Page 16— Ha-Shilth-Sa—November 17, 2016
Ahousaht Administrator Rob Bullock
Ahousaht AGM
Continued from page 8. Furthermore, Ahousaht’s 16-year-old fire truck is nearing the end of its lifespan. Ahousaht council is working on replacing the existing truck with two smaller pumpers. The smaller trucks will not mean diminished firefighting capacity in the community. Ahousaht Administrator Rob Bullock has worked hard to improve Ahousaht’s financial standing and has had good success with the cooperation of department managers. The community will soon have improved internet in the New Year after Telus installs fiber optic cable. When Telus is finished digging up the roads workers will come in to pave the roads. Improved internet will create jobs here in Ahousaht. In financial news, Bulloch reported that Ahousaht leadership has applied for $52 million in project funding. Funding has been approved for 12 projects, including for: waste water treatment, the elementary school roof, gym seismic upgrades, road and drainage improvements, a new 4-plex teacherage, the Anderson creek water main, solid waste collection, a 6-plex housing unit, a skateboard park, a WiFi cell tower, a medical building expansion, and lighting for the main dock. Bulloch says he is waiting for funding approval for remaining projects. Rod Sam asked about a cemetery upgrade and was told the nation applied for $600,000 to develop a new cemetery. There are serious issues with the water table at the old cemetery, which is a beach adjacent to Ahousaht. Bullock is meeting with provincial government officials in the coming weeks to discuss the cemetery, and the bureaucracy. Education Director Rebecca Atleo reported that Ahousaht Education Authority purchased school vehicles that require drivers with class 4 licenses. The AEA audits have come back great, she reported. Currently, the AEA has 60 employees and have hired six more. They are proud to say there are several Ahousaht members who are certified teachers and are working in the school, including Terri Robinson, Francine Frank, Rose Frank, Aaron Keitlah, Patti Burridge and Ketchkie Frank. This year there are more than 60 Ahousaht members enrolled in postsecondary, up from 40 last year. Elementary school principal Pehgee Aranas said the school has been working hard on improving student reading skills. Through a team effort they have raised the reading levels going from 80 per cent below national average to 30 per cent
below and they continue to improve. High school principal Joe McHale says he’s focused on improving graduation rates and on programs that will help students succeed in post-secondary institutions. The high school graduation rate across Canada, according to McHale is 63 per cent for First Nations students. Maaqtusiis High School’s graduation rate has been 80 to 90 per cent. Housing Manager Caroline Atleo said her department has been busy cleaning up the shoddy work of contractors on new homes. Going forward she said she will demand that contractors guarantee their work, because in the past they haven’t. Her staff collects rental payments and works on bringing the new houses up to acceptable safety standards. Tracey Frank is working on bringing privately-owned homes up to health and safety standards, but she said she has a limited budget and no work crew. She borrows crew from the housing department when they have time. Chief Louie said that a new Ahousaht Housing Policy will be written by Tom Paul through government funding. Paul said he will be consulting with Ahousahts in an effort to get their input into the policy.
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