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WEDNESDAY, JULY 22, 2020 | Volume 33 No. 43
PLEASE BEHAVE TODAY’S WEATHER
Sun and clouds High 29 C Low 15 C
MEET NEOWISE Tonight and Thursday night offer great glimpses of comet
Businesses want customers to ease up on anger
NEWS/A16-A17
KEITH ANDERSON PHOTO
NEWS/A12
REGIONAL DISTRICT DRINKS TO THAT After much debate about the amount and types of booze involved, the TNRD board gave the nod to a taxpayerfunded, two-drink limit at events JESSICA WALLACE
STAFF REPORTER
jessica@kamloopsthisweek.com
GORDON GORE/KTW READER
ALL FAWN AND GAMES UNTIL SOMEONE GETS HURT
Westsyde Road can be a dangerous place for deer. The Hamlets resident Gordon Gore caught this photo of a fawn just after it jumped a fence and ran across the road. Gore was able to wave at an approaching driver to watch for the animal and the little deer made it across the street safely. While the fawn escaped harm from vehicles, a couple of hikers across town were busy dealing with a rather aggressive deer that did not take kindly to humans treading on its trail in Dallas. Turn to page A23 to read that story.
Should taxpayers pay for politicians and staff to drink alcohol while doing business on their behalf? The ThompsonNicola Regional District board has directed staff to amend its hospitality policy to include a new two-drink maximum clause for events such as a dinner the regional district hosts during the annual Union of BC Municipalities conference. The policy amendments will also strip the regional district CAO’s powers in approving events at which taxpayer-funded drinking occurs. The changes come after the regional district’s former CAO, Sukh Gill, left suddenly
in February with a sizeable severance package — more than half a million dollars — under murky circumstances, on which the regional district has said it will not comment. At the July 16 meeting, the regional district board was asked to provide direction to staff to amend its hospitality policy after two policies — one concerning the Union of BC Municipalities dinner and another dealing with TNRD-hosted events in general — were found to be inconsistent, staff said. Proposed amendments included adding a clause stipulating costs of guests or partners of invitees to TNRD-hosted events be the responsibility of the invitee. Sun Peaks Mayor Al Raine, however, said the
regional district should have flexibility when hosting VIP dignitaries. TNRD board chair Ken Gillis agreed, detailing a situation wherein the TNRD invited a MLA and their partner to attend a TNRD-hosted event. “I would be kind of embarrassed about asking her [MLA] to reach into her purse to pay for her husband,” Gillis said. “I was rather hoping that we would have a bit of flexibility for the chair or the vice-chair to deal with situations like that and say, ‘Of course, by all means, bring your husband.’” The board voted to allow that discretion, with only Area E (Bonaparte Plateau) director Sally Watson opposed. See CITY, A10
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