Ashcroft Cache Creek Journal, July 09, 2015

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I N S I D E : Relief fund committee members sought. Page 3

PM # 400121123

Cache Creek carries on with CiB judging

See SUPPORT on p. 2

HAPPY BIRTHDAY CANADA! Communities throughout the area celebrated Canadas 148th birthday last week. Top left: Members of the Royal Canadian Legion and the Sea Cadets paraded the colours in Ashcroft. Top right: Elders Diane Sandy and Johnny Pierro of the Bonaparte Band sang in Ashcroft. Centre left: A participant in the Ashcroft Bike Parade shows off his ride. Centre right: The Colour Guard raises the flag in Clinton. Bottom left: Cache Creek Mayor John Ranta cuts the ice cream cake (above) for an eager crowd. Bottom right: Nancy Duchaine, Colin Mastin, and John Kidder lead Ashcroft in the singing of O Canada. For more on the Ashcroft and Cache Creek celebrations, see p. 5; for more on Clintons Canada Day, see p. 7. (Ashcroft photos by Christopher Roden; Cache Creek photos by Gary Winslow; Clinton photo by Christine Johnstone.)

The Cache Creek Beautification Society is not letting the flood of May 23 stand in the way of taking part in this years Communities in Bloom judging. The CCBS withdrew from the CiB judging last year because of flooding in Cache Creek park. This year, only days after the flood which devastated much of the town, the committee reaffirmed that they would not be withdrawing again.

No one talked about cancelling this year, said CCBS President Carmen Ranta. Com-munities in Bloom looks at the entire commun-ity in seven different categories. It helps for resi-dences and businesses to keep as tidy as pos-sible for the judges, but we realize that thats not a priority this year.

Instead, the CCBS will be focusing on com-munity resiliency when the judges are in town on July 22. Theyll be making a presentation about the impact of the disaster on the commun-ity and showing videos and pictures of the scope of the damage, then driving the judges around town to show them what has been affected and whats been done.

Its a slightly different focus this year, but were going to proceed in a normal way as much as possible, said Ranta. In addition to the improvements to the playground (which was not affected by the flood) since the judg-es last visit, and the expanded horticultural dis-play in the downtown planters, the judges will be taken on a tour of community facilities such as the air strip, the landfill, the new gas utiliz-ation plant, the golf course, Cache Creek Ele-mentary school, and more.

We have a lot to brag about regarding the overall health of the community, said Ranta. And while the judges will learn about the scope of the flooding, theyll also be told about all the positive community activities available, such as free swimming at the pool, fitness and recrea-tion programs, geocaching, the Villages service clubs, and concerts and events supported by the CCBS.

The judges arrive on Tuesday, July 21, and the Society is organizing a welcoming event for them to which all community members are in-vited. It kicks off at 5:30 pm at the Community Hall with a free family bingo, followed by a bar-becue dinner and refreshments.

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A 2 www.ash-cache-journal.com Thursday, July 9, 2015 The JournalCOMMUNITY

Ashcroft rcMP DetAchMentPOLICE REPORT

Barbara Roden

Police Telephone #s

Ashcroft: 250-453-2216Clinton: 250-459-2221Lytton: 250-455-2225

Crime Stoppers1-800-222-TIPS (8477)

Interior Roads1-800-842-4122

Communities in Bloom a great support

Communities in Bloom BC is a wonder-ful community partner, and weve received a lot of moral support from them, said Ranta, who cited a piece which appeared on the front page of the BC CiB June 2015 newsletter. Headlined One of our own: Cache Creek in recovery, it states that the BC Communities in Bloom or-ganization was impressed to hear the announce-

ment from the Village council that We are pro-ceeding with our entry featuring commun-ity strength! Were looking forward to the tour this year! even before BC CiB offered to waive their registration fee.

By highlighting resiliency this year, Ranta says the Beautification Society is showing how the residents of Cache Creek have come togeth-er in the aftermath of a disaster. In the long run, its a very positive thing for our community.

Barbara Roden

CACHE CREEK from p. 1

Drugstore break-in follow-upAt 5:30 am on Thursday, June 18 the Peoples Drug

Store in Ashcroft was broken in to, with the thief or thieves making off with an undetermined amount of pre-scription drugs, lottery tickets, and cash. On June 29 Ashcroft RCMP were informed by a representative from the BC Lottery Corporation that some of the stolen lot-tery tickets had been recovered at a home in Coquitlam. The local detachment is exchanging information with Coquitlam RCMP in order to further the investigation and possibly identify the person or persons responsible for the break-in.

The BCLC has been able to determine the serial numbers of the stolen tickets, and they will be flagged as stolen if anyone attempts to cash one in.

Fortunate motorcyclist

On June 28 (reported on June 30) a motorcyclist re-turning home to Maple Ridge from Alaska appears to have misjudged a bend near Kingsway Corner on High-way 1 north of Spences Bridge, and collided with a rock face. The motorcyclist continued his journey, but upon reaching home was in considerable pain, so went to hos-pital to get checked out. He was diagnosed with two broken ribs.

Disagreement in public place

On July 2 at 9:30 pm police received a report of a male and female yelling at each other in the park near the fire hall in Cache Creek. By the time po-lice arrived both suspects had gone, but RCMP followed up on a description of the vehicle in which the pair had left, and traced them to a residence in Cache Creek. One of the pair was intoxicated, but both confirmed it was a domestic dispute, that the argument was over, and that there had been no physical violence.

Oh deer: erratic drivingOn July 2 at 10:30 pm police received a complaint

about a possible impaired driver on Highway 1 heading into Cache Creek. The vehicle was described as a trac-tor-trailer, and the complainant said the driver was not able to stay in his lane. The truck was located in Cache Creek and the driver showed no signs of impairment from drink or drugs. He indicated to police that he had had to make some emergency manoeuvres to avoid hit-ting a deer. No charges were laid.

Hit and runOn July 2 (reported on the 3rd) the driver of a Geo

Tracker who was heading out of Ashcroft on Highway 97C was struck by a green Ford pickup travelling to-wards Ashcroft. The incident occurred below the brake check, and the driver of the Geo reported that the Ford was overtaking another vehicle heading toward Ash-croft. The Ford pulled back into its lane to avoid a colli-sion, but clipped the front bumper of the Geo, damaging it. The driver of the Geo was not injured. Anyone who may have witnessed the accident, or who can identify the green Ford truck involved, is asked to contact local RCMP.

Reckless behaviourOn July 4 at 12:25 am, a

motorist on Highway 1 ap-proximately 15km south of Cache Creek observed the driv-er of a 2000 white GMC van throwing a cigarette butt out of

the vehicles window. RCMP made a patrol of the area to make sure there was no fire. The vehicle was locat-ed and stopped in Cache Creek, and the driver was told the reason for the stop and informed of the possible con-sequences of his action. No fire was connected to the event.

Venables Valley fireOn July 4 at 10:00 am Ashcroft RCMP were called

to assist BC Forest Services in the Venables Valley area due to a forest fire that started at the south end of Ven-ables Lake. Police assistance was required to evacuate a group of campers who were in the area to attend an an-nual summer music festival, and also to control access into the area via Venables Valley Road. The fire spread to 30 hectares in size, largely because of high winds in the area over the weekend, which carried thick smoke throughout the Interior. Although it was described as an interface fire, there was no immediate threat to any structures. As of July 7 the fire was still active, but the BC Forest Service has reported that the blaze was 100% contained.

Disturbing the peaceOn July 4 at 9:30 pm police received a call about a

disturbance on Nugget Road in Cache Creek, where two men were fighting in the street. The men were located, and one of the pair, who was intoxicated, was arrested and charged with uttering threats. He was incarcerated overnight and released the next morning, and is due in court on August 31.

Interior Health, the Village of Ashcroft, and the Ashcroft Wellness and Health Action Coali-tion (WHAC) continue to work together to find a long-term solution to the physician shortage in the community.

The Ashcroft Hospital and Health Centre Emergency Department will remain open most weekends, which is Friday at 6:00 pm to Mon-day at 8:00 am. There had been some concern that the Emergency Department would close over the summer months due to the physician shortage. At this time, Interior Health has been successful in obtaining locum physician cover-age for the majority of the weekends through-out the summer, and is working to find cover-age for the few that remain. We will notify resi-dents in advance of any changes to ED coverage and/or hours.

It remains the goal to recruit additional phys-icians to Ashcroft in an effort to provide reliable and long-term primary and emergency care ser-vices. Recently, Interior Health has been in dis-cussion with physicians interested in working in the region through the Practice Ready As-

sessment pilot program. This program recruits internationally-educated physicians who have completed residencies in Family Medicine out-side of Canada. This process takes time and the physicians involved still have to complete im-migration processes as well as certification re-quirements through the College of Physicians and Surgeons. These candidates are very prom-ising, and the host communities will be advised if and when recruitment of these physicians is complete.

If you have any questions, please contact Berni Easson at (250) 319-3934.

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Physician recruitment remains the goal

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The Journal Thursday, July 9, 2015 www.ash-cache-journal.com A 3COMMUNITY

Funding sought for rebuilding

Flood relief donations reach $250,000More than six weeks after the flood that battered

Cache Creek, relief funds continue to come in. The Lions Club in 100 Mile House met the challenge of the Ashcroft and District Lions and donated $500, and last week the TNRDs board of directors voted in favour of a resolution that would see each of the 10 directors do-nate a portion of their discretionary fundsabout $500 eachto the Villages Disaster Relief fund.

That fund got a huge boost over the weekend, with two concerts and a silent auction raising more than $40,000 for disaster relief. On July 3 Arrival and Dreamstribute bands to ABBA and Fleetwood Macperformed well past midnight to an appreciative crowd of some 180 people, while Saturday saw tribute bands Aerosmith Rocks (Aerosmith), The Night Train (Guns N Roses), and Who Made Who (AC/DC) perform a high energy concert that had close to 200 people on their feet rocking the Cache Creek Community Hall until 2:00 am.

The generosity of people, related to the unrecover-able losses some of the citizens of Cache Creek suffered, is heartwarming, for sure, said John Ranta, Cache Creeks mayor and chairman of the TNRD board of dir-ectors.

Live and silent auctions at Fridays concert brought in just under $12,000, with a local businessman purchas-ing two minutes of Rantas speech time. This left the mayor with only three minutes to talk about the effects of the flood on the community, no part of which was unaffected, and say how proud he was to be the may-or. My mother said you can never stop water from run-ning, he concluded. The Village of Cache Creek has shown that its spirit is stronger than nature, and that we will rebuild, we will be stronger.

Councillor Wyatt McMurray, who organized the two concerts, thanked everyone for helping put Cache Creek back together. Everyone rose to the occasion, he said, singling out the Village of Ashcroft, and Cache Creek resident Clayton Cassidy, for their efforts. He acknow-ledged that relations between Cache Creek and Ashcroft have been difficult at times, but said that no one could

have had a better neighbour during the recent catastrophe. Speaking of Cas-sidy, who has been tireless in his efforts to help out since the flood, McMurray said that there cant be many residents he hasnt helped in the weeks since the flood, digging out yards for anyone who needed assistance.

This has been an amazing unifi-cation and coming together, he said. Few communities have neighbours helping neighbours for no other reason than that they care.

A special council meeting will be held on Tuesday, July 14 at 9:30 am to appoint the committee that will over-see the dispersal of the relief funds, which currently total $250,000. Sever-al people have already put their names forward, but McMurray said the Vil-lage would like to see a few more.

Wed like a committee of five people, he said, noting that prospect-ive committee members will have to be vetted to ensure that there is no conflict of interest. Asked if out of town people would be considered for the committee, McMurray said That absolutely makes sense. Anyone on the committee will have to be com-pletely objective, and not emotionally tied to the disas-ter. Someone from out of town would have no dog in the race.

He admits that the committee will be a hard one to be a part of. The members will have to make tough deci-sions, and not be influenced, not let emotions get in the way. But we have to get going on this, he added. We have the money, and have to get the funds to the people who need it.

The fund is specifically for residents and small busi-nesses who suffered losses during the flooding, and will not be used to replace or repair damaged Village infra-structure. John Ranta estimates personal property loss-

es to be around $3 million, which does not include so-called non-essentials, such as landscaping. Damage to Village infrastructure is estimated to be around $2 mil-lion.

Anyone interested in participating in the Relief Fund committee should contact the Cache Creek Village Of-fice at (250) 457-6237, or by e-mail at [email protected], by Monday, July 13.

McMurray also said that a Family Day is in the ear-ly stages of being planned for Cache Creek, to take place before the end of summer. Weve had a lot of fund-raisers, and theyve been more adult-oriented, he said. The Family Day isnt a fundraiser; it will be a chance for children and families in Cache Creek to have a good time. People can relax, party, be together, and have fun, said McMurray. It will be a chance to put this be-hind us and move on.

Barbara Roden

Ernie Beale of Kamloops auctions off Cache Creek council (from left Cllrs. Wyatt McMurray, Lisa Dafoe, and Herb Hofer and Mayor John Ranta) before the Friday night concert. The winner, who paid $900, will have council come to their home and cook, serve, and clean up dinner for eight.

Photo by Barbara Roden

The Village of Cache Creek has two dozen applications in to the government for funding infra-structure rebuilding projects, and is waiting to hear which have been approved, which need adjudicat-ing, and which have been rejected.

We should start hearing with-in the next two weeks, said Cache Creek Mayor John Ranta. The ap-plications were submitted on July 2, but the officials who will be looking at the applications are also examining the recent floods in Kamloops, which Ranta indicated might slow down the process.

Among the applications are funding for upper and lower Old Cariboo Road, as well as for two culverts under the road which need attention; an irrigation ditch behind Valleyview; support for the Village in the absence of a permanent CAO and CFO; a Lopez Creek water-course study; the fire hall; and the park, its parking lot, and the ball diamond.

While residential landscap-ing is not covered under provincial disaster funding, Ranta believes that restoring the park will be ap-proved. When High River, Al-berta was flooded [in 2013] one of the first things the provincial gov-

ernment approved was restoration of the park, he said. A park is considered to be a necessary com-ponent of public life, and qualifies for funding.

As of July 2, provincial fund-ing for residents who had been dis-placed from their homes came to an end, but as far as Ranta knows all those who were staying in mo-tels have either been able to return to their homes or have found al-ternative accommodation.

Requests for volunteers, as well as applications to help out, are be-ing handled by the Village Office. Not many people are asking for help now, said the mayor, but add-ed that if any residents still need assistance they should contact the Village Office, which has a list of the names of volunteers on file.

Ranta expressed his apprecia-tion for the support and contribu-tions of communities throughout the province. Ashcroft, Abbots-ford, Hope, Clearwater, 100 Mile House, and other communities in the local area and beyond came through with offers of help and vol-unteers. It was heartwarming to see the province pull together to help a community in need.

Barbara Roden

CONCERTGOERS IN CACHE CREEK last Friday were able to listen to some of the greatest hits of ABBA and Fleetwood Mac when tribute bands Arrival (ABBA, above) and Dreams (Fleetwood Mac, right) played at the Community Hall for Cacheaid to benefit the Disaster Relief Fund. Three more tribute bands played on Saturday night, with the two concerts raising more than $40,000 for the fund.

A 4 www.ash-cache-journal.com Thursday, July 9, 2015 The JournalCOMMUNITY

V I E W P O I N T SThe Summer Desk

BARBARA RODEN

Published by Black Press Ltd. 402 - 4th St., Ashcroft BC V0K 1A0.Founded in 1895Editor: Wendy Coomber

The JournalA S H C R O F T t C A C H E C R E E KA d i v i s i o n o f B l a c k P r e s s E s t . 1 8 9 5

EDITORWendyCoomber

PUBLISHERTerryDaniels

PRODUCTIONAnneBlake

FRONT OFFICEBarbaraRoden

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We acknowledge the financial support of the Government of Canada through the Canada Periodical Fund (CPF) for our publishing activities.

See LETTERS on p. 7

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

SECTIONS OF THE FLUME BUILT TO SUPPLY WALHACHIN with water more than a century ago are still visible on the hillside to the north of Highway 1. Photo by Barbara Roden

Gardening for the non-greenthumb

Ive done some gardening this year. I know; Im as shocked as you are. I probably should have given the neighbours a heads up, so that no one got injured doing a double-take when they saw what I was up to.

I admire a lovely garden as much as anyone; but while many people genuinely enjoy spending hours in their garden, Im not one of them. This is pos-sibly because while planting flowers or vegetables is a one-time thing, keeping them healthy and looking their best is an ongoing process. Watering and dead-heading isnt bad early in the season; but come Au-gust, when its so hot my eyeballs feel as if theyre perspiring, I wonder what possessed me to embark on the process, way back in May.

And dont talk to me about weeding. I firmly be-lieve that, like planting, weeding should only have to be done once in a season, but those tenacious weeds simply will keep coming back. That said, I rather ad-mire them for their plucky ability to thrive with abso-lutely no help from me, because if theres one thing I like in a plant its independence. Thats why, when something strange starts sprouting in my garden, I give it the benefit of the doubt and let it show me what its got. As Agatha Christies Miss Marple once noted, weeds are simply flowers that grow where you dont want them to. If dandelions were sold in trays of six at Desert Hills, instead of erupting all over the lawn, people would be using them to edge gardens faster than you can say potting soil.

Now, the fact that I used the word dead-head-ing may lead some of you to think Im a more ser-ious gardener than I am. The truth is, Ive learned enough to be able to fake it for a short period of time when Im speaking with a real gardener. For those of you who arent gardeners, here are a few handy tips:

Marigolds, snapdragons, and petunias are lovely, but common. Research more exotic flowerspref-erably with Latin namesand sprinkle those into your conversation. I was going to use some calibra-choa in my hanging baskets this year, but decided on sutera cordata instead. The white flowers contrast so beautifully with the other plants, dont you think?

If you work in an office with a coffee machine, loudly announce in May that youd like the used cof-fee grounds for your garden; then put an ice cream bucket on the counter and make a show of taking it away every few days. If you have a real garden-er in the office who will actually use the grounds, ask everyone for newspapers instead, so you can put them in your garden when youre planting. Dont forget to recycle the papers after not using them.

If anyone asks if you planted vegetables this year, shake your head sadly and say that you simply couldnt find the heirloom vegetables you wanted. It helps to know what heirloom vegetables are, and the names of a couple (try Bull Nosed Large Bell Pep-persThomas Jefferson liked them!and Pru-dens Purple Tomatoes).

And now I have to go. Those osteospermums arent going to dead-head themselves. . . .

Plea for return of missing pictures

Beware as stores raise prices after tax cuts

Revisiting school name not undemocratic

Dear Editor,I was recently deployed as a vol-

unteer with the Disaster Management team of the Red Cross to of all places Cache Creek; a beautiful town where I had the pleasure of growing up. I am so proud of the strength and courage the town had through this event! Bravo to all of you.

Sometimes when we are deployed we use our personal equipment at the beginning. I was using my Samsung tablet, and left it on my desk at the Re-siliency Centre at the Community Hall on May 29 between 12:00 and 12:30 pm, and when I came back it was mis-sing. I was disheartened. It is okay, though: whoever has it needed it more than me. The problem is I had spent three months taking care of my grand-father in Germany last year, and all of the wonderful last memories of him were on the tablet.

I am reaching out to whoever has the tablet. Out of the kindness of your heart, perhaps you could anonymous-ly return the pictures to the Journal of-fice. I would be eternally grateful. The tablet is yoursit was a helpful tool for when I am deployed and being a sin-gle mother I can not replace it. One day. However, the pictures: well, my Opa

has since passed, and I cant stress how wonderful it would be to have those special memories back.

Debbie Blumauer,Abbotsford

[Editors note: the pictures can be burned on a disc or put on a flash drive and left in the white drop-box outside the Journal office]

Dear Editor,Progress was made when the B.C.

government recognized that femin-ine products are a necessity and a very costly burden for women, and legis-lated that they are to be non-taxable starting July 2015. Greed became evi-dent when it was brought to my atten-tion that a drug store chain with stores throughout Kamloops (and B.C.) is raising the prices on all feminine prod-ucts effective July 1.

Apparently the chain reasoned that it will take advantage and scoop in extra revenue that the government has forfeited, since women are forced to payand used to payingwhat-

ever the price. The timing of the corporate policy is strategic and alarming. I cannot do anything about it except to warn women to be aware of sudden price increas-

es, and move your business to the busi-nesses that best represent your inter-ests.

Now that prescriptions are online, moving to another drug store is easy. I am the mother of two daughters, and seeing as how the chain in ques-tion is next to other feminine product and drug providers, we are moving our business elsewhere. We estimate this business is worth more than $14,000 per year for purchases of prescription drugs plus over-the counter drugs, vita-mins, makeup, some food items, hair products, gift cards and gifts, seasonal items, magazines, etc. (they do not sell clothing). Buyer be aware.

Victoria Weller,Kamloops

Dear Editor,The protest concerning the nam-

ing of the Ashcroft K-12 school Desert Sands Community School is entirely justified. Obviously the selection com-

Our sponsors:2nd Time Around (largest sponsor), Wastech

Services, the Ashcroft Rodeo Association, the Royal Canadian Legion Branch 113, Cantex, the Village of Ashcroft, Arrow Transportation, A.E.S., and the TNRD.

Other important contributions came from: Kelly Adamski and family for large lotfor midway, Joris Ekering and friends,

Cam at Friendship Auto, and Brian Bennewith, for helping to bring the dragon to life, Joris for the great job of announcing,

the Ashcroft Journal, Community Futures, the outhouse sponsors, the plaque sponsors,

Bar M-Ranch, The Catholic Church, Safety Mart, The Masonic Lodge, Arrow

Transportation, Community Futures,Anita Ladoski, the Village of

Ashcroft, Cariboo Septic Services, and Cariboo Clear Water Co.

The 2015 Ashcroft Rodeo Parade Committee would like to extend

our sincere gratitude to the following people who helped to make our parade such a success:

Expert of the Week

JOHN BUNDUS & SON LTD.

202 Brink Street, Ashcroft, B.C. 453-2242

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The Journal Thursday, July 9, 2015 www.ash-cache-journal.com A 5COMMUNITY

Buzzing Gardens helps feed honey bees

Canada Day fun for everyone

Local bee colonies are in good shape

Ashcroft Communities in Bloom was ex-cited to receive information in the mail recent-ly outlining a new initiative to help our honey bees. We all love to see pollinators like honey bees in our gardens, but did you know that they rely on the flowers we grow to feed their col-onies? If honey bees dont collect enough pol-len and nectar, their hives wont have enough nutrient-rich food to eat.

Thats why its important to plant pollinator-friendly flowers that are nutritious food sources for pollinators like the honey bee. To support honey bee health, Canadas agriculture com-munity has created Bees Matter, an initia-tive dedicated to honey bee health. This initia-tive is supported by a variety of organizations,

and recognized and promoted by Communities in Bloom.

As part of the initiative, and with the support of the Canadian Honey Council, a new program called Buzzing Gardens was launched, where Canadians can help feed honey bees by sign-ing up at www.beesmatter.ca for a free Buzz-ing Garden seed kit, which includes pollinator-friendly plants.

While you may have your garden all in place for this year, you can always go online and or-der the seed kit for next season. Visit the web-site and learn about the very valuable and neces-sary honey bee.

Andrea Walker

Amid reports that North American honey bee popula-tions are in grave decline, long-time local apiarist Joe Lomond says that mortality in our area over the past winter was 1015%, which most apiculturists consider acceptable and sustain-able.

It was an average winter. Touch wood, we havent had

much trouble with mortality, said Lomond who, with his wife Marguerite, has operated in the area for 35 years, producing Lo-monds Ashcroft honey. Some places in the province were as high as 30%.

Other areas of the coun-try have it much worse. In the spring of 2014, the Canadian Association of Professional Api-

culturists reported that it was estimated 58% of the bee col-onies in Ontario did not survive the win-ter. The Ontario Bee-keepers Associa-tion estimates that in the two years before 2014, some 35% of Ontarios bees were lost each year.

Lomond says that one cause of the mor-tality is an external parasitic mite called Varroa destructor, which can only re-produce in a honey bee colony. They at-tach themselves to bees and suck a flu-id called hemolymph which circulates in-

side the bee; by doing so they transmit viruses. A significant mite infestation can kill an en-tire colony over the winter, and Lomond says he and his wife take steps in the fall to control the Varroa mite. It was a lesson learned after a mite infestation more than 15 years ago wiped out 70% of their 500 colonies. We didnt do our homework, Lomond admits.

Another possible cause of bee mortality, which stud-ies are increasingly bearing out, is the use of neonico-tinoid pesticides (neon-ics) on corn, canola, and some soybean seeds. The neonicsmeant to stop the spread of worms and other pests throughout cropsare applied to the seeds be-fore planting, which in the case of corn seeds is done by spraying the seeds out of air-pressurized seed-ers. This kicks up a large amount of dust which con-tains the neonics, and a massive bee mortality rate in Ontario and Quebec was observed in colonies near recently planted corn fields where the seed had been

treated with the pesticide. And since neonics spread through the entire plant that has been treat-ed, including the nectar and pol-len on which bees feed, it can be spread to bees in that way.

Its for this reason that Lo-mond doesnt move his bees near where crops that have been treated with neonics have been planted. Indeed, he says that honey bees seem to do better in towns and cities than they do in outlying areas planted with feed crops. People in towns and cit-ies have more varied gardens,

with more flowers that bloom all year round, he said, which provides the bees with the nec-tar and pollen they need. He supports the Buzzing Garden seed kit set, containing pollin-ator-friendly plants (see article below).

Just dont spray your gar-den with pesticides, he asks. The beesupon which we rely for as much as a third of our food, because of their pollina-tionwill thank you.

Barbara Roden

Hundreds of people in area communities celebrated Can-adas 148th birthday last Wednes-day with music, stories, prayers, games, face painting, bike parades, and much more.

In Ashcroft events kicked off at 10:00 am in the Heritage Park on Railway, where children could get their faces painted, take part in a bike parade, and participate in games such as water balloon throw-ing and sack races. The park was festooned with maple leaf decor-ations, and some 350 people took advantage of the shade to watch the Colour Party arrive and listen to prayers and music from Kevin Sandy and Elders Diane Sandy and Johnny Pierro from the Bonaparte Band. Fraser-Nicola MLA Jack-ie Tegart and Ashcroft Mayor Jack Jeyes gave short addresses and for-mer Mayor Andy Anderson did his traditional fly past.

Grade six student Colin Mastin

sang two songs; then John Kidder entertained with songs and stories about Ashcroft and cowboy life, and the entire crowd joined in the singing of O Canada and God Save the Queen. The Lions were on hand to provide free hot dogs and water, and there was the trad-itional Canada Day cake, as well as ice cream, provided by the events organizers, the Winding Rivers Arts and Performance Society.

In Cache Creek some 120 people enjoyed Canada Day at the Community Hall, which opened with a family bingo, as well as games, crafts, and face paint-ing for the children. Free hot dogs and Dairy Queen ice cream cake were available to all at 5:00 pm, and Mayor John Ranta spoke to those in attendance. The event end-ed with a lively family dance in the Hall, with about 40 people staying to enjoy the music and dancing.

Barbara Roden

Local apiarist Joe Lomond

July 18 - 19, 2015

Sponsored by: Steve Rice TNRD area I, Historic Hat Creek Ranch, Graymont Western Canada Inc., Interior Wellness Magazine, Ashcroft Bakery & Coffee Shop, Ashcroft Terminal, and WRAPS

Ashcroft Heritage Park600 Block Railway Ave., Ashcroft

Ashcroft We ness & Music Festival

More info & schedules: www.wellnessawaits you.ca facebook: Ashcroft Wellness Awaits You

Live Music Healing GardenVend Market W kshopsDemonstrations Kids Zone Stagecoach Rides Hikes

Sushi Making

A 6 www.ash-cache-journal.com Thursday, July 9, 2015 The JournalCOMMUNITY

Ashcroft Wellness and Music FestivalThis annual fun-filled festival focuses

on health and well being. Mark your cal-endars this year for Saturday, July 18, and come down to the Heritage Park on Rail-way to enjoy and participate in the many activities and events scheduled. Theres much to see and do, with two stages filled with musical entertainment and a var-iety of wellness themed demon-strations, plus an amazing kids zone with activities for all ages, as well as vendor booths brimming with local information and services.

In addition to the entertainment, the Festival includes workshops and classes such as sushi making, yoga, camera classes, photo walks, history tours, and organized hikes. This year a Wellness Healing Garden has been added, giving visitors the oppor-tunity to experience a wide range of heal-ing arts under one roof.

8th annual Lillooet Apricot FestivalLillooets annual Apricot Tsaqwem

Festival is the weekend of July 24-26. Events include the Lillooet Farmers Mar-ket on Friday and Saturday; Lillooet Golf Tournament; a street dance; live bands; a beer garden; dinner at the Legion on Sat-urday evening; and a baking with apricots and Saskatoon berries contest.

Romi Mayes returns to The Packing House

The Packing House in Spences

Bridge presents the return of good friend Romi Mayes, on Thursday, July 23. If you havent heard Romis music yet, its time you did. Shes one of the hard-est working independent musicians tour-ing the globe. Devil On Both Shoulders, her sixth release, is another testament to why Mayess albums have garnered three Western Canadian Music Awards

for Songwriter of the Year, two WCM Awards for Album of the Year, a Juno nomination for Album of the Year, and various Canadian Music Award nomina-tions.

Mayes is known for her powerful lyrical ability that gives life to the words she sings. Her insightful, sweet, and edgy vocals paint pictures of heart on her sleeve sincerity and a road well travelled. The talented players who surround her are another confirmation of how her hon-est abilities draw the best of the best to-ward her authentic brand of roots music.

Dinner is from 5:30 pm, with music at 7:15 pm. Tickets are also available for

the show only. To reserve your tickets for the dinner and/or show, call The Pack-ing House at (250) 458-2256

The Jessica Stuart Few at Music in the Park

The Winding Rivers Arts and Per-formance Society presents a Music in the Park outdoor concert on Wednesday, July 29 with The Jessica Stuart Few. Jessicas unprecedented take on the Japanese koto

(a 13-stringed harp), her exceptional guitar work, and signature songwrit-ing are innovative and refreshing, earn-ing The Few main stage performances at festivals worldwide. Stuart exhibits a pitch-perfect vocal sensibility remin-iscent of Joni Mitchell, with stunning 3-part harmonies onstage, earning the group a spot on the music industry and the medias must-see lists.

Come early for a great seat. The music starts at 6:30 pm, so bring your

family and friends, and a favourite lawn chair or blanket, to the Heritage Park gazebo on Railway and prepare to enjoy wonderful live music in a relaxed, family friendly venue. Admission is free, but pass-the-hat donations are encouraged.

Desert Daze Music FestivalThe live music schedule for Spences

Bridges 6th annual Desert Daze Music Festival has been confirmed; and what a line-up it is! Mark your calendars for Au-gust 7-8 in the Bridge.

Desert Daze isnt a country music fes-tival, nor a roots and blues festival; nor is it fringe or a Palapalooza! Desert Daze

is a MUSIC festival celebrating the best things in life: music, food, and fun in the desert sun. There will be two days of the best in blues, folk, country, and rock in a magnificent setting at the old school grounds, a stones throw from the Trans-Canada Highway, so come on out and celebrate rural communities with some incredible music that you can move to, groove to, clap, sing, and dance along to. No matter what kind of music you like, you will find lots of it at the 2015 Desert Daze! For details of this years lineup, visit www.desertdaze.ca.

Kids summer Fine and Dramatic Arts Camp

WRAPS is pleased to announce that this years Kids summer camp will be bigger and better than ever, and is de-signed for students entering Kindergart-en through to grade 12. Elementary stu-dents will sing with Sabrina Weeks and Mike Hilliard, paint with Jo Petty, play music with David Dumont, and act with Mavourneen Varcoe-Ryan! New this year is an opportunity for high school students to work on a special week-long project with Gareth Smart!

Classes run from August 17-21 from 9:30 am to 2:30 pm daily, with a lunch break at 11:30. Students are required to bring a bagged lunch, and snacks will be provided. The cost is $50 for the first child in a family and $30 for each addi-tional sibling. Register by phone, e-mail, or online by August 7 at (250) 453-0036 or [email protected], or vis-it the WRAPS website at windingriver-sarts.ca.

Music is around us all summer long

Nadine Davenport

[email protected]

CREATIVE CURRENT

/localwork-bc @localworkbc

Local Job Postings.Just one of the reasons to follow LocalWorkBC.ca on Twitter.

The Journal Thursday, July 9, 2015 www.ash-cache-journal.com A 7COMMUNITY

Canada Day in Clinton couldnt have been betterCanada Day fun

It was a beautiful day to celebrate Canadas 148th birthday on July 1. The weather couldnt have been bet-ter as the crowd gathered in Clintons Reg Conn Cen-tennial Park for the festivities. From the flag raising by the Legion members and RCMP, the singing of O Can-

ada by Daniela Dyck, and the face painting and games to the hot dogs and cake, it couldnt have gone better. And being such a hot day, it was perfect for the kids to run through the big sprinklers put out by the Clinton fire department.

Kudos to the mayor and council, staff, the Literacy group, the Legion, the Ladies Auxiliary members, the

RCMP, the fire department, Waynes daughters for doing the face paint-ing, and everyone else who helped. Al-though I could only drop by for a few moments I heard lots of positive com-ments about the event. Happy Birthday, Canada!

Volunteer clean-upThe Clinton and District Out-

door Sportsmen Association recently teamed up with the Clinton Snow Jock-ey Club to clean up a part of Old Cari-boo Highway that has been used as an illegal dump.

Twenty-six members, as well as several local residents, showed up to clear out all the garbage. Four hours of hard work later, the former dumpsite looked much better. A Bobcat was used to pull out the larger items to the road, and made the job a bit easier.

The members of the Sportsmen As-

sociation would like to remind everyone that dumping a load of garbage or even grass clippings will get you a $2,000 fine if you are caught. Grass clippings and brush can be

taken to the Clinton Eco Depot for free, so why risk get-ting a fine?

Mill Girls do us proudClintons Mill Girl Follies performed in Germany on

July 3, 4, and 5. Photos of their adventure were posted on the Mill Girl Follies Facebook page. We in Clinton and the Cariboo cant wait to hear all about it when they return. Way to go, troupe!

Clinton Health Auxiliary says thank youThe Loon Lake Community Agricultural Recrea-

tional Society (LLCRAS) recently presented the Clin-ton Health Care Auxiliary with a cheque for $1,504.17 to support health-related projects in the community. The Health Care Auxiliary advised that this group has donat-ed to them in the past, and that their generosity is great-ly appreciated.

Susan Swan459-2224 or [email protected]

STRIKING A BALANCE

New school name needs reconsideration

mittee wasnt able to think outside the box. For example, how does Desert Sands reflect the outlying communities of the district? As a description I can think of several communities, including the closest, Cache Creek, that can hardly call it an area of desert sand.

I think, as a result of a petition of 650 per-sons protesting the name, a revisit can hardly be considered undemocratic. On the contrary, it reveals a willingness to compromise and recon-sider the naming. It is scarcely a reflection that the selection committee made a mistake.

Criticism that the naming wasnt sufficient-ly publicized seems equally justified. I read my Journal faithfully every week, and whatever in-formation that was in it about the naming was not sufficient enough to penetrate. I still consid-er myself a reasonably intelligent reader.

To continue to hang on for dear life to a name that so many people dont like is inexplic-able. In a civil society, which so many of us be-lieve we have, reconsideration of a decision is considered the hallmark of success. The name has not been written in stone; at least, not yet.

Why not name a school after a person? Many schools are named after prominent people, such as Captain James Cook in Vancouver. That school could have been named Snowy Moun-tains or Ocean Tide orwell, you get the

point. But no: it was named after Cook. Isnt it time we paid a little homage to those who have contributed so much in years past to our com-munities? I can think of several retired educa-tors who deserve a school named after them.

Let Desert Sands be drained out of our thinking apparatus, and replaced after some ser-ious consideration.

Esther Darlington MacDonald,Ashcroft

Dear Editor,Id like to express sincere thanks to Cache Creek Councillor Wyatt McMurray for his won-derful work in bringing together the Cacheaid events over the past weekend. Dedication is a wonderful thing, and you showed that in abun-dance, Wyatt! Thank you.

Christopher Roden,Ashcroft

Correction: A headline in the issue of June 25 stated that the upcoming Desert Daze Festival in Spences Bridge was the fifth one. The August 2015 event will actually be the sixth annual De-sert Daze.

LETTERS from p. 4

FACE PAINTING AND FLAGS went hand in hand in Clinton on Canada Day. Photo by Christine Johnstone

Cacheaid congratulations

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A8 www.ash-cache-journal.com Thursday, July 9, 2015 The Journal

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The Journal Thursday, July 9, 2015 www.ash-cache-journal.com A9

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July Week 3ARIES - Mar 21/Apr 20 Aries, dont be fooled by appearances. Sometimes there is more than meets the eye, and nding the truth beneath the surface can prove enlightening.

TAURUS - Apr 21/May 21 Taurus, use this week to experiment in the kitchen. You will bene t from exploring new cuisines you have long been wanting to try but have yet to prepare.

GEMINI - May 22/Jun 21 Gemini, now is a perfect time to explore social events that can expand your social circle. You have plenty of friends, but you can always bene t from meeting new people.

CANCER - Jun 22/Jul 22 Cancer, your creativity is at an all-time high. Take advantage of your inspiration and get involved in a special project. Embrace this opportunity to put your creative energy to use.

LEO - Jul 23/Aug 23 Leo, now is the time to explore a new hobby. Invite others to join you to make your exploration that much more rewarding. Afford this interest ample time to grow.

VIRGO - Aug 24/Sept 22 Virgo, seek situations that are peaceful and surround yourself with like-minded, mellow people. Enjoy the respite that relaxing atmospheres provide.

LIBRA - Sept 23/Oct 23 You need a con dence booster, Libra. Take action and seek ways to feel better about a situation that has been bothering you. This proactive approach may be all you need.

SCORPIO - Oct 24/Nov 22 You may seem like you arent able to get ahead in your career, Scorpio. But it could be that youre looking to advance too quickly. Be patient and allow your skills to grow.

SAGITTARIUS - Nov 23/Dec 21 Take credit for your ideas, Sagittarius. Remember to be humble, but dont feel shy about expressing your pride in a job well done.

CAPRICORN - Dec 22/Jan 20 Get the facts before drawing any conclusions this week, Capricorn. Allow some time to assess a situation that has proven dif cult to handle. Things may be more clear tomorrow.

AQUARIUS - Jan 21/Feb 18 A longtime friend may evolve into something more soon, Aquarius. A spark has always been there, and you might be ready to explore a new relationship.

PISCES - Feb 19/Mar 20 Pisces, dont fret when plans are canceled at the last minute. Try to reschedule as soon as possible and make the most of your newfound free time.

LORIWELBOURNEloriwelbourne.com

ON A BRIGHTER

NOTE

Stop hiding behind the camera Last week I was in-

terviewed by a news-paper reporter for the Stop Dog Theft event I was plan-ning and he asked for a picture of me with our beloved pup whos been missing since March. Before I even started look-ing I warned him the chances werent good.I knew I had tons of

photos from the last five years of Charlie with his sister, and with our children, but even though I was with the dogs the ma-jority of the time, I wasnt sure if Id ever had my picture taken with either one of them. After reviewing thousands of images

in my computer, I was disappointed that I couldnt find any.A few weeks before

that I went through a similar exercise when it was the birthday of my dearly departed mother and I wanted to post a picture on Facebook of me alone with her. I could only find two, and neither

one was great.Since my daugh-

ters birthday was approaching I also started looking for photos of just her and I together and wasnt able to find many.Remind me to give

you the camera, I told my husband when he came home that night. Im in hardly any of our pictures with the kids and theyre going to be saddened by that one day.Youve mentioned

that before, he said. The problem is you never like getting your picture taken. He was right. I dont, and I almost always object. I know all too well that taking

pictures of someone whos trying to avoid the camera isnt fun or easy.My 14 year old son,

Sam has become one of those people.He didnt used to

be like that. He used to be like his 12 year old sister, Daisy who hams it up whenever the cameras on her. But in the last few years hes quick to hide his face and Ive noticed most of his friends do the same.No, mom, hell

say behind his hands whenever I attempt to take his picture. Lat-er. He must have learned that from me. Now I threaten I wont leave him alone until he lets me get a good shot. I also promise not to post any images online without his approval.One day youll

be happy you have these photos of you with your friends, I said to him and his buddies while they complained about us parents taking their pictures at middle school graduation a couple weeks ago. Now I need to get

myself out from be-hind the camera and in front of it once in awhile. I cant worry about not looking good enough either. Good enough for what? My kids arent going to care if Im not picture perfect any more that I cared if my mother was. Theyll just be happy to have photos of themselves with their

dear old mom. Of course theyll want them with their dad, relatives, teachers, friends and dogs as well, but Ive done a decent job providing them with plenty of those.Photographs are

powerful. They cap-ture our memories and connect us to the people, places, events and emotions

that make us who we are. Its important we leave our children with pictures of us because were a huge part of their lives. We might not love looking at ourselves in a photo album, but they will cherish them.Lori Welbourne is a

syndicated columnist. She can be contacted at LoriWelbourne.com

A10 www.ash-cache-journal.com Thursday, July 9, 2015 The Journal

With a few keystrokes you can sample thousands of opinions, a oat in a sea of information. But as the volume increases, the accuracy and reliability of professional journalism is essential. Gathering and sorting the facts, weighing and interpreting events, and following the story from beginning to end is more important than ever.

With a few keystrokes you can sample thousands of opinions, professional journalism

is more important than ever.

Richard RolkeSenior reporter and columnist at the Vernon Morning Star. A recipient of numerous community honours, he has been a respected voice in the North Okanagan for 25 years.

a watchdog over the powerful.

Coming ComingEvents

MEMBERS & BONA FIDE GUESTS WELCOME

Monday - Tuesday - Wednesday 12 pm - 5 pm Thursday - Friday 12 pm - 11 pm

Saturday 12 pm - 8 pm Sunday 12 pm - 6 pm

Ashcroft Legion General Meeting3rd Monday of each month at 7:30 p.m.

(no meeting July and August)

Euchre rst, second & third Sundays of every month1:00 to 4:00 pm, beginners welcome

MEAT DRAWEvery Saturday ~ 3:00 pm

Ashcroft Royal Canadian LegionFRI., JULY 10th 6:30 - 7:15 pm

Greek Dinner$10/plate

Served with Chicken Souvlaki, Rice Pilaf,Spanakopita and more!

* Legion Crib Tournament last Sunday of the monthOpen 10 am starts 11 am sharp - 12 games * Free Pool Daily

Crib every Thursday at 7:00 pmDarts every Thursday at 7:30 pm

Bingo 1st & 3rd WednesdayDoors open 6:00 pm, games start 6:30 pm.

Hamburgers & Chickenburgers served every Wednesday from Noon

July 18/19: Ashcroft Wellness & Music Festival. Free music, kids activities, workshops, vendors and more! Heritage Place Park.

July 20: Cache Creek Council meeting at 7 pm in the Village Office.

Aug. 7/8: Desert Daze music festival in Spences Bridge. Two days of music, arts, culture and agriculture.

Every Saturday from 9 am to noon. The Cache Creek Market is open at the main intersection in Cache Creek, next to Chums Restaurant, from now until October. We welcome both Farmer and Flea tables. Call 778-207-6957 for vending information.

Add your community events to ouronline calendar at

http://www.ash-cache-journal.com/calendar/

CHANGE TO OFFICE HOURS

FOR PROPERTY TAX PAYMENTSPlease be advised that the Village Office located at 601 Bancroft Street will remain open during the noon hour from Thursday, July 2nd to Wednesday, July 15th, 2015 inclusive to allow residents to pay their property taxes.

Deadline for property tax payments is 4:00 pm, Wednesday, July 15th to avoid the 10% penalty.

The Journal Thursday, July 9, 2015 www.ash-cache-journal.com A 11COMMUNITY

Looking up or down Railway Avenue today, we find many gaps between build-ings. The wide street seems to have had too many of its teeth pulled over the past few decades, and is only a ghost of what it was in 1970. Ashcrofts main street then was a progression of structuressome of them sound, some of them not sobut the string of wood and brick stores, cottages, sheds, and fen-ces made for a full spectacle. The streetfirst paved in 1962had just been repaved from end to end by the illustrious Highways Min-ister, Flying Phil Gaglardi, whose crew had asphalt left over from the pav-ing of Highway One and used it up on Railway at the request of the then-Mayor of Ashcroft, Chris Hollis.

Its hard to imagine the street, as it now is, as having been one of the busiest and most colourful thoroughfares in the whole Cariboo. Yes, were seeing more truck traffic rumbling by, including log-ging trucks barrelling across the bridge

as if their lives depended on getting from one clear cut to another. But there are hours, even days, when a lone tumble-weed tumbling its melancholy way down the middle of Railway, diverted occasion-ally into one of the vacant lots by a va-grant gust of wind, makes the town look

more like a scene in a spaghetti western. We expect to see Clint Eastwood, gimlet-eyed, dust-covered, the band on his cow-boy had stained with sweat, trotting non-chalantly by, rifle in hand.

Of course, on days like that people stay home, and Railway seems a light year away. Who notices its gap-toothed reality then? That is why on Sundays we see most of the establishments along

Railway closed.Lets begin at the north

end of Railway. In 1970 a small cottage sat where the

towns second little red fire hall now sits. It seemed disenfranchised on that spit of land above the road leading to a string of cabins which stretched along the bench just above whats now the parking lot of the River Inn. Yes, there were cab-ins there, rented out to people pass-ing through or to crews surveying the highway; the River Inn did not arrive until the early 1980s.

The cottage at the top of Rail-way was a neat, well-kept resi-dence with a picket fence, if mem-ory serves, and I always wondered who lived there. Kitty-corner from the cottage, where the car wash stands, was a fence built of high boards and the start of a string of false-fronted shops, with small verandas above the entries. Those false-front shops began with Wing Chong Tais general store, which sold everything from soup to nails, fresh meat and vegetables to boots:

you name it.Across from Wing

Chong Tais, where Safety Mart now is, was a stretch of more shops, with houses be-hind. This first block of Railway was China-town, stretching right to Bunduss Black-smith and Fabricat-ing. I dont think you can imagine the var-iety, colour, and tex-ture of that section of Railway. Described in 1977 as The fin-est western streetscape in Canada by an offi-cial from Ottawa one fine summers day, that scene is gone, al-though a few of us will remember Mrs. Aies

store, where we were able to buy ginger candy from her collection of glass jars full of candy. There was Wing Wo Lung, and Loys grocery store, and a dark brown shop where one brought their bottles.

Neither side of Railway on that block had room for vacant lots. It was filled with

TALES FROM THE PASTEsther Darlington McDonald

A stroll down Railway as it used to be

Chinatown on Railway Avenue in 1952, looking north. It remained relatively unchanged until the early 1970s, when most of the remaining shops were pulled down.

See COLOURFUL on p. 14

Community Volunteer GroupsThe Royal Canadian Legion #113301 Brink St., Ashcroft, BC V0K 1A0Phone: 250-453-2423 Fax # 250-453-9625

South Cariboo Elizabeth Fry Society601 Bancroft St. Box 603, Ashcroft, BC V0K 1A0250-453-9656

Ashcroft and District Fall FairContact Person: Janna 250-457-6614Contact Person: Jessica 250-457-7128

Second Time Around201 Railway Ave., Ashcroft BC Anne Bonter 250-457-9781

BC Lung Association Carolyn Chorneychuk,Director 250-453-9683 Email:[email protected]

Ashcroft & District Rodeo AssociationPhone: 250-457-9390

SCI Thompson River, B.C. ChapterKen Brown - Phone: 250-453-9415

Ashcroft Yoga GroupCall Marijke - Phone: 250-453-0050

Desert Bells Handbell ChoirCarmen Ranta 250-457-9119

Sage Sound Singers Adult Community Choir Michelle Reid 250-457-9676

Cache Creek Market andCache Creek Garden ClubMarcie Down 250-457-9630

Cache Creek Beautification Society and Cache Creek Communities in BloomCarmen Ranta 250-457-9119

Ashcroft and Masonic LodgeZarthan Lodge No#105Contact Person: Fred Dewick Phone 250-453-2415

Canadian Red Cross - Health Equipment Loan Program (H.E.L.P.)Ashcroft Hospital - 250-453-2244

Ashcroft & District Tennis AssociationContact Person: Maria Russell MartinPhone 250-453-9391

Ashcroft & District Lions ClubContact Person: Nick Lebedoff Phone 250-453-2664

Ashcroft-Cache Creek Seniors Assc.601 Bancroft St., Ashcroft, BC Phone 250-453-9762

The Ashcroft & District Health Care Auxiliary Thrift Store601 Bancroft St., Ashcroft, BC Phone 250-453-9944

347 Royal Canadian Sea Cadet CorpContact Person: Lt. (N) Curran 250-319-3461Alexine Johannsson 250-453-2661email: [email protected]

Sage & Sand Pony ClubDistrict Commissioner: Marcie [email protected].

Ashcroft-Cache Creek Rotary ClubContact Person: Karin Magnuson Phone 250-457-6629

Desert Spokes Cycle SocietyPhone 250-457-9348

Ashcroft Cache Creek Better at Home405 Railway Ave. 250-453-9911 - Sandy

Ashcroft Curling Club Phone 250-453-2341

Ducks Unlimited CanadaAshcroft/Cache Creek Volunteer ChapterPhone 250-374-8307

Ashcroft Volunteer Fire DepartmentPhone 250-453-2233

Cache Creek Volunteer Fire DepartmentPhone 250-457-9967

Bridging to LiteracyContact Person: Ann Belcham 250-453-9417

Ashcroft Royal Purple Phone 250-457-9122

The Purpose of Sunday Car ClubPresident: Tom Lowe 240-457-6564

Cache Creek Recreation SocietyContact Person: Jackie Phone 250-457-9122

Winding Rivers Arts and Performance Society250-453-2053

South Cariboo Sportsmen Assc. #3366Attn: Marian Pitt, Box 341, Ashcroft BC V0K 1A0

Soccer AssociationContact: Tom Watson Phone 250-457-7178

Thompson Cariboo Minor Hockey AssociationContact: Lewis Kinvig [email protected]

Historic Hat Creek RanchContact: Jack Jeyes Phone 250-453-2259

Ashcroft Soups OnSt. Albans Anglican Church Hall, 501 Brink StreetTel: 250-453-9909 or 250-453-2053 - All Welcome

Ashcroft Communities in BloomContact Persons: Andrea Walker 250-453-9402 or Marijke Stott 250-453-0050

Taoist Tai Chi Contact Person: Danita HowardPhone 250-453-9907 e-mail: [email protected]

Ashcroft Hospice ProgramShirley 250-453-9202

Kinsmen Club of South CaribooContact Person: Dave 250-453-9062

A 12 www.ash-cache-journal.com Thursday, July 9, 2015 The JournalCOMMUNITY

The legend of Walhachin gets a fresh lookWalhachin: Birth of a Legendby Larry Jacobsen (2014)Reviewed by Barbara Roden

Walhachin, located halfway between Cache Creek and Savona, is often re-ferred to as a ghost town; but its an odd sort of a one. Most ghost towns are long since abandoned and forgotten, and Wal-hachin is neither. Several dozen people still live there, and far from being forgot-ten, Walhachin has passed almost into the realm of legend, the subject of books and dissertations, home to a vibrant museum and community centre, and an enduring fascination to many.

This unlikely community was the brainchild of American engineer Charles E. Barnes (no relation to the Barnes family that first settled Ashcroft) who, in late 1906 or early 1907, passed through the area by train and was attracted by the verdancy of the Penny Ranch, with its 40 acres of irrigated land in the middle of a seeming desert. Barnes had seen the Oka-nagan Valley, and knew what could be coaxed from the land there. He envisioned the same thing for the area around the Penny Ranch, which would not just grow the cattle fodder that Penny had devoted most of his space to. For Penny also had two acres of apple orchard, and Barnes

knew that fruit and vegetable crops were worth much more than feed.

He turned to the B.C. Development Association, founded in Britain in 1895 to invest in development projects in the province. After an agriculturist and engin-eer from the BCDA had visited the site, the group purchased the Penny Ranch and the nearby Greaves Ranchnear-ly 1,750 acresin 1908. By 1911 more than 500 acres of apples had been plant-ed, following the building of an extensive flume system which brought water to the parched land. Four years later the apple orchard had doubled in size, with fill-

er crops of vegetables planted alongside the apples to provide rev-enue until the trees could produce crops.

Then came August 1914, and the start of World War I. Most of the Walhachin settlers were English in origin, and they answered their countrys call and left for war. The fact that almost none of them came backcombined with the failure of the main flume in a disastrous 1918 stormare, in the popular imagination, what doomed Walhachin.

In Walhachin: Birth of a Legend author Larry Jacob-sen examines the birth, rise, and fall of Walhachin. In addition to a thorough look at the community itself, Ja-cobsen extends his scope to include a history of the Christie family, which was instrumental in the early days of Walhachin, as well as a thorough look at the people who were there when the area was known as Wal-hassen: the Skeetchestn In-dians. He gives valuable in-sight into many of the men who settled in Walhachin in its early days: the so-called remittance men, second (or third or fourth) sons of mid-dle- to upper-class British families who had been edu-cated to be gentlemen and little else, and thus were un-suited to much in the way of work. Their families shipped them off to the Colonies, and places like Walhachin, with little more than a remittance sufficient to get them across the ocean and away from be-ing a burden on the family.

Jacobsen breaks away from popular wisdomwhich states that the Sno-hoosh Flume, that brought water from the Deadman Valley to Walhachin, was shoddily constructed, hence its destruction after a two-day downpour in 1918by arguing that the flume was well engineered and built,

and that its destruction was just one of many factors which doomed Walhachin. In addition to the lack of men in the com-munity during and after the war, he points to depressed land prices both during WW I and in its immediate aftermath, and the dramatic drop in fruit and produce prices after the war, which would have made labour- and water-intensive Walhachin a poor fruit-growing area.

Along the way, Jacobsens book pro-vides a fascinating look at the genteel, quasi-English country life of the ear-ly Walhachin settlers, as well as the toll the war years took, and the sad aftermath. A facsimile of an early advertising bro-chure for Walhachin, intended to promote the settlement in England, is also includ-ed. An early page states that Walhachin

is An Indian word signifying an abun-dance of Food Products of the Earth; re-search shows the First Nations name ac-tually meant land of round rocks. Also included are dozens of wonderful photo-graphsmany of them never before seenof the community and its early in-habitants.

If I have a criticism, it is that the in-formation is marshaled in rather haphaz-ard fashion, with certain threads picked up, dropped, and then picked up again; more coherent organisation of informa-tion would have been helpful (particu-larly as there is no index). And while Ja-cobsen asserts that none of the Walhachin men who went off to war came backthe story he heard in 1969he fails to go into the details as to why this might have been the case. (Although Walhachin certainly sent a disproportionately large number of men, as a percentage of the population, off to war, the number of Walhachin men killed was well within the average, leav-ing room for speculation as to why the survivors did not return. It is not beyond the realm of probability that, since most of the Walhachin enlistees were of British origin, those who survived decided to re-turn to their homes in England rather than go back to an uncertain future in far-off Walhachin.)

That said, anyone interested in the history of Walhachin in particular, or in the early days of our area in general, would be advised to get a copy of Wal-hachin: Birth of a Legend, for its evoca-tive look at a nearby community, and for its wistful photographs of an attempt to turn the dusty benchlands of the Thomp-son into something more akin to what the early settlers were accustomed to in the English countryside. And the next time youre driving along Hwy. 1, if you have an hour to spare then take the time to turn off the road and visit Walhachin, the not-quite-ghost town, and imagine what could have been, and almost was.

Rick OConnor, President and CEO of Black Press Group Ltd. is pleased to announce the appointment of Andrew Franklin as Director of Digital Development for the Black Press Group British Columbia Divisions.

Andrew will be responsible for developing, implementing, tracking and optimizing digital marketing and audience development across British Columbia. He will work with digital staff and group Presidents to further develop our websites and mobile platforms as we continue to grow the digital part of our media business.

Andrew has managed award-winning teams over his 30-year newspaper career and has received North American-wide industry recognition for innovative digital initiatives over the last fi ve years. Recently he has taken a lead role in launching new products including the crowdfunding program BlackPress4Good.

Andrew currently serves as director of both the CCNA and BCYCNA newspaper associations and will continue to hold his position of Publisher at The Abbotsford News and Mission Record. He also serves on multiple committees and boards in the community.

He has been awarded Rotarys coveted Paul Harris Fellow on two occasions. He is married and lives in Abbotsford.

Andrew has a passion and a key understanding of the steps we need to take to further enhance Black Press capabilities in the digital space.

Please join me in congratulating Andrew in this new role with Black Press.

Rick OConnorPresident and CEOBlack Press

Appointment Notice

a key understanding of the steps we need to take to s capabilities in the digital space.

ulating Anndrew in this new

Andrew FranklinDirector of Digital Development

blackpress.ca bclocalnews.com

SPCA SeeksFoster Parents

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Spring is here,and BC SPCAshelters areoverflowing withorphaned andabandonedanimals. If you

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Spring is here, and BC SPCAshelters are overflowing withorphaned, abandoned andabused animals. If you canopen your heart and home tofoster a pet, please call or visityour local shelter today.

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Spring is here, and SPCAshelters are overflowingwith orphaned, abusedand abandoned animals.

If you can open your heartand home to foster a pet,please call or visit yourlocal shelter today.

CHURCHDIRECTORY

Anglican Church of CanadaCANON LOIS PETTY

St. Albans501 Brink St, Ashcroft ~ 250-453-9909

SUNDAY WORSHIP: 10 am

Seventh Day Adventist Church409 Bancroft, Ashcroft, BC

http://ashcroft22.adventistchurchconnect.orgPastor Karel Samek 250-523-9086

Local contact Reg Andersen 250-453-0090Worship Service 11:00 am

Crossroads Pentecostal AssemblyChrist Centered People Centered

1551 Stage Rd. Cache Creek B.C. 250-457-6463 crossroadspentecostalassembly.org

Pastor David MurphyWorship and Sermon commences at 10 a.m.

Everyone welcome

ZION UNITEDSunday Worship 10:50 am

401 Bancroft, Ashcroft, BC 250-453-9511 [email protected] http://ashcroftunited.ca

United Church of CanadaLay Leader: Angus Muir

The Journal Thursday, July 9, 2015 www.ash-cache-journal.com A 13COMMUNITY

An abundance of water, but fire is still a threatMake hay and make it rain?

Sunshine and blue skies marked the month of June along Loon Lake Road. Sure, there was a bit of rain as well, and as usual it came along just as the ranchers had cut their first crop of hay. It seems that cutting hay is a very effective rain-making activity. Now the hay is all stacked, the next crop is well underway, and the rain is scarce, so irrigation systems are working around the clock.

It is possible to grow a wide variety of crops here, but all need to be watered. When homesteaders first came

into the area they looked for low-lying, damp meadows for growing hay, as irrigation was difficult, time-con-suming, and often not an option. Food crops were often hand irrigated and it was an all day, every day kind of job at this time of year. As time passed, many ranchers dug complex systems of ditches, bringing water from a dis-tance to small diversion channels to water the fields and crops. Sprinkler irrigation came much later, as sprink-lers require water pressure usually only available with a pump and/or a large gravity feed system.

The old ditches and furrows have long since dis-appeared from most fields and new, highly effective water guns have taken over the job of watering the hay crops. Drip irrigation is almost the opposite of a water gun, and is very effective for food crops. Drip irrigation uses water very efficiently, delivering it to the base of the plants and not to the weeds in between the rows.

Some plants do not like to get their leaves wet and others, like zucchini, do not like water on the flowers, so drip irrigation is an excellent choice for crops like toma-toes, squash, and similar plants. In my garden the zuc-chini grows rampant over the compost and little water-ing is needed. I add it carefully on the side to make sure

the flowers are not wetted. Like everything else the zuc-chini is early in producing fruit this year, and already we are enjoying fresh little zucchinis with the flowers still attachedjust like in the gourmet magazines.

Taking water for grantedWater is the basis of life on this planet. If we didnt

have clean water we would have nothing to eat or drink and life would cease. Yet we tend to take water for grant-ed: just turn on a tap and there it is. Herewhere water comes from wells for the most partone starts to notice just how often water is used and taps turned on when the power is off and there is no water.

There is so little consideration given to ensuring that the earths water stays clean. Here at Loon Lake Road we are very fortunate with the number of springs and small creeks coming off the mountains and bringing clean water into the lake and Loon Creek. Loon Lake is deep and holds a lot of water, which stays cold long into the summer and warmish well into the winter sea-son, making it late to freeze over.

Out of sight, into the water supplyThe major change the past century has wrought for

water at Loon Lake is that decades of logging activity on the mountains appear to have altered the flow of some streams. They may again return to their former patterns as the young forests develop the deep, complex root systems that play a part in how water moves through and over the soil. In general there is very little obvious threat to the water in our area; however, as the popula-tion density increases, small individual actions could add up to future problems. Dumping chemicals, diesel, and so forth onto the ground, or flushing pharmaceut-icals into the septic tank, creates a legacy of trouble. It is not away when you do that the stuff is on its way to water somewhere.

Sprinklers mean worms to eatAt this time of the year, and with

the hot weather, the animals sure seem to appreciate water. I enjoy watch-

ing the squirrels drink at the bird water basin. Even the hummingbirds get in on the fun, dan-cing through the sprinklers. Robins know that a sprinkler means easy picking of worms, and they are right there as soon as they come on.

Report fire ban infringementsThe other natural element on the minds of Loon Lake

residents at this time is fire, especially wildfire. The sound of fire-fighting planes overhead every day is a re-minder of the serious situation around us right now. The recently announced ban on all types of outdoor fires, in-cluding campfires and fireworks, has left some worried residents breathing a bit easier.

While most of the people who live at or visit Loon Lake Road are very responsible, there are always one or two who are careless and create potentially danger-ous situations. Some visitors love to set off fireworks here when they know it is forbidden in the cities where they live. No one wants to ruin their summer by getting into a confrontation with a careless neighbour, and this ban makes it a lot easier. If you witness some one with a campfire, setting off fireworks, or even dropping a ciga-rette butt onto the ground do not hesitate to call the wild-fire number (1-800-665-5555), providing as much detail as you can about the incident.

Every second countsThese long summer days with the cooling breezes in

the evening are being enjoyed; but did you notice that June 30 was even longer than usual? The scientists who keep track of time needed to adjust our clocks, and they added one second onto the last minute of June. In the lifetime of one person it doesnt make a difference, but in the Earths lifetime it can make a difference if adjust-ments arent made regularly. I am amazed by how accur-ate the earlier scientists who measured and set the day into hours, minutes, and seconds were, while using rela-tively simple instruments.

Have a fun and safe summer, everyone!

FROM LOON LAKE ROADBarbara Hendricks

Your Local Business Directory

Fax: 250-453-2277 409 Hollis Road, AshcroftMain o ce located at Ashcroft Irly Building Centre

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453-2242

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Weekly Lawn Maintenance New customers always welcome

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A 14 www.ash-cache-journal.com Thursday, July 9, 2015 The JournalCOMMUNITY

Colourful Railway no more to be seen

wood frame structures that sold one thing or another; and a few of us will recall the gardens behind the high board fences and the alleys between the shops, where a bear once found himself trapped. Some might even remember drinking a choco-late soda at the ice cream shop on Rail-way (but if there any such people around, they must be of an age). There was even a butcher shop, where the Credit Union parking lot is today.

Railway held several hardware stores, each of them specializing in something different from the others. One had fishing

and hunting merchandise, for example; another sold outdoor clothing, boots, and rain gear; and yet another had building supplies, lumber, nails, and appliances. You could go from shop to shop and see something different all along Railway.

Further up the street there was Jay Rays mens clothing shop, specializing in fine quality garments and footwear that were as good as anything to be found in Kamloops. Fran Hellands ladies ready-to-wear shop was nothing short of elegant in the quality of dresses, suits, and jewel-lery available. There was also Grant Sid-wells jewellery and watch repair shop. How many people chose their wedding

and engagement rings there?On the block between

5th and 6th, where the gar-den centre is now, was a

two-storey frame house where Ashcrofts policeman, Joe Burr, once lived with his family. A high caragana hedge framed the yard. At the corner of 6th and Railway stands a beautifully maintained herit-age building with two brick chimneys which was in turn the BX Express head-quarters, the main office of the cannery, and the courthouse, and is now a private residence. Jack Elgys repair shop was a weather-darkened cottage near where the Bottle Depot (once the Purity Feeds store) is located.

The point of this article is that this quality of neighbourhoodcluttered, full

of character, and unique to Ashcroftis just history today. And its happening all across North America, as can be seen in now-abandoned country towns across the prairies. There is little left to take their place, as we seem to have substitut-ed character and colour for the stark sub-stance of utility.

No doubt the railway right of way had something to do with the elimination of some buildings on Railway Avenue. But whatever the reason for the changes that have left too much room for the tumble-weeds, and too much of a wind tun-nel for the spring and fall gusts to swirl down the street, it is more than a little sad. Yes, change is inevitable. But too much change for Ashcroft has meant an emptier and emptier Railway Avenue.

RAILWAY from p. 11

Ashcroft Cache Creek Journal Thursday, July 9, 2015 www.ash-cache-journal.com A15

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