Gity contract talks go sour - the Quesnel & District Museum and ...

VVedhesday, October 23,2002 VOL 90/NO. 16
QUESNEL • CARIBOO
SINCE 1908
Red predominates
www.quesnelobserver.com
Quesnel's RCMP detachment held its Regimental Ball last Saturday at tlie Seniors Centre. Approximately 140 people attended the
formal occasion. Here, Cst. Curtis Durdle and a guest arrive, followed by Cpl. Russ Greer, Cst. Carol Gruending and Cst. John Hughes.
See page 43. • . ' - Photo contributed
Gity contract talks go sour
NEIL HORNER
Observer Reporter
When CUPE representative George Natalizio
took to the microphone at the end of Monday
night's regular council meeting, the message he
gave infuriated city manager Charles Hamilton
to the point where he stormed out of the room in
disgust.
And that pretty much summed up the state of
contract negofiations between the City of
Quesnel and their employees.
In his brief address to council, Natalizio said
he was puzzled by the state of the talks and
warned that a strike vote could be coming down
the pipes sooner, rather than later.
"We have been in a month of negotiations,"
BONE HEALTH:
It's as easy as ABC.
Page 14
Natalizio said. "You call us good workers, so
I'm puzzled at why we are at the point we are at
tonight. We are in big danger of crossing the
line. We are at the end of our rope here."
Natalizio said only one issue stands in the way
of reaching an agreement, but that issue is a
thorny one.
"We voted tonight and we are okay with the
two, two and thre,e per cent (wage hikes)," he
said. "We are not okay with the letter of
understanding. We are at a crossroad on that and
would like to know where you would like to go
on that. All that's left for us to do is take a strike
vote, and we tried our damdest not to go there."
During Natalizio's address, Hamilton quietly
got up from his seat and left the room.
In interviews after the meeting, the level of
MEDAL FROM
THE QUEEN:
Three winners
frdm Quesnel
Page 23
frustration on both sides was evident.
Natalizio said the stumbling block was a letter
of understanding regarding time off.
"It was a letter of understanding that deals
with the definition of a day in relation to
holidays and sick time," he said. "It was
supposed to be temporary and was supposed to
expire on June 8, but the city wanted it
reinstated. If they take the letter out of there,
then everything is fine with us."
However, Hamilton said the letter was integral
to the city's bargaining position, as it ensures
that employees who work extended shifts of 10
to 12 hours do not receive unearned vacadon or
sick leave benefits as compared to employees
who work seven or eight-hour days.
"It's a matter of fairness and equity," he said.
AIMING AT THE
BULLSEYE:
Fun tournament on
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Paae 29
$1.OO+70GST
Policies
students
-Krickan
MARKUS ERMISCH
Observer Reporter
The lid is off - class sizes
are rising in Quesnel.
Ron Krickan, president of
the Quesnel District
Teacher's association,
recently compiled a list of
class size violations.
"Larger classes and fewer
resources for students are
the result of the flexibility
that the government has
given school boards,"
Krickan said, "Perhaps
Education Minister Chriisty
Clark's pledge to put
students first meant that
students would be the first
to experience the effects of
a reduced financial
commitment by the
provincial government."
Krickan's list shows that
67 classrooms in the district
now have more students
after the teachers' collective
agreement provisions for
class size limits were
stripped by the government
at the requests of school
boards last summer.
Louise Scott, chairperson
of the school board,
explained British
Columbia's trustees were
part of the provincial
bargaining unit that decided
on an admissible range for
students per classroom.
"Instead of a maximum,
there's a range," she said.
"There are no classes in the
district with student
numbers higher than that
range."
Having more students in
the classroom, Scott said,
"will make it a little more
possible for newcomers to
the community to have their
children go to a local
school."-
Seepagel2

i QUKNEl CARIBOO OBSERVIR Wednesday. October 23,2002
Items and prices effective Thursday, October 24 thru Saturday, October 26, 2002
Milk
Assorted varieties excluding
CHhocolatc. 4 Litre.
FIRST OWE - Combined varieties.
While stocks last. Coupon effective at your Safeway
Mores only. Limit one coupon per customer.
't>n

4 QUESHEl CARIBOO OBSERVER Wednesday, October 23, 2002
Suspected beating
victim recovering
NEIL HORNER
Observer Reporter
The man who was injured
to such an extent
that he had to be rushed
to the emergency department
in a Victoria hospital
in August has returned
to Quesnel.
But David Wasstrom
still has a long road ahead
of him to a full recovery.
Wasstrom was rushed
to the coast after an incident
that police believe
was an assault on the Eraser
River foot bridge in
. August. He either fell or
was beaten to the point
where he suffered severe
head injuries.
Police later brought
in an RCMP scuba dive
team to search the river
bed for evidence, and reportedly
were successful
in their search, although
no details of exactly what
they found have been
made public to date.
Police were still unsure
about what happened
in the incident and
ran a picture in the paper
of Wasstrom's distinctive
bicycle and cart, as not
many people seemed to
know him by name. Although
.the move generated
some tips, police still
had no proof of whether
Wasstrom was assaulted
or fell as a result of mischance.
Although his condition
was very grave initially,
and there was con-
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David Wasstrom is recovering his memory in hospital.
Neil Horner photo
cern that he would actually
succumb to his injuries,
thanks to the care he received
in hospital, he has
improved dramatically, to
the point where he is able
to sit up and speak. His
condition continues to improve
on a daily basis.
Police are continuing
their investigation into the
incident and Corporal
Carl Vinet said he hopes
•Wasstrom's condition improves
to the point where
he will be able to shed
light on exactly what happened
to him.
Anyone with information
about this incident
is requested to contact the
Quesnel RCMP at 992-
9211.
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jift certificates and prepakJ phone cards. Discounts may not exceed $50.
Traffic slowed for
cattle tunnel work
ANNIE GALLANT
Observer Reporter
Motorists have been
very tolerant of the 15
minute delays required to
reroute traffic around the
replacement of a farm
tunnel on Highway 97
South just south of Kersley.
As well, motorists are
very curious about the nature
of the construction.
When the present
highway was constructed
in 1970, the Ministry of
Transportation found it
necessary to cut Ernie
Fridlington's farm almost
exactly in half, with 350
acres on the west side and
650 acres on the east side.
In order to ensure
safe travel between the
two sections, a deal was
struck to construct a farm
tunnel, large enough to
accommodate not only his
cattle, but also his tractors
and farm equipment.
The Ministry paid the
full cost of that installation
and also took on the
responsibility for maintenance
and replacement
when necessary. .
That time has come
and project manager Dan
Keeler is making every effort
to completis the job
on time and on budget.
"We are pretty well
on time and it looks like
life span than the. culvert
style.
The farm tunnel will
be 4.5 metres tall when
completed.
The Ministry waited being inserted,
for the bulk of the tourist Keeler said this type
traffic to be over and the of tunnel is cheaper to
Kersley Road to be bone construct and has a longer
^ ^ ^ ^
' -id
dry, but the impact on
local residents was also a
major consideration.
"I knocked on every
single door on the affected
road," Keeler said.
"The main concern
seemed to be the speed of
we may come in under
budget," Keeler said.
The budget for this
project was $265,000, but
Keeler is optimistic they
will complete for about
$225,000.
The old culvert had
experienced some collapsing
and over the years
the Ministry has made
several efforts to shore it
up.
Concrete had been
poured around the sides
to prevent the bulging
that was happening as a
result of the top collapsing,
but when the seam
in the culvert began to
crack, Keeler determined
it was time to replace the
structure.
"The culvert was not
installed as well as it
should have been," he
said. "But it was possibly
installed to the standards
of the time. That was before
my time."
Replacing the tunnel
involved removing the
section of road covering
the culvert, removing the
old culvert and building a
base for the new structure.
,
A total of 700 mm of
base has been laid, and
two sets of bin walls are
Project manager Dan Keeler is supervising the installation
of a new tunnel on Highway 97 South.
the detour traffic."
In order to accommodate
that concern, Keeler
employed a pilot car to
set the pace.
All the contractors
being used on the project
are local, as is the equipment
rentals. The bin
walls, which are unavailable
in Quesnel, were ordered
out of Prince
George.
"All the hired help
and supplies were purchased
locally," Keelei
said.
Keeler and his staff
are working round the
clock to complete this
project and he expects to
be done by October 28.
QUESKEl URIBOO OBSERVER Wednesday, October 23, 2002 5
Cariboo Traffic Control flagman Shane Nipshanii has not experienced many irritated motorists
during the recent construction of the Fridiington farm tunnei. Annie Gaiiant photos
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Police issue warning to lock vehicle doors
6 QUESHa aRIBOO OBSERVER Wednesday. October 23.2002
Police this week issued
a warning to Quesnel
residents to ensure the
security of their vehicles
and belongings when
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Anyone with information
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is requested to contact
the Quesnel RCMP-
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BREAKING
LOCAL NEWS
care
a big can of municipal worms
NEIL HORNER
Observer Reporter
When Quesnel city
council voted recently to
give a tax exemption to a
non-profit daycare, they
opened a can of worms.
And that can wasn't
entirely unexpected.
At Monday night's
council meeting, Westside
Childcare Centre manager
and owner Sandra Erickson
expressed her dissatisfaction
with council
granting the Quesnel and
District Daycare the tax
exempt status.
In a letter to council,
she conceded that while
she is not a non-profit
daycare, that doesn't
mean she gets rich. AS
well, she said, the Quesnel
Daycare has opportunities
denied to regular businesses
such as hers.
"The Quesnel Daycare,
as with any non-profit
daycare, has many opportunities
that are not
offered to for-profit daycares,
such as the Emergency
Repair, Replacement
and Relocation
grant, which is up to .
$4,000," she said in her
letter. "There is also the
Facilities and Equipment
Grant, casino funds, and
monies from community
Sandra Erickson: daycares
ail deserve tax exemption.
groups such as the Elks or
Shriners.
She said for-profit
operations cannot access
these extra funding sources,
yet must compete
with parent fees that are
similar to the fees charged
at the non-profit centres.
"For-profit centres
must raise all the operating
money from the parent
fees alone.," she said.
Because of this, Erickson
said, she feels her
daycare should get the
same tax exempt status as
the Quesnel Daycare.
October 25, 2002 from 10 am to 8 pm
PRIMERICA FINANCIAL SERVICES
OPENS IX)CAL OFFICE
XV'..
1 \-.'.-\ .ij*' i -
Dalton Hooker knew this
would probably happen.
"I propose that if you
offer the tax exemption to
any daycare, it should be
given to. all daycares," she
said in her letter. "Any
daycare that receives this
exemption should have to
account to the city for
where their money goes. I
will give the city an accounting
of the repairs
and so on that have occurred
each year towards
our program."
In response, councillor
Dalton Hooker said
Erickson's reaction came
as no surprise.
Quesnel, B.C., October 25, 2002, Dianne Dagneau, a Regional Vice President witii
Primerica Financial Services, has opened an office in Quesnel located at 391 Reid
Street below Granville's.
Primenca Financial Services is one of the
largest financial services marl