January 28, 2014 - News Leader
ARTS COUNCIL PLANS BUSY YEAR
Good news opened the quarterly general meeting of Princeton Arts Council on January 22. The Arts Council has received a $14,000 operating grant from the BC Arts Council. This grant is based on past performance of the Arts Council in bringing the arts to the community and involving the community in arts projects. President Marjorie Holland thanked everyone for their work in 2013: the Crimson Tine theatre group, the people who contributed to the success of the Christmas Songfest, those who made Crazy Christmas Trees, and the volunteers who helped at the concerts and Sunflower Gallery. The gallery did well last year, selling a total of $4,158, of which $3,105 went directly to the artists. Planning for 2014 includes tentative plans to use Two Rivers Park for an arts festival, providing the park is improved enough. The summer concerts at the gazebo in Veterans Square will go on this year. The Spirit Festival will not include a powwow this year and activities will be primarily educational centered around Aboriginal Day. Look for a ski display at Sunflower Gallery during the Sochi Olympics. This is a combined effort of Princeton Museum Society and the Arts Council. It features memorabilia from the days of Princeton's Amber Ski Club, a club which sent many local skiers to international competitions. On February 15, there will be a Pie Dance at Riverside Centre. The dance has a Valentine theme and features the music of the Switchmen. In addition to the desserts, there will be a silent auction and a no-host bar. Tickets are $20. This is a fundraiser to complete the kitchen at Riverside Centre. Magic comes to Riverside Centre on Sunday afternoon February 23, when Ted Outerbridge will entertain the young at heart with the mysteries of illusion. Tickets are available at Shoppers or at the door. On March 14, the enchanting folk music of Wheat in the Barley will be a featured concert at Riverside Centre. Wheat in the Barley is a group of musicians who specialize in folk music from around the world. Sunflower Gallery will open again in March. Crimson Tine Players will do the theatrical production 'Our Town' at the end of May. The Traditional Music Festival will take place August 15 - 17. This is the seventh annual festival, always a successful event. From September 27 to October 1, Riverside Centre will be the home of an art show featuring paintings, sculpture, digital art, photography and just about anything considered art. The theme of the show is Earth Alive! An application to enter is on the Arts Council website www.princetonarts.ca.
NEW SARGE MEETS COUNCIL
RCMP Sgt. Barry Kennedy attended the January 20 meeting of Town Council to introduce himself as the new officer in charge of the Princeton detachment. He told Council he would be reporting quarterly to Council, and would be consulting various groups to set priorities for the kind of policing the community expects. Sgt. Kennedy was most recently in McBride, B.C., and has seen 24 years of service, including postings in Vancouver and Vernon as well as other locations.
Good news opened the quarterly general meeting of Princeton Arts Council on January 22. The Arts Council has received a $14,000 operating grant from the BC Arts Council. This grant is based on past performance of the Arts Council in bringing the arts to the community and involving the community in arts projects. President Marjorie Holland thanked everyone for their work in 2013: the Crimson Tine theatre group, the people who contributed to the success of the Christmas Songfest, those who made Crazy Christmas Trees, and the volunteers who helped at the concerts and Sunflower Gallery. The gallery did well last year, selling a total of $4,158, of which $3,105 went directly to the artists. Planning for 2014 includes tentative plans to use Two Rivers Park for an arts festival, providing the park is improved enough. The summer concerts at the gazebo in Veterans Square will go on this year. The Spirit Festival will not include a powwow this year and activities will be primarily educational centered around Aboriginal Day. Look for a ski display at Sunflower Gallery during the Sochi Olympics. This is a combined effort of Princeton Museum Society and the Arts Council. It features memorabilia from the days of Princeton's Amber Ski Club, a club which sent many local skiers to international competitions. On February 15, there will be a Pie Dance at Riverside Centre. The dance has a Valentine theme and features the music of the Switchmen. In addition to the desserts, there will be a silent auction and a no-host bar. Tickets are $20. This is a fundraiser to complete the kitchen at Riverside Centre. Magic comes to Riverside Centre on Sunday afternoon February 23, when Ted Outerbridge will entertain the young at heart with the mysteries of illusion. Tickets are available at Shoppers or at the door. On March 14, the enchanting folk music of Wheat in the Barley will be a featured concert at Riverside Centre. Wheat in the Barley is a group of musicians who specialize in folk music from around the world. Sunflower Gallery will open again in March. Crimson Tine Players will do the theatrical production 'Our Town' at the end of May. The Traditional Music Festival will take place August 15 - 17. This is the seventh annual festival, always a successful event. From September 27 to October 1, Riverside Centre will be the home of an art show featuring paintings, sculpture, digital art, photography and just about anything considered art. The theme of the show is Earth Alive! An application to enter is on the Arts Council website www.princetonarts.ca.
NEW SARGE MEETS COUNCIL
RCMP Sgt. Barry Kennedy attended the January 20 meeting of Town Council to introduce himself as the new officer in charge of the Princeton detachment. He told Council he would be reporting quarterly to Council, and would be consulting various groups to set priorities for the kind of policing the community expects. Sgt. Kennedy was most recently in McBride, B.C., and has seen 24 years of service, including postings in Vancouver and Vernon as well as other locations.
Kids Get Cookin' In Class!
Copyright 2014 Bengel Publishing Inc.
Students at John Allison Elementary School were mixing up a lot of fun last week during school hours. A program called 'Kitchen Kids' launched which saw classes learn how to create simple, nutritious recipes ranging from buttermilk biscuits to fruit and vegetable smoothies. Students learned how to follow directions in a recipe, how to measure ingredients and how to actually prepare the different recipes. They even got to sample the finished products! Grants made the program possible at John Allison Elementary School in Princeton.
Holy Decade, Batman!
February 1, 2014 will mark a milestone in the history of the Similkameen News Leader. It will be the tenth anniversary of ownership of the small-town, community weekly paper by W. George Elliott and his company, Bengel Publishing Inc. "It's a bit hard to believe that it's already been ten years," Elliott says. "I think you sort of know the timeline in your head, but with the way this business is, you get so busy that it isn't something you think about all the time." Elliott has continued to keep the content of the paper focused 100 percent on the Similkameen Valley - a trait that started when the Johnson family first established the News Leader in 1997. "It is important for us to celebrate what makes us unique and with the way the economy has shifted locally it's even more important now for us to keep pounding away at the 'shop local, support local' message which fits perfectly with what we've been trying to do all along with this paper." There are no plans for a celebration of any kind as Elliott says, "It's only an important date to me and not really anyone else so it'll be just business as usual around here."
January 21, 2014 - News Leader
COUNCIL WANTS TO HELP LOCAL BUSINESSA total of 25 attended a meeting January 15th at Riverside Centre that was being promoted as a Downtown Business Forum. Concerns over the economic state of downtown Princeton prompted the meeting which saw members of Town Council and Staff reach out to the business community in an effort to discover possible solutions to a variety of issues. "We want to hear from you tonight," Mayor Frank Armitage stated. "That's the bottom line." Armitage continued by saying concerns over the regression in the downtown core have been a hot topic throughout the community and said there are currently a total of 17 empty storefronts out of seventy-five buildings in the business sector. He made it clear that the session was not to lay blame. "We all know what the problem and issues are," he said. "We are looking for solutions." Armitage said it wasn't going to be easy and quoted Similkameen News Leader Owner/Publisher George Elliott who described it in a recent issue as being "a complex problem." Ideas and suggestions from the floor were many and included such things as signage (both in the town and along Highway 3), modification of bylaws to make Princeton more business-friendly, changes to business, zoning, parking and lighting bylaws, incentives to attract development in the industrial/business park, a review and changes to business licensing procedures, retail rental requirements and the snow removal program. "It's going to take effort on the part of everyone," Armitage emphasized. Chamber of Commerce President Brenda Crawford responded to comments about commercial and residential rents with, "Rentals have always been an issue here," and a suggestion from former business owner Keith Olsen was to, "take out the roadblocks that are hindering business." Downtown building owner Jaymie Atkinson said there's a need to ³promote the recreation in the area² as it is considered a large economic draw to the community and surrounding region. At one point the discussion shifted to frustration local businesses experience when customers flock to the nearest big city to shop. "We've got to educate our people on what is here," the Mayor offered in response. A committee was struck from the meeting with five people volunteering to meet the mandate of prioritizing the long list of suggestions recorded during the forum, developing a definitive plan of action and reporting back to business operators at future meetings to show progress and to provide updates on what is being done.
Similkameen River at Wolfe Creek!
Similkameen River at Bromley Rock!
January 14, 2014 - News Leader
TOWN PLANS DOWNTOWN FORUM
Town of Princeton CAO Rick Zerr was pounding the pavement last Friday handing out personal invitations to local business operators. He was inviting them to what is being called a Downtown Business Forum which will follow the format of a 'Let's Talk Forum' on the topic of 'Supporting Our Downtown.' The meeting is scheduled to take place Wednesday, January 15th beginning at 7:00 PM in Riverside Centre. In addition to Zerr, other participants at the forum will include Mayor
Frank Armitage, Councillors Doug Pateman, Kim Maynard and Marilyn Harkness, Director of Finance Shirley McMahon, Director of Parks and Recreation Lyle
Thomas, Recreation, Tourism and Cultural Coordinator Nadine McEwen and invited business operators. Zerr told the News Leader that invitations were also being mailed to local businesses. One was in the News Leader post office box later that day.
PRINCETON COURT NEWS
Judge dismisses youth
A youth was tried in Provincial Court in Princeton in December on a charge of assault causing bodily harm. The charge arose as a result of a fight involving several youths who attended festivities in Tulameen on the August long weekend in 2011. The young men involved had been confronting each other on previous occasions and there was evidence given that booze had been consumed at various times on that weekend. During the altercation, one youth was punched and his jaw broken. Another youth was identified as the person responsible, but he denied his guilt. The judge¹s decision was given in Penticton. The judge determined there was some doubt as to who had delivered the punch that caused the broken jaw and the youth was found not guilty.
Judge fines man for breach
In Provincial Court in Princeton on January 9, Daniel Ostrom entered a guilty plea to two charges, breach of a no contact order and breach of a condition of recognizance specifying Ostrom was not to consume alcohol. He was ordered to pay $200 plus surcharge for each violation.
Hedley party ends in court
On January 9, in Provincial Court in Princeton, 45 year old Frederick Jay Bell entered a guilty plea to a charge of assault causing bodily harm. The charge was laid following an incident in Hedley on June 24, 2013. Bell and his wife went to a party in Hedley, where they reside. They walked home together, but when they reached the deck of their house, Bell threw a chair at his wife, then threw her off the deck to the ground, causing a broken bone. Bell was ordered to pay a $500 fine and serve a nine month probation with conditions. He is not to consume alcohol and he is not to enter any business selling alcoholic beverages. He is to take alcohol abuse counseling as required by his probation officer.
Town of Princeton CAO Rick Zerr was pounding the pavement last Friday handing out personal invitations to local business operators. He was inviting them to what is being called a Downtown Business Forum which will follow the format of a 'Let's Talk Forum' on the topic of 'Supporting Our Downtown.' The meeting is scheduled to take place Wednesday, January 15th beginning at 7:00 PM in Riverside Centre. In addition to Zerr, other participants at the forum will include Mayor
Frank Armitage, Councillors Doug Pateman, Kim Maynard and Marilyn Harkness, Director of Finance Shirley McMahon, Director of Parks and Recreation Lyle
Thomas, Recreation, Tourism and Cultural Coordinator Nadine McEwen and invited business operators. Zerr told the News Leader that invitations were also being mailed to local businesses. One was in the News Leader post office box later that day.
PRINCETON COURT NEWS
Judge dismisses youth
A youth was tried in Provincial Court in Princeton in December on a charge of assault causing bodily harm. The charge arose as a result of a fight involving several youths who attended festivities in Tulameen on the August long weekend in 2011. The young men involved had been confronting each other on previous occasions and there was evidence given that booze had been consumed at various times on that weekend. During the altercation, one youth was punched and his jaw broken. Another youth was identified as the person responsible, but he denied his guilt. The judge¹s decision was given in Penticton. The judge determined there was some doubt as to who had delivered the punch that caused the broken jaw and the youth was found not guilty.
Judge fines man for breach
In Provincial Court in Princeton on January 9, Daniel Ostrom entered a guilty plea to two charges, breach of a no contact order and breach of a condition of recognizance specifying Ostrom was not to consume alcohol. He was ordered to pay $200 plus surcharge for each violation.
Hedley party ends in court
On January 9, in Provincial Court in Princeton, 45 year old Frederick Jay Bell entered a guilty plea to a charge of assault causing bodily harm. The charge was laid following an incident in Hedley on June 24, 2013. Bell and his wife went to a party in Hedley, where they reside. They walked home together, but when they reached the deck of their house, Bell threw a chair at his wife, then threw her off the deck to the ground, causing a broken bone. Bell was ordered to pay a $500 fine and serve a nine month probation with conditions. He is not to consume alcohol and he is not to enter any business selling alcoholic beverages. He is to take alcohol abuse counseling as required by his probation officer.
Ladies Get To See Nifty Ride!
Copyright 2014 Bengel Publishing Inc.
How cool is this? Princeton's Hospital Auxiliary volunteers were given a special treat January 10th with a visit from the Princeton Highway Rescue Truck. The Hospital Auxiliary has raised funds for years through their Thrift Shop located on Vermilion Avenue. The group has provided hundreds of thousands of dollars to Princeton Hospital for various requirements. This past year they provided funds for such things as portable radios and chargers for the Princeton Highway Extrication Society when they were fundraising to purchase a new rescue truck. The Hospital Auxiliary did one better this past month offering to 'pay off' the remaining cost of the vehicle...which they did. The ladies got an up close and personal tour of their investment and can say that they were instrumental in putting the new truck on the road.
January 07, 2014 - News Leader
POLICE REPORT THEFT
On Wednesday, January 2nd at approximately 11:00 AM Princeton RCMP received a report of a theft from a vehicle which occurred sometime overnight in the First Bench area of Princeton. “Stolen was a yellow and black snowmobile helmet and yellow Skidoo goggles, along with a dark blue Air Pro Plus helmet camera and an iPhone speaker,” says Princeton RCMP Cst. K. Slocombe in a news release. “It also appears that the vehicle, a Ford F250 pickup truck was attempted to be stolen, as the ignition had been tampered with.” Police believe the truck was ‘targeted’ as it had an attached trailer with two snowmobiles on it. The incident is still under investigation. “Snowmobiles appear to be a high volume theft item, particu- larly in the winter months,” adds Cst. Slocombe. “The Princeton RCMP would like to remind the general public to secure their vehicles, including snowmobiles, and to keep valuable items out of vehicles also to use anti-theft devices when avail- able and to park in well-lit locations.” If you have any information and/or knowledge of the incident on the First Bench you are requested to contact the Princeton RCMPDetachment at 250-295- 6911 or if you would rather leave an anonymous tip you can do so by contacting CrimeStoppers toll free at 1800-222-TIPS.
ARTS COUNCIL REVIEWS YEAR
The Arts Council Concert Series in 2013 was particularly successful. March brought the De Danaan School of Irish Dance. The full house thrilled to the staccato rhythms of the dancers' feet. Some of the audience will have noted that one of the dancers, Freddie Ngyen, was especially adept and we are proud to report that he went on to the International championships in Ireland and has now joined a troupe of dancers based in Ireland. In April we offered Alpha Yaya Diallo, a multiple Juno award win- ner. Classic acoustic guitar com- bined with African drummers for an exciting performance from an internationally recognized musician. Then June brought a total change of pace - Concertante Chamber Players, a string quartet, gave us a sublime evening of classical pieces. This fall we kicked off our new series with Fab Fourever, who played to another full house. Their take on early Beatles music was superb and their Liverpool accents well-rehearsed as they practiced a Beatles style of banter with the audience. Scheduled for February and March this year are 'Outerbridge: Clockwork Mysteries', a high energy magical adventure for the whole family and 'Wheat in the Barley', a group of six musicians playing a mixture of music from around the world in all kinds of genres on a wide variety of instruments. Meanwhile, we are currently seeking to book performances for the 2014- 2015 concert series and we ask you to give us your suggestions of who or what kind of shows you would like to see. We have been fortunate to qualify for grant funding to assist in the cost of bringing in artists but it is important that we are meeting the demands of you, our audience. You are requested to e-mail your suggestions to princetonartscouncil- [email protected] or call Marjorie Holland at 250-295-6718.
On Wednesday, January 2nd at approximately 11:00 AM Princeton RCMP received a report of a theft from a vehicle which occurred sometime overnight in the First Bench area of Princeton. “Stolen was a yellow and black snowmobile helmet and yellow Skidoo goggles, along with a dark blue Air Pro Plus helmet camera and an iPhone speaker,” says Princeton RCMP Cst. K. Slocombe in a news release. “It also appears that the vehicle, a Ford F250 pickup truck was attempted to be stolen, as the ignition had been tampered with.” Police believe the truck was ‘targeted’ as it had an attached trailer with two snowmobiles on it. The incident is still under investigation. “Snowmobiles appear to be a high volume theft item, particu- larly in the winter months,” adds Cst. Slocombe. “The Princeton RCMP would like to remind the general public to secure their vehicles, including snowmobiles, and to keep valuable items out of vehicles also to use anti-theft devices when avail- able and to park in well-lit locations.” If you have any information and/or knowledge of the incident on the First Bench you are requested to contact the Princeton RCMPDetachment at 250-295- 6911 or if you would rather leave an anonymous tip you can do so by contacting CrimeStoppers toll free at 1800-222-TIPS.
ARTS COUNCIL REVIEWS YEAR
The Arts Council Concert Series in 2013 was particularly successful. March brought the De Danaan School of Irish Dance. The full house thrilled to the staccato rhythms of the dancers' feet. Some of the audience will have noted that one of the dancers, Freddie Ngyen, was especially adept and we are proud to report that he went on to the International championships in Ireland and has now joined a troupe of dancers based in Ireland. In April we offered Alpha Yaya Diallo, a multiple Juno award win- ner. Classic acoustic guitar com- bined with African drummers for an exciting performance from an internationally recognized musician. Then June brought a total change of pace - Concertante Chamber Players, a string quartet, gave us a sublime evening of classical pieces. This fall we kicked off our new series with Fab Fourever, who played to another full house. Their take on early Beatles music was superb and their Liverpool accents well-rehearsed as they practiced a Beatles style of banter with the audience. Scheduled for February and March this year are 'Outerbridge: Clockwork Mysteries', a high energy magical adventure for the whole family and 'Wheat in the Barley', a group of six musicians playing a mixture of music from around the world in all kinds of genres on a wide variety of instruments. Meanwhile, we are currently seeking to book performances for the 2014- 2015 concert series and we ask you to give us your suggestions of who or what kind of shows you would like to see. We have been fortunate to qualify for grant funding to assist in the cost of bringing in artists but it is important that we are meeting the demands of you, our audience. You are requested to e-mail your suggestions to princetonartscouncil- [email protected] or call Marjorie Holland at 250-295-6718.
December Weather: Not Too Cold!
Photo: Brenda Engel
Princeton’s weather in December 2013 was not the warmest December, but not the coldest, either. The first 10 days of December saw some low temperatures, going down to -24C, but set no records. The coldest temperatures recorded in December occurred in 1968, when tempera- tures on December 29 and 30 fell to -42.2C and -42.8C. That is COLD! The warmest first week of December occurred in 1939, with temperatures up to 7.8C. December 14, 1974 set a record 7.4C, but December 15 may have set a record with 9.3C. The record for highest temperature in December was set in 1980 at 11.5C, beating the 1942 temperature of 11.1C. The highest Christmas Eve tem- perature was set in 1936 at 6.1C, and the lowest Christmas Eve temperature was -35C, set in 1983. The highest Christmas Day temperature occurred in 2005 when a record 7.3C was set. The lowest Christmas Day temperature was - 29.4C, set in 1964. The outstanding weather fact about December 2013 was the lack of snow. The outstanding weather fact about December 2013 was the lack of snow. The record amount of snow on the ground in December was on December 30, 1996, when the snow measured 100cm in depth after two major dumps of snow on December 28 and 29 measuring just over 30 cm on each day. A close second was in 1990 with 65cm, and 60 cm. in 1955. There are no records for the least amount of snow, but December 1993 would certainly have been a contender. There was little snow all winter, and 1994 proved to be a serious drought year marked by many forest fires and water shortages throughout southern British Columbia and Washington State. Weather records for Princeton begin in late 1936, 77 years ago.
Posse Still Battling For Play Off Spot!
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2014 started on the road for Princeton's KIJHL Junior 'B' Hockey Team - the Posse. Both games were losses (6-2 January 3rd in Summerland and 7-1 January 4th in Osoyoos) but the team still has another 17 games scheduled with 3 home games in January and 5 home games in February. The last of four playoff spots in their division is a few wins away and the team continues to play as if they are battling for First Place which has made for good, entertaining hockey for spectators.
