Invermere Valley Echo, April 22, 2015

STEVE [email protected]

The District of Invermere (DOI) is pursing a multi-million dollar grant to help fund the new multi-use centre as well as some other community projects.

Invermere council resolved unani-mously during its Monday, April 13th meeting to submit a $6 million grant ap-plication to the Union of British Colum-bia Municipalities (UBCM) Strategic Priorities Fund for capital funding for the multi-use centre; another for $1.8 million for revitalization work on 13th Avenue; and still another for $65,000 to help develop an Infrastructure Priori-ties Replacement Plan.

“The ask (for the multi-use centre application) is for $6 million, but if we’re lucky we’ll get $2 million,” said DOI chief administrative of� cer Chris Prosser, saying it is rare for applica-tions to get the full amount asked for

from this grant. He pointed out that the total amount

of the fund is $120 million and that al-most every single one of the more than 180 municipalities in B.C., as well as re-gional districts, will apply to the grant for at least one project, if not more.

If the funds were distributed equally, the amount coming to each municipality would be less than $1 million, he contin-ued, but added that the multi-use centre application should be a strong contender, since projects must be regional in nature to quali-fy (which the planned new centre is) and should correspondingly be scored quite highly by UBCM staff.

“There is a genuine regional compo-nent, particularly with the recreation and tourism aspects,” said Prosser, who expressed further optimism be-

cause this year the � nal say on applica-tions comes from UBCM staff, not from a federal government minister (as had previously been the case).

“So theoretically the application will be decided solely by the scoring it gets from UBCM staff, not by any political considerations such as trying to curry

favour and get votes in a particular riding by approving certain projects,” said mayor Gerry Taft, who also asked if it might be more prudent to pare

back the amount asked for in the grant and direct the funding to a speci� c as-pect of the planned multi-use centre, rather than ask for the full amount for the whole project.

Mr. Prosser replied that it is strategi-cally smarter to ask for the full amount.

“Right now, it’s a stronger application than it would be if we broke it down,

hived it off and asked for less,” he said.Councillor Greg Anderson asked what

would theoretically happen in the event that the district was granted the full $6 million, if it would mean the dis-trict (and its taxpayers) would use the grant funding to build the community centre without borrowing the $5 mil-lion approved for the district to borrow by voters in a 2013 referendum.

“It’s extremely unlikely to get the full amount, but if we did I think we would then have to have a discussion on whether or not to include addition-al phases (several phases are planned for the multi-use centre) and achieve economies of scale in construction,” responded Prosser.

The 13th Avenue revitalization ap-plication is a request for money to help replace sewer and water lines on the avenue between 14th Street and Georlich Road, and to do some road

See A4

Invermere hoping to boost multi-use centre funding

BERNIE RAVENCHRIS RAVEN1-866-598-7415TEAMRAVEN.CA

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Maxwell Realty Invermere

It’s extremely unlikely to get the

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CHIEF ADMINISTRATIVE OFFICER

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PUBLICATIONS MAIL REGISTRATION NO. 7856

College of the Rockies presents fi ve-year plan 3

6A pollinating plant: the crocus correction

Visit columbiavalleyarts.com for our current events calendar, or call 250-342-4423.

What does ARTmean to you?

Shields Johnson Fielding Trio LIVE at PynelogsSaturday April 25th at 7:30 pm

Art From the Heart at Pynelogs April 7th to 26th · Gallery Open daily from 11 to 5 pmCall for more info 250.342.4423

HAPPy BIrTHdAy To PynELogS!1914 - 2014

Celebrating 100 years

FEATHER FASCINATION

It’s an exciting time of year in the Columbia Wetlands as thousands of birds return on their spring migration. Eagle Eye Tours co-owner Cam Gillies led a group on a birdwatching mission on Saturday, April 18th to check out the action. Turn to page 10 for a fi rst-hand account by a fi rst-time birder. PHOTO BY NICOLE TRIGG

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April 22April 22April 22April 22April 22April 22April 22April 22April 22April 22April 22April 22April 22April 22April 22April 22April 22April 22ndndnd

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ALLEYV CHOEThe Invermere

A2 invermerevalleyecho.com Wednesday, April 22, 2015 The Valley Echo

Snapshot

ALLEY

VALLEY

V

Snapshot LAKE LOVELINESS... Thank you to Mary Lawrie for this beautiful photo of a calm Lake Windermere taken from Kinsmen Beach last week. PHOTO BY MARY LAWRIE

BDO is pleased to offer tax assistance in our Invermere offi ce this spring on Wednesdays and Thursdays (8:30 AM - 4:30 PM) from March 4 until April 30.

To book an appointment, please call: 250 342 3383

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BDO HELPS YOU TACKLE TAX SEASON

OCALL EWSN

COTR unveils strategic plan to Invermere

BREANNE [email protected]

Roughly 40 community leaders gathered together at the Lions Hall on Saturday, April 11th to hear a guest presentation from COTR president and CEO David Wal-lis and his team about the upcoming plans that have been envisioned for students in the Columbia Valley.

The meeting followed on the heels of the April 1st roll-out by the college of a new fi ve-year long strategic plan to engage communities with the opportunity to have an enriching education.

“I think the biggest challenge has been waiting to get the framework in place so that we can focus on what’s important,” said Wallis.

“Then, we wanted to make sure that we’re working to-gether. The team I’ve got is very active and their engage-ment, as opposed to working individually, has been more important than people going off and being stars and do-ing different things. It’s about recognizing the need to work as a team because we have limited resources and we’ve got to focus on the investment we make so that it brings a return back to the college.”

The plan to recruit students from far and wide began to take shape in late 2013 when the Strategic Planning Committee (SPC) formed with 14 members from stu-dents, faculty, support staff, middle and senior man-agement along with the Board of Governors to evaluate the needs of everybody and create a show of solidarity at COTR.

There were also information sessions with citizens held in Fernie, Cranbrook, Kimberley, Golden and Cres-ton.

In total, more than than 200 people attended sessions to provide feedback about ongoing programs and set priorities for the future.

“What came out of the initial consultations with COTR

in Invermere, when we had those meetings a year ago, we are looking at developing a full-time program here,” said Doug Clovechok, general manager of COTR Inver-mere campus.

“Right now, we don’t have a full-time base funded pro-gram, so we’re looking at possibilities (such as) health care, tourism recreation management and First Nations programs. There’s lots on the table right now.”

Wallis explained the process to come up with the strategic plan came from consultations internally and externally to ensure communities throughout the val-ley could get behind the fi ve-year plan by investigating COTR’s history and future by looking at its strengths, weaknesses.

“I want to make sure that students in Invermere un-derstand what COTR is and that we have multiple cam-puses,” Wallis explained.

“We need to make sure the potential students under-stand what it is we have to offer and we can counsel them. In the end, it may be that we’re not counselling them to take a program here, but maybe we’re tell-ing them the advantages of going to Calgary to take a program compared to us, so that they can make an in-formed decision.”

Clovechok added it’s important to address the needs of the Invermere community and to improve the Inver-mere campus to help serve those needs appropriately.

“I think we want to do two things,” said Clovechok. “We want to provide our own students, here in the val-ley, an opportunity to stay in the valley. Let’s look at an education that makes sense for them in relationship to the jobs that are available — we live in this amazing, beautiful place and this could be such an international place, whether it’s for tourism or health care — what-ever it’s going to be to promote this area internation-ally, which not only brings in students but also brings in (tourism).”

invermerevalleyecho.com A3Wednesday, April 22, 2015 The Valley Echo

An application to increase the capacity for the licensed patio area has been received by the Liquor Control and Licensing Branch from the Station Inn Pub located at 1701 6th Avenue in Invermere. The current licensed hours are 10:00 am to Midnight Monday to Thursday, 11:00 am to 1:00 am Friday to Saturday and 11:00 am to Midnight on Sunday. (No change)The proposed patio expansion capacity will increase the establishment’s overall occu-pant load from 118 (Interior and patio) to 150 (Interior and patio).Residents and owners of businesses located within a 0.5 mile (0.8 km) radius of the proposed site may comment on this proposal by 1) Writing to:

THE GENERAL MANAGERC/O Licensing Analyst

LIQUOR CONTORL AND LICENSING BRANCHPO BOX 9292

Victoria, BC V8W 9J8OR

2) By email: [email protected]

PETITIONS AND FORM LETTERS WILL NOT BE CONSIDEREDTo ensure the consideration of your views, your comments, name and address must be received on or before the deadline date for public response is Friday May 8th. Please note that your comments may be made available to the applicant or local government officials where disclosure is necessary to administer the licensing process.

NOTICE OF INTENTRE: LIQUOR CONTROL AND LICENSING ACT

APPLICATION FOR A LIQUOR PRIMARY (LP) AMENDMENT

Apply now for the FCC AgriSpirit Fund

Since 2004, we’ve given $8 million for nearly 900 community projects across Canada. This year, your project could be added to the list.

Apply online by May 18.

FCCAgriSpiritFund.ca

From our heart to your community

BIG BAND DANCE32nd Annual DTSS Big Band Dance

Saturday, April 25th

Cocktails at 7:30 p.m.Dancing at 8:00 p.m.

Buffet at 10:15 p.m.

Tickets Available at Lambert Kipp Pharmacy, Majestic U-Brew, any Senior Stage Band Student or call 250-342-9213 ext. 136. Dinner Catered by Anne Riches

Tickets $2500

Invermere Community Hall

“Come to danceor come to

listen.”

Follow & friend the Valley Echo

@TheValleyEcho www.facebook.com/InvermereValleyEcho


OCALL EWSNRegional conference comes

bearing food for thoughtBreanne Massey

[email protected]

There’s an opportunity for local politicians to improve governance by working together in a collaborative nature.

District of Invermere mayor Gerry Taft, Radium Hot Springs mayor Clara Reindhart, Village of Canal Flats mayor Ute Juras and Regional District of East Kootenay (RDEK) Area F direc-tor Wendy Booth and Area G director Gerry Wilkie will be making the journey to attend the Association of Kootenay and Boundary Local Governments (AKBLG) annual general meeting (AGM) in Nakusp between Wednesday, April 22nd and Friday, April 24th.

This year’s AGM theme is encouraging municipalities to change, challenge and collaborate with the entire Kootenay region — a goal that has become a talking point for many Columbia Valley representatives.

Taft, who is currently sitting on the executive as the interim vice president of the AKBLG, is eager to encourage his peers to make waves.

“One of the biggest things we’re trying to do this year is to prioritize the resolutions so throughout this conference every year, we usually vote on resolutions,” explained Taft. “Those go forward to the Union of B.C. Municipalities and what we’re trying to do this year is to encourage the Kootenay membership to decrease the number of resolutions and improve the quality. Then, we want to take the next step and see the top five (resolutions). Our hope is to make the resolutions more effective.”

The idea behind taking this approach to work together cohesively could be for the greater good.“Trying to change the resolutions is definitely an attempt to change,” Taft explained. “It’s a

challenge to get it right, and if we do get it right, then we’ll have collaboration too… It always turns out that whatever challenge we might have, we’re not the only ones facing it, even though we think we’re all unique — the issues are often really common.

“Even if it’s a smaller or bigger place, we all face the same challenges, it all comes down to money, infrastructure, staffing — we’re all in the same business so a lot of the challenges are the same.”

The importance of transparency and good local government motivate the many delegates who plan to attend the AKBLG.

Ultimately, said Reindhart, the AKBLG is typically viewed as a safe place to find common ground with other municipalities and come up with problem-solving strategies. It will be Re-indhart’s sixth trip to the AKBLG and she is eager to return.

“It’s a good opportunity to compare notes with the other municipal leaders in the Kootenay Boundary region because we spend a fair bit of time in the Columbia Valley,” she said.

She believes the opportunity to learn and share from one another could help benefit everyone.“I think one of the things that is always interesting is the theme that they choose, and their

theme this year is Change, Challenge and Collaborate,” said Reindhart. “I think that’s going to set the tone and I think that there’s a recognition by all communities that the status quo isn’t working. Everything around us is changing and there’s a lot of communities who have been trying to go it on their own — and it’s not working.”

However, she laughed in jest about the term collaboration, noting it was going to start losing its meaning soon.

“It’s an overused word,” said Reindhart. “In fact, I went to one conference where they said, ‘the next person who says collaboration is going to buy drinks,’ but collaboration is key be-cause there are areas where we can work together and then there are other areas where we can’t because we want to maintain our individuality. I think that’s going to be a really interest-ing theme and it’s already starting to exist in the Columbia Valley.”

The opportunity to collect information from other municipalities, build up a network, discuss hypothetical solutions to ongoing regional and municipal challenges are critical factors for lo-cal government authorities who are still learning how to work together for the greater good.

“I view this as a learning opportunity,” Booth replied in an email from the road. “There are several sessions that interest me, Water and Sewer infrastructure, conflict of interest and the recent Tsilhqot’in Nation decision and how that impacts the duty to consult with First Na-tions from a local government perspective.”

Juras agreed with the sentiment that the AKBLG is an opportunity to learn from others.“The cutbacks at the (Canfor) mill (in Canal Flats) are in the forefront of our minds,” ex-

plained Juras. “I’m looking forward to talking to other communities that have a resource-based industry in their towns and seeing what they are doing to diversify.”

However, Juras added, Canal Flats won’t be bringing any resolutions forward at the AKBLG AGM.

“There’s always a lot to learn when you go,” said Juras. “For me, the networking is very im-portant, so I look forward to speaking to other mayors and councillors in the area to see what their issues are and to see how they’re handling their challenges. It helps a lot to bring that (information) back to council and discuss it.”

Village of Radium Hot Springs councillor Tyler McCauley will also be attending the AKBLG AGM.


19 - 24th Avenue South, Cranbrook BC V1C 3H8Ph: 250-489-2791 • 888-478-7335

The Regional District of East Kootenay (RDEK) Board of Directors is considering an application by 1817796 Alberta Ltd. to amend the Fairmont Hot Springs Area Official Community Plan and the Upper Columbia Valley Zoning Bylaw. If approved, the bylaws will amend the OCP and Zoning designations of the subject property to accommodate a proposed subdivision creating approximately 16 single family residential parcels. The subject property is located on Columbia Lake Road as shown on the attached map.

Bylaw No. 2551 cited as “Regional District of East Kootenay – Fairmont Hot Springs Area Official Community Plan Bylaw No. 1734, 2004 – Amendment Bylaw No. 26, 2014 (Columbia Lake / 1817796 Alberta Ltd.)” will amend the designation of Lot 2, District Lot 4596, Kootenay District, Plan 2929 from GC, General Commercial to R-SF, Residential Low Density.

Bylaw No. 2552 cited as “Regional District of East Kootenay – Upper Columbia Valley Zoning Bylaw No. 900, 1992 – Amendment Bylaw No. 294, 2014 (Columbia Lake / 1817796 Alberta Ltd.)” will amend the designation of Lot 2, District Lot 4596, Kootenay District, Plan 2929, from C-2, Service Commercial Zone to R-1, Single Family Residential Zone.

A public hearing will be held at: Fairmont Hot Springs Resort (Birch Room) 5225 Fairmont Resort Road

Fairmont Hot Springs, BC Thursday, May 7, 2015 at 7:00 pm

The Board has delegated the holding of this hearing to the Directors for Electoral Area F, Electoral Area G and the Village of Canal Flats.

If you believe that your interest in property is affected by the proposed Bylaw, you may prior to the hearing:

• inspect the Bylaw and supporting information at the RDEK office in Cranbrook from 8:30 am to 4:30 pm Monday through Friday, excluding statutory holidays;

• mail, fax or email written submissions to the addresses/numbers shown below; or

• present written and/or verbal submissions at the hearing.

Submissions cannot be accepted after the public hearing.

All written submissions are public information pursuant to the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act. This notice is not an interpretation of the Bylaw.

For more information, contact Jean Terpsma, Planning Technician, at 250-489-0314, toll free at 1-888-478-7335, or email [email protected].

BYLAW 2551 & 2552Public Hearing Notice - Bylaw Amendment

Columbia Lake

Regional District of East Kootenay

rehabilitation and create a segregated pathway for students walking to Eileen Madson Primary (EMP) school to use.

The Infrastructure Priorities Replacement Plan is a long-term plan stipulating when and how infrastructure should be upgraded and having one would make district planning for such measures more effective.

The Strategic Priorities Fund is doled out every few year, most recently in 2011. In 2011, the DOI had submitted an application to the grant, but did not receive any money.

INVERMERE from A1

OUNCILC RIEFSBInvermere may need to tighten future society spending

STEVE HUBRECHTsteve@ invermerevalleyecho.com

Invermere council at its most recent council meet-ing executed several fee for service agreements and discussed a request from a resident to improve the traffi c and the roads around the local museum and library.

The fee for services agreements included $30,000 for the Columbia Valley Chamber of Commerce; $25,000 for Columbia Valley Arts (CV Arts); $12,500 for the Windermere District Historical Society; $10,000 for the Lake Windermere Ambassadors; $6,000 for the Columbia Valley Hospice Society; and $5,000 for the Toby Creek Nordic Society.

All were unanimously approved by council during its Monday, April 13th meeting.

“I’m glad to see the Hospice Society getting a bit more this time. They’ve made big strides and are doing great things,” said councillor Greg Anderson.

Councillor Al Miller said he was glad for similar reasons to see the Historical Society receive more this time around.

Councillor Justin Atterbury launched a discussion on whether or not the district should start warn-

ing these societies that the district might have to tighten its spending in future when it begins to pay for the new multi-use centre.

“I think we need to get that message out. I think when September comes we’re going to have to do some slashing in our budget. I think we need to pre-pare people for that,” he said.

Other councillors agreed the district may need to tighten spending, but said they hoped regional dis-trict funding will help keep funding for these societ-ies at current levels.

“Most of these groups have services extending well beyond the district boundaries,” said Inver-mere mayor Gerry Taft.

“We do get some regional district funding, but it’s often ad hoc, one-off and not operational. The idea of an economic service area (for the Upper Colum-bia Valley), which has been discussed, would ad-dress that and provide a consistent funding stream.”

No Parking signs requestedCouncil received a letter from Invermere resident

Shirley Campbell at the April 13th meeting, request-ing the district reconfi gure the roads around the mu-seum and library.

She said in her letter that it’s getting unsafe to

have the upper road by the library and the lower road both exiting on a curve onto 7th Avenue at the top of a hill.

She pointed out that this all happens on 7th Av-enue opposite a daycare facility and what will even-tually become the new multi-use centre.

Campbell also requested the district put No Park-ing signs on parts of 6th Avenue.

Invermere chief administrative offi cer Chris Prosser said he’s perplexed by what Campbell en-visages on 6th Avenue, but surmised it might be a reference to a parking stall behind Lake Auto which should never have been painted in the fi rst place and which will be deleted this spring.

Prosser added that museum/library road issue is on the district’s radar.

“There are some dollars that will need to go into it,” he said.

“It’s a busy little parking lot there, but we own it and that’s the key piece because it means we can do something with it.”

“It’s an accident waiting to happen there. As traffi c increases in the area, it will only get worse,” said Anderson.

No action was taken following the discussion, but district staff said they would contact Campbell.

OCALL EWSNCanfor employee career fair cancelled

STEVE HUBRECHTsteve@ invermerevalleyecho.com

A career fair that was meant to help Canal Flats Canfor mill employees was cancelled last week, with organizers worried not many people would attend.

The job fair was co-organized by Canfor and the Columbia Valley Chamber of Commerce and was to have been held on Thursday, April 16th at the Canal Flats arena from noon to 5 p.m., but after another employment-related information session held the week before drew just 15 people, it was decided to cancel the fair.

“The Canfor transition team felt they just wouldn’t get attendance. I was really disappointed it didn’t go ahead, but I understand why it was cancelled,” said chamber of commerce execu-tive director Susan Clovechok. “It’s hard for the prospective employers who were to be at the fair to spend the time and resources if it doesn’t seem they’ll be talking to many potential employees.”

Clovechok said the chamber is keen to work with Canfor to help fi nd other options and so-lutions for the issue. She added she’s also happy to have mill employees call her, so she can point them in the direction of those looking for new employees.

Mill employee Daniel Bybee expressed frustration at the situation. “My feeling is the production workers aren’t getting a whole lot of sympathy,” he said, point-

ing out the the fair and the prior information session were held during working hours, limiting the ability of employees to actually attend.

“It (the fair) was only promoted through word of mouth,” said Bybee, adding many of the employees on his shift didn’t know about it until after it had been cancelled.

“The feeling here is apathy. People have given up and are just counting down the days. It’s tough,” he said.

More than 80 mill employees are facing mass layoffs on May 4th.Mill employees interested in contacting Clovechok can reach her at the chamber at 250 342

2844.


SUBSCRIPTION RATESAnnual Subscription Rates (incl. tax)• Local (Canal Flats to Spillimacheen) $45.30• Offi ce Pick-Up $34.50• Canada $62.60 / International $182.00• Seniors (local) $34.50 / Seniors (Canada) $56.00

Six Month Subscription Rates (incl. tax)• Local (Canal Flats to Spillimacheen) $29.40• Seniors (local) $22.80 INVERMEREVALLEYECHO.com

InvermereValleyEcho

@TheValleyEcho

Breanne [email protected]

After serving the Invermere community as a chief administrative officer (CAO) for a number of years, Robert Earl’s dedication to ensuring the municipality and its daily operations ran smooth-ly has been rewarded.

Through an extensive research project at Brock University, Earl was selected to be featured as one of the top five CAOs in Canada in a book entitled Leaders in the Shadows, according to political sci-ence professor David Siegel.

“I’ve spent my career looking at researching and teaching about local government and public ad-

ministration,” explained Siegel. “Then, I realized that the chief administra-tive officer, administra-tor or town manager has a very important role, in terms of executing coun-cil decisions, and making sure that the day to day operations of the administration work is done in an efficient way — and I knew that was an important role, but I felt that people didn’t always un-derstand what was involved in that role. That was one of

the reasons I wanted to (write) it.”He remains optimistic young municipal administrators with aspirations to be-

come CAOs may treat the book as a template for their career paths.“I wanted (young people) to see what successful people in this career were like

and therefore give them an idea of what they had to do to model themselves and follow in the footsteps of suc-cessful people,” said Siegel.

Earl, who served as CAO of In-vermere from 1998 until 2004, has been featured in Leaders in the Shadows as an example for how to become a successful municipal leader.

“Robert was identified as a successful leader, meaning he was interested in making changes in the organizations that he was involved with,” said Siegel. “He seemed to be the sort of person who always questioned the status quo and al-ways improved on the status quo. I was also told by people around him that he

had a very good way of communicating and moti-vating people who were around him.

“All of the people I talked to spoke about how Robert was able to communicate and the way he could motivate people.”

Former mayor of Invermere, Mark Shmigelsky, who worked directly with Earl, echoed these sentiments.

“I think that 99.9 per cent of the people (who) are employed by local governments, their first in-terest is making sure they’re doing what’s best for the community,” said Shmigelsky. “We were very lucky to have Robert and his family in Invermere with us for as long as we did.”

But the memory of Earl’s resignation has not faded from Shmigelsky’s memory.

“I know that I was really sad when he showed up with a six-pack at my door,” said Shmigelsky. “I think it was Christmas time and the first ques-tion when I opened the door was, ‘Where are you going?’ There were only two communities at the time that could’ve taken him from Invermere and those were Whistler and Banff; and I think that’s a

credit to Invermere... It says good things about the valley and good things about him and his family, as well.”

Earl went on to become the town manager for Banff, a role he still occupies to-day. His municipal career began in Port Edward in 1993.

The book describes Earl’s leadership role in improving the economic develop-ment and planning of all three municipalities for which he’s been the CAO — Port Edward, Invermere and Banff.

“I’d like to think this sort of thing will be incorporated into classes and that people who are aspiring to be CAOs will buy the book and read it on their own

as well,” said Siegel, noting the book was published by the Uni-versity of Toronto in February.

He opted to focus on the im-portance of municipal adminis-trators to explore the challenges

and opportunities of working as a public servant. Siegel plans to incorporate this book into some of his upcoming classes for students taking political science at Brock University.

“The city manager is one of the most important people in the municipality who determines the quality and kinds of services delivered to residents,” he added.

Former Invermere CAO named in top five in Canada OCALL EWSN

Brock University political science professor David Siegel hopes aspiring CAOs will read his book, which features former Invermere chief administrative officer Robert Earl. PhOtO SUBmIttED

Robert Earl

There were only two communities at the time that could’ve taken him from Invermere and those were Whistler and Banff;

and I think that’s a credit to Invermere. Mark shMigelskyForMer Mayor oF inverMere,

Breanne [email protected]

Young bookworms will be pleased to have the opportunity to meet two au-thors who have been shortlisted for the BC Book Prizes.

BC Book Prizes authors Kevin Chong and Heather Tekavec are visiting stu-dents at David Thompson Secondary School and JA Laird Elementary School in Invermere today (on Wednesday, April 22nd).

The shortlisted nominees will also be visiting students in Hope, Merritt, Sicamous, Revelstoke, Golden, Cranbrook, Kimberley, Creston and Castlegar

during the southern leg of their tour.Chong has been nominated for the Hubert Evans Non-Fiction Prize for his

book Northern Dancer: the Legendary horse that Inspired a Nation.Tekavec is vying for the Christine Harris Illustrated Children’s Literature

Prize for her book, Stop, thief! The authors will be signing copies of their books for students at the free

guest readings. However, these readings are not open to the public.For more information about the southern leg of the BC Book Prizes On Tour,

visit www.bcbookprizes.ca.

Authors shortlisted for BC Book Prizes visit Invermere studentsOMMUNITYC


Crocus correction: to bee or not to beeNICOLE TRIGG

[email protected]

Several weeks ago, I ran photo on the cover of The Valley Echo that featured two young boys happily holding crocuses they had dis-covered while biking in Juniper Heights.

The photo was the first of several that had been submitted by community members excited to discover crocus flowers bloom-ing earlier than usual this year as a result of the early warm, spring weather.

At the time, it seemed like a great idea to publish them all together in The Echo as a picturesque demonstration of the commu-nity’s connection to nature.

A great idea, that is, until I heard from read-ers who thought otherwise — readers who preferred to see the crocuses stay in the ground and be appreciated from afar rather than plucked from the earth and prevented from performing their vital role.

This came as something of a surprise. I had obviously underestimated readers’ commit-tment to conservation and sustainability. It hadn’t even occurred to me (nor, no doubt, to the boys or their mother who took the photo) that something as small as a crocus could be a symbol for something so much bigger. On a walk this past weekend, I was musing this over when I happened upon a large patch of crocuses, many of them in full

bloom. As I stopped to take a photo of one (the one on this week’s cover), a little bee landed in the middle of its outreached pet-als just as I was about to snap the shot. There it was, right in front of me — the proof that this little flower was exactly where it needed to be. Thank you to the boys and conscious readers for the lesson learned.

And Happy Earth Day all.

NOTICE OF COPYRIGHT: Reproduction of any or all editorial and advertising materials in whole or in part is strictly prohibited without the written consent of the publisher. It is agreed by the advertiser requesting space that the liability of The Valley Echo, owned by Black Press Ltd. in the event of failure to publish an advertisement or in the event of an error appearing in the advertisement as published, shall be limited to the amount paid by the advertiser for only the one incorrect insertion for the portion of the advertising space occupied by the incorrect or omitted items only and that there shall be no liability in any event greater than the amount paid for such advertising.

BC PRESS COUNCIL – The Valley Echo is a member of the British Columbia Press Council, a self-regulatory body governing the province's newspaper industry. The council con-siders complaints from the public about the conduct of member newspapers. Directors oversee the mediation of complaints, with input from both the newspaper and the complaint hold-er. If talking with the editor or publisher does not resolve your complaint about coverage or story treatment, you may contact the B.C. Press Council. Your written concern, with documenta-tion, should be sent within 45 days to B.C. Press Council, PO Box 1356, Ladysmith,B.C. V9G 1A9. For information, phone 888-687-2213 or go to www.bcpresscouncil.org

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Phone: 250-341-6299 invermerevalleyecho.com

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ADMINISTRATION

PINIONO

DITORIALE

UMOURHSomething on

your mind?The Valley Echo welcomes all letters to the editor and submissions from community and sports groups, as well as special community columns. Please keep your signed, legible submissions under 500 words. We reserve the right to edit for clarity, taste, legal reasons and brevity. Each submission must contain a daytime phone number and place of residence. Send email submissions to [email protected].

Although it hasn’t always felt like spring over the

last few weeks, some very spring-like activities are hap-pening around Radium Hot Springs. Many thanks to the event co-ordinators and volun-teers who put together a very successful Easter Egg Hunt in the Park — we hope to make this an annual event.

If you haven’t been to Radi-um lately, it would be well worth your while to come and take a stroll past the Rotary Community Gardens behind the Parks Can-ada offices (the old school).

As reported in last week’s Valley Echo, this is a collaboration of many funders, volun-teers, Rotarians and local contractors.

Less glamorous but fundamental to the running of our Village, are the Public Works projects which are occurring right now:

• A water main repair project to replace ap-proximately 500 metres of ductile iron pipe

with plastic pipe at an estimat-ed cost of $200,000. The iron pipe was originally installed in 1982. This work was identified as necessary as we have been having corrosion problems resulting in leaks, due to elec-trolysis where the pipe passes through moist areas.

• The Whiskey Jack sewer pump station is another proj-ect currently underway. This

is replacing an aging asset and the project value is approximately $300,000.

• There are rumours floating around about our water metering project. These meters will independently monitor water flows to four separate areas of the municipality. The objective is to improve our information of water flows to assist in management of the water distribution system (ie. water capac-ity for future growth, fire flows and leak de-tection). This is a $200,000 project. We are not metering residential households!

• In January 2015, we received the Road Capital Investment Plan that had been con-tracted to Urban Systems to complete. We learned that of the 17 kilometres of road-ways in the Village (approximately eight kilometres) do not require any work. Ap-proximately six kilometres require crack sealing and minor patching. The remainder have more serious problems and require overlays or reconstruction. Therefore, we are proceeding with year one of a six-year roadway capital investment plan totalling $714,000 in estimated expenditures.

Other 2015 projects include:• The new public works garage/storage/

workshop.• Replacement of aging water reservoir

pending notification of the Build Canada grant. The estimated replacement cost is $1.2 million.

Clara Reinhardt is the mayor of the Village of Radium Hot Springs and a Regional Dis-trict of East Kootenay director for the Colum-bia Valley.

A review of Radium’s current Public Works projectsUNDOWNR

RegionalUNDOWNRURU

LARACREINHARDT

CORRECTIONIn the “Radium looks to raise taxes”

council brief on page three of the April 15th Valley Echo, the first three (not two) readings of the Tax Rates Bylaw

No. 412, 2015 were passed.


NEXT WEEK’S QUESTION:Should additional phases be built now if the

District of Invermere succeeds in getting the full amount it has applied for through the

UBCM’s Strategic Priorities Fund?





QUESTION OF THE WEEKDo you go out of your way to support local food production,

either by gardening yourself or buying from local producers?

INVERMEREVALLEYECHO.com� �� Do you go out of your way to support local food production, Do you go out of your way to support local food production, � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � INVERMEREVALLEYECHO.com.com� � � � � .com � .com� � � � � � .com� .com � .com� .com� � � Do you go out of your way to support local food production, either by gardening yourself or buying from local producers?

Do you go out of your way to support local food production, either by gardening yourself or buying from local producers? � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � No

66.7%Yes33.3%

TREETSTHES

What does Earth Day (April 22nd) mean to you?

“Earth Day means not littering garbage.”

Leo Webster

“Respecting the Earth.”

Joe Lucas

“Nothing.”

Lachlan MacDonald

My report this week is about land: the value of land, the way gov-

ernment decisions on land can benefi t their friends, and the way that zoning of land can drastically affect its value.

Recently, the Opposition brought for-ward facts around the massive sell-off of government lands on Burke Moun-tain — lands that were sold primarily to balance the provincial budget.

Selling off surplus lands as a way of making ends meet is short-term think-ing that few citizens would support. This becomes even more questionable when it is discovered that these very valuable lands were sold at hugely dis-counted prices to a friend of the BC Liberals.

These lands were valued through a government-commissioned assessment at $128 million. Instead of following the advice of the real estate profession-als to keep the lands on the market for the length of time needed to ensure a full value offer, the BC Liberals decided to stop the sale.

The whole parcel was then purchased for only $83 million. That’s $43 million dollars of revenue to the Crown that was lost.

But who was the successful bidder? A BC Liberal donor who has donated nearly $1 million to the party.

This situation reminded me of the importance of proper oversight of all government’s dealings with real estate, and the dangers of our current system for managing changes to lands within the Agricul-

tural Land Reserve (ALR).Municipal zoning decisions, for ex-

ample, are made by elected and ac-countable offi cials in a very public process following strict rules. This is the way every zoning decision should be made.

And this is why so many people are concerned about the BC Liberals’ meddling in the ALR. Decisions made around releasing lands from the ALR in the Kootenays are no longer required to

meet a strict standard. The rules for changes are now ill-defi ned and do not put agriculture as a top priority.

Land released from the ALR can increase signifi -cantly in value, so these decisions must be made with the greatest of care.

But to add further fuel to the fi re, the people who will make these important decisions are political appointees who will operate without clear guide-lines, public process, or oversight. This could result in decisions that do not put the best interests of the public fi rst.

So much depends on governments developing legislation and processes that ensure that public in-terest is paramount.

Unfortunately, that has not been the record of this government.

Norm Macdonald is the NDP MLA for Columbia River Revelstoke. He can be reached by phone at 1-866-870-4188 and by email at [email protected].

BC Liberals can’t be trusted when it comes to land deals

PINIONO

EPORTRMLA

EPORTRERE

ORMNMACDONALD

Everybody knows there are risks any time a new form of medi-

cation is used to repair the biology of our bodies.

There is a physical cost with all medications when we begin tam-pering with nature, and it’s impor-tant to decide if that cost — those new symptoms — will be less harm-ful than the ones being masked or subdued.

The anger women around the world feel about the death of Erika Langhart at the mere age of 24 from a pulmonary embolism has been illustrated in full colour following her tragic death in Virginia, U.S. after roughly four years of using the NuvaRing prescription.

According to Vanity Fair, the NuvaRing’s manufacturer, Mer-ck, has made $623 million in sales of the fl exible ring that’s in-serted vaginally to release a combination of hormones. There were 830,000 women using the NuvaRing contraceptive meth-od by 2010, according to the Guttmacher Institute, which is a non-profi t that focuses on advancing sexual and reproductive health worldwide.

In fact, there are 10.5 million women using hormonal birth control pills for a plethora of reasons.

However, Merck is facing 3,500 lawsuits — including one from Erika Langhart’s mother, Karen, who is now on a quest to raise awareness about the product that killed her child through a non-profi t she created in Erika’s memory for wom-en using the potentially fatal contraceptive.

See A14

Birth control method is bad news

PINIONO

REANNEBMASSEY

ECORDROff the


WEEKLY BeatHave

an event you’d like listed? Email it to: production@


THE

April 22nd - 28th

22ND: WEDNESDAY

• 10 - 11 a.m.: Preschoolers and Parents, Plant and Play. Runs every Wednesday morning for 6 weeks. Ends May 13th. By donation, pre-registration requested. www.groundswellnetwork.ca• 4 - 5:30 p.m.: Summit Youth Centre (SYC) Employment Readiness program. Must pre-register. Email [email protected] or call 250-342-3033.• 6 - 7:30 p.m.: SYC Skills for life program.• 6 - 8 p.m.: Gardening 101 workshop: Landscapes and Flowers, with the Invermere Public Library. Pre-register with a beginner gardening question you would like answered by Saturday April 18th. Visit invermere.bclibrary.ca for more information.

23RD : THURSDAY

• 4 - 6 p.m.: SYC Graphic design program. Must pre-register. Email [email protected] or call 250-342-3033.• 4 - 8 p.m.: SYC open gym.

24TH : FRIDAY

• 4 - 6 p.m.: SYC Graphic design program. Must pre-register. Email [email protected] or call 250-342-3033.

25TH : SATURDAY

• 10 a.m. - 3 p.m.: Prevention of Violence Against Women Open House & Garage Sale at the Women’s Resource Centre. Food and Music by Smarty Pants and Friends. All proceeds go to the Family Resource Centre.• 12 - 3 p.m.: CV Cycling Society is offering a free Basic Bike Fit and Maintenance course at the Lions Hall at the Crossroads. All ages welcome. Get the most comfort and effi ciency from your bike. Learn to do your own basic trail repairs and maintenance. Bring your bike. Blaine Nester250-342-8784.• 2 - 5 p.m.: Steamboat Mountain Music Society is hosting a launch party to start the buzz for Edgewater’s Steamboat Mountain Music Fest later this summer. Admission is free for this afternoon

event at the CPR Lodge.• 7 p.m.: SYC Movie and popcorn night.• 7:30 p.m.: Shields Johnston Fielding Trio performing live at Pynelogs Cultural Centre. Tickets $20, students $10, available at Tiffany’s Thredz and Pynelogs or call 250-342-4423.• 7:30 p.m.: Invermere Rollbots are hosting a women’s clothing swap at Arrowhead Brewery to raise money for the upcoming season. $10 a bag, provided.• 7:30 p.m.: DTSS Big Band Dance at Invermere Community Hall. Tickets $25, available at Lambert Kipp Pharmacy, Majestic U-Brew or call 250-342-9213 ext 136.

26TH : SUNDAY

• 9 a.m.: Daffodil Dash. Run to fi ght cancer at Mount Nelson Athletic Park, Invermere.

27TH : MONDAY

• 4 - 5:30 p.m.: SYC Employment Readiness program. Must pre-register. Email [email protected] or call 250-342-3033.• 6 - 7:30 p.m.: SYC Skills for life program.• 6:50 p.m.: Ladies Night Out, with Jani Goudy at Lake Windermere Alliance Church. Tickets $10 available at Canterbury Flowers 250-342-0383.• 7 p.m.: SYC Philanthropy Project.• 7 p.m.: Columbia Valley Community Foundation AGM at Lake Windermere Lion’s Hall.

28TH : TUESDAY

• 11 a.m. - 5 p.m.: Wings over the Rockies Art Show at Pynelogs Art Gallery from April 28th to May 10th. For more infomation visit columbiavalleyarts.com• 11 a.m. - 5 p.m.: L’il Peeps Art show at Pynelogs from April 28th to May 10th. For more infomation visit columbiavalleyarts.com• 4 - 5:30 p.m.: SYC Employment Readiness program. Must pre-register. Email [email protected] or call 250-342-3033.• 6 - 7:30 p.m.: SYC Skills for life program.

April 29th - May 5th

29TH : WEDNESDAY

• 10 - 11 a.m.: Preschoolers and Parents, Plant and Play. Runs every Wednesday morning for 6 weeks. Ends May 13th. By donation, pre-registration requested. www.

groundswellnetwork.ca• 4 - 5:30 p.m.: Summit Youth Centre Employment Readiness program. Must pre-register. Email [email protected] or call 250-342-3033.• 5:30 - 9 p.m.: L’il Peeps Art show artist opening event at Pynelogs Art gallery. For more infomation visit columbiavalleyarts.com• 6 - 7:30 p.m.: SYC. Skills for life program.• 7 p.m.: Valley Gogo Sisters presents Sharon Henderson, one of twenty two Canadian Grandmothers who visited Ethiopia and S. African Stephen Lewis Foundation communities and projects. VGGS members and guests welcome. Columbia Garden Village. Admission by donation.

30TH : THURSDAY

• 4 - 6 p.m.: SYC Graphic design program. Must pre-register. Email [email protected] or call 250-342-3033.• 4 - 8 p.m.: SYC open gym.• 6 - 9 p.m.: Panorama Adaptive Snow Sports Society AGM at Invermere Health Unit.

MAY 2ND : SATURDAY

• 5 p.m.: Hospice Society 3rd Annual Butterfl y Gala at Radium Resort. Tickets $50. 3 - course meal, live entertainment by Bruce Childs and Valley Forged. Silent, live and dessert auction.• 9 p.m.: The Killer Rollbots presents Fantastic Four at Station Neighbourhood Pub. $5 cover, live music, Raffl e Prizes and the offi cial release of Kick Ass Coffee Cream Ale from Arrowhead Brewing Company.

MAY 4TH : MONDAY

• Wings Over the Rockies Festival from May 4th to10th at the Pynelogs Cultural Centre & Art Gallery and various locations throughout the Columbia Valley. For more infomation visit columbiavalleyarts.com

MAY 5TH : TUESDAY

• 7 - 8:30 p.m.: Get Started on Vegetable Gardening at Groundswell’s Community Greenhouse at 15th Ave and Westridge Dr. For more information email [email protected] or phone 250-342-3337.

COMING SOON…

MAY 6TH : WEDNESDAY

• WIngs over the Rockies Bighorn Sheep virtual tour and educational presentation at Radium Hot Springs visitor centre. To register visit wingsovertherockies.org• 10 - 11 a.m.: Preschoolers and Parents, Plant and Play. Runs every Wednesday morning for 6 weeks. Ends May 13th. By donation, pre-registration requested. www.groundswellnetwork.ca

MAY 7TH : THURSDAY

• 5 - 6 p.m.: Every Thursday evening, enjoy the Wine Tasting in the Fairmont Hot Springs Resort Lobby. Learn about BC wines from our in-house sommelier $10 per person.

MAY 9TH : SATURDAY

• 6 - 8 p.m.: Pooch Plunge at Fairmont Hot Springs Resort.The pool goes to the dogs in support of GALS and the SPCA Bring your family and doggie out for some fun. $ 10/ dog, registration required 1-800-663-4979 ext 6056. Visit fairmonthotsprings.com or call 250.342.6030 for more information.

MAY 12TH : TUESDAY

• 7 - 8:30 p.m.: Rot On! Competent Composting at Groundswell’s Community Greenhouse 15th Ave. and Westridge Dr. For more information email [email protected] or phone 250-342-3337.

HOURS

INVERMERE LIBRARY

• Tuesday - Saturday: 10 a.m. - 5 p.m.• Wednesday: 10 a.m. - 8 p.m.

RADIUM LIBRARY

• Tuesday: 6 - 8 p.m.• Wednesday - Thursday: 1 - 4 p.m.• Saturday: 10 a.m. - 11 p.m.

WINDERMERE VALLEY MUSEUM

• Tuesday: 12 p.m. - 4 p.m.

INVERMERE THRIFT STORE• Thursday: 10 a.m. – 4 p.m.• Friday - Saturday: 1 - 4 p.m.

RADIUM THRIFT STORE

• Thursday: 10 a.m. - 4 p.m.• Friday - Saturday: 12 - 4 p.m.

SUMMIT YOUTH CENTRE

• Tuesday: 5 - 9 p.m.• Wednesday: 4 - 9 p.m.• Thursday: 5 - 9 p.m.


Did you know you can use ANY yellow bin you see around the East Kootenay? With over 600 bins available, recycling has never been easier!

Here are some quick tips to remember for the yellow bins and blue bag curbside program in Invermere:

• All plastics MUST be clean and have a number between 1 and 6. That number must be in the triangular recycling symbol. If there is no number, it should go in the garbage if it can’t be reused.

• All plastic grocery/shopping bags can be recycled -- even if they don’t have a number on them. All other plastics must be numbered.

• Styrofoam CANNOT be recycled in the yellow bins (even though it’s marked #6), but can go to the MMBC packaging area at the Cranbrook Bottle Depot.

• Tin cans should be well rinsed with labels removed, if possible.

• Cardboard should be flattened to save bin space.

• Foil covered or waxy papers cannot be recycled in the yellow bins. Milk cartons can be taken to the MMBC Packaging area at the Cranbrook Bottle Depot for recycling.

Recycling 101 - The BasicsThe environmental handling “fee” you pay on electronics in BC are managed by Encorp and a wide range of electronics are accepted for recycling.

The electronics recycling depot is: Invermere Bottle Depot

133 Industrial Rd #2 Phone: 250-342-7272

They accept a wide range of electronics, including:• Televisions• Computers & peripherals

(keyboard, mouse)• Monitors• Fax machines• DVD/VHS players• Scanners• Stereos, MP3 players, Speakers

• Earphones• Microphones• Telephones• Discman, walkman• Radios• Cable, satellite and PVR boxes• Vehicle audio and video systems

The Cranbrook and Fernie Bottle Depots are the only locations to recycle small appliances, these include:

• Blenders• Microwaves• Food Processors and mixers• Bread makers• Coffee grinders

• Bathroom scales• Clocks and timers• Ironing Boards and irons• Portable fans• Portable heaters

Recycling Electronics & Appliances

Alkaline and rechargeable batteries as well as cellphones are recyclable. The drop off locations for old batteries and cellphones include Staples, The Source, Cranbrook Photo, Canadian Tire and Kootenay Communications. For more information, visit: www.call2recycle.ca

Batteries & Cellphones

Fluorescent Lights Can Be RecycledLightRecycle is the BC residential light recycling program. Accepted products include incandescent lights, LED’s, compact fluorescent and tube fluorescent light bulbs.

There are two LightRecycle depots in the area are:

Invermere Home Building Centre Skyway Distributors 9980 Arrow Rd. 304 Slater Road NW Invermere Cranbrook

For more information, visit www.lightrecycle.ca

Pesticides, Herbicides, Gas & MoreThe only household hazardous waste depot in the RDEK is the:

Cranbrook Bottle Depot1125 Industrial Rd #3Phone: 250-417-0306

They accept household paints, and certain flammable liquids, gasoline and domestic pesticides. We strongly recommend you visit www.regeneration.ca prior to going to the Bottle Depot, as they do have some restrictions as to what they will accept.

Visit www.regeneration.ca for information

For more information, contact the RDEK at 250-489-2791 or 1-888-478-7335

Earth Week is a great time to think about what each of us can do to make a positive difference. Reducing, reusing and recycling really add up. This year, they have a “Make it Count” Challenge, which focuses on four categories: eat, grow, transform and share.

The 2015 Earth Day challenges offer:

• Step-by-step guides that kids, teachers & group leaders can use

• Tips and activities for individuals, groups and businesses to work together to keep commitments

www.earthday.ca

Learn More About Earth Day

Happy Earth Day!

Paint and aerosol paints can be taken to the Invermere Bottle Depot (133 Industrial Rd #2) and RONA Northstar Hardware & Building Supplies (410 Borden Street).

Containers must be sealed in paint containers and clearly labeled. If paint cans are dried out and there is no liquid left, the cans can go in the garbage.

Where to Take Used Paint

Multi-Materials BC is a non-profit stewardship organization that oversees the new product stewardship program for printed paper and packaging. Their only depot in the East Kootenay is the Cranbrook Bottle Depot. They take paper/cardboard products, aluminum and tin*,glass, styrofoam*, and plastic packaging (including film/wrap*).

*Some items in these categories are not accepted in RDEK yellow bin program

Visit http://recyclinginbc.ca/program/can-recycled

What to do with Packaging


NICOLE [email protected]

I’ve never been a birdwatcher. I mean, I watch birds all the time. But the thought of ac-

tively looking for them, binoculars and bird book in hand, never particularly appealed to me. Maybe because it al-ways seemed a little, well, slow. I’m drawn to action sports — scrambling, biking, skiing, snowboarding... but when Wildsight Invermere president Baiba Morrow extended an invitation to join a birding excursion led by Cam Gillies, co-owner of Eagle Eye Tours, I couldn’t say no. Cam is high-ly respected for what he does and Earth Day was coming up, so I felt it was the right thing to do. A little reluctantly, I agreed to give up my lazy Saturday morning sleep in and meet a group of eager birdwatchers at Ritchies Point park-ing lot along Westside Road just north of Wilmer this past Saturday morning.

With sleep still in my eyes, I rolled up in my car at 8:31 a.m. feeling a little out of sorts because I hadn’t left enough time to grab my morning coffee, only to realize I was the last person to arrive.

But the energy level of the group — there were about 15 of us — was high and you couldn’t have asked for a more spectacular day. The sun was bright, the deep blue of the sky was beautifully refl ected in the wetlands, and the peace and calm of the scenery was interrupted only by the excited chatter of our group, the faint sound of the breeze brushing through the trees and dried grass, and the occasional bird call, or song.

A call was different from a song, I quickly learned, and experienced birders know how to distinguish between the two. Only males sing, said Cam, either to defend their terri-tory or attract females. It turns out the male’s song (I think he was talking about thrushes) was a familiar sound…. CHEESE (high sound) bur-ger (low sound), whereas the call … chickadeedeedee… is more of an intergroup com-munication done year round by both males and females.

See A15

TICKET LAUNCH PARTYSaturday, April 25th

2 – 5 p.m.CPR Lodge Invermere

Free Entertainment – a Taste of Steamboat

Refreshments

Steamboat MountainMUSIC FESTIVAL

Get ready for Edgewater’s Festival – July 25th-26th

Buy your Early Bird Tickets – only $30 • Memberships – Volunteer Sign-up

Drop off your spring and summer clothing at Her Public (Park Place, downtown)April 20-24 from 11:00 am - 5:00 pm

Come shop Saturday, April 25 at 7:30 pm

Arrowhead Brewing Company$10 per shopping bag

Fundraiser for the Killer [email protected]

LadiesCloth ing Swap

4 t h B i - A n n u a l

EATUREF

The Columbia Wetlands: an international destination

Clockwise from top: birdwatching tour guide Cam Gillies (orange jacket) sets up his telescope as the rest of the tour gets a head start on species spotting through their personal binoculars; thousands of birds are returning to the Columbia Wetlands as part of their spring migration; the groups sets out to Ritchies Point just past Wilmer. PHOTOS BY NICOLE TRIGG








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APRIL, 23RD

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$50When you spend

$200 or more before taxes in store.

SPRING SALE

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Promo card valid from April 24th to April 30th.

High school students do more than their fair share for Earth Day

Nicole [email protected]

Leave it to the David Thompson Secondary School (DTSS) Leadership class to take over their school on Earth Day in order to share ideas on how to help make the world a better place.

The class, comprised of about 20 Grade 10 to 12 students, were assigned the project of holding an Earth Day event today (on Wednesday, April 22nd) to edu-cate their fellow students, teachers, and school staff about solutions that address climate change in a fun, positive way.

The class decided a multi-faceted approach was best and in true leadership style, enlisted the help of other classes, the student council and school staff to create an Earth Day worth remembering.

Leadership students Amira Elwakeel, Taylor Hart and Anna Arif took some time on Monday (April 20th) to explain to The Valley Echo what they had in store.

What will first strike students and staff who walk through the school doors will be the different signs posted around the school, each one with a different fact about everything from water consumption (like taking shorter showers) to en-ergy efficiency (walking to school instead of driving).

“People don’t realize how much water use goes into everything,” said Amira. With grant money from the DTSS Parent Advisory Council, the class purchased

some glass and plastic water bottles from local businesses Circle Health and Bi-cycle Works, which they will be handing out for free.

“We want to promote students using reusable containers,” said Anna. The Leader-ship class will also be serving free green ice tea to anyone with a reusable container.

Anyone who plans to eat lunch at the cafeteria (known as the Rocky Mountain Cafe) is in for a surprise eco-friendly meal. The cafe, which is run by students in the Cook Training program and already features healthy, multi-cultural cuisine on

a regular basis, is providing a special Earth Day lunch featuring raw and locally grown food.

The menu consists of zucchini noodles with a creamy pesto sauce (served cold, not cooked) and local greens, a salad of local greenhouse greens, a vegetable lettuce wrap (sandwich option), tomato cucumber Gazpacho (soup option) plus strawberry apple chia pudding for dessert.

The lunch special will be served on glass plates instead of the paper plates that the cafeteria normally uses, and students are invited to enjoy the lunch in the school’s courtyard, which will be opened up for student use for the first time, and will remain open for the rest of the year (previously it was just by just staff and teachers).

“People can eat lunch outside,” said Taylor. “It has a nice atmosphere.”The DTSS student council helped the Leadership class clean up the courtyard

for the Earth Day opening, and the council will be taking care of it for the rest of the year, with plans to bring in more benches by working with the Woodshop class to build some furniture.

Another Earth Day initiative has been in the works since before spring break, when the Leadership class — using the community greenhouse adjacent to the high school — planted a variety of plants in yoghurt containers (sweet peas, mint, parsley, etc.), one for each teacher and school staff member, which came to about 30 in all.

Last but not least, Leadership students have been spreading the word for ev-eryone to wear green for Earth Day. Anyone who shows up wearing green will be invited to take part in a group photograph that will be taken in the newly opened courtyard at lunch.

“Overall, we want to raise awareness,” said Taylor. To learn more about global Earth Day awareness and initiatives, visit www.

earthday.ca.

OMMUNITYC


When Walt says, “It’s a real bargain...”

He means, “If you ignore the unpaid lien!” (32% have a recorded lien)

Cracking the curber code…

Get a vehicle history report! Buy from a licensed dealer!Find out how at WatchoutforWalt.com

Geoff HillMaxWell Realty Invermere

[email protected]

250-341-7600

Send your comments and letters to:

[email protected]

Got something to say?

i n v e r m e r e v a l l e y e C H O . c o m


asks you to...

PORTSSPanorama plays host to major race on short notice

Steve [email protected]

The Windermere Valley Ski Club pulled togeth-er at the last minute to host a FIS (International Ski Federation) race in the final week Panorama Mountain Resort was open.

The race was to be held at Whistler and Grouse Mountains, but with poor snow conditions in both those locations, the event was moved to Panora-ma just three days before it was to take place, from Monday April 6th to Thursday April 9th.

“We only got notice of the race coming here on Friday (April 3rd),” said Windermere Valley Ski Club volunteer race director Dave Barlass. “Despite the short notice it was really success-ful. The kids were extremely happy to be here.”

The event involved two days of slalom racing and two days of GS (giant slalom) racing and drew more than 150 participants (92 boys and 63 girls) from nine countries.

The racers ranged in age from 17 to 51 (for the masters’ category), although the majority were young skiers, hoping to one day qualify for pro-vincial or national teams.

“The kids were excited. It was great to see how happy everybody was with everything, and it was great to see the club pull together for such a short time frame,” said Barlass.

See A19

A ski racer in one of the GS events during the FIS race that took place at Panorama Mountain resort from April 6th to 9th. The race was supposed to take place at Whistler and Grouse Mountains but poor conditions forced it to move and Panorama reaped the benefits. PhoTo SubMITTed


Land Act: Notice of Intention to Apply for a Disposition of Crown Land.

Take notice that Brent and Susanne Bracken, of Calgary, AB, have applied to the Ministry of Forests, Lands and Natural Resource Operations (MFLNRO), Kootenay Region, for a Crown Grant, for Recreational Residential purpose,, situated on Provincial Crown

foreshore located on Windermere Lake, BC, and containing 0.06 hectares more or less.

The Lands File for this application is 4405576. Written comments concerning this application should be directed to Front Counter BC, 1902 Theatre Road, Cranbrook BC, V1C 7G1 or email to: [email protected]. Commments will be received by MFLNRO up to May 21, 2015. MFLNRO may not be able to consider comments received after this date.Please visit web at: http:arfd.gov.bc.ca/ApplicationPosting/index.jsp→ Search → Seach by File Number: 4405576 for more information

Be advised that any response to this advertisement will be considered part of the public record. Access to these records requires the submission of a Freedom of Information (FOI) request. Visit: http://www.gov.bc.ca/freedomofinformation to learn more about FOI submissions.

2015 Annual General Meeting Monday, April 27, 2015 @ 7:00 pm

Lake Windermere Lion’s Hall 651 Hwy 93/95, Invermere, BC

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Members of the Foundation are invited to the Regular Annual General Meeting to conduct the affairs of the Society as follows: 1. Report of the Directors 2. Report of the Treasurer 3. Appointment of accountants 4. Amendments to the bylaws of the Society

5. Election of directors 6. Grant recipients presentations

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Lifetime membership is free. Join your Foundation today. For more information contact:

Roberta Hall, Chair * 250-347-6404 [email protected] * www.ValleyFoundation.ca

Building legacies in our Valley communities


asks you to...

Steamboat Fest launch party

OMMUNITYC

SUBMITTED Steamboat Mountain Music Society

Come join the fun! The Steamboat Mountain Music Society is hosting a launch party to start the buzz for Edgewater’s Steam-boat Mountain Music Fest later this summer. Admission is free for this afternoon event at the CPR Lodge on Saturday, April 25th from 2 to 5 p.m. A few of the musicians who have been booked for the festival have been invited to jam at the launch party, and refreshments will be served. Early Bird Tickets will be on sale at the affordable rate of $30. Membership and volunteer rosters will be on hand for those who would like to join up and help make SMMF 2015 the best one yet! Mark your calendars -— the festival date is the weekend of July 25th and 26th.

Free income tax assistance offered

SUBMITTEDInvermere Public Library

Need a hand with your 2014 Income Tax Return? The Community Volunteer Income Tax Program (CVITP) is now

available at the Invermere Public Library. If you have a simple tax situation and could use some assis-

tance with fi ling your taxes, trained volunteers will meet with you to help you through the steps.

There is no charge for the service. Please contact the Invermere Public Library at 250-342-6416 or [email protected] to make an appointment with a volunteer. Additional information about CVITP can be found online at www.cra.gc.ca/volunteer.

Land sales leave lingering odourThe B.C. Liberal government’s

sale of Crown properties to help balance its election budget was the dominant story in the leg-islature last week, as the NDP re-vealed evidence of a “fi re sale” that may have left millions on the table.

They started with Burke Mountain, the biggest single deal involving 14 view properties in Coquitlam. The buyer was a prominent developer whose array of companies hap-pened to donate nearly $1 million to the B.C. Lib-eral Party since 2000.

The $85 million price tag was similar to the B.C. Assessment Authority value on these forested properties, but an outside appraisal concluded they could have fetched an additional $43 mil-lion if they had spent more time on the hot Low-er Mainland real estate market. (This sale made headlines last fall for the province’s $8 million buyout of the local First Nation’s undefi ned ter-ritorial claim, when it was revealed the chief of the tiny Kwikwitlem First Nation pocketed an $800,000 commission.)

The government’s defence of the sale went from wobbly to weak. Citizens’ Services Minister Amrik Virk was caught fl at-footed and tried to get by on platitudes rather than retreat and fi nd some answers. Premier Christy Clark weighed in, arguing that the budget would have balanced without the property sale, and that some sales closed too late to help the election-year budget. Finance Minister Mike de Jong stressed that all these asset sales were detailed in three succes-sive budgets. They downplayed the notion of land sales being rushed. Then the NDP produced a string of emails sent between senior offi cials responsible for selling two big properties across the street from the legislature.

“To be part of the sale and development of over eight acres of Victoria’s beautiful inner harbour area is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. An op-portunity that normally would warrant years of

planning and preparation,” wrote one citizens’ services bureaucrat. “Unfortunately we don’t have un-limited time – our goal is to have For Sale signs up by Oct. 31 with sales proceeds in the bank by March 31, 2013.”

Then came a disclosure about a property in Surrey that had been bought as a potential hospital site. Once the existing hospital was ex-panded, that property was declared

surplus. Indeed, de Jong featured this property to promote the government’s plan to stimulate local economies with private sector investment on unused land. The Surrey deal closed for $20.5 million on March 21, 2014, just days before the end of the fi scal year. NDP leader John Horgan pointed to an outside appraisal of $23.5 million, and an assessment for tax purposes of $27.2 mil-lion. The appraiser also recommended that the “highest and best use” for the Surrey land was to hold it until had been rezoned for commercial, retail or offi ce development. De Jong cited an-other big health property in Vancouver that sold for more than its appraised and assessed value. It’s only the actual market that determines worth, he insisted.

But it’s now clear that these and perhaps other sales were done with arbitrary deadlines that had everything to do with the B.C. Liberals’ need to balance the books. When elections are a bat-tle of sound bites, perception matters more than reality. It’s also worth recalling that the budget defi cits prior to the 2013 election were largely a result of the B.C. government’s costly undoing of the harmonized sales tax, rather than the harsh forces of international fi nance.

Surplus asset sales have a long tradition in B.C., where the government owns more than 90 per cent of all land. But after this round, full disclo-sure will be demanded.

Tom Fletcher is legislature reporter for Black Press. Contact him at tfl [email protected].

PINIONO

IEWSVB.C.

OMTFLETCHER

V

OMT


Merck may have offered the Langhart family a $100,000 settlement in damages, but that’s not enough.

Karen declined the settlement from Merck and believes the manufacturer of the NuvaRing should be held accountable for failing to warn women about the risks at hand. The Langhart family even printed “Cause of Passing: Massive, Double Pulmo-nary Embolism — a direct result of the NuvaRing” on programs at Erika’s funeral to urge others to avoid using this contraceptive.

It is quite suspicious given the similarities found in patients using this form of birth control, especially when Merck has been under fire in the media since 2011.

And then there were the problems faced by Megan Henry, who was also derailed by the diagnosis of blood clots developing in her lungs from the NuvaRing less than a year after Langhart’s death.

It is ironic that both girls knew each other but did not know the risks involved with using the NuvaRing.

Henry collapsed while training for the Olympics in Utah, U.S. and had an appoint-ment with a pulmonologist after being prompted to question the incident by her family.

While it is inevitable to acknowledge that there are freak accidents of nature floating around the universe, the NuvaRing still poses an unfathomable 56 per cent increased rate of blood clots when compared to typical birth control pills.

I also realize the importance of modern medicine and how using it is at times unavoidable and necessary, but choosing a contraceptive remains an uphill battle that women continually need to fight.

The heightened risk of blood clots that have been linked to the NuvaRing have not yet forced Merck to pull its product from the market, so it’s important for the discussion about the lack of safety from using these hormones to continue in the public sphere, as it holds the potential to hear the whole story from Merck — and to make health care a safer place for women everywhere.

Breanne Massey is a reporter for The Valley Echo and can be reached at [email protected].

BIRTH from A7

Hospice director shortlisted for immigrant awardBreanne Massey

[email protected]

Maria Kliavkoff has been shortlisted as one of the final-ists for the seventh annual Royal Bank of Canada’s (RBC) Top 25 Canadian Immigrant Awards.

The 49-year-old Radium resident, who immigrated from the United States of America, has been living in Canada for a decade now.

The RBC Top 25 Canadian Immigrant Awards are a unique way to recognize inspirational immigrants who have relo-cated to Canada and made a positive difference while liv-ing here. It is a peoples’ choice award to feature the efforts of community advocates, volunteers, entrepreneurs and cultural icons based on an online voting system.

“The whole nature of this makes me feel deeply hon-oured,” said Maria about becoming one of 75 nominees to move onto the next round.

She is in the race until May 11th, when the polls for online voting close on the Canadian Immigrant website.

“I was informed the top 25 finalists who win this award would also be eligible to win $500 to give to their preferred charities… my declared charity is the Hospice Society of the Columbia Valley,” she said. “It would be lovely to be a vehicle whereby another $500 comes to the society.

“And what the award means to me, well, I don’t know how to explain what it means to be an immigrant in another country. Many people think that if you’re immigrating from the United States of America, it’s not (such) a lengthy process), but the reality is an immigrant in a new country is an immigrant in a new country, no matter where you’re old country is. There are different cultures, there are different attitudes. It’s all about finding your place in a new home and becoming part of that society.”

The concept of relocating has always been a prominent part of Maria’s life. Her parents escaped Bulgaria during the uprising after the Second World War in 1956. A visit to Bulgaria as a child played a role in shaping Maria’s perspective on the world around her.

“I’m first generation American,” she said. “My father is Bulgarian and my mother is Hungarian, and at a very early age (on a visit to Bulgaria) when I was nine, I dis-covered what it is not to have rights within a country. I was thrown out of Bulgaria with my mother and my brother even though we had visas — and it was after a week of experiencing what it is to be terrorized.”

She added the experience is still etched vividly in her mind.“The part of my family that lives in Bulgaria… I will never forget going to that

plane and being desperate to get to that plane, but looking back and seeing my family and by some stroke of fate and the courage of my ancestors, I got to get on that plane,” said Maria. “I got freedom and they couldn’t.”

The journey of coping with the stark reality of having family who live in an East-ern European country with a devastating history wasn’t always an easy one, she added. It’s a big part of why Maria’s life took shape in Canada.

“Before you become a landed immigrant, there’s a big process,” she explained. “I came (to Canada) as a student. The time when I was on a student visa and then a landed immigrant visa before I became a citizen of Canada — and that was a 10-year process — and not being able to vote in the country that I lived in was a

huge challenge for me.“Having grown up in the United States, the right to representation in the gov-

ernment and to have your voice heard is something that I treasure. Moving to Canada, which is a country that shares the same value and attitude about the people’s right to voice their opinion and be represented, but not to have that voice because you’re not a citizen and yet you live there, well, that’s a right that my ancestors fled their homeland in order to be able to have.”

Maria believes the life experiences she’s had make her a compassionate listener and a curious person.

“Life is such an up and down proposition,” she concluded. “We go through dif-ferent processes and we all experience many of the same processes’ for instance, the dying or grieving process, but we each experience it in our very own, indi-vidualized way.”

Maria has a master’s degree in fine arts from the University of Calgary and a bachelor of arts in psychology and theatre arts from Hunter College in New York.

In addition, she has completed personal development training in Victoria.But the idea of bringing rural communities together with patience and kindness

is now Maria’s focus.She is the founding executive director of the Hospice Society of the Columbia

Valley and remains determined to help others grieve.“It is such an honour and a privilege to live in and serve this community, and to

bring my life experience to this job and to this work,” said Maria. “I have landed, after all of the places that I have lived, in such a beautiful part of the world… the community of the Columbia Valley is unlike any community that I have ever lived in before, and I have a great passion for the people.”

To vote for Maria, visit www.canadianimmigrant.ca/canadas-top-25-immigrants/vote before May 11th. The top 25 winners will be announced on June 23rd.

Hospice Society of the Columbia Valley director Maria Kliavkoff is honoured to be nominated for RBC’s Top 25 Canadian Immigrant Awards. PHoTo By BReAnne MASSey

ROFILEP


A look back through � e Valley Echo's archives over the last 56 years

REMEMBER WHEN?

50 years ago (1965): Attendance � g-

ures for the Radium Hot Springs pools and for Kootenay National Park for the April 1964 to March 1965 � nancial year were down as com-pared with the previous � nancial year. In the April 1964 to March 1965 � nan-cial year 190,411 vehicles carrying 548,515 pas-sengers passed through the park gate in Radium, while 255,728 admission tickets were sold to the pools (then called the aquacourt). The previous � nancial year (April 1963 to March 1964) 195,047 vehicles with 567,291 passengers passed through the Radium park gate, while 287,924 bath-ers visted the pools.

45 years ago (1970): Local school bus

drivers were honoured for their service at a luncheon. Particular ac-claim went to Mrs. A. M. Falconer for her 30 years of safe driving.

40years ago(1975): Okanagan-Kootenay

MP Howard Johnston

spoke to valley residents during a dinner hosted by the Windermere District Chamber of Commerce at Radium Hot Springs. Topics touched on dur-ing the converstaion in-cluded the increased fees being chaged for entry into national parks, the Columbia River Treaty, the redistribution of fed-eral election ridings, Can-ada’s immigration policy and its recent adoption of the metric system for measurement.

30 years ago (1985): The Invermere

� re department upgrad-ed its technological capa-bility and made response times faster by upgrading its old � re siren (used to summon � re � ghters to the hall) to a system in-volving radios and pag-ers. The new radio-pager system cost $23,000

20 years ago (1995): The valley’s two

major nonpro� t busi-ness organizations — the Invermere Business Association and the Co-lumbia Valley Chamber of Commerce — decided

to merge into a single en-tity. As part of the merger the association of� cialy became a subcommittee of the chamber.

15 years ago (2000): The District of

Invermere announced plan to turn the infamous natural pot hole (located just west of the north end of the main street, 7th Avenue) into a park. The pothole is a naturally occuring sinkhole that drains a sign� cant part of Invermere’s runoff. Esti-mates of its age put it at around 10,000 years old. Plans to turn it into a park had been discussed for more than three decades before action was � nally taken.

10 years ago (2005): The Columbia

Valley Range Patrol cel-ebrated its 21st anniver-sary and heard from lo-cal RCMP Corporal Dale Morgan at its annual gen-eral meeting. Cpl Morgan commended the patrol for its diligent effort in monitoring the back-country in partnership with the RCMP.

April 2010 — Members of the Jumbo Creek

Conservation Societygot a jump on Earth

Day activities as they got together to cleanup

Pothole Park inInvermere.

ECHO FILE PHOTO

April 2010 — Members of the Jumbo Creek

Conservation Societygot a jump on Earth

Day activities as they got together to cleanup

Another interesting fact — the CHEESE bur-ger song is only heard in the spring, right around now.

Cam was full of facts and fi gures that he was quick to share. For instance, there is a very small bird called a Blackpoll Warbler that weighs just 12 grams. Data scientists put tiny geo locaters on the backs of these birds that keep track of the sunset, sunrise and length of day so they could tell where the bird was on the planet (GPS are too heavy). What they discovered is that these warblers go to the Eastern seaboard (Newfoundland, Nova Scotia) in fall migration, double their weight, then fl y straight to Venezuela in 72 hours. Amazing.

“Everybody suspected this is what these warblers were doing,” explained Cam, “but nobody had cold, hard evidence that they could do it in three days, non-stop.”

The tour continued with the more experienced birdwatchers in the group oc-casionally pointing in a general direction while exclaiming excitedly. Cam would swivel his Swarovski spotting scope and zoom in on the target, then step away and allow the rest of us a close up glimpse of whatever fascinating bird it was, from swans to Mergansers to American pipits.

I’d never even heard of a pipit. These gorgeous little colourful creatures breed in the Alpine and the Arctic tundra, and manage to thrive in pretty harsh condi-

tions. One was walking through the grass on a ridge about 50 feet away, and with the help of Cam’s Swarovski scope, I could see it picking insects or seeds out of the ground.

A popular international destination, the Columbia Wetlands attract species of birds from all the countries in South and Central America.

“We probably don’t get any migrants from Chile,” said Cam. “It’s really different habitat.”

Three kestrels fl ew into view (a type of falcon that eats small mammals) and proceeded to battle it out in the sky, then a Western Meadowlark perched on top of a nearby tree and began to sing his heart out.

“Because he’s singing here, he plans to breed,” explained Cam. I’d walked out to this point many times before and had relished in the gorgeous

river and mountain views, but this time was different. As I listened to Cam’s educational banter and continued to take my turn peering

through the scope, I began to feel as though a layer was being pulled away from the familiar scene before me, revealing a startlingly different landscape than the one I was used to, one with so much more context and depth — and life.

Now I’m in the market for a set of binoculars, and maybe, just maybe, I’ll invest in a bird guide. Then again, there’s this great app I was told about…

Nicole Trigg is the editor of The Valley Echo and a newly anointed birder.

THE COLUMBIA from A10


CLUES ACROSS 1. Limited period 5. PC graphics file format 8. Coarse file 12. Smooth and lustrous 14. Equal, prefix 15. Waxplant genus 16. One who puts up with 18. H. Potter’s BFF 19. Strays 20. Night flight 21. Over the counter (abbr.) 22. Salt Lake state 23. DWTS’s oldest judge 26. A way to cut off 30. Hunted beings 31. Sacred tobacco pipe 32. Electronic data processing 33. # of nativity kings 34. Nebraska’s largest city 39. School spirit rally 42. 20th Greek letter 44. Belonging to Greek Mother

Earth 46. Daisy tanacetum 47. Skilled in many areas 49. Mures river city 50. Brew 51. Extreme fear 56. Ethiopian monetary unit 57. Cardboard box (abbr.) 58. Esoteric 59. Sword similar to a foil 60. __, you! 61. Grass tree 62. Queen of Sparta 63. Major division of geological

time 64. Supply with nourishment CLUES DOWN 1. Czar 2. Czech River 3. Nev. Senator since 1987 4. Person of ancient Media 5. Russian meat pie 6. Atom with the same atomic # 7. Harmony 8. Watery discharge from the

eyes or nose 9. Arteries 10. “Breaking the Silence” author

Katrina 11. Crushing blow 13. Florida state dessert 17. Della __, singer 24. Meshlike fishing device

25. Storage warehouse 26. Play a role 27. Humbug 28. Single Lens Reflex 29. Billiards stick 35. Parts of an hour (abbr.) 36. A.K.A. opt key 37. Tool to work the soil 38. Not or 40. Pain in the middle or inner

ear 41. Collection of Psalms for

liturgical use 42. Int’l. news organization 43. High Ottoman official 44. Equipped with gears 45. __ Doria, ship 47. Informal complaint 48. Kurt Weill’s 1st wife, Lotte 49. Cain and __ 52. Canadian flyers 53. contest 54. At some prior time 55. Make sense of language

Answers to last week

Sudoku puzzles are formatted as a 9x9 grid, broken down into nine 3x3 boxes. To solve a sudoku, the numbers 1 through 9 must fi ll each row, column and box. Each number can appear only once in each row, column and box. Figure out the order in which the numbers will appear by using the numeric clues already provided in the boxes. The more numbers named, the easier it gets to solve the puzzle!

CANCER - Jun 22/Jul 22Cancer, your love of competition comes to the forefront this week. This competitive spirit may open new doors for you. Make the most of these opportunities.

SCORPIO - Oct 24/Nov 22Scorpio, you are ready to embrace the great outdoors and all it has to offer. You never know what adventure awaits you, but you know one is on the horizon.

PISCES - Feb 19/Mar 20Bold action is awarded this week, Pisces. You are one of the few people in your circle willing to take a few chances, and that will pay off soon.

GEMINI - May 22/Jun 21Gemini, this week is a great time to put plans you have been keeping private in motion. Enjoy this exciting time and don’t hesitate to share your excitement with others.

TAURUS - Apr 21/May 21Taurus, you may need to open new lines of communication to complete an important project this week. Don’t be afraid to engage others as your deadline nears.

ARIES - Mar 21/Apr 20Aries, your imagination is running wild, and that can be a good thing. You are full of inspiration and fun ideas this week, which only makes you more charming.

LIBRA - Sept 23/Oct 23Libra, your responsibilities beckon this week. You enjoy being responsible, so don’t sweat it when you must make some decisions. Be confi dent that you will make the right calls.

VIRGO - Aug 24/Sept 22Virgo, make this week all about spending time with your signifi cant other. Plan a date night or sit and snuggle. Enjoy every moment you get to spend together.

LEO - Jul 23/Aug 23Leo, use this week as a time to conduct some personal inventory. Opportunity awaits around the corner, and your work this week will help you make the most of this new development.

AQUARIUS - Jan 21/Feb 18Aquarius, a fi nancial windfall might be headed your way in the weeks to come. Allow yourself some time to splurge, but do your best to save some money as well.

CAPRICORN - Dec 22/Jan 20Your words will carry signifi cant weight this week, Capricorn. With that realization comes much responsibility. Make sure you wield your infl uence accordingly.

SAGITTARIUS - Nov 23/Dec 21Sagittarius, you have a lot of energy this week. Put that bounce in your step to good use by fi xing up something around the house or beginning a new fi tness regimen.

UDOKUS

ROSSWORDC

OROSCOPESH

RAINB AIN GAMES

Cloudy with showersTemp: 10oCFeels like 9

oC

Low: 4oC

Cloudy with showersTemp: 14oCFeels like 14

oC

Low: 5oC

FridayApril 24

EATHERWWeekend

SaturdayApril 25

A mix of sun and cloudsTemp: 17oCFeels like 17

oC

Low: 4oC

SundayApril 26

invermerevalleyecho.com A17Wednesday, April 22, 2015 The Valley EchoThe Valley Echo Wednesday, April 22, 2015 www.invermerevalleyecho.com A17

CHURCH SERVICES DIRECTORYWINDERMERE

VALLEY SHARED MINISTRY

ANGLICAN-UNITED100-7th Ave., Invermere

250-342-6644Reverend Laura Hermakin

wvsm.ca Every Sunday: Bacon, Friends

& Faith, 9:30 a.m Worship, 10:30 a.m.

Christ Church Trinity, Invermere

1st and 3rd Sunday, 9 a.m.: All Saint’s, Edgewater

2nd Sunday, 7 p.m.: June - October at St. Peter’s Windermere

All Saint’s, Edgewater.St.Peter’s Windermere

ROMAN CATHOLIC CHURCH

250-342-6167Pastor: Father Gabriel

Confession: 1/2 hr. before MassCanadian Martyrs Church

712 - 12 Ave, InvermereSaturdays, 5 p.m.Sundays, 9 a.m.

St. Joseph’s ChurchHwy. 93-95, Radium Hot

SpringsSundays, 11 a.m.

St. Anthony’s MissionCorner of Luck and Dunn,

Canal FlatsSaturdays, 4:30 p.m.

RADIUM CHRISTIAN FELLOWSHIP

#4 - 7553 Main Street W, Radium

250-342-6633 250-347-6334

Worship Service Sundays, 10 a.m.

Bible Studies Wednesdays, 7 p.m.

Kids’ Church Edgewater Hall

Thursdays, 6:30 p.m.

Loving God, Loving People

LAKE WINDERMEREALLIANCE CHURCH

326 - 10th Ave., Invermere 250-342-9535

Pastor: Trevor Haganlakewindermerealliance.org

CelebrationSunday April 26th

10:30 a.m.“A Testimony”

Intern Pastor Jordon Tjart and Alexis Tjart ministering.

The Lords Supper will be served

K.I.D.S Church for children age 3 to Grade 1; and grades 2-7, during the

morning service..

VALLEY CHRISTIAN ASSEMBLY

Hwy. 93/95, 1 km northof Windermere250-342-9511

Pastor: Murray Wittkevalleychristianonline.com

Sunday Service10 a.m. Worship & Word

Kid’s Church Provided

Sharing TruthShowing Love

Following the Spirit

ST. PETER’SLUTHERAN MISSION

OF INVERMERE100 - 7th Ave., Invermere

250-426-7564Pastor: Rev. Fraser ColtmanPastor Rev. David Morton

Worship ServicesSundays1:30 p.m.

Christ Church Trinity,Invermere

CHURCH OF JESUS CHRIST OF LATTER

DAY SAINTS5014 Fairway,

Fairmont Hot Springs250-341-5792

President: Adam PasowistyColumbia Valley Branch

Worship ServicesSundays

10 a.m. - 1 p.m.

Mrs. Maude W. Kendall, age 90, of Radium Hot Springs, BC passed away suddenly at home on April 13, 2015.

There will be a graveside service with burial to follow at Mount View Cemetery in Invermere at 1 p.m. April 25, 2015.

Celebration of Life, tea will follow at Radium Hall.

Maude was born in Cranbrook on November 2, 1924. She grew up in Waldo, BC and when family

moved to Grand Forks, BC, she married Robert S. Kendall on January 9 1944; They were married almost 50 years before

Robert’s passing in 1993.Maude enjoyed camping, going for drives, playing cards, and

spending time with family.

Maude is survived by her daughter Jeanette (Bryan) of Revelstoke, sister Margaret of Nakusp, brother Thomas (Marge) of Comox, sister inlaw Alice of Kamloops, her grandchildren, Robert, Michael, Janet, Karen, and Denise, her great grandchildren Joel, Sammy, Shayne, Joe, Kodi-Lee, Dalyn, Kennedy, Justin, Tianna, Derek, Dakota, Shyann, McKenna, Brenden, Hayley, and Keenan and great great grandchildren Hunter Troy, Charleigh, Alexandria and Layla; Also numerous nieces and nephews. Maude is preceded in death by her husband, Robert S. Kendall, son Robert W. Kendall, brothers Art and Jack Hammond, grandson Troy R.W Kendall

and step sister Trudy Parsons.

In lieu of flowers memorial donations may be given to Heart & Stroke Foundation.

Maude W. KendallBorn: November 2, 1924 Cranbrook, BC

Passed: April 13, 2015 Radium, BC

Phyllis Luyendyk, 92 of Invermere, British Columbia passed away peacefully April 17, 2015. Predeceased by her loving husband Tony and great granddaughter Riley. Phyllis is survived by her sons John Luyendyk

(Marilyn) and Rick Luyendyk (Darcel) and daughter Jo-Ann Stewart (Tony). She is also survived by 8 grandchildren - Adam Stewart (Tracy), Trisha Pitchford (Rob), Megan Sartore (Peter), Dean Luyendyk (Kindry), Mason Stewart (Natasha), Rebecca Luyendyk, Erin Luyendyk, Kayla Luyendyk; 4 great grandsons, Ty, Nolan, Luca, Sam and 4 great granddaughters, Tia, Malin, Colbie, Mateyah. She will be greatly missed by her family and friends. Services will be held at Christ Church Trinity in Invermere on Saturday, May 2 at 2 PM.

Luyendyk,Phyllis Elizabeth

Passed: April 17, 2015 Invermere, BC

In loving memory of

Ted

February 3, 1934 - April 24,

2006

If the roses grow in heaven lord, please pick a bunch for me. Place them in my hus-bands arms and tell him they’re from me. Tell him that I love him and miss him, and when he turns to smile, place a kiss upon his cheek and hold him for awhile be-cause remembering him is easy, I do it every day. But there is an ache within my heart that will never go away. Love you forever. Till we meet again.

~Love Edel ~

In Memoriam

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Obituaries Obituaries

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InformationAPPLY NOW: A $2,500 Pen-ny Wise scholarship is available for a woman entering the Journalism Certifi cate Pro-gram at Langara College in Vancouver. Application dead-line April 30, 2015. Please send applications by email to: [email protected]. More in-formation available online at: www.bccommunitynews.com/ our-programs/scholarship.

Obituaries

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COMMUNITY ANNOUNCEMENTSTRAVEL

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MARINE

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PINT OF BLOOD CAN SAVE U P T O

LIVES

Mrs. Maude W. Kendall, age 90, of Radium Hot Springs, BC passed away suddenly at

home on April 13, 2015.T h e r e will be a graveside service with burial to follow at Mount View Cemetery in Invermere at 1 p.m. April 25, 2015. Celebration of Life, tea will follow at Radium Hall.

Maude was born in Cranbrook on November 2, 1924. She grew up in Waldo, BC and when family moved to Grand Forks, BC, she married Robert S. Kendall on January 9, 1944. They were married almost 50 years before Robert’s

passing in 1993.Maude enjoyed camping, going for drives, playing cards,

and spending time with family.Maude is survived by her daughter Jeanette (Bryan) of Revelstoke, sister Margaret of Nakusp, brother Thomas (Marge) of Comox, sister in-law Alice of Kamloops, her grandchildren, Robert, Michael, (Darlene), Janet (Larry), Karen, and Denise (Brian), her great grandchildren Joel, Sammy, Shayne, Joe, Kodi-Lee, Dalyn, Kennedy, Justin, Tianna, Derek, Dakota, Shyann, McKenna, Brenden, Hayley, and Keenan and great great grandchildren Hunter Troy, Charleigh, Alexandria and Layla; Also numerous nieces and nephews. Maude is preceded in death by her husband, Robert S. Kendall, son Robert W. Kendall, brothers Art and Jack Hammond, grandson Troy

R.W Kendall and step sister Trudy Parsons.In lieu of flowers memorial donations may be given

to Heart & Stroke Foundation.

Maude W. KendallBorn: November 2, 1924 Cranbrook, BC

Passed: April 13, 2015 Radium, BC

A18 invermerevalleyecho.com Wednesday, April 22, 2015 The Valley EchoA18 www.invermerevalleyecho.com Wednesday, April 22, 2015 The Valley Echo

Box 600Golden, BC

V0A [email protected]

250-344-6784

Well established Logging Company currently looking for opportunities in the Golden area.

We offer all phases of logging and conventional or cable logging. We have been in business for

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Apply in person, via email ([email protected]) or by fax (250-341-3177) for both positions.

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Employment

Business Opportunities

CASH IN now. Breathalyzers now available in vending. Lo-cations available! Immediate cash fl ow, secured investment, $7,995. Call for information and sample. 1-844-244-8363; [email protected]

HIGH CASH producing vend-ing machines. $1.00 vend = .70 profi t. All on location in your area. Selling due to ill-ness. Call 1-866-668-6629 for details.

HIP OR knee replacement? COPD or arthritic conditions? The disability tax credit. $1,500 yearly tax credit. $15,000 lump sum refund (on avg) apply today! Call 1-844-453-5372.

Career Opportunities

MARINE ENGINEERING Offi -cers required for various civil-ian positions with the Depart-ment of National Defence in Victoria and Nanoose Bay, BC. Online applications only through the Public Service Commission of Canada web-site, Reference# DND14J-008698-000051, Selection Process# 14-DND-EA-ESQ-386803, Canadian Forc-es Auxiliary Fleet. Applicants must meet all essential qualifi -cations listed and complete the application online: http://jobs-emplois.gc.ca/index -eng.htmLe ministère de la Défense na-tionale recherche des agents de la mécanique navale pour combler divers postes civils à Victoria et Nanoose Bay en Colombie-Britannique. Nous acceptons uniquement les candidatures posées en ligne au site Internet de la Commis-sion de la fonction publique du Canada, numéro de référence DND14J-008698-000051, nu-méro du processus de sélec-tion 14-DND-EA-ESQ-386803, Flotte auxiliaire des forces ar-mées canadiennes. Les postu-lants doivent remplir le formu-laire de demande et posséder toutes les qualifi cations essen-tielles énumérées. http://jobs-emplois.gc.ca/index-fra.htm

Education/Trade Schools

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Medical/DentalMEDICAL TRANSCRIPTION!In-demand career! Employers have work-at-home positions available. Get online training you need from an employer-trusted program. Visit: Care-erStep.ca/MT or 1-855-768-3362 to start training for your work-at-home career today!

MEDICAL Transcriptionistsare in huge demand! Train with the leading Medical Tran-scription school. Learn from home and work from home. Call today: 1.800.466.1535 or online: www.canscribe.com or email: [email protected].

Employment

Trades, TechnicalINDUSTRIAL Millwright - Lead Hand. Penticton Lumber remanplant requires Journeyman Mill-wright with machining, weld-ing, fabrication experience. Pref. Exp. with European re-man machinery, moulders/plan-ers, RF Press, hydraulics, manufacturing. Duties: Mainte-nance, troubleshooting, in-stall/repair, ordering parts. Team player, works unsuper-vised, provides direction to mtce workers. USWA contract. Benefi ts. Starting wage min $26.13 per hour. Fax resume to 250-493-5152 or email [email protected].

Services

Financial ServicesGET BACK ON TRACK! Bad credit? Bills? Unemployed? Need Money? We Lend! If you own your own home - you qualify. Pioneer Acceptance Corp. Member BBB.

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604-430-1498. Apply online www.capitaldirect.ca

Home ImprovementsFULL SERVICE Plumbing from Parker Dean. Fast, re-liable, 24/7 service. Take $50 off your next job if you present this ad. Vancouver area. 1-800-573-2928.

Merchandise for Sale

Heavy Duty Machinery

A-CHEAP, LOWEST PRICES STEEL SHIPPING Dry Storage Containers Used 20’40’45’53’ and insulated con-tainers all sizes in stock. 40’ containers as low as $2,200. Also JD 544 & 644 wheel Loaders & 20,000 lb CAT fork-lift. Ph Toll free 24 hours 1-866-528-7108 1-778-298-3192 8am-5pm. Delivery BC and AB www.rtccontainer.com

Misc. for SaleNew 36” Maple Vanity $125New 300 sq ft 15” Laminate

tiles $150 New 30” Moulded sink/vanity

top $50, 42” Panasonic plasma

TV $200 Call 250-347-9938.

SAWMILLS FROM only $4,397 - Make money & save money with your own bandmill - Cut lumber any dimension. In stock ready to ship. Free info & DVD: www.NorwoodSaw mills.com/400OT or call 1-800-566-6899 Ext:400OT.STEEL BUILDINGS. “Spring sales with hot savings!” All steel building models and siz-es are now on sale. Get your building deal while it’s hot. Pio-neer Steel 1-800-668-5422 www.pioneersteel.ca

Help Wanted

Merchandise for Sale

Misc. WantedPrivate Collector Looking toBuy Coin Collections, Silver,Antique Native Art, Estates +Chad: 778-281-0030 in town.

WANTED: FIREARMS, all types wanted, estates, collec-tions, single items, military. We handle all paperwork and transportation. Licensed Deal-er. Call 1.866.960.0045 or on-line: www.dollars4guns.com.

Real Estate

Mobile Homes & Parks

RETIRE IN Beautiful Southern BC, Brand New Park. Af-fordable Housing. COPPER RIDGE. Manufactured Home Park, New Home Sales. Kere-meos, BC. Spec home on site to view. Please call 250-462-7055. www.copperridge.ca

Rentals

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Rare opportunity to purchase private 150 acres

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For rent: 2 RV Moyie River front lots, fully serviced, side by side, 100x40, at 3 Valley Resort in Yahk, BC, $1000/year each including ser-vices. Email for more info:[email protected]

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To advertise, call: 250-341-6299SERVING THE VALLEY

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Your Winter Tire Super Store

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According to Barlass, it’s not the fi rst time the club has managed to prepare to host a major event in little more than a weekend.

Panorama has a major advantage when it comes to host-ing ski races, since much of the snow at the hill is man-made and is consequently less variable than snow at re-sorts more dependent on natural snow, such as Whistler or Grouse, he said.

“Panorama is worked as a race hill all winter, so it’s hard, it’s fast, it’s grippy and it’s consistent,” he said, adding that racers love this because it means skiers at the back of the pack still have a decent shot at a good time, because the course doesn’t get too chewed up by the end of a race.

“There’s a focus on ski racing at Panorama and it really pays off,” he said.

The race at Panorama was an important one, since it came late in the season, with racers determined to try to score enough points to qualify for various team next year, according to Barlass.

No injuries occurred during the race, which he takes as testament to a well-set course and the excellent snow con-ditions at Panorama.

Barlass also pointed out that the focus on ski racing is good business for the resort and for the valley. The FIS rac-es brought not only the racers to town, but also coaches, staff, parents and volunteers — about 250 people total.

“The race certainly helped bump skier day numbers up,” said Barlass. “Racing is a great tourism driver for the ski hill, it fi lls a lot of beds.”

He estimated that the various alpine races held through-out the year at Panorama amount to about 2,500 bed nights at the resort.

PANORAMA from A12

More scenes from the FIS race held at Panora-ma earlier this month. Panorama has the advan-tage of consistent course conditions thanks to its reliance on snow-making, which is helping grow its reputation as a premium race hill. PHOTOS SUBMITTED


30 Days Online Exposure.

/localwork-bc @localworkbc

Just one of the reasons to call LocalWorkBC.ca for all your job recruitment needs.

1-855-678-7833

From Left to Right: Diane Roberts (BC Scrap-It Program - Chief operating officer), Linda Webster (Winner of 2015 Nissan LEAF), Graham Clegg (General Manager - Nissan), Dennis Rogoza (BC Scrap-It Program - CEO).

Surrey resident Linda Webster is now the proud owner of a Nissan LEAF, as the winner of our Plug-In to Win contest.“I’m so excited because I’ve taken an interest in electric cars for some time but never dreamed I would own one,” said Linda, as she clutched the keys outside of Jonker Nissan, in Langley.“I’m going to really enjoy seeing how much I can get out of each charge… I’ll let you know!”With a range of in excess of 120 kilometres on a full charge, Linda figures she will be able to visit friends and family in Vancouver.British Columbia’s SCRAP-IT Program kindly sup-plied us with the eco-friendly sedan for the contest, which attracted a record-breaking 34,558 entries, the biggest Black Press contest ever. The five-seater car was displayed at the SCRAP-IT booth at the recent Vancouver International Auto Show, where it attracted thousands of admiring looks.SCRAP-IT announced its new incentive program in Driveway just before the show. It’s offer-ing a $3,000 rebate for electric car purchasers if they scrap a year 2000 or older vehicle. This is in addition to the newly announced provincial government program.SCRAP-IT Program CEO Dennis Rogoza revealed: “Ve-hicles model 2000 or older emit up to 60 times more emissions than later models and electric vehicles have even much lower emissions.”Qualifying electric vehicles are listed on the SCRAP-IT.ca website.

[email protected]

Linda Webster (Winner of 2015 Nissan LEAF)

SCRAP-IT

Family wagon with sporty genesCompact crossovers are perfect for moving families around in comfort and confidence, especial-ly when equipped with all wheel drive (AWD).With so many new entries coming into the market, challenging the established frontrunners like the Honda CR-V, Toyota RAV4 and Ford Escape, each manufac-turer needs an angle. Mazda’s approach with the 2016 CX-5 is a sporty attitude and upscale amenities. Mazda has taken the original CX-5, which first arrived in 2013 and has given it more features, a new front design but kept the same “Zoom-Zoom” attitude.LooksThe Mazda CX-5 is not as big as the CR-V or Nissan Rouge but larger than the VW Tiguan or Hyundai Tucson. It is small enough to make city manoeuvering easy but large enough for an average family. The updates to the exterior for 2016 include a new, more bold front grille, reworked front bumper and on the top GT (seen here), LED headlights, fog lights and taillights. The GT also gets great looking 19-inch wheels, and the lower trim levels are fitted with 17-inch wheels.InsideWhat sets the CX-5 apart from much of the

competition is a class-above dash and interior. Most of the products in this class come fitted with hard, cheap-feeling dashboards and utilitarian feeling switches and dials. Mazda has invested heavily in the interior, producing a soft touch dash, smooth and sophisticated looking and feeling switchgear, all making the cabin more upscale. On the base model, buyers must invest in the $1,900 convenience package to get essential items like Bluetooth, radio controls on the steering wheel and the new HMI centre control unit that interacts with the 7-inch centre screen. This brings the price to $26,795, placing it right in the middle of the compact market. The middle

$29,249 GS trim will be the volume seller, thanks to a bigger engine and a new height adjustable passenger seat, two USB connectors in the centre console, and blind spot moni-toring system. The top $34,895 GT trim (seen here) adds automatic climate control, standard navigation, 19-inch wheels and leather interior. Unfortunately, none of the CX-5 models come with a power tailgate. DriveMazda has stuck with the 155hp 2.0L direct injection engine and a manual transmission in

the base model. This combo is only available with front wheel drive (FWD). If the base en-gine is paired with the all wheel drive (AWD) system, then the buyer needs to choose the 6-speed automatic. The middle GS and top GT trim come with the more powerful 184hp 2.5L 4-cylinder. The GS can be equipped with FWD or AWD and all GT models come standard with AWD. What sets this apart from the competition is the handling and dynamic feel Mazda bakes into its products. The CX-5 can be thrown into corners with true confidence but the suspension is never jarring. The GS and GT also come standard with a sport setting for the transmission that is too aggressive for daily use. The base setting works the best and when more power is needed, I tended to flick the transmission to manual mode for a more precise experience.

Verdict It might not be the least expensive vehicle in this hot compact crossover segment but due to a conventional 6-speed automatic and class above amenities, it’s certainly in the running as a segment leader.

The LowdownPower: 155hp 2.0L or 184hp 2.5L 4-cylinderFill-up: 9.8L/7.9L/100km (city/highway) Sticker price: $24,895-$36,995

[email protected]

‘‘Mazda has taken the original CX-5, which first arrived in 2013 and has given it more features, a new front design but kept the same “Zoom-Zoom”attitude.’’Zack Spencer

Visit the Mazda CX-5 gallery at DrivewayCanada.ca

DrivewayCanada.ca | Welcome to the driver’s seat

Nissan LEAF winner announced…

Invermere Valley Echo, April 22, 2015

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