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Shuswap Market News March 2017 in review

The Chase Lions Memorial Park Splash Pad project receives support and more in February 2017
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• Members of the Shuswap Beachwalkers were determined to make the public aware that the beach’s high-water line is Crown land and therefore should be accessible to everyone, not just waterfront property owners. While he wanted to bring attention to the issue, Dan McKerracher, Shuswap Beachwalker member, said while he wants to bring attention to the issue, he wasn’t trying to anger property owners.

• The Lakeshore News merged with the Salmon Arm Observer and Shuswap Market News. The merger will provide an enhanced Shuswap Market News, which will feature the best of Lakeshore News, including the popular Break Time, Any Time feature. The last issue of Lakeshore News was published on March 17.

• BC Timber Sales (BCTS) advised that late-winter logging above Balmoral Trails and along the Blind Bay White Lake trail is almost finished. BCTS staff will be out with Shuswap Trail Alliance and Columbia Shuswap Regional District parks staff to assess trail clean-up and rerouting needs in order to get trails ready for spring use.

• A big hole was left in the hearts and lives of a Silver Creek couple – for the second time. On Friday, March 3, around noon, Pat Campney and Steve Langenegger’s beloved dog, Grace, disappeared from their yard. The same thing happened to their last dog, Angus, who disappeared on a Friday in February a year ago around noon. They believe they were both stolen.

• Crannog Ales owners Rebecca Kneen and Brian McIsaac said changes to the Agricultural Land Reserve appear to make what they are doing illegal. The couple, who have owned and worked the Sorrento-based organic-on-farm brewery for 17 years, said they were hopping mad over regulation changes regarding on-farm breweries that they say were made without consultation.

• Chase residents showed support for the proposed Chase Lions Memorial Park Splash Pad, but the project is going to require much more financial assistance. The Lions Club already raised $104,000, with an estimated budget of $380,000.

• On Saturday, March 11, in partnership with the Village of Chase, the Chase Rotarians hosted a pasta fundraiser for the ‘Kids Don’t Float’ program. In conjunction with Shuswap Search and Rescue, the community would build a life-jacket kiosk at the Chase Memorial Park. The fundraiser grossed one-third of the overall costs of the kiosk and life jackets, and the remainder will be raised at the upcoming Rotary auction on April 8 at the Chase Community Hall.

• The complainant in a sexual assault trial that ended abruptly this week said she felt ‘disgusted’ after learning about the bizarre comments the judge made before the hearing began. The case involved a man accused of sexually abusing his stepdaughter in Adams Lake in the mid-1970s.

In the Kamloops courtroom, visiting B.C. Supreme Court Justice Peter Leask asked the prosecutor and defence lawyer to speed things up so he could get back to work in Vancouver.

“Full disclosure: I live in Vancouver,” he said. “Kamloops is a wonderful place, but I like sleeping in my own bed.”

• Dreams were slipping away for Arvid and Audrey Hoglund. The risk of a slide forced the couple to abandon Pinaus Lake Resort, which they called home for 30 years.

“It’s all very upsetting,” said Arvid, who is 78 years old.

On March 14, the Ministry of Forests told the couple that it had detected slope movement directly above the Falkland area resort since 2013. The resort was ordered to close and all residents were told to permanently leave the area.

“We were shocked when we were told we had just 30 days to get all our belongings and get out,” said Audrey, 76.

• Adams Lake band takes steps toward a byelection but Chief Paul Michel said the band’s situation is ‘precarious’ because, without a quorum, the timeline of budget approval would be in jeopardy. Three band councillors were removed from office in October after a community panel of the band responded to a petition contending they had breeched their oath of office.

• A hotel tax was approved for the region. The City of Salmon Arm in collaboration with the Salmon Arm Economic Development Society, was notified that its application to introduce a two per cent Municipal and Regional District Tax (MRDT) was approved by the provincial government.

• The Salmon Arm Silverbacks had no shortage of momentum heading into the playoffs as they ended their regular season with a five-game winning streak. However, they were eliminated from the playoffs by the Trail Smoke Eaters.

• Despite an undefeated run through the round robin and playoffs, Salmon Arm Team Jenkins lost their final game of the BC Seniors Curling Championships on February 26.

• After hundreds of high school wrestlers competed their hardest at the BC High School Provincials at the Shaw Centre, four Salmon Arm wrestlers mounted the podium for their weight classes: Rohan Kafle, Shyanne Matthys, Carrie Fromme, and Elijah Lazar.

• A Tappen man who was convicted of an impaired driving charge in 2011 that resulted in his young daughter’s death faced more criminal charges from an incident in Nelson. According to a press release, Conan Lee Taylor, 34, took off when an officer directed him to stop and asked for his license.

• A $25,000 donation from Shuswap Rotary pushed the Montebello Museum fundraising over the top of the $1.5 million mark. Another $250,000 to $300,000 is needed to complete phase one of the biggest land development campaign ever launched by the Salmon Arm Museum and Heritage Association at R.J. Haney Heritage Village.

• The Hit 2 Hit fundraiser was a knockout as local boxers duked it out to promote fitness and fundraising. Altogether $15,000 was raised for local charities. Salmon Arm Mayor Nancy Cooper took on Bulldogs Boxing coach Peggy Maerz, and the Salmon Arm Observer’s Jim Elliot duked it out with Wade Stewart of Ian Gray’s Salmon Arm GM.

• Ron Essex was presented with a Public Safety Lifetime Volunteer Award by Shuswap MLA Greg Kyllo for his long-time service through amateur radio. After earning his Basic Qualification in Amateur Radio in 1993, Essex joined the Shuswap Amateur Radio Club (SARC) and the Salmon Arm Seniors Radio Club. He was part of every emergency for which the clubs have provided communications since that time.

• Kaedan Roseman, 11, wins a $5,000 award for his poem, The Meaning of Home, in the Genworth Canada Support for Habitat for Humanity contest. The $5,000 went to Habitat for Humanity and he received an iPod and a pizza party for his class at Shuswap Middle School.

• As one local hockey mom was beginning to feel forgotten during her battle with cancer, a team of young players stepped in to lift her spirits. One evening cars packed with members of the Peewee Tier 3 Silvertips arrived bringing gift baskets and a Silvertips jersey pinned with numerous gift certificates for Laura Phillips who was diagnosed with colon cancer. The treatments left her exhausted and sometimes feeling depressed.

“We were just in awe, all of a sudden one car pulls up and then another and another one and another one…” said Laura’s husband, Jeff. “We were expecting them but we didn’t know if there was going to be two or 30.”

• Council approved the demolition of Orchard House and offered a delay of 60 days in order to give interested parties an opportunity to move the building to a private location.

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Jim Elliot

About the Author: Jim Elliot

I’m a B.C. transplant here in Whitehorse at The News telling stories about the Yukon's people, environment, and culture.
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