Friday, March 29, 2013
Friday, March 22, 2013
Community Updates - Mar 22, 2013
Community Updates (7) – Mar 22, 2013
1) The next SPC Meeting is this
monday Mar 25/13 at 11:30 am at the City of Williams Lake.
Agenda –
Succession and Retention Subcommittee
For last month’s
minutes for your review, please visit
2)
Today is World Water Day and in the City of Williams Lake – free swim from
1:30 to 3 pm
The Mayor and Williams Lake City
Council did PROCLAIM March 22nd
as World Water Day in the City
of Williams Lake. The entire official proclamation can be seen
below. Thank-you Mayor and Council!
Williams Lake residents have REDUCED
their water use by 20% since 2006 when the Water Wise Program began. And
to to CELEBRATE this
achievement, the Conservation Society is hosting a FREE SWIM on World Water Day. We invite the
community to join us at the Sam Ketcham
Pool from between 1:30 to 3:00 on Friday, March 22nd.
CCCS Water Wise Staff will be at the
complex and have displays and information available (educational materials,
Water Wise Brochures, etc.) too.
3)
“Come Out and Play” 23rd Annual Nutrition Fun Run - Sunday April 7 at
11:00 am
Circle Sunday April 7 at
11:00 am for the 23rd annual community Nutrition Fun Run/Walk.
Celebrate Spring and Join in on the fun!... walk, bike, roller blade or bring
your strollers!. The event will start at the Cariboo Memorial Complex
& attracts over 350 people every year. We will begin with a high
energy warm up and finish with Great refreshments & prizes too.
Everyone Welcome! BYOB: Bring your own refillable water bottle!
For more info
you can contact:
Tatjana
Bates, RD, MHe
Williams
Lake, BC, V2G-1R8
250-302-5010
For healthy eating information go towww.interiorhealth.ca/healthy_eating.aspx
or call HealthLink BC at 8-1-1 and ask
for a Registered Dietitian
4)
Wii Olympics – Sunday April 7, 1:00 pm at TRU
Face off against other teams in a series of 6
Olympic-Style Wii events at TRU (1250 Western Ave). Medals and the grand prize
(Wii Gaming System) will be awarded at the closing ceremonies. There will also
be a fun, non-competitive station for children under the age of six, as well as
snacks and prizes for everyone.
This year there is also a “torch” relay event, with
the Torch making it’s way through local businesses leading up to the event!
Check out a video from last year’s events – just go
to the Boys & Girls Club facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/BoysAndGirlsClubOfWilliamsLake and follow the links.
This fundraiser costs $10/individual, $25/family
with all proceeds going towards local programs for youth. Snacks and prizes
available. For more info contact the Boys & Girls Club at 250-392-5730 –
registration forms are available online at
5) Connect Parent
Group in Williams Lake begins April 9/13
The connect parent group is a series of workshops in Williams Lake
that focuses on enhancing the building blocks of attachment, improving the
parents ability to reflect before acting, and adjust their feelings so they
respond more constructively to conflict when interacting with their children.
There are a series of 10 free one hour sessions over ten weeks
beginning April 9th, and to register or for more information please contact
Sheila Cohen, the Family Counsellor for Family Solutions at the Canadian Mental
Health Association’s CAriboo Chilcotin Branch at 250-305-4487.
6) Nurtured by Nature: Why We
Need Time Outside – Apr 5/13
This year’s Williams Lake Field
Naturalists’ Fundraising Banquet shines a spotlight on our vital need to get
outside.
Ex-Chilcotin cowgirl and
naturalist/writer Briony Penn shares the science on how being trapped
indoors is harming us.
Studies prove that our sedentary ways
are impacting life expectancy and quality for our children, and making them
less resilient to the upheaval caused by climate change. Briony brings
some of the best success stories on how to turn this juggernaut around.
She’ll share some rich seeds of ideas for natural history programs from
the mouths of the next generation themselves.
Join us on April 5, 6:00 at the United
Church Hall for a delicious meal and entertaining evening. Tickets are
available from the Open Book and Williams Lake Field Naturalists, and should be
purchased by March 30.
Jenny Noble,
Coordinator
Scout Island
Nature Centre
(250) 398-8532
7) Free Zumba Fitness Classes:
Mon &
Thurs from 5:15 – 6:15 pm at the Women’s Contact Society – Child minding is
available on Mondays. Space is limited to call to register at 250-392-4118
Wed from 9:15
– 10:15 am at the Salvation Army. To register call Candace at 250-855-8504
SPC Monthly Meeting Minutes - Feb 25/13
SPC Monthly Meeting Minutes (draft)
Feb 25, 2013 - 11:30 am – 1:00 pm
Location: Cariboo
Regional District Library (parking lot entrance)
In attendance (from sign-in
sheet): Jay Goddard, Carla Bullinger, Coleen Onofrechuk, Bruce Mack, Charlie
Wyse, Krista Niquidet, Anne Burrill, Monica Johnson, Sharon Taylor, Shannon
Thom and Jessica Knodel.
Accept
Mins & Agenda:
Reviewed meeting minutes from Jan
28, 2012
Reviewed the agenda for Feb 25,
2013 meeting - addition to agenda – view Anti-bullying video during lunch
Youtube Video - This Day Project - Shane Koyczan
Shane Koyczan "To This Day" (http://www.tothisdayproject.com)
video message about confronting bullying. The video can be viewed online at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ltun92DfnPY
The Living
Wage:
Background info provided –
In 2010 the SPC invited Seth Klein from the Canadian Centre for Policy
Alternatives (CCPA) to speak at the SPC’s Annual General Meeting. He gave a
presentation on Child Poverty in BC which also touched upon the subject of a
Living Wage. This caught the attention of the SPC which then used grant funds
awarded by the Social Development Working group of CCBAC to hire a student to
complete the first Living Wage and Poverty Reduction research project. The CTC
program also provided resources to help with the first wage calculation. Anne
Burrill and Monica Johnson have remained a constant in this local campaign. We
are now at the next stage of moving forward.
To begin, we showed a short
Youtube video (google the Living Wage).
Notes from the Living
Wage Subcommittee Handout:
The living wage is calculated as a hourly rate at which a
household can meets its basic needs, once government transfers have been added
to the family’s income (such as the Universal Child Care Benefit) and
deductions have been subtracted (such as income taxes and EI premiums).
Calculation of 2013 Living Wage has been completed
-What does the Living Wage include
-Discrepancies
with 2010 LW (15.77 but should likely have been 16.52)
-Comparisons
to other communities
Next Steps
-Public Release of Living
Wage for 2013 – when and how?
-MOU with LWBC – needs to be
signed to move forward with Employer Certification
-Employer Certification
project (with funding/coordination)
A decision was made to hold off publically releasing this
new calculation until some adjustments are made. To move this project further,
more time is required and a dedicated position was recommended in addition to
the committee. These next steps and recommendations will be presented to the
SPC Board by the Subcommittee at the next Board meeting.
Discussions which followed:
Food costs have significantly
increased since the first calculation (from dieticians report “The Cost of
eating in BC”)
A Living Wage is a non judgmental
number. It is not what the employer needs
to pay, it’s the wage that is needed, and
employee benefits reduce the costs of living for their employees.
There is an employer
certification process, and online tools for employers.
Suggestion to present to Chamber
of Commerce as the Living Wage is tied to economic development. The Chamber
could also be a “gate” for smaller organizations to get wholesale rates (also
see below).
A great example to share – on
Family day, the pool held a free swim at the Rec Complex and so many families
showed up, the pool had to turn people away. This attests to the need and
desire for more affordable recreation activities. Healthy families = healthy
communities but these activities can be expensive
The City is also a good place to
discuss this further as local government need to see the cost saving and
economic benefits.
There needs to be a momentum from
the broader community to help small business owners who want to pay a Living
Wage but cannot on their own.
Roundtable
Updates:
Updates are shared via weekly updates. The information below is in addition to these updates.
Charlie Wyse – thanked the table for this information. Only at the SPC
table was he able to find any information on a local living wage which is important
to our region.
Anne Burrill – The Heritage Day events were well attended with
approximately 50 people at the museum for neighbor to neighbor story telling
and conversations. The Shuswap language and learn program put on by the City
which taught some basic Secwepemctsín finishes this Friday.
It was another great course and learning opportunity.
Krista Niquidet – Taseko supports healthy community initiatives and
recently supported the Cariboo Chilcotin Partners for Literacy, Search and
Rescue, Indoor Rodeo and Dry Grad. To request funding assistance from Taseko,
please send a letter to Taseko, Attention Donations Committee.
Shannon Thom – Williams Lake Employment Services (WLES) – workshops, resume
writing, and all other services are in full swing. If someone works less than
20 hours a week or unemployed, WLES can offer assistance.
Sharon Taylor – Justice Theatre: Bullying with Violence is tomorrow
(posters handed out). This performance will connect Canada’s justice systems to
the lives of students by making its principles more understandable and by
demonstrating that it is there to help citizens who are victims of crimes.
Presented by IMSS Welcome WL, CTC, SD#27, and TRU.
Bruce Mack - lost provincial
funding and will be strategically planning next week.
Colleen Onofrechuk – The pediatrician at the CDC is available by referral
from your GP. Infant development and parenting classes are available.
Carla Bullinger – The CTC also has a distribution list for those who have
information to share. CTC encourages people to get involved anyway they can.
Jay Goddard – a) “Ending the R word” campaign is gaining momentum right now.
It is an awareness campaign to stop using the word retarded, b) After the Child
and Youth Care Consortium in Victoria, a new diploma program in this field will
be coming to our local TRU campus, c) go see the play “Little Women” (Jay is in
it).
Jessica Knodel – attended the Chamber of Commerce’s Board Governance
training and the valuable information learned can be shared with anyone or
organization who wishes to learn more. The course book can also be borrowed, and
will be shared with the SPC Board.
Meeting adjourned – the next meeting (Succession and Retention)
will be held on Mar 25/13, from 11:30 am – 1 pm, location TBA.
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