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

shaylen.smith@okanagan.org

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.

Ch

ief Byro

n Lo

uis in

terviewed

by G

lob

al O

kan

ag

an

New

s.

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-

cy.yow@okanagan.org

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

CO

MM

UN

ITY

ME

MB

ER

S S

HA

RIN

G A

TR

AD

ITIO

NA

L M

EA

L A

ND

PR

ES

EN

TA

TIO

N , Ja

nu

ary

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

don.louis@okanagan.org 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:

humanresources@okanagan.org

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