• A distinctive landmark sculpture for Marine Peace Park intended to create awareness of Secwépemc traditional territory received an enthusiastic response from Salmon Arm council. The Sxwesméllp Landmark will be located next to the entrance to the Salmon Arm Wharf. Shelley Witzky, an elected official with Adams Lake who has been instrumental in the Landmark and Trail Sign Project, and Libby Jay Chisholm, project coordinator, came to council to request final approval to install the landmark. They also provided updates to council, citing the success in getting a Heritage Legacy Fund grant of $10,000 to go towards story boards to accompany each installation that will portray Secwépemc location names, culture and stories.
• Organizers of this year’s Shake the Lake concert were feeling shaken themselves after receiving word from authorities that the show could not go on due to concerns about COVID-19. The free-floating concert was scheduled to take place at Cinnemousun Narrows on Saturday, Sept. 5. At 1 p.m. on Tuesday, Sept. 1, organizers of the boat-access-only event were notified by Interior Health that the show could not proceed. This notification followed an appeal to the province, initiated by the concert’s organizers after they received a letter from Interior Health on Aug. 7.
• Government partners behind the Sicamous-to-Armstrong Rail Trail were facing higher-than-expected development costs due to flooding over the summer and ongoing soil erosion. With the recent completion of technical design work, development of the rail trail was pegged at an estimated $22.9 million.
• When Thomas Hardy and four other firefighters, all of whom have worked together at B.C.’s rapattack base in Salmon Arm, announced they were planning to go in a 671-kilometre, 11-day, non-stop, outrigger canoing, paddle boarding, whitewater rafting, mountain biking, jungle trekking adventure race in the ‘World’s Toughest Race: Eco-Challenge Fiji,’ people they told were skeptical. They were one of four Canadian teams in the gruelling September 2019 race which included 66 teams from 30 countries.
• An outbreak of the native Western hemlock moth was reported in the Lower Mainland and in the Interior, including communities throughout the Columbia Shuswap Regional District. Lorraine Maclauchlan, a B.C. forests ministry entomologist, said outbreaks of the moth occur about every nine to 11 years in the Interior, and every 10 to 20 years along the Coast, and usually last between two and three years. Outbreaks of the moth typically occur in hemlock stands, but occasionally they will erupt among stands of Douglas fir – something that was seen this year.
• Firefighters with the Anglemont Fire Department were given another reason to reflect fondly upon 2019. The fire department was named the Columbia Shuswap Regional District’s (CSRD) Fire Department of the Year for 2019.
• While the 40th anniversary of the Marathon of Hope changed this year due to the coronavirus pandemic, that didn’t stop members of a Shuswap dragon boat team from holding their own version of the Terry Fox Run. On Sunday, Sept. 20, 18 members of the Friends Abreast team met at McGuire Lake in a socially distant manner to participate in their own Terry Fox Run and fundraiser. Spokesperson Liz Burdeniuk said with team members doing at least two laps of the lake, they were able to honour Terry Fox and catch up with teammates in a safe outdoor setting. Team online donations totalled $275 while in-person donations at the run were $690.
• The Adams Lake Band hosted a ground-breaking ceremony on Sept. 23 for a new housing subdivision project. Nestled against a hill overlooking the beauty of Little Shuswap Lake, the long-awaited project will include seven multi-unit lots, whose design will range from duplex to triplex to fourplex, as well as 15 single-unit residential lots.
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