FRIDAY
S I N C E
1 8 9 5
MARCH 9, 2012
WKBGTA hands out awards
Vol. 117, Issue 49
110
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Page 16
INCLUDING H.S.T.
PROUDLY SERVING THE COMMUNITIES OF
ROSSLAND, WARFIELD, TRAIL, MONTROSE, FRUITVALE & SALM SALMO
SCHOOL DISTRICT 20
Board faces tough task of reining in budget BY TIMOTHY SCHAFER Times Staff
Teaching staff could be one of the areas the school district board of trustees makes cuts to for next year as they grapple with how to rein in costs for a shrinking budget. Nearly every facet of the school district operation is currently being laid open as less funding is expected to come from the province for next year’s budget — around $600,000 — prompting School District 20’s board of education to consider how they will do more with less. Prior to getting into an in-camera discussion about potential cuts to custodial, transportation and secretarial Wednesday night at Blueberry Creek Community School, the board heard from the Kootenay Columbia Teachers Union and CUPE along with the District Parent Advisory Council (DPAC) on where they saw education going. At this time, the board has only announced a vague list of areas where cuts could be made while it continues to make a record of potential savings behind closed doors. Board chair Darrel Ganzert says all school district functions and areas are under review, including: administration, clerical staffing, custodial services, facilities and teacher staff-
ing, libraries, services and supplies, sick leave, technology, trustees and transportation. “We’ve generated, for lack of a better term, an evil list and some things are just so outrageous that we’re not going to consider them as a board but we put them down on paper anyway,” said Ganzert Thursday. “We’re going through this big huge list and we’re eliminating the most evil, most unworkable, most impractical and then we’ll have a list that could possibly work and then we’ll seek union and public comment and then decide on a budget at some time in the future.” The cuts were first discussed Feb. 27 with senior district staff present to pinpoint some initial areas of consideration. After several closed meetings, the board will present its final recommendations to the union and DPAC April 12 with a public meeting shortly after. The school district faces a potential funding shortfall of approximately $1.4 million in the coming year due to cutbacks from the Ministry of Education’s funding formula and a declining school enrollment rate across the district.
See LIMITED, Page 3
Crown seeks adult sentence for youth charged with manslaughter BY VALERIE ROSSI VALERIE ROSSI PHOTO
A crew of labourers with Mud Bay Drilling Co. Ltd. drilled wells on the former Esso lot in downtown Trail Wednesday as part of Imperial Oil’s effort to get its surplus property eventually up for sale.
Lot gets environmental assessment BY VALERIE ROSSI Times Staff
Future development on a former gas station lot at the entrance of downtown Trail could very well depend on what’s discovered during environmental assessment.
Contractor Mud Bay Drilling Co. Ltd. was on site at the old Esso lot on Victoria Avenue Wednesday to do routine drilling of wells that will be monitored over a period of time. “Our aim is to eventually sell the land but
this would depend on a variety of factors – including local market conditions and environmental condition of the property – so it’s difficult to speculate on timelines for when that would occur,” said Imperial Oil spokesman
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Jon Harding. The non-operating surplus property owned by Imperial Oil (Esso) was a retail site until late 2009 when it was closed, just after a Petro Canada station shut down operation
See RESULTS, Page 2
79
Times Staff
The fate of a Trail youth charged with manslaughter will depend heavily on whether the Crown seeking an adult sentence can make his case. The youth, who was 17 years old when he was arrested, appeared in Rossland Provincial Court Thursday when Judge Lisa Mrozinski scheduled a fix-a-date appearance in Castlegar for March 23. Crown counsel Phil Seagram and defense lawyer Ken Wyllie have reached an agreed statement of facts on what occurred last spring, when a 25-year-old Trail man suffered
fatal injuries sustained in an altercation before he was pronounced dead at Kootenay Boundary Regional Hospital May 15. The judge awaits a pre-sentence report with a psychological component to determine whether the accused has a psychological or mental disorder or illness. This will help her decide whether the accused should be handed an adult sentence for an intended guilty plea of manslaughter, which was downgraded from first-degree murder this winter. The youth’s identity is protected under the Youth Criminal Justice Act.
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