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Friday, May 29, 2015
POLICE beat
Teacher facing 6 charges on sex offences KEVIN ROTHBAUER CITIZEN
annual tour of the school they will enter next fall. “And then we have about our own 1,600 students. We want to get them together at this one point, to really make an effective statement,” she said. “We thought a picture would inspire people to write letters to the government. We’re hoping to get more parents interested.
A former teacher from Shawnigan Lake School is facing six charges connected to sexual offences against a minor. Andrew Michael (Andy) Olson, has been charged with four counts of sexual exploitation, one of assault causing bodily harm, and one of child luring. The incidents allegedly took place between December 2014 and March of this year in Shawnigan Lake and Cowichan Bay. There is only one alleged victim in the case. The identity of the complainant is protected by a publication ban. According to Island district RCMP spokesperson Cpl. Darren Lagan, the Shawnigan Lake RCMP have been investigating the situation since earlier this spring.
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Numbers count with the provincial government and the entire population of Cowichan Secondary School turns out Wednesday, May 27 at lunch time to prove they’ve got the numbers needed for a replacement for the aging high school. [LEXI BAINAS/CITIZEN]
Parents launch new school push LEXI BAINAS CITIZEN
The entire population of Cowichan Secondary School, buttressed by a big group of local Grade 7 students, gathered for a picture in the field behind Vancouver Island University on Wednesday. It was all to make a point: the Valley needs a replacement for the beloved but old Cow High, according to Sarah Lowe, pres-
ident of the parent advisory council. “We’re trying to advocate for the new school,” she said. “We’ve got a Facebook page and we’ve done countless other things but it’s not an ongoing effort because it goes on and off of the province’s budget. “The district has a Project Identification Request that’s been sitting with the Ministry of Education for quite some years. We’re
on the list but we’re not on the top of it yet,” Lowe said. “So, we thought that this kind of photo showing the amount of kids that will be affected by this school would be effective. They are currently split amongst different campuses and all over the Valley.” The huge group included all the Grade 7s from Cowichan’s feeder elementary schools. They were in town to do the
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