SD27 Board of Education - 2014-2018 Term

Zone 1 - Linda Nielsen

Zone 2 - Tanya Guenther

Zone 3 - Chris Pettman

Zone 4 - Christine Dyment

Zone 5 - Dr. Sheila Boehm

Zone 6 - Brice O'Neill

Zone 7 - Joyce Cooper

Upcoming School District #27 Business

On Tuesday - the Board of Education for School District #27 will be meeting and here are some of the items that they'll be considering:

Note - School District #27 will project electronically to the public the Board Agenda and the public will no longer be provided with paper copies.  Full Board Agenda here

a) Explanation of what a DPAC (District Parent Advisory Council) and PAC (Parent Advisory Council) does - see here.  Great to see this done so quickly for the 5 new SD #27 Trustees (Guenther - Zone 2, Austin - Zone 4, Boehm - Zone 5, Neufeld - Zone 6 and Cooper - Zone 7)

b) 2011-12 Amended Annual Budget Bylaw in the amount of $56,588,780 - see here
c) PAC Reimbursement (Playground Equipment) Capital Bylaw of $97,500 - see here

Note - Victoria had previously announced on Dec 7th, 2011 that School District #27 would be reimbursed for 4 Playground projects previously done with PAC money - see that press release here

d) A number of policies will be considered by the full School District #27 Board as the Policy Committee of the SD #27 Board has suspended meetings, due to the Teachers' Job Action:

i) Bus Fee for non-SD #27 Schools for 2012-13 School Yr - see here
ii) Transportation Assistance Rate - see here
iii) Boarding Assistance Rate - see here

iv) Tuition Rate for International Students - see here (Current tuition is $10,000 per student for full school year (Sept - June), $5,000 for half school year (Sept-Jan) and must be paid in advance and is not refundable)

v) School Fees for 2012-13 School Year - see here (Fees apply to Columneetza and Williams Lake Secondary, GROW, PSO Secondary in 100 Mile House and 100 Mile Jr Secondary

vi) Tuition Remuneration - see here (Note - current rates are $16,000 for Board Chair Will Van Osch, $13,500 for Vice-Chair Patti Bake and $12,500 for Trustees Tanya Guenther, Jackie Austin, Dr. Sheila Boehm, Dr. Doug Neufeld and Joyce Cooper).  If I were the School Board - it might  be good at least for now and let "sleeping dogs lie"

e) Review of recent "Closed" SD #27 Board Meetings - see here

Upcoming Local Gov't Business....

Tomorrow - a number of local gov'ts are meeting and here's my take on the business that they'll be considering:

North Cariboo Joint Committee:

1) Eric Wickham, Committee Chair & Wyle Bystedt Fundraising Coordinator from the Multi-Centre Fundraising Committee to appear before the Joint Committee - Editor's Note - looking forward to hearing what they present to the Joint Committee as time is running out on the $15 million borrowing authority from North Cariboo Recreation taxpayers' to build a Multi-Centre (Nov 15th, 2013).  Here are the minutes from the Fundraising Committee's Dec 14th, 2011 meeting - read here

2) New Appointment to Multi-Centre Fundraising Committee - see here
3) Rick Hansen will not be attending Quesnel "Rick Hansen" Relay Event in March - see here (Editor's Note - good bet that if Mr. Hansen won't attend the Quesnel Relay Event, then Williams Lake won't see him either)

City of Williams Lake:

1) 3 Delegations - a) Members from local BIA (sign MOU), b) Cariboo-Chilcotin Partners for Literacy (Literacy Week Proclamation) and c) Inspector Brown re: RCMP Crime Stats

2) New Memo of Understanding between City of WL & WL Central BIA (Business Improvement Area) - read MOU here.  Editor's note - this is good news for both organizations and hopefully leads to a more fruitful relationship between Council and organization that represents downtown business owners...

3) Heritage Values Workshop on Saturday, January 21st at WL Fire Hall (Hodgson Rd) from 9am to 2pm - see here

4) Two zoning amendment bylaws for adoption (555 Wotzke Dr and 1800 Kozuki Rd) - see here (Kozuki) and here (Wotzke).  As the bylaw for 1800 Kozuki Rd will be adopted - Council can now proceed to adopt a Development Variance Permit, also for 1800 Kozuki Rd. - see Staff report from Oct 4th, 2011 WL Council meeting here

5) Council will receive In-Camera Report #10-2011, as follows:

At the In-Camera Meeting of Council held December 20, 2011, the following Resolution was passed:

Moved and Seconded

“That pursuant to the request of the Big Lake Community in their letter dated December 18, 2011, Council communicate to the community of Big Lake their intent to meet in January 2012 regarding the City of Williams Lake – Williams Lake Indian Band Community Forest proposal.”

This item is being brought forward to a Regular Meeting of Council to become a matter of public record.

However, as I read this, receipt of a letter normally doesn't qualify to be discussed "behind closed doors" however, if the In-Camera Report read like this:

"At the In-Camera Meeting of Council held December 20, 2011 "and under the provisions of Section 90(1)(x) of the Community Charter", the following Resolution was passed..."

then that would bring maximum certainty to the public, in my mind, that Council had the legal basis to receive a letter "behind closed doors"

6) Council will receive a report from the City's CAO asking for authorization to permit Mayor Cook and Councillors Bourdon, Walters, and Zacharias to attend the Local Government Leadership Academy (LGLA) 2012 Elected Officials Seminar in Prince George, BC from February 27 to 29 - see the CAO report here.  The CAO states that $5,000 will be used from Mayor Cook and Councillors' Bourdon, Walters and Zacharias's travel budgets'and the CAO travel budget.  The CAO will also attend with his travel costs expended out of his own travel budget.  With George Cuff (renowed expert in local gov't systems) being in Williams Lake on Jan 17th for CRD (Cariboo Regional District) Directors' (see more info here) - discussions could have taken place to do the same thing in Prince George here and save taxpayers' money for returning elected officials (Cook, Zacharias, Bourdon and Walters) and send newly elected officials like Councillors Ivan Bonnell (local gov't law has changed since last elected in 2002) and Danica Hughes (1st time elected) to Prince George instead

School District #27:

1) Appts of Trustees to various Committees (Internal/External) - Board Chair W. Van Osch to announce at the meeting

2) Trustees to attend "Targeting Technology for Maximum Student Benefit" - read more details here

Wells/WL Councils' meet next week

As Christmas time approaches - only two of the five local governments are meeting next week as follows:

Wells - Regular Meeting on Tuesday at 7pm in Wells Council Chambers (4243 Sanders Avenue)
Quesnel - No meeting until January 3rd, 2012

Williams Lake:

Regular Council Meeting on Tuesday at 6pm in WL Council Chambers (450 Mart St).  See the Agenda here
Public Hearing on Bylaw #2151 (555 Wotzke Dr) on Tuesday at 7pm in WL Council Chambers (450 Mart St).  See the Agenda here

100 Mile House - No meeting until Tuesday, January 10th, 2012
Cariboo Regional District - No meeting until Friday, January 20th, 2012
School District #27 - No meeting until Tuesday, January 10th (Special Meeting)
School District #28 - No meeting until Wednesday, January 18th

WL News - Dec 6th edition

Before the news - don't forget about Williams Lake Council's Inaugural Meeting at 6pm tonight at WL City Hall

In the News... 

1) Salvation Army opens 'Great Room' for woman in need in Williams Lake - see here
2) Local family shares information about "Menkes" disease - see here
3) Deni House re-opens in a ceremony held yesterday - see here with a government press release here

Editor's Note - I personally glad to see the work of many seniors' including Audrey MacLise of the local Seniors' Advisory Council coming to fruition with regard to the re-opening of Deni House.  If not for the very public work of Ms. MacLise and her group - it is very likely that Deni House may have never re-opened

4) Doug Wilson says Williams Lake should be named "Capital of Western Heritage" - see here
5) Should candidates for School Trustees undergo Criminal Record checks, prior to a general local election? One former trustee in the Nanaimo-Ladysmith School District thinks so - see here
6) Bob Simpson (Ind. MLA for Cariboo-North) openly challenges all MLA's to open their expense claims to public scrutiny - see here

In Quesnel - debate still rages over approval for wage hike for Quesnel Council, as per City of Quesnel Policy.  See here

Over at Welcome to Williams Lake - they are running a "Facebook Fan" appreciation contest where you can win a $500 travel voucher.  See more details here

Finally - with last week's decision to halt work for 90 days by Taseko Mines with regard to their "New Prosperity" mine proposal by the BC Supreme Court, The Common Sense Canadian interviewed Xeni Gwet'in First Nation Chief Marilyn Baptiste and CRD Area 'J' Director-elect/Xeni Gwet'in Band Councillor Roger William, with regard to last week's court case.

View the video below:

Local Gov't Meetings - Week of Dec 5-9 (updated)

"Pomp and Ceremony" are the Order of the Day as local governments meet this upcoming week. Meetings will be "Inaugural Meetings" where newly elected or re-elected politicians will be sworn in for the new term (2011-2014)

Monday, Dec 5th - City of Quesnel:

Inaugural Meeting which starts at 7pm in Quesnel Council Chambers - 2nd Floor, 410 Kinchant
See the Agenda here

Monday, Dec 5th - City of Williams Lake

Dog Park Public Consultation Meeting at 6pm in WL Council Chambers (450 Mart St)

Monday, Dec 5th - School District #27 (Cariboo-Chilcotin):

Inaugural Meeting which starts at 7pm in the SD #27 Boardroom (350 2nd Avenue - WL)
See the Agenda here

Tuesday, Dec 6th - District of Wells:

Inaugural Meeting which starts at 7pm in Wells Council Chambers (4243 Sanders Avenue)
No Agenda available

Tuesday, Dec 6th - City of Williams Lake:

Inaugural Meeting which starts at 6pm in WL Council Chambers (450 Mart St)
No Agenda available (Editor's Note - I apologize for this but City of WL's website does not show an Agenda available as of 4:30pm yesterday and usually there is one available for Williams Lake Council Meetings the Friday prior to the meetings [Tuesday])


Update (Mon Dec 5th at 5:40pm) - Agenda now available.  View here.  Interesting that that the CAO report on Council appointments to different Committees' from Mayor Cook is not yet available, though the Agenda indicates the report was written on Friday, December 2nd


Friday, Dec 9th - Cariboo Regional District:

Inaugural Meeting which starts at 9:30am in the CRD Boardroom (180D North 3rd Ave, WL)
See the Agenda here

Additional Notes:

1) Although I can't find Agendas for 100 Mile House/School District #28 (Quesnel)  - Local Government Act requires all local governments to hold their Inaugural meeting in the first 10 days in December.  My probable guess is the District of 100 Mile House will hold their Inaugural Meeting on Tuesday, December 6th at 7pm given their practice to meet on Tuesday at 7pm and School District #28 (Quesnel) will hold their Inaugural Meeting on Wednesday, December 7th at 7pm, given SD #28's practice to meet on a Wednesday

A Thank-You from Oleh Lazarchuk (Candidate for SD#27 - Zone 5)

A Big Thank You to all those who voted for me!   Thank You to the Rush and the Wolf, the Tribune and the Advisor, to Welcome to Williams Lake, Steve Forseth , and the CBC Radio for allowing me to inform the electorate about my vision and thoughts about the education of our future generations.

Congratulations to Dr. Sheila Boehm for being elected as a school board trustee in

Zone 5.  I look forward to working with Sheila and her colleagues on the School Board as our community continues work to establish an after school and recreational programs at the Wildwood Elementary School.   

Election Results Review - Cariboo-Chilcotin

Well - it is over for another 3 years and we saw some surprising results throughout the Cariboo-Chilcotin in local elections:

In Wells - real quiet election, given Mayor-elect Robin Sharpe was elected by acclamation and there was five candidates for four Councillor positions so again it was the numbers game as one would be left out

School District #28 - All quiet here as two new Trustees join 5 incumbents in Tony Goulet, Ron Caskey, Gloria Jackson, Caroline Mitchell, George Natalizio, Charlotte Kurta , and Howie Schonke

In Quesnel - Mary Sjostrom received a 2nd term as Mayor of Quesnel, defeating Councillor Ron Paull and former Quesnel City Councillor Ron Craigmyle by taking advantage of the dynamics of a 3 person race in vote splitting.  Ms. Sjostrom received 1,057 votes or 37% of the vote with Ron Paull getting 955 votes or 34% of the vote and Ron Craigmyle bringing up the rear with 831 votes or 29% of the vote.  If I were Ms. Sjostrom - I would take note of this while governing for the next 3 years, in the fact that her competitors combined received the majority of votes (1,786) or 63% of all votes cast.  Meanwhile - the Councillors is a healthy balance of old and new - in the "old" department: Councillors Mike Cave, Laurey-Anne Roodenburg and Sushil Thapar (this result surprised me, given how negative he campaigned against Ms. Sjostrom.  Ms. Sjostrom has said that both Mr. Thapar and herself will have to have a "meeting of the minds" to move forward in the new term).  In the "new" department - it'll be Scott Elliot, John Briscoe and Ed Coleman.  Overall - a good Quesnel Municipal Council except "Will Sjostrom/Thapar be able to cooperate over financial and other matters in the 2011-2014 term?  Time will only tell" - listen to the CBC Daybreak North interview on Sjostrom/Thapar working together here

In Williams Lake - Some people that I've talked to expressed shock over the re-election of Kerry Cook for Mayor along with re-elected Councillors Laurie Walters, Geoff Bourdon, Sue Zacharias and Surinderpal Rathor.  New Councillors will be former WL City Councillor/Mayor Ivan Bonnell and first time Councillor Danica Hughes.  Personally - I wasn't surprised when I received the election results and this is backed by comments I've received on this blog last night who say that the "Scott Slate" in Scott Nelson with Mike Jacobsen, Mike Bouchard, Steve Forseth, and Paul Kandola was a major factor for them as they voted Saturday.  I personally likely had other things going against me that caused my defeat as well including being fairly harsh towards Councillor Walters after her election in 2008.  Looking at the Mayor's Race - Kerry Cook received 1,777 votes or 49% of all votes cast.  Scott Nelson received 1,077 votes or 30% of all votes cast with Walt Cobb received 747 votes or 21% of all votes cast.  Given this - Mayor Cook might want to keep in mind that just under half the City voted for her and the other half voted against her as she sits down and meets the incoming 6 City Councillors for what lays ahead for the upcoming 2011-2014 term.

Finally - the days of fluoride in City water is over as 71% agreed to end the practice of putting fluoride (an acid) in our City water system.  This decision will now see 7 out of 190 BC communities who still place fluoride in their water systems

In 100 Mile House - Fairly quiet race here, given the 4 Councillors (Henderson, Fossum, Mingo and Hadden) were acclaimed and the Mayor's race was tame.  Mitch Campsall returns for a 2nd term with a majority of votes for him.  He received 257 votes compared to his opponent , Maureen Pinkney, who received 200.  Mr. Campsall who got 56% of all votes cast clearly has a mandate to continue on the course he's set for the District of 100 Mile House since his election

In the Cariboo Regional District -

Area 'E' - Byron Kemp returns to the Board table after his defeat in 2005.  But it was a very close vote as Bill Carruthers came within 6 votes (Kemp 98 - Carruthers 92) of being the new Director for this Area

Area 'H' - In quite a surprise, Margo Wagner was elected over Ron Lister.  Ron had received the endorsement from the outgoing Area 'H' Director - Art Dumaresq

Area 'J' - In a first, Xeni Gwet'in Councillor Roger William will become the new Area 'J' Director after defeating Alex Bracewell in a 148-81 vote.  One issue that may have sparked Mr. Bracewell's defeat was a on-going debate about First Nations' consultation for the issuance of DVP's (Development Variance Permits') in the Chilko Lake area.  This will make the "New" Prosperity Mine debate a most interesting one to follow, when this topic returns to the CRD Board table (and I believe it will as the Board will want to make its' position known on it) and to see how Mr. William pleads his CRD Director colleagues not to give its' support to the New Prosperity Mine proposal, sometime in 2012

Area 'L' - In not a surprise - Bruce Rattray was re-elected in a landslide over his challenger, Tom Baraniak. I never doubted the end result.  At this point (with mail-in ballots to be counted), Bruce Rattray received 387 votes in comparison to Mr. Baraniak who received 208 votes, which translates to a vote percentage count of 65% for Rattray to 35% for Baraniak.  Mr. Rattray has done very well for CRD Area 'L' which obviously translates into his huge re-election support

The next CRD Board meeting is on December 9th where I expect that CRD Area 'G' Director Al Richmond will be given a 4th 1-year term to continue as the Chair of the Cariboo Regional District

In School District #27 - Last night's election saw two incumbents (Will Van Osch in Zone 1 and Patti Baker in Zone 3) return with 5 new Trustees in Tanya Guenther in Zone 2, Jackie Austin in Zone 4, Dr. Sheila Boehm in Zone 5, Dr. Doug Neufeld in Zone 6 and Joyce Cooper in Zone 7.  And they certainly will need to get to work right away as they have lots of challenges (financial and otherwise) facing them over the next 3 years.  One question of who will be Chair of the local Board of Education for the remainder of this school year will be answered at their Inaugural meeting on December 5th, 2011 at 7pm, but I believe it'll likely be either Will Van Osch or Patti Baker, given their previous experience on the Board and the need to have that in the Chair's role over the next little while given declining student enrollment.  I don't believe it would be a good time to put a rookie in Jackie Austin, Dr. Sheila Boehm, Dr. Doug Neufeld, Joyce Cooper or Tanya Guenther as SD #27 Chair, given these Trustees will be "learning the ropes" for the next few months

WL News - Nov 17th edition

* Election News - SD #27:

a) Doug Neufeld - see here
b) Rob Zacharias - see here

* Tribune gives wrap on Monday's All Candidates Forum on WL City Councillor candidates - see here
* Ervin Charleyboy to meet with Taseko officials - see here
* Bob Simpson - First Nations may not have a veto on mining, but they can bring it to a halt - see here

Editor's Note - I was pleased to see Mr. Charleyboy using his own personal money to see if there was a way to bridge the gap between aboriginals/non-aboriginals on the "New Prosperity" mine proposal to ensure jobs and other economic benefits for all people of the Cariboo-Chilcotin and I wish him the very best in his meetings in Vancouver with Taseko Mines


* PG Citizen reports that PG based Barker Minerals is buying the Spanish Creek mineral claim near Likely - see here

* Finally - local Member of Parliament Dick Harris wrote letters of support for both Quesnel Mayor Mary Sjostrom (see here) and Williams Lake Mayor Kerry Cook (see here).  I profoundly regret that this was done as the letters give the impression that he supports both Sjostrom/Cook for re-election.  As John Rustad posed to his readers' on his Facebook page - should MP's or MLA's be endorsing candidates for local government elections?  My reply - an unequivocal NO (in my humble opinion) as MLA's/MP's should always be prepared to work with whom is elected...

2nd Advance Vote - City of Williams Lake

Today from 8am - 8pm in the Williams Lake City Hall Foyer (450 Mart Street), you can vote for 1 Mayor, 6 City Councillors, 1 Zone 6 School District (SD) #27 Trustee and vote in the Fluoride Referendum

Also - you can vote for a Zone 5 SD #27 Trustee (for those who live outside the City of Williams Lake but live in CRD Electoral Areas D and E) at 350 2nd Avenue (SD #27 Admin Office) from 8am - 8pm

You are reminded to bring 2 Pieces of ID with you.  Examples of ID include:

* BC Drivers' License or BC Identification Card
* BC Care Card or BC Gold Care Card
* Vehicle Insurance papers in personal name
* Utility Bill in personal name
* Social Insurance Card
* Citizenship Card
* Credit Card or Debit Card

After 8pm tonight - there will be no further Advance Votes scheduled before Saturday's General Voting for all local governments (Wells, Quesnel, SD #28, SD #27, Williams Lake, 100 Mile and Cariboo Regional District - Electoral Areas E, H, J and L)

7 Days from today...

In exactly 7 days from today - the majority of voters in Wells (Councillors only), Quesnel, Williams Lake, 100 Mile (Mayor only), School District #28, School District #27 (Zones 4, 5, 6) and the Cariboo Regional District (Electoral Areas E, H, J and L) will vote in general local elections and candidates will find out by 9:00pm on Saturday, November 19th as to whom has been re-elected, elected or defeated

As a candidate - I encourage everyone to vote in the remaining advance vote - Quesnel/SD #28 (today), Cariboo Regional District (Areas E, H, J and L on Monday, Nov 14th), Williams Lake and SD #27 - Zone 5 (Wednesday, Nov 16th) or in the General Vote next Saturday

In Williams Lake - there is one more all candidates forum for the Councillor candidates at 7pm in the TRU Gym on Monday, November 14th.  After Monday, Nov 14th - there are no further all candidates forums scheduled, to the best of my knowledge

In Quesnel - there is an all candidates forum at the local Legion from 2-4pm today (Sat Nov 12th).  You can watch the forum online at http://www.ustream.tv/channel/quesnel-mayoral-election-2011

Finally - watch the following YouTube video on the importance of voting:

Advance Voting Opportunity #1 - All Local Governments

Good morning, residents of the Cariboo-Chilcotin...

For weeks now - you've heard from the candidates and their promises and now it is your time to decide who will represent you on your local School Board, Municipal Councils' and the Cariboo Regional District Board of Directors for the new term of 2011-2014.  If you are unable to vote on November 19th, then you can head to the following locations today (November 9th) to vote for your candidates for your local School Board, Municipal Councils' and the Cariboo Regional District Board of Directors, as follows:

Voting is 8am - 8pm in all jurisdictions:

District of Wells:

Wells/Barkerville Community School - 4386 Mildred Avenue

City of Quesnel: (See relevant election information to vote here)

Quesnel City Hall - 410 Kinchant Street

School District #28 (Quesnel): (See relevant election information to vote here)

Quesnel Public Library (#101-410 Kinchant Street)

School District #27 (Cariboo-Chilcotin): (See relevant election information to vote here)

For Zone 4 and Zone 5(outside the City of Williams Lake)
350 North 2nd Avenue, Williams Lake

City of Williams Lake:  (See relevant election information to vote here)

For 1 Mayor, 6 Councillors, Zone 5 School Trustee (those who reside in City boundaries) and Zone 6 School Trustee and the referendum on the future of the City's fluoride system

Vote at 450 Mart Street in the foyer of Williams Lake City Hall (entrance to WL Council Chambers)

District of 100 Mile House: (See relevant election information to vote here)

100 Mile Council Chambers (4th Street entrance - 385 Birch Avenue) for Mayor only

Cariboo Regional District: (See relevant election information to vote here)

For Electoral Areas 'E' and 'J' only:

Vote at Suite D - 180 North 3rd Avenue (across from Sam's Restaurant - Williams Lake)

For Electoral Areas 'H' and 'L' only:

Vote at 175 Airport Road, 100 Mile House

Stacy Wong/Dr. Sheila Boehm holds their Meet and Greet yesterday

Courtesy of the Rush:

Stacy Wong, area “E” candidate, and Sheila Boehm, zone five school trustee candidate, held a meet and greet session with voters Sunday in Williams Lake.

Here Wong talks about some of the issues area residents raised during the session: “Of course the water/sewer issue, that’s on top of everybody’s mind. But there was also another issue brought up regarding the increased taxation costs for the Fire Hall. About 100% was the difference. So I’m going to look into that and find out why that came out so high.”

Wong’s competitors in area “E” are Bill Carruthers, Byron Kemp and Brandy Dickey. Meanwhile Boehm has two challengers, Jim Ritchie and Olleh Lazarchuk.

The meet and greet session was held at the Pioneer Complex.

Local Gov't Meetings - Week of Nov 7-10

Only the City of Quesnel, District of 100 Mile House and the North Cariboo Joint Committee are meeting next week:

Monday, Nov 7th - City of Quesnel:

Regular Council Meeting at 7pm in Quesnel Council Chambers (410 Kinchant Street, Quesnel)
See the Agenda/Reports here

Tuesday, Nov 8th - Cariboo Regional District

North Cariboo Rural Directors' Caucus meeting from 3-4:30pm

Tuesday, Nov 8th - North Cariboo Joint Committee

Regular Meeting at 5:30pm in Quesnel Council Chambers (410 Kinchant Street, Quesnel)
See the Agenda/Reports here

Tuesday, Nov 8th - District of 100 Mile House

Regular Meeting at 7pm in 100 Mile Council Chambers (385 Birch Avenue, 100 Mile House)

Notes:

1) City of Williams Lake Council meets next (and final time for 2008-2011 term) on Tuesday, November 29th
2) District of Wells does not meet again until December 6th when the new 2011-14 District of Wells Council is formally sworn in
3) Cariboo Regional District Board meets next on November 17th as the Finance/Budget Committee to further discuss the 2012 Budget
4) School District #27/28 meet next on November 22nd/30th respectively

Meet 'n' Greet Sunday - Stacy Wong/Sheila Boehm

On Sunday, November 6th from 1-4pm in Room 122 at the Pioneer Complex (351 Hodgson Rd) in Williams Lake.  Stacy Wong (CRD Area 'E' candidate) and Sheila Boehm (SD #27 Zone 5 Candidate) will be hosting a Meet and Greet

If you have a chance - stop on by and meet these two candidates for local office

SBF

One Week away...

Exactly seven (7) days from today - voters' in 100 Mile , Williams Lake, School District #27, School District #28, Wells, and the Cariboo Regional District will have their first opportunity to vote for their local officials (Mayor, Councillor, Electoral Area Director or School Trustee), but in the meantime, there are a number of All Candidate Forums that you can attend and become informed on what candidates stand for before you can vote on November 9th (1st Advance Voting Opportunity - All Local Governments or School Districts #27/28)

Wells - No word about an All Candidate Forum

Quesnel - Mayoral Forum on Thursday, November 3rd at 7pm - Dragon Gate Restaurant

Williams Lake - Councillor Forum tonight at 5:30pm at the Tourism Discovery Centre, Mayoral Forum Thursday, November 4th from 11:30am - 1:30pm at Beeotcheese's Restaurant, then from 7:00pm - 8:30pm for All Candidates at WL Seniors' Village and on Monday, November 7th at 7:00pm at Thompson Rivers' University for the Mayoral Candidates

100 Mile House - All Candidates Forum (100 Mile Mayor and CRD Directors for Areas H and L) at the Lodge (Valley Room) from 6:30pm to 8:30pm or 9:00pm on Monday, November 7th

SBF

Into the Home Stretch...

With October all but done... November will be a busy month for both currently elected local officials and their challengers in relation to the Nov 19th local election

We'll have the 3 All Candidates Forums on Nov 2nd, 3rd and 14th in Williams Lake.  We also have a All Candidate Forum in Quesnel on Nov 3rd.  Although nothing yet - I can reasonably imagine that there'll be an All Candidates Forum for the Mayors' race in 100 Mile and in Wells.  Any All Candidates meeting info that I receive will be posted here

As a point of information - there are exactly 17 campaign days left to Nov 19th, but 14 days left to campaign, if you leave out Sundays between today & November 19th and November 11th (Remembrance Day)

Please stay informed, folks, it'll be a "wild ride" for all of the candidates over the next couple of weeks and then go to your polling stations on November 9th/16th (Advance Voting - City of Williams Lake) and Nov 19th (General Voting Day - all local governments).  On Tuesday, November 8th - I'll post the Advance Voting locations for all local governments for the 1st Advance Voting Opportunity in your local community

SBF

2 Weeks from today...

Exactly two weeks from today - residents of the Cariboo Chilcotin will head into the 1st Advance Voting Opportunity to elect Mayors (Quesnel, Williams Lake and 100 Mile only), Councillors (Wells, Quesnel, and Williams Lake only), Electoral Area Directors (CRD Areas E, H, J and L), School District Trustees (in SD 27 - Zones 4 to 7) (in SD #28 - all 7 Trustees)

The 1st Advance Vote will be held on Wednesday, November 9th in the following communities/locations:

Wells - Wells/Barkerville School from 8am - 8pm
Quesnel - Quesnel City Hall (410 Kinchant Street) from 8am - 8pm
Williams Lake - WL City Hall Foyer (450 Mart Street) from 8am - 8pm
100 Mile House - 100 Mile Council Chambers (385 Birch Ave - 4th St entrance) from 8am - 8pm

Cariboo Regional District:

Areas 'E' and 'J' - 180D 3rd Avenue North, Williams Lake
Areas 'H' and 'L' - 175 Airport Road, 100 Mile House

School District #27:

Zones 4 and 7 - School District #27 Admin Office (350 2nd Avenue North, Williams Lake) from 8am - 8pm

Zones 5 and 6 - If you reside in the City of Williams Lake, vote at 450 Mart Street (WL City Hall) otherwise you can vote at 350 2nd Avenue (usual rules of 2 pieces of ID applies - identity and residency)

For School District #28, please contact the Chief Election Officer to where you vote for Trustees:

SD #28 (All Zones) - Teri Stoneman at teristoneman@sd28.bc.ca or (250) - 992-0405

WL News - Oct 25th edition

a) Election Announcements or News:

City of WL - Mike Bouchard wants a seat on Council - see here
                     Danica Hughes wants a seat on Council - see here

Editor's Note - Ms. Hughes, on the Rush, suggested that "certain candidates" were running to line their own pockets rather than serving the community interest.  I profoundly regret her making that comment.  Let us all keep the debate to policies or positions that candidates advocate for, and not what a candidate(s) personal motivation is for running.  Interesting that she came right out and endorsed Kerry Cook for Mayor.  I wonder if that will hurt her bid for a Councillor seat or not...

Mayoral Candidate Walt Cobb accuses WL City Hall of "deceit" on the fluoride referendum question - see the video here

Brice O'Neill says "too little, too late" on current WL Council's action with regard to economic development - see here

CRD - Both Stacy Wong (see here) and Bill Carruthers (see here) explain their reasons for running for the Electoral Area 'E' Directorship

School District #27 - Both Jackie Austin & Heather McKenzie explains why they want to become the new Zone 4 Trustee - see here (Austin) and here (McKenzie)

b) Other News...

TNG Tribal Chief Joe Alphonse reports out on their recent trip to Ottawa re: lobbying effort to kill 2nd Prosperity Mine Proposal - see here

Event on using the Internet safely tomorrow evening at the Gibraltar Room - see here
WL and District Chamber of Commerce questioned on why no free forum for WL Mayoral candidates - see here

Upcoming Local Gov't Meetings - Week of Oct 24-28 (Updated)

A number of local governments are meeting this upcoming week:

Monday, October 24th - City of Quesnel:

Regular Council Meeting at 7:00pm in Quesnel Council Chambers (410 Kinchant St)
See the Agenda/Reports here

Tuesday, October 25th - District of 100 Mile House:

Regular Council Meeting at 7:00pm in 100 Mile Council Chambers (385 Birch Avenue)

Tuesday, October 25th - City of Williams Lake:

Committee of the Whole Meeting at 6:00pm in the Rick Hansen Boardroom (450 Mart St)
See the Agenda/Reports here

Editor's Note - access to Agenda Items are unavailable at the moment. I'm advised by the City of WL CAO that it is an issue with the iCompass software the City uses and that City Staff are diligently attempting to resolve this matter.  I thank Mr. Carruthers' for his quick response this afternoon and hopefully this can be resolved so public access to Council Agendas can be restored once again


Update at 6:13pm, Fri Oct 21st - Links are now working... again thanks to WL City Staff for their quick response on my concern about access to Council Agenda items...

Tuesday, October 25th - School District #27:

Open Board Meeting which starts at 7:00pm in the SD #27 Boardroom (350 2nd Avenue North, Williams Lake)
See the Agenda/Reports here

Wednesday, October 25th - Central Cariboo Rural Caucus/Joint Committee:


Rural Caucus at 3:00pm in the CRD Committee Room (Suite D - 180 North 3rd Avenue, Williams Lake)
See the Agenda/Reports here

Joint Committee at 5:00pm in the Rick Hansen Boardroom (450 Mart St, Williams Lake)
See the Agenda/Reports here

Thursday, October 26th - Cariboo Regional District:

Finance/Budget Committee Meeting #1 (2012 Budget) at 1:00pm in the CRD Boardroom (180D North 3rd Avenue, Williams Lake)

See the Agenda/Reports here

Friday, October 27th - Cariboo Regional District:

Regular Board Meeting at 9:30am in the CRD Boardroom (180D North 3rd Avenue)
See the Agenda/Reports here