News Leader News for August 21, 2007
SADEGUR RECEIVES COMMENDATION
On July 27th, Maria Sadegur was awarded the Minister of Veterans Affairs Commendation for her service to veterans and the Royal Canadian Legion.
Maria, already a Life Member of our Branch and a recipient of the Legion's Meritorious Service Medal, was completely surprised when she was notified by Ottawa of their intention to present her with this award.
In April 2001, Her Majesty the Queen approved the design of a special bar to be worn with decorations to be known as the Minister of Veterans Affairs Commendation.
The Governor General has issued a Warrant creating this award, and the governing policies call for it to be "awarded to individuals who have performed commendable service to the veteran community and/or individuals who represent commendable role models for their fellow veterans."
The award is intended primarily for veterans, though in rare circumstances non-veterans may be considered for an Honorary Commendation.
The Commendation consists of a certificate, a lapel pin for civilian wear, and a bar for wear with decorations. The design is a gold maple leaf resting on a red poppy, a flower long associated with the sacrifices of war, with the Royal Crown on top of the pin.
The ceremony took place in the ballroom at the Richmond Executive Inn.
There were 18 recipients from all over Western Canada along with their spouses in attendance. A buffet lunch was served following the presentation.
The Minister of Veterans Affairs, Hon. Greg Thompson presented the Commendation which reads:
"Whereas Her Excellency, the Right Honourable Adrienne Clarkson, Governor General of Canada, did authorize the creation of a Minister of Veterans Affairs Commendation and the Insignia thereunto pertaining to be presented to those Veterans and others who, in an exemplary way, have contributed either to the care and well being of Veterans or to the remembrance of the sacrifices and achievements of Canadians in armed conflict.
And whereas Maria Sadegur, MSM, has made such exemplary contributions by generously giving of herself and so both benefitting veterans and making manifest of the principle that Canada's obligation to all who have served in the cause of Peace and Freedom, must not be forgotten.
This same Minister of Veterans Affairs Commendation and Insignia are hereby granted; Given under my hand in the city of Vancouver this 27th day of July 2007."
MLA DISLIKES BOUNDARY CHANGES
"This is the most massive disruption of provincial boundaries in British Columbia since the end of the Second World War," says Yale-Lillooet MLA Harry Lali.
"Rural British Columbia comes out the big loser in both the present 'first-past-the-post' system and in the STV proposal in last week's report released by the Electoral Boundary Commission."
The 3-person Commission recommended adding 5 new urban seats in Vancouver, Burnaby, Surrey, Abbotsford, and Kelowna at the expense of eliminating 3 small-town Rural B.C. seats, one each in the North, Cariboo-Thompson, and Kootenays regions.
"There will now be three less MLAs from Rural B.C. in the Legislature to be replaced by five additional MLAs from Urban B.C. It is bad enough that we have a Liberal government in Victoria that stripped the 'heart' out of B.C.'s 'heartlands' by making massive cuts to health care and education, cuts to other essential services - such as closing courthouses and forestry, transportation, environment, probation, social services', government agents' and other public offices in small rural towns like Merritt, Logan Lake, Lytton, Lillooet, Hope, Princeton, and Keremeos," says Lali.
"Rural British Columbia produces the wealth that we depend on in B.C., but has been ignored and hurt by the Gordon Campbell Government," adds Lali.
"Reducing rural representation in the Legislature, as the Commission proposes to do by eliminating 3 rural seats, is adding insult to injury for Rural British Columbians. People in Yale-Lillooet are rightfully upset with the unjustified proposal to remove the southern half of the constituency from Hope and the Fraser Canyon, through Princeton and Hedley to Keremeos," explains Lali.
"Furthermore, the inclusion of the southern half of the Cariboo South constituency - stretching up to the municipal boundaries of Williams Lake - increases the size of this newly-named Cariboo-Fraser constituency from 31,000 sq. km. to well over 36,000 sq. km."
Since this is a preliminary report British Columbians will have a chance to provide feedback to the Commission during the second round of public hearings from September 5 - November 14.
Lali says, "Constituents in Yale-Lillooet and B.C. have an opportunity and obligation to point out to the Commissioners that reducing their representation in the Legislature is a step in the wrong direction and will have profound consequences for the future of small-town, Rural British Columbia."
COMMUNITY SERVICES RECEIVES ACCREDITATION
CARF announced last week that Princeton & District Community Services has been accredited for a period of three years for its Community Services; Community Housing; Community Integration and Respite Services programs.
This is the first accreditation that the international accrediting commission has awarded to PDCSS.
This accreditation outcome represents the highest level of accreditation that can be awarded to an organization and shows the organization's substantial conformance to the standards established by CARF. An organization receiving a Three-Year Accreditation outcome has put itself through a rigorous peer review process and had demonstrated to a team of surveyors during an on-site visit that its programs and services are of the highest quality, measurable and accountable.
Princeton & District Community Services is a non-profit organization with offices at 47 Harold Avenue. It has been providing services in Princeton since 1973.
CARF is an independent, non-profit accrediting body whose mission is to promote the quality, value and optimal outcomes of services through a consultative accreditation process that centres on enhancing the lives of persons served.
Founded in 1966 as the Commission on Accreditation of Rehabilitation Facilities, and now known as CARF, the accrediting body establishes consumer-focused standards to help organizations measure and improve the quality of their programs and services.
The Board, staff and service recipients are all very proud to have achieved this level of accomplishment.
