Business consultant and entrepreneur Mike Straza has announced a campaign for Bloomington City Council’s Ward 5 seat in next April's municipal election That ward includes property east of Veterans Parkway and areas on the north and south sides of Empire Street Straza claimed his experience as an entrepreneur and business consultant will serve as a resource for him as a council member “I’m passionate about growing business opportunities and strengthening the relationships within our community,” Straza said in his announcement I want to capitalize on all that is good and exciting in our community to make it even better.” Straza had planned to run for the Ward 5 council seat in 2021 but decided to run for mayor instead after then-mayor Tari Renner chose not to run for a third term Straza lost to Mboka Mwilambwe in a three-way race Current Ward 5 council member Nick Becker said family health issues had him considering not running for re-election Becker said Straza's decision to run for the seat made his choice clear “The time to effectively manage council was a question for me but when I saw Mike as being an available candidate – he is so qualified and such a good candidate – I was excited to support him and support my family as well,” Becker said No other candidate has declared plans to run for the seat next year Become a WGLT sponsor Informal environmentalist organization Eko Straža has submitted a letter with 100,000 signatures to the Delegation of the EU to Serbia 0 Bojan Simišić of Eko Straža said the signatures had been submitted because of the European Commission’s upcoming decision on strategic projects to produce critical raw materials in third countries The decision is expected to be adopted this week The letter, supported by 100,000 signatures, is the first concrete step by environmental associations and citizens after the announcement that the EU could grant Jadar the status of a strategic project. The site of Rio Tinto’s underground mine and processing unit is near the Western Serbian city of Loznica The EU has adopted the first list of strategic projects On Tuesday, the European Commission approved the first 47 strategic projects, within EU territory for the production of critically important raw materials the decision on the potential selection of proposals for facilities in third countries will be adopted at a later stage Under the EU’s Critical Raw Materials Act (CRMA) such strategic projects are eligible for administrative and financial support Shortly after the decision was announced, Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić said that within seven or eight days the EU would also declare the Jadar lithium project as strategic He made the claim the same evening in Brussels where he met with the bloc’s top officials Eko Straža: If the EU designates Jadar as strategic Eko straža stressed that the EU does not have jurisdiction to designate Jadar as a strategic project The organization also pointed out that Jadar was canceled by the Serbian government’s decision in 2022 “If the EU puts the Jadar project on its list of strategic projects we will no longer address the Serbian government but will instead turn to international institutions,” said Eko Straža Balkan Green Energy News has compiled a chronological overview of the most important events concerning Jadar since 2001, when Rio Tinto established a subsidiary in Serbia Be the first one to comment on this article 28 April 2025 - Private businesses from the EU and the Western Balkans are invited to express interest in investing in the region 21 April 2025 - Existing geothermal wells alone can enable Turkey to become one of the world's major producers of lithium 18 April 2025 - The capital of Bosnia and Herzegovina has developed a register of air-polluting emissions and an information system to track pollutants 16 April 2025 - Minister of Mining and Energy Dubravka Đedović Handanović started her third term while new Minister of Environmental Protection Sara Pavkov is the cabinet's youngest member © CENTER FOR PROMOTION OF SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT 2008-2020 website developed by ogitive Nicki Straza has utilized her extensive knowledge and professional experience to build better workplaces by developing progressive leaders and strengthening communications between intergenerational workforces who is a Brantford-based certified flourishing coach to provide the necessary programs and tools to help organizations excel by creating stronger work cultures “I have worked in corporate and non-profit organizations over the course of my career and as I have worked to develop my myself…I found gaps in my own leadership [and] also experienced the impact of gaps in other people’s leadership and how that affected the culture of the different organizations,” said Straza “Culture is one of those things you can’t really put your finger on It isn’t like a sales process or a manufacturing process or a product that you can figure out [in] what’s working and what’s not working Culture is this cocktail of all these soft skill ingredients [and] when you know the right combination of ingredients it really makes for a great cocktail And when you have those ingredients together that aren’t working for Straza this is something that is important to acknowledge in order to start building a better and more productive culture especially with multiple generations working together “I have experienced [where] people who are very close to me get eaten alive in cultures that are toxic because leadership didn’t have the courage to make decisions or to develop their people So having lived through some of those experiences [and now] having adult children who are entering the workforce I have begun to see the role that generational diversity plays in culture and how different generations think differently and are shaped by different skills and perspectives,” she explained Straza herself has been working in various professional settings for over 25 years and explained the importance of quality relationships in fostering a better life “I’m a firm believer that the quality of my relationships is what makes the quality of my life and I think that’s true for myself and for everyone else there’s a Harvard Longitudinal Study that has been going for over 85 years [where the] key theme is that happy [and] meaningful lives are influenced by quality relationships,” said Straza Straza has excelled at youth leadership coaching as well She has effectively utilized the LeadYoung Training Systems for almost 15 years “I’m the Canadian lead trainer and distributor for all LeadYoung resources…it’s an executive-level management and leadership training program for kids from ages ten to 13 I’ve done a lot of leadership training….I have also used this program with a slight variation with my adult clients because it’s that good in terms of teaching leadership,” she said “There are 16 kinds of qualities or competencies of effective leaders And we really focus on exploring and understanding the nuances of that through experiential learning [which] is when we experience something [and] our physiology and our cognitions are involved…and that’s when we create better memories [to help us] drive impact and ensure change.” Straza has also recently become a certified flourishing coach; offering the community opportunities to help in their personal and professional growth “The science of flourishing took positive psychology and mixed it in with neuroscience and a strength-based lens…so this idea is that we start from what we’re good at rather than where we are struggling or where we’re broken Many people think a flourishing life is simply that everything’s going well But another way to look at a flourishing life is as a resilient life [which] means that I have the skills and the tools to bounce back from whatever life throws at me and that I have the ability to grow,” Straza explained Straza’s approach has helped many people throughout the years there was one particular success she discusses “I’ve worked with a manufacturing business for over two years They originally reached out to me because they were really experiencing a lot of conflict between their seasoned technicians-turned-supervisors and their incoming Gen Z apprentices What was happening was that the skilled laborers-turned-supervisors weren’t provided with a ton of leadership or coaching skills themselves so they had learned the trade through their own school of hard knocks…[and] they paid their dues,” she described “They took what they knew and they were passing it on…teaching these young people in [a] very similar fashion [which] the young people didn’t like…as a result the company was experiencing high turnover…and they were having a real struggle retaining some of their younger students once they had finished their apprenticeship.” While assessing the situation at the manufacturing company Straza implemented varying strategies to build a better understanding amongst the leadership and young staff “I started working with the supervisors and lead hands but I would contextualize it for each group generational diversity [and] how they might interpret behavior and language and what they how they see it from the different generations in their workplace…I worked with them and gave them skills for communication and resilience,” Straza said “I would then work with the supervisors and help them understand the different perspectives and interpretations of the word respect…I began to give them coaching skills and help them strengthen their self-awareness I would do these tandem workshops so we would talk about similar things but it would be contextualized for their specific job roles they would work on that together and practice those skills together in the shop.” Straza said the specialized training has paid off “About six months ago the manufacturing manager told me that one of the gentleman who was one of the hardest people for the young people to work for has now become the favorite trainer amongst them,” admitted Straza “The transformation in some of these supervisors to be able to mentor train and coach these young people and give them what they need and meet them where they’re at has been absolutely profound.” Straza stresses the importance of working closely with Generation Z as well as the next generation to fully understand their needs in the workplace “I think workplace toxicity is really coming to the forefront Gen Z is highly intolerant of workplace toxicity and older generations think it’s just because they don’t want to work but that’s not the case…they are some of the hardest-working people out there But they are not open to trading work for abuse and we as business owners and leaders have to support and evolve our skills or we’re not going to have a workforce The truth of the matter is as adults we have a job to prepare them [Gen Alpha who are in grade school right now] for jobs that do not exist yet…they are going to need skills in resilience and the ability to take care of themselves no matter what’s going on in the world.” This website is using a security service to protect itself from online attacks The action you just performed triggered the security solution There are several actions that could trigger this block including submitting a certain word or phrase You can email the site owner to let them know you were blocked Please include what you were doing when this page came up and the Cloudflare Ray ID found at the bottom of this page The first railway line in Slovenia and the most important transport route in the Habsburg Monarchy was the railway line Vienna-Trieste it was managed by a private company called Južne železnice (South Railway Company Due to high construction costs and uncertainty involved in financing the government in Vienna decided the state would no longer build railways but would leave construction to private capital The railway lines built were leased to private or public limited companies through concessions after which time they were to become state property The line Vienna­-Triste was followed by the construction of Pragarsko-Čakovec-Kotoriba (1860) Zidani Most-Zagreb-Sisak (1862) and Maribor-Klagenfurt (1863) lines The ambitious railway plan of the then Austrian Minister of Commerce anticipated also the building of the line in Lower Carniola with Tarvisio-Ljubljana-Novo mesto-Karlovac link which would be included in a transport corridor leading from Central Germany through the Austrian Empire to Istanbul in Turkey The Upper Carniola line was completed by 1870 Following the efforts of then Chamber of Commerce the Lower Carniola Railway Line was also included in the construction plans in 1869 Its construction attracted the interest of the consortium of the Wilkens company Construction plans for the Lower Carniola railway line suffered a heavy blow by the collapse of the Vienna stock exchange in 1873 and the severe economic crisis that followed it Railway companies could no longer secure loans to finance their constructions and the government in Vienna declared all concessions granted for constructions that had not started yet null and void the construction of the lines Šempeter (Pivka)-Rijeka (1873) Karlovac-Rijeka (1873) and Divača-Pula (1876) continued which caused the dissatisfaction of the entrepreneurs in Lower Carniola the Chamber of Commerce in Ljubljana and the Carniolan Provincial Diet increased their efforts to secure the continuation of the building of the Lower Carniola railway as well and appealed not only to the government in Vienna but also to the Emperor Franz Joseph himself The Emperor first received the delegation consisting of the provincial governor He again met with the delegation led by the then provincial delegate Fran Šuklje in 1883 during his stay in Ljubljana for the celebration of the 600th anniversary of the Habsburg’s rule in Carniola their request was not approved by the ministries in Vienna due to limited financial resources the Carniolan Provincial Diet allocated 5000 Gulden and the Provincial Bank in Ljubljana 3000 Gulden to initiate preparatory work and the laying out of the Lower Carniola railway line the committee for the construction of the Lower Carniola railway was set up one along the valley of the river Krka and the other along the valley of the river Temenica The provincial diet finally decided on the latter mostly due to the fact that its towns were more densely populated Fran Šuklje managed to bring in an experienced diplomat and financier Jožef von Schwegel Schwegel took over the leadership of the committee arranging its financial construction according to which the financial guarantee burden was formally assumed by the Land of Carniola He also enabled the funding using combined contracts with the state province and the Trbovlje Coal Mining Company The latter had since 1886 been the owner of the mine in Kočevje and was very interested in supplying its coal to railways Baron Schwegel took up the initiative together with Princ Auersperg ensuring that the interests of both Novo mesto and Kočevje were equally represented a contract was signed between the General Direction of State Railways Baron Schwegel wrote this about the Lower Carniola railway: “This railway may have a bright future ahead of it as one of the most direct connections to the Balkans and I was very careful about this from the very beginning in our concession negotiations and otherwise.” The basis for the granting of the concession was the “Act of June 6 1890 on the permits and conditions for the building of the Lower Carniola railways” Prince Karel Auersperg and Baron Josip Schwegel applied for the granting of the concession for the building of the Lower Carniola railways Concession signed by the Emperor Franz Joseph the Minister of Commerce Marquis Olivier de Bacquehem and the Minister of Finance Emil Steinbach was thus issued in their names on December 16 Both holders of concession were obligated to build the railway line Ljubljana-Grosuplje-Trebnje-Novo mesto-Straža with the branch line Grosuplje-Kočevje no later than two and a half years after the issuing of the concession The contract also stipulated that they need to maintain the railway line for the entire duration of the concession They were also granted the right to exemption from duties on stamps and fees for all applications as well as the right to expropriate land in accordance with legal regulations (§ The operation of the railway was taken over by the state (§ and the Austro-Hungarian army secured the transportation of its military personnel and equipment at reduced tariff rates (§ The concession holders were granted the right to obtain the permission of the state administration and establish a public limited company which would take over all the rights and obligations of the concession holders (§ a public limited company Dolenjske železnice (Lower Carniola Railways) was established at the founding assembly in Vienna on May 4 Baron Schwegel was elected as its president The building of the line Ljubljana-Grosuplje-Novo mesto-Straža (84 km) and Grosuplje-Kočevje (49 km) cost 18,200,000 krone for which Dolenjske železnice secured a loan of 14,000,000 krone (7,000,000 gulden) The work for the individual sections was granted to the following companies: Redlich and Berger The building of the line Ljubljana-Grosuplje-Kočevje (70 km) started on May 22 while the building of the lines to Novo mesto and Straža began on September 29 the railway line crossed 38 cadastral municipalities 1133 landowners were required to sell their land along with 250 m³ of bridge timber and 76,000 m³ of gravel Also constructed along the line were four tunnels 575 skilled workers and 198 head of cattle were employed in the process the work seemed to progress more slowly than expected prompting the decision to also enlist the workforce of convicts from prisons and forced labour workshops The first section completed was the branch line from Grosuplje to Kočevje Its ceremonious opening was held on September 27 followed by the opening of the line to Novo mesto or Straža The economic branches that the railway line benefited the most were the trade in agricultural produce and especially the trade in timber and wooden products the old industries in the valley of the Krka River such as Bamberg’s paper factory in Žužemberk and Auersperg’s foundry and mechanical workshop in Dvor ceased to operate the state administration reserved the right to buy out the Lower Carniola railway lines at any time during the duration of the concession (§ 12) On the basis of the contract signed in 1913 the concession period was shortened for 15 years Croats and Slovenes and later in the Kingdom of Yugoslavia there was some serious consideration about nationalizing the railway lines owned by public limited companies By means of a purchase contract signed on January 23 the public limited company Dolenjske železnice sold all its railway lines to the Kingdom of Yugoslavia for 43,000,000 dinars placing them into the hands of the state 45 years after the issuing of the concession Concession for the Lower Carniola Railway Line Ljubljana-Novo mesto-Straža with the Branch Line for Kočevje Discover the online column Archivalia of the Month Did you find the information you were looking for Do you want to receive a response from the responsible institution Clicking on the link will open your default e-mail program and automatically draft a message that you can send to the institution responsible for the content of this website ask for a reply the village of Straža in the municipality of Novi Brda but considerable material damage was caused.According to RTV Puls the house of the Simić family and three neighboring barns for storing hay burned down The nearby forest and grass in yards where no one lives were also on fire invested everything they had in renovating their house last year tells Rtv Puls that the firefighters were too late two barns and her house had already burned down maybe something could have been saved," says Menka the cause of the fire that engulfed everything in front of it was a dilapidated banner which the locals pointed out to KEK six months ago is that everything took place during the day otherwise if the fire had broken out during the night Relatives of this family addressed the editorial office Contact Plus the radio and invited all people of good will to help RTV Puls/Kontakt Plus *Downloading and publishing content from the Kontakt Plus radio portal is not allowed without citing the source 13: 00Radio Kontakt Plus was founded in April 2000 It is a media that respects the rights of every citizen to truth and objective information Environmentalists held a protest because of charges that campaigners against lithium mining are facing The Ministry of Mining and Energy said it received an anonymous threat related to Rio Tinto’s Jadar project 0 with the demand for a nationwide ban on the exploration and mining of lithium and boron ores Some activists are suspected of or charged with serious crimes – calling for a violent change in the constitutional order and inciting ethnic racial and religious hatred and intolerance a number of them have witnessed suspicious fires at some of their properties faced sudden tax inspection or received threats on social networks The police apprehended at least one person in almost every town and village where demonstrations were held Among them are people from initiatives and movements such as Eko straža and Čuvari/ke vatre as well as opposition parties: Kreni-promeni (Go-Change) They supported the protest that was organized outside RTS Eko straža demands time from RTS in its prime-time news within a week The organization urged for disciplinary measures for individuals in the prosecutor’s office that ordered the arrests and initiated the processes against activists and the search of their homes and for the seized mobile devices to be returned The public broadcaster did briefly report on the protest live in its main news program Activists are facing charges for calling for a violent change in the constitutional order and inciting ethnic Eko straža founder Bojan Simišić told the crowd that the authorities are making up criminal acts and accused government-leaning tabloids of smearing the opponents of lithium exploration and mining by calling them traitors and spies “Everyone has the right to a healthy environment,” he stressed and pointed out that everyone has to be an activist for it to be possible to preserve the environment in Serbia Simišić claimed that the authorities are harassing the members of the families of numerous activists and demonstrators including his own wife The speakers at the protest noted that the government ignored a people’s initiative from two years ago with over 38,000 signatures to ban lithium and boron exploration and mining The National Assembly was obligated by law to discuss the motion Research Associate Aleksandar Matković from the Institute of Economic Sciences said the fight would be bitter and long Citizens of other countries are watching this as to them you are an example of a successful struggle against a corporation they would be digging already,” he told the protesters Researcher Aleksandar Matković from the Institute of Economic Sciences received death threats for his column Matković has received anonymous death threats for a column in which he analyzed the potential damage from the Jadar lithium project and leaning on mining investment and warned that Serbia can become “Europe’s mining colony.” Minister of Mining and Energy Dubravka Đedović Handanović said the ministry received an anonymous threat the employees are being intimidated and threatened The ministry criticized “fake environmentalists and politicians” for attempting to overthrow the government using violence Bloomington voters this spring will choose their first new mayor in eight years The choice is between a low-key veteran city council member and two political newcomers with very different backgrounds said his focus would be on updating the city’s roads and other infrastructure and providing core services like public safety and recreation “The streets are the thing that people actually see When we have some that are in a state of disrepair I don’t think it makes the public trust what we’re doing we’ll be able to generate a lot more trust from the generic public Because what we don’t want is the public to look at us engaging in other endeavors and yet the street in front of their house has a pothole that hasn’t been fixed in a couple years.” Mwilambwe said he was glad the city has increased its spending on streets and sidewalks to around $7 million per year One reason why it’s been able to do that is because the council raised the local gas tax Mwilambwe voted against that He later told WGLT he was concerned at the time about the “cumulative effect of various fees and taxes within the community,” and whether the state and town would also be increasing their gas tax He noted that he also supports a plan to use more general revenue dollars to keep street funding at around $7 million despite a decline in local gas tax revenue due to the pandemic Mwilambwe has kept a relatively low profile in his 10 years representing the city’s east side on the council. He would likely bring a different style to the job than Renner—whose online behavior earned him criticism and who once compared the former arena managers to those running a Soviet Gulag When asked for evidence of vocal leadership Mwilambwe pointed to his opposition to the catalyst project pitched in 2017-18 for downtown Bloomington would have combined both a library expansion and transit transfer center “I felt that we had promised that the library was going to expand in place at its current location,” he said trust with the public is something that’s extremely important I felt that pursuing the catalyst project would have diminished the trust the public had in us because we would be doing something completely different than what we said we’d do.” The library is now headed toward a slimmed-down expansion at its current location there’s always room for social justice issues,” Mwilambwe said “But I do think that generally we have to be careful that it does not detract from the core things that the public wants us to address They want us to address public safety and sewers and some level of recreation and things like that.” Fellow mayoral candidate Jackie Gunderson was more explicit with her intentions to center equity and justice across her priority list Gunderson ran unsuccessfully for McLean County Board in 2020 as a Democrat “Everybody who’s ever held office didn’t hold office before they held office “But I’ve been working full-time since I was 16 I didn’t have the opportunity to have parents who could put them through college Gunderson is now a procurement manager at ISU, overseeing capital projects. She said her professional experience in male-dominated fields informs her view on the importance of collaboration and hearing different voices. She joins three progressive Bloomington City Council candidates in the People First Coalition.  we might be looking at things differently,” she said we’ve often been represented by people that maybe haven’t lived that experience that don’t take into consideration the people that are left on the margins.” Gunderson would also be Bloomington’s first openly queer mayor Gunderson said the long economic recovery from COVID would also be a top priority, if elected. She praised the city’s early relief efforts, particularly direct aid programs But making sure Bloomington’s needs are met may require tapping into the city’s reserves if necessary “The City of Bloomington does have reserves that are for a rainy day and I would consider a global pandemic that’s being going on for a year to be a rainy day,” she said the reallocation of some of those funds to make sure the people that we’re most concerned about are not falling through the cracks I also think economic recovery is important and making sure that businesses stay afloat the safety and health of my neighbors is more important to me than that But I think there’s a way to prioritize both.” also sees connections between the two.  said his top priority will be accelerating economic growth Straza said expanding the tax base would allow the city to lessen the tax burden on existing residents and businesses while also creating more revenue for street repairs and core services “I feel like there’s people who think people have been ignored and that we’re always talking about business We have to figure out how to meld them together,’” Straza said “And I feel like we’re swinging the pendulum opposite ends all the time And I’m gonna be the person that’s going to bring it to the middle and say we cannot get caught in the weeds and lose sight of what needs to happen for the betterment of the community.” Straza is operations director at Vale Church in Bloomington. One of the church’s beliefs is that “God has established marriage as a lifelong exclusive relationship between one man and one woman and all intimate sexual activity outside the marriage relationship is immoral and therefore sin,” according to its website Straza said his faith and beliefs were a big part of his life He downplayed how they would impact a city leadership position and he stressed that he would “love and care for everyone no matter what.” “The state and federal takes care of marriage and that side of things I don’t sit there and disagree with what the state and federal (governments) have decided And I think that’s something people need to understand—that is my heart As for how to actually accelerate economic growth Straza said he wants the city to even more explicitly ask businesses what they need—and not just money He says that survey approach could be instructive Straza also said re-starting the service sector will be critical coming out of the pandemic The city’s leisure and hospitality sector has been decimated As COVID cases surged in November, the City of Bloomington faced open defiance from bar and restaurant owners who refused to follow state mitigation rules Many were fined through the Liquor Commission Bloomington’s mayor is also the city’s liquor commissioner In November, Straza said on Facebook that the lack of government assistance for businesses “forces them to disregard the health measures put in place by our officials.” That’s despite most businesses following the rules He suggested some businesses were confused as to what the rules were and who would enforce them was really sitting down with those restaurants or places that refused to close and say ‘Why?’ I don’t think the ‘why’ was explained well enough,” Straza said He serves on the Bloomington Zoning Board of Appeals and previously was a member of the Town of Normal’s Vision 2040 committee He also worked on Normal Mayor Chris Koos’ re-election campaign in 2017 Straza was the founding treasurer of the Responsible Cities political action committee (PAC) last year but has since left that role The PAC looks to recruit and support candidates for nonpartisan offices like city councils preferring those who take a collaborative and less ideological approach and avoiding the extremes on either side he’s contributed to Republican candidates for state and federal office Bill Brady and the Bush-Cheney re-election campaign in 2004 Gunderson and Straza will appear at WGLT’s live debate at 6 p.m Listen live on 89.1 FM or watch on WGLT’s Facebook Page The event is co-sponsored by the League of Women Voters of McLean County There's no subscription fee to listen or read our stories. 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Donate now, and help fund your public media Technology company KOER launched the first virtual power plant in Croatia in February 2022 0 Vetropack Straža is part of the Vetropack Group is one of the leading producers of glass packaging in Europe not far from Croatia’s border with Slovenia and other countries in Southeastern Europe The cooperation between Vetropack Straža and KOER will contribute to the stability of the Croatian electricity system and give it additional support for connecting new renewable energy facilities Vetropack Straža has installed two rooftop solar power plants on its warehouses manager of the technical sector at Vetropack Straža said the company has installed two rooftop solar power plants on its warehouses The photovoltaic facilities installed in 2019 Berc noted that glass production is an energy-intensive process “We enabled the flexibility of the production process to be utilized in maintaining the balance of the Croatian electricity system while at the same time supporting the green transition of the Croatian economy towards a more sustainable energy system,” he stressed Lasić: Virtual power plant is going additionally to optimize Vetropack’s production KOER CEO Marko Lasić pointed out that glass production involves various complex processes and a large consumption of resources saying they would be additionally optimized within the virtual power plant He recalled that the platform opens up a possibility for multiple benefits – it gives consumers the opportunity to become active participants in the electricity market while helping the Croatian Transmission System Operator (HOPS) to optimize and balance the power system 02 May 2025 - The project is located in Constanța county recognized for its superior yields in green energy production 02 May 2025 - The Sunčana (Sunny) Vipava project envisages installing solar power plants with a combined capacity of 20 MW 30 April 2025 - OMV put into operation its 10 MW green hydrogen plant at the Schwechat refinery 30 April 2025 - It is the second time this year that MVM contracted gas-fueled and hydrogen-ready power plants at sites of former fossil fuel facilities Sign In Subscribe Now Comparing Maureen Straza to the little engine that could is not far from the truth In April 2014 she was in an ATV accident near Chimney Lake and emerged as a complete paraplegic with T10-11 injuries Today she chairs the City’s accessibility advisory committee and advocates for others to make Williams Lake more accessible we have some new members and I hope we will be able to make a difference,” Straza said “Our main focus is making Williams Lake more accessible and inclusive for everyone.” During the summer the committee will host an accessibility awareness event and will rent a booth at the farmers market to share information “My hope is that people will come out and let us know what their challenges are because I don’t know all the challenges for people with different disabilities and neither does anyone else,” Straza said I had my spinal cord injury I had no idea.” READ MORE: Ground broken at Tyee Lake for fire equipment, vehicle building It’s difficult for people to lose their independence Straza said noting after her injury she realized firsthand people need to advocate for themselves “No one knows how to make changes until they actually know what the challenges are,” she added moved to Port Hardy and had their two sons there The family moved to Williams Lake when the boys were starting school for Bob’s job with BC Hydro “We wanted to get to the main land and closer to our families and we always thought Williams Lake was a nice area.” Straza played softball and coached her sons once they were old enough to play She coached them until they were old enough to play in the men’s league and coached then as well Bob died in 2010 from congestive heart failure — they’d been married almost 37 years and she’d been with him since she was 15 she officially retired from CIBC where she had been working for 30 years when she had her accident “CIBC was a great place to work and everyone was very good to me,” she recalled adding she started out as a newbie in the ledger department “I received good training and did compliance administration for three branches.” Every cheque that was drawn had to have its signature verified and figures checked At one time there were 39 people working at the bank in Williams Lake She was branch manager for a couple of years but said she pleaded to let her go back to her sales position I like making things happen and it’s sometimes it’s hard to manage people.” Straza met Rick Hansen when she was part of the Wheels in Motion committee for a number of years in Williams Lake “I actually met him through that and I know most of his family as well After my injury he came to visit me at GF Strong Rehabilitation Centre in Vancouver but I’m sorry it had to be under these circumstances.” orthopaedic surgeon at Vancouver General Hospital (VGH) She stayed in VGH for two weeks and started rehab there “While I was there they were helping me learn how to sit up and to learn how to transfer in and out of bed.” From there she transferred to GF Strong Rehabilitation Centre and left for home early July READ MORE: Accessibility award of merit nominations open at city hall At the time of the accident she was in a relationship with Larry Straza and they were supposed to get married that July but she insisted they wait a couple of years “I wanted to make sure he was prepared for the changes this is not your journey if you don’t choose it.’” they traded in her quad for a side-by-side and it has hand controls on it if she wants to drive it “Larry has hand controls on his quad if I want to drive it I can He has to help me get on and off it because it’s difficult for me to transfer up that high but I’ve even plowed a bit of snow with it.” There are some things that are very difficult for her to do but with a little help from people who are willing These days she isn’t mowing the lawn or plowing the driveway as she once did she plants flowers and does things she can do “I said to my best friend Brenda Jelley after my accident I’m used to being able to do everything for myself,’ and she said I’ve never plowed the driveway and I’ve never mowed the lawn so don’t feel bad.’” Jelley passed away in January 2016 and was a very dear friend “That was an awesome thing for her to say to me.” news@wltribune.comLike us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter Dialogue and debate are integral to a free society and we welcome and encourage you to share your views on the issues of the day. We ask that you be respectful of others and their points of view, refrain from personal attacks and stay on topic. To learn about our commenting policies and how our community-based moderation works, please read our Community Guidelines The main request from the organizers is for state institutions to protect the citizens’ constitutional right to a healthy environment 0 The main slogan of the protest for harmless air was For Serbia without Smog. The basic request is that state institutions protect the citizens’ constitutional right to a healthy environment, which is now endangered by polluted air the construction of small hydropower plants and planned investments in dirty technology The protest was organized by Eko Straža from where they walked behind the banner For Serbia without Smog to the seat of the Government of Serbia in Nemanjina street Among the two to three thousand protesters there were parents with children Bojan Simišić from Eko Straža said the citizens gathered to defend the Constitution of the Republic of Serbia clean air and a healthy environment are guaranteed by article 74 of the constitution and we came here to exercise our right,” he said adding it is the beginning of a long struggle for environmental protection in Serbia Simišić stressed the government established a working group a year ago to tackle air pollution and only held one meeting attended only by politicians and no experts The beginning of a long struggle for environmental protection in Serbia The protest organizers urge for short-term and long-term measures for reducing air pollution and timely information on air quality the fired head of air quality monitoring department at Serbian Environmental Protection Agency It can no longer be hidden that the air is polluted “We are here because health is priceless and health is endangered if we breathe polluted air,” said Dragana Đorđević Professor Vladimir Đurđević from the Faculty of Physics asserted protests should be used more often as a tool for improving air quality “We have now learned that the air quality is bad so we no longer need that kind of monitoring but we need the implementation of measures that will prevent it to be monitored,” Đurđević stated Aleksandar Jovanović Ćuta from the Defend the Rivers of Mt Stara Planina movement sent a message to the Government of Serbia “I say to them and their strategic partners with which they are concluding secret agreements, such as Rio Tinto, Linglong and others who have come here to poison us: you will no longer soak our country with poison you will not give our water sources to Coca-Cola you will not poison our children with sulfur dioxide,” Jovanović said and added there would be no negotiations on air 2011Save this storySaveSave this storySaveThere once was a boutique owner from Malibu who was unlucky in scent self-defining fragrance that had hints of her own personal heaven: Hawaii Bringing the tropics to a petite vile was no easy feat Gaye tested compositions until her sense of smell failed she finally realized the euphoria of her conviction and sealed the potion before it could escape Gaye christened her bespoke scent "Kai"—Sanskrit for "ocean"—le coeur of the paraben- and sulfate-free fragrance comprising gardenia The perfume oil is integrated across all 14 product offerings it’s about layering the scent throughout the day: awaking fresh with fine-linen spray; exfoliating with body polish; radiating with body glow; and dozing to Kai’s Twilight This month marks the launch of Kai's latest product—Bathing Bubbles derived from coconut oils—which Gaye describes as the frothiest Gaye’s marketing strategy was as organic as her scent: She dabbed the concoction on her wrists and instantly scored a following of friends with fragrance envy and spas before making the leap to larger retailers Terrified of department store fragrance “assassins,” Gay sought to subtly expand kai’s profile without exiling it to the beauty product aisle She convinced Fred Segal to let her market the brand amongst the clothes to encourage LA’s more discerning clientele to serendipitously discover the scent It wasn’t long before shoppers were drawn to the kai packaging which comes as clean as the scent: the forgiving font in mossy green The kai word soon spread across country and continent from the Americas to down under kai's diverse celebrity following is testament to its versatility: Bob Dylan who helped create kai’s silky shea body butter--have all an adopted the scent Gaye promises a second fragrance set that will complement the signature Your Ads Privacy ChoicesIMDb Accessibility Advisory Committee Chair Maureen Straza provided a year-end report to council during its Tuesday Straza thanked council and city staff for their commitment to the Rick Hansen Accessibility Certification Program in the summer of 2023 and said she hopes to continue to encourage the community and local businesses to think about accessibility and inclusivity for all when conducting renovations or undertaking construction Jazmyn Lyons said she really enjoys her work with the committee and how the group has realistic and achievable ideas and goals lunches for the meetings and a council liaison for the committee which makes recommendations to make the city more accessible for those with some types of disabilities Straza mentioned recruiting for one vacant position on the committee and said the committee received a grant thanks to the city applying for the grant from Sparc BC to host an Access Awareness Day event The group was hoping to highlight the importance of accessibility with a theme for the event of “inclusion starts here” and used the funds to hire a videographer to create an educational video to increase awareness of accessible parking The city then provided staff time to apply for another Sparc BC grant to further enhance the video Council also expressed its gratitude for the hard work and tireless efforts of all of the volunteers on the AAC Straza also noted the addition of disabled parking stalls at the Cariboo Memorial Recreation Complex as well as the success of a spring walk with the city’s Municipal Services Department to help identify on-street disabled parking spaces requiring repair The report also included the June and July events alongside Rick Hansen when he returned for the 50th anniversary of the crash which resulted in his lower body paralysis This included appearing in the parade alongside Hansen as “difference makers.” READ MORE: Williams Lake wife works to find living donor for husband Don’t miss out on reading the latest local, provincial and national news offered at the Williams LakeTribune. Sign up for our free newsletter here. Brittany Straza didn't have it heading into her first two ventures in the NCAA Golf Tournament is in store for the Florida Gators at Purdue University's Kampen Course "This is the first team we've had in four years that's really capable of winning the NCAA Tournament," said the senior from Fort Myers This optimism can be traced to two sources: Florida's depth is better than it's been in several years and the difficult Kampen Course could prove to be a comfortable fit for the long-hitting Gators It might add up to a perfect match for Florida "The last two times we were in the NCAA Tournament (in 2000 and 2002) we knew we didn't have the punch at No 5 to have a realistic chance of winning," Straza said 5 spots who have played well and give us a chance." The emergence of talented freshman Aimee Cho - who won the individual title at the SEC Tournament - has given the Gators a more proficient lineup from top to bottom while Amanda Dick and sophomore Andrea Vander Lende also are capable of going low "Any team in the tournament can win it," UF coach Jill Briles-Hinton said "We have to stay focused and take it one shot at a time We'll play our own game and add it up in the end and see what happens The Gators struggled in their most recent tournament (the NCAA Central Regional) and barely made it into the final NCAA field of 24 UF finished seventh (the top eight teams advanced) with a 79-over par total of 931 total who was sidelined by a strained lower back Straza and UF will be at full strength for the 72-hole tournament "My trainer and doctors have done a great job They've taken care of everything," Straza said Straza will need a strong back to get around the Kampen Course which is long (it probably will play at over 6,500 yards this week) and usually features windy conditions this time of year The Gators played the course in September in the NCAA Fall Preview the toughest NCAA course we've played in my four years," Straza said It doesn't give Duke or Arizona or anybody else a better chance over Florida There are a couple of par 3s that are 215 and 220 yards long You have to have long hitters on your team and everyone on our team has the distance to play this course I'm confident everyone on our team is going to be fine on this course." One Gator who hasn't played the course is Aimee Cho She missed the fall schedule to return to her native Korea to clear up a visa problem But the time off obviously hasn't hurt her this spring she's considered a strong contender this week You can reach Robbie Andreu at (352) 374-5022 or by e-mail at andreur@gvillesun.com Sign In Register Ernie Benzer passed peacefully with his wife by his side on February 28 1932 and passed after enjoying his 87th birthday celebration the previous day Scott Benzer; 8 grandchildren Cassie Halter (Dan) Stuart Fenton and Brad Fenton; 2 great grandchildren Natalie Halter and Jakob Halter; brother Art (Gail) of Montrose extended family and many wonderful friends Ernie lived in North Glenmore from 1959 to the present His first job after graduating from high school was at Imperial Optical where he worked for 17 years becoming a licenced optician He joined the Kelowna Fire Department as a volunteer in 1952 then the paid staff in 1967 until he retired in 1992 with the rank of captain Ernie and Kaye bought their ‘little 2-acre farm’ on Longhill Road in 1959 and lived there until they built a home on their orchard on Snowsell Street in 1977 He loved the peaceful surroundings of his orchard & the physical work it entailed as it allowed him to unwind from life It also gave him an excuse to have all the ‘necessary’ equipment that went along with farming including four tractors even if he didn’t really need all four In 2014 they sold the farm & moved into an adult community Ernie had many talents including fixing anything that was broken He often told his children he raised them to think for themselves then pretend to be annoyed when we actually did He was very proud of his family and greeted his children by name despite his advancing Alzheimer’s Ernie and Kaye enjoyed many hobbies including working together on their farm Our family would like to thank Brandt’s Creek Mews and Dr Joshua for their compassionate care of our Dad Dad’s favourite piece of advice in the past few years has been “keep your chin up and pointing forward.” A Memorial Service will be held at Springfield Funeral Home In lieu of flowers please donate to the Alzheimer’s Society www.alzheimer.ca or the charity of your choice please scroll down the page to the area called “Share Your Condolences.” Below you will find the map for the service location and the contact information should you have any questions » Condolences sent through this page can be seen by the public. If you wish for your condolence to go to the family privately, please send it to: " + EmailId +" » Condolences sent through this page can be seen by the public. If you wish for your condolence to go to the family privately, please send it to: contact@springfieldfuneralhome.com Kaye & Family; so sorry to here of cousin Ernie passing, as kids we had many great times as well in our later life , he always had the great smile ;Frank Loyst I am so sorry to hear of the passing of Ernie, your beloved husband, father and grandfather. I have so many fond memories of Ernie, when he was at Imperial Optical and at the Fire Hall. I know it has been many, many years since I visited with you, Kaye, but I have often thought of you and Ernie. My thoughts are with you and your family. I live in West Vancouver so am unable to attend the service. Sincerely, Lynn McKenzie Dear Kaye and Family, Ernie will be greatly missed. He was a friendly person and welcomed others with a smile. Allan enjoyed working with Ernie at the Firehall. Our thoughts are with you at this sad time. Aunty Kaye, Patty, Sandy, Jill, and Scott and your families, we send our love at this very difficult time. Cousin Cindy and Glen Brazeau We will miss him, and we always enjoyed the visits either way…Kelowna…Texada. Ernie and Dig had TREASURES NOT JUNK! as they would both say. From all our family to Kaye and Family….he will be greatly missed Kaye, Condolences to you and your family on the passing of Ernie. I enjoy fond memories of when our paths crossed briefly at KGH at a happier time many years ago. Peace and comfort. Edna.Giordano Kaye so sorry to hear Ernie’s passing. Thinking of you and your family at this time of loss. With you in your sorrow and sharing in your sadness. I am so sorry to hear of your loss. Thoughts and prayers are with you all, especially today. My deepest condolences. » To share your condolence on this page please fill out the requested fields. » If you have a photo to share, please do so as families appreciate it. To share a photo (please note, just one photo per condolence please), click the 'Choose File' button and select a photo from your computer. » Once you are done, click the 'Share' button. » Your email is never published or shared. Your name and email are both required. NOTE: all messages will go through an administrative process before being posted. Δdocument.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); Everything was so organized and pertinent to what we needed. Everyone we met was kind, courteous and very helpful during our emotional and challenging time. Thank you so much. They were so prompt on answering any questions and changing things. They were prepared and respected any religious decisions. The process was so seamless and made easy in such a high stress situation. In the past 2 years Springfield has helped us through the death of my Mother and my Father. Their response and help allowed us to focus on the remaining family rather than worrying about details of the funeral and all the notifications that are required upon a death. The atmosphere has been nothing but professional during times of grief.  After the passing of my mother, the staff coached me on the next steps and looked after filling in all the government forms that I needed to sign, which took a huge burden off my mind at the time. Everyone was so helpful and kind.  There was no pressure.  They provided exactly what we needed. From the time I called to the completion of all the services, I received compassionate, attentive and professional care.  There was a sense of caring from each staff member.  I was turning over my Mom to their care and I felt very comfortable with everyone.  I felt heard and never felt pushed into any decision. I have always found the team at Springfield Funeral Home to be VERY caring, kind, considerate and helpful.  I have and will continue to recommend them to anyone who asks which funeral home would I suggest they use.  No other funeral home I have dealt with even comes close to Springfield Funeral Home. Right at the onset, I was made very comfortable, there was no pressure.  I was made to feel as if I was the only one they had to serve. Everything that was arranged for us was perfect.  Our loved one, husband, father, brother was treated with respect.  Thank you for making this difficult time a little more acceptable via your staff’s obvious caring and respect. I liked the personal treatment given to my mother who is 97 years old. As her representative, I found Springfield employees pleasant and sincere, helpful and knowledgeable. Something I didn’t know, was that the funeral home would help me get through the paperwork need at this time. I am very thankful for that. Genuine concern, excellent service, very professional. Since this was my first experience (with a funeral home), everything was above and beyond what I expected. Thank you to your team for your kindness to me at a very challenging time.  You have now taken care of both of my parents with professionalism and care. Springfield Funeral Home is always professional, caring and very knowledgeable.  We appreciate that you have dedicated staff for all needs from planning the service to completing government paperwork. I am not sure there was anything you could have done to make a very intense emotional time less stressful.  Although we hadn’t expected Ken to want a service, when he said we needed to have one for us not him, it was true.  Your sincerity and compassion meant everything to us.  Thank you. David Henseleit, your compassion and professionalism is truly amazing!  The entire staff were courteous, super professional and caring as each guest arrived.  Everything was done to perfection! Keep up the good work that you do as it is such an important service you provide.  It is still the most difficult time in a person’s life.  Your kindness is so appreciated.  We appreciated the peace of mind that everything was being looked after. You provide a wonderful service for people going through a traumatic time.  Thank You.  The kindness and professionalism shown by the staff at Springfield Funeral Home was exemplary. blocked the road in the Novi Brda village of Straža for one hour today because their life became unbearable due to the work of the nearby stone quarries.Photo: RTV PulsThe newly built quarry which is only a few hundred meters away from the entrance to the village from the direction of Novi Brdo threatens the environment and the normal life of all the locals they want to draw the public's attention to the unsustainable situation The road used by heavy trucks with heavy loads is in a catastrophic condition but it is under the jurisdiction of the central institutions so the municipality of Novo Brdo has no authority "Over a hundred trucks with heavy loads pass us every day More than 20 quarries have been working in the village of Stanisor and up to 300 heavy trucks pass through this and other neighboring villages daily "We came out today because it is impossible to live - from the quarry as if they had taken over the whole world all day" A region once known for its healthy environment is now visibly threatened a request was sent to the competent inspection in Pristina to go to the field determine the factual situation and protect the citizens and the environment protests will be held every day from 14:15 to XNUMX:XNUMX until their demands are met members of KFOR also accompanied the gathering 14: 19Radio Kontakt Plus was founded in April 2000 The Roll Up Your Sleeves campaign has gathered hundreds of children in clean-up activities at 52 locations across Serbia 0 garbage was cleaned from two locations (the Peštan river near Rudovci and the Rosomačka river on Mt The numbers demonstrate the great interest among Serbian citizens The campaign aims not only to clean the garbage from a certain location but also to include a large number of people in order to make authorities find a lasting solution for garbage the results have been very visible when it comes to attracting more and more people to take part in the cleaning activities Roll Up Your Sleeves is held every fourth Sunday Individuals or organizations can nominate a location for clean-up and host the activities said that between 6,000 and 7,000 bags were filled with garbage in the latest clean-up effort at 52 locations At certain locations there were up to 90 people Although it is not as massive as a clean-up effort in Estonia in 2008 I think we are one step closer to that,” he said Simišić said the energy around the campaign is very positive and that the vast majority of citizens want more such activities Roll Up Your Sleeves 4 is most likely to happen in four weeks and thanked all citizens who participated and demonstrated the better side of Serbia The youngest team seems to have been from Grabovci Football Club  Graničar wrote on its Facebook profile that the youngest residents of Grabovci gathered yesterday and supported the Roll Up Your Sleeves campaign They cleaned our village and made it look even better for the upcoming holidays Children were in the front lines almost everywhere cleaned the illegal landfill near the site of the emergency medical facility There was enough waste to fill one truck of the local utility company cleaning was organized at two locations: Šodroš (pictured) and Oficirac (pictured) A petition for the preservation of the Šodroš located on both sides of the Danube river was also signed during the clean-up The sites are habitats of more than 400 protected plant and animal species People from Kragujevac cleaned the Bubanj lake but that did not stop them from finishing the job Danijela Vujošević also reported on Twitter about the cleaning action in Sokobanja where the Moravica river was cleaned in the village of Vrelo but also a large amount of garbage from nearby locations Izvor reke Moravice, Vrelo – očišćeno. Selimo se na drugu lokaciju ✊#Sokobanja #VelikoČišćenje @EkoStraza pic.twitter.com/gaxcjP5iB8 — Danijela Vujošević 🚩 (@Danie_Lela) April 25, 2021 pollution and environmental protection issues are igniting large protests almost every day in Serbia 0 Marijana Petković from a local group called Ne damo Jadar ( We won’t let anyone take Jadar) said for Nova TV station that Rio Tinto’s private security squads are at all times patrolling the villages where the company wants to build the mine although it bought only less than one-quarter of the land needed for the mine and its facilities the company’s representatives have been pressuring the inhabitants to sell their property nothing grows in the fields around the exploratory drilling points in the area which is known as an agricultural area and where people produce high-quality food for Serbia’s capital and other affected places nearby have been complaining for two years that Rio Tinto and local authorities are all ignoring their requests for information about the proposed mine and processing plant Protest protiv spornih Zakona o referendumu i narodnoj inicijativi i Zakona o eksproprijaciji, ispred Predsedništva Srbije pic.twitter.com/457PAV8ciL — Čuvari/ke vatre (@CuvariVatre) November 24, 2021 While people are protesting throughout the European Union against pandemic restrictions citizens of Serbia are protesting against pollution controversial laws on expropriation and referendum Thousands of citizens gathered at the protest by the Kreni-promeni organization and the newly founded Alliance of Environmental Organizations of Serbia (SEOS) last Wednesday to request the PMs not to vote for the said laws promising to block roads if the expected scenario takes place Following the positive decision of the National Assembly’s members the demonstrations were organized on Saturday across the country Opponents of the expropriation law claim it is making it easier for Rio Tinto and other firms exploring lithium deposits to obtain the land The police were seen using excessive force in a few incidents the protestors accused the Government that it ordered the police to leave the demonstration place and sent hooligans armed with sticks to disperse the crowd at a road in Šabac The violence sparked more protests and demands to release the arrested activists Da je ovde neko potegao oruzje,cela SRB bi se zapalila pic.twitter.com/kTcud4Dbg1 — Powers Austine (@powersaustine) November 27, 2021 The Alliance of Environmental Organizations of Serbia (SEOS) coordinated activists that live in the growing number of areas where other mining companies are conducting lithium exploration: Rekovac The two laws were adopted according to an emergency procedure which critics say is becoming a regular way to pass legislation and that there is no proper public debate Experts warned the new framework would enable Rio Tinto and other firms exploring lithium deposits to easily obtain the land they need to mine the strategic commodity. They also say the laws would make it much harder to submit petitions The Kreni-promeni organization has earlier produced a video financed by contributions from individuals to counter Rio Tinto’s video commercial promoting the lithium project in the media Serbia’s public broadcaster RTS is refusing to air it which resulted in protests in front of its building in Belgrade and recently founded political movement Ekološki ustanak (Ecological Uprising) run by Aleksandar Jovanović Ćuta known for his success to gather people to defend the rivers from investors in small hydropower plants at Stara Planina mountain and many other locations announced activists would cause a complete standstill on Serbian roads next weekend if the laws aren’t revoked Kulturni ljudi ovako propuštaju Hitnu pomoć Traje blokada autoputa kod Sava centra, nekoliko stotina prisutnih, priključite se✊ pic.twitter.com/kCL8J43nhh — Igor Mitrovic (@IgorMitrovic100) November 27, 2021 Lithium is one of the most important points of dispute but the Balkan country faces numerous other environmental challenges like industrial contamination and the lack of sewage and wastewater treatment capacities requesting implementation of environmental laws especially when it comes to emissions from the thermal power plants also known for the huge contribution to pollution Protests were also held for the right to breathe clean air and against building a metro station and line at Belgrade’s main drinking water source where works have begun on the Belgrade metro system The site is the most important source of drinking water for the capital city warning of potentially irreversible damage which may leave the capital’s citizens without the drinking water Nadam se da uživate u vašoj prvoj jutarnjoj kafici… nekima je njihova presela ON je otrčao juče trčećim korakom na svoju televiziju da "ispriča narodu šta se dešava i koliko ljudi je bilo" Protest za bezopasan vazduh je napravljen bez budžeta, pic.twitter.com/XvMQuuZlE5 — Eko Straža (@EkoStraza) November 29, 2021 The Eko straža (Eco Guard) initiative held its third rally since the beginning of the year on Sunday in Belgrade demanding measures to reduce air pollution The organization highlighted that the parliament recently allowed delay of the implementation of the Law on the Integrated Prevention and Pollution Control thus allowing polluting industrial facilities to work without integrated environmental licenses through 2024 Serbia is recording several thousand deaths from air pollution every year There were up to 20,000 people at the event Eko straža said and announced such protests would be held in two weeks in all major cities The creation of the Tyee Lake Volunteer Fire Department can be traced back to the donation of a 1956 pumper truck in 2004 From there the department has grown to having a bush truck and a water tender as well as a hall that was completed in 2019 a transmission tower was installed so the department has its own channel “We have a great community of people who donate time and equipment,” she said Last year the department was successful in receiving a grant from the Union of BC Municipalities to purchase essential equipment and personal protective equipment adding the department comes under the umbrella of the Tyee Lake Community Association The fire department is funded through donations grants and fundraisers put on by the community association such as barbecues “Amazing people in our small community come together READ MORE: Tyee Lake fire hall becoming great community asset chief says READ MORE: Tyee Lake Volunteer Fire Department putting finishing touches on fire/community hall Want to read more local stories like this? Sign up for the Williams Lake Tribune’s newsletter right to your email. Consider purchasing a subscription to the Tribune to support local journalism for just .99 cents per week The Columneetza Cougars junior girls basketball team are headed off to the North Central Zone Basketball Championships in three dominating performances last weekend 21-23 at Duchess Park secondary in Prince George after hosting the regional championships Friday and Saturday at Columneetza secondary The Cougars opened Friday with a 61-24 win over the Williams Lake Thunder Game star went to Ashley Straza for the Cougars while Laura Pfleiderer was awarded the honour for WLSS Straza added a career-high 20 points in the contest while Kaylee Billyboy and Naomi Lomavatu each chipped in 10 WLSS high scorer was Anna Bracewell with eight points In their second game the Cougars continued to dominate Naomi Lomavatu and Ariel Zacharius all scored 10 in the win marched away with a 44-32 win over Correlieu Cougars coach Brigette Peel said the win and the chance to compete at a zone championship means a lot to the girls “Due to the school reconfiguration for next year this is our team’s last opportunity to play with each other as Columneetza Cougars and the girls have taken on great pride in doing so,” Peel said “I suppose they want their last hoorah to be a grand one and a trip to the provincials would be just that.” She added the team has continued to gain confidence in their abilities and shown significant individual improvement “Duchess Park will be the team to beat as they are currently ranked No 3 in the province and favoured to win this tournament,” she said “We have not had the opportunity to play them but the north zone will send two berths to provincials With five teams who have won and lost to one another throughout the season one of the two berths is certainly within our sights “I think we will all head to zones with a little fire in our bellies to make sure the Columneetza Cougars are remembered.” Dialogue and debate are integral to a free society and we welcome and encourage you to share your views on the issues of the day. We ask that you be respectful of others and their points of view, refrain from personal attacks and stay on topic. To learn about our commenting policies and how our community-based moderation works, please read our Community Guidelines.