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Foothills teacher's contracts are settled
By Editor
Members of the Foothills School Division bargaining team with representatives from the Alberta Teacher's Association (ATA) hammered out a contract for teachers late last week.
Foothills School Division representatives were to go before the arbitration tribunal mandated by the provincial government today but instead went to them last week to approve a deal made behind the scenes.
The Foothills' bargaining agents decided in early July to try to strike a deal based on the first six settlements awarded in late June.
Jerry Muelaner, Foothills School Division board chairman, said it was known that the tribunal was making the rest of its decisions based on the outcome of the first tribunals and that the teacher's contracts were to be strictly monetary settlements.
Foothills teachers will be paid 6.25 per cent more for last year when they worked without a contract. Effective this August, teachers will see another 3.75-per-cent increase. Starting this year, new teachers will see a starting wage increase to that of a teacher with one year of experience. Muelaner said upping the pay grid will make it easier to recruit new teachers.
A final pay raise will be put in affect at the beginning of the school year next fall. By August 2003 the teachers will have received increases of just over 14 per cent.
Muelaner said he is relieved the process is over. By avoiding meeting with the tribunal, money and perhaps some feelings were saved, he explained. 'There is a potential for nastiness when there are lawyers involved,' Muelaner said adding that the legal fees for the team of lawyers used to represent teachers and the board at the tribunal can cost thousands of taxpayers' dollars.
Unlike other boards, such as the Calgary Public School Board, the Foothills division is not expecting the wage hikes to create a deficit budget for this year despite the fact the province has declared there will be no new grant money to cover increased salaries.
The board saved provincial grant money for the past two years for the expected wage increases while other boards had used the funding to cover their budget.
However, Muelaner said if the government does not increase funding next year the board is expecting to run a deficit of $100,000 to $300,000.
Warren Spaan, chairman of the negotiating subcommittee representing teachers, said the settlement was the best solution within the constraints of the arbitration process, but he is still unsatisfied with the contracts.
Spaan, a Grade 4 teacher at Red Deer Lake School, said the wage hikes were not enough and many important issues such as class sizes were avoided.
He said by forming a committee to look at education over the next year the government just bought itself more time to avoid addressing quality of education in teachers' contracts.
Class size, which is three per cent higher in the Foothills than the rest of the province, is a concern, Spaan continued.
'I am not very pleased at all of the stripping of people's rights,' said Spaan of the forced arbitration. 'The government needs to be held accountable for this process at election time.'
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Safe! Safe?
Okotoks Red Sox bat boy Brydan Carey is given a rude welcome at home plate when he is bowled over by Red Sox baserunner Bud Eisthen during the second inning of a round-robin game at the Bantam AA Provincial Baseball Championships on Saturday. Not realizing the play was still alive, Carey ventured out from the dugout to fetch the bat and found himself in the middle of a play at the plate. Eisthen was called safe on the play. Okotoks won the game 8-7 and advanced to the playoff round. For complete results see page 23 of this week's printed issue.
- photo by John Barlow
Missing High River man is found alive after four-day search
By Editor
A High River man who went missing from Indian Graves campground on July 20 was found alive four days later.
According to a press release, 43-year-old Terry Roskam had been camping near the Indian Graves campground just off Highway 532 with a neighbor when he wandered away from his campsite at about 2 am on Saturday, July 20.
He had been seen at 7 pm on Saturday evening appearing to be disoriented and wearing only a pair of pants.
A four-day search was then conducted by members of the Foothills and Pincher Creek Search and Rescue teams with assistance from Calgary, Lethbridge and Crowsnest Pass Search and Rescue.
Crowsnest Pass RCMP had suspended the formal search for Roskam as of 9:30 pm on July 23.
Nearly 24 hours later, at about 9:30 pm on July 24, campers from Okotoks heard Roskam calling out for help. These campers had been in the area since Monday and had not previously seen or heard any sign of Roskam despite having been on ATVs and on foot within metres of where Roskam was eventually found.
Searchers and range riders had also been within metres of where Roskam was found, however, he had been walking outside of the search boundary at that time, explained Sgt. Tyler Bray of the Turner Valley RCMP detachment.
The area where he was found was heavily wooded, along a small spring creek 50 metres to the west of Willow Creek and 400 metres from the highway.
Roskam was able to obtain shelter from the rugged terrain, a fact, police believe could have also hindered Roskam's detection by search and rescue crews.
Roskam survived on creek water but had no food.
When he was found, Roskam was still somewhat disoriented and had no explanation about his whereabouts, why he had not called out to searchers and why he had left the campsite.
Bray explained that Roskam may have been suffering from some sort of medical condition which led to his delirium.
The campers who heard Roskam were able to provide him with blankets and water until ambulance crews arrived.
Roskam appeared to be hypothermic and dehydrated with badly swollen feet, but otherwise did not appear to be seriously affected by his adventure, said Sgt. Brad Kaeding of the Crowsnest Pass RCMP in a press release.
Roskam was transported to Oilfields Hospital in Black Diamond.
