LETTER: 70+ hours unpaid overtime in Slocan tragedy nets school psychologist pay dock for `job action`
May 27, 2014 Christy Clark, Premier Via email. RE: $596.82 pay deducted for 70 hours of overtime? Dear Ms. Clark: Today wasn’t a great day for me personally. Neither was yesterday. Nor last week. Not even the week before. In fact, difficult days have been the norm since I was pulled away from preparing Mother’s Day brunch for...
Interim Trail/Warfield recreation deal paves way for new councils as election looms
The City of Trail and the Village of Warfield have reached a new recreation and library agreement. “Our five-year agreement expired in January and we didn’t renew it,” said Bert Crockett, the mayor of Warfield. “So we met with [Trail] and the negotiations broke down. We figured what they were asking was too much. We opted to...
Rotating teacher strikes to continue; community rallies
Rotating teacher strikes will continue next week, with instruction brought to a halt in every school district for another full day (in SD 20, that will be June 2, and June 5 for SD 8. See end of story for all district schedules). “On Monday, June 2, schools and other SD20 locations will be picketed by members of the BCTF,” ...
GALLERY: Picket lines in Robson during rotating strike
Photos courtesy Brandi Dueck Rotating strike action in the SD 20 (including Rossland, Trail and Castlegar) on May 27 saw protesters at most schools in the district - including Robson Community School, where these photos were taken. The following day saw picketing in Nelson and area. Meanwhile, the SD 20 Track and Field meet...
Trail begins consultation via mail with residents impacted by boundary extension
Residents who will be effected by the City of Trail's proposed boundary extension can expect to receive a letter this week (if they haven't already) asking them whether they support the move, according to Trail CAO David Perehudoff. “The (expansion) process is still underway and no approval has been provided,”...
SD 20 track meet cancelled; parent-based alternate event on tap
The School District 20 annual elementary track and field meet has become the latest casualty of ongoing strife between the province and its teachers, as day two of rotating job action in the district unfolds. The following letter was issued to local parents yesterday by SD 20 Superintendent Greg Luterbach: Dear Parents, With...
OP/ED: In defense of our teachers
I originally started to write this as a straight news story, then realized my personal opinions on the matter are too strong to allow me to be certain of balanced reporting, so instead I'm going for an opinion/editorial piece. The issue at hand is current BCTF job action, and the way teachers are getting blamed for greed and...
LETTER: Teachers using kids to mask greed
Becoming a Teacher is a many things, but I would hazard to say more a “Lifestyle choice” where you work desirable hours with weekends, long weekends, summers, and holidays all off. Any teacher knows what also comes with their chosen occupation, which is some work done at home, and also putting in time with the kids after...
City expresses concerns over new recycling program
City council, at its regular meeting last night (Tuesday) voted unanimously to send a letter expressing concerns around a recently launched, province-wide recycling program. Councillor Sue Heaton-Sherstobitoff, who brought the motion forward, said the roll-out of MultiMaterial BC (MMBC) was mishandled and the merit in the...
LETTER: SD 20 says no school May 27 due to rotating job action
Dear Parents and guardians: I regret to inform you that the British Columbia Teachers’ Federation (BCTF), the union representing teachers, has informed the school district that they will be engaged in rotating strikes and will be withdrawing teaching services in all SD20 sites on Tuesday, May 27, 2014. As of this time, this...
