FRIDAY
July 1, 2011
A division of
Vol. 26 No. 52
Your community. Your newspaper.
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ANNIVERSARY
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www.comoxvalleyrecord.com
Teachers willing to strike
MUSICFEST
Musical icon David Crosby discusses his life and times. ■ B1
Lindsay Chung Record Staff
Teachers in the Comox Valley and across the province have voted to take “teach-only” job action this September if there is no progress in provincial collective bargaining. Ninety per cent of teachers across B.C. voted “yes” in a provincewide strike vote conducted June 24, 27 and 28. In all, 28,128 teachers cast their ballots, with 25,282 voting “yes,” according to a news release from the Comox District Teachers’ Association (CDTA). About 70 per cent of teachers in schools and teachers teaching on call participated in the vote, it noted. Failing progress in bargaining, job action in the form of a “teachonly” campaign would begin Tuesday, Sept. 6 — the first day of the next school year. CDTA president Steve Stanley is not releasing the local numbers but says CDTA members turned out in large numbers for the strike vote, and the percentage of members who voted “yes” was even higher than the provincial number. “We had a very strong mandate,” he said. Stanley wants to reassure parents and students that classes will still be running, and teachers will still be teaching in September. “They shouldn’t notice any differences, except teachers might have more time for students because they’re not doing the administrative stuff,” he said. The “teach-only” action would see teachers in class, teaching students but not performing administrative duties such as entering information on computer data-
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COMOX VALLEY RECORD
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GRADUATION
A cavalcade of vehicles bearing grads from both Courtenay secondary schools wound through Comox Valley streets Wednesday. A total of about 500 students from G.P. Vanier and Mark R. Isfeld secondary schools participated in graduation ceremonies this week, following a ceremony held by Highland Secondary School in Comox earlier in the month. For photos from the two events Wednesday, see A14 and A15.
FINDER
GOLFING FOR GOOD Ty Wishart tees off while Cassie Campbell-Pascall follows the flight of the ball during Wednesday’s Comox Taxi Team Charity Golf Tournament at Glacier Greens. The two hockey celebrities were part of a fundraiser for the LINC Youth Centre and the Comox Military Family Resource Centre. Organizers were still tallying funds at press time. Watch for full coverage in Wednesday’s Record. PHOTO BY EARLE COUPER
■ Weather
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■ Lottery
A4
■ Ferry Schedule
A4
■ Editorial
A25
■ Opinion
A26
■ Arts
B1
■ Sports
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■ Classified
... see TEACHERS ■ A3
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