A Vernon politician is demanding to know why he wasn’t told he was not on a regional committee. Coun. Jack Gilroy says he only found out that he was no longer the North Okanagan Regional District’s representative to the Sterile Insect Release program when he got an e-mail from SIR staff. No personal notification of the change came from NORD. “I’m not very happy,” said Gilroy, who sat at SIR for two years. “They could have at least told me. It just astounds me. A little courtesy would have been nice.” Thinking he was still on the SIR board, Gilroy had been preparing for a meeting with provincial officials in Penticton Friday. He’s not sure if Armstrong Coun. Shirley Fowler — NORD’s new appointee — will be up to speed on all of the issues. “You just don’t learn this stuff overnight,” he said. Herman Halvorson, NORD chairperson, defends the process, saying that only full members of the regional district board can be appointed to committees and Gilroy is only an alternate director for Vernon. “Everyone on committees must be a board member so there is no disconnect and everyone know’s what’s going on,” said Halvorson of improving communications. Gilroy had previously been a full NORD director but the city changed his appointment to alternate director this year, meaning he only attends district meetings when a regular city director can’t attend. Halvorson isn’t sure why Gilroy didn’t know about being removed from SIR. “Everyone at the regional district board level accepted the recommendations,” said Halvorson. “The City of Vernon got a copy of the agenda (where appointments were discussed) and the Vernon representatives must not have had a problem with it because they didn’t say anything about it. No one showed interest in sitting on the committee, including Jack.”
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