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Had an amazing and informative time participating in the Kamloops Fire and Rescue Fire Ops 101 half day session last week. This event was also hosted by the Firefighters union, the International Association of Firefighters.
We rotated through activities - auto extrication, dark room obstacle course search, live fire, hazardous materials, confined space and rope rescue, and fire investigations.
I was a little worried when a pair of incredibly heavy duty cutters broke while I was helping take apart the scrap car pictured above. Our firefighter hosts assured me that the problem was relatively minor, the fix relatively easy, and that it was better the equipment failed in training than in real operation.
I joked about this while being interviewed in this CFJC-TV story and Kamloops This Week also reported the event.
Maybe I shouldn't have joked about the cutters breaking in the TV interview. I am little worried people might be a bit upset that I "broke" a piece of firefighting equipment. I certainly would be upset myself if I wasn't being careful and following instructions. I truly believe I was. It's one of the unavoidable perils of the job that you worry about public perception of events and happenings.
I think facebook might be a very bad thing for my blogging! I have some outstanding items to write about. I outlined these some time back. I still intend to cover all these before they get to being old news :).
It's Canada Day today. I hope you all had a wonderful time. I didn't want to get into detail on one issue but wanted to give you some short updates. I've made a little visual to go with the updates.
1. City sets election 2014 bylaw: City council approved polling stations at new locations - Sahali Mall and Mac Park Island Sports and Event Centre, and an advanced poll at TRU. Candidates will need 10 eligible voters to nominate them to get on the municipal ballot, up from 2 previously.
2. Fundraising campaign launched for John Todd community centre: The former John Todd elementary school is being renovated as a community centre. The Boys and Girls Club and the Kamloops YMCA are the anchor tenants. The North Shore Business Improvement Association, the United Way and other community partners have launched a community fundraising campaign to help with the renovation effort.
3. Interior Car Share Co-operative almost off the ground: For the past seven months, a group of citizens have been meeting every two weeks and are very close to launching a car sharing co-operative in Kamloops. A car share was one of the two top ideas mentioned by participants in the Kamloops Idea Festival I hosted last year. I've been honoured to help this group in its efforts. Please email [email protected] or visit www.interiorcarshare.ca for more info.
4. Filipino Canada Barrio Fiesta dinner: We are so lucky in Kamloops to have a great number of vibrant cultural communities. And I felt very lucky to represent Mayor and Council at the recent Kamloops Filipino Canada association Barrio Fiesta. A great turnout, a wonderful program with entertainment and activities, and such welcoming people!
5. UBCM Meetings in July: This month, I will be attending the UBCM executive meetings in Vancouver. One thing I'd like to do is to ask if we can incorporate some more sessions on good public engagement practices at this year's convention.
6. Hosting delegation from Uji Japan: Today is the first full day of the 2014 Uji Japan sister city delegation to Kamloops. It's wonderful to meet local government officials and interesting citizens from Uji. I am learning a lot about different cultural and government practices. I am always looking for things I can incorporate into my own work as a councillor.
