Armstrong Kin Club to give out thousands in bursaries for trades, university students

July 16, 2025

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direct spending from productions last year were originally pegged at about $24 million, TNRD Film Commissioner Terri Hadwin told Castanet in April total direct spending ended up closer to $9.5 million.

She said it was the result of a production spending less time shooting in the area than anticipated.

Now that the show has been fully released and she can talk about the production, Hadwin confirmed it was shooting for The Last of Us that was cut short.

“I think that they may have been planning to do a little bit more filming at that location, however it was really, really cold and they got a lot of snow when they were slotted to film at that time,” she said.

“It was just really, really poor timing, and then, of course, days afterwards it was totally fine, but it was just a fluke on the timing of the filming.”

Jason Hewlett was among the Kamloops residents who worked as background extras during filming in the Tranquille area. He said a major temperature drop combined with large fans used to simulate a storm made it “brutally cold.”

“I just remember when we were doing the scenes with the big fans and all that, the [assistant director] basically saying, ‘Now I just need you all to look really cold and miserable, which I know is not a stretch right now,’” Hewlett recalled when speaking with Castanet in April.

He said shooting took place from dusk until dawn, and the extras would take breaks to warm up in tents while different shots were being set up.

Hadwin said the production was in the area for about two full months for preparation and wrap up. She estimated there was “less than five days of filming.”

She said series leads Pedro Pascal and Bella Ramsay were in the region for shooting, and Hewlett said he shot scenes with Canadian actor Darcy Laurie.

Hadwin said the majority of shooting that took place in the region was outdoors, and are visible during the first and second episodes.

“You can kind of catch some glimpses in the second episode, but dominantly it’s the first episode — the scene with the bear,” Hadwin said.

Worst kept secret

A facade was built on an existing building in the Tranquille area, dressing it up as a grocery store called “Greenplace Market” — a prominent location from the video game of the same name the TV show is based.

Rampant online speculation sparked when a photo of the dressed-up building was posted on social media when the production was in the area last year.

“When you googled the largest productions that had happened in the TNRD, The Last of Us came up — that was before anybody was supposed to be talking about it,” Hadwin said.

“When Google knows that, I guess that’s a pretty good indicator that it was a very large-scale production to come into our area, and the amount of time they spent here.”

Hadwin called the production “one to celebrate” and the Thompson-Nicola Film Commission was “thrilled to have them here.”

She said she thinks the second season of The Last of Us was the latest among recent high-profile productions that have shot in the region.

“I think that it definitely shows other productions that this is a place that’s worth coming to check out,” Hadwin said.

“That any sort of production, whether it be a television series or a movie, commercial, documentary, what have you — it can all be done here.”

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can be found here, and the university bursary application can be found here.

Links to the applications can also be found through the Armstrong Kin Club Facebook page.

All applications are due by Aug. 1.

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tremendously unfortunate set of circumstances” took place amid the search for the missing man, when a boat being towed by the RCMP’s Underwater Recovery Team lost a wheel and started a fire along Highway 12.

The blaze grew into the 243-hectare Izman Creek wildfire, which prompted evacuation orders and alerts for properties north of Lytton. The wildfire is now under control.

not to seek re-election during the 2024 provincial election, when his BC United party halted its election bid.

“I’m inspired by AME’s mission and legacy of protecting a prosperous landscape for mineral exploration that promotes economic growth in British Columbia, respects Indigenous rights, and ensures environmental sustainability,” Stone said in a statement.

“I’m energized by the opportunities that BC exploration presents for our province, country and the world and recognize the unprecedented alignment of support across Canada to unlock our natural resources for a more diversified international market.”

AME announced the appointment on Monday. Board chair Trish Jacques said Stone’s public and private sector experience will serve the exploration industry and the association’s team well.

“We are impressed with his commitment to advocate and work collaboratively to protect and promote the interests of mineral explorers and developers creating opportunities and benefits for all British Columbians,” she said.

Prior to his life in politics, Stone was the founder, president and CEO of iCompass Technologies, which creates tech solutions for local governments and public sector organizations in Canada and the United States.

AME is based in B.C. and said it represents, advocates and promotes the interests of more than 6,000 members engaged in mineral exploration and development in the province and globally.

“The world needs British Columbia’s mineral resources, and AME has a vital role to play working on behalf of our members, big and small, with government and First Nations to ensure British Columbia is positioned as the leading mineral exploration jurisdiction,” Stone said.

Stone’s will assume the role effective Aug. 5.

Mike McKay had joined the district as interim superintendent following the June 30 resignation of Rhonda Nixon. A union representing school support staff said Nixon’s resignation was linked to an investigation into workplace bullying and harassment.

Speaking with reporters Monday afternoon, McKay said he hopes to contribute to a positive trajectory for the district and work will be getting underway this summer for when schools open in September.

McKay said he doesn’t want to make many major recommendations or structural changes that would “handicap” a future superintendent. He said some resources may be reallocated in the short-term, but he doesn’t want the next superintendent to have to reverse course.

“We’re not placeholders, we’re not names on the door for six months, we’re going to do the work but we’re also going to be mindful that everything we do needs to be sustainable over time,” he said.

“We’ve got a budget that has been passed that’s sustainable going forward. We’re not going to be reaching in and saying we need more.”

McKay said employee satisfaction is down across the province, and district staff will be making an effort to reverse that trend in SD73. He said he’s reached out to meet with all partner group presidents.

“I need to get to know them, Harold needs to get to know them, and vice-versa, and we’ll go from there,” he said.

“We should be on the same path together, and that is improving kids life chances by making sure that public education is well connected, well aligned, and every child feel like they belong and can be successful.”

He has previously worked for several school districts and has been appointed as an official trustee or special advisor by the ministry.

McKay, who is retired, officially joined SD73 July 6 — six days after the board accepted Nixon’s resignation.

Issues not unique

McKay said issues that have been raised in SD73 include staffing, adequate supports for CEAs, school overcrowding, bus routes, and inflation, and while it’s a common narrative across B.C., he said that doesn’t give SD73 a “free pass” to ignore the problems.

“In some cases we reach out and learn from others, what they’re doing, and other cases they may learn from us,” he said.

“We’ll manage it as well as we can to ensure that the priorities are being dealt with, and the priorities are kids and learning.”

McKay said the district’s leadership team want an “efficient, effective system that supports schools” and while some work is needed to get there, he thinks SD73 is in a good shape.

Acting secretary-treasurer Harold Cull joined SD73 in January and was one of two secretary-treasurers the district consulted with over the last year to monitor and plan its budget. Cull said going through a budget development cycle with partner groups was important in learning the priorities of the district.

“Fiscally, I think the board’s done a great job providing the opportunities and having to make some real tough decisions to be able to get us into the place we are right now, which is, from a financial perspective, much more stable than it has been in the last couple of years,” Cull said.

He’s previously worked with McKay on several occasions and was the first to give him a call about joining SD73.

Cull said their job will be to support the direction the board is taking and to improve the culture in the district, but student success will be at the forefront.

“I’m just looking forward to be able to continue along this journey and get us to the next steps,” he said.

Cull was previously the secretary-treasurer at Sooke School District and SD73 said he has extensive experience working in the public sector.

No word on departure

Board chair Heather Grieve said Nixon’s resignation came as a surprise to the board on June 30, but there’s little she can say due to privacy legislation — including whether she was entitled to any severance.

“There may be other HR matters that have been discussed by other people in the media and in the news, and it’s not within our purview to be able to discuss any of that,” she said.

When asked about how SD73 will maintain public trust following several turbulent years, Grieve said she thinks the district’s actions will speak louder than words, adding that graduation rates have increased over several years and more Indigenous learners are graduating as well.

“I don’t blame people for being skeptical around anybody who is in a public position, whether it’s a trustee, whether it’s mayor, council — all those things,” she said.

“I think we put our names on signs and ask for the privilege to sit here, and it is a privilege, and I think that the only way that we can continue to build trust is to also be transparent. The unfortunate part of it sometimes is that transparency is bound also by confidentiality and privacy.”

Recruitment for a permanent superintendent and secretary-treasurer will begin in September and will look at both internal and external candidates across the country. McKay said he’s hopeful the positions will be filled by the end of October.

Cull and McKay have been hired on until Dec. 31 and McKay will assist in the search for their replacements.

We’re Here For You, which distributes comfort kits and fresh clothing to people who undergo forensic exams in hospitals after a sexual assault.

Sherman said it felt scary and vulnerable at times to put herself and her story in the public eye, but she felt it was “really important” to see it through.

“I’m sharing this so people know that they’re not alone, so people know that there’s help and there’s people that care, so that people understand what intimate partner violence really is, what coercive control is,” Sherman said.

The documentary Behind Closed Doors, which was released through CBC News in May, is about Sherman’s charity and the events that inspired her to start this organization.

Sherman’s former husband attacked her and their young children, and she was taken to the hospital to undergo a sexual assault forensic exam, a process that can take several hours.

“The nurses are amazing, but it’s still traumatic — not being able to take a shower, having to put on old clothes or dirty clothes or someone else’s clothes, or having to put on hospital clothes. That’s re-traumatizing,” Sherman said.

“Not being able to walk out of the hospital invisible, where people can tell that you’re someone who’s gone through something — because you’re walking out with maybe the big hospital bag, the white and blue plastic thing, where everybody knows where you’ve been.”

Sherman connected with filmmaker Robert Gow a couple of years ago. Gow said he was drawn to Sherman’s story because it showed her resilience, but also drew attention to an issue that many people might not know about — sexual assault survivors in Canada who don’t have access to the resources they need.

“The idea that we live in a society that can’t even clothe people after their clothing has been taken away for evidence was deeply disturbing to me — and I’m glad that, hopefully, I helped highlight that,” Gow said.

‘Glimmer of hope’

Sherman’s volunteer-based organization compiles kits which are distributed to nurses in hospitals in New Brunswick and on Vancouver Island. More than 325 kits were distributed in 2024.

The kits are packed with toiletries, pens and paper, gift cards for meals and travel, and clothing. She said they also offer Indigenous medicines, hijabs and caps. Reusable bags are also included, so people can be inconspicuous when they leave the hospital.

She said nurses are given these resources and “complete autonomy” on how the supplies are used.

“They’re seeing a glimmer of hope in people’s eyes, and people are crying because they’re grateful about the respect that they’ve been given after everything. And that is my goal — dignity and respect after the worst experience of your life,” Sherman said.

She said she is planning to expand her charity to the rest of the Atlantic provinces, and hopes to establish small chapters to help consistently supply nurses conducting these types of exams across Canada. Sherman, who lived in Kamloops during the 1990s, noted someone from the Tournament Capital has also reached out expressing interest in bringing the kits to the city.

“My long-term goal is every hospital in Canada has something and has some sort of service, so that victims and survivors have easier access, that they have the supports that they need where they need them,” Sherman said.

A 10-minute version of the documentary was released on YouTube, with a longer, 26-minute audio version available as a podcast on Atlantic Voice.

– Jul 15, 2025 / 4:00 am | Story: 561482

A Kamloops-area man is standing trial in front of a jury this week accused of sexually assaulting the teenaged daughter of his boss — a girl who was less than half his age.

The 32-year-old man cannot be named under a court-ordered ban put in place to protect the identity of the complainant. He is facing charges of sexual assault and sexual interference stemming from a series of events alleged to have taken place in 2022.

In her opening statement to jurors on Monday, Crown prosecutor Camille Cook said the complainant, now 17, is one of three witnesses scheduled to testify in the case.

“I anticipate she will tell you about a particular occasion where [he] picked her up from her home at night in his work vehicle when her parents were asleep and took her to a secluded area,” she said.

“I anticipate she will tell you that he had sex with her in his truck. At the time she was 14 years old and he was 30 years old.”

Cook said the accused had been employed by the complainant’s father for a couple of years prior to the incident, but he has known the girl “since she was a baby.”

She also told jurors the man is accused of kissing the girl on three occasions while the two were alone.

The offences are alleged to have taken place in a rural community near Kamloops. Castanet is not naming the community so as not to violate the publication ban.

The first witness is expected to be called on Tuesday morning and the trial is scheduled to run into next week.

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