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KAMLOOPS THIS WEEK THURSDAY
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JUNE 18, 2015 | Volume 28 No. 73
Neighbours of this topsoil-producing facility in Barnhartvale say biosolids are making them sick. DAVE EAGLES/KTW
New curriculum will focus on aboriginal story DIRK MEISSNER
THE CANADIAN PRESS
BIOSOLIDS IN THE WIND?
Dallas residents claim dust from a nearby topsoil facility is making them sick ANDREA KLASSEN
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group of residents living below Blackwell Farms claim they’re developing health problems due to dust coming off a topsoil production facility which uses biosolids as part of its mix, but the company responsible says dust blowing in the area isn’t coming from its finished product. For the past year and a half, Arrow Trucking has
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rented a 30-acre parcel of land from Ted Blackwell where it mixes topsoil using class A and B biosolids, as well as soil, gravel, sawdust and sand. All of the soil is used on Blackwell’s lands. A small group of residents led by activist Ruth Madsen, were at Kamloops city council Tuesday to raise their concerns about Arrow’s operations and raise the spectre of a possible boycott of Blackwell Dairy, also located on the property. City CAO David Trawin said city staff have no issue with the Arrow operation, which is
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considered a permitted farm use under the ALC, and is permitted by the city’s zoning bylaws. Further regulation is up to the provincial Ministry of Environment. Madsen said someone needs to pay to test dust blowing into neighbouring homes, which they claim to be the source of some locals’ respiratory issues and eye infections. Madsen said she believes the dust is coming from Arrow’s biosolids. “On windy days they can’t go outside. It comes through their screens onto their kitchen tables. And we’re talking
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bio waste,” she said. Resident Gary Knox, who lives in Gateway Estates, said the company is contaminating air and water with “toxic waste.” But, Tim Bell, general manager of Arrow, said the dust blowing in Dallas isn’t coming from either the facility’s biosolids or the topsoil it produces, but other operations in the area, which include a gravel pit, landfill and a pile of sawdust Arrow is storing on its rented land.
VICTORIA — Students in British Columbia will learn about the ongoing legacy of Canada’s residential schools when revised and expanded curriculum is implemented. The kindergarten-to-Grade-12 curriculum that addresses aboriginal history, culture and perspectives is about to be released to B.C. teachers and schools in preparation for the new academic year. B.C.’s Aboriginal Relations and Reconciliation Minister John Rustad said in a statement that students will study topics such as discrimination, inequality, oppression and the impacts of colonialism. He said an example of the enhancements would be kindergarten students will also be expected to learn about aboriginals’ use of indigenous plants and animals, while Grade 5 students will learn about aboriginal environmental stewardship. Rustad’s comments are part of the B.C. government’s response to the 94 recommendations contained in the Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s report on the residential-school system. After six years of hearings, the report concluded Canada’s residential-school system was a form of cultural genocide. “In education, B.C. is about to take a major step forward that will respond to one of the primary calls to action,’’ Rustad said. “The integration of the history and ongoing legacy of the residential-school system will be further enhanced in the new curriculum, particularly when students’ study topics such as discrimination, inequality, oppression and the impacts of colonialism.’’
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