• The Bruhn Bridge was damaged once again following one of two motor vehicle accidents that occurred the same morning on Tuesday, Oct. 27. The first took place before sunrise as an eastbound van lost control midway across the bridge and struck its guardrail.
The driver of the van was not injured. Later in the day, a four-vehicle crash disrupted traffic. A westbound Ford Focus had stopped at the west end of the bridge and was signalling a left turn onto Old Spallumcheen Road as a Jeep Wangler had come to a stop behind it.
A westbound semi truck struck the back of the jeep and pushed both smaller vehicles into an eastbound semi truck. The Jeep stuck the bridge’s guard rail but did not roll over the side. Both vehicles were destroyed and the westbound semi also received significant damage but no one was seriously injured.
• The District of Sicamous proposed it take control of the 1.67-kilometre portion of the Sicamous to Armstrong rail trail which falls within district boundaries. The proposal was not approved, with the rail trail committee instead voting to send a letter to property owners explaining their decision to uphold the trail crossing agreements in their current form. Sicamous Mayor Terry Rysz said the district brought forward the new ownership scheme in response to concerns from area residents. He said it is not the district’s intention to hamper the development of the trail.
• A Salmon Arm man was being remembered as a loving father and someone who inspired Shuswap youths with his love for the outdoors. Leanne Blurton spoke with a mix of grief and laughter as she reflects on the life of family friend Aaron Timmers.
“He was always smiling,” said Blurton. “He joked that I was his second wife because my husband works out of town…He would look after my kids with Tamara’s kids so we could go out together. He was an uncle to my daughters for sure.” Aaron was killed in a motor-vehicle collision on Highway 1 east of Salmon Arm on Monday, Oct. 26.
Police said road conditions were a factor behind the accident. Aaron worked with his father Lambert at their family-owned Eagle Valley Saw Services in Malakwa. Blurton said Aaron was on his way to work the morning of the collision.
• More than 40 vehicles with yellow lights flashing in the darkness and red ribbons tied on them parked in the 2200 block of Salmon River Road, in the community of Silver Creek near Salmon Arm, around 5:30 p.m. on Sunday, Nov. 1. In a rally for missing women, about 60 people gathered at the gate of the farm where Curtis Sagmoen lives with his parents, to drum, chant and hold prayers.
Along with media and supporters, including families of the women missing in the Shuswap as well as family of 18-year-old Traci Genereaux, whose remains were found by police in October 2017 on the farm, two RCMP officers stood quietly near the gate.
A lighted poster of the four missing women – Nicole Bell, Caitlin Potts, Ashley Simpson, Deanna Wertz – and Traci was set up for everyone to see.
The night concluded with a prayer ceremony for the women and families. Tina Blandford, Nicole Bell’s aunt, like other family members of the missing women, expressed her gratitude for all the people present.
“We’re very grateful for all the support of all the communities around us and all the people who have come tonight to support what we are doing. The families just want answers to what happened to their daughters.”
• The look of the Sicamous Beach Park is changing with a unique washroom and concession building in the works. A concept drawing for Sicamous’ Beach Park showed a new building with washroom and concession facilities, as well as concrete sidewalks and a pergola-covered deck. The planned structure’s most unique feature is its eastern face which will be sloped and landscaped to incorporate it into the natural contours of the area. The district submitted a $447,000 grant application to the provincial government. The total cost of the new facility is $677,000.
The old washroom facility has already been demolished and removed.
