-1, E-Comm 9-1-1 and the City of Surrey Fire Service. Rob Gay, the chair of the RDEK board, said the intent is to balance the level of service with the cost. While extending the contract with the Cranbrook Fire and Emergency Services makes sense, the goal is getting the best service for the best price, he added. “We understand it’s a new contract, prices have gone up so we expect to pay more — that’s probably natural — but if we don’t reach an agreement with them, I think a fallback position is then we go to the broader market,” Gay said. The board voted 8-5 in favour
of pursing a re-negotiation with Cranbrook Fire and Emergency Services. It was a weighted vote, meaning that Cranbrook Mayor Lee Pratt and Cranbrook City Councillor Tom Shypitka were not able to participate. Some of the pushback was from board directors who felt that the RDEK should go directly into an RFP process. “I believe that moving directly to an RFP will save time and give us an idea of what the cost is from other outside providers before we’ve just negotiated directly with our current provider,” said Mike Sosnowski, the Area A director.
See RDEK, Page 4