December, 2017
Dear Area F resident:
With this, my final year-end report to you, I am announcing that it is my intention not to seek re-election in 2018. It has been a difficult decision, and my emotions are certainly mixed. The reasons behind my decision are varied and complex, and I won’t go into them here except to say that I will be 67 at the end of this term. It’s time to start a new chapter, hopefully one that will allow me more time with my family. I will also say that I love my job, I am proud to represent all of you, and I am very proud of the community spirit in every one of our communities! I am announcing early because it is my hope that there is a community-minded, service-oriented person out there who would like to run for the office. The job calls for a great deal of commitment and hard work for a 4-year term, but it is extremely rewarding in terms of community support, and learning and networking opportunities. I encourage anyone who is thinking about running to give me a call, or call our office to get more details.
Last year at this time, I paid tribute to the firefighters and first responders from Fort McMurray, and thanked our own firefighters, first responders and community volunteers because I knew they would be just as selfless in a similar emergency. Little did I know how prophetic my words were! You all responded to the emergency this summer tirelessly, selflessly and beyond anything we could have imagined! Whatever your role: whether you fought fires, organized food deliveries, delivered food or medicine, cooked, patrolled neighbourhoods, or evacuated, your role was crucial to the successful outcome. This fire season was unprecedented, and although I know it was frustrating and heartbreaking at times for all of us, I believe that our communities will be stronger and more resilient than ever! Thank-you from the bottom of my heart! The term “Cariboo Strong” really does take on new meaning after this summer, and we all should be proud!
We (Cariboo Regional District) have held community meetings throughout the region to obtain residents’ input around the response of various agencies, impacts, changes which should be made going forward, and recovery needs. In Area F, these meetings were held in Miocene, Big Lake and 150 Mile House, and I hosted one in Horsefly as well as one in Likely. Additionally, there was a Facebook live event , and there is a survey online ending December 23rd. Our Board members have been contacted individually for our debriefing thoughts, and our EOC staff has held debriefings. Our staff has also attended debriefing sessions with other agencies. I recently attended a meeting of the Cariboo Cattlemen, with personnel from the Cariboo Fire Centre, to obtain feedback from the ranching community. All of this information will be presented to the Board, early in the New Year, to be incorporated into our Emergency Response Plan update in 2018.
Recovery
For the rest of this term, and I expect for several years thereafter, our prime focus will be on recovery. The Cariboo Regional District has hired Stephanie Masun as our Recovery Manager. Her job, funded by the province, is to work with you to determine your needs in recovery, and to put you in touch with resources to help with those needs. She also is working with the municipal and provincial recovery teams as well as non-profit agencies, so that there is a regional collaborative focus, and that efforts are not duplicated. Recovery programs are being announced regularly, and I don’t know them all, but I encourage people to contact Stephanie. I can tell you that the Red Cross has recently announced a second round of grants for business and non-profit losses, and that Community Futures is launching a program (funded with the help of CCBAC and NDIT) to help businesses that were impacted. The province is announcing, or working on new programs and contributions to help with agriculture losses, timber salvage, infrastructure losses, and environmental recovery. The Red Cross has a program for communities to develop prevention programs, and to hold events aimed at recovery. The Postmen are still operating behind Home Hardware in Williams Lake, taking donations of warm clothing, and quilter’s guilds from far and wide are donating quilts, available at the Seniors’ Centre, all for fire-impacted families.
If you are experiencing emotional difficulty dealing with the aftermath of the fires, you are not alone. In fact, this is normal and expected, especially at this time of year. Please reach out to your friends and family, and don’t hesitate to reach out for professional counseling if you are still having trouble. There are toll free numbers posted on our website, talk to your doctor, or contact one of the local agencies providing counseling.
Stephanie can be reached at [email protected] .
Mount Polley
I continue to spend time and focus in meetings and conversations around Mount Polley. 2017 saw the approval of the discharge of treated mine contact water directly into Quesnel Lake, allowing for the remediation of Hazeltine Creek. The decision is controversial in the community of Likely, as residents appreciate the economic value of the mine, but fear for the long-term health of the lake. It is important to note that this is not waste water from mine operations, but water that falls on the site as precipitation, and is drained off through ditches, then treated and discharged. Waste water is routed to the tailings storage facility, and rerouted back through the mill in a closed-loop system. Upcoming meetings include a teleconference on January 8, for Likely and Quesnel Lake residents to view the Conceptual Remediation Plan, and we are expecting to review the Reclamation and Closure plan this year as well. We had a tour of the Hazeltine Creek area this fall, and the work done is impressive! Those responsible for this work can be justifiably proud of what they have accomplished.
Budget
The provisional budget for 2018 contains an overall 2.3% increase over 2017. Grants for assistance have not yet been incorporated into the provisional budget, but the Board has approved grants to the Big Lake Community Association, the Horsefly Board of Trade, and the Horsefly Volunteer Fire Department, as well as contributions to non-profit organizations serving the broader region of the Central Cariboo. Area F will also contribute to the Mount Timothy Ski Society, the Child Development Centre, Williams Lake and District 4H, the Junior Cadets and the Rocky Mountain Rangers Parent group. The budget will be posted on our website at http://www.cariboord.bc.ca/services/finance/business-plans , and hard copies will be available in our main libraries and in our offices, early in the New Year for those who wish to view it. We encourage your questions and feedback.
NCLGA/UBCM/FCM
I continue to represent the Cariboo Regional District on the Board of the North Central Local Government Association, and I serve on the Electoral Area committee, and the Resolutions Committees. Our AGM and convention was held in Terrace in May, and will be held in Fort Nelson next May. Visit www.nclga.ca for more information.
I attended the Federation of Canadian Municipalities AGM and convention in Ottawa in June. Our MP Todd Doherty and MP Cathy McLeod, his counterpart in the south, were wonderful hosts. They toured us around Parliament where tourists don’t always get to go, and we had the opportunity to meet top staffers in various ministries and promote issues important to us here in the Cariboo. Additionally, this year, Councillor Garth Frizell, of Prince George, was elected Third Vice President, meaning that for the next five years, he will be in a unique position to promote issues important to our region.
Together with local government colleagues from around the province, I attended the Union of BC Municipalities annual conference and AGM in Vancouver in September. We debated resolutions on issues affecting our province and our country, and we attended workshops and information sessions on a variety of important and emerging issues. We (Cariboo Regional District) put forward resolutions dealing with agriculture dams, ranchers and firefighting, and the Board of Variance. The first two were endorsed, and the latter was referred back to the executive for review. Most of our efforts at this conference were on recovery, and meetings with the new provincial government. We all felt that there was an increase in the level of engagement this year with the provincial Ministers and top staffers.
Committee Work
In addition to my position on the Board of NCLGA, I serve on the Finance and Audit Committee and I chair the First Nations Relationship Committee. I also serve on the Orange Shirt Society Board. This year, I served as Vice-chair of the Cariboo-Chilcotin Beetle Action committee. This committee is wrapping up, and I will continue to serve as signing officer as we wind up our organization. I co-chair the Joint Committee with the City of Williams Lake. Our biggest accomplishment, is of course, the successful completion of the pool project, and its opening earlier this month! My thanks to our staff (City and CRD), to the project team, the contractors, and of course to the working group co-chair Councillor Laurie Walters. I have been involved with this project since even before I was elected, and it is extremely gratifying to see it open, and to hear from the patrons that it is an amazing facility!
Apart from Cariboo Regional District assignments, I am also a member of the Committee for Action Against Sexual Violence, a committee of the Women’s Contact Society. This committee was formed early this year, and we held a successful conference this fall to raise awareness of the breadth of sexual violence in our communities, to provide improved support for victims, and to determine methods for prevention.
For more information, or to discuss any issues, please feel free to contact me. Follow me on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Joan-Sorley-Cariboo-Regional-District-Director-Area-F , or visit our webpage: www.cariboord.ca . I am privileged to represent you at the Board table and elsewhere, and I will continue to do so to the best of my ability until October 20th. At this point in my report, I always thank you for your support, and I always sincerely mean it. This year, especially, your support has come just when I needed it, and sometimes I have been almost overwhelmed by it. Please know that I am truly grateful.
Vince and I would like to take this opportunity to wish you and yours a very Merry Christmas, and a Happy, Healthy and Successful 2018!
Sincerely,
Joan Sorley
Director, Cariboo Regional District Area "F"
PO Box 147
Big Lake Ranch, BC V0L 1G0
250-243-2261, e-mail: [email protected]
Please pass along this report to anyone you feel may be interested. If you would like to be removed from my distribution list, please let me know.
Dear Area F resident:
With this, my final year-end report to you, I am announcing that it is my intention not to seek re-election in 2018. It has been a difficult decision, and my emotions are certainly mixed. The reasons behind my decision are varied and complex, and I won’t go into them here except to say that I will be 67 at the end of this term. It’s time to start a new chapter, hopefully one that will allow me more time with my family. I will also say that I love my job, I am proud to represent all of you, and I am very proud of the community spirit in every one of our communities! I am announcing early because it is my hope that there is a community-minded, service-oriented person out there who would like to run for the office. The job calls for a great deal of commitment and hard work for a 4-year term, but it is extremely rewarding in terms of community support, and learning and networking opportunities. I encourage anyone who is thinking about running to give me a call, or call our office to get more details.
Last year at this time, I paid tribute to the firefighters and first responders from Fort McMurray, and thanked our own firefighters, first responders and community volunteers because I knew they would be just as selfless in a similar emergency. Little did I know how prophetic my words were! You all responded to the emergency this summer tirelessly, selflessly and beyond anything we could have imagined! Whatever your role: whether you fought fires, organized food deliveries, delivered food or medicine, cooked, patrolled neighbourhoods, or evacuated, your role was crucial to the successful outcome. This fire season was unprecedented, and although I know it was frustrating and heartbreaking at times for all of us, I believe that our communities will be stronger and more resilient than ever! Thank-you from the bottom of my heart! The term “Cariboo Strong” really does take on new meaning after this summer, and we all should be proud!
We (Cariboo Regional District) have held community meetings throughout the region to obtain residents’ input around the response of various agencies, impacts, changes which should be made going forward, and recovery needs. In Area F, these meetings were held in Miocene, Big Lake and 150 Mile House, and I hosted one in Horsefly as well as one in Likely. Additionally, there was a Facebook live event , and there is a survey online ending December 23rd. Our Board members have been contacted individually for our debriefing thoughts, and our EOC staff has held debriefings. Our staff has also attended debriefing sessions with other agencies. I recently attended a meeting of the Cariboo Cattlemen, with personnel from the Cariboo Fire Centre, to obtain feedback from the ranching community. All of this information will be presented to the Board, early in the New Year, to be incorporated into our Emergency Response Plan update in 2018.
Recovery
For the rest of this term, and I expect for several years thereafter, our prime focus will be on recovery. The Cariboo Regional District has hired Stephanie Masun as our Recovery Manager. Her job, funded by the province, is to work with you to determine your needs in recovery, and to put you in touch with resources to help with those needs. She also is working with the municipal and provincial recovery teams as well as non-profit agencies, so that there is a regional collaborative focus, and that efforts are not duplicated. Recovery programs are being announced regularly, and I don’t know them all, but I encourage people to contact Stephanie. I can tell you that the Red Cross has recently announced a second round of grants for business and non-profit losses, and that Community Futures is launching a program (funded with the help of CCBAC and NDIT) to help businesses that were impacted. The province is announcing, or working on new programs and contributions to help with agriculture losses, timber salvage, infrastructure losses, and environmental recovery. The Red Cross has a program for communities to develop prevention programs, and to hold events aimed at recovery. The Postmen are still operating behind Home Hardware in Williams Lake, taking donations of warm clothing, and quilter’s guilds from far and wide are donating quilts, available at the Seniors’ Centre, all for fire-impacted families.
If you are experiencing emotional difficulty dealing with the aftermath of the fires, you are not alone. In fact, this is normal and expected, especially at this time of year. Please reach out to your friends and family, and don’t hesitate to reach out for professional counseling if you are still having trouble. There are toll free numbers posted on our website, talk to your doctor, or contact one of the local agencies providing counseling.
Stephanie can be reached at [email protected] .
Mount Polley
I continue to spend time and focus in meetings and conversations around Mount Polley. 2017 saw the approval of the discharge of treated mine contact water directly into Quesnel Lake, allowing for the remediation of Hazeltine Creek. The decision is controversial in the community of Likely, as residents appreciate the economic value of the mine, but fear for the long-term health of the lake. It is important to note that this is not waste water from mine operations, but water that falls on the site as precipitation, and is drained off through ditches, then treated and discharged. Waste water is routed to the tailings storage facility, and rerouted back through the mill in a closed-loop system. Upcoming meetings include a teleconference on January 8, for Likely and Quesnel Lake residents to view the Conceptual Remediation Plan, and we are expecting to review the Reclamation and Closure plan this year as well. We had a tour of the Hazeltine Creek area this fall, and the work done is impressive! Those responsible for this work can be justifiably proud of what they have accomplished.
Budget
The provisional budget for 2018 contains an overall 2.3% increase over 2017. Grants for assistance have not yet been incorporated into the provisional budget, but the Board has approved grants to the Big Lake Community Association, the Horsefly Board of Trade, and the Horsefly Volunteer Fire Department, as well as contributions to non-profit organizations serving the broader region of the Central Cariboo. Area F will also contribute to the Mount Timothy Ski Society, the Child Development Centre, Williams Lake and District 4H, the Junior Cadets and the Rocky Mountain Rangers Parent group. The budget will be posted on our website at http://www.cariboord.bc.ca/services/finance/business-plans , and hard copies will be available in our main libraries and in our offices, early in the New Year for those who wish to view it. We encourage your questions and feedback.
NCLGA/UBCM/FCM
I continue to represent the Cariboo Regional District on the Board of the North Central Local Government Association, and I serve on the Electoral Area committee, and the Resolutions Committees. Our AGM and convention was held in Terrace in May, and will be held in Fort Nelson next May. Visit www.nclga.ca for more information.
I attended the Federation of Canadian Municipalities AGM and convention in Ottawa in June. Our MP Todd Doherty and MP Cathy McLeod, his counterpart in the south, were wonderful hosts. They toured us around Parliament where tourists don’t always get to go, and we had the opportunity to meet top staffers in various ministries and promote issues important to us here in the Cariboo. Additionally, this year, Councillor Garth Frizell, of Prince George, was elected Third Vice President, meaning that for the next five years, he will be in a unique position to promote issues important to our region.
Together with local government colleagues from around the province, I attended the Union of BC Municipalities annual conference and AGM in Vancouver in September. We debated resolutions on issues affecting our province and our country, and we attended workshops and information sessions on a variety of important and emerging issues. We (Cariboo Regional District) put forward resolutions dealing with agriculture dams, ranchers and firefighting, and the Board of Variance. The first two were endorsed, and the latter was referred back to the executive for review. Most of our efforts at this conference were on recovery, and meetings with the new provincial government. We all felt that there was an increase in the level of engagement this year with the provincial Ministers and top staffers.
Committee Work
In addition to my position on the Board of NCLGA, I serve on the Finance and Audit Committee and I chair the First Nations Relationship Committee. I also serve on the Orange Shirt Society Board. This year, I served as Vice-chair of the Cariboo-Chilcotin Beetle Action committee. This committee is wrapping up, and I will continue to serve as signing officer as we wind up our organization. I co-chair the Joint Committee with the City of Williams Lake. Our biggest accomplishment, is of course, the successful completion of the pool project, and its opening earlier this month! My thanks to our staff (City and CRD), to the project team, the contractors, and of course to the working group co-chair Councillor Laurie Walters. I have been involved with this project since even before I was elected, and it is extremely gratifying to see it open, and to hear from the patrons that it is an amazing facility!
Apart from Cariboo Regional District assignments, I am also a member of the Committee for Action Against Sexual Violence, a committee of the Women’s Contact Society. This committee was formed early this year, and we held a successful conference this fall to raise awareness of the breadth of sexual violence in our communities, to provide improved support for victims, and to determine methods for prevention.
For more information, or to discuss any issues, please feel free to contact me. Follow me on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Joan-Sorley-Cariboo-Regional-District-Director-Area-F , or visit our webpage: www.cariboord.ca . I am privileged to represent you at the Board table and elsewhere, and I will continue to do so to the best of my ability until October 20th. At this point in my report, I always thank you for your support, and I always sincerely mean it. This year, especially, your support has come just when I needed it, and sometimes I have been almost overwhelmed by it. Please know that I am truly grateful.
Vince and I would like to take this opportunity to wish you and yours a very Merry Christmas, and a Happy, Healthy and Successful 2018!
Sincerely,
Joan Sorley
Director, Cariboo Regional District Area "F"
PO Box 147
Big Lake Ranch, BC V0L 1G0
250-243-2261, e-mail: [email protected]
Please pass along this report to anyone you feel may be interested. If you would like to be removed from my distribution list, please let me know.