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THURSDAY
Thursday, April 4, 2013 X Volume 26 No. 27
Kamloops, B.C., Canada X 30 cents at Newsstands
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Mining for help can create controversy By Andrea Klassen
KGHM Ajax sponsorships
STAFF REPORTER andrea@kamloopsthisweek.com
The Kamloops Blazers, Western Canada Theatre, Communities in Bloom, the RCMP Ball — the list of sponsorships on the KGHM Ajax website goes on. In 2012, KGHM Ajax gave $115,000 in sponsorships and donations to non-profits, arts and sports groups in Kamloops. This quarter, it has given $40,000. But, organizations accepting money from the company hoping to build a copper and gold mine just south of Aberdeen may be facing a backlash from Ajax’s opponents. “My family, for one, will boycott any business sponsored by Ajax that we can,” Jody Neuls wrote on Facebook in response to a letter to KTW published in March, which accused KGHM Ajax of “bribing its way into acceptance” with sponsorship dollars. Neuls isn’t alone in expressing that sentiment as other residents have since made similar pledges online or in letters to the editor. Mark Wallin, chairman of the Kamloops Film Festival, said he received a few complaints about the com-
• RIH Foundation • Crohn’s & Colitis Foundation of Canada • Phoenix Centre • Kamloops Brain Injury Association • Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation • Kamloops Blazers • Kamloops Storm • B.C. Lions training camp • Kamloops Classics • Kamloops Broncos • Kamloops Ice Pirates • Kamloops Blazers Sports Society Sports Legacy Fund • Western Canada Theatre • Kamloops Symphony • Kamloops Art Gallery • Kamloops Food Bank • Kamloops Chamber of Commerce • B.C. Cowboy Festival • Communities in Bloom • Canadian Home Builders’ Association • RCMP Ball • Kamloops Central Business Improvement Association • TRU • Kamloops Foundation • Howling Coyote Education Fund • B.C. Aboriginal Mine Training Association pany’s sponsorship of this year’s event, but said it’s not his place to decide whether a legal organization with money to donate is good or bad. “I don’t really think anyone in the community wants me making political judgments
about what is an appropriate and inappropriate source of money,” he said in an email. “The only way for me to completely avoid being accused of having a political agenda is to accept money from whomever cares to donate it and use those funds to make something valuable and generative.” Mark McMillan, chairman of the Kamloops Cowboy Festival — of which KGHM Ajax is a silver sponsor — has a similar line of thought. “Just because Kal Tire sponsors us doesn’t mean I would necessarily go and buy my tires from there. I might support my sponsors, but there’s nothing saying I’m going to,” he said. “People know that we need sponsors and we need money to carry on or we wouldn’t be where we are. If somebody’s going to give us money, so be it. I’m sure the public understands that.” KGHM Ajax spokeswoman Robin Bartlett is aware of the criticism levelled at the company’s donations. But, she said, Kamloops is getting the same treatment as other communities where the company operates mines. X See AJAX A5
DREAM WEAVER Lloyd George Grade 6 student C.J. Ferguson decides what colour beads and feathers to add to the dreamcatcher he was creating on Wednesday, April 3. Students from kindergarten to Grade 7 are taking part in Aboriginal Awareness Week, which includes making various traditional crafts. Dave Eagles/KTW
Plaza Hotel staff rally around co-worker By Andrea Klassen STAFF REPORTER andrea@kamloopsthisweek.com
When Bev Lloyd, night auditor at the Plaza Hotel, learned her 19 year-old son had been struck by a falling tree while working on Vancouver Island, her colleagues at the Victoria Street hotel began looking for ways to help. Shane Lloyd was on a job near Horne Lake when a tree he was felling with a friend came down on top of him, leaving him paralyzed. Two days of marathon surgeries followed in Vancouver — a seven-hour procedure to repair Shane’s severed aorta, another five hours to stabilize his spine. “It’s really incredible, actually, how this place came together when we heard about the accident,” said Plaza front-desk manager Robynn Smith. “Our pastry chef, Maggie, was the person that went with her to Vancouver when it happened, and our chef
Mike covered her shifts so she could go.” The rest of the Plaza staff set their sights on raising funds to keep Bev in Vancouver while Shane recovers. “That’s out goal, to keep her there and not having to worry about stuff here,” Smith said. “Also he’s going to need a custom wheelchair. He’s going to need new equipment. It’s a tough time for them.” Plaza staff will host a fundraising barbecue on Saturday, April 6, from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. in the parking lot next to the hotel. They are also selling raffle tickets for $2, which will be available at the hotel’s front desk. Prizes, drawn at the end of April, include dinner and a night at the Plaza. While Shane remains in hospital in Vancouver, Smith said reports from Bev are encouraging. “The kid’s amazing. He’s already joking with nurses, eight days later, knowing he’s never going to walk again,” she said. “He’s got a pretty awesome spirit.”
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