August 28, 2012 - News Leader
FAIR IS READY FOR WEEKEND
Princeton’s annual fair is ready to go into high gear this weekend. All the planning is done and Fair Board members will be working hard this week to put the finishing touches on preparations for the gates opening at 9:00 AM this Saturday and Sunday. The Youth Ambassadors have volunteered their time to help at the fair, the Community Band will be playing on Sunday and running a bingo during the weekend. Feature attractions are the Marron Valley Drill Team on Saturday, and Ken McCoy on Saturday evening from 6:00 to 10:00 PM. Highway Rescue will be putting on demonstrations, and Ground Search and Rescue will be on site. Al Kovaltsenko, “The Troubador”, will be entertaining everyone on Saturday afternoon. The children’s favourite entertainer, Mat Duffus, will be performing both Saturday and Sunday. The horseshoe tournament takes place Saturday. Register for it at 10:00 AM. You don’t have to be an expert, the tournament is for FUN. On Sunday, Sandy Dixon and her group of riders will be demonstrating equestrian jumping beginning at noon. All of the children’s activities will be going strong until the fair ends on Sunday. The last activity of the weekend is the auction of donated goods produced by the exhibitors. There are a number of gate prizes donated for the weekend, and the annual big raffle. A number of vendors will attend. Don’t let the youngsters miss the special “make it and take it” art booth by Shirley’s Arts and Crafts. Exhibits buildings will open at 9:00 AM daily. People entering exhibits in the fair should obtain an exhibitor’s booklet and fill out the entry form located in the middle of the booklet. If there are questions or problems with filling it out, there will be a person to help you at the registration desk on Thursday, August 30, for 4:00 to 7:00 PM and on Friday, August 31, from 2:00 to 7:00 PM. Adults pay 50 cents per exhibit entry fee, and prizes are $5 for first, $3 for second and $1 for third.
BRIDGE REPAIR CLOSES ASHNOLA FSR
Travellers are advised the Ashnola Forest Service Road will be temporarily closed at 39 kilometres from Tuesday, September 4 to Tuesday, September 18, due to a bridge replacement. The announcement was made August 23rd by Ministry of Forests, Lands and Natural Resource Operations. Ministry staff will be dismantling an old wooden bridge that is deteriorating and will replace it with a steel girder concrete deck bridge with a longer lifespan. Note the closure is near the end of the forest service road and access to all recreation sites along Ashnola Forest Service Road will not be affected. The Ashnola Forest Service Road is located approximately 27 kilometres southwest of Keremeos, and is part of British Columbia's 55,000-kilometre Forest Service road network that provides access to British Columbia's backcountry. For more information connect with the Province of B.C. at: www.gov.bc.ca/connect.
Princeton’s annual fair is ready to go into high gear this weekend. All the planning is done and Fair Board members will be working hard this week to put the finishing touches on preparations for the gates opening at 9:00 AM this Saturday and Sunday. The Youth Ambassadors have volunteered their time to help at the fair, the Community Band will be playing on Sunday and running a bingo during the weekend. Feature attractions are the Marron Valley Drill Team on Saturday, and Ken McCoy on Saturday evening from 6:00 to 10:00 PM. Highway Rescue will be putting on demonstrations, and Ground Search and Rescue will be on site. Al Kovaltsenko, “The Troubador”, will be entertaining everyone on Saturday afternoon. The children’s favourite entertainer, Mat Duffus, will be performing both Saturday and Sunday. The horseshoe tournament takes place Saturday. Register for it at 10:00 AM. You don’t have to be an expert, the tournament is for FUN. On Sunday, Sandy Dixon and her group of riders will be demonstrating equestrian jumping beginning at noon. All of the children’s activities will be going strong until the fair ends on Sunday. The last activity of the weekend is the auction of donated goods produced by the exhibitors. There are a number of gate prizes donated for the weekend, and the annual big raffle. A number of vendors will attend. Don’t let the youngsters miss the special “make it and take it” art booth by Shirley’s Arts and Crafts. Exhibits buildings will open at 9:00 AM daily. People entering exhibits in the fair should obtain an exhibitor’s booklet and fill out the entry form located in the middle of the booklet. If there are questions or problems with filling it out, there will be a person to help you at the registration desk on Thursday, August 30, for 4:00 to 7:00 PM and on Friday, August 31, from 2:00 to 7:00 PM. Adults pay 50 cents per exhibit entry fee, and prizes are $5 for first, $3 for second and $1 for third.
BRIDGE REPAIR CLOSES ASHNOLA FSR
Travellers are advised the Ashnola Forest Service Road will be temporarily closed at 39 kilometres from Tuesday, September 4 to Tuesday, September 18, due to a bridge replacement. The announcement was made August 23rd by Ministry of Forests, Lands and Natural Resource Operations. Ministry staff will be dismantling an old wooden bridge that is deteriorating and will replace it with a steel girder concrete deck bridge with a longer lifespan. Note the closure is near the end of the forest service road and access to all recreation sites along Ashnola Forest Service Road will not be affected. The Ashnola Forest Service Road is located approximately 27 kilometres southwest of Keremeos, and is part of British Columbia's 55,000-kilometre Forest Service road network that provides access to British Columbia's backcountry. For more information connect with the Province of B.C. at: www.gov.bc.ca/connect.
Pirates Invade Princeton Pool!
Copyright 2012 Bengel Publishing Inc.
It was a night of mayhem August 22nd at Princeton Centennial Pool as a band of pirates invaded the popular site. In addition to forcing everyone on deck to walk the plank, they made all eat strange meals and snacks with ingredients you could only find in the deepest, darkest parts of a pirate ship. A couple of hours later they disappeared as quickly as they had appeared.
Similkameen Valley Peppers!
August 21, 2012 - News Leader
SIBERIAN SMOKE CHOKES VALLEY
There is no doubt that this is forest fire season, but smoke that filled skies in the South Okanagan and Similkameen Valleys last week was not from a local wildfire. The hazy cloud was from Siberia. Kamloops Fire Centre information officer Keven Skrepnek said the smoke is from the same wildfires that were burning in Siberia over a month ago. “It's actually getting caught in the jet stream and then once it hits our shores, it starts to do an inversion and gets trapped in the valley bottoms.” “We had calls at our office from residents complaining about eye and throat irritation in some cases,” says Similkameen News Leader Owner/Publisher George Elliott. “It reminded me of the Tatoosh Forest Fire of September 2006 with how it blanketed the area in smoke for days and days, but this was a different kind of haze and the next day it was gone.” The Kamloops Fire Information Centre was first alerted to the smoke by residents of Tulameen and Princeton early in the afternoon of August 13th and reports the smoke is moving west to east and is expected to continue into Alberta and beyond over the next few days. Skrepnek says forestry conducted air patrols throughout the interior to ensure the smoke was not coming from a wildfire burning within the area.
BC'S TOP JUVENILE GOLFERS COME TO PRINCETON
British Columbia Golf's Juvenile Boys' and Girls' Championship is heading to Princeton Golf Club in Princeton from Tuesday, August 21 to Thursday, August 23. Featuring fairways lined with Ponderosa Pines, Princeton Golf Club will play as a par-73 5,643 yard course for the Girls' Championship compared to a par-72 6,506 yard course for the Boys' Championship. Defending his 2011 Boys' title against a hungry field of challengers will be Trevor Yu of Vancouver. Yu recently captured the Canadian Juvenile Boys' Championship in a record setting fashion and would love to add another B.C. title to his résumé. Challengers to his reign on top will be 2012 CN Future Links Pacific champion Zach Anderson of Nanaimo, 2012 BC Summer Games silver medalist Diego San Pedro of Richmond and third place finisher at the 2012 B.C. Junior Boys' Championship Chris Crisologo of Richmond. Other notables are Coquitlam's Kevin Vigna, Surrey's Marcus Brown, Roy Kang of North Vancouver, Johoo Lee of Vancouver and 2011 B.C. Bantam Boys' champion A.J. Ewart of Coquitlam. In the Girls' Championship, Alix Kong will not be defending her 2011 title, leaving the way for the likes of Maple Ridge's Keanna Mason, Surrey's Michelle Kim, Victoria's Naomi Ko and Richmond's Janet Zhang to take the title. Other notables for contention include Coquitlam's Ally Shin, Vernon's Mackenzie Barrie and Halfmoon Bay's Avery Struck. Both the Boys' and Girls' Championships will be 54-hole stroke play competitions. The Boys' features a cut to the low 60 players and ties following 36 holes. Due to a limited field, no cut will occur after 36 holes for the Girls'. During rounds one and two, the zone and club team competitions will be contested.
There is no doubt that this is forest fire season, but smoke that filled skies in the South Okanagan and Similkameen Valleys last week was not from a local wildfire. The hazy cloud was from Siberia. Kamloops Fire Centre information officer Keven Skrepnek said the smoke is from the same wildfires that were burning in Siberia over a month ago. “It's actually getting caught in the jet stream and then once it hits our shores, it starts to do an inversion and gets trapped in the valley bottoms.” “We had calls at our office from residents complaining about eye and throat irritation in some cases,” says Similkameen News Leader Owner/Publisher George Elliott. “It reminded me of the Tatoosh Forest Fire of September 2006 with how it blanketed the area in smoke for days and days, but this was a different kind of haze and the next day it was gone.” The Kamloops Fire Information Centre was first alerted to the smoke by residents of Tulameen and Princeton early in the afternoon of August 13th and reports the smoke is moving west to east and is expected to continue into Alberta and beyond over the next few days. Skrepnek says forestry conducted air patrols throughout the interior to ensure the smoke was not coming from a wildfire burning within the area.
BC'S TOP JUVENILE GOLFERS COME TO PRINCETON
British Columbia Golf's Juvenile Boys' and Girls' Championship is heading to Princeton Golf Club in Princeton from Tuesday, August 21 to Thursday, August 23. Featuring fairways lined with Ponderosa Pines, Princeton Golf Club will play as a par-73 5,643 yard course for the Girls' Championship compared to a par-72 6,506 yard course for the Boys' Championship. Defending his 2011 Boys' title against a hungry field of challengers will be Trevor Yu of Vancouver. Yu recently captured the Canadian Juvenile Boys' Championship in a record setting fashion and would love to add another B.C. title to his résumé. Challengers to his reign on top will be 2012 CN Future Links Pacific champion Zach Anderson of Nanaimo, 2012 BC Summer Games silver medalist Diego San Pedro of Richmond and third place finisher at the 2012 B.C. Junior Boys' Championship Chris Crisologo of Richmond. Other notables are Coquitlam's Kevin Vigna, Surrey's Marcus Brown, Roy Kang of North Vancouver, Johoo Lee of Vancouver and 2011 B.C. Bantam Boys' champion A.J. Ewart of Coquitlam. In the Girls' Championship, Alix Kong will not be defending her 2011 title, leaving the way for the likes of Maple Ridge's Keanna Mason, Surrey's Michelle Kim, Victoria's Naomi Ko and Richmond's Janet Zhang to take the title. Other notables for contention include Coquitlam's Ally Shin, Vernon's Mackenzie Barrie and Halfmoon Bay's Avery Struck. Both the Boys' and Girls' Championships will be 54-hole stroke play competitions. The Boys' features a cut to the low 60 players and ties following 36 holes. Due to a limited field, no cut will occur after 36 holes for the Girls'. During rounds one and two, the zone and club team competitions will be contested.
Psycho Acoustic Ceili Band Perform!
Vancouver Morris Men Dance Downtown!
August 14, 2012 - News Leader
ARMITAGE AND PATEMAN JOIN TOWN COUNCIL
Preliminary election results have been released by Chief Election Officer Shirley McMahon for the August by-election. Ballots cast for Mayor in the August 1st Advance Pool saw Frank Armitage with 146 and Rosemary Doughty with 44. Armitage added 402 in the August 11th General Voting Day to 126 for Doughty. The totals from both voting dates saw Frank Armitage with 548 and Rosemary Doughty with 170. In the vote for Councillor Doug Pateman had 106 to Rob Rubis’ 84 at the Advance Poll (August 1) with Pateman adding another 330 votes to Rubis’ 198 on election day (August 11). The totals from both voting dates saw Doug Pateman with 436 and Rob Rubis with 282. These preliminary results are based on ballot accounts prepared at each of the voting locations and are subject to determination of official election results by the Chief Election Officer.
SEXTING MINOR LEADS TO JAIL
Brian Richard Crites, age 47, of Princeton, appeared in Provincial Court on August 9, 2012 for sentencing on a charge of communicating via computer to lure a child under age 18. Crites had entered a guilty plea to the charge on February 9, 2012, but sentencing was delayed for the purpose of preparing a pre-sentence report and psychiatric evaluation report. The charge arose on January 22, 2011, when the mother of a 12 year old girl contacted local RCMP to complain of a man texting her daughter and engaging in an inappropriate conversation that was sexual in nature. Later, an officer in possession of the girl’s cell phone received a text message from Crites. The officer pretended to be the girl and engaged in a conversation involving sexual content. The pre-sentence report said Crites was not taking a lot of responsibility for his behaviour, saying he got ‘suckered into’ texting the child. The psychiatric report indicated Crites accepted the fact that his behaviour was against the law but did not indicate that he understood why. The victim impact statement reported the girl had significant problems as a result of the incident. Although the section of the Criminal Code refers to luring of a child via internet, a cell phone text message is included in the definition. Crown Counsel asked that Crites be sentenced to one year in jail followed by a three year probation. Defense argued against this sentence, asking for a sentence to be served in the community. At one point, he disagreed with some comments in the victim impact statement questioning the credibility and stability of the child. Both Crown and Defense reviewed a number of other cases and judges’ decisions before Judge Sinclair retired to review the evidence, reports, and make his decision. Judge Sinclair presented his decision in detail, saying there was no issue regarding a jail term. He read into the record the phone texts from Crites in which Crites describes sexual activities he would do with the child. Judge Sinclair commented that the conduct of Crites “is abhorrent to the public” and went on to say “children must be protected from harm”. Crites was sentenced to nine months in jail followed by two years probation. The conditions included sex offender treatment. Crites will be placed on a sex offender registry for 10 years, and his DNA will go into a national databank. Many other conditions were given for his probationary period following his release from jail.
Preliminary election results have been released by Chief Election Officer Shirley McMahon for the August by-election. Ballots cast for Mayor in the August 1st Advance Pool saw Frank Armitage with 146 and Rosemary Doughty with 44. Armitage added 402 in the August 11th General Voting Day to 126 for Doughty. The totals from both voting dates saw Frank Armitage with 548 and Rosemary Doughty with 170. In the vote for Councillor Doug Pateman had 106 to Rob Rubis’ 84 at the Advance Poll (August 1) with Pateman adding another 330 votes to Rubis’ 198 on election day (August 11). The totals from both voting dates saw Doug Pateman with 436 and Rob Rubis with 282. These preliminary results are based on ballot accounts prepared at each of the voting locations and are subject to determination of official election results by the Chief Election Officer.
SEXTING MINOR LEADS TO JAIL
Brian Richard Crites, age 47, of Princeton, appeared in Provincial Court on August 9, 2012 for sentencing on a charge of communicating via computer to lure a child under age 18. Crites had entered a guilty plea to the charge on February 9, 2012, but sentencing was delayed for the purpose of preparing a pre-sentence report and psychiatric evaluation report. The charge arose on January 22, 2011, when the mother of a 12 year old girl contacted local RCMP to complain of a man texting her daughter and engaging in an inappropriate conversation that was sexual in nature. Later, an officer in possession of the girl’s cell phone received a text message from Crites. The officer pretended to be the girl and engaged in a conversation involving sexual content. The pre-sentence report said Crites was not taking a lot of responsibility for his behaviour, saying he got ‘suckered into’ texting the child. The psychiatric report indicated Crites accepted the fact that his behaviour was against the law but did not indicate that he understood why. The victim impact statement reported the girl had significant problems as a result of the incident. Although the section of the Criminal Code refers to luring of a child via internet, a cell phone text message is included in the definition. Crown Counsel asked that Crites be sentenced to one year in jail followed by a three year probation. Defense argued against this sentence, asking for a sentence to be served in the community. At one point, he disagreed with some comments in the victim impact statement questioning the credibility and stability of the child. Both Crown and Defense reviewed a number of other cases and judges’ decisions before Judge Sinclair retired to review the evidence, reports, and make his decision. Judge Sinclair presented his decision in detail, saying there was no issue regarding a jail term. He read into the record the phone texts from Crites in which Crites describes sexual activities he would do with the child. Judge Sinclair commented that the conduct of Crites “is abhorrent to the public” and went on to say “children must be protected from harm”. Crites was sentenced to nine months in jail followed by two years probation. The conditions included sex offender treatment. Crites will be placed on a sex offender registry for 10 years, and his DNA will go into a national databank. Many other conditions were given for his probationary period following his release from jail.
A Quick Dip Cools You Off!
Copyright 2012 Bengel Publishing Inc.
When the temperature hovers above 25C on a regular basis, the place to go for many to cool off is the Similkameen River. It is not unusual to see people swimming and tubing along the river. One popular location is Bromley Rock Provincial Park located about 20-kilometres East of Princeton. In addition to camping, fishing and swimming, many also use the site for diving into the river.
Accident Closes Highway 3!
Photo: Colette Houle
A semi trailer load of lumber dumped on Highway 3 August 1st closed the route for hours. The semi driver was pulled from the cab of his truck by a passer-by and others moved quickly to uncover a vehicle buried by the dumped load. Keremeos RCMP confirmed August 8th that there were no serious injuries resulting from the incident.
August 07, 2012 - News Leader
SOS HOSTS ER MEETING
Save Our Similkameen (SOS) is hosting a community information meeting to bring residents up to date on local emergency services. “There have been questions and concerns within our community about the ER situation,” SOS President Solana Allison told the News Leader. A deadline of August 1st was in place for reinstating full-time ER service but the team of community stakeholders working on the problem has encountered a number of hurdles along the way. “It’s a complex issue, even at this point,” Allison says. So in order to keep residents informed, SOS chose to host a meeting to cover all details and timelines and share what has been happening. “The meeting is to shed some light on what the journey has been to date and where we have to go to achieve the end goal of full-time 24/7 ER service at Princeton General Hospital.” The community information meeting is planned for Friday, August 10th at 7:00 PM in the Seniors Citizens Branch 30 Hall. For more information contact the Save Our Hospital Coalition office at 250.295.6595 or drop into the office at 259 Vermilion Avenue weekdays between 9:00 AM and 5:00 PM.
PIONEER DESCENDANTS MEET
Descendants of James Joseph Jameson and his wife, Jenny, met July 28 at the old home property of James' son, Walter, near Hedley. Four generations were represented from widely diverse locations. They came from Merritt, Princeton, Hedley, Keremeos, Vernon and Armstrong in British Columbia, and from Oroville, Omak, and Everett, Washington. One of Walter's descendants, Fern Hanson, traveled from Phoenix, Arizona. Members of the family were joined by friends of the family. Maurice and Marge Jameson were guests of honour for the occasion and everyone appreciated the gracious blessing Marge gave at an outdoor supper by the river. Arrangements for the gathering were made by Cecilia Louis-Ralston, a descendant of Walter Jameson, and her husband Bruce, with everyone else pitching in to assist where they could. One member of the family brought the Jameson family tree prepared by Gary Walthers, and family members searched through the more than 700 names to find their own leaf on the tree. The gathering will be well-remembered by all who attended.
Save Our Similkameen (SOS) is hosting a community information meeting to bring residents up to date on local emergency services. “There have been questions and concerns within our community about the ER situation,” SOS President Solana Allison told the News Leader. A deadline of August 1st was in place for reinstating full-time ER service but the team of community stakeholders working on the problem has encountered a number of hurdles along the way. “It’s a complex issue, even at this point,” Allison says. So in order to keep residents informed, SOS chose to host a meeting to cover all details and timelines and share what has been happening. “The meeting is to shed some light on what the journey has been to date and where we have to go to achieve the end goal of full-time 24/7 ER service at Princeton General Hospital.” The community information meeting is planned for Friday, August 10th at 7:00 PM in the Seniors Citizens Branch 30 Hall. For more information contact the Save Our Hospital Coalition office at 250.295.6595 or drop into the office at 259 Vermilion Avenue weekdays between 9:00 AM and 5:00 PM.
PIONEER DESCENDANTS MEET
Descendants of James Joseph Jameson and his wife, Jenny, met July 28 at the old home property of James' son, Walter, near Hedley. Four generations were represented from widely diverse locations. They came from Merritt, Princeton, Hedley, Keremeos, Vernon and Armstrong in British Columbia, and from Oroville, Omak, and Everett, Washington. One of Walter's descendants, Fern Hanson, traveled from Phoenix, Arizona. Members of the family were joined by friends of the family. Maurice and Marge Jameson were guests of honour for the occasion and everyone appreciated the gracious blessing Marge gave at an outdoor supper by the river. Arrangements for the gathering were made by Cecilia Louis-Ralston, a descendant of Walter Jameson, and her husband Bruce, with everyone else pitching in to assist where they could. One member of the family brought the Jameson family tree prepared by Gary Walthers, and family members searched through the more than 700 names to find their own leaf on the tree. The gathering will be well-remembered by all who attended.
Horse Rescue Team Hits Rock Creek!
Photo: Gena Sandli
What do you do when you stumble upon 20 mares and foals who look as if they have been left to starve? For most people in southern British Columbia, the only place to call is Outbackjacks Horse Rescue in Princeton. The Princeton team were called out to a location near Rock Creek to assess a situation that could only be described as cruel and inhuman punishment on dozens of horses. The team got RCMP and SPCA involved and are continuing to monitor the situation.