The Tribune from Williams Lake, British Columbia, Canada • 1

look ocial planner TODAY ino for Graduation ceremonies held in Williams Lake on the weekend B1 analytical studies and implementation strategies related to a range of critical social issues. The job opportunity announcement states the successful applicant will need a planning degree and plenty of experience working effectively and collaboratively position will start out as a part time contract but could evolve into a full time job if the need is demonstrated. The social planner will be responsible for coordinating major social planning projects in the city and developing policies, guidelines, with various groups. The social planner will report directly to the city's chief administrative officer and work with the community's social planning council. "He or she will meet with various groups and help coordinate some of the issues that various committees in the city may have in common," says city administrator Alberto DeFeo.

"We would like to see a social plan developed for the community." Interested applicants have until July 7 to submit their resumes. BY SAGE BIRCHWATER Tribune Staff Writer The City of Williams Lake is looking for a highly motivated individual to fill the newly created role of social planner. This new planning professional WILLIAMS I THE Fl Fl i i 1 i ir ji 1 jr bcclassified.com www.wltribune.com VOL. 76 NO. 47 TUESDAY LAND: Claims Commission rules in favour of Sugar Cane Partners in Planning Northern Golf Tour held in Williams Lake A7 BRIEFS Vandalism on Dog Creek Road An expensive solar lamp was destroyed at a home in the 1500 block of Dog Creek Road on Sunday, said Const.

Obodzinski in a press release. The culprit (s) entered the front yard of the house and destroyed the lamp that was secured to a flower post, said Obodzinski. Motorcycle accident A motorcyclist was thrown off his bike while attempting to pass two vehicles on Dog Creek Road on Saturday, said Cpl. Marc Menard in a press release. The accident occurred at about 3 p.m.

RCMP and emergency personnel responded to the scene. The motorcycle driver was treated for non-life threatening injuries. He has been charged with unsafe pass on the left, said Menard. Car stolen A white 2002 Ford Mustang was stolen from a residence on the 1100 block of Second Avenue North on Wednesday. The car has a black stripe on the bottom of the vehicle with "Mustang" written on it, as well as "Mustang" written on the windshield.

The plate number is 622 DXE. If you have any information regarding this theft, contact the Williams Lake RCMP or Crime Stoppers. FORECAST The nice weather is here for a bit. Today we can expect sunny skies with a high of 26 degrees Celsius. The nice weather should remain for the rest of the week.

For a complete forecast, turn to page A2. 1 LAKE Single Copy $1.00 G.S. T. Chief Willie Alphonse ern Development (Canada) Minister Jim Prentice to immediately instruct that negotiations begin with the band to achieve a fair settlement for T'exelc (Sugar Cane) people past and future. "It's huge news for our community," Alphonse continues.

"I grew up hearing stories of the goings on when this land got settled." He says when he was 10 years old and attending Crescent Heights Elementary School, his class took a field trip to the construction site of Boitanio Mall where an archeological dig was recording aboriginal graves unearthed by the project. When Alphonse was chief the first time in 1994, band councilor Chris Wycotte encouraged the band to initiate a claim for the land. At that time the claim was rejected. But when Alphonse got back into politics in 2002 Wycotte encouraged him to revisit the claim. "So we did.

In 2004 we took our elders on a field trip around the city, looking at the Stampede Grounds, Scout Island, Boitanio Park and Glendale." He says his community launched the claim in court in June 2004, and has waited two years for the Indian Claims Commission ruling. "We're not looking at kicking people out of their houses in Williams Lake, but we do anticipate a financial return from the federal government," says Alphonse. "We're attending a B.C. Summit Meeting this week with 130 chiefs, and hope to get a resolution passed there for Minister Prentice." The Indian Claims Commission was established in 1991 to inquire at the request of a First Nation, into specific claims that have been rejected by the federal government. The mandate of the commission is to provide mediation at any stage of the claims process.

Eitwiimnnin JUNE 13, 2006 district a few months ago, said School District 27 Superintendent Wayne Leckie. Leckie said he could not say the reason for the resignation just that it was accepted and he is no longer working for the school board. This is not the first time Young has been investigated. Young was found guilty of professional misconduct after working at a school in Chilliwack and the B.C. College of Teachers cancelled his license in 1998.

't ij jf J- ft-" 4 lit J.I. pv: -j 1 1 ifBiimajtsaaM.a-M- BY SAGE BIRCHWATER Tribune Staff Writer It only took 127 years, but Sugar Cane First Nation finally got the answer it was looking for when Chief William submitted a letter to the editor of the British Daily Colonist back in 1879. Directing his words to the government of Canada, Chief William wrote a desperate plea articulating how his people were starving, sick and angry because they had no land or resources with which to sustain themselves. "The land on which my people have lived for 500 years was taken by a white man; he has crops of wheat and herds of cattle. We have nothing not an acre.

Another white man has enclosed the graves in which the bones of our fathers rest, and we may live to see their bodies turned over by his reads Chief William's letter in part. Last Thursday, June 8, 2006, the Indian Claims Commission in Ottawa said Chief William was right. It acknowledged that the city of Williams Lake was settled illegally and that the pre-emptions of William Pinchbeck and others between 1 860 to 1 878 were invalid because Williams Lake Indians were already living in two villages on the land. The commission ruled that these villages, one at the head of the lake near the Stampede Grounds and the other on Missioner Creek in Glendale, had been the main winter residences of the ancestors of the Williams Lake Band for many generations. It noted in its decision that statutes in place to protect aboriginal villages were ignored by a series of colonial and provincial officials, and ultimately by the federal government.

Sugar Cane Chief Willie Alphonse Jr. says the ruling by the Commission is precedent-setting because this is the first time it has recognized that land owned by a municipality was wrongfully taken away from its aboriginal owners. Asked if this means Mayor Scott Nelson needs to move his desk over a bit to accommodate Sugar Cane interests, Alphonse responds wryly, "No it means he needs to move downstairs." "Just kidding," Alphonse counters quickly. "It's nothing to do with the municipal or provincial governments, but it does mean the federal government needs to do something about it." Alphonse is calling on Indian Affairs and North- Colourful Graduating students from Columneetza, Williams Lake and GROW joined the parade and Dry Grad events 2006 on Saturday. Columneetza graduate parade Parmeet Mangat looks pretty in pink on a decorated flat bed truck with fellow graduates and dates.

See Page C1, C2, and C4. Karen Longwell photo Former teacher is under investigation CO 'in this case is distinct from the 1998 case and the college will not review the first matter in the investigation. In these types of cases an investigation is conducted if the school board asks the college to look into the resignation as a matter of public interest, said Kerchum. After looking into the matter there will be a report and the teacher is given the chance to respond. The process could take several months.

The courts overturned this decision and Young was free to return to work after a one-year licence suspension. Williams Lake RCMP investigated a teacher under suspicion of inappropriate conduct toward a student a couple of months ago, said Cpl. Marc Menard. The investigation did not result in any charges, he added. Kerchum said because the case is currently before the college she cannot comment directly on the case.

She said BY KAREN LONGWELL Tribune Staff Writer A former Williams Lake Secondary school teacher's conduct is currently under investigation, said B.C. College of Teachers registrar Marie Kerchum. While she cannot comment directly on the case she can confirm that former WLSS teacher David Michael Young is currently being investigated by the college. Young resigned from the I.