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Penticton  

Horses a worry for school

Wild horses are posing a danger for elementary school students on the West Bench.

West Bench principal Allen Beckingham is hoping for a resolution to horses coming on school property from the Penticton Indian Reserve.

Beckingham says he spends several days standing outside with an air horn shooing the animals off school grounds.

"I would say between a dozen or more times a year we have to keep the children inside because the horses are on the property – and that can be as many as 30," he said. "The safety piece for the kids is the most worrying. You have stallions, babies."

Other concerns are horse droppings to clean up, animals getting in on weekends and being unable to get back out, and the curtailment of activities like hikes and runs.

The horses come by most often in the spring and fall, and getting conservation officers to the school can be a challenge due to their time constraints, said the principal.

"If there is a wild animal on the property, we can't wait," he said. "It doesn't scare the chidren because they are so used to it. It's just a safety issue."

The ongoing issue prompted Beckingham to write a letter to the School District 67 board of trustees.

In response, the board voted this week to draft a letter to Penticton Indian Band Chief Jonathan Kruger explaining the safety concerns.

According to Kruger and Zoe Kirk with the RDOS, who has been working with the PIB on the issue, Coun. Dolly Kruger has been actively surveying members in her community.

The community will then have final input on the horse issue at the next PIB community meeting this June.

In the meantime, a fence line is being resurrected from band locatee lands up over the KVR and along the border between homes on West Bench and band lands

The RDOS will also continue to work with the band on a long-range management plan and help to bring in other agencies that might be able to assist in the process.

"I understand that safety is an issue. We have safety issues in our community as well," said Kruger. "We're just going to need a lot of help from other sources."



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