• People lined the sidewalk around Main Street Landing to take part in the district’s annual Christmas parade and tree lighting on Saturday, Dec. 2. A brief fireworks display provided the finale to the evening’s festivities.
• Council gave a thumbs up to amendments requested by the development of a Centex service station and convenience store at 1305 Rauma Ave. While the development permit was approved by council in 2016, the applicant submitted a redesign of the project earlier this year. Gone from the update was the previously proposed drive-thru restaurant, referred to as Starbucks in an earlier design.
• Const. Colbie Franson was recently recognized by her peers for her role in saving a man’s life.
The Sicamous native was among Kamloops RCMP officers honoured during the detachment’s Annual Awards and Recognition ceremony on Nov. 22. Franson and Const. Lance De Leeuw were recognized for their leadership abilities in saving a man overdosing.
• In a letter to Eagle Valley News, Susan and Frank Black, newcomers to the community, said they were impressed with the friendly people in Sicamous.
• For the first time in several years the Eagle Valley Community Support Society, the organization that manages the hamper campaign for Sicamous, Malakwa, Swansea Point and Area E rural homes, had serious concerns about their ability to provide to all who may be in need.
The area had seen a large increase in low-income families, couples, singles and seniors, as those challenged with the high cost and low availability of rentals in Salmon Arm, Vernon, Kelowna, Penticton and the Lower Mainland were making their way here and renting anything they could find.
• Sicamous’ Cain Franson was recruited for the 2017 U Sports men’s hockey all-star team. The team will play a two-game series against Canada’s national junior team prospects to prepare them for the 2018 International Ice Hockey Federation World Junior Championship, Dec. 26 to Jan. 5 in Buffalo, NY.
• Some significant hurdles remained in the way of Sicamous’ proposed off-road vehicle bylaw.
The public got a chance to view the most current draft of the bylaw during a Nov. 28 open house hosted by the District of Sicamous. Coun. Gord Bushell said more than 200 people attended, and of them, only four expressed concerns. He said the rest were “overwhelmingly in favour,” adding similar feedback was received through an online survey. However, the province, ICBC and the RCMP were still not onboard with the off-road vehicle bylaw. Sicamous Sgt. Murray McNeil had numerous concerns with the proposed bylaw. “You start putting snowmobiles or ATVs on streets where you have cars, in a high-traffic area, there’s potential for collision, for injury, and of course, lawsuits are tied to that…” said McNeil.
• Christmas arrived early for Bruce Tune in the form of a $100,000 lottery win. Last week the BC Lottery Corporation announced the retired Sicamous resident had won top prize on a Merry Monday x10 scratch-and-win ticket.
“I’ve never won anything more than $100 in my whole life in scratch tickets,” said Tune. Aside from helping his kids out with a little extra Christmas money, Tune said he’ll bank most of the winnings, which will help make life a little easier. “My wife has MS and I look after her pretty much full time,” said Tune.