2013: January in review
Week 1 – Jan. 2
Buffalo Creek school closure looms
Parents turned out for a public forum at Buffalo Creek Elementary School to talk about its proposed closure.
The school board asked for input on its Initial Options Report, and Parent Advisory Council president Julie Dewsbury voiced significant concerns.
Permit expanded despite complaints
The Cariboo Regional District (CRD) issued a development variance permit at Green Lake that raised the hackles of some neighbours.
After they had reported the construction went beyond the scope of the initial permit, the building inspector slapped a stop-work order on the project – but the work continued.
Toxic material ditched
A hazardous resin spill at Barrett Road on Highway 24 was still being cleaned up in the 2013 New Year.
A tandem trailer had flipped in the ditch on Dec. 17, 2012, bursting a bladder full of phenol formaldehyde resin. A hastily constructed berm kept it out of nearby Attwood Creek.
Week 2 – Jan. 9
B.C.’s credit rating sinks
A drop in British Columbia’s credit rating to AAA-negative from an AAA-stable level led then-BC Conservatives Leader John Cummins to blame the B.C. Liberal government for its growing debt load.
Cariboo-Chilcotin MLA Donna Barnett noted uncertainty in the global economy and local resource industries inhibited her government’s ability to pay the debt load down.
Mine project clarification needed
The New Prosperity Gold-Copper Mine Project Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) was assigned 50 new information requests (IRs) by a federal review panel.
The query topics included water quality, tailings storage, fish habitat, species at risk, soil contamination, old forest losses and many others.
However, Taseko Mines’ spokesperson Brian Battison said it wasn’t unusual to see this number of IRs at that stage of the process.
Old septic tanks unsettling
The CRD directors asked staff to investigate potential changes to add septic approvals back onto building permit applications.
The motion went forward after concerns about a major renovation underway at an aging, lakefront dwelling that had expanded in size and occupancy, but didn’t require septic approvals.
Week 3 – Jan. 16
Contaminated water at Canim Lake
Residents on the Canim Lake Estates water system were still under a Do Not Use Water notice due to a contamination of the system.
After an odour and unusual taste was detected, the CRD and Interior Health investigations subsequently isolated the problem to a toxic roof liner on a reservoir.
Lac la Hache school closure considered
A notice of motion to begin the 90-day public process to close Lac la Hache Elementary School was made at the Jan. 8, 2013 School District #27 (SD27) meeting.
The school’s Parent Advisory Council president called the idea “totally disheartening.”
It wasn’t one of the considerations in the board’s Initial Options Report, but it was supported in some of its public feedback.
Blaze destroys home
An overnight fire in 70 Mile House destroyed a home on Pine Road on Jan. 8, 2013.
The homeowner got up at 3 a.m. and saw the flames, exclaiming “damn, the house is on fire!” The blaze quickly broke through the window, and the seniors couldn’t even stop to grab a coat.
The community responded quickly after a call went out for clothing and other donations.
Week 4 – Jan. 23
Beetle action rural recommendations
British Columbia’s three regional Beetle Action Coalitions released the final paper in the Rural BC Project with recommendations for rural economic development in the province.
The project’s goal was to increase awareness of the unique challenges faced by rural B.C. communities and find constructive recommendations on how to meet them.
Ice dams cause leaks
Local contractor Ralf Baechmann provided advice after many local houses experienced leaking roofs.
The heavy snowfall and variable temperatures caused ice dams on roofs with a lower pitch and insufficient insulation. Melting snow over warmer areas froze when it reached colder edges over the eaves, backing the water up under the shingles and into the homes.
Missing women report
The final report on the Missing Women Commission of Inquiry outlined critical and systemic failures in a five-year investigation into missing and murdered women.
Ending Violence Association of BC regional co-ordinator Gail Edinger, of 100 Mile House, said there weren’t enough women-centred programs offering support, and anti-violence advocacy/support sectors were sorely over-taxed.
Week 5 – Jan. 30
French immersion benefits
The South Cariboo chapter of Canadian Parents for French (SCCPF) encouraged families with children starting kindergarten in 2013 to consider enrolling them in French immersion.
SCCPF vice-president Keri Donnelly noted that even children finishing kindergarten in 2013 had opportunities to enrol in Grade 1 French immersion in the fall.
French immersion is designed to produce functionally bilingual students, she explained.
First Nations woodland agreement
The Canim Lake Band made history when it successfully obtained a First Nations Woodlands licence in B.C.
Only the second community to achieve this, the band had pursued a woodland agreement for decades.
The licence allows the band to harvest up to 20,000 cubic metres of timber each year from about 20,000 hectares of Crown land, on a 25-year perpetually renewable term.
Two local schools close
On Jan. 22, SD27 trustees decided to close Buffalo Creek Elementary School and 100 Mile House Junior Secondary.
The school board consulted the public on several proposed school closures and reconfigurations when the district faced annual budget shortages of $800,000 in 2013/14, with further reductions after that.
Some people expressed strong opposition to the closures, but overall reactions across the district were mixed.
