Moto magic Riders compete in motocross nationals at Wastelands track.
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www.nanaimobulletin.com
TUESDAY, JUNE 9, 2015
VOL. 27, NO. 9
Sailors start
The 2015 Van Isle 360 began Saturday, with 51 vessels sailing out of Nanaimo’s harbour. Competitors will head north to Comox, through the Johnstone Strait and past Nawhitti Bar. It’s the 10th biannual race, which wraps up June 20 in Nanaimo. To track the race as it moves around Vancouver Island, please visit www.vanisle360. com. More photos can also be found at www.nanaimo bulletin.com.
A coalition of parents is asking the Nanaimo school board to put its decision to re-open Cedar Community Secondary School in context of the entire 10-year facilities plan. The Coalition of Nanaimo-Ladysmith Secondary School Parent Advisory Councils, comprised of a majority of district high school parent councils, made the request to trustees at the June 3 education committee meeting. The school district is reviewing the facilities plan. Earlier in the year, the board reversed part of the plan that saw the closure of the Cedar school and its conversion to an elementary school. “We ask that you hold in abeyance
the decision to re-open Cedar secondary until the first draft of the longterm facilities plan is complete,” said Ed Chan, coalition spokesman and outgoing president of John Barsby’s parent council. “Once the board situates Cedar school within a draft long-term facilities plan, our coalition would welcome re-opening Cedar school in whatever form ... as long as the board is able to show it makes educational sense, it makes fiscal sense and it makes community sense,” he said. The coalition is also asking the district to bring in an independent advisor to help the board with the remainder of the review, in order to provide a “fresh set of eyes,” and is seeking to engage with the board in good faith to influence the facilities plan. It also asks the district to close and
BY TAMARA CUNNINGHAM THE NEWS BULLETIN
consolidate schools where it makes fiscal and strategic sense. Steve Rae, school board chairman, said he respected the coalition’s passion for public education, but said plans to re-open Cedar will still go ahead. “We’re moving forward with the facilities plan coming out. We’re not changing Cedar, we’re not going back and getting a special advisor and we have great, qualified staff that are putting together a facilities plan,” said Rae. “We have a lot of talented people that know our district well,” he added. The coalition has the support of the Nanaimo school district parent advisory council, but is not associated with it, according to Chan. reporter@nanaimobulletin.com
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Parents ask trustees to put Cedar re-opening on hold BY KARL YU
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MAYOR PLANS to reach out to comptroller for instructions after meeting in Victoria.
Six Nanaimo politicians travelled to Victoria last week to get the province to see beyond the concrete, earth and stone of the Colliery dams. “All differences aside from council and how fractious it’s been in the community, this is about us going to the ministry and saying this park and these little dams represent far more to the community than just a couple of structures,” said Mayor Bill McKay, whose council wanted to relay what “magical places” the dams are. Five city councillors and the mayor met with the comptroller and deputy minister of forests, lands and natural resource operations in Victoria on Thursday to explain the Colliery quagmire, what the structures mean to the community emotionally and the need for more time to work on the structures. It comes after the city won a temporary hold on an order to remediate the Colliery dams as the Environment Appeal Board considers its stay application. Coun. Bill Bestwick said the goal was to express their political position on the situation council finds itself in and build a relationship with the deputy minister and the office ultimately responsible for making a final decision. He said the office did more listening than talking and council will have to wait and see what the next steps are but he thought it went “really good.” McKay agrees, and said he now plans to reach out to the comptroller to understand what his take away of the meeting was and instructions for council.
KARL YU THE NEWS BULLETIN
THE NEWS BULLETIN
Ministry meets with council on Colliery dams
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