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Vol. 114, No. 9
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www.revelstoketimesreview.com
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Weds., February 29, 2012
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TIMESReview
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School superintendent Anne Cooper to retire ALEX COOPER reporter@revelstoketimesreview.com
Anne Cooper has announced she will be retiring as superintendent of the Revelstoke School District, but not until she sees the new schools project to completion next year. The school district announced Thursday morning that Cooper would be retiring as of June 30, 2013. “I really thought long and hard over Christmas that I needed to bring closure to a plan for myself,” she told the Times Review. “I love this job and I’ve had such a wonderful 13 years to date and another year and a bit to wrap up things.” Cooper’s announcement is not unexpected and she has hinted at her intentions for some time, however she only made if official recently, informing the Revelstoke Board of Education of her plans two weeks ago. Mike Hooker, the principal of Revelstoke Secondary School, will be her replacement, the board
Revelstoke School District superintendent Anne Cooper delivers a speech in November at the official opening ceremony for the new Revelstoke Secondary School, a key accomplishment during her time in the position. Current RSS principal Mike Hooker (left) will replace Cooper. Aaron Orlando/Revelstoke Times Review
announced. Alan Chell, Chair of the Revelstoke Board of Education, expressed gratitude for Cooper’s work as superintendent. “Anne’s done an incredible job for this district,” he said. “I would regard her as probably the finest superintendent in the province and we’ve been really fortunate to have her. I just think the world of her.” Hooker has spent the past 15 years in the district as principal of Arrow Heights Elementary and Revelstoke Secondary School. “I have no doubt whatsoever that Mike would be an excellent superintendent,” said Chell. “I have no doubt in my mind if we didn’t hire Mike as a superintendent, he would definitely have other districts looking to hire him.” Chell said that Hooker was in the board’s sights as a replacement for some time but they still asked him to make a presentation before them to make sure he was the right person to take over. “We met and had a good, good session last week and after the ses-
sion we all came to the conclusion that he was the right guy to bring us forward,” said Chell. Hooker said he will be sad to see Cooper retire but is also excited about his promotion. “I’ve been really excited to work with her and a large part of staying here and sticking with a career here has to do with her and the way the district was being run and the quality that was here,” he said. “It’s interesting to consider that work because leaving the school will be hard for me. My life has been the kids and the staff and this job will obviously change that focus a little bit. “Well, maybe not change the focus, but change the day-to-day.” Hooker will leave his post as principal of RSS at the end of this school year and the search for a replacement is underway. Chell said the position would be advertised externally. A plan is being put in place for next year to ensure a smooth transition in leadership. Chell said Cooper, page 3
Canadian Avalanche Centre explores Revelstoke ‘excellence centre’ ALEX COOPER reporter@revelstoketimesreview.com
The Canadian Avalanche Centre is looking at establishing a Centre of Excellence in Avalanche Safety and Education that would be based in Revelstoke. “What’s happened is over the last couple of years the operations of the avalanche centre have really matured and they’ve grown explosively, primarily because of need,” said Ian Tomm, the executive director of the CAC. “We simply don’t have enough room for people any more. As well as we’re starting to get more and more walk-in traffic and more opportunities to bring people into the office.” The CAC announced Wednesday
that it is looking for a business consultant to conduct a feasibility study for the centre of excellence. According to the request for proposal (RFP), the role of the consultant would be to identify potential activities to be undertaken in the centre, identify potential partners and their roles, look at facilities, identify funding sources and revenue streams, review the operations of other similar centres; and prepare a business plan for the first five-year period of the centre. As envisioned by Tomm, the centre of excellence would provide more space for the CAC to run it’s existing avalanche forecasting programs, provide room for researchers, classroom space to run avalanche education programs; and possibly
host a national avalanche archives. In recent years the CAC has expanded its forecasting operations and it expects to continue to improve in that area, with forecasts coming more frequently and in more regions – including the Yukon, Newfoundland and Quebec, said Tomm. He also said the CAC was working on its snowmobile outreach programs. The centre of excellence is a collaboration between the CAC, City of Revelstoke and Columbia Basin Trust. “I’d be really enthused about it. I think it would be an excellent step forward and a real kudos to both the avalanche centre and to the city to be able to attract an institution of that nature,” said Mayor David Raven. “It recognizes a long history
and some real international expertise that the avalanche centre, Parks Canada and lots of others have developed here over the years.” He said the city’s contribution was not financial but through inkind work done by Alan Mason, the city’s director of economic development. According to the RFP, the centre will support established relationships with researchers at the University of British Columbia and University of Calgary. The centre will serve as a “central point for a wide range of researchers and encouraging knowledge transfer.” “We see our involvement with avalanche research expanding into the future and Revelstoke is a natural place for a lot of that research to
be co-ordinated from in terms of the field research,” said Tomm. Lynda Lafleur, a community liaison with CBT, said the organization was providing $20,000 in funding for the study. “It’s really wonderful that there is an agency like this with national status within our Columbia Basin,” she said. “We’re pleased to be able to support them looking at how to deal with their future growth issues.” Tomm said the CAC is hoping to have a draft document for the centre of excellence brought to its annual general meeting in early May and a plan finalized for the end of May. After that, the CAC would seek out funding for the centre.
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