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JULY 31, 2019 | Volume 32 No. 61
30 CENTS AT NEWSSTANDS
WEDNESDAY
TODAY’S WEATHER
Sunny and hot High 31 C Low 14 C
CHANGE AT THE TOP
WEST VIC UPDATE
Bryce Herman is no longer president of the NSBIA
Timeline revised, while businesses offer ideas
BUSINESS/A19
NEWS/A6, A7
Math teacher gets reprimanded for comments to student MICHAEL POTESTIO STAFF REPORTER michael@kamloopsthisweek.com
A Kamloops teacher has been reprimanded for inappropriate comments he made to a female student — one of multiple interactions with students that led to disciplinary action from the Kamloops-Thompson school district. According to a consent resolution reached with the B.C. Commissioner for Teacher Regulation, the student reported feeling uncomfortable when math teacher Scott Edward James Watson commented that it would be difficult to wipe after going to the bathroom, given the length of her manicured nails. The conversation occurred in late May or early June of 2018, during which Watson also asked the student how she washed her hair or typed, considering her nails were long and jewelled. On June 26, 2018, the school district suspended Watson for one day without pay, which he served on June 28, 2018. The suspension came after two other incidents of inappropriate comments to students from Watson. According to the report, on Oct. 3, 2017, the school district sent
Watson a letter advising him to “take more care with your comments to students and ensure that all communication with them remains respectful.” The letter was sent after Watson made inappropriate comments to a student. However, two months later — on Dec. 13, 2017 — the school district reprimanded Watson for engaging in inappropriate conversations with students. The district directed him to take a Justice Institute of BC course called Reinforcing Respectful Professional Boundaries, which he did in March of 2018, a few months prior to the offence that led to his one-day suspension. On Sept. 14, 2018, the commissioner considered the matter and proposed the consent resolution, which stipulates Watson understands the wiping comments constitute professional misconduct and takes his previous infractions into account in determining a reprimand is the appropriate consequence. The agreement was signed earlier this month — by Watson on July 2 and by B.C. Commissioner for Teacher Regulation commissioner Howard L. Kushner on July 18. Watson has been a teacher since September 2007.
ALLEN DOUGLAS/KTW
FIRE IN THE HOLE!
Unlike most of the rest of us, Greg Frisbee can play with fire because he is a pro. Frisbee was one of seven acts entertaining the thousands of people who visited Riverside Park on the weekend for the second annual Kamloops International Buskers Festival. Turn to page A4 for the story and more photos.
Karin’s Closing Out Sale
Fashions Features
238 - 4th Avenue 250-374-6892 Monday - Saturday, 10:00 am - 5:00 pm
Everything Must Go!
Discoounnts
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