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SENK’LIP NEWS February - 2016 EDITION - OKANAGAN INDIAN BAND 12420 WESTSIDE ROAD VERNON, BC V1H 2A4 - FREE
SENK’LIP NEWS
Editor: Shaylen Smith
Ph: 250-542-4328
Fx: 250-542-4990
Chief: Byron Louis
Councillors: Homer Alexis, Lyle Brew-
er, Barbara (June) Cole, Tim Isaac,
Allan Louis, Coola Louis, Dan Wilson,
Raymond Marchand, Russell Williams
and Leland Wilson
UXO’s an Explosive
Topic January 20, 2016 - The Okanagan Indian Band
was featured in a Maclean’s magazine article on
January 4, 2016. The investigative article ex-
plored the history of military service by OKIB
members, the account of the Canadian militaries
use of OKIB lands, and the costly process for
removing unexploded ordnances (UXO’s) from
reserve lands. While the recent coverage in lo-
cal media has brought the issue to the attention
of the general public, this has been an on-going
agenda item that Chief and Council have active-
ly been addressing since the Department of Na-
tional Defence (DND) stopped using the lands
for military training. Outside media sources
have focused on the following topics:
Misleading statements from DND
Chief Byron Louis was interviewed by Global
News about the article in Mclean’s magazine on
January 7, 2016. The story aired on the evening
newscast and included a statement from the De-
partment of Defence indicating that the Okana-
gan Indian Band needed to submit land use and
economic development plans to the government
prior to DND moving forward with the removal
process.
A response from the Chief was sent out to clari-
fy the misleading information, so that the public
would know that there is no such requirement in
any of the contracts and that by their signature
on the contracts DND is obligated to remove
the UXO’s regardless of OKIB’s intended
uses for the lands in question.
The settlement between DND and K&L
Land Partnership Ltd.
K&L Land Partnership Ltd is owned by a
family of billionaires – the Aquiline’s. The
company claims they did not know about the
UXO’s when they purchased the land. The
usual course of action to take when a critical
piece of information is missing in a real estate
transaction is to sue the seller, or void the con-
tract. K&L did neither of these things. Instead
they sued the government, the claim was dis-
missed from court, and then the Department
of Defence gave the company a settlement
that is possibly worth more than the yearly
DND budget designated to UXO clearance
removal for all of Canada. The K&L Land
Partnership company bought the lands for an
estimated $14 million in 2005; received an
estimated $11 million in the settlement from
DND; expect to have their land cleared of mil-
itary munitions by mid-2017; and they have
submitted a plan for subdivision of the land to
Vernon Council. The lands owned by the
K&L Land Partnership company are near
Okanagan band lands that require removal of
UXO’s before they are safe for Band uses, or
development.
Currently the Department of National Defence (DND) will likely
provide OKIB with $125,000 per year for four years to assist with
the cleanup of military munitions from Okanagan band lands. Ap-
proximately 7,000 acres of band lands are affected with contamina-
tion from military use. The removal and reclamation process is ex-
pected to take decades; especially given the limited budget. De-
pending on the level of contamination, $125,000 may not be enough
to clear one acre of land affected with UXO’s.
Other funding has been allocated to send OKIB members to Texas
A&M University for UXO Removal Technician training. Three
members completed the training last year and were part of the team
working on the Goose Lake Range in September to November,
2015. Active recruitment for this year’s program has begun and in-
terested band members can contact Don Louis at 250-542-3444 for
more information.
*See page 11 for UXO Technician Training information.
UXO removal team at work on OKIB lands. Photo courtesy of Don Louis.
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Community Page 2
Okanagan Indian Band Important Numbers CUT AND PLACE ON YOUR FRIDGE!
EMERGENCY NUMBERS: Emergency OKIB Volunteer Fire Dept. Water Buildings Main Band Office Toll Free Administration Education/Training Human Resources Membership Finance Health Social Development and Training Head of the Lake Hall New Horizons Snc’c’amalta?tn Daycare and School Cultural Immersion School Public Works and Housing/Lands Territorial Stewardship/Research
911 250-545-4111 250-308-8075 250-306-1363 250-542-4328 1-866-542-4328 250-542-5094 250-558-3706 250-558-1414 250-545-2402 250-545-3800 250-260-3616 250-542-3444 250-542-7132
Council Meetings Schedule
Regular Scheduled Meetings
First Tuesday of the Month: 9:00am to 4:00pm Regular Business
Second Tuesday of the Month: 5:30pm to 9:30pm Regular Business
Third Tuesday of the Month: 9:00am to 4:00pm Regular Business
Fourth Tuesday of the Month: 9:00am to 12:00pm Governance
Changes to the schedule and community meetings/emergency meetings
will be communicated to the membership in the following ways:
www.okib.ca
www.facebook.com/OkanaganBand
www.twitter.com/OkanaganBand
Process
All requests to be added to the Chief and Council’s agenda must be sub-
mitted to the Executive Director by Wednesday at 4:30pm the week be-
fore the next meeting. Agenda items are reviewed and approved by the
Executive Director and Chief on Thursday afternoon. Contact Stacy Yow,
Executive Assistant to Council: 250-542-4328 ext. 210, or by email at sta-
OKIB members, if you have moved, please update your address with the band office. Members who want to receive the
Senk’lip News need to call the band office to request to be added to the mailing list.
A big THANK YOU for all the thoughts and condolences acknowledging the passing of Our Sister
Eileen Rose Aljam.
Your support was very much appreciated from her Vernon Families and Coldwater Families.
Culture & Language Page 3
Annual Traditional Food Feast
Limlimt to the 75+ community members that attended the Annual Tradi-
tional Food Feast at HOL on January 5th, 2016.
This gathering was a way to come together as a community and share good
food, good company, prayers and songs. The intent is to do the best we can
with what little we know because it is our responsibility to share and pass
on what we learn, it is not ours to keep.
The night started off with a welcome and a welcome song followed by a
“Lim limt, Thank you” prayer.
The meal consisted of sƛaʔcinm (deer stew w/ barley), lkalat (oven ban-
nock) ntytyx (chinook salmon), chinamn siɬn (rice), skʷanɬq (vegetables),
stxaƛq ntxulaʔxʷ (huckleberry glazed cake), siya uɬ spiƛəm (saskatoon ber-
ries and bitter root), sxʷusumI (Indian ice cream and juice), xʷxʷƛmiɬp
(Indian tea) and siwɬq (water).
Following the meal a short Food is Medicine curriculum development vid-
eo, an OKIB and School District #22 project.
To end the evening 10 drummers joined in with drumming and singing the
horse song, woman’s warrior song and travelling song. As we were drum-
ming we gave away all the foods we gathered and preserved throughout the
year.
Limlimt to the all those that participated in making the evening a success.
The cook helpers Keona, Tess and Fabian. The prayer Glenda, Martie, Peg-
gy, and Bev. The hand drummers, Bernie, Bev, Mary, Lucy, Amber, Jo-
anne, Maria, Raymond and Mary. The give-away Danielle and crew. Video
presentation Bill C., and Maurice Richard for the photos.
Mary Louis, Health Department
Education Page 4
School Enrollment
Students were as-
sessed at Grade 1 – 7
for Reading and Math
Placement in Septem-
ber. The majority of our
students were placed
within one grade level
of their actual age. The
teachers then formed
Reading and Math
Groups according to ability as opposed to
grade level. Studies have shown that stu-
dents will show greater overall improvement
if they work at their ability level as opposed
to grade level.
Our School uses DIBELS. DIBELS is Dy-
namic Indicators of Early Literacy Skils
DIBELS . This program uses a set of proce-
dures and measures for assessing the acqui-
sition of early literacy skills from kindergarten
through grade seven. . There are three
benchmarks that take place during the
school year (Sept/Oct, February and then
again in May).
The results from our first benchmark indicate
that in the Intermediate class there is one
student who requires intense support/
intervention. Then there are 4 students who
require some intervention/support and that
there are 6 who are within their grade level.
45% of our Intermediate students are not at
grade level and are receiving intervention
with their reading fluency and comprehen-
sion.
55% of our Intermediate students are at
grade level and receiving limited support.
Our school is one of the only ones who is
showing improvement in their DIBELS re-
sults! Our goal is to become a Green School
with all of our students reading at grade lev-
el.
Curriculum
The Cultural Immersion School uses Saxon
Math, Read Well (grades 1-3) and Reading
Mastery (grades 4 – 7). The teachers and
support staff received training in the two
Reading Programs in the Fall of 2015.
Reading
The Intermediate class has 4 Reading
Groups. Ms. Meyer is involved in a Profes-
sional Learning Community (PLC) gets to-
gether once a month via teleconference. It
should be mentioned that she sends home
pre-reading 3 times a week. Way to go Ms.
Meyer’s class! Thank you to the parents for
reading with their children each night.
The Primary class has 6 Reading Groups.
There are 3 classroom teachers and one
Certified Classroom Education Assistant who
is assigned to help with these Reading
Groups.
Our school has placed a great deal of focus
on early intervention. That is why we have 3
teachers assigned to help with the Primary
Reading Program. This early intervention will
see the majority of our students being able to
read by Grade 3. Studies show that if a child
is reading by Grade 3 then they have an in-
creased chance of graduating from grade 12.
Math
In the Primary Classroom, there are 3 Math
Groups. . For enrichment the students may
use math centers or one of two school Ipads
after they complete their seatwork. Time for
Primary Math is 11:00 am till 12 noon.
The Intermediate class has 4 math groups
which are ability based. The biggest chal-
lenge being that there is not enough time for
math. Therefore, students take homework
home each night and also students are en-
couraged to attend the homework club where
the tutor has extra math work for them to
complete. Time for Intermediate Math is 1:00
pm – 2:15 pm.
Staffing
Thank you to our four 1-to-1 Reading Volun-
teers who assist with half-hour reading ses-
sions with students 3 times per week. These
sessions also help with student’s fluency and
comprehension.
New Initiative and Challenges
As part of our School Assessment Project
our school had to undergo a Language Strat-
egy. We took this year as a transitional year
to focus on core subjects (English, Math…)
and to develop some resources to assist with
Language Development. We have been try-
ing diligently to fill the Language Resource
Position. The biggest challenge has been
finding a resource that is fluent and willing to
work within our curriculum expectations.
On a positive note, we are thankful that we
have 24 Full Time students here at the Cul-
tural Immersion School. We are doing well
with our curriculum and striving to have the
best students. We will be hosting a Pre-
registration event in the Spring so that we
can possibly attract even more students to
enroll for 2016 2017 Academic Year.
Student Incentives at the school
Hot lunch program on Tuesdays and
Thursdays
Monthly Birthday Cake for staff and stu-
dents (last Thursday of the month)
Annual Ski Lessons at Silver Star
Attendance Award presented to top stu-
dents in Primary and Intermediate Class
for best attendance. This award is based
on students who have missed the least
amount of days of school. Awards pre-
sented for the Fall Semester before the
Christmas Break, Winter Session pre-
sented on the last day before Spring
Break and the Final Award presented on
the last day of school.
Small class size with a great deal of 1:1
support from the school staff
Fall and Winter Semester Awards will be a
$50.00 certificate.
The End of the Year Award will be an iPad
Mini.
Fall 2015 Attendance Awards were as fol-
lows:
Primary Class: Reed Wilson
Intermediate Class: Pwalxken Joe
Thank you for taking the time to get caught
up on what is happening at the Cultural Im-
mersion School.
All My Relations,
JoAnne Moiese
Preschool 21
Kindergarten 7
One 3
Two 4
Three 3
Four 3
Five 4
Six 2
Seven 2
Primary Teacher: Mrs. Tanya Saddleman Joe
Intermediate Teacher: Ms. Brittany Meyer
Language Teacher: Ms. Vanessa Smith-Tso
Administrative Assistant: Mrs. Cheryl Louis
Teacher Assistant/Language Assistant: Miss
Tiffany Wilson
Certified Classroom Assistant: Mrs. Vicky Peters
Nutrition Specialist: Ms. Maggie King
Tutor: 6 Mile Location: Miss Kalli Van Stone
Tutor: Head of the Lake: Mrs. Hilda Belanger
Teacher On Call: Deb Chursinoff & Kim Fowler
Principal: Mrs. Joanne Moisese
Bus Driver: Evelyn McKay
Snc’c’amala?tn Page 5
Staff Professional Development
On our October 23 staff PD day we hosted the staff from Splatsin
Tsm7aksaltn (Childcare and Language Centre) in Enderby to join us in a
day of professional development on the Back Pack Kids and curriculum.
We both have a set of the dolls as well as the Friendship Centre. The pre-
senters were an Elder from Splatsin, Rosalind Williams who actually had
the idea for the project and Cathy Stubington from Runaway Moon Thea-
tre. Cathy is the theatre Artistic Director and a talented puppeteer. She
made the dolls, clothing, backpacks and many items in the backpacks. Our
guests joined us for lunch. Our time together was very positive, friendly
and lively. We made a commitment to work together more often as staff
and to have our children partake in joint activities throughout the year. This
is keeping in spirit with Back Pack Kids project…bringing a message of
diversity and acceptance to young children and adults.
Darlene Wolsey, from the North Okanagan Early Years Screening Project,
came for the afternoon to talk to us about how we are implementing the
ASQ and ASQ-SE.
Rachel Marchand visited with a group of ECE students from the Enowkin
Centre.
On the November 2 staff PD day, along with staff from the Cultural Im-
mersion School, we met with language specialist Robert Matthew. Staff
had the opportunity to have input into the OKIB education strategic plan-
ning process.
Closures
Daycare and School Programs All Closed: Monday, February 8 - Family
Day
Preschool, Kindergarten and the school will be closed on February 18
and 19 so that all staff can attend the Annual Okanagan Band School Con-
ference in Penticton at Outma Sqilx'w Cultural School.
The Daycare and Head Start programs will remain open on February
18 and 19.
March 21 to April 1 – Spring Break
Preschool, Kindergarten and the school will be closed for a two-week
Spring Break.
The daycare and Head Start programs will remain open over Spring Break
with the exception of Good Friday on Friday, March 25 and Easter
Monday on Monday, March 28.
All daycare and school programs are closed on Good Friday and Easter
Monday.
Cob’s Bakery
On November 13 at the Cities Fit
for Children Summit, Cob’s Bread
received a Champion of the Child
award. They were nominated by
Lorraine Ladan for their donations.
Snc’c’amala?tn, both the daycare
and school, are part of their End of
Day Giving program where they
supply us with unsold bread every week. Cob’s also does the same for a
number of other organizations and they partner with the Breakfast Club of
Canada to fund school breakfast programs. Champion of the Child awards
are sponsored by the North Okanagan Child Care Council.
We are very grateful for the high quality bread products that we receive for
the children.
Parent Workshop
The Head Start program held a parent and
staff workshop on October 27. The work-
shop was facilitated by Jennifer Fury, the
Speech and Language Therapist from
NONA Child Development Centre. The
workshop was called Getting It Down:
Helping Young Children Who Struggle
with Eating.
This was one of our best attended parent
events. Jennifer provided the group with
good information as to what may be go-
ing on with young children who are picky
eaters or have issues with eating and how to make meal / snack time a more
positive experience. We looked at eating habits of young kids and dis-
cussed myths that many people have about children and food.
From the Manager
Lorraine Ladan
Way from the Infant Toddler Room
Happy Birthday to Violet, Nancy And Tupa
January was a very fun month! We were able to get out and enjoy Winter
Fun Day with the other rooms on January 8. All the children enjoyed play-
ing in the snow with everyone else. It is a great experience for the little
ones that have siblings in the other rooms; it gives them the chance to play
together.
We have been enjoying all the snow. The children love to follow little
paths we shovel, and then they try to shovel new paths. With this a remind-
er to please send snow gear, mitts, hat, and a change of clothes in case it’s
extra wet. This will help ensure they are comfortable throughout their
whole day at the centre.
Lim Limpt
Infant Toddler Staff
Snc’c’amala?tn continued... Page 6
3 to 5 Year Old Daycare / Head Start
Way’
In January we had our Winter Fun Day. Our Head Start room went out
front and enjoyed the snow with the Infant/Toddler Room and Preschool
Room. The children had so much fun.
For January we would like to wish a belated Happy Birthday to Delissa and
to Stephanie. For February we would like to wish Jackson and Aurora a
Happy Birthday.
We hope everyone has a happy Valentine’s Day!
Mary Marchand, Jordyn Alexis, Stephanie August, Karen Herriot, Greta
Oakes
Preschool
Way! From the Speplina Room
Happy Birthday wishes to:
Gabriel January 19
Alexa January 28
Ivorie January 29
Happy Birthday to:
Nevaeh February 9
Mikah February 25
January 8 we celebrated Winter Fun Day. The Infant/Toddler Skimxist
Room and Head Start joined us outside in the front of the daycare. The
children used coloured water to spray the snow. They enjoyed making art
in the snow. It was nice to see the older children playing with the younger
ones.
February is Heart Month. We will be learning about healthy eating and ex-
ercise. Mona Tronson is planning a day to go to the library (date tentative).
A permission slip will be sent out. Happy Valentine’s Day everyone.
Thank you,
Karla, Ramona, Marnie and Tupa
Kindergarten
Wi from the P’qelqin room
Wai from the P’qel qin room,
We started the New Year learning about the winter season and penguins.
The class then had a lot of fun listening to Robert Munsch stories in our
author study and then choosing their favorite one. Everyone enjoyed Win-
ter Fun Day! There was plenty of snow this year and we had a fun time
sledding, playing in the snow and trying out the snowshoes.
In Math we have been counting by 1’s and 10’s to 80 and learning about
comparing sets of objects using the terms ‘more’, ‘fewer’ and ‘as many as’.
The students have been learning about the letters Nn, Pp, Tt and Vv, learn-
ing to identify and produce rhyming words and learning how to blend
sounds together to read simple words in our Read Well program. Congrat-
ulations to Jalen and Shiloh for completing their first home reading sheet!
Keep up the good reading! Also, Happy Birthday to Liam who celebrated
his 6th birthday in January!
Mrs. Alexis and Trish
Six Mile Creek Education Centre
Six Mile Creek Education Centre is now lo-
cated in the Blue Bird Building on the Head
of the Lake Road, beside the Health Building
since the beginning of January.
Our phone number is the same:
250 542-9379.
Six Mile is a computer based program that
offers a variety of courses for high school.
We are a part of the Alternate Programs of
School District 22 along with The Open Door
in Vernon and Cross-Roads in Lumby. I do
realize the name no longer appropriate.
The staff here are: Principal, Bruce Weitzel;
Teacher, Larry Hemmingson; Student Liai-
son, Anna Marchand. Diana Horsley is head
secretary for all Alternate Programs. We
don’t have a support worker or CEA here be-
cause Aboriginal funding is basically for
school age students.
If anyone would like more information about
registering for a course drop in and talk to
one of the staff or call 250 542-9379 .
Adults require a minimum of 20 credits to
graduate as set out with the Ministry of Edu-
cation.
Regular school age students (19 yrs before
July 1st of the school year) require 80 credits
based on Grade 10, Grade 11 and Grade 12
courses.
Students must remember that the deadline
for Okanagan Indian Band Education Post-
secondary funding application is April 30
each year. Besides this funding, students
must remember that each college or universi-
ty have a deadline date for each program.
Be sure to check it out as well as the prereq-
uisites of the program. Both are very im-
portant. Be prepared.
Did you know that Accounting 11 and Ac-
counting 12 is equivalent to first year ac-
counting at Okanagan College?
A new math brush up course is now offered
to students who had problems with math
while in school. It’s the Literacy of Math
Foundations 5. It’s an excellent brush up for
students who need to help adding, subtract-
ing, multiplying or dividing fractions.
Six Mile Creek Education Centre continued... Page 7
It’s divided into 11 units. Understanding
Whole Numbers; Fractions; Decimals; Per-
cents; Ratio and Proportion; Measurement;
Algebra; Geometry; Statistics and Probabil-
ity; and Understanding Graphs.
After reading a chapter, if a student decides
he/she is competent that they understand the
information in the unit, the unit test can be
challenged without completing the exercises.
If you find you need more work, then you can
go back and complete the exercises before
taking the unit test again!
There is also a Literacy of English.
Did you know that adults require 20 credits to
graduate. Language Arts 12 ; a Math 11
course and 3 other Grade 12 courses with
the exception of Social Studies 11, which
can be used for credits if the course was
completed as a school age student.
Here is a list of the courses offered. Most are on-line. If you’d like more information about
each course stop in at the school and a course outline can be printed off for you to review
or you can go to vlearn and take a look at the course information there.
Accounting 11 Communications 11 Foods and Nutrition 10 Physics 11
Accounting 12 Communications 12 Foods and Nutrition 11 Physics 12
Apprenticeship and Work-place Mathematics 10
Data Management 12 Foods and Nutrition 12 Planning 10
Apprenticeship and Work-place Mathematics 11
Earth Science 11 French 11 Planning 12 (adults only)
Art Foundations 11 English 10 French 12 Pre-calculus 11
Art Foundations 12 English 11 Geography 12 Principals of Mathematics 11
Biology 11 English 12 Law 12 Principals of Mathematics 12
Biology 12 Family Studies 12 Physical Education 10 Science 10
Calculus 12 Foundations of Mathemat-ics 11
Physical Education 11 Science and Technology 11
Chemistry 11 First Nations 12 Physical Education 12 Social Studies 10
Chemistry 12 Foundations of Mathemat-ics and Pre-Calculus 10
Social Studies 11
Youth Calendar
Community Page 8
OKIB Executive Director Retiring
Letter to the membership
January 26, 2016
Dear OKIB Member,
It has been a privilege to working for the Okanagan Indian
Band as your Executive Director. We have made progress in
strengthening the administration and program delivery and have set
the foundation for future success in many areas including rights and
title, economic development, training and employment opportuni-
ties, health and education, and infrastructure and housing. Over
the past three years the Nation has addressed important issues,
filled vital roles in the administration, and offered great programs
through each department.
At this time I have made the decision to retire from the work-
force and move on to enjoy my time with family and friends. My last
day will be January 29, 2015. I wish the Okanagan Indian Band
Chief and Council, Staff and Community Members strength to sup-
port each other and work together as a team on the many great ini-
tiatives planned in the coming years. Your future has many oppor-
tunities for significant progress on initiatives ranging from Rights
and Title issues to program expansion and funding. Your Chief and
Council and Administration are working hard to create success.
My wife and I will always value our time in your community and ter-
ritory.
Thank you for taking the time to read this quarterly report. If
you have any questions, or concerns, please contact the appropri-
ate department director for more information.
Kelowna Daily Courier – January
14, 2016
OKIB hoping to get its house
back in order
To the editor:
You want to know what it's like for
the Okanagan Indian Band having
thousands of acres littered with
bombs?
Scene
Mom = The Monarch
Uncle = Department of National De-
fense
You = An Okanagan Indian
So you own this beautiful home out
in the country. It's not as close as
you would like it to be, so you don't
always get out there.
One day you get a call from your
mom, "Let your uncle borrow your
house for a while, he and some
friends are going to do some train-
ing."
You don't want to to do it, but hey—
mom already 'voluntold' you that it's
going to happen.
You let your uncle borrow your
country house and a few weeks after
he's done with it, you decide to go
check on the property.
You arrive and it's a disaster. The
entire place is a pig sty. There are
holes in the wall, someone stole your
mounted moose head, beer cans
strewn about and they took the doors
and windows off so you're unable to
even use the house yourself now.
"Uh, Mom, did you see what uncle
did to my house?" you ask.
"Yes dear, I heard about it."
"Is he going to clean it up?"
"He said he would..."
Fast forward 50 years and you still
can't use your house.
You call your uncle and say "You
know uncle, I think it's time you
clean up the mess you made of my
country home."
"Hey kiddo!" says uncle, "Yep, I've
committed to cleaning up the mess
and I'll assess the situation just as
soon as you tell me what your plans
are for the property—are you going
to have a party?"
"No uncle, I just want my house
back to how you found it."
"Well, until you tell me what you
need it cleaned for, I just can't drop
everything and come clean up that
mess," says uncle.
"You mean your mess?" you retort.
"Let's not point fingers."
**Fade**
If the Department of National De-
fense filled your property with unex-
ploded bombs, grenades, white phos-
phorous and other munitions, you
wouldn't accept the DND's response.
"...DND will continue to assess and
initiate clearances once the Band has
finalized its economic development
implementation plan and timelines."
Internet trolls aside (hello!) more
thoughtful people with the most ele-
mentary sense of right and wrong
know this: For better or for worse,
despite being second class citizens
on their own land—unable to vote,
buy cattle or leave the reserve with-
out permission—dozens of men and
women from the Okanagan Indian
Band volunteered to serve this coun-
try during the Boer War, First World
War, Second World War and be-
yond.
Their sacrifices helped provide the
freedom we all enjoy today and I
think a real tribute to a man like
George McLean, an OKIB member
who single handedly captured 19
prisoners at the Battle of Vimy
Ridge, would be to clean the land he
came from and the land he fought
for.
You wouldn't accept it if it happened
to your house or to your property, so
why should the OKIB?
Joseph Jack, Armstrong
Reprinted with permission.
Website link below
http://www.lakecountrycalendar.com/opinion/
letters/365066351.html
Respectfully, Ken McGregor Executive Director – OKIB
Community Page 9
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5, 2016
REMINDER:
The cut-off date
for Housing Sur-
veys is February
15, 2016!
Contact Housing
at 250-542-3444
for more infor-
mation
Employment Page 10
Here is a selection of available job opportunities through OKIB. More jobs are posted on the website at www.okib.ca
Training Opportunity Page 11
Unexploded Ordnance Technician Training:
The Okanagan Indian band has funding to
send 3 members for training in the UXO field
to help with the UXO clearance effort on
OKIB Lands.
Deadline to apply: February 12, 2016
UXO Technician, Level 1 Training De-
scription:
Texas A&M Engineering Extension Ser-
vice (TEEX) developed the first civilian UXO
Technician I course in 1999 and remains the
only program to have ever been certified by
the Department of Defense Explosive Safety
Board (DDESB). In 2012 the National Asso-
ciation of Ordnance Contractors (NAOC) rec-
ognized this course as meeting, and exceed-
ing, all UXO Tech I training requirements es-
tablished by DDESB Technical Paper 18,
Minimum Qualifications for Unexploded Ord-
nance (UXO) Technicians and Personnel.
This course provides participants with com-
prehensive, hands-on training in the safe de-
tection, location, identification, and disposal
of unexploded ordnance using the tech-
niques and emerging technologies of today’s
UXO remediation industry.
Topics: Overview of UXO Environmental
Remediation
Explosives and explosive effects
Ordnance Safety, Identification and Char-
acteristic (Grenades, Landmines, Sub-
munitions, Projectiles and Mortars, Pro-
jectile Fuses, Rockets, Guided Missiles,
Bomb Fuses, Aircraft Bombs, Dispensers,
Dispenser Sub- munitions, Pyrotechnics,
Chemical Agents and Compounds,
Chemical Ordnance)
Fuse functioning and identification
Firing devices, other explosive devices,
and miscellaneous hazards
UXO disposal techniques
Use of UXO detection equipment and
ordnance location techniques
Electric and non-electric demolition pro-
cedures
Requirements
Minimum of 18 years of age
Pass a five-panel drug screen within 30
days of class start date
Valid Driver’s License
Physician’s Statement and Health Status/
Medical Report
Criminal Record check
Valild Canadian Passport and ability to
travel to the US
Recommended
Physical examination in accordance should
physically able to walk, stand and bend for
extended periods; lift a minimum of 40 lbs.
without assistance. Capable of working safe-
ly in stressful situations and extreme weather
conditions (heat, humidity, cold, rain, snow,
etc.).
If you are interested in learning more about
the unexploded ordnance (UXO) training,
contact Don Louis at 250-542-3444, or
[email protected] for more infor-
mation.
Applications (including a copy of valid driv-
er’s license and a completed criminal records
check) can be submitted in person, or by
mail to OKIB Human Resources, or
emailed to:
Apply by
FEBRUARY 12, 2016
UXO TECHNICIAN TRAINING OPPORTUNITY
Department of Defence and OKIB UXO Removal Team, 2015
Community Page 12
Pictured from left to right: Executive Director of Allan Brooks Nature Centre Aa-
ron Deans; Mayor of Coldstream Jim Garlicky; OKIB Councillor Allan Louis; and
Mayor of Vernon Akbal Mund cutting cake at BC Rivers Day.
Anyone interested in joining a committee:
Topic: Indian Days Gathering at Komasket Park 2017
Meeting: Saturday February 6, 2016
Time: 1:00pm
Location: Unit 5 - Bluebird Building
Contact Carl for more information at 778-212-9801