lake country calendar, december 30, 2015

CONTRIBUTED

JUMP IN e Oyama volunteer re department and the Oyama Branch of the Royal Canadian Legion will be holding the annual Polar Bear Dip at noon on on New Years Day in Wood Lake, across the road from the Oyama Hall.Sign-up and pledge sheets are available at the Legion, Oyama General Store, and Woodsdale General Store. e pledges are in support of the Legion and BC Childrens Hospital. Hot chocolate will be available to everyone afterward, at the Legion.

Get ready for the big dip

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Inside

Year in ReviewSpecial people and what they did for Lake Country marked 2015..........................3-9

CalendarProudly ServingWinfield, Oyama,Okanagan Centreand Carrs Landingsince 1951

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December 30, 2015

KEVIN PARNELL

e acquisition of the old CN Rail corridor by Lake Country marks the most important event in what was a newsworthy year for the district which celebrated its 20th anniversary in 2015.

Mayor James Baker, whos council had to go to Lake Coun-try electors twice in 2015 to seek approval to borrow the necessary funds to help purchase the CN corridorin a failed alternative approval process before a landslide

victory in a referendumsays the acquisition of the corridor sets the table for Lake Countrys future.

I think it was a big step for-ward for us because as much as there was a negative to the pur-chase, we really are looking for-ward by that purchase, said Baker, in a year-end interview with the Lake Country Calendar. It will be an asset to the community and the whole valley for years to come.

As Baker said, the year start-ed with a bang with the failed AAP, where more than 10 per cent

of the community signed a peti-tion against the purchase of the CN corridor, which ultimately cost Lake Country $2.6 million as well as the $2.6 million it received from Kelowna. After the AAP failed, council decided to move to referendum, at about a $15,000 cost, and the borrowing bylaw was passed with 75 per cent of voters in favour of the move.

is was the biggest issue for Lake Country last year, said

CN Corridor acquisition top 2015 deal for district

James BakerSEE DISTRICT A3

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Lake Country Calendar Wednesday, December 30, 2015 www.lakecountrycalendar.com A3 A2 www.lakecountrycalendar.com Wednesday, December 30, 2015 Lake Country Calendar

Baker of the $22 mil-lion total purchase from CN. We were certain-ly pleased that it went through.

Amidst the ongoing CN corridor acquisi-tion, AAP and referen-dum, were a myriad of other issues surround-ing the community. Residents who were con-cerned with tax hikes saw the CN corridor purchase added to their tax bills and later in the year the Transportation For Tomorrow nancial plan adopted, with its tax hit coming over a 20-year period. At the close of the calendar, council was also contemplating a 2.85 per cent tax hike in 2016.

Were a growing community and people want the services, said Baker. We have in-creased the assets con-siderably with the amount of growth that we have so we dont have

KEVIN PARNELL

Plans are mov-ing ahead for the Lake Country Rotary Club to hand over the new food bank building to the Lake Country Food As-sistance Society with a presentation planned for Jan. 6 at 3:30 p.m.

Representatives of both the Rotary Club and the food assistance society will take part in a special ceremony that will be the rst step in moving the Lake Coun-try Food Bank to its permanent home.

e ceremony will take place with heavy hearts after the passing on Dec. 19 of longtime food bank manager and co-founder Phyllis Mac-Pherson.

We are all going to miss Phyllis - she was a unique and very passion-ate individual, said Ro-tarian Bob Rymarchuk, the driving force behind the new building. We were blessed that she chose to be such an im-portant part of our com-munity. Im sure Phyl-lis is resting much easi-er knowing that we were able to take this import-ant step: Ensuring the task she set out for her-self could be successful-ly carried on for the for-seeable future. What a legacy.

e journey to a new and permanent home for the Lake Country Food Bank was a a true com-munity e ort. In January 2015, the project won a $100,000 award from the Aviva Insurance com-pany and it was enough to bring the nish line into site for the Rotary

Club and the many com-munity partners. Once the Okanagan College trades program broke ground on the building the ball was rolling, while Rotary kept pushing for more donations and holding work parties.

At present the only two items that will re-main to be complet-ed will be the exterior siding on the building with work expected to be underway in early Janu-ary and the nish land-scaping including pav-ing of the parking area. ats scheduled for the spring or early summer of 2016.

e basement of the building remains un- nished and will not be used immediately.

At the ceremony, in-dividuals and businesses who made donations of money, materials, or ser-vices will receive special invitations to the hand-over. Over 250 people have made nancial do-nations.

One donor who pre-fers to remain anonym-ous gave $50,000, Ry-marchuk said.

Other signi cant grants have come from the Central Okanagan Foundation, Farm Credit Canada and the South-ern Interior Develop-ment Institute.

In total, Rotary re-ceived approximate-ly $400,000 in dona-tions and grants and over $250,000 in donated goods and services. Ac-cording to Rymarchuk, the building was valued at $1 million based on

Builders ready to hand over food bank keys

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Baker of the $22 mil-lion total purchase from CN. We were certain-ly pleased that it went through.

Amidst the ongoing CN corridor acquisi-tion, AAP and referen-dum, were a myriad of other issues surround-ing the community. Residents who were con-cerned with tax hikes saw the CN corridor purchase added to their tax bills and later in the year the Transportation For Tomorrow nancial plan adopted, with its tax hit coming over a 20-year period. At the close of the calendar, council was also contemplating a 2.85 per cent tax hike in 2016.

Were a growing community and people want the services, said Baker. We have in-creased the assets con-siderably with the amount of growth that we have so we dont have

to raise taxes to the ex-tent we used to have to. e tax rate isnt go-ing up excessively but enough to cover the ser-vices that we have. Our taxes are still the second lowest in the valley.maybe the lowest.

Late in 2015, Lake Country nally adopt-ed the nancial plan for its 20-year $30 mil-lion dollar Transporta-tion For Tomorrow Plan. e document lays the groundwork for the up-grade of Lake Coun-trys transportation net-work over the next two decades and will begin in 2016. e district has also begun work on an-other 20-year plan, look-ing at the parks and recreation amenities in Lake Country and will also work to renew its O cial Community Plan in 2016

Last year also saw ne-gotiations continue be-tween Lake Country and the Ministry of High-ways on the transfer of

the old Highway 97/Pelmewash Parkway to the district. ere was no public movement on the issue but Baker said he thinks the deal will be complete in 2016, giving Lake County ownership of the old highway and creating the potential for a recreational loop trail all around Wood Lake.

I think the min-istry and the district are pretty close to signing an agreement, said Baker about Pelmewash. We have been far apart but now we are much closer in terms of what we are asking to be done and what the province want-ed to spend.

With CN hav-ing until early 2017 to nish remediation work on the corridor and with no rm plans (or money stream) to de-velop Pelmewash, any open-to-the public route that combines those two stretches of land remains a long-term vision.

Five years from now

we will be looking at quite a di erent com-munity in terms of safe-ty for pedestrians and cyclists. We will be cyc-ling all around Wood Lake, if people want to, on safe cycling and ped-estrian paths once we get Pelmewash done and the corridor developed, said Baker, who added that the most important on-going work in 2016 will

be continuing to improve safety on district roads. Were continuing our day-to-day operations to bring in a budget that will see a lot more done. Were working on mak-ing it safer for people, not just on the main cor-ridors but around the schools.

[email protected]

DISTRICT OF LAKE COUNTRY

Baker looks back at the year that was 2015DISTRICT FROM A1

Club and the many com-munity partners. Once the Okanagan College trades program broke ground on the building the ball was rolling, while Rotary kept pushing for more donations and holding work parties.

At present the only two items that will re-main to be complet-ed will be the exterior siding on the building with work expected to be underway in early Janu-ary and the nish land-scaping including pav-ing of the parking area. ats scheduled for the spring or early summer of 2016.

e basement of the building remains un- nished and will not be used immediately.

At the ceremony, in-dividuals and businesses who made donations of money, materials, or ser-vices will receive special invitations to the hand-over. Over 250 people have made nancial do-nations.

One donor who pre-fers to remain anonym-ous gave $50,000, Ry-marchuk said.

Other signi cant grants have come from the Central Okanagan Foundation, Farm Credit Canada and the South-ern Interior Develop-ment Institute.

In total, Rotary re-ceived approximate-ly $400,000 in dona-tions and grants and over $250,000 in donated goods and services. Ac-cording to Rymarchuk, the building was valued at $1 million based on

Builders ready to hand over food bank keys

industry standard cost of construction for a build-ing of similar size and he added the completion of the project is the culmin-ation of so many e orts.

For our Rotary Club, the project was always about nding a perma-nent home for the food bank, he said. Our prime concern was to ensure that they could continue to ful ll their mandate without con-tinually worrying about where they were go-ing to be operating from. We felt that this dedicat-ed group of volunteers deserved a much bet-ter workplace than where they were located. We are very grateful to all the individuals and or-ganizations who donat-ed funds, volunteers who helped work on the pro-ject and the many busi-nesses who donated time and materials - everyone pitched in and made this happen.

[email protected]

Food bank forever home

SEE FOOD BANK A3

FOOD BANK FROM A2

SEE YEAR IN REVIEW A6

news news

OKIB OPTED OUT OF RAIL CORRIDOR PLANNING

While the commun-ities of Lake Coun-try, Kelowna and North Okanagan Regional District went full steam ahead with plans to pur-chase and now develop the old CN Rail corri-dor, the Okanagan Indi-an Band (OKIB) took a di erent stance, opting out of taking part in the purchase or the develop-ment of a corridor that passed through one of its reserves as well as much of its traditional territory.

e OKIB went to B.C. Supreme Court to ask for an injunction on the sale and purchase agreement. But the in-junction was dismissed in June making room for the sale of the corridor to go through.

B.C. Supreme Court Justice Meyers ruled that the OKIB claim does not meet the three-part test that merits an in-junction, rejecting it on the grounds that there would be no irrepar-able harm if the injunc-tion were not granted and that the balance of convenience does not weigh in favour of an in-junction.

OKIB chief Byron Louis, who from the out-set said his band would not support the acquisi-tion of the rail corridor, claimed the traditional OKIB land the rail line was built on was suppos-ed to be handed back to the OKIB when its life as a rail line was over.

We havent changed our position since 1893, said Louis. A lot of people dont know the history, especially in the

Okanagan. ere are so many di erent facts not settled on this issue. ats why we led the injunction.

But the BC Supreme Court threw out the OKIB injunction claims. With the communities in the clear to purchase the corridor, they again invited OKIB to the table as a member of the development team. But at the close of the calen-dar, OKIB was holding rm on its position, say-ing it will not take part with the other jurisdic-tions.

2015 also saw the OKIB continue its ef-forts to have live ordin-ances removed from parts of its reserves in an issue that the band said has been ignored by the federal government.

OKIB land was used as a training and test-ing ground by the Can-adian government dat-ing back to before the World Wars and to this day there are many un-exploded ordinances on OKIB land that will take millions of dollars to be cleaned up, according to OKIB.

As far as were con-cerned we have a con-

tract with the De-partment of Nation-al Defense that said they would clean up (the or-dinances) once they were done with those sites, said Louis. is is a $200 million dollar clean up and they have been putting $1 million to-wards it each year. At this rate it would take 200 years to clean up and thats unacceptable.

Louis said there are two di erent areas of OKIB reserves that were used for training: A 6,000 acre site in the Goose Lake range west of Vernon and 2,000 acres near Round Lake.

PARENTS STOOD FIRM ON SCHOOL CATCHMENT AREAS

Lake Country parents squared o over catch-ment areas for the three elementary schools in the district in February at an emotional Central Okanagan School Board meeting on the topic.

After hearing from parents, as well as ac-cepting two petitions with nearly 800 sig-natures combined, the school board trustees de-cided to go back to the drawing board in its at-

tempts to change the catchment areas.

Close to 100 people attended the regular meeting of the school board, which was moved to a larger location. Trustees heard pres-entations from parents representing the Oyama Traditional School as well as the Lakes sub-division as the issue of how to deal with over-crowding at David-son Road Elementary in Lake Country took cen-tre stage.

e issue of how to solve the over-crowding at Davidson continued through the year and in November, after a ser-

ies of public consultation meetings, two options for the new catchment areas were presented to the public.

Both options are very similar and would re-dir-ect students living in the southwest quadrant of Lake Country (south of Seaton Road and west of the highway) who are currently in the David-son Road catchment to Peter Greer Elementary. Students in the Woods-dale Flats area would be sent to Oyama Trad-itional School as op-posed to their cur-

YEAR IN REVIEW

What happened in Lake Country through 2015

CONTRIBUTED

OKANAGAN Indian Band chief Byron Louis, on the old CN corridor which pass-es through the OKIB Commonage reserve.

CALENDAR FILE

OYAMA Traditional School Parent Advisory Council president Ashley Brain speaking on catchment areas.

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Duck! Here comes another year! I just barely got myself used to writing 2015, and now I have to learn to write 2016.

e calendar makes the transition from one year to another so arbi-traryat exactly12 mid-night, on Dec. 31, the year changes over.

Astronomically, the changeover should prob-ably have come at the winter solstice, the short-est day of the year in the northern hemisphere, the beginning of a new cycle of four seasons. But that exact moment would be much harder to

de nethe di erence in length between the day before and the day after is about one second.

As I write this col-umn, the weather chan-nel tells me that tomor-row will be six seconds longer than today was. Its hardly going to make waking up in the dark much easier.

Transitions fascinate me. Linguist James Har-beck introduced me to the word limen which means, in its origin-al Latin, a threshold, a crossing over.

We had a limen in October, when one gov-ernment replaced an-other. Climate scientists fear we may have crossed another limen, a thresh-old, beyond which glo-bing warming acquires a momentum of its own.

I heard a hydrologist refer to limenologymeasuring the move-ment of underground water ows. You can measure dry soil here, and wet soil therebut its almost impossible to

QThe Lake Country Calendar welcomes letters to the editor intended for publi-cation but reserves the right to edit for brevity, clarity, legality, personal abuse, accuracy, good taste and topi-cality. All letters published remain the property of the the Lake Country Calendar, which is the sole judge of suitability for publication. Pen names will not be used other than in exceptional cir-cumstances, which must first be agreed on by the Lake Country Calendar. Anonymous letters will not be consid-ered for publica-tion. To assist in verifi-cation, addresses and telephone num-bers must be sup-plied, but will not be published.

We want to hear your

opinions on issues going

on in our communityThe death of former B.C. premier Bill

Bennett on Dec. 4 prompted the traditional round of polite tributes.

He was the man from Kelowna who remade Vancouver, with Sky-Train, BC Place stadium and Expo 86 to put the city on the world map. He won three major-ity governments before handing over the steer-ing wheel of a smooth-ly running Social Cred-it Party to Bill Vander Zalm.

Outside B.C., the wire service obituaries ran to a few paragraphs, de n-ing Bennett rst as the architect of nancial re-straint in the province.

It seems an ordinary notion today, but when Bennett unleashed his restraint program on the B.C. government in 1983, it was presented as a right-wing coup on a socialist utopia.

I was in journal-ism school in Vancou-ver when unions organ-ized a general strike and

mass street demonstra-tions under the banner of Operation Solidarity, appropriated from the struggle against Polands communist dictators. eir goal was to bring the recently re-elected government to its knees.

e newly tabloid Vancouver Province, it-self largely controlled by some of B.C.s most militant unions, was a screeching banshee of the big-labour left.

Socred hitmen swoop on rights workers, its front page declared after 400 layo notices were issued to provincial sta . is propaganda was the

publics guide and my professional role model.

A bit of background: e B.C. economy was in the grip of an inter-national recession, hit-ting resource industries and government rev-enues hard.

Bennett had ousted the Dave Barrett NDP government in 1975, but the legacy lived on. Dur-ing its three-year reign, for example, education spending increased 13 per cent in the rst year and 23 per cent in each of the next two.

e blitz of restraint legislation reasserted governments author-ity to control the size and wages of provincial sta , reinstated the provinces ability to pay, eliminat-ed various boards, and increased the provincial sales tax to seven per cent to pay the bills.

Another Bill Bennett legacy was dismantling the monopoly choke-hold of big international unions on public heavy construction.

Growing up in north-

eastern B.C., I had seen the impressive pay for jobs on highway con-struction, about twice what I earned labour-ing for a non-union con-tractor doing city work.

A couple of friends discovered the inside track to securing labour-ing jobs on a provin-cially-funded highway project. After joining the union, those in the know could visit a busi-ness agent and hand over $500 cash. Within days, the lucky winner would be name requested to join the crew, vaulting over those who thought paying dues and working their way up the senior-ity list would be enough.

is struggle over public construction con-tinues today, with BC Hydros decision to make the Site C dam an open shop. e main contract was awarded to a consor-tium working with the Christian Labour Asso-ciation of Canada, an al-ternative union known by more colourful names among old-line building

trades.After graduating from

journalism school, I landed my rst full-time job as a reporter for the Kelowna Capital News, shortly before Bennett announced his retire-ment from the premiers o ce to nish his term as a backbench MLA.

Bennett and I would sometimes arrive for work together, parking our rusty 1976 Chevro-lets on Bernard Avenue, where he kept an o ce above the family furni-ture store.

I found out later that Bennetts modest old sedan was the govern-ment-issue car he had used during his entire 10 years as premier.

e party bought it for him as a humourous retirement gift, and he continued to drive it to work. No frills. at was Bill Bennett.

Tom Fletcher is legisla-ture reporter and columnist for Black Press.

t [email protected]

PROVINCIAL ISSUES

Passages of 2015: Bill Bennett

BC ViewsTom Fletcher

opinion

Science of transitions

SEE TAYLOR A5

Life and FaithJim Taylor

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Practically everyone is immersed in the Christmas/New Years holiday season. It is impossible to avoid the lights, bows, bells and garland strung all over town.

Every store has holi-day displays, holiday products, holiday sales and did I mention the holiday music?

Its been playing from every loudspeaker you pass.

For many, this season is a welcome one. We add some warmth and cheer to a dark and chilly time of year.

When we manage to get out of the stores, there is a renewed focus on family, friends, giving and celebrating.

It can be a wonderful season for those fortun-ate enough to have close relationships and some time and money to spare.

ere are those for whom the holidays are a particularly di cult time of year though, and a little sensitivity could go a long way to making the season less stressful.

Holidays are stress-ful for those living in poverty. Everywhere there is a focus on spend-ing to give your chil-dren and family gifts and treats.

e pressure to par-ticipate can be intenseleading to overspending and nancial di culty for those on the edge or guilt and shame for those who simply cant a ord extras.

For those experien-cing grief and loss, the holidays can be a par-ticularly painful time of

Holiday dif cult for some

@tom etcherbc


de nethe di erence in length between the day before and the day after is about one second.

As I write this col-umn, the weather chan-nel tells me that tomor-row will be six seconds longer than today was. Its hardly going to make waking up in the dark much easier.

Transitions fascinate me. Linguist James Har-beck introduced me to the word limen which means, in its origin-al Latin, a threshold, a crossing over.

We had a limen in October, when one gov-ernment replaced an-other. Climate scientists fear we may have crossed another limen, a thresh-old, beyond which glo-bing warming acquires a momentum of its own.

I heard a hydrologist refer to limenologymeasuring the move-ment of underground water ows. You can measure dry soil here, and wet soil therebut its almost impossible to

opinion

To the editor:I would like to suggest to those con-

cerned, that the new building of the Lake Country Food Assistance Society be formally named e Phyllis Mac-Pherson Building.

I have known Phyllis for a number of years and have deeply appreciated the depth of her commitment as a cit-izen, a volunteer, and a Christian to ful- lling Jesus commandment to feed the hungry. Her deep sense of the import-ance of this ministry, and her dedica-

tion to making it happen over the past 30 some years would be recognized by such an action.

We have schools and parks and other facilities named for citizens in Lake Country, so it would not be out of place to name this new community facility in memory of one of the most important forces that brought it into being.

Rev. Arthur Gans,Lake Country

Honour Phyllis by naming food bank building in her memory

INSPIRATION

de ne exactly where wet turns to dry, or vice versa.

Harbeck illustrat-ed his concept photo-graphically: Where does a lighted area shade o into darkness?

Limens are often vague, unclear. Unlike calendars and govern-ments, there are few hard transitions in life. Or love. When is that mo-ment when attraction becomes infatuation? When a relationship turns into a life commit-ment? Maybe there isnt one.

We know about micro truths. Every toss of a coinprovided the coin is not arti cially weight-edhas an equal chance of coming up heads or tails. We also know the macro truthin a mil-lion tosses, the propor-tion of each will come up in nitely close to 50/50.

But we persist in thinking that if weve tossed seven heads in a row, the next one should come up tails.

Not so. e coin has no memory. It doesnt keep track of previous

tosses. No matter what has already happened, every toss has exactly the same chance of coming up heads or tails.

So where does the micro probability shade into the macro probabil-ity?

Epidemiologists can predict with consider-able accuracy how many Canadian men will have a heart attack this year. ey cannot translate that into the micro level, to say that this man will have a heart attack in 2016.

Christians of the evangelical tradition tend to expect sharp transi-tions. At some point, you turn your life over to Jesus. Many Christians can give you the precise date and time of their conversion.

I believe that most conversions take place much more gradual-ly. Understandings that have been nagging at the back corners of con-sciousness become more insistent, more demand-ing. Until one day, to your own surprise, you nd that your religious faith really matters to

you.Or equally, nd that

it doesnt matter to you anymore.

Sometimes we only know that we have crossed some kind of threshold after the fact.

Just as we wont rec-ognize longer days for some weeks yet.

Jim Taylor lives in Lake Country.

[email protected]

Where, exactly, do monumental changes begin?

SENSITIVE TIME OF YEAR

We all know that the roads in the district are deteriorating quick-ly. As many of you will be aware, the district put forward a 20-year plan for maintaining our road network while planning for future growth, called Transportation For To-morrow.

Some of the costs are covered by Develop-ment Cost Charge, de-velopers paying for up-grades to support their new developments and grants. e balance has to be raised through taxes to the tune of $1.15 million/year. ere is no question that this is a big task but we have put o this di cult decision as long as we can.After much discussion and de-bate, council has passed a funding formula that we feel is the fairest possible solution.

e following is the approved funding mod-el for Transportation for Tomorrow:

2016 will see each of the approximately 5300 parcels of land pay a par-cel tax $125. ere is no discrepancy for val-ues or size. is is the only funding requested in 2016.

2017 will see the continuation of the $125 parcel tax as well as a property tax (for refer-ence, every $100,000 of assessed value would equal $7, therefore a total of $160 for a $500,000 house)

2018 would be the $125 parcel tax and property tax (residential will be $14 per $100,000 in assessed value, for a total of $195 for a $500,000 house)

2019 would be the $125 parcel tax and property tax (residential will be $21 per $100,000 in assessed value, for an overall annual total of $230 for a $500,000 house.)

ese funds will be used solely for the trans-portation for tomorrow plan and will be identi- ed on all tax notices on a separate line item.

While there is no per-fect solution and some people will be unhappy with the results, I sup-ported this plan as the best and fairest option.RAIL TRAIL UPDATE

We are all eager to see the rail trail open.While it may seem that noth-ing is going on, there is a lot of background work happenings in coordina-tion the 120-plus assem-bled properties. Right now the district and the Inter-jurisdictional De-velopment Team are still dealing with the admin-istration of the lands, de-velopment of consistent policies, theremoval of tracks and ties, and the environmental remedi-ation. Once these items have been completed, discussions and extensive public consultation re-garding the overall plans will take place.

e rail remov-al crew has been work-ing along the east side of Wood Lake and have made it to Cli Rd. ey have broken o for the Christmas Season and will return sometime around January 7th. I will let you know when they are back and ap-proaching Oyama Rd.

COMMUNITY GARDENNow that the days are

getting longer again and seed catalogues are com-ing out, many people are starting to think about getting their hands dirty. If you have a gardener without a garden in your family, why not give the gift that keeps on giving? A plot at the Oyama Community Garden. ere are plots available so call Marj at 250-548-3837 or email [email protected] for more in-formation or to reserve a plot.POLAR BEAR SWIM

Jan. 1, noonFeel the need to start

the New Year with a heart stopping experi-ence? Something that will give you goose bumps for weeks to come? Come to the beach across from the Oyama Community Club and plunge in with both feet to the Oyama Legion Polar Bear Swim.

For those that are weak of heart, you can just watch.

As another year ends and a new one begins, from the Dickie house-hold to you and yours,

Happy New Year.

Report from the Oyama ward director

Councillors ReportOwen Dickie

TAYLOR FROM 4

Practically everyone is immersed in the Christmas/New Years holiday season. It is impossible to avoid the lights, bows, bells and garland strung all over town.

Every store has holi-day displays, holiday products, holiday sales and did I mention the holiday music?

Its been playing from every loudspeaker you pass.

For many, this season is a welcome one. We add some warmth and cheer to a dark and chilly time of year.

When we manage to get out of the stores, there is a renewed focus on family, friends, giving and celebrating.

It can be a wonderful season for those fortun-ate enough to have close relationships and some time and money to spare.

ere are those for whom the holidays are a particularly di cult time of year though, and a little sensitivity could go a long way to making the season less stressful.

Holidays are stress-ful for those living in poverty. Everywhere there is a focus on spend-ing to give your chil-dren and family gifts and treats.

e pressure to par-ticipate can be intenseleading to overspending and nancial di culty for those on the edge or guilt and shame for those who simply cant a ord extras.

For those experien-cing grief and loss, the holidays can be a par-ticularly painful time of

year. When everyone else is

gathering and celebrat-ing, it can be extra lonely and a sad reminder of an absent loved one.

ose living with strained or broken family relationships also have a di cult time during the holidays.

Some families no longer get together to celebrate because of pre-vious disastrous at-tempts and others per-sist through tense gath-erings.

Families may continue to try to make it work because they wish things were di erent.

Sometimes it is bet-ter to start new traditions less fraught with con ict.

When dealing with separation or divorce, the holidays can create com-plication.

Scheduling parental visits can be stressful for both parents and chil-dren and can become a battleground for control.

In blended families, the holidays can bring out and magnify tensions that are already there.

Even when everyone is getting along, the holi-days can be stressful.

Simply the pressure to entertain can be over-

whelming for some. When gatherings feel

like an obligation, the stress and anxiety sur-rounding them can out-weigh the joy.

Individuals dealing with depression can also have a hard time during the holidays.

Co-workers, friends and family often expect them to simply buck up, take part and be cheerful.

Depression causes a loss of interest in enjoy-able activities and can also mean excessive fa-tigue and irritability as well as a lack of motiv-ation.

It can be almost im-possible to fake it and sometimes trying to do just makes things worse.

We can all help one another to get through this season with as much joy and as little stress as possible with a little sensitivity.

If your schedule is too full, nd a gracious way to decline an extra ac-tivity and make time for something quieter and more peaceful.

If you have a lonely friend or co-worker con-sider inviting them out for a holiday meal or ac-tivity.

If you are able to spare some time or money this season, consider con-tributing to one of the worthy organizations helping the less fortunate in our community.

I wish you all a happy and healthy holiday sea-son.

Norm Letnick is the Liberal MLA for Kelow-na-Lake Country and the provincial minister of agriculture.

Holiday dif cult for some

MLAs ReportNorm Letnick

200-1455 Ellis Street, Kelowna250-861-5678

David P. YeremaLawyer

Civil Litigation Services

FREE CONSULTATION


news

KEVIN TROWBRIDGE/CONTRIBUTED

OUTGOING Creekside eatre manager Horst Jassmann was given a surprise send o late in 2015 with performances by some of his favourite acts.

After 16 years under the stellar guidance of long-time theatre man-ager Horst Jassmann, the Creekside eatre in Lake Country saw a changing of the guard in 2015 with the an-nouncement that Jass-mann would retire when his contract was up and the theatre was going to be under new manage-ment.

After a search for a re-placement, Lake Coun-try announced its new

cultural development coordinator was well known Okanagan musi-cian Ryan Donn.

A Kelowna city coun-cillor, long-time Oka-nagan Valley musician and a former George El-liot Secondary School student, Donn was hired as the person respon-sible for the coordina-tion of the theatre, open air performances, pub-lic art supervision and other cultural and herit-age events.

Jassmann was the rst and only manager in Creeksides 16 year his-tory and late in the year his e orts were recog-nized with a surprise evening of entertainment honouring Jassmann.

At the event Donn said he would be con-tinuing the legacy that Jassmann built in the community theatre while Jassman urged Lake Country to continue to support the arts.

Jassman 16 years at Creekside

our practice. Were do-ing everything we can to set it up.

FAMILY DONATES MARSH TO DUCKS UNLIMITED

Known local-ly as Marsh Lake, Joyce Young and her two sons, David and Rob-ert Young, made the joint decision to donate their marshland property to Ducks Unlimited Can-ada (DUC) to safeguard its future in a process that ended in November.

Recognizing the wet-lands importance to wildlife and concerned about the ongoing loss of wetland habitat in the Okanagan valley, the Youngs donated two parcels of marshland to Ducks Unlimited.

is is what we wanted, we are very happy about it, said Joyce Young. Were very pleased we could do it and proud and we hope everybody can enjoy it.

e Young and Lloyd families, which settled in Oyama in the early days of the communitys es-tablishment more than a century ago,were grant-ed the parcels of land in the 1930s, when a per-iod of severe drought ex-tending across the coun-try saw the wetland su -ciently dried out to allow it to be farmed. e rich land, known as Marsh

Lake, was cultivated in oats and potatoes, and cattle were driven to and from their summer graz-ing lands along the wet-lands edge.

e two families were eventually joined through marriage, and the Young family con-tinued to reside next to the marsh. By the time Joyce Young, now age 96, married Richard Young in the summer of 1950, wetter conditions had re-turned, and the marsh was again proli c with wildlife.

Now 96, Joyce, whose children and grandchil-dren learned to skate on the wetland, said the family wanted to pre-serve the area rather than see it developed.

YEAR IN REVIEW

Marsh donated to preserve species

CONTRIBUTED

JOYCE YOUNG with sons Robert (left) and David, holding the donor awards they received from Ducks Unlimited Canada after giving a parcel of land to the organization to preserve it. YEAR IN REVIEW A8

YEAR IN REVIEW A6

news

rent catchment of Peter Greer.

e school board will again hear the recom-mendations and hold whats expected to be a nal vote in January.

PHYLLIS MACPHERSONPhyllis MacPherson

was put on this earth to feed people.

She knew it and any-one that met her knew it as well.

One of the origin-al founders of the Lake Country Food Bank passed away peaceful-ly in Kelowna hospital on Dec. 19, after more than 30 years of feeding people in Lake Country in her own unique and beautiful way.

She knew it was Gods will to feed people. at was her job, said friend Joy Haxton days after her passing.

As the face of the Lake Country Food Bank, MacPherson led an organization of dedi-cated volunteers to feed-ing as many as 600 fam-ilies in a month as the food bank found its way to a variety of temporary homes over the years.

It began in a small house and moved sever-al times to its current lo-cation in the old Win- eld Elementary School where freezers were jammed with food and Phyllis made her home, taking care of her people.

After years of battling in cramped locations, the Rotary Club had nal-ly completed the new Lake Country Food Bank building and as it made plans to hand over the building as the best Christmas present ever, MacPhersons health took a turn for the worse.

Over the years Mac-

Pherson was honoured with many awards for her volunteerism and ef-forts in Lake Country and across Canada.

But she never want-ed the credit and always spoke about the love she felt in her community.

It is just awesome. My community is the best there is, she once

told the Lake Country Calendar. Its the best place to live. is com-munity has always been good to us. We have plenty of volunteers. Were a small little place here but we get a lot of support.

MacPhersons legacy will live on in the new and permanent home for the food bank which will be handed over to the Lake Country Food As-sistance Society Jan. 6.

Phyllis MacPherson was 78 and was pre-de-ceased by her husband Ian, who passed away

two years ago, also at Chrismas time.

KANGAROO FARM DEALT WITH GROWTH

Incredible and con-tinued growth meant a season of change at the Kangaroo Creek Farm in 2015, probably the busi-est and most popular tourist attraction in the Central Okanagan, let alone Lake Country.

Nestled o of Lake Countrys main street, Kangaroo Creek Farm saw some 100,000 visitors this year, for-cing owners to nd more parking and institute a set admission fee for the rst time ever.

In November the Kangaroo Creek Farm and the District of Lake Country entered into a lease agreement for the parking lot at the cor-ner of Main Street and Hill Road in down-town Win eld to create at least 28 parking stalls, the number required of the farm according to Lake Country bylaws.

Parking at the farm had become an issue due to its phenomen-al growth since it opened in 2012. Many people parked in business-es around the area and along Main Street but district bylaws call for businesses to have their own dedicated lot.

Caroline MacPher-son said while it would cost them a signi cant

amount, she was hopeful it eases concern of any-one who thinks parking was an issue.

Expansion plans are ongoing at the farm which will open again for spring break.

DOCTOR SHORTAGEWith a shortage of

family doctors continu-ing in Lake Country the Lake Country Health Centre put togeth-er a proposal to Interior Health on a new way of providing health care in the community.

Dr. Tim Murphy said the facilitywith four family practicesand the community, would be much better o as a multi-disciplinary facility where patients could not only see a doctor but also where health special-ists and nurse practition-ers would be available for patients to see as a the rst point of contact.

We have been ad-vertising in every jour-nal provincially and na-tionally and have had residents come in and be taught here, explained Murphy, who said many people in Lake Coun-try dont have a family doctor and all four prac-tices in the district are jammed full. We have not had a physician that wants to come and re-locate here. I think its a commentary that many physicians dont want to come to this style of

practice. ey want to work in a di erent set-ting and in di erent kinds of primary care.

Murphy said many new doctors are look-ing for a di erent set-ting than the tradition-al family practice where a physician carries a lot of overhead with sta and costs of running a large practice adding new doc-tors also have plenty of choice with shortages right across the country.

And with three of the remaining ve doctors (two of them split one practice) in Lake Coun-try over the age of 58, time is of the essence to either nd new doctors or a new system.

All of our physicians have been here for dec-ades and everyone of them feels a respons-ibility to the commun-ity we live in, said Mur-phy, who has been work-ing in Lake Country since 1984. For me its been a great job and con-tinues to be a great job but looking at the vol-ume of people that need care and the fact were not able to provide some for the support, we need to look down the road. All the physicians here are not leaving and are committed to nding a solution but wed like to hope down the road, when we retire, there is better health care system as opposed to closing

YEAR IN REVIEW

Many passages were marked throughout 2015YEAR IN REVIEW A3

LAKE COUNTRY CALENDAR FILE

THE community of Lake County was saddened in December with the news Phyllis MacPherson had passed away peaceful-ly on Dec. 19. e long-time food bank manager and the driving force be-hind its inception, Mac-Pherson was 78. ose who remembered her re-called her great spirit and energy.


LAKE COUNTRYS Kangaroo Creek Farm made a huge jump in visitor numbers in 2015, necessitating big changes. Pictured is 3-year-old Stella Flach admir-ing an Alexandrian parakeet.




DR. Tim Murphy of the Lake Country Health Centre said a new way of providing health care must be found to deal with a doctor shortage in Lake Country.

YEAR IN REVIEW A7

ChristmasT r e e C h i p p i n g

LAKE COUNTRY:Jack Seaton Park

1950 Camp Road parking lot

Please remove all decorations, tinsel and bags used for transporting the tree.

For more information call the Waste Reduction Office 250-469-6250

Fre

e Drop-off December 26

to January 31


news



After 16 years under the stellar guidance of long-time theatre man-ager Horst Jassmann, the Creekside eatre in Lake Country saw a changing of the guard in 2015 with the an-nouncement that Jass-mann would retire when his contract was up and the theatre was going to be under new manage-ment.

After a search for a re-placement, Lake Coun-try announced its new

cultural development coordinator was well known Okanagan musi-cian Ryan Donn.

A Kelowna city coun-cillor, long-time Oka-nagan Valley musician and a former George El-liot Secondary School student, Donn was hired as the person respon-sible for the coordina-tion of the theatre, open air performances, pub-lic art supervision and other cultural and herit-age events.

Jassmann was the rst and only manager in Creeksides 16 year his-tory and late in the year his e orts were recog-nized with a surprise evening of entertainment honouring Jassmann.

At the event Donn said he would be con-tinuing the legacy that Jassmann built in the community theatre while Jassman urged Lake Country to continue to support the arts.

Jassman 16 years at Creekside

our practice. Were do-ing everything we can to set it up.

FAMILY DONATES MARSH TO DUCKS UNLIMITED

Known local-ly as Marsh Lake, Joyce Young and her two sons, David and Rob-ert Young, made the joint decision to donate their marshland property to Ducks Unlimited Can-ada (DUC) to safeguard its future in a process that ended in November.

Recognizing the wet-lands importance to wildlife and concerned about the ongoing loss of wetland habitat in the Okanagan valley, the Youngs donated two parcels of marshland to Ducks Unlimited.

is is what we wanted, we are very happy about it, said Joyce Young. Were very pleased we could do it and proud and we hope everybody can enjoy it.

e Young and Lloyd families, which settled in Oyama in the early days of the communitys es-tablishment more than a century ago,were grant-ed the parcels of land in the 1930s, when a per-iod of severe drought ex-tending across the coun-try saw the wetland su -ciently dried out to allow it to be farmed. e rich land, known as Marsh

Lake, was cultivated in oats and potatoes, and cattle were driven to and from their summer graz-ing lands along the wet-lands edge.

e two families were eventually joined through marriage, and the Young family con-tinued to reside next to the marsh. By the time Joyce Young, now age 96, married Richard Young in the summer of 1950, wetter conditions had re-turned, and the marsh was again proli c with wildlife.

Now 96, Joyce, whose children and grandchil-dren learned to skate on the wetland, said the family wanted to pre-serve the area rather than see it developed.

YEAR IN REVIEW

Marsh donated to preserve species

CONTRIBUTED

JOYCE YOUNG with sons Robert (left) and David, holding the donor awards they received from Ducks Unlimited Canada after giving a parcel of land to the organization to preserve it. YEAR IN REVIEW A8

YEAR IN REVIEW A6

KELOWNA/LAKE COUNTRY

Shawn Giesbrecht, Pat Z., Ken Carr,

Don Rae, Colin King, Joanne Kofoed,

Petrina Koltun, Chris Docksteader, Jeff Schall

250-766-3300 250-860-3355

Thank you so much for your patronage

throughout the year and All the Best in 2016!

www.divisionsbc.ca/cod

Monitor your health conditionsHave all your medical historyAdvocate and help you navigatethe healthcare systemBe proactive in your health

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CalendarProudly ServingProudly ServingCalendarProudly ServingCalendarWinfield, Oyama,Winfield, Oyama,Okanagan CentreOkanagan Centreand Carrs Landingand Carrs Landingsince 1951



Teresa Huscroft-Brown

Advertising Representative250.766.4688, ext. 7329

fax: 250.862.5275email: [email protected]

Look to the pages of the Lake CountryCalendar for information about great events happening in our community! If youd like to talk about how advertising in the Lake Country Calendar can help your business or community event, please call or email me and Id be delighted to meet with you.


As the community of Lake Country celebrated 20 years since it incor-porated as a municipal-ity, a unique public art project to celebrate Lake Country came to frui-tion.

e 20th anniversary mosaic mural project was built and constructed along the south wall of the Win eld Memorial Hall to celebrate the dis-tricts 20th anniversary.

Artists Chris Malm-

kvist and Rose Braun helped guide the process on the mosaic style pro-ject, a collaborative ef-fort by the two local art-ists as well as hundreds of community members.

e mural features two distinct sides, one featuring signs from the community done by Braun while the other is a landscape por-trait including a kayak-er on Okanagan Lake by Malmkvist.

Residents painted 480 separate, smaller pieces

to represent the land-scape while 21 larger pieces were put togeth-er to form the side repre-senting new and old signs from around the Central Okanagan,

Together they form a unique and collective art project the likes Lake Country has ever seen and certainly the piece of art that has had the most public participation.

COPS FOR KIDSOnly one word de-

scribed the annual Cops for Kids ride that Lake Country RCMP Con-st. Brandwyn Rigby took

part in in 2015: Awe-some.

Rigby and a group of mounties raised some serious coin for fam-ilies in need during the 10 day, 1,000 kilometre Cops For Kids bike ride that she took part in this year. Over $350,000 for the organization that helps kids and families in need.

From her ascent of the 1,575 metre Paulson Summit near Castlegar, to riding in 38 de-gree heat in Oliver and through hail and a two degree chill in Cran-brook, to riding through her home detachment

in Lake Country, there wasnt a part of the Cops for Kids ride that Rigby didnt love.

Awesome is prob-ably the best word and in all the ways that awe-some means: Humbling, awe inspiring, amazing, she said. We had a lot of laughs and there were tears. ere were a lot of high highs and low lows. We experienced the full spectrum, physically and emotionally.

e Cops for Kids an-nual fundraising ride takes place each year and raises funds for the RC-MPs charitable organiz-ation. As the riders made

stops in di erent com-munities in the region, families who have been helped by Cops for Kids came out to share their stories.

at was the hum-bling part, she said. We met families who were there to say thank-you so much because in our time of need you had our back. We heard some pretty amazing stor-ies from people who just needed some help.

HIGHWAY DIVIDERSAfter yet another

year of serious crash-es on Highway 97 be-

tween Lake Country and Kelowna, the province spent $2.5 million to in-stall a middle merid-ian between the turno for the UBC Okanagan campus and Common-wealth Road in Lake Country.

A total of nine kilo-metres will be installed in two phases, with the rst, 7.5-kilometres be-tween UBCO and just north of Duck Lake completed. e second phase, a 1.5-kilometre stretch, has several busi-ness accesses along it and will be the subject of public consultation. It is expected to be complete by early 2016.

e work, an-nounced by local MLAs Norm Letnick (Kelow-na-Lake Country) and Steve omson (Kelow-na-Mission) Friday came just hours after a serious crash the highway just north of Kelowna where a car and a truck collided after the cars driver at-tempted to do a U-turn on the road. If the medi-ans had been in place, such a move would not have been possible.

FISH REBOUND e year 2015 was a

good year for the Wood Lake kokanee shery.

Considered one of the top kokanee shing lakes in the world, Wood Lake had su ered dwindling numbers since 2001.

But after limiting

YEAR IN REVIEW

Inspiration came from many directions in Lake Country

news

YEAR IN REVIEW A7


CONTRACTORS Larry Van Kampen (left) and Deren Sentesy work to put up the rst of 21 large and 480 small pieces of the 20th anniversary mural project on the Win eld Memorial Hall.

CONTRIBUTED

LAKE COUNTRY RCMP Const. Brandwyn Rigby (waving) leads the annual Cops for Kids ride back into her home jurisdiction as she conquered the 10-day, 1,000 kilometre ride.

YEAR IN REVIEW A9

A division of


news

the shing opportun-ity in the lake, the 2015 fall survey showed ko-kanee numbers were up in Wood Lake as well as in Kalamalka and Oka-nagan Lakes.

Its really positive, said Hillary Ward, sh-eries stock assessment biologist with the Min-istry of Forests, Lands and Natural Resource Operations.

More than 20,000 ko-kanee returned to spawn in Middle Vernon Creek this year, the lakes main tributary. is is a two-fold increase from previ-ous years.

ey are getting bet-ter and were seeing get back to historic levels, said Ward.

As a result, the min-istry will permit a sh-ery on Wood Lake from April 1 to Aug. 31, 2016.

WALC PATHWAY e community group

Walk Around Lake Country completed an-other safe pathway pro-ject in November, in-stalling a gravel pathway along Woodsdale Road, leading up to the inter-section with Highway 97 at the south end of Lake Country.

e volunteer group, along with sta from the District of Lake Coun-try and a grant from the Lake Country Rotary Club, built a 650 metre gravel pathway along Woodsdale Road from Seymour Road to High-way 97.

e project, mostly funded by a $6,000 grant

from Rotary, added the pathway to Woodsdale Road and will make it easier for pedestrians to avoid tra c on the road-way leading up to the intersection at the high-way and Oceola road. It also connects with an-other pathway on Oceo-la Road that leads up to the Lakes.

HUNTERS BATTLE EACH OTHER

Several Okanagan families and members of the Oceola Fish and Game Club presented over 740 letters to sta at B.C. Premier Christy

Clarks o ce early in the year in a battle be-tween local hunters and guide-out tters over the governments Wildlife Allocation Policy.

ree local sh and game clubs collected the letters, written in oppos-ition to the Wildlife Al-location Policy that splits the available hunting re-source between resident and non-resident hunt-ers. Along with the let-ters, the group also col-lected over 1,000 sig-natures on a petition at a peaceful protest held at B.C. Premier Christy Clarks West Kelowna o ce.

Sean Richardson of the Oceola club said more than 1,000 people showed up at the protest.

I would hope the government would be willing to listen to the people that voted them into o ce, said Rich-ardson. Just the number of people that showed up the other day out-num-bers the out tters in the province more than 5 to 1.

NEW DEVELOPMENT MANAGER FOR DISTRICT

Calling it a dream ca-reer, Lake Country na-

tive and former district councillor Jamie Mc-Ewan was hired to help push economic develop-ment in Lake Coun-try as the districts new community development manager, replacing Ryan Roycroft, who moved to a job with the City of Kelowna.

McEwan, 29, was raised in Lake Country, graduated from George Elliot and his father had a long career in Lake Countrys engineering services department be-fore retiring. Its an hon-our to continue to work with the community. My dad is very passionate

about this area and has a ton of knowledge. We grew up talking about Lake Country issues around the dinner table and now to be able to work for the community in a di erent way than my dad is a privilege and Im very happy to have the chance to do it.

As a one-term coun-cillor, McEwan was elected to Lake Coun-try council in 2011 and sat for one term before opting against running again.

FOOD BANK A MAJOR PROJECT

Trades students from Okanagan Col-lege worked on the new food bank in March and took part in the of- cial ground-breaking on construction of the much-anticipated pro-ject.

Im really really glad to see it get started, said Bob Rymarchuk of the Lake Country Ro-tary Club at the time. At the Rotary club we have been working at this al-ready for ve years so its absolutely great to see it underway. If everything goes well we will have the building nished by Christmas and the food bank in here operating.

LAKE COUNTRYS FIRST NOW A YEAR OLD

ey werent expecting a new years baby, but Lake Country residents Mike ompson and Andrea Heagle couldnt have been happier about theearly arrival of their adorable little bundle in the early morning hours of Jan. 1, 2015.

Miller John omp-son was born at 2:32 a.m., Jan.1over two weeks ahead of sched-uleand weighed in at seven pounds three ounces.

He was initial-ly dubbed the regions rst New Years baby. Later, however, it was made clear that hes Lake Countrys New Years baby, alone.

A home-birth to a Kelowna family that clocked in at 1:49 a.m., edged Miller out of the rst Okanagan baby space.


GROUND was broken in March for the Lake Country Food Bank building. Trades students from Okanagan College worked at the site.

YEAR IN REVIEW A8

THE YEAR 2015 saw an historic change-over in federal politics in Kelowna-Lake Country as Liberal Stephen Fuhr upset Conservative incumbent Ron Cannan for the Member of Parliament seat. It was just the second time the riding had voted for a representative from a party other than Conservative. Fuhr thanked his campaign committee and supporters as Justin Trudeau became the Prime Minister-elect on Oct. 19.


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KATHY MICHAELS

Vogues seal of ap-proval is sought af-ter by some of the most glamorous people in the world and its just been bestowed upon an Oka-nagan resort.

Last week Vogue magazine published 5 Under-the-Radar Can-adian Ski Resorts at Arent Whistler and it listed Big White as a place to get to know.

ink of Big White as Whistlers smaller, less popular (but just as pretty) sister. Situated in the heart of British Col-umbias Okanagan Val-ley and only 45 minutes from Kelowna airport, this resort has all youd want for a girlfriend or family getawaywith-out the crowds. Cute cafs? Check. Car-free village? Check. Perfectly groomed trails? Check. reads the spread in the fashion mag, also listing a couple of restaurants that impressed.

Although the men-

tion is just a few inches, Vogues reach is tremen-dousa fact not lost on the resorts management.

is would be up there with the top three

things weve ever done, said Michael Ballin-gall, Big Whites sen-ior vice-president of sales and marketing.

It takes us to the next

level its Vogue, its everything ey rec-ognized Big White for what it is and that bodes well for the brand.

Vogue writers didnt

just stumble upon Big White. Like every tourist destination, Big White pitched the magazine and hosted a visit. at doesnt always mean a

positive review will fol-low.

What helped ensure that Big White made the cut is the quality of the services accessed on the

way to the resort, said Ballingall.

Go to the (Kelow-na International) airport and watch it working, he said.

All of these things are ticks in the boxes for consortiums like Vogue.

While this may help Big White grow in the future, the holiday season is already going gang-busters and the resort is working at capacity.

is is the busiest holiday in our history, Ballingall said. Its all pre-booked.

e other media coups that helped eek out a place for Big White on the world stage was a bit on Top Channel 7 in Australia, with the TV show, Getaway.

at was in 1997 or 1998 and it put us on the map in Australia, said Ballingall.

Next was a review in Good World Ski Guide. It rated us as one of the top ve kids ski schools in the world. at was a big step worldwide.

GLAMOUR MAGAZINE

Vogue calls Big White, Whistlers just as pretty sister

JEAN RUSSELL/LAKE COUNTRY CALENDAR

BIG WHITE from the glades by the peak T-Bar, Dec. 19, 2015. e local ski resort got a mention in Vogue magazine.

news

#UsedHelpsA division of


With the plenti-ful snowfall the past few days, everyone is re-minded to keep your driveways and road-side paths clear for pedes-trians.

Whether its your home or businesses, make sure everyone is safe getting around on these snowy days.

Drivers are also asked to not park on the street if possible during snow falls to allow snowplows to clear roads more e -ciently and e ectivelyespecially in cul-de-sacs.

Where uncleared, trampled down snow can make for treacherous footing.

Last week, a Kelowna man questioned whose responsibility it was for clearing snow after nd-ing sidewalks around Kelowna General Hos-pital particularly slippery.

I walked from Ray-mer to Cadder, then

Richter to downtown. ree-quarters of side-walks were ice, he wrote on the Kelowna Capital New Facebook page.

Hes from Que-

bec and said there it is the responsibility of the municipalities to clear sidewalks of snow. But thats not the case here.

Its important for

home and business owners to keep their sidewalks clear of snow from a safety point of view.

Able-bodied neigh-bours should get out to help those who may not be able to shovel snow to clear their drives, paths and sidewalks.

Its also a great idea for groups of residents on a street to take it upon themselves to look after their area sidewalks.

Community streets are usually cleared of snow on a priority basis, starting with the busi-est arterial roads, then collector roads in school zones, town centres and bus routes before moving on to local roads.

Its important for driv-ers to not park on streets during snowfalls so plows can get in and out more quickly and remove the snow thoroughly.

Keep your driveways, sidewalks shovellednews

JEAN RUSSELL/LAKE COUNTRY CALENDAR

KEEP your driveway and pedestrian areas clear of snow this winter.

ROBBIE BURNS NIGHT - Sat., Jan. 16 Oyama Community Hall 14710 Oyama rd. Doors open at 5pm. Okanagan pipers present the haggis at 6 pm followed by a roast beef dinner. Scottish entertainment at 7pm. Tickets $20 each. Lake Country bus 250-766-3227 will pick up in Lake Country & return you home for a small fee. Tickets can be purchased call anne at 250-766-5437 or linda 250-762-62o8 or email [email protected] TOUCH SEVENS LEADER - (Mission or Lake Country area) Do you live in the Mission or Lake Country area and love rugby? Can you help to identify 2 parent touch coaches and 25+ players from the area? Most of the work is January April for this May/June sport. Interested? Contact: Doug Manning ([email protected])ANGEL AWARD TALENT SHOW - June 25, 2016. Looking for talent between ages 10 & 25. In support for Juvenile Idiopathic Arthritis. Competition now open. Late registration fees are applicable-dont delay! One live audition day March 2016 register now at Creekside Theatre. [email protected], website: www.angelaward.caLAKE COUNTRY LIBRARY - Book Chat for Adults Sat., Jan. 9, Feb. 13, Mar. 12 & Apr. 9, 2:30 p.m. Readers are welcome to share their favourite book with other book lovers. Drop-in for some afternoon fun!LAKE COUNTRY SENIORS CENTRE - 9832 Bottom Wood Lake Road Ballroom Dancing class on Wed. 6-8pm. Call 250-766-4220 for more infoLEGO BUILDERS CLUB - Tuesdays & Thursdays. Drop in. See branch for information. LEGO available for 6 - 12 year olds. MEGA Blocks available for the younger crowd. Parents or caregivers must be present.ADULT BOOK CLUB - Join Rita on the first Tues. of each month at 7pm for a lively discussion of each months title. Copies of each title will be available in the library. LAKE COUNTRY SENIOR CENTRE - 9832 Bottom Wood Lake Road is open Mon.-Fri. 10am-2pm to answer questions about seniors issues. We are in need of volunteers to do odd jobs. Fall session on all groups have started; stop by for an events schedule. Our next event: Prime Time is held on the first & third Monday of the month - call Joanne at 250-766-0667. Have a plaque installed on the Memorial Wall for $20. This is a great place to share with loved ones. Call 250-766-4220 or Dorothy at 250-766-4568.BRING BALANCE BACK INTO YOUR LIFE. - Taoist Tai Chi at the Oyama Community Hall at 6:30pm. For further info call Shirley at 250-548-3254.THE LAKE COUNTRY LIBRARY & OYAMA LIBRARY - Knitting circles Oyama branch, 15718 Oyama Road will have its knitting circle each Tuesday night from 6 pm-7 pm. The Lake Country branch in the Municipal Hall at #2-10150 Bottom Wood Lake Road will hold its circle on Wednesday evenings from 6:30pm-8pm Both knitting circles are free, drop-in, & open to any age and skill level; bring your yarn, needles & whatever project you are working on.LAKE COUNTRY SENIORS BUFFET - 9832 Bottom Wood Lake Road. Meals $9. Take home meals $7 & freezer meals will be $5. When available dont forget about the 2 free meals.WINFIELD AUXILIARY CRIBBAGE - 3rd Sun., every month. Registration @ 9AM, Game starts @ 10AM sharp. $26 per team, includes a light lunch. Contact 250-878-2834 for more information.BADMINTON - Fri. 9:30-11:30 Oyama Hall. Drop-in $2.50. Great exercise & fun for all. Contact Rob. 766-3034OYAMA LEGION BRANCH 189 - Meat draw every Sat., at 2pm.BETTER AT HOME - is a program to help seniors live in their own homes longer by providing non-medical support services including transportation, grocery shopping, yard work, light housekeeping & friendly visits. LC Health Planning Society is coordinating these services for seniors 65 years+. Please call 778-215-5247 for more info, or if you are able to help seniors in your community by volunteering.LC FOOD BANK THRIFT STORE - 3250 Berry Rd. Winter hours: Open Tues., Wed., Thurs. 11am-4pm. All proceeds go to the Lake Country Food Bank., & run by our friendly volunteers. For more info on donating and/or volunteering, please call 778-480-3250.LC OUTDOORS CLUB - Welcomes hikers & other outdoor enthusiasts. Bring water, snacks/lunch, wear weather appropriate clothing, & sturdy boots for hiking. For info about our club, please contact us at: [email protected] FOOD BANK - has an URGENT need for men & women volunteers to join our team. Requirements as follows: half days only-Mon., Wed, & Thurs. (doesnt have to be all 3 days); must be physically fit enough to lift a medium size box of groceries; a cheery disposition fits in nicely with the rest of the volunteers. Please see Phyllis MacPherson directly at the Food Bank located in the rear of the Boys & Girls Club, 3130 Berry Rd. on any of the days noted.CRIBBAGE - Friday evenings starting 7pm at the Seniors Activity Centre. Playing 8 games with a chance of winning $12, $10, or $8. Socialize & enjoy an evening out with fun and play. Serving coffee, drinks & goodies for only $2.50. WINFIELD UNITED CHURCH THRIFT SHOP - (3751 Woodsdale Road.), is open from Tues. to Sat., 10am to 2pm for shopping & donation drop-off. Call 250-766-3387 for info regarding appropriate donations.LC LINE DANCERS - Tuesdays, 1:30pm & Thursdays, 9:30am in the Seniors Centre. Beginners always welcome. Joy, 250-766-0850.SOCIAL BRIDGE - Tuesdays, 7pm at the Seniors Centre. New players welcome. Eunice, 250-766-3982. THE COUNCIL OF SENIOR CITIZENS ORGANIZATIONS - (COSCO) is an advocacy group devoted to improving The Quality of Life for all seniors. Senior organizations/associations wishing to affiliate or individuals wishing to become members contact Ernie Bayer: 604-576-9734 fax 604-576-9733 or [email protected] for info.LC HEALTH PLANNING SOCIETY - VOLUNTEERS ARE NEEDED TO MAKE A DIFFERENCE! Meaningful opportunities are available, in the Better at Home program & on Committees: Communications, Nominations, Health & Wellness Fair & LC CARES (Community Action & Response to Elder Abuses).Call for info 778-215-5247 or get connected at www.lakecountryhealth.caDO YOU LIKE TO DRIVE? - VOLUNTEERS ARE NEEDED TO MAKE A DIFFERENCE! Help a neighbour maintain their independence by giving them a ride. LC Health Planning Society is matching volunteer drivers with seniors through the Better at Home Program. Training, support & compensation are provided. Call for info 778-215-5247.

COMMUNITY EVENTSCopy deadline Friday, 1 pm before issue date

ALL COMMUNITY EVENTS will be placed at no charge to all NON-PROFIT organizations.

For all other inquiries, please email [email protected] or [email protected]

Lake Country

Health Planning Society... supporting Community Wellness since 1982

www.lakecountryhealth.ca 778 215 - 5247

Volunteers make our community a better place!

Office Hours: Monday - Thursday, 10am - 2pm 10080 Main Street

Creating Community Connections!

ACROSS1. Skin affliction5. Frosting user9. Cut the lawn12.At what time?13.Do a fall chore14.Hatchet15.Fibbed16.Unzip17.Average grade18.Movie-theater

feature20.Need22.Bends24.Battle25.Coiled29.Fast-food

order: 2 wds.

32.Baking vessel33.Relish35.____ or never36.Carney and

Garfunkel38.Choice40.Massage42.Hurry43.Foamed46.Is entitled to50.Ancient51.Thick cord53.Perfect spot54.Hive dweller55.Fifty-fifty56.Cold-cut seller57.Down in the

dumps

58.Hikersshelter

59.____ mine

DOWN1. Shoemakers

tools2. Stylish3. ____-do-

well4. Make

beloved5. Inflexible6. Jar top7. ____ out

(barelymade)

8. Restore9. Pasta

10.Yoked beasts11.Garden

nuisance19.Historic ages21.Gym pad23.Disconnect25.Hot spring26.Golf score27.Trespassed28.Official paper30.Sticky mess31.Hold title to34.Go upward

37.Add39.Tears into

pieces41.Chapeau43.Wails44.Defendants

answer45.Plunged47.Hunch48.Kiss-and-____49.Fit of temper52.Corral

PUZZLE NO. 797

Copyright 2015, Penny Press

ANSWER TO PUZZLE NO. 797

ACROSS1. Swimsuit

component4. Leave out8. Go without

food12.Furnace fuel13.Radial, e.g.14.Wheel rod15.Instigator17.Insufficiency18.Little

songbird19.Stared at20.Large truck23.Goof25.Place for

clouds26.Distress27.Opera solo28.Eager

30.Razors35.Geologic ages37.Lunchtime

stop38.Boring tool41.King Kong,

e.g.42.Nocturnal

birds43.Bureau45.Off at a

distance48.Gather a

harvest49.Safeguard53.Lighten54.Terrible smell55.Feel unwell56.Hearty meat

dish57.Probability

58.Sweet potato

DOWN1. ____

constrictor(snake)

2. Fit out3. Legendary

Baba4. Head the

cast5. High-flying

toy6. Presser7. ____ your

request8. Sharp tooth9. Skating

jumps10.Finely

contoured

11.Rooseveltsnickname

16.Strong thread19.Voiced20.Health

establishment21.Corn spike22.Halfway24.Pokes fun at27.Over29.Well-kept31.Worship32.Morning

condensation33.Building

shape

34.Femalesibling,for short

36.Approached38.Pasture

measures39.Flour grain40.Rental

contract44.Pour forth46.Nourish47.Inquires49.NFL player,

e.g.50.Beam51.By means of52.Popular street

name

PUZZLE NO. 798



ACROSS1. Molecule part5. Pads9. House

location12.Waiters

offering13.Spoken14.____ League

school15.Football bomb16.Wee17.Atlas chart18.Cape20.Dramatic part21.Not as fresh24.Devoured26.Expects27.Personal

31.Fruity drink32.Shovel34.By means of35.Stockings37.Buckets39.Tos mate40.Ignite41.Champs44.Publish46.Grief47.Pull along48.News piece52.Plumbing joint53.Piece54.Pop flavor55.Enclosure for

swine56.7 + 3, 1 + 9,

etc.

57.Couch

DOWN1. Stereo

component2. Steeped

drink3. Offs

opposites4. Biceps, e.g.5. Engine6. Opera solo7. Drinking

vessel8. Rocker

Stone9. Chauffeured

car10.Egg shape

11.Classify19.Smaller

amount20.Gun in neutral21.Iranian ruler,

once22.Fuss: hyph.23.Gorillas, e.g.25.Mans jewelry27.Settle a debt28.Anxious29.Cash drawer30.Relieve33.Grill gas

36.No ____,ands, or buts

38.Playful acts40.Highlanders

attire41.Impresses

greatly42.Foal43.Slippery45.Wreck47.Crude

dwelling49.Also50.Sprite51.Pasture sound

PUZZLE NO. 799



ACROSS1. Deadly snake4. Hold back

water7. Arctic or

Indian12.Garden veggie13.Exercise14.Fire

component15.Least difficult17.Raises crops18.Spirited horse20.____ machine21.Citrus

beverages24.Unpolished26.Boyfriend27.Cypress, e.g.28.Lambs bleat31.Imps

33.Daft35.Letter after

cee36.Rude look40.____ club41.Faint42.Paddles43.Lie in the sun46.Immerse to

clean48.World carrier50.Spanish

festivals54.Adolescence55.Make a

blunder56.Animosity57.Binge58.Society miss59.____ out a

living

DOWN1. Imitate2. Mediterranean,

e.g.3. Mas mates4. Song for two5. Say6. Shooting

star7. Ons

opposite8. Fracas9. James ____

Jones10.Bullets, for

short11.Hatchlings

home16.Distribute19.Appropriate21.Still asleep

22.Remove fromprint

23.Icicle hanger25.Stylists goop28.String

neckwear29.Again30.Sailors

affirmatives32.Pig34.Monsters37.Clump38.Lounged

39.All41.Emulate Kwan43.Howls44.On the crest45.Garble47.Oregano, e.g.49.Feminine

pronoun51.Fasten52.Bible boat53.Watch

PUZZLE NO. 800



CROSSWORD PUZZLE ANSWERSUSE AMERICAN SPELLING





news

It is anticipated that 20 Syrian families will arrive at the Kelowna airport over the next four months.

eir needs will re ect both the unique settle-ment issues of newcom-ers and the typical con-cerns of any family mov-ing to another country who bring few material

possessions with them. Kelowna Commun-

ity Resources (KCR) in partnership with School District 23 and Ki-Low-Na Friendship Centre (English as a second lan-guage provider) have de-livered settlement servi-ces throughout the Cen-tral Okanagan for more than 13 years.

Settlement services are currently o ered in more than 20 languages with many more avail-able through contracted translators.

Our expertise and collaborative approach in Immigrant Servi-ces allows us to pro-vide leadership that is coordinating e orts to

maximize impact for the bene t of all in our com-munity, said Ellen Boel-cke, KCR executive dir-ector.

UBC Okanagan, in collaboration with KCR, have created a mapping website (okrefugee.geol-ive.ca/) that lets people who want to share in-formation about donat-

ed household items, em-ployment opportunities, services, housing and volunteering that might be used by refugees.

Across Canada, the United Way is sup-porting the settlement of refugees to ensure they are welcomed and able to adapt and thrive in our communities. Support

for community-based immigrant and refugee settlement services is an integral component of its Healthy People, Strong Communities focus.

Locally, the United Way Central and South Okanagan/Similkameen has launched a United for Refugees campaign that will collect monet-

ary donations for a fund earmarked for programs supporting the refugees with housing, childcare, education, translation, counselling, transporta-tion and immigrant ser-vices.

To donate, visit united waycso.com/refugees.

For community servi-ces see kcr.ca.

Refugees will need assistance as they settle in Okanagan

TSN#

CHBC$

CIVT%

CBC&

KIRO_

CHAN(

SNP)

KNOW*

KOMO`

A&E1

YTV6

NEWS7

DISC9

KAYU;

TLC

lake country calendar, december 30, 2015

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