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DECEMBER 19, 2018 | Volume 31 No. 101
WEATHER Sun and clouds High 7 C Low C SNOW REPORT Sun Peaks Resort Mid-mountain: 98 cm Alpine: 114 cm Harper Mountain Opens Dec. 22
30 CENTS AT NEWSSTANDS
WEDNESDAY
WHERE’S WINTER?
RENTALS RISING
It has been unseasonably warm in Kamloops
More units mean a likely change in vacancy rate
NEWS/A5
BUSINESS/A23
SD73 will re-open Westsyde elementary SCHOOL WAS CLOSED IN 2006 DUE TO DECLINING ENROLMENT AT THE TIME MICHAEL POTESTIO
STAFF REPORTER
michael@kamloopsthisweek.com
DAVE EAGLES/KTW
A ROSE FOR ANGELO
A single red rose was placed on Tuesday at the spot in council chambers where veteran Radio NL reporter Angelo Iacobucci sat for decades. The 60-year-old died suddenly on Friday, with his death eliciting numerous memories from across the province. Yesterday’s Kamloops council meeting began with a reading on the importance of journalism. For more on the legacy of Iacobucci, turn to page A4 and go online to kamloopsthisweek.com.
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School District 73 intends to reopen Westsyde elementary next year to deal with increasing enrolment at nearby David Thompson elementary. The board of education has unanimously approved moving to re-open the school, which was closed, along with Oak Hills elementary in Westsyde, in June 2006 due to declining enrolment. Enrolment at David Thompson elementary sits at 425 students, with a projected 430 students attending next fall, making the need for a catchment area change and the re-opening of Westsyde elementary necessary to alleviate pressure on the K-7 school, according to SD73’s 2018-2019 long term facilities report. The school is at 125 per cent of capacity, which is based on the Ministry of Education’s calculation that 341 students make up 100 per cent capacity in David Thompson elementary. “David Thompson elementary currently has three portables. It is our smallest physical school with over 400 students ‌ it is full,â€? SD73 facilities director Art McDonald said. Having consulted with school principals, McDonald said the maximum number of students an elementary
school can accommodate, depending on its size, is between 425 and 450. The proposed catchment boundary would see students living north of Pine Springs Road and Overlander Road attend Westsyde elementary, dropping enrolment at David Thompson elementary to 250 students next fall. The school district estimates 175 students would move to Westsyde elementary. A public consultation process is now required to change the catchment areas, a process trustees directed district staff to begin in early 2019. The board will then need to approve the catchment change. The Westsyde elementary building is currently leased by the City of Kamloops and is home to the 2014 Black Maria cadets and to fitness classes connected to the Westsyde Pool and Fitness Centre. School board chair Kathleen Karpuk told KTW user groups that rent space in the building after school hours may still be able to do so, but any that use it during weekdays may need to move to a new location. “We’ll have to check and see and find out what spaces they’re using and go from there, but we’re hopeful that groups that are using it for after school times would still be able to be accommodated,� said Karpuk.
See MORE PORTABLES, A6