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Friday, October 2, 2015
Vol. 8 • Issue 26
LVR student holds mock election Page 2
Welcome to Appledore Page 12-13
Mungall lambasts education minister over MyEdBC
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Cree artist Stewart Steinhauer arrived in Nelson with his sculpture Mother Bears Pray for Earth last Tuesday afternoon. It will grace the entrance to city hall and double as a resting bench for weary pedestrians. Will Johnson photo
Mother bear pair graces Nelson city hall 6300 kg sculpture will double as a seating area
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outside Nelson city hall for the next year WILL JOHNSON Nelson Star Cree artist Stewart Steinhauer supervised the successful installation of his granite sculpture Mother Bears Pray for Earth Healing outside city hall last Tuesday afternoon, but the 6300kg bench necessitated the use of a larger crane than originally planned. “This is like Jaws, but
instead it’s ‘we’re going to need a bigger crane’,” joked cultural development officer Joy Barrett, who oversaw the process as public works employees Kip St. Thomas and Steve Sabo maneuvered it into place. The sculpture now graces the entrance to city hall and also functions as a resting spot for weary pedestrians walking up
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to turn up, so even if enemies arrive they’ll set aside their enmity. That’s what the mother bear is all about.” So when people sit on his bench, he wants them to feel like they belong. “The seating welcomes everyone, regardless of their background, to join the bears at the bowl and speak with the mysterious forces of creation about healing the earth.” Continued on page 4
had liaised with the company responsible of the two systems, Fujitsu, and they’ve been “working around the clock with ministry staff to ensure we can speed up the system.” Mungall responded by asserting that the problem is caused by the provincial government’s underfunding of education, and this snafu is only a symptom of larger issues. MLA Selina Robinson also heaped scorn on the registration programs, echoing Mungall’s concerns and calling the system “lethargic”. “Why did the B.C. Liberals replace a flawed $100 million computer system with another $100 million computer system that can’t even track attendance?…It might take 15 minutes for an an administrator to simply search for a student’s file in the system—15 minutes. It takes less time to communicate to Mars.” Bernier quipped back: “unlike the members opposite, who for sure reason want to communicate with Mars, we like to communicate with the parents of British Columbia.” Continued on page 5
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and down Ward St. According to Steinhauer, the intent is for the maternal bears to create a welcoming atmosphere. “That central pool, or bowl, is a prayer offering plate from the Cree culture. The mother bear symbolizes acceptance of everyone who comes to the circle. No one is rejected, everyone is valued,” Steinhauer told the Star. “In a ceremonial setting, whoever turns up it’s felt they were meant
WILL JOHNSON Nelson Star Nelson-Creston MLA Michelle Mungall lambasted education minister Mike Bernier over the scheduling “gridlock” that has enraged parents at L.V. Rogers and Prince Charles Secondary, leaving some students without core classes required for graduation, during an impassioned speech at the legislature on Tuesday. “Picture this: at the beginning of the school year, kids head into class and teachers head into class to teach them. But at L.V. Rogers in Nelson, kids, parents and teachers experienced quite a shock this year, all thanks to the Liberals’ MyEdBC program, the $100 million computer system meant to replace the failed $100 million computer system by the same company,” Mungall said. “Parents are furious. Kids are frustrated again. To the Minister of Education: why can’t the Liberals get this right? How much more money are they going to throw at failed computer systems before they do?” Bernier began his response by asserting that the government
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