January
• Unplug and Play Family Literacy Week takes place this month with events being hosted at the Mall at Piccadilly.
• An unattended propane torch being used to thaw out frozen pipes caused a house to be destroyed by fire and two dogs to perish.
• Local businesses complain to the city regarding snow removal procedures. Businesses say they are losing customers because the streets aren’t being plowed properly.
• A local teenager, Jodi Hanna, waits to see if she will gain eyesight after undergoing surgery in Arizona. The teen’s stem cells were harvested then injected into her optic nerves in the hopes of her seeing for the first time. She was born with optic nerve hypoplasia.
• A man and his two young sons perish in a mobile home fire in Sicamous.
• Salmon Arm West students from kindergarten to Grade 5 learn Secwepemc, the Shuswap traditional language; about 45 per cent of the students at the school are First Nations.
• Salmon Arm Nature Bay Society asks city council to leave the beavers that live around the first boardwalk off the nature trail alone. Council responded that they would look further into the situation before taking action.
• Salmon Arm council endorse staff to create an agricultural advisory committee as follow up of the recommendations outlined in the Agricultural Area Plan created in 2004.
• The Arts Centre building in Salmon Arm celebrates its 75th anniversary with a special art exhibit at the SAGA Public Art Gallery.
• A Blind Bay resident win $1 million dollars with a Scratch N’ Win ticket.
• B.C. Assessment releases 2012 property value statistics; both Salmon Arm and Sicamous property values have dropped in the last year.
• One case of Scarlet Fever was discovered at Bastion Elementary School. Doctors administered antibiotics to the patient and stated they were not concerned about an outbreak.
• Salmon Arm Secondary Principal Greg Kitchen leaves School District #83 after 22 years of working at various schools in the district.
• Tire Stewardship BC awarded Blackburn Park universally accessible playspace a grant for $30,000 that will provide 35,000 pounds of recycled rubber to be poured beneath the play equipment. This is the second grant for the playground — the first was for $20,000 that was used to create a recycled rubber pour-in-place landing.
• Police investigate the shooting of a 59-year-old man. The incident occurred near Roderick Haig Brown Provincial Park in Lee Creek.
• School Board trustee of six years, Lisa Rolland, died of cancer.
• Over $10,000 was raised for the Heart and Stroke foundation at the Larch Hills 28th annual Reino Keski-Salmi cross-country ski loppet.
• The Salmon Arm SilverBacks trade team captain, Brett Knowles, to Cowichan Valley Capitals and gain forward Travis Stephens.
• NHL central scouting lists SilverBacks’ Morgan Zulinick in their top-210 North American skaters. He also won a NCAA Division 1 scholarship.
• Members of the Shuswap Swimming Team took the plunge in the fifth annual Polar Bear Swim on New Year’s Day at Canoe Beach. The event is meant to raise awareness and funds for diabetes research.
• Charles Dickens’ The Pickwick Papers is performed by Salmon Arm Secondary grades 11 and 12 drama students.
• The Heap the Honda children’s Book Drive kicks off at the SilverBacks hockey game.
February
• Judy Wilson is re-elected as Chief of the Neskonlith Indian Band. She won with 85 votes against Gary Wiens’ 38 votes and Bert Denault’s 28 votes. Councillors voted in include Joan Manuel, Rock Denault, Martin Sauls, Karen August, Randy Sam, and former chief and councillor Art Anthony.
• Salmon Arm council agrees to include the Downtown Activity Centre, which is the former Salmon Arm Elementary School, into Salmon Arm’s heritage registry.
• Salmon Arm Crown counsel Gregory Koturbash is appointed as a new Provincial Court Judge in Penticton.
• Lynne Wickett, Daila Duford, and Rosemarie Vennard earn this year’s Shuswap Women of Distinction awards at the It’s All About Women Conference.
• King’s Christian School places 182nd out of 860 schools according to the Fraser Institute report card on B.C. Elementary Schools. Other schools within the Salmon Arm system dropped in ranks with Bastion Elementary and Ranchero Elementary placing highest at 505th position.
• Okanagan College students participate in the “All Out” national day of protest against student debt.
• A Salmon Arm woman was taken to hospital with a broken ankle by local passer-bys when she was told there were no ambulances in the city. The woman had slipped on some ice.
• A pedestrian was hit by a car when crossing the street on the Trans Canada Highway. The driver was making a left hand turn and did not notice the person crossing.
• Columbia Shuswap Regional District Board approved a resolution to contact the Southern Interior Local Government Association regarding concerns about the lack of police coverage in rural areas.
• The CSRD also invited Interior Health to a board meeting to discuss the inadequate health-care services provided to their communities.
• Fields and Zellers announce they will be closing their doors and Canadian Tire will be moving to Zellers location. Staples will open its doors to Salmon Arm in June. Fisherman Direct Seafood of Enderby will expand their business to Salmon Arm; the business will be a restaurant as well as a store.
• KAIROS Salmon Arm, the Shuswap Okanagan NDP and the Shuswap Environmental Action Society sponsored a public forum for local residents to learn about the controversial 1,177 kilometer Enbridge Gateway pipeline proposal that will go from the Alberta tar sands to the West Coast Port of Kitimat tar sands.
• Salmon Arm Secondary School curling team moves towards provincials after winning the Okanagan Zone playdown.
• The annual Pirate Loppet took place at Larch Hills with nearly 400 children between grades three to seven participating. Money raised from the event went toward the purchase of cross-country ski equipment for local schools.
• Cross-country skier Alysson Marshall won the Haywood NorAm Eastern Canadian championships, held in Cantley, Quebec.
• Larch Hills Nordic Society won the club championship trophy for the second year in a row at the 2012 BC Championships held at the Larch Hills ski area.
• BC Winter Games sees over 30 athletes from the Shuswap compete in several events.
• Salmon Arm Salmar Classic Lightning Pee Wee Hockey team captured first place overall in the North Okanagan Pee Wee Super league.
• The Salmon Arm Midget Tier 1 Female Team won the league this season and was presented the OMAHA banner for their efforts.
• Team Steadman of Salmon Arm won first place in the Super Novice Division of the Salmon Arm Junior Bonspiel.
• Children’s Charity-Variety earned $1,200 during their 8th annual breakfast fundraiser. The money raised goes towards funding and medical equipment for treating children at Shuswap Lake General Hospital.
• R.J. Haney Heritage Village and Museum hosts the 16th Annual Heritage Week at Piccadilly Mall. This year’s theme was Energy in B.C., A Powerful Past and Sustainable Future.
• Shuswap Film Society presents 12 films at the ‘80’s Film Festival held over three days at the Salmar Classic.
March
• Teachers waved protest signs outside MLA George Abbott’s office as the province makes more cuts to education and Bill 22. Students also rallied in support of the teachers’ position.
• The city awarded its website redesign to a Kansas company. Local designers, printers, and marketing businesses approach council requesting a shop-local policy as well as the city’s list of expenditures.
• An $80,000 snow blower is purchased through the 2011 city surplus. The snow blower will be used mainly for the downtown area where it blows snow directly into the back of a truck and takes it to another location to be dumped.
• Jenn Wilchuk was elected as the School District #83 trustee for the Carlin-Sorrento area in a by-election.
• The corner of Hudson Avenue and Alexander Street NE is to be renovated in a British/European theme after council approves the proposal.
• Locals, businesses and the city all work together to remove the tires from Shuswap Lake. This effort was led by Ken Stengler, who hated see the tires there when he walked the shoreline. Over 152 tires were removed.
• Participants raise $53,000 for the Salvation Army’s Lighthouse Shelter during The Coldest Night of the Year Walk. This was the third-highest amount raised in all of Canada.
• Rochelle Dale of Re-Max Shuswap is recognized for her volunteer efforts at the annual Realtors Care Awards put on by the Okanagan Mainline Real Estate Board’s Shuswap Zone. Dale has served on the minor hockey board for years; first as treasurer and now as risk manager. She also was part of the host committee for 2011 Midget Provincial Hockey Championships and has been a billet for 10 years.
• Observer staff are nominated for Canadian Community Newspaper Association awards. Martha Wicket is nominated for the best news story, circulation up to 3,999 category; James Murray is nominated for two photos and Lachlan Labere is nominated for a photo entitled, True Inspiration.
• Okanagan College’s SIFE (Students in Free Enterprise) team won three western Canada regional competitions including winning gold in the Scotia Bank Go Green Challenge.
• Jackson Robertson was awarded the Fire Services Exemplary Service Medal for 20 years of outstanding service to the country in the capacity of firefighter. Many retired firefighters were also honoured for their service.
• A third X-ray room opens thanks to joint funding from the North Okanagan Shuswap Hospital District and the Shuswap Lake Hospital Foundation. A total of $200,000 was put towards creating this room as well as a CT scanner room and three ultrasound rooms.
• RCMP and the Southeast District Emergency Response Team corner an armed man in a Salmon Arm house. He eluded police on foot but was later captured in Vernon.
• Salmon Arm’s Midget Tier 1 female hockey team wins first in OMAHA playoff championships after also winning the regular season.
• Cherilyn Drew and Rick Hofmann, skating for Salmon Arm Ice Breakers Speed Skating Club win gold medals at the BC Short Track Championship held in Kamloops.
• All four Bulldogs Boxing club members who went to the Vernon CounterPunch Boxing Club amateur card won their matches.
• Two Salmon Arm teams win the 2012 BC Provincial Stick Curling Championship – one team won first in the tournament while another team won second place in the consolation draw.
• International Women’s Day was celebrated at Java Jive Neighbourhood Bistro with a fun and casual evening of live music.
• Jazz and gospel vocalist Leora Cashe hosted a workshop at the Salmon Arm Actors Studio while Mimosa, a quintet playing a blend of jazz, Brazilian sambas, French ‘60’s pop and cabaret, played at SAGA Public Art Gallery.
April
• With not enough spots in the Salmon Arm French Immersion programs, parents line up in the first-come, first-serve line. This year, parents lined up four days before registration, bringing sleeping bags, lawn chairs and food as they waited outside School District #83’s District Education Centre.
• Local businesses band together to pay for a 72-year-old Ranchero man’s roof.
• Easter Spring Fling held at the Mall at Piccadilly had an Easter egg hunt and an Easter bonnet contest that children of all ages enjoyed.
• As part of the 100-year anniversary of the Titanic sinking, two researchers come to town to visit relatives of Mr. and Mrs. R.H. Fortune, Salmon Arm residents who were lost on the that fateful voyage.
• The Shuswap Launch-a-Preneur program, Salmon Arm’s own Dragon’s Den, concludes at the Salmon Classic this month with Conrad Wilkins of OneKan declared winner and Jennifer Ripel of White-o-Coccoli receiving the Green Initiative Award.
• A Tappen couple and their children welcome their new Haitian sisters as their adoption goes through. It was a five-year process but 10-year-old Jesula and six-year-old Chrismene have arrived in the Shuswap to their new home.
• Observer photographers James Murray and Lachlan Labere win awards for their photographs at the British Columbia and Yukon Community Newspaper Association Awards held in Vancouver.
• Salmon Arm Observer subscribers get access to the newspaper’s premium online content at no extra cost, effective this month.
• City council approves funding for both a new dock and relocation of the volleyball courts at Canoe Beach.
• Council agrees to move a plaque in memory of those who have lost their lives as a result of a workplace accident or occupational disease. The plaque was moved to a garden rock at Marine Peace Park, where it is better displayed for public viewing.
• A man driving a semi-tractor trailer on the Trans-Canada Highway near 24th Street NE in Salmon Arm was so drunk he was held in custody until sober. He was issued a 24 hour driving prohibition, a violation ticket for open liquor in his vehicle and an administrative driving prohibition. Further criminal charges were recommended to Crown council.
• The Salmon Arm Bantam SilverTips finished their season placing sixth at the Kamloops International Bantam Ice Hockey Tournament.
• Abbigail and Brian May both win first place in their divisions at the Canadian Masters Cross-Country Ski Championships held in Golden this year.
• New head coach and general manager of SilverBacks Hockey Team is announced. Troy Mick brings an exciting new energy and vision to the team.
• Salmon Arm’s own Erika Lipsett, as part of the BC Thunder team, defeated all contenders at the 2012 National Ringette Championship. The team not only won but also made history, as traditionally Edmonton and Cambridge teams have volleyed the winning title back and forth since the championship’s inception.
• The Shuswap Swimming team takes 11 first-place wins at the Vernon Kokanee Swim Club Spring Invitational Swim Meet.
• Salmon Arm’s Charmaine Chard earns spot on Felions dance team, the cheerleading for the BC Lions football team.
• SAGA Public Art Gallery exhibits Bloom-Portraits of a Garden; a retrospective of 28 acrylic paints by local artist Joyce Dorey.
• Alida Hilbrander, local author of Parting the Veils of Separation, a book about the power of death to separate us from those we love, hosts a workshop based on the principles of her book.
• The 12th Annual Shuswap Music Festival showcases more than 450 talented local youth.
May
• A CP Rail train derailed in Canoe. A 124-car train carrying coal was traveling westbound through Canoe when it jumped the track. Coal was dumped on the lake side of CP’s right of way but no one was injured and no environmental concerns were associated with the derailment. A hydro line was damaged, knocking out power to residents temporarily and a natural gas meter was also hit.
• Due to the judicial review of a development permit for SmartCentres shopping centre being dismissed by the BC Supreme Court, the Neskonlith Indian Band launched an appeal for reconsideration.
• Observer reporter Martha Wickett won an award at the Canadian Community Newspaper Awards for best news story of the year for a community newspaper with a circulation under 4,000. Her story was about the city installing a device in the downtown that emits a high frequency that only young people can hear. The device was meant to cut down on loitering and vandalism downtown.
• The Chase man who threatened to set off a bomb in a Chase bank is charged with two counts of theft under $5,000, one count of uttering threats, one count of mischief and one count of possession of a weapon for a dangerous purpose.
• A teenager lost her footing and fell 60 feet off a trail above Gleneden Falls as she and a friend were walking. She was taken to hospital in critical condition, but was later expected to make a full recovery.
• Lake levels begin to rise on Shuswap Lake as rain continues to fall in the Shuswap.
• A “sophisticated” grow op is discovered in Sorrento by police A total of 448 marijuana plants were found in an underground bunker that seems to have been in operation for several years.
• Police arrest a man for cocaine trafficking in the Blind Bay area; they seized crack cocaine, powder cocaine, prescription drugs and cash.
• Two people are arrested in the Silver Creek area for stealing two quads, two gas-powered generators, a laptop computer and an assortment of tools and equipment – a total value of about $10,000.
• An RCMP Bicycle Rodeo took place this month, teaching children safe bike-riding practices.
• The Heart & Stroke Big Bike came to the Mall at Piccadilly. The 30-person bike was built to help raise funds for life-saving research, health promotion and advocacy initiatives.
• The Pedal Power art exhibit was presented by SAGA Public Art Gallery. The exhibit was about the bicycle as an agent of social change.
• The annual fundraising Hike for Hospice event took place at the Enderby cliffs.
• Past Salmon Arm Secondary grad and now neuroscientist, Bechara (John) Saab goes to London to represent the University of Zurich and Switzerland in a prestigious science competition.
• Three secondary school students go to E-spirit, a business plan competition held in Manitoba for aboriginal students in grades 10 to 12. From hundreds of business plans submitted, Katie Kenoras, Sage Tomma and Kayla Butts’ aboriginal spa plan was selected.
• Emmy Sim of Salmon Arm runs in the Vancouver 2012 marathon. Just turned 16 two days before the race, she is the youngest person to have ever run this marathon. She placed first in her age group.
• Grade 12 student, Katie Frese, received high achievement marks after dancing two Royal Academy of Dance Advanced ballet exams.
• Salty Dog enduro mountain bike race was a great success again with about 485 participants racing the six-hour main event, and about 250 young people between ages three and 15 racing in the three-hour event.
• The Literary Alliance of the Shuswap Society (LASS) partnered with Book Lady, Mary Scheidegger, to raise money for a collection of adult learner books.
June
• Salmon Arm residents raised more than $153,000 during this year’s Relay for Life; there were 349 participants.
• A Salmon Arm couple, Ruth and Roy Tapp, celebrated their 70th wedding anniversary.
• A past SAS grad, Ryan Trenholm won an award for his research as a grad student at UBC and goes to Japan as a representative of the university during the U21 International Research Conference.
• School District #83 students delved into aboriginal culture at the Mary Thomas Cultural Village. Students were shown how to identify plants, listened to traditional stories, and were taught about tanning animal skins and picking berries.
• Skydive NOVA, a new company located at the Salmon Arm airport, opened its doors this month.
• Floods sweep through the Shuswap as heavy rain hits the area. Emergency programs throughout the Shuswap work together to help families affected by the floods.
• A home was totally destroyed by a fire that brought out all Salmon Arm fire departments; luckily, no one was injured.
• Multiple search parties look for Andrew Wilson, a local resident who went missing after being swept downstream in the Seymour River. Andrew and a friend went for a day hike to Seymour Falls when Wilson decided to jump into the river to cool off.
• A father and two daughters were killed in a head-on car collision in Rosetown, Sask.
• Long-time director of the CSRD Ted Bacigalupo passed away.
• The milkman returns to deliver milk right to residents’ front step in Salmon Arm, as Tim Dolan, of Dolan Home Delivery, brings his business to the city.
• Sisters Erica Fairley and Andrea Pickard from Salmon Arm earn medals for their top grades upon graduating from Okanagan College. Both earned their diplomas in Business Administration with plans to pursue careers in accounting.
• Brandon West from the Okanagan Rockets was hired as the new assistant coach and Rob Morphy is the new director of scouting and head scout for the SilverBacks.
• The first-ever Salmon Arm Barrel Bonanza was held at the Salmon Arm Fairgrounds.
• The first two swim meets of the season saw the Sockeyes’ off to a great start. The girls’ team placed second overall and the boys placed first in division 1 and 4; several individual medals were handed out to team members as well.
• Ride for a Child’s Wish was a huge success with 47 rides that raised $11,585 for the British Columbia and Yukon chapter of Children’s Wish Foundation of Canada.
• The Second Harvest Food Bank in Salmon Arm organized a month-long fundraiser. Residents were asked to donate just $1 for the cause.
• Daphne Brown, Dave Wallensteen and Jan Kehl all participated in the Oliver Half Ironman held this month. They all finished in just over six hours.
• Fourteen teams participated in the annual Beat The Train, an event that combines biking, running and paddling.
• The Shuswap Dragon Boat Festival enjoyed another great turnout in both participants and spectators this year.
• The Shuswap Swimming Team brought home five gold medals, five silver and one bronze medal from the Kamloops Long Course June Classic Swim Meet.
• SAGA Public Art Gallery exhibited the Photographing Our Lives project put on by grades one to five South Broadview students; the students had been given cameras for a week with the direction to take photographs at school, at home and in the community.
• Families celebrated Father’s Day at RJ Haney Heritage Village who put on a special event including lunch, a scavenger hunt and entertainment.
• The Salmar Grand won $5,000 in a BC Hydro Power Smart energy-efficient lighting makeover by getting the most votes in the Power Smart Energy Fix contest in the Salmon Arm, Kamloops, Vernon and Revelstoke area.
July
• Gorman Bros. Lumber Ltd. announces they are buying the Canoe sawmill that was for sale by Federated Co-operatives Limited.
• School District #83 school board enters into a two-year contract with teachers while First Nations Bands within the school district signed the Local Education Agreement contract.
• A call to the bar ceremony was held in Salmon Arm for lawyer Jonathan Avis, a ceremony the city has never held before.
• Falkland is proposed to join the Kelowna, Summerland, Merritt, Logan Lake and Princeton political riding boundaries.
• Union staff with the Okanagan Regional Library stop driving delivery trucks for four days as a labour dispute continues.
• The managers of Vernon and Salmon Arm Rona Building Supplies worked together and took 5,400 bottles and 60 five-gallon jugs of water to Sicamous to help flood relief efforts.
• A Shuswap Lake Hospital team won a provincial award for coming up with an acronym for identifying strokes. FAST stands for face, arms, speech and time. The initiative was to help hospitals look at what improvements needed to be made and then sharing their results with other hospitals across the province.
• An aggressive bear forces conservation officers to shut down the South Canoe Trail system. Three incidents occurred where the bear chased pedestrians on the trails.
• A lightning storm created small spot fires around the Shuswap; the Salmon Arm Rapattack crew extinguished all without incident.
• A dishwasher was suspected to be the blame for a local house fire. The home was saved but the homeowners had to live elsewhere for a few weeks while damages on the house were being fixed.
• A truck hit a Salmon Arm telephone pole, leaving residents without service for several days.
• A powerboat was found to be carrying invasive quagga mussels in Shuswap Lake. The boat had been transported from Arizona. Officials removed the boat from the lake and took mitigative measures in hope that the mussels would not spread.
• Cambridge Road beach access, a mess from the flood, was cleaned up by efforts from cadets with the Vernon summer training camp.
• Interior Health, the Division of General Practice North Okanagan, and the province distributed a survey throughout the community asking residents’ opinions on ways to improve palliative/end-of-life care in the Shuswap.
• Local supermarket, Askew’s Uptown, opens its doors for the first time.
• Chantelle Bykerk returns home with a bronze medal from the X Games Enduro Cross Race. This win also earned her a spot in next year’s games.
• The Shuswap FC U-16 boys soccer team came home with bronze medals from the 2012 BC Soccer B Cup Provincial Championships held in Aldergrove.
• Glynis Sim from Salmon Arm wins a gold medal in track at the BC Summer Games.
• Shuswap Rotary Club hosted a fundraising garden party at Granite Creek Estate Winery to raise funds for the Ecuador Dental Mission and African Barani School Lunch Program.
• Residents enjoyed the Motorcycle Show & Shine this month; there were many family fun contests and door prizes.
• The Louisiana Hayride Show came to town where singer/actors showed up as Elvis, Hank Williams, Patsy Cline and Roy Orbison, singing their famous songs.
• Approximately 1,500 people showed up for the 23rd Annual Summer Stomp, held in Silver Creek this year.
• Clara Anderson of Salmon Arm won first place in the 61-65 age division at the 39th annual Kimberley International Old Time Accordion Championships.
• There was a great turnout at the 29th annual Skwlax Pow Wow held at the Skwlax Pow Wow Grounds.
August
• Premier Christy Clark came to Salmon Arm to speak at a Women’s Town Hall meeting. She discussed environmental issues, creating jobs, alternative energy projects and answered questions from the audience.
• South Canoe Trails opened after conservation officers killed an aggressive black bear.
• A Rapattack crew worked on the Park Hill Trail above Canoe Beach felling dangerous trees and removing underbrush. A Kamloops Rapattack crew had previously completed an assessment identifying the fire hazard areas on the trail.
• Salmon Arm’s environmental committee was frustrated with city council turning down four committee recommendations, including two relating to the Landscape Standards and Recommended Species guide and two recommendations regarding soil/fill deposition.
• Mary Howard presented her concerns regarding bike safety to city council following Bike to Work Week, hoping council will begin to plan for better bike routes for the city.
• The Columbia Shuswap Regional District introduces a Lakes Zoning Bylaw to the Shuswap. The bylaw regulates the number of docks and private mooring buoys permitted on Shuswap, Mara, Adams, White, Little White, Humamilt and Hunakwa lakes.
• Okanagan-Shuswap MP Colin Mayes awarded 12 Shuswap residents with the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee Medal in recognition of significant achievements and contributions made for the benefit of fellow citizens and their country.
• A plane carrying three passengers and the pilot crashed in a farmer’s field just outside of Salmon Arm. All four survived.
• A major storm hit Salmon Arm and area, causing power outages, trees falling and lightning fires. No one was injured.
• Ellen McInnes celebrated her 100th birthday with friends and family at Piccadilly Terrace Retirement Residence.
• Thieves tried to steal the ATM at the Salmon Arm Savings and Credit Union at Piccadilly Mall; they were unsuccessful.
• Salmon Arm businesses were educated in identifying fake bills due to the recent rise in counterfeit currency that was being distributed throughout the community.
• The body of Andrew Wilson was pulled from the mouth of the Seymour River on Shuswap Lake after he was swept away in June.
• Two former Salmon Arm residents participated in the Summer Olympics in London, Eng. Rebecca Howard and her horse Riddle Master competed as part of the Canadian Eventing Team, while Allison McNeill, coach of the Canadian Women’s Basketball Team, made it all the way to the quarterfinals.
• The city’s youngest minor hockey teams take on the SilverBacks name as Salmon Arm SilverBacks Junior A Hockey Club and Salmon Arm Minor Hockey Association build a new relationship and set up new agreements. The new name includes new jerseys for the previously named Silvertips as well as having the SilverBacks assistant coach act as the coach mentor for the minor hockey teams.
• Alexa Ranahan, 16-year-old Salmon Arm native, earned a spot on Canada’s National Women’s Under 18 Hockey Team.
• Twenty-year-old Ben Shaule of Salmon Arm won first place in the Canadian 3D Archery Championship and Mickey Sims remains boxing champi for the second time in the World Senior Master Middleweight Championship held in Kansas.
• Forty-four out of 50 members on the Salmon Arm Sockeyes Swim Club took a medal home from the Okanagan Regionals qualifying meet, and the team took first place finish overall. They continued to shine at the Provincials by earning 12 gold medals and placing fifth overall.
• Jim Cliffe and Kirk Caouette, past Salmon Arm grads, showed their films at the Salmar Classic, after having been shown at multiple film festivals across Canada.
• Residents and visitors enjoy the Second Annual Routes and Blues celebration that swept through several Shuswap communities as a lead-up to the big Roots and Blues Festival. The festival was considered a great hit this year, and included a performance by Richard Underhill and the Shuffle Demons who played at the first festival 20 years ago.
September
• The North Okanagan Shuswap School District along with private schools in the area welcomed about 6,600 students, from Kindergarten to Grade 12, back to class in the first week of September.
• Students enjoy a rock concert-themed JobFest held at the Ross Street Plaza, which targeted students from grades 10 to 12.
• Former Salmon Arm mayor, Marty Bootsma, announces he will seek the Liberal nomination in the race for MLA in the Shuswap riding in the next provincial election.
• Two Blind Bay beaches were temporarily closed after e-coli levels rose about federal guidelines of 400 e-coli colony-forming units. Goose feces is suspected of the reason for the spike although there are no tests to distinguish between human and animal sources.
• Local residents had the opportunity to present their opinions for community improvements at the Salmon Arm Council budget meeting this month. Suggestions included expansion of the 10th Street SW sidewalk, Memorial Arena improvements, and a cantilevered walkway on Lakeshore Drive, among other requests.
• Local Shuswap Trail Alliance leader, Phil McIntyre-Paul, was presented with the Queen’s Jubilee Medal by Canadian Senator Nancy Green Raine at a surprise celebration held at city hall. Cindy Derkaz of Salmon Arm was also presented with the medal for her contributions to the Shuswap Community Foundation, Shuswap Film Society, the Salmon Arm Nature Bay Enhancement Society, the Shuswap Art Gallery Association and the Salmon Arm Folk Music Society.
• More than 8,740 people enjoyed the 15th Annual Fall Fair, more than 1,000 people more than last year.
• Salmon Arm Tennis Club hosted the SASCU & SATC 2012 Open Tournament. Several Salmon Arm locals played and placed well.
• The SilverBacks announced the acquisition of 17-year-old forward Riley Hunt to the team. Hunt came from the Vernon Vipers.
• Police officer Yvonne Dibblee won seven gold medals in the 2012 BC Seniors Games held in Burnaby. Dibblee won first in all events that she entered.
• The “Meeting our aboriginal neighbours again for the first time” workshop saw almost 150 attending. The event was a joint effort between the First United Church and the Switzmalph Cultural Society. Presentations covered the Salmon River Delta restoration, traditional plants and cultural uses at the delta, contemporary science meets traditional knowledge and wisdom, and an update on the Mary Thomas Heritage Sanctuary and eco/cultural tourism initiative.
• Local singer and songwriter, Aimie Laws, releases a new single, ‘I’ll be waiting,’ and a professional music video.
• A suicide prevention event was held at Marine Park in the hopes of preventing suicides and providing support for those who have experienced loss due to suicide.
• The Peterson Family Farm was presented with a Century Farm Award for the family’s contributions towards B.C.’s agricultural industry and economy over the past 100 years. The family is one of the founding farm families in the Shuswap, having arrived and settled in the area in 1911.
• Sedo’s Old Fashioned Butcher & Deli won three gold medals and a bronze for their homemade sausages at the First Annual Great Canadian Sausage Making Competition at the Fraser Valley Food Show.
• BC Living Best People’s Choice Awards for the Interior region voted for four local businesses. Table 24 placed second in the Best Restaurant category, Salmon Arm Camping Resort and Barley Station Brew Pub both placed second runner up in the Best Campsite category and Best Bar/Pub category, respectively; Salmon Arm Roots and Blues Festival was second.
• R.J. Haney Heritage Village hosts the 15th Annual Harvest Celebration with a “Taste of the Shuswap” theme.
October
• City council continues discussion of what to do with the beavers living in the Christmas Island area. The beavers natural behaviour of chewing bark and falling trees causes safety concerns but the Salmon Arm Bay Nature Enhancement Society recommends leaving the beavers alone. It suggests council use mitigative safety measures regarding the trees.
• Erik Lees of Lees & Associates presented the Parks and Recreation Master Plan for Salmon Arm. Lees summed up what the company had come up with as the top priorities for improvements. A new swimming pool, a running track next to the sports fields at Little Mountain and four ball diamonds at Klahani Park were listed as possibilities.
• Fire crews tried to save a 10th Avenue SE home from burning down to no success. It was confirmed that the fire was set intentionally and police were investigating.
• The Salmon Arm Observer and Shuswap Market News recognized the service of newspaper carriers during the National Carrier Week.
• Many women of Salmon Arm were recognized and celebrated throughout the week of October 21 to 27 as part of Women in Business Week.
• It was also the month for National Day of Action Against Smart Meters as locals walked with billboards along the Trans-Canada Highway in protest of smart meters.
Firefighters are celebrated and thanked for their hard work and dedication during Fire Prevention Week, October 7-13.
• 2011 Census released information regarding languages spoken in Salmon Arm; English is number one at 97.8 percent of the population speaking only English, 0.2 percent spoke only French, and 1.4 percent spoke a non-official language. English is the first language of 15,835 out of 17,400 residents.
• Askew’s Uptown wins the Retail Award at the ReMAX Thompson Okanagan Commercial Building Awards held in Kelowna.
• Dani Konrad is named recipient of the 2012 British Columbia Summer Swimming Team Aquatics Coach of the Year award. Konrad has been with the Salmon Arm Sockeyes as a member and coach since 1995.
• The Senior Girls and Junior Boys Salmon Arm Secondary Cross-Country Running teams place first at the Okanagan Championships in Summerland. The Senior Boys placed second. Both senior teams will go on to provincial championships.
• The Shuswap Swimming Team won 17 first-place medals at the Fourth Annual Fall Jamboree Swim Meet, held in Salmon Arm.
• Salmon Arm’s Cody Bell finished in the top 10 at the 2012 PING CCAA Golf National Championship held in Oshawa, Ont.
• The Salmon Arm Pee Wee Tier 2 SilverTips won the gold medal in a tournament held in Abbotsford.
• Al Oster, a Canadian singer/songwriter, achieved national acclaim when he won the Broadcast Music, Inc., BMI Canada Certificate of Honour Achievement Award for an outstanding contribution to Canadian music.
November
• Sturgis North Motorcycle Jamboree and Music Festival organizers announce that next year’s event will be held at Silvery Beach, located at Little Shuswap Lake on Neskonlith Band land.
• Salmon Arm RCMP discovered a marijuana grow operation in the 1700 block of 18th Avenue SE. A 54-year-old man is facing charges after police seized 2.5 kilograms of dried marijuana.
• Police are on the lookout for an older man driving a white GMC van who exposed his genitals in the parking lot of a business on Ross Street NE.
• Ellen Amos, a resident of Piccadilly Terrace, celebrates her 100th birthday with friends and family.
• Salmon Arm council agrees to turn a blind eye to an encroachment infraction at the new Hudson Street development downtown. Due to the extra width of Styrofoam that was used to help create the Tudor style of the building, two extra inches triggered an encroachment.
• Council crunched numbers for the 2013 budget and was able to drop taxpayers’ increase from 1.94 to 1.48 per cent. Much of the increase is due to the increased policing budget. Other initiatives include recycling for the downtown and a Fourth Street revitalization project.
• The Shuswap Hospital Foundation begins a fundraising campaign to help raise enough funds to buy items on the hospital wish list. The items at the top of the list include a panda warmer for newborn infants ($35,000), a portable ventilator ($40,000), a fetal monitor ($21,000), a $22,000 ECG machine, and $100,000 worth of endoscopes. This past year the foundation was able to raise enough for several of last year’s items thanks to contributions from the community.
• The SAGA Public Art Gallery hosts its annual Affordable Art Fair with an exhibition of 100 multi-media works by more than 20 local artists.
• The North Okanagan-Shuswap school district has allotted funds for six new school buses.
• Evan Smith, a Grade 6 student at Shuswap Middle School, won first place in the age nine to 12 category of a National Forest Week contest held by the Association of BC Forest Professionals and the Truck Loggers Association. Children were asked to submit works of art with the theme of what the forest means to them. There were more than 600 entries.
• A 20-year-old man and 21-year-old woman have been arrested with first-degree murder for the death of Tyler Myers whose body was found shot on the grounds of Bastion Elementary School four years ago. Both the accused were youth under 18 at the time of the murder so their names cannot be released under the Youth Criminal Justice Act.
• Salmon Arm speed skater Alyssa Skaalid, 17, won first place in all four of the events she entered at the New Gold November chill Speed Skating race held in Kamloops.
• Thirty-two rinks participated in the 17th Annual Canadian Cancer Society Fun Spiel. The theme this year was tropical with teams dressed up in grass skirts, leis, and beach attire.
• Salmon Arm SilverBacks won four games in a row with the team playing strong defence and getting great shots on goal.
December
• Salmon Arm council approved Salmon Arm Secondary students’ idea of drawing footprints on the sidewalks to connect the Sullivan and Jackson campuses. The students explained that there has been a disconnect between the campuses and see this as a way to reconnect.
• Downtown stores keep their doors open late through the holiday season so people can complete their Christmas shopping.
• Grade 6 students won first place in the dance category at the Seventh annual Western Canada RoboCup Junior Games held at Okanagan College’s Kelowna Campus. The students built two robots from scratch under the direction of their coach, Kim Webster. The team has a chance to compete at the world level competition held in the Netherlands.
• Stephanie Hall is announced as the new executive director for Okanagan Regional Library after Lesley Dieno stepped down with plans to retire.
• Salmon Arm’s own Jordan Grieve received three awards at the UBC Thunderbirds Football Awards Gala held in Vancouver. Grieve was recognized as the player that inspired the team the most. He also received the Courage to Casey Award for consistently demonstrating courage, discipline, commitment and dedication to the UBC Thunderbirds Football team. Grieve also accepted his helmet as a fifth-year player.