City council approves 3 proclamations

Fort St. John City Council made three proclamations at their meeting Monday.

The first proclaims the week of October 15th to 22nd as Family Week in the city. This takes place two weeks after Canada’s National Family Week, which is traditionally the week before Thanksgiving.

The Family Week launch will take place on October 15th at the North Peace Cultural Centre. Free family events will be held throughout the week such as a family skate.

Secondly, council proclaimed that September 8th, 2011 is International Literacy Day. This year’s theme is Literacy for Peace.

According to statistics provided by Clarice Eckford, Literacy Outreach Coordinator, 40 per cent of Fort St. John residents do not have the literacy skills required to function in the community. These numbers are similar to National statistics. In addition, almost 25 per cent of the population aged 18-35 in the Fort St. John school district have not completed high school.

The UN first celebrated International Literacy Day in 1966.

Lastly, September 15th, 2011 has been declared National Family Dinner Night in Fort St. John. The annual event was launched by M&M Meat Shops six years ago. The program encourages families to sit down and have dinner together.

M&M Meat Shops are asking families to register their participation on www.nationalfamilydinnernight.com. M&M will donate $1 to the Crohn’s and Colitis Foundation of Canada for every person who signs up.