KAMLOOPS THIS WEEK THURSDAY
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30 CENTS AT NEWSSTANDS
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NOVEMBER 30, 2017 | Volume 30 No. 143
WEATHER Chance of flurries High 5 C Low -2 C
SUN PEAKS SNOW REPORT Mid-mountain: 62 cm Alpine: 81 cm Snow phone: 250-578-7232
RUNNING FOR BRENNAN
HEATING UP AFTER SLOW START
Sister honouring brother’s memory
We look at Garrett Pilon and the Kamloops Blazers
A17
A21
From left: Twila Manson, Torrem Manson and Krystal Jeffery are the faces behind the idea of an outdoor school, one that would be a new school of choice in the Kamloops-Thompson school district. DAVE EAGLES/KTW
More Mounties on city streets? ANDREA KLASSEN STAFF REPORTER andrea@kamloopsthisweek.com
WHERE THE CLASS IS OUTDOORS DALE BASS
STAFF REPORTER
dale@kamloopsthisweek.com
T
wila Manson and husband Torrem had their plan in place. They were going to enrol their young son in the environmental school in Maple Ridge, a school in which teaching revolves around integrating imagination and ecology. A move to Kamloops nixed that plan, so the Mansons and child-care centre operator Krystal Jeffrey are taking the first steps toward eventually establishing an
outdoor school locally under the KamloopsThompson school district’s schools of choice policy. The idea isn’t as far-fetched as some might think. Research has shown the value of experiential learning surrounded by nature, with lessons outside as much as possible. Field trips don’t really exist because students are outside doing things every day. The school in Maple Ridge was created through a partnership between Simon Fraser University, School District 42 and other community groups.
It began as a kindergarten to Grade 7 program, but has expanded to Grade 12. Manson said the pair is hoping to find like-minded people who might be interested in helping with the initiative. Information is available on Facebook by searching “Kamloops Green School Initiative.” Kamloops-Thompson school district assistant superintendent Rob Schoen said the board is open to any proposal under its choice policy as long as proponents follow the process outlined in it. See OUTDOOR SCHOOL, A6
With the number of Mounties in Kamloops on the rise and Kamloops RCMP pushing for more, Mayor Ken Christian said the city needs to start calculating the cost of the opioid crisis and making sure the province knows what it is spending. “These costs are very real and they’re the impact of something we hadn’t anticipated even a year ago,” Christian told council at a budget meeting Tuesday. “There’s a significant and, I think, demonstrable draw on our civic funds that should be a shared cost.” RCMP Supt. Brad Mueller will appear before council next week to ask for six additional officers, to bring Kamloops’ detachment up to 130 members over the next few years. CAO David Trawin said the city will technically need to agree to fund 136 members, and ask for even more than that, because communities in B.C. typically receive fewer officers than the number in their requests. In 2017, the city budgeted for 121 RCMP officers, but saw its detachment grow to about 124 members, the result of a 2015 request for more Mounties. Covering those additional members will cost the city $550,000 this year, a tax increase of about $10 per average home assessed at $377,000. If council agrees to Mueller’s pitch for additional members, the city would increase the policing budget by two members each year in 2019 and 2020, at a cost of about $175,000 per person. Should some members show up early, the city’s policing reserve fund would cover their costs for that year. Trawin said the summer’s wildfires that sent evacuees to Kamloops and issues with the opioid crisis have strained the detachment this year. He said the city likely can’t avoid additional policing costs. See TAX HIKE, A12