InteriorNEWS THE
109th Year - Week 9 •
Wednesday, March 2, 2016
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www.interior-news.com
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54 Days To Go
Angelika Langen from the Northern Lights Wildlife Society holds black bear cubs Nutmeg and Pepper, who are being nursed at the shelter after they were orphaned near 100 Mile House. The brothers are among four infant cubs being cared for at the shelter near Smithers. Story, A14. Alicia Bridges photo
Affordable housing SAGA ends Ranger Park opens house as council decides its fate
By Alicia Bridges
Smithers/Interior News
Smithers Mayor Taylor Bachrach and SkeenaBulkley Valley MP Nathan Cullen have promised to push for more investment in affordable housing after a local community group ran out of funding to campaign for a new complex. Volunteers from the Smithers Action Group Association (SAGA) had been working for ten years to develop a supportive living complex, which would provide staff assistance for people who need help to stay housed. Over the years, the non-profit society had commissioned a feasibility study, preliminary plans for the complex, and a report based on the findings of a 2014 survey of the homeless population. But on Feb. 10, SAGA’s board of directors voted to dissolve the society due to a lack of funding and
resources. “Our decision to dissolve the society has been a very difficult one,” said SAGA president Joanne Voss. “It comes at a time when issues of homelessness are as important as ever in this community and the need for supportive housing must remain a top priority.” Voss said any development would rely on provincial funding from BC Housing. “They haven’t come forward with any money so far and the last that I spoke to them they talked about it being a couple of years down the road,” said Voss. “SAGA was just a small group, five of us, and had no funding so we couldn’t hire anybody, so we just found that it was getting to be a bit much for those few of us that were on the board of directors.” See LEADERS on A4
Smithers/Interior News
Ranger Park Nature Pre-School is holding two open houses as Smithers council mulls its fate. The open houses are on March 8 and 18 at the Ranger Park building on Sixteenth Avenue. In between, council is holding a public meeting to hear what residents have to say about the possible closure of the subsidized pre-school. The committee of the whole on March 14 will be less formal than
most, with plenty of opportunity for those who come to town hall to have their say, according to CAO Anne Yanciw. She added that the open houses are an effort to increase the continually declining enrolment at the pre-school, which last faced closure in 2014 but was saved after many residents bemoaned its loss. That public support did not translate to more kids joining. This fall saw 103 kids participate, down from 121 in 2014 and 205 in 2011. See PRE-SCHOOL on A5
NO CHARGES IN BB GUN SHOOTING Victims choose restorative justice instead of criminal charges.
SPECIAL OLYMPICS SKIER IN NFLD. Torben Schuffert goes to Corner Brook nationals to see friends and compete.
FEDS APPROVE REFUGEE PLAN Hazelton sponsors receive OK from federal immigration authority.
NEWS/A3
SPORTS/A9
THREE RIVERS/A23
Friday Only! see last page in A
By Chris Gareau
All Kellogg’s Jumbo Cereal Assorted Varieties & Sizes
5
$ 99