ALDERGROVE STAR STAR Your Hometown Community Newspaper for over 53 Years
| Thursday, March 8, 2012
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Teachers huddled under cover outside Aldergrove Secondary School on Monday as the ongoing B.C. Teachers Federation dispute with the province turned into strike action.
Schools closed as teachers pound pavement By MONIQUE TAMMINGA Aldergrove Star
It was a bitterly cold and wet start for teachers who began striking outside local schools first thing Monday morning. Langley’s 1,500 teachers walked off the job and planned to continue demonstrating until Wednesday, after talks failed between B.C. Teachers’ Federation and the provincial government. “Our army of elves are busily putting clear plastic over the signs and we’ve made a visit to the teachers
with buckets of food,” said Langley Teachers’ Association president Gail Chaddock-Costello on Monday morning. Teachers are not picketing but demonstrating. The LTA rented three buses, able to seat 150 teachers in each, to attend the large rally planned at the legislature in Victoria on Tuesday. The BCTF and the B.C. Federation of Labour are holding the rally, which reportedly drew thousands of teachers from around B.C. “It’s going to be a long day for our
teachers, but it’s worth it,” said Chaddock-Costello. Closer to home, the LTA planned to have teachers lining 200 Street with signs Wednesday morning before a large rally “in defence of public education” is planned outside the Langley Events Centre. Teachers will not be demonstrating outside schools on Wednesday. Speakers at the rally include Irene Lanzinger, who is current vice-president of the B.C. Federation of Labour and is former a BCTF president, and
CUPE’s president Barry O’Neill. The LTA will be laying pink wreaths at MLA Rich Coleman’s office, located at the LEC. The pink is to symbolize the bullying tactics the government is taking by trying to introduce Bill 22, said Chaddock-Costello. The BC Liberal government introduced Bill 22, which would impose a cooling off period that would ban teachers from striking, and invoke hefty fines on individual teachers and the union.
House Leader Coleman, MLA for Aldergrove-Fort Langley, said there is no need to rush the bill through. Bill 22 introduces a mediator who is allowed to look at everything but salaries. The government insists that the new contract be a “net zero” one, with no added costs. Schools are essentially closed during the teachers’ strike and thousands of parents in Langley struggled to find care for their children. The Township, City and other facilities offered day camps.
‘Preying’ for better crops substitutes falcons for cannons By NATASHA JONES Black Press
Residents in rural areas have been frustrated for years about the noise of bird cannons which farmers use to protect their crops. The cannons are among several noisy and irritating devices farmers employ to scare away crows and seagulls. One of the more recent introductions is a screecher, which is used by
mink farmers to keep rats at bay. Both cannons and screechers are irritating to humans, said south Aldergrove resident Terry Sheldon. If something isn’t done “we are going to have a war (between residents).” On Monday, Sheldon presented Township council with a solution: falcons. Sheldon explained that the mere presence of falcons is enough to frighten birds that can devour blue-
berries and other crops. Sheldon, who recently returned from Cuba where the birds of prey are used to keep smaller birds away from hotels, said that cannons are proving costly not only to the peace of residents, but to businesses. The cannons can also be devastating to horses, he said. He asked council for support in bringing to Langley three falcons and
a falconer from Cuba. “I’m not doing this for money,” he told council. “I don’t need the money. We’ve got to do something about these cannons and screechers.” Sheldon told council that one falcon can control 20 acres, and falcons are being used to keep seagulls from a Vancouver landfill. “It works very well,” he said. In a later interview, Sheldon said
that the noise of screechers is “horrible” and eagles, which used to scare away birds, have been sent packing by crows which have now become the number 1 bird in the area, he added. He told council that the Cuban falconer would train people here. Councillor Bob Long’s motion that staff explore Sheldon’s suggestion will be discussed at the March 26 council meeting.
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