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Donovan Cavers
Cavers comments inappropriate, but fellow Kamloops councillors hope he learns from his mistake
**LANGUAGE ADVISORY** KAMLOOPS - Using several expletives in emails to staff and council has put Coun. Donovan Cavers in hot water, and some fellow councillors are calling the incident an isolated incident while others say he was 'immature and reckless.' Documents obtained by Radio NL during a freedom of information request show Cavers using inappropriate...
Cavers blames fellow Kamloops councillors for tipping off media to his cussing email
KAMLOOPS - Coun. Donovan Cavers will not apologize for who he is or how he conducts himself as a politician; even if it doesn’t make him any friends. The councillor, not a stranger to controversy or the odd temper tantrum in council chambers, is most recently in hot water for an email he sent to city...
Kamloops aims to be more green with plans to increase tree canopy in the city
KAMLOOPS - Kamloops is looking to get a little greener by planting more trees and upping the canopy cover around the city. The plan would see additional tree planting on boulevards, in urban spaces and in city parks with a goal of increasing the canopy cover to 20 per cent from the current 12 per cent....
ELECTION 2015: Solo Harper protester goes topless in Kamloops
KAMLOOPS – A topless Stephen Harper protestor took to the street in Kamloops today, Oct. 16, to demonstrate against the current government. Ashley Gribble said she picked Cathy McLeod’s campaign office because the Member of Parliament “needs to be more ashamed about what her government has done to women across Canada.” Gribble represents a group...
ELECTION 2015: Kamloops Conservative candidate lashes out at local city councillor
KAMLOOPS – In the last week of the federal election campaign, the Kamloops Conservative candidate launched an attack against a local city councillor over a posting to Facebook. Cathy McLeod says she is appalled Cavers had a post on his Facebook page which included a link to a Vancity Buzz story about a social media...
ELECTION 2015: Kamloops councillor brings ‘Heave Steve’ to council meeting
KAMLOOPS - A Kamloops city councillor used a very public outlet to let everyone in town know who he’s not voting for in the upcoming federal election. Donovan Cavers wore a t-shirt during a city council meeting today, Oct. 6, which read 'Heave Steve' with a cartoon Stephen Harper being carried off in in a...
‘Annoyed’ Kamloops councillor walks out of council meeting
KAMLOOPS - A Kamloops councillor walked out of council chambers in the middle of a meeting yesterday because his colleagues disagreed with him. Coun. Donovan Cavers wanted to see a change in how Kamloops councillors are voted to the Thompson-Nicola Regional District board and wanted staff to look at how other communities voted on or...
Arrow Transportation apologizes to residents of Dallas for dust; not for biosolids
KAMLOOPS – While Arrow Transportation Systems has apologized to residents of Dallas for the sawdust which blew into their neighbourhood, the company's vice president would not apologize for its biosolids operation and denies the dust contained biosolids. Arrow Transportation operates a biosolds processing operation at the Blackwell Dairy Farm. The company trucks the biolsolids from Vancouver,...
Councillors for pesticide ban say public and business were appropriately consulted
KAMLOOPS – The decision by Kamloops councillors to approve a ban on pesticides in the city next year was a "foregone conclusion," one councillor says. The issue was all but decided because seven of nine councillors already debated the concept before elections last November, Coun. Donovan Cavers says. “I thought it was a foregone conclusion,”...
Kamloops pesticide ban passes, will be implemented January 2016
KAMLOOPS – Next year residents of Kamloops will no longer be able to hire licensed applicators to spray their lawns or ornamental shrubs. A ban on cosmetic pesticide use was passed today, July 14, in city council to a round of applause from those who remained in council chambers for the decision. The proposed ban,...
Support for late night patios at new Kamloops casino
KAMLOOPS – When the new casino in Aberdeen opens later this summer patrons will be able to sit on a Cascades Casino patio into the wee hours of the morning. Located on Versatile Drive just off the highway near the Aberdeen and Pine View Valley neighbourhoods, council shot down a city staff suggestion to close...
The ‘cost of democracy’ calls for a $160,000 referendum
KAMLOOPS – Residents will decide if they are in favour borrowing $49 million to finance the purposed performing arts centre in a fall referendum, but it was the $160,000 cost of the referendum that recently came into question. Coun. Denis Walsh debated nearly every point raised on the referendum, including the cost of advertising, the...
Council prepares for likely performing arts centre referendum
KAMLOOPS – The results of the performing arts centre open house have been collated and based on discussion at City Hall Tuesday it looks like a referendum will, most likely, happen by late fall. While the topic of the centre produced a lively question and answer session in council chambers Tuesday, May 5, the big...
City agrees to New Afton’s request to increase air discharge rate
KAMLOOPS - There were many opinions to be heard this week as city council tackled New Gold’s New Afton Mine request to be allowed to increase its air discharge to reflect the mine’s new operational status. City staff advised council to agree to New Afton’s request, which the Ministry of Environment asked for city input on....
Cavers’ motion to change environmental assessment timelines for Ajax Mine defeated
KAMLOOPS – There is no appetite around the council table to ask the province to change the deadlines surrounding the environmental assessment process for the proposed Ajax Mine. Coun. Donovan Cavers wanted his fellow council members to ask the province to delay the 75-day public comment period after KGHM submitted its environmental application to give...
KGHM promises information site with ‘plain language summaries’
KAMLOOPS – The company behind the proposed Ajax Mine is once again assuring council, and city residents, of its commitment to transparency with a promise to make easy to read summaries readily available to the public. In a letter to council KGHM Ajax Mine External Affairs Manager Yves Lacasse says there will be ‘plain language...
Kamloops council considers reducing transit fares
KAMLOOPS – Ridership takes precedence over transit expenses, city council has decided, and as a result city staff will now put together a proposal on a fare decrease in an effort to help increase ridership in the city. In an attempt to follow the goals of the Sustainable Kamloops Plan by increasing ridership, and answer...
Transit fare increases to drive council discussion
KAMLOOPS - The challenge of transit service costing the city more money than it makes is no different in Kamloops than it is in any other city in the province and this week city council will discuss a possible fare increase to help offset the cost of the service. Similar to other urban amenities like,...
Councillor to ask province for more time to look at Ajax application
KAMLOOPS - A request for more time to study and provide input on the environmental application for the proposed Ajax Mine will go before council later this month. Coun. Donovan Cavers will be asking council to send a letter to the B.C. Environmental Assessment Office requesting the 75-day public comment period on the Ajax proposal...
Province overrules city; transit service increases put on hold
KAMLOOPS - In 2014 Kamloops city council members agreed to adding new transit buses and more service hours but a decision by the province to put a freeze on B.C. Transit funding means there will not be any additional services added this year, or for the next three years. B.C. Transit representatives were before council...
Merits of adding Secwépemc to stop signs debated
'THERE'S NO ABILITY TO SAY YES TO THIS' KAMLOOPS - Provincial legislation says we can’t add another language to stop signs but that did not stop council from spending nearly 20 minutes debating the merits of adding Secwépemc to the signs Tuesday afternoon. According to the Motor Vehicle Act, the only word permitted on the...
Free transit worth the cost?
COUNCIL WORKSHOP TO DISCUSS OPTIONS KAMLOOPS - Transit is a topic that gets a lot of discussion around the table at City Hall, and rightfully so. Taxpayers subsidize a portion of the public transportation and council plans to again explore whether any form of free transit can be offered and how much is too much...
City spent nearly $1,300 for each person who attended budget meetings
THE HIGH COST OF TRYING TO INCREASE PUBLIC ENGAGEMENT KAMLOOPS - The City spent nearly $60,000 trying to get citizens involved in budget discussions this year and only got 44 people to public meetings—or roughly $1,300 per person— and most councillors said that was too much. “$57,000 for 44 people to come to a budget...
So you want to be a city councillor? Here’s what it takes
THOMPSON-OKANAGAN - Most people realize there is a city council in place to help run the city, but few understand just what goes into being the mayor or a councillor. While the roles can change significantly depending on the city, the council member and the needs of the community at that time, we decided to...