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Friday, December 18, 2015
Nelson Leafs coach resigns See Page 14
Vol.8 • Issue 50
Rock of Ages coming to Capitol See Page 11
E! ec 18th & NY D r a B r e st y O
The little town of Incarnation
280 Baker Street Nelson BC (250)
354-4089
Ayla Sully, Jadyn Stallings, Albie Drysdale and Bridget Anderson performed the St. Joseph Catholic School Christmas pageant The Loaned Manger at the Capitol Theatre this week. They are seen here during their dress rehearsal Wednesday morning. In the small western town of Incarnation, Christmas is celebrated with grit, giddy-up and gusto! The kids spread the good news of Jesus’ birth with some forward-thinking townsfolk and a manger on loan. See more photos page 2.
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Paul Burkart named Nelson’s new police chief BILL METC ALFE Nelson Star
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Deputy Chief Paul Burkart will be the new chief of the Nelson Police Department starting Jan. 29, following the retirement of current chief Wayne Holland. Burkart, a 20-year veteran of police work, has risen through the ranks during his 15 years in Nelson, and says his promotion to chief is the result of Holland deciding, when he arrived here five years ago, that the next chief should be groomed from within the ranks. “It made sense for us to do that,” Burkart says. “I have been 15 years on the job here, and will start my role as chief knowing the businesses, the schools, the organizations, and the people of the community. It is an absolute advantage.” Burkart and his wife Eve, a clinical practice educator at Kootenay Lake Hospital, moved here from big-city policing in Calgary, where he worked in several specialized units. Although he found that work exciting, he want-
Paul Burkart has worked in policing for 20 years, 15 of those in Nelson. ed to raise his children in a small town. It’s the environment he likes best: Burkart grew up in Fort St. John. Burkart’s daughters, Julia, 15, and Kyra, 17, both students at L.V. Rogers, were young children when they moved here. “We have enjoyed every minute of being here,” Burkart says, speaking enthusiastically about the variety of activities his daughters have enjoyed in
Nelson. Burkart has served as treasurer of Nelson Youth Soccer, and has been a house and rep coach for the past 11 seasons. Burkart has a bachelor of social science degree in criminology and French, and a master’s in labour relations with majors in human resources and labour law. He says that’s a useful combination. “Police departments are a big businesses,” he says. “The Calgary department has 2,500 members, and even here, with volunteers, there are 55 people. So my human resources and labour law background is valuable.”
about just learning how to kick a ball. It is about working as a team, about being good people.” He says that in the same way, policing should not just be about responding to a crime, and that ideally it involves finding a way for that crime to not happen again, and delving into the social issues that might have caused it. “Eighty per cent of what we do is not in the crime stats. Working with community organizations, that’s what I enjoy.”
A people person
Asked about the challenges of police work, Burkart said “There is a lot of stress and shift work is hard. Some officers work 50 per cent of their shifts at night. The types of calls are very rarely pleasant. It is hard for us to go out and arrest somebody who has a family or talk to somebody after they lost a loved
Asked what he likes most about police work, Burkart said “I am a people person. I love dealing with the community. I like making a difference. If a person comes in and has a concern, I am willing to sit down right there and help them out. “When I coach girls’ soccer, it is not
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