subject: Vote At Ucbm Meeting Shows Displeasure At Municipal Auditor-general Idea [print this page] This past Thursday there was a vote on whether British Columbia should be getting a new municipal auditor-general. Thanks to the overwhelming no votes of various provincial mayors and councillors, that will probably happen, but not without protest. It seems most of the political leaders in the province dont trust provincial leadership.
The cost of the auditor-general was to come out of the provincial budget in Victoria, not out of local pockets. But, as stated by Jack McLeman, council from Port Alberni there would end up being additional costs for extra staff time needed to help the program run. Other comments included the complaint of adding more bureaucracy to local government, that the entire plan was backed by big business so they would have more control and that this plan would effectively raise taxes.
Despite the no vote at the Union of B.C. Municipalities meeting, the municipal auditor-general may be appointed anyway. One delegate from North Cowichan, Al Siebring, noted that the UCBM should work together with the province on the appointment in order to gain some influence in the process. Siebring is one of the councillors that favored adding the position that was promised and created by Premier Christy Clark.
Women Set Hockey Game World Record, All for Charity
Imagine a hockey game that lasted 10 days. Imagine being one of the 39 women that between them played for over 243 hours and broke the previous world record set in Edmonton by an hour and five minutes. And that other record was set by men.
It gets better. That hockey game turns out to be a charity event that raises $162,000 to go to Cystic Fibrosis Canada. That disease slowly eats away at the lungs and digestive tract of its victims, who rarely survive to the age of 30. It is a genetic condition.
One of the victims the women had in mind while playing was Eva Markvoort who passed away back in March of 2010. She was the Miss New Westminster Ambassador and her face and blazing red hair became a symbol of the marathon game. Evas father Bill dropped the puck to start play at the final hour, the one that would smash the Edmonton record.
Val Skelly, who started organizing the game some two years ago, reflected on what team had accomplished while nursing her swollen ankles. Many of the players were in similar shape with sore legs and ankles, having played a good bit of the game while taped and sore. But despite the migraines, the single concussion and the discomfort, the women pulled off a win, on two fronts; one for an entry in the Guinness Book of Records, another for a very personal and very charitable cause.
