CANORA - As the week of March 5 to 11 was provincial drinking and driving week, Canora Composite’s Students Against Drinking and Driving group hosted a number of events for the students to take part in.
There was a poster-making contest with the person with the best poster getting a prize. On Thursday, March 9, the group sold smartie cookies at breaks with every dollar given going to charity. On Friday, the school was lucky enough to be a part of the SGI drinking and driving zoom tour with Canora being the final of six schools involved.
The presenter, John Westhavor was the sole survivor of a horrific highway crash in New Brunswick back in April 1994. All three of his friends who he was traveling with died in the crash including the sober driver.
“RCMP confirmed the crash was caused by too much speed,” Westhavor said.
Westhaver suffered third degree burns and was in the hospital for about two months. He said 75 per cent of his skin was severely burnt. John's story was an example of a reminder to be aware of the consequences of dangerous driving.
A little mystery unfolded at the school after the flag of a country in Oceania was suddenly seen hanging on the wall of Ms. Secundiak’s room. Students were confused about what country’s flag it was until they managed to search up the answer. It turns out it was the flag of Fiji. Questions arose about why the flag was where it was. Ms. Secundiak said she didn’t hang up the flag and that it was hung up by two students. Students were still confused about why the flag was hanging there in the first place and it turns out the students hung it on the wall, because the room didn’t have a flag to look at during the singing of Oh Canada. The flag was eventually replaced with a paper copy of the Canadian flag.
The Students Representative Council hosted a pancake breakfast on March 15 to celebrate Saint Patrick's Day. Students from all grades were presented with pancakes, sausages, and orange juice. From 8 a.m. to 9 a.m., the SRC hosted students from Grades 5 through 8. From 9 a.m. to 10 a.m., students from Grades 10, 11, & 12 were treated with the breakfast delight. There were even extra pancakes after over 100 people from the staff and students came through the doors.
Global stories of the week
A major investigation is underway in Edmonton, Alberta after two police officers were shot to death while responding to a call. According to CTV Edmonton, The incident occurred on Thursday morning when officers attended an apartment building to reports of a domestic dispute. When officers entered the building the 16-year-old suspect shot them before both of them had a chance to draw their weapons. The officers were identified as 35-year-old Constable Travis Jordan, who was on the force for eight years and 30-year-old Constable Brett Ryan, who was about to become a new father. It was confirmed on Friday that the 16-year-old perpetrator may have also shot a Pizza Hut employee earlier in the week and his mother before turning the gun on himself. Edmonton’s north end is known for having bad violence. The prime minister said he was heartbroken when he heard the news. This marks seven officers deliberately killed in Canada since September 2022.
Lisa Laflamme has spoken out in her first on air interview since announcing she was fired in August 2022. The CBC interview included questions about the shock factor and her achievements since being let go. Lisa said her being blindsided was genuine and true. She was happy about the attention of ageism in the workplace and roles in the journalism world for female journalists. After the swift reaction from the public, Bell Media, which owns CTV News, says it regretted how they handled Lisa’s departure. Laflamme also talked about submitting her work for the best Canadian journalist for 2022.
“You can erase someone's job, but you can’t erase someone’s work,” she said.
After reviewing Laflamme’s work, the judges then proceeded with her nomination. Laflamme has since started looking into female journalists in Kenya. Lisa, who was replaced by Omar Sachedina, says she is okay nine months after her boss broke the news to her that her contract had not been renewed.
