Osoyoos realtor Eileen McGinn was among the volunteers handing out T-shirts to students at Osoyoos Secondary School (OSS) Friday morning with the hashtag #OsoyoosStrong. The shirts were created by Jamie Elder of Unity Osoyoos, along with other volunteers. They are intended to show pride for education in Osoyoos. Proceeds raised from selling the shirts in the community will help to fund an independent community high school, which many in the community hope will fill the void left by the planned closure of OSS. (Richard McGuire photo)
You never know who you’ll run into on a plane trip. And sometimes it can be awkward.
Osoyoos town councillor Mike Campol was flying to Vancouver with family members earlier this week when he noticed some familiar faces – the school trustees of School District 53 – on his plane.
The trustees, it turns out, were on their way to Vancouver for the annual general meeting of the British Columbia School Trustees Association (BCSTA).
There, at the Hyatt Regency, they will rub shoulders with the likes of Mike Bernier, B.C. minister of education.
Bernier faces a question and answer session this morning from the trustees.
But back to that airplane flight. We would have loved to be a fly on the wall.
It’s fair to say that relations between Osoyoos town council and the school board are pretty strained and have been throughout the entire closing of OSS imbroglio.
It’s probably also fair to say Campol is not the trustees’ favourite councillor – that was him shouting out, “Shame on you!” when the trustees voted to close OSS.
We imagine there were some awkward attempts to avoid eye contact, but thankfully there were no brawls like the one involving out-of-town minor hockey parents at the Sun Bowl Arena recently.
Students getting #OsoyoosStrong T-shirts
Speaking of the closure of OSS, community volunteers were handing out T-shirts to students today with the hashtag “#OsoyoosStong”.
The shirts were printed by Jamie Elder of Unity Osoyoos along with volunteers.
They’ll also be sold to local residents for a donation of at least $20, with all proceeds going to the future independent high school for Osoyoos. Local residents are encouraged to wear them on Fridays to show support for education in the Osoyoos community.
Lots happening in Osoyoos on Saturday
There are several events this weekend in and around Osoyoos.
The Osoyoos Fire Department holds its popular annual Oyster Feed dinner at the Osoyoos International Curling Club on Saturday evening. This fundraiser for charitable causes sells out very quickly, so if you don’t have tickets or have an in with friends who do, you’re probably out of luck.
The fourth annual Osoyoos Autism Behavioural Centre’s Walk for Awareness also takes place Saturday. It starts from Town Square at 11 a.m. This year’s event has a Star Wars theme.
A free presentation on Advance Care Planning is being presented by Desert Valley Hospice at 2 p.m. Saturday at the Sonora Community Centre. They’ll talk about end-of-life planning and health care treatment choices.
Also on Saturday, Soroptimist International of Osoyoos is holding its “Step Into Spring” breakfast fashion show at the Watermark Beach Resort conference room from 9 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. Tickets are $25 from Imperial Office Pro.
Check out “Things to do” on Page 24 of this week’s Osoyoos Times for other weekend events in Oliver and Oroville.
More sunshine ahead and a beautiful weekend
The fog has lifted this morning and now it looks like lots of sunshine ahead after yesterday’s reminder of winter.
It will still be coolish today and tomorrow reaching a high of 17 C, but from Saturday onward we’ll be enjoying weather in the mid-20s well into next week.
Other and a little bit of cloud today and Saturday, the forecast is for sunny right through to the middle of next week.
Enjoy your weekend!
RICHARD McGUIRE
Osoyoos Times
