News Leader News for March 10, 2009
SGT. MACAHONIC RETIRES
Sgt. Macahonic of the Princeton RCMP is retiring.
In light of the recent Victim Services controversy there is sure to be those who want to say he was forced to retire, or he is retiring because of the unsubstantiated allegations and insinuations of wrong doing. This is simply not true.
Sgt. Macahonic has been involved in policing for over twenty-eight years and in so doing has often encountered individuals who do not agree with his actions. This does not mean that the actions that were taken were incorrect. There are courts and internal investigations to address disagreement. Sgt. Macahonic has withstood the scrutiny of any investigation and has never been found to be of wrong doing or have intent to be malicious.
Sgt. Macahonic's transfer to Princeton was promotional recognizing his diligence and dedication to his duties. He has enjoyed his two years as the Princeton Detachment Commander and has accomplished many positive things, internal and external to the office.
Princeton detachment members and staff are of the absolute highest calibre and character and Princeton is very fortunate to have them providing their policing service.
Macahonic thanks them for their support.
Sgt. Macahonic was enroute to retirement in the near future and has taken a business opportunity offered to him before it passed. It should be said Sgt. Macahonic and his wife Kim have appreciated the huge support shown to them by many people in Princeton especially recently.
They look forward to their upcoming long planned trip to Europe, spending more time on their motorcycle and relaxing at their new vacation home in Arizona.
COUNCIL HONOURS COMEAU
Gordon Comeau, Chair of the Board of Education for School District #58 (Nicola-Similkameen) received special recognition from Town Council at the March 2 meeting. Mayor Randy McLean presented Comeau with a jacket embroidered with a Princeton logo.
Comeau is the recipient of the 2009 BC Community Achievement Award in recognition of his contributions to education for 26 years.
Comeau has been a school trustee for 27 years, 23 of which he served as Chair.
He was President of the BC School Trustees Association and President of the Canadian School Boards Association during those years.
Mayor McLean asked Comeau to comment on his experiences. Comeau said he had seen a lot of changes, including going from 1,000 students in Princeton to the present 400, a province-wide trend.
His term as President of the Canadian School Boards Association presented challenges, including persuading the New Brunswick government it should not dismiss a locally elected school board.
He added he learned a lot about Canada, from the fact that Canada's public education system is one of the top systems in the world, and that BC and Alberta are at the top of the scale in Canada.
Comeau spoke of the closure of Tulameen Elementary and Riverside Elementary.
He said Riverside is now a great community asset thanks to the support of the community. He gave full credit to Community Service Director Lyle Thomas for the work done to make Riverside Centre a place for community benefit.
NOTES FROM TOWN COUNCIL
Council commends residents
Most of us do not think about the life of our local landfill. We go about our daily activities, including recycling and taking out the garbage, as part of a routine we have established. On March 2, Town Council had a few words to say about the behaviour of local residents.
In 2001, a report to Council said if local residents did not recycle more, the landfill would not last much longer. Council had to start a reserve fund to replace the landfill, which is expensive, and to close the existing landfill, which is even more expensive.
Mayor Randy McLean praised residents of Princeton and Area H for their efforts to reduce waste in the landfill. He said he expects the landfill will last longer than predicted due to the high level of recycling. Town receives big money
The Town of Princeton will receive $560,000 from the BC government earmarked for community development. A further substantial grant will be received in July if Princeton enters now into an agreement with the Ministry of Community Development.
This is far more than the BC government has granted in the past. Mayor Randy McLean stated that without this grant, local property taxes would be 24 percent higher. W. E. D. gives big grant
The Town of Princeton is entering an agreement with Western Economic Diversification that will bring a non-repayable grant to provide services to 20 industrial lots at the industrial park.
The total cost of infrastructure development in the industrial park will be $740,000, with $450,000 coming from Western Economic Diversification. Council praises webcasts
At the March 2 Town Council meeting, Community Services Director Lyle Thomas outlined the success of Princeton Posse Junior B Hockey Team, telling Council the Posse wins had guaranteed them a place in Round 2 of the playoff series.
He praised the webcasts done by George Elliott and Clint Clifton, saying up to 800 people watched the webcasts during the games and around 200 people picked up the webcasts after the games.
See pages 7 and 8 of this week's News Leader for a feature on the webcasts.
POSSE WEBCASTS - LINKING FAMILIES AND HOCKEY FANS TOGETHER
It was at the beginning of the 2007/08 KIJHL season when the Princeton Posse first approached Similkameen News Leader Owner/Publisher (and former radio broadcaster) George Elliott to see if he was interested in providing play-by-play coverage of Posse home games on the internet.
"I was pretty excited to be asked to be honest with you," he says.
"However, it didn't happen until a year later and they asked me again and assured me all I had to do was talk into a mic so I thought, hey, why not? I'm at the games anyway."
In his radio career that spanned 23 years, Elliott had done just about everything one could do in the industry except sports play-by-play.
"I think that's what made the offer so much more attractive to me."
After a few webcasts early in the season Elliott started requesting e-mails from viewers inviting feedback and suggestions.
"I wasn't sure what to expect. At first I didn't really know if anyone was even watching them then I started getting e-mails from parents of players - not just Posse players, but from family members from visiting teams as well and what they said made me realize we were part of something bigger than just sharing local hockey."
The webcasts were bringing families together, even miles away parents are able to
'visit' their son in the comfort of their home.
"I can't always travel 16 hours to watch a game," says Al Masch who's son Wade wears jersey #14.
"The webcasts are the next best thing to being there and if work won't allow me to watch the game, I pull it out of the archives so webcasts are huge to me."
The KIJHL website provides an archive file of all webcasts aired over the season and many of them are viewed regularly.
Princeton Recreation and Culture Director Lyle Thomas shares Al Masch's feelings.
"Sometimes I'm out of town at conferences or meetings and it is so nice when I can open my laptop and catch the game on the internet."
Elliott says he's been pretty lucky this season having the assistance of some great volunteers.
"Des Cosman does the camera work and she's simply awesome. She follows the play, zooms in on stuff and sucks you right into the action."
Then there's that extra voice in the booth, often called a colourman.
"Each colourman I've had up here has added insight from a slightly different perspective. Kevin Robillard shared insight from the Assistant Coach's point of view; Kevin Darcy helped on a few games and shared observations from a player's point of view and now Clint Clifton provides a completely different view seeing the game through the eyes of a referee and I think each has added a unique dimension to the webcasts."
"I like to hear from the game broadcasters some of the background knowledge they can give to us as viewers because I am not with the team," explains Bill McCance, who's son Mike plays with the Kamloops Storm, and tunes into the Posse webcasts from his home in Vancouver.
"They hear or see a lot of things they report which helps me understand situations. It is of tremendous use as a parent to have these broadcasts."
McCance also echoes Al Masch's thoughts.
"Webcasts allow me to view the players and follow the team progress. Following my son is of great importance to me as a Dad and as a coach I can stay attached to his life in the game. Watching games (via the internet) gives me attachment to a family member who is far away and I cannot get to many games because of time and geography."
Although Elliott understands how the Posse webcasts link families together, he sees it as a much bigger tool.
"We talk up Princeton every chance we get. We're also fans of the team, so I'm sure that leaks through our coverage but first and foremost we're proud to be part of our community and hopefully that comes across."
Lyle Thomas agrees.
"I think the webcast is a huge opportunity for the Posse to market themselves and generate revenue through advertising. It's one more thing that positively showcases our community."
Elliott says there are usually between 300 and 500 viewers per live webcast with each webcast being viewed an additional 200 times once it's archived.
"I really believe there's a lot more we can be doing with the webcasts, but for now I'm thrilled to be doing what we're doing and I hope to be part of it as it evolves."
