The School District 20 annual elementary track and field meet has become the latest casualty of ongoing strife between the province and its teachers, as day two of rotating job action in the district unfolds. The following letter was issued to local parents yesterday by SD 20 Superintendent Greg Luterbach: Dear Parents, With...

In 2012, local governments across B.C. spent more than $8 billion and it's a pretty safe bet that a good chunk of it was spent on infrastructure projects. Most of the projects flew under the provincial radar. Out of sight, out of mind. Cost overruns rarely made a media ripple outside of the affected community. Yet, through ...

I originally started to write this as a straight news story, then realized my personal opinions on the matter are too strong to allow me to be certain of balanced reporting, so instead I'm going for an opinion/editorial piece. The issue at hand is current BCTF job action, and the way teachers are getting blamed for greed and...

Becoming a Teacher is a many things, but I would hazard to say more a “Lifestyle choice” where you work desirable hours with weekends, long weekends, summers, and holidays all off. Any teacher knows what also comes with their chosen occupation, which is some work done at home, and also putting in time with the kids after...

City council, at its regular meeting last night (Tuesday) voted unanimously to send a letter expressing concerns around a recently launched, province-wide recycling program. Councillor Sue Heaton-Sherstobitoff, who brought the motion forward, said the roll-out of MultiMaterial BC (MMBC) was mishandled and the merit in the...

Dear Parents and guardians: I regret to inform you that the British Columbia Teachers’ Federation (BCTF), the union representing teachers, has informed the school district that they will be engaged in rotating strikes and will be withdrawing teaching services in all SD20 sites on Tuesday, May 27, 2014. As of this time, this...

The federal government--that is, Stephen Harper--is expected to announce its long anticipated decision on Enbridge’s Northern Gateway pipeline sometime in June. The decision could well determine whether or not the Conservatives can win the 2015 election. The momentum of opposition to the pipeline — and perhaps more importantly...

They say a picture is worth 1,000 words – and it could also be worth $100 in swag now that Castlegar has a fun new promotion on the go. City council, at its regular meeting Monday night, voted unanimously to set aside $500 for the #CastlegarSelfie Summer promotion, according to city councillor Kevin Chernoff. “The idea is...

Dear fellow New Democrat, I am pleased to announce my official status as a nominee in the bid to become your New Democratic Party (NDP) candidate in the next federal election. I am very excited about this opportunity and I thank the NDP and the riding association for the prospect to seek the nomination to […]

A few weeks ago I had the pleasure of spending some time with Kris Stanbra.  She had just been awarded the prestigious Courage to Come Back Award.  I was truly impressed by her story and thought I would share it with my constituents in the B.C. Southern Interior Kris grew up as a fun-loving, athletic child with a competitive...