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Air pistol leads to lockdown at Vernon high school
VERNON – A Vernon high school was put on lockdown today after a report someone…
Mediated negotiations get underway in TRU faculty labour dispute
KAMLOOPS – University administrators and faculty members begin mediated bargaining today after the Thompson Rivers…
Strike action won’t impact students: TRU Faculty Association
KAMLOOPS - Faculty at Thompson Rivers University still plan to initiate job action on Thursday, but say their position will not affect students or classes. The TRU Faculty Association announced on Monday, Jan. 11 it would strike by Thursday if no negotiations were in place with the university, which it has been at the bargaining table...
Kamloops students take part in national recording project
KAMLOOPS - To commemorate the upcoming 50th anniversary of Canada’s flag, students from two Kamloops schools loaned their voices to a national project. The Flag of Canada hometown commemorative project is recording students across the country singing the national anthem. In Kamloops, students from both St. Ann’s Academy and Bert Edwards Elementary were recorded yesterday,...
Loss of school bus route leaves Cherryville mom in a quandary
CHERRYVILLE - A Cherryville mother is considering homeschooling her children after learning they will now have to walk over nine kilometres to get to the nearest bus stop. Kara-Lee Zeolkowski got a letter from School District 22 in June saying the bus stop outside the family’s home on Sugar Lake Road has been eliminated. The...
Precautions taken after confirmed Norovirus case at Vernon school
VERNON - The Vernon School District is taking precautions after a child was diagnosed with Norovirus earleir this week. Superintendent of School District 22 Joe Rogers says a single case of the virus was confirmed Wednesday, May 13, at Ellison Elementary School, prompting a precautionary response. “When we have a potential outbreak, once we have...
Vernon parents left frustrated with City Hall over student safety
VERNON - Vernon parents are disappointed local government isn’t planning to do more to make the roads around Beairsto School safer as a drive-through Tim Hortons is built across the street. Out of 11 traffic safety recommendations made by the Beairsto Parent Advisory Council — such as widening sidewalks, reducing the speed limit on 27...
Developer must pay $80,000 in upgrades before building drive-through Timmies across from elementary school
VERNON - A group of Vernon parents fear a new drive-through Tim Hortons and gas bar will worsen traffic around an adjacent elementary school, but the city claims the opposite. City planner Dale Rintoul says the developer has agreed to provide $80,000 for intersection upgrades at 35 Avenue and 27 Street, where both Beairsto Elementary...
UBCO gets knuckles rapped over back road campus access
KELOWNA - It may be a case of a few rule breakers wrecking it for everyone else. UBC Okanagan has announced an agreement with Curtis Rd. residents to reopen the private road in North Glenmore to limited use by a limited number of staff and students. The road has been closed to UBCO since Feb....
Vernon School District seeks feedback on busing changes
VERNON - The Vernon School District is reaching out to parents for input on contentious bussing changes implemented this year. In a recent survey, parents were asked for feedback on School District 22’s transportation policy, which now enforces a 2.4 km walk limit at all its schools. About 300 students living within the walk limit...
Minivan strikes school bus with 14 teenagers inside
FALKLAND - A school bus driving 14 teenagers home was struck by a minivan Monday afternoon, sending a student to hospital. RCMP spokesperson Gord Molendyk says the bus was just pulling onto Highway 97 near Falkland after dropping off a student when a minivan plowed into the rear of the bus. The minivan went into...
Vernon school trip to Ghana dependent on Ebola situation
NORTH OKANAGAN - An Ebola outbreak in parts of Africa has cast some doubt over a planned school trip to Ghana next spring. The North Okanagan-Shuswap school board has approved the excursion in principle, pending a December update from one of the organizers. The trip is scheduled for March 15-25, 2015. Director of Instruction Wendy...
Vernon parents, students call for an end to the strike
VERNON - Teachers have been glued to their picket lines for days, but this week, there were some new faces on the block. Vernon parents, joined by students, took to 27 Street Monday afternoon with protest signs calling for an end to the strike. “The teachers have been walking the picket line long enough, I...
Vernon teachers, parents frustrated after passionate plea to school board
VERNON - Teachers and parents urged the Vernon school board to push for mediation between the B.C. Teachers Federation and the provincial government at a meeting Wednesday. Tensions were high in the packed boardroom, which had standing room only. School board trustees, teachers and parents all agreed they needed to get students back in the...
School’s out, but provincial exams will be written
NORTH OKANAGAN - There will be picket-free entrances for grade 10-12 students writing their provincial exams in the North Okanagan. While school is out for students across the province, a ruling from the Labour Relations Board means grade 10-12 students will write their provincial exams as scheduled and have them marked. All other school exams...
Westsyde students among those walking out Wednesday
KAMLOOPS - Students are sick of being played as pawns and at least a handful of students at Westsyde Secondary will protest Wednesday morning in an effort to get both sides of the labour dispute to think about the students stuck in the middle. “This walkout is to tell both the government and the teachers...
Kelowna parents join teachers on day of action
KELOWNA – With the second of four planned rotating job action days taking place in Kelowna Tuesday, some parents and teachers are saying they are standing together for students in danger of being left behind. Veronique Broger has two kids enrolled in Ecole de L’Anse-Au-Sable on Gordon Dr. She decided to come out and support...
Teachers on twitter: Strike news shared on social media
PENTICTON - Teachers across the province began striking this morning for better wages and smaller class sizes, among other reasons. The rotating strike is an effort to move along negotiations with the province. Here's a look at what teachers, parents and students have been saying on social media: %%Embed1%% To contact the reporter for this...
Why 153 Vernon teachers received layoff notices
VERNON - Over a hundred teachers are being laid off in the Vernon School District, but it’s likely most will be re-hired in September. Superintendent Joe Rogers says the layoffs are all part of an annual process. Unlike most school districts, Vernon grants recall rights to teachers who have worked at least five months, even...