News Leader News
OCTOBER 5TH IS WORLD TEACHERS' DAY
The signed Proclamation pretty much says all that needs to be said.
"The Town of Princeton, in the Province of British Columbia, hereby acknowledges October 5th, 2006 to be World Teachers' Day and further that we communicate our appreciation to the teachers in our public schools for the role they play in assuring the well-being of society."
Princeton Mayor Randy McLean put pen to paper last week to make the Proclamation official.
World Teachers¹ Day is a relatively new 'celebration' having started just over a decade ago when UNESCO Director General Federico Mayor proclaimed October 5th as World Teachers' Day to honour the teaching profession and "make the public aware of the value of public education and the key role of teachers."
Mayor is quoted as saying, "Teachers are often underrated," and that "education reform should go hand in hand with improving the status of teachers."
British Columbia Teachers' Federation President Jinny Sims sees October 5th as much more than just a special day.
"It's a day to celebrate the contribution of teachers to the future of Canada and the world. Education International represents over 29-million teachers around the world. World Teachers' Day should be the occasion for governments to make new and serious commitments to support our dedicated teachers. Such commitments are urgently needed for all schools, regardless of socio-economic status, ethnic origin, religious belief, or gender."
Simms sums up her thoughts with this 'bumper sticker-ready' statement: "Every child should experience the miracle of learning."
ARTS COUNCIL KICKS OFF NEW SEASON
Arts groups met September 20 at Riverside Centre to begin a new season after summer break. A few of the 10 members of the Community Arts Council had concerns, or successes, to share.
Councillor Ray Jarvis received a round of applause for his dedication as Town Council liaison to the Arts Council. He accompanied Princeton Community Band to a music festival in Clearwater during the summer. He said he enjoyed himself and was impressed with the skill of the band.
The Arts Council received an invitation to attend the September 27 brainstorming session to create a plan for a town square. Del Hall said she would not be able to attend, but would ensure the Arts Council would be represented at the meeting. The Arts Council welcomed the opportunity to express ideas they have discussed.
A ballet group from Kelowna had asked about coming to Princeton this year, but Princeton is not in the itinerary for the coming season. Princeton Concert Society will keep in contact. The society does plan an evening with Jon Bartlett and Rika Ruebsat, who do shows about BC history in music and narrative.
Nick Mills reported that the Museum Society needs volunteers to man the museum during the fall. Visitor numbers are down slightly this year. Mills said he had met with Mascot Mine Tours, and their numbers are down, too. The smoke situation in the Similkameen Valley this summer was a problem.
Princeton Potters Guild has attracted a number of people interested in working with clay. Sue LePoidevin reported a successful summer program for youth, and a new program for youth this fall. LePoidevin will be a featured artist in Kelowna during this year's wine festival .
Don Burbidge reported concerns about the future development of the Swan Lake area.
Vermilion Forks Field Naturalists, who are local custodians of the area, have run out of grant monies provided for enhancement of the area. They are looking at the potential of sharing responsibility for the site, and considering the possibility of turning it into a grasslands interpretive centre along the lines of the desert interpretive centre in Osoyoos.
Harvey Donahue and Mary Bedford made a strong case for their request for additional money to launch a new season of art classes. Donahue explained that Vermilion Artists has made a commitment to give bursaries for young artists who show exceptional talent, and must reserve money for that purpose, as well as advertise upcoming art lessons.
The cost of visiting instructors for the acrylic lessons this fall, and the watercolour lessons next spring, are covered, but the travelling costs are not.
Obtaining qualified instructors is essential for skill development of local artists. They requested $400 to cover the added costs.
They were successful in stating their case, as Arts Council members voted in favour of giving them enough to cover travelling costs.
Part of Vermilion Artists plans for 2007 include a "Pride of Princeton" art show.
Jon Bartlett presented an idea for the formation of another arts group in the community. He proposed a "film club", a group which would view films and hold discussions about the films. Arts Council members gave him the go-ahead to investigate how similar groups in other communities structure their clubs and obtain films. He will report at the next meeting, October 18.
NATIONAL FOREST WEEK - HOW DID WE DO IN 2005?
Annual Report on Merritt Timber Supply Area
Princeton, Tulameen, Hedley and areas surrounding these communities are included in Merritt Timber Supply Area (TSA). Forest licensees operating within the TSA must meet targets for forest health, soil conservation, Forest Management (SFM) Plan.
The SFM Plan is based on the Canadian Standards Association Sustainable Forest Management System, one of the primary certification systems currently used in B.C. The system sets performance goals and targets in compliance with existing forest policies, laws and regulations.
Who sets the targets?
The Sustainable Forest Management Advisory Group brings together a cross-section of people from the Merritt TSA. These people represent local interests in recreation, ranching, forestry, conservation, water, community and First Nations. Anyone who would like to participate in the Advisory Group should contact one of the participating forest licensees in Merritt TSA.
Keeping score
The Plan has 35 targets for sustainable forest management. The targets are monitored annually, and a report is published each year for the previous year's performance. Forest licensees provide information regarding trees
harvested, trees planted, roads developed, roads closed, and so on. For each area harvested, a timber harvest "prescription" is proposed and modified according to specific target requirements.
Highlights for 2005
- * The target was to have wildlife tree patches or individual wildlife trees retained in 90 percent of cutblocks greater than five hectares. In fact, the target was exceeded (99 percent).
- * A total of 2,829 hectares achieved free growing status 4.8 years earlier than legally required.
- * The target was exceeded for reforestation (99 percent were replanted within three years of harvest).
- * Mountain Pine Beetle infested timber had a critical timeframe for salvage. This target was 100 percent met. A total of 2,834 hectares were salvaged.
- * Permanent roads and landings occupied 3.5 percent of the total harvest area. The target was "less than seven percent".
- * The target for natural regeneration within a specific timeframe was met (2,283 hectares were successfully regenerated).
Some goals were not achieved to the full extent of the target, particularly in regard to soil and water conservation. None of the non-conforming conditions was serious, and steps were taken to rectify the situation.
How much was harvested?
The Crown Licence volume for 2005 was 2,066,603 cubic metres. All licensees were within the cut control variance set out by regulations.
Product totals for Merritt TSA
Lumber output: total was 640,545,000 board feet.
Chip, shavings and hog fuel: 523,261 bone dry units
Other forest products from sawmills: 39,484 cubic metres
Employment:
A total of 694 mill employees were on payroll in Merritt TSA in 2005. Mills were in operation an average of 249 days with an average of 1.8 shifts per day.
Protected ecosystems
In Merritt TSA, 60,548 hectares is maintained as a protected area. Areas are designated as mule deer range, or for grizzly bears, and small areas for the mountain beaver and tailed frog.
Other protected areas involve lakeshores, riverbanks, and creek or freshet drainage. Watercourse protection and water conservation are an important part of the harvest prescription.
Combatting noxious weeds
Areas where erosion or invasion of noxious weeds threatens forest health are revegetated with grass seed graded acceptable for this use. During 2005, 12,694 kg of Canada#1 or equivalent grass seed was purchased, and 13,114 kg of applied for revegetation of roads and rights of way.
Forest age
Almost 60 percent of forests in Merritt TSA are older than 100 years. This exceeds the desired goal of having just 14 percent of the forest in the same age group. It will take an estimated 100 years to reach the desired goal.
Who is involved in the upper Similkameen area?
Many forest companies and businesses operated in the Princeton area during 2005.
Cascade Post and Rail, a division of Aspen Planers, manufactured posts, rails, dowels and grape stakes. Princeton Forest Products provided logs for Aspen Planers.
Princeton & District Community Forest Corporation contracted with Princeton Wood Preservers and Princeton Post and Rails to provide post and rail materials. Upper Similkameen Indian Band did contract tree planting for Tolko, as well as contract work to local licensees for archaeological studies and contract logging. SBC Firemaster, Princeton Forest Products, Princeton Wood Preservers, Town of Princeton and Princeton Co-gen (wood
pellet manufacturer) have agreements with Weyerhaeuser for log trades and or raw material supply.
Weyerhaeuser is the largest manufacturer of standard wood products in the Princeton area.
For further particulars on Merritt TSA, visit this website
online
