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Rare stop for beautiful Native art Abbotsford offers Canada’s only viewing
F RIDAY , June 18, 2010
48 Pages
Page A32
YOUR SOURCE FOR LOCAL NEWS, SPORTS, WEATHER AND ENTERTAINMENT abbotsfordtimes.com
S.D.’s money men staying on the move
WEATHER SUNS AND DAUGHTERS
Three leave in less than two years CHRISTINA TOTH CToth@abbotsfordtimes.com
S
ecretary treasurer Mark Lee is not the only person to have left the Abbotsford School District’s financial department within the past year and a half. Lee replaced the district’s former secretary treasurer, George Murray, who left the post on Dec. 31, 2008, after being on the job for eight and a half years.
“It’s a complex and diverse porfolio. There’s a lot of pressure from the funding side, from the taxpayer side – the public sector is not a cake walk anymore.” – George Murray former secretary treasurer
Lee started his job as secretary-treasurer with the school district August 1, 2009, and last week, the district announced his departure. Last year, the district’s director of finance Gordon Swanson also left his job. Murray, now the director of finance with Fraser Valley Regional District, said the school district post he held is challenging. The position includes not only managing a multi-million dollar budget – Abbotsford School District’s is close to $160
million for the 2010-2011 year – but also includes operations, human resources, transportation, payroll, purchasing and other areas, he said. “It’s a complex and diverse portfolio. There’s a lot of pressure from the funding side, from the taxpayer side – the public sector is not a cake walk anymore,” Murray said from Chilliwack on Monday. He added there were no “untoward” reasons why he left the job to take another closer to his Chilliwack home. “It was nice to get off the freeway. Now it’s a 10-minute drive [to work],” he said. Lee, too, said in an e-mail there was nothing “untoward” in his departure, but had no further comment. He returns to Trinity Western University this fall as an adjunct professor to teach three courses in TWU’s school of business, as he did in the 2009-10 school year. As to why Lee and Swanson left, neither the Abbotsford school district administration nor the board of education is saying if the two left their jobs of their own accord, or were asked to leave, or if they received severance payouts. School district spokesman Dave Stephen cited privacy considerations. “ We would not discuss labour/personnel matters due to employee-employer confidentiality, as well as out of respect for those involved,” he wrote in an e-mail on Monday.
– RAFE ARNOTT/TIMES
Anika Bush and mom Vanessa Fleury enjoyed some recent sunshine by cooling off in the fountain outside Abbotsford City Hall. Environment Canada is calling for a mixture of sun, clouds and rain over the weekend with highs to 18 C and lows of 11 C.
Con Air takes off in Abbotsford Flight risk: cost negligible considering consequences RAFE ARNOTT RArnott@abbotsfordtimes.com
P
olice escorted two violent offenders back to Alberta on a WestJet flight from Abbotsford to Edmonton Thursday morning. It was the first time Abbotsford Police have participated in the so-called “con-air” flights. “The program returns people wanted on warrants from outside British Columbia back to those jurisdictions where they are wanted to deal with their criminal proceedings,”
Const. Ian MacDonald said, adding the two men being flown out have extensive police histories. “One is listed as a B.C. high-risk violent offender and is currently wanted out of Edmonton for 11 offences,” MacDonald said. The Vancouver Police Department initiated the program in B.C. in January 2008 after sending back Michael Brennan, a London, Ont. man wanted for assault and bodily harm with a weapon. While the APD prides itself on being an innovator, MacDonald said the department does borrow ideas on occasion. “If someone else out there in law enforcement has a good idea, certainly we’re not adverse to stealing or adopting that idea if it’s working,” he said. see FLIGHTS, page A8
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