CANADIAN COMMUNITY NEWSPAPER AWARD 2012
Publications Mail Agreement No. 391275
46th Year No. 22 THURS., MAY 31, 2012
GAZETTE NORTH ISLAND
EDITORIAL Page 6
LETTERS Page 7
www.northislandgazette.com SPORTS Page 13
NORTH ISLAND LIFE Page 15
PAGE 11 Gwa’sala’Nakwaxda’xw School celebrates 15th anniversary with ‘play potlach’
Newsstand $1.25 + HST CLASSIFIEDS Page 16-18
Lt. Gov. visits North Island
The face of a fight
Little ladybug Jordyn MacGregor circles the Port Hardy Secondary School track with Tracy Ranger Saturday evening during the Relay for Life. More than $38,000 was raised to fund cancer research. See more coverage on page 15 and online at northislandgazette.com.
J.R. Rardon Gazette editor FORT RUPERT—A few weeks ago, Kwakiutl master carver Tony Hunt began work on a totem pole on the grounds of Government House in Victoria. Last Friday, the current resident of that house repaid the favour with a visit to Hunt’s hometown. The Honourable Steven L. Point, B.C.’s Lieutenant Governor and a Grand Chief of the Stó:lo First Nation, was treated to dancing at the Kwakiutl Big House and addressed band members before being guided on a walking tour of the community. “Inside a building like this, the
J.R. Rardon
See page 3 ‘Visit wraps up’
Group seeks more business input J.R. Rardon Gazette editor A sweeping pilot project intended to strengthen employment retention, attraction and training on the North Island has proven alternately rewarding and frustrating to those attempting to implement its major features before the year is out. The Coordinated Workforce Initiative, funded through a $210,000 Provincial grant and administered by the
Regional District of Mount Waddington, has plugged along, often behind the scenes, since Penni Adams was hired as its coordinator last year. The initiative is meant to bring together a wide range of stakeholders — including large employers, small-business entrepreneurs, School District 85 and North Island College, Community Futures of Mount Waddington, North Island Employment Foundations Services, and
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first nations — around a common table to establish parameters for attracting, training and keeping skilled workers in the region. “It’s a huge project,” said Adams, a conPenni sultant who had just left a job in higher education in Saskatchewan before answering the call to
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coordinate the effort. “I came in a little behind the eight-ball last August, and I’ve been working to re-engage the stakeholders. It takes a long time to gain momentum.” Adams Adams and RDMW economic development director Neil Smith hope the project picks up a little more of that
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momentum with a stakeholders meeting scheduled for June 21 at Seven Hills Golf and Country Club. At that meeting, participants will be updated on the status of several developments in progress and planned for the coming months, including the launch of an interactive website designed to showcase North Island businesses while also informing potential job-seekers of the skills and training required to move into jobs available in the area.
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“Our message to the business community is, please get engaged and give us your feedback,” said Smith. “It’s quite a challenge and it’s very hard for the business sector to wrap their heads around the ‘What’s in it for me’ question. We’re setting up these models to help them, but this is the year we have to show something for it.”
See page 3 ‘Input sought’
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