QUESNEL CARIBOO OBSERVER ARTICLE - Oct. 19, 2011

IT'S OFFICIAL

At the time the nominations closed on October 14, 2011, I was the sole candidate for CRD Area B Director.  As such, I have been acclaimed into this position.  The 1st Board of Director's Meeting following elections (on Nov. 19, 2011) is Friday, December 9, 2011 in Williams Lake.

In the interim, I am researching and chatting to many people.  I have begun a FACEBOOK site titled Heloise R. Dixon-Warren - Candidate CRD Area B Director (2011-2012) which I encourage everyone to follow.   My aim is to work closely with Area B residents and become as informed as possible so as solid, educated and smart decisons can be made by communities.

If you live in an area where there is a Recreation Commission (e.g. Bouchie Lake Recreation Commission, Parkland Recreation Commission) and you are interested in creating healthy communities whereby our halls and schools become focal points within our communities, I suggest you become involved with these worthwhile groups.  They are lead by volunteers that reside in your communities and active, involved and positive people can make such a difference.

To all Area B residents, I look forward to being your representative and will work hard to influence change on your behalf.

Land Use Zoning Bylaws within Area B of the CRD

Area B of the Cariboo Regional District encompasses an area approximately 1419 square km. with a population of approximately 4,338 people based upon the CRD's website (http://www.cariboord.bc.ca/).  It is referred to as "Quesnel West / Bouchie Lake" but in fact incorporates many other rural based communities - e.g. Bouchie Lake, Milburn Lake, parts of Baker Creek, Parkland (10 Mile Lake), Moose Heights, Cinema, and a small area to the east of Hyw. 97 North.

This area is subject to 2 particular bylaws governing rural land use and zoning which Area B residents should be aware of and informed about.  Bylaw 3504 (Quesnel Fringe Area Zoning Bylaw) and Bylaw 3505 (North Cariboo Area Rural Land Use Bylaw) can be viewed at http://www.cariboord.bc.ca/Documents/Bylaws.aspx.

Bylaw 3504 applies specifically to the Quesnel Fringe Planning Area which contains parts of Electoral Areas A, B, C and I in the CRD including the Dragon Lake and 2 Mile Flats area, the West Quesnel and West Fraser areas, the Bouchie Lake area, 10 Mile Lake, and Barlow Creek areas (see map below).

The purpose of Bylaw 3504 is to establish land use regulations for the Quesnel Fringe Planning Area consistent with the existing official community plan policies relevant to specific portions of this area.

For all property owners within Area B, it is well worth determining whether your land is within the Quesnel Fringe.  If it is, your land is subject to Bylaw 3504; if it is not, it is subject to Bylaw 3505.

CIVICINFOBC has a BC Election Reporting System which can be viewed at the following website:  http://www.elections.civicinfo.bc.ca/2011/reports/report_candidates.asp

On the far right hand side of the main page of this site (http://www.civicinfo.bc.ca/) is a link to ELECTIONS 2011 and "Candidates & Results" for both Local Government & School District elections.  The closing date for Nominations in this coming Friday, October 14th and the names of all people who have submitted their nomination papers for local office can be viewed here.

What a resource!  Check this site out.  It is full of great information about local government & processes.  According to the site, "CivicInfo BC is an award-winning, co-operative information service for those who work, or have an interest in British Columbia's local government sector. The main goal of CivicInfo BC is to facilitate the free and open exchange of local government information, which is done primarily through this web site."

ABOUT ME...

Greetings everyone!  Thank you for taking the time to read this snippet of information about me.  It is a simple way of providing some general information about me as I inform residents of my plans to have my name stand for Area B Director.

I have lived in the Milburn Lake / Bouchie Lake area west of Quesnel since April, 2002.  I grew up in the lower mainland (Maple Ridge) in a family of 8 and after travelling abroad for a year, I attended Simon Fraser University graduating in 1991 with a Bachelor of Science in Physical Geography & Biology.  Through participating in the Co-operative Education Program whereby I obtained work experience with the Ministry of Forests in 100 Mile House, I decided to return to university to study Forestry.  In 1994 I wrote the Registration Exam and became a Registered Professional Forester.  Since that time I have worked for both the private and public sector (including First Nations) gaining experience both in the field and in administrative duties.  I have been fortunate to live in a variety of areas within BC and Alberta experiencing both small and large town life.  Although I have not been directly involved with “conventional forestry practices” since moving to the North Cariboo, I have retained by RPF status and practice forestry on our farm by managing for Non-Timber Forest Products and undertaking some forestry / agricultural diversification work.

I am married to Ted Traer and we have 2 school aged girls (ages 14 and 11).  We relocated to the North Cariboo when Ted received a transfer through work.  We chose a rural area to reside as we felt that we could embrace the lifestyle in that it a good place to raise our girls and begin a home based business.  We began our farm based business immediately upon moving to the Quesnel area and although we did not have a plan, we have managed to create a niche business based upon the opportunities that presented us and what we were knowledgeable about.  Quesnel and the surrounding area has been all that we have wanted in a place to live, work and play.

Since 2007, we have been the recipient of several awards and accomplishments which I am extremely thrilled about.  These have emphasized the fact that the choices we have made have been the right ones. We were recognized as Live Smart Heros for our efforts towards creating a more sustainable environment. In 2008 I was profiled in the book “New Pioneers – Stories of 100 BC Women Entrepreneurs” and I received the “Award of Excellence for Innovation in Agriculture and Agri‐Food” In 2007, I was honoured to receive the “2007 Innovator of the Year Award” at the Northern BC Today’s Woman Awards.  We have also received the “2007 and 2010   Home Based Business Excellence Award” at the Quesnel Business Excellence Awards and has also won a Golden Rooster Award at the last 3 Quesnel Fall Fairs.

I am a strong believer and advocate of “local” in whatever sense “local” can be defined by.  I also believe in the success of grassroots initiatives whereby people are encouraged to become engaged in activities and projects which benefit them directly.  I believe that creating healthy, sustainable, local communities is one catalyst for creating neighbourhoods which people enjoy living in. Since relocating to the Quesnel area, I have been actively involved with several volunteer based groups.  I am one of the founding members of FARMED (North Cariboo Agricultural Marketing Association / www.farmed) and have also held a volunteer position on the following organizations: Quesnel Agricultural & Exhibition Association, Bouchie Lake Recreation Commission, Baker to Bouchie Network, British Columbia Agri-tourism Alliance, Quesnel Pony Club, and most recently, the Due West Dancers.

Thank you so much.  Should you have any questions, please contact me at mmfarm@goldcity.net or 250.249.5329

As one way of sharing my views, I will be using Social Media.  I have begun a FACEBOOK site (Heloise Dixon-Warren, Candidate for CRD Area B, a BLOG (http://heloisedixonwarren.blogspot.com)and use Linkedin.  I am also available to chat to anyone on the phone and /or meet with them in person.

MY GOALS & OBJECTIVES AS CRD AREA B DIRECTOR

If elected to the position of CRD Area B Director, Dixon-Warren will commit to working hard in hopes of achieving the following goals:

(i)                   To work closely with the residents of Area B and to listen closely to their concerns, hopes, and values;

(ii)                 To liaise with Area B groups to facilitate actions and goals within the mandate set by the CRD;

(iii)                To inform myself of the issues affecting Area B residents so as to fully understand any concerns and to work diligently with them and for them so together issues can be resolved and solutions set forth;

(iv)                To work closely with both the other Directors of the CRD and City of Quesnel in terms of how bylaws and policies affect Area B residents including those which are impacted by the Quesnel Fringe Official Community Plan;

(v)                 To undertake respectful dialogue and debate at all times and lobby appropriate levels of government, when applicable;

(vi)                To be part of a community, both urban and rural, which works towards being sustainable, green, community based which results in an area which is successful and a wonderful place to work, live and recreate.

NEWS RELEASE - QUESNEL, OCTOBER 12, 2011

North Cariboo resident, Heloise Dixon-Warren, has decided to drop her name into the bucket and let her name stand for the elected position of Cariboo Regional District Area B Director.  After living and working in the Bouchie Lake / Milburn Lake area for the last 9 ½ years, Dixon-Warren feels she is sufficiently aware of the local and regional issues to act upon them and make a difference.

Since relocating to the North Cariboo from Houston, British Columbia, with her husband, Ted, and their two school aged girls, Dixon-Warren, a Register Professional Forester, has focused her efforts on raising their girls and building a strong and viable farm based business (www.moosemeadowsfarm.ca), while serving the community in many ways through volunteer based not-for-profit groups.  Dixon-Warren is a founding member of FARMED (North Cariboo Agricultural Marketing Association / www.farmed.ca) which now has a membership of 26 individuals and agri-based businesses and organizations.  Dixon-Warren has also been actively involved with the British Columbia Agritourism Alliance, Quesnel Agricultural & Exhibition Association, Quesnel Pony Club, District H Farmers Institute, the Bouchie Lake Recreation Commission, Baker to Bouchie Network, and most recently is a founding member of the Due West Dancers.  Although Dixon-Warren continues to practice forestry, her primary interest now lies in non-timber forest products, agro-forestry and agricultural diversification.  She has recently been a guest speaker at several workshops and conferences focused on sustainability and diversification.  In 2008, she was appointed to the BC Assessment Farm Assessment Review Panel to review how farm land in classified in BC.   This panel met regularly and provided recommendations to the province as to how the farm land classification system could be revised.  She has recently been a guest speaker at several

Dixon-Warren is a strong advocate of creating a economic and environmental climate whereby communities become increasingly sustainable, food security issues are addressed, populations become healthier and services provided by government which we, as taxpayers pay for, are easily and readily available.  Dixon-Warren believes in having access to resources and services close to home so that we reduce our carbon footprint, become more “green”, not have to travel so much on roads, and create strong local communities whereby we know our neighbours.

If elected to the position of CRD Area B Director, Dixon-Warren will commit to working hard in hopes of achieving the following goals:

(i)                   To work closely with the residents of Area B and to listen closely to their concerns, hopes, and values;

(ii)                 To liaise with Area B groups to facilitate actions and goals within the mandate set by the CRD;

(iii)                To inform myself of the issues affecting Area B residents so as to fully understand any concerns and to work diligently with them and for them so together issues can be resolved and solutions set forth;

(iv)                To work closely with both the other Directors of the CRD and City of Quesnel in terms of how bylaws and policies affect Area B residents including those which are impacted by the Quesnel Fringe Official Community Plan;

(v)                 To undertake respectful dialogue and debate at all times and lobby appropriate levels of government, when applicable;

(vi)                To be part of a community, both urban and rural, which works towards being sustainable, green, community based which results in an area which is successful and a wonderful place to work, live and recreate.

Area B is referred to as “Quesnel West / Bouchie Lake” and encompasses an area of 1,419 km² and has a population of approximately 4,338.  Communities located within this area are as follows: Bouchie Lake, Milburn Lake, parts of Baker Creek,  Parkland, Moose Heights, and Cinema.  CRD Services provided in this area include the following: Local Services (Bouchie Lake Fire, Ten Mile Lake Fire Protection, Pacific Rd. Street Lighting), Sub-Regional Services (Quesnel Sub-Regional Recreation, North Cariboo Cemetaries, North Cariboo Economic Development),  and Regional Services (Land Use Planning, Weed Control, Waste Management, Building Inspection, Bylaw Enforcement, Library System, Corporate Administration, and Electoral Area Administration)

Heloise Dixon-Warren, Candidate for Area B CRD Director

Home: 250.249.5329 / email: mmfarm@goldcity.net