NEWS PENTICTON WESTERN
www.pentictonwesternnews.com
A9
VOL. 49 ISSUE 85
news Martin Street bollards a pain say business owners
Chefs battle for a souper good cause
FRIDAY, OCTOBER 23, 2015
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entertainment Halloween happenings
CLOSURES PENTICTON WESTERN EXAMINED
A3
page
around Penticton
B1
sports Canadian Arenacross Tour
features two long-time rivals
City wins tournament bid Emanuel Sequeira
NEWS Dan Walton
Western News Staff
School District 67 will be laying out options to get itself out from between a rock and a hard place during a public meeting at the Shatford Centre on Oct. 26. “Essentially we’re at the point where we have to decide if we want to spend our money on keeping classrooms heated or spend it on educational opportunities for kids,” said superintendent Wendy Hyer. With an excess of real estate and dwindling student enrolments, SD67 will likely be closing schools to sustain healthy capacity levels. At the meeting, district staff will be presenting viable possibilities and the next steps. No decision have been made yet, but Hyer said the process could have an effect on any family in the district with school-aged children. “It deals not just with school closure but reconfiguration or school consolidation,” she said. “It might not impact your child right now if they’re in Grade 2, but it might impact your child when they go to high school.” During a Long Range Facilities Plan presentation in October, the district explained how financial resources are depleting and dwindling enrolment numbers are at the roots of a continuously shrinking budget for the district. A trend that’s expected to continue until 2020. Overall enrolment has dropped from 7,894 in the year 2000 to 5,842 as of September 2015. Because declining enrolment
is projected into the future, over $3 million in cuts are expected over the next three years. “The focus is on using our resources to provide the best education we can for students,” Hyer said. “Where we’d like to focus the conversation is on what parents want as far as educational choice and opportunities for their kids, and what’s the best way of using our resources to be able to do that.” To keep all schools in the district operational, Hyer said it would require cutbacks to programming; larger class sizes and less support for special needs students. “I just encourage people to come out, get informed about the options and then participate in the follow-up meetings to have input and provide feedback to the district,” she said. After the district’s options are laid out, the meeting will present a schedule for future meetings in which parents will have opportunity for input. “We’re prepared to answer any questions about the options presented and meetings to follow,” Hyer said. The meeting begins at 7 p.m. Those who can’t attend can participate in an online survey or by email. “There will be a lot of avenues for having their voice heard,” said Hyer. “I just encourage people to come out, get informed about the options and then participate in the follow up meetings to have input and provide feedback to the district.”
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Western News Staff
Penticton is hosting the 2017 Crescent Point Energy Western Canada Cup (WCC), the Vees announced Thursday. The BCHL board of governors will make the announcement on Oct. 26 with formal approval by the Canadian Junior Hockey League board coming at a later date. Vees president Fred Harbinson said the organization has been preparing for such an event. “When I added the responsibility of president three seasons ago, my plan was to raise the overall business operation of our organization and to target bringing the 2017 WCC to Penticton,” said Harbinson. “During that time we have raised corporate advertising, our season ticket base and our overall brand to a level that now gives us an opportunity to bring this prestigious event to our city. “This is an exciting time for our returning players, staff, ownership and the South Okanagan Events Centre,” he continued. “The entire city of Penticton along with our faithful fans will benefit from this marquee championship.” The road to the 2017 RBC Cup, the Canadian national junior A championship, will go through Penticton from April 29 to May 7. The Vees, along with the champions of the BCHL, Alberta Junior Hockey League, Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League and Manitoba Junior Hockey League will participate in the WCC tournament. Two will qualify for the 2017 RBC Cup in Cobourg, Ont. Mayor Andrew Jakubeit said it’s a great opportunity. “I think from a business stand-
PENTICTON VEES Connor Chartier hoists the Western Canada Cup after winning last year. Penticton will host the tournament in 2017.
File photo
point it’s probably a greater coup or a greater financial advantage for hosting the Western Canadian’s verus the RBC Cup (organized by Hockey Canada),” said Jakubeit. “I think it’s an astute move for the Vees organization to champion this. We were happy to support it. We look forward to some great hockey coming our way. It’s right at the end of the year when everyone is playing their finest. The calibre of hockey is going to be fast and intense. They are all playing to get to the national championship.” BCHL commissioner John Grisdale said Penticton is a great community to host. “The success of the team is well documented. They will be a fantastic host.” The BCHL initially received three bids, the other two from West Kelowna and Alberni Valley. Grisdale said that both withdrew their bid for various reasons. Al-
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berni Valley informed the league on Wednesday as they didn’t feel they could put everything in place. The BCHL will submit Penticton’s bid to the CJHL board, which is formed by the commissioners of the AJHL, SJHL and MJHL with the CJHL commissioner also looking at the bid. Grisdale said they will come and put their stamp on it to make it official, which he hopes is by Nov. 15. The WCC was created in 2012, when the CJHL announced a new regional playoff format for the western provinces. This is the second time the WCC is coming to B.C. and the first to the Okanagan. The Nanaimo Clippers held the inaugural event in 2013 and the Estevan Bruins are hosting the event this year in Saskatchewan. The Vees are the defending WCC champions as they won the event last year, their first in franchise history.
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