WEDNESDAY
S I N C E
NOVEMBER 27, 2013
1 8 9 5
Vol. 118, Issue 187
105
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PROUDLY SERVING THE COMMUNITIES OF ROSSLAND, WARFIELD, TRAIL, MONTROSE, FRUITVALE & SALMO
SD 20 support staff ratifies labour deal
Backyard chicken plan fails to fly
ON GUARD FOR THEE
BY SHERI REGNIER Times Staff
New CUPE president counts deal as a success but fears further cuts BY VALERIE ROSSI Times Staff
School District 20's support staff have a new union president to fight their battle, following a recent election. Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) Local 1285 has voted in Roger Smith as its new president. Smith has been an executive member for just over four years and has acted as a local custodian for 24 years. “I hope that I can fill the shoes that Cherryl (MacLeod) provided as president because I think she did an excellent job,” he said. His first order of business was see“...the districts ing that his 230 are already members voted to under a financial ratify the deal that resulted in a 3.5 per strain due to underfunding by cent wage increase over the life of the the government.” contract. A vote held Thursday in ROGER SMITH Trail and Castlegar resulted in 93 per cent in favour, which came as both a surprise and relief to Smith. The new deal between the BC Public School Employers' Association and CUPE BC was reached mid-September after long negotiations. Though some strides were reached at the bargaining table, Smith is disappointed that school districts have to reach into its coffers to cough up the cash. “I'm not happy that the government has decided not to fund any raises or increase in benefits themselves, that they've downloaded all the costs onto the districts,” said Smith. “Because the districts are already under a financial strain due to underfunding by the government.” This demand from within will likely lead to further cuts, he said, that could again fall on CUPE members, which includes school bus drivers, custodians, clericals, maintenance, tech and trades, education assistants, childcare and youth workers, and aboriginal education employees. While in office, Smith hopes to regain the trust of members, reign in spending and get members involved. “We haven't had a raise for four years and it (was) due but at the same time we're the ones that are going to bear the brunt of it and I don't See SAVINGS, Page 3
GUY BERTRAND PHOTO
This camera angle makes Zoe look like a menacing, hulking dog protecting its owner Karen Kwasnicki of Genelle. However, Zoe is a curious little Pom-Chi overcoming a leg injury. The 15-week-old puppy tips the scales at just under four pounds.
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After gathering input from 148 residents on the City of Trail website and hardcopies at select locations, city council grounded a request to allow the keep of backyard chickens. Overall survey results show the split was almost 50/50, 49 per cent in favour of changing the bylaw to allow the keep of hens, and 51 per cent opposed. An interesting twist to the whole proposition is that of 72 respondents saying “yes” the bylaw should be changed, only 34 of those said they would keep chickens on their property. “There would appear to be limited interest amongst Trail residents to have backyard chickens,” said Michelle McIsaac, the city’s corporate administrator, at Monday’s council meeting. “Considering there are approximately 3,000 households in Trail, it equates to approximately 1 per cent of Trail’s households.” Further, McIsaac explained that those with a strong desire to have chickens would have made the effort to respond to the survey which ran from October until Nov. 5, and her recommendation to council was the animal control bylaw remain unchanged. See CONCERNS, Page 3
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