October 28, 2014 - News Leader
RODEO CLUB EXPLORES NEW DATE
The annual general meeting of Princeton Rodeo Club was held October 23. There was a poor turnout to the meeting, but the former Board of Directors was returned with Ken Crompton as President again. The year end financial statement showed a loss for the year of just over $5,000, $3,000 of which was a loss for the rodeo itself. This is not to say the rodeo was not well done: the rodeo show was good, but revenues were down
and expenses were more than anticipated. Sponsors were as generous as usual. Some money owed to the Rodeo Club has not yet been paid. The concession made a good profit of $1,773, and the beer garden brought in a profit of $1,914. This amount would have been higher, but the costs associated with the band were paid from beer garden revenues. Admission charges brought in $7,427, with over $6,000 on Saturday, indicating once again that the Saturday is the favourite day to attend. The problem of poor attendance on the Sunday is attributed to it being on Mother's Day. The club is seriously looking at changing the date to the third weekend of June. The club decided to apply for that date, providing rodeo personnel hired for the rodeo are available. Despite the loss this year, the Rodeo Club has enough in reserve to be confident of being able to hold a rodeo next year if the same level of sponsor support is maintained. Little Britches is eager to have their rodeo in Princeton in 2015. No date has been assigned to it yet. Members agreed to hold two Best Butt contests in 2015 in conjunction with the rodeo. There will be a Ladies Best Butt and a Gents Best Butt. Volunteers will be needed to assist Dawn Johnson in putting on the contests. Bob Lind has a new idea for the rodeo, but he needs more information before proceeding. He will be looking for a committee to help him. If his plan goes ahead, it will make the rodeo a lot more exciting. Entertainment for half time is under consideration. Members will be looking for suitable entertainment. The next meeting of the Rodeo Club will be at the call of the chair. President Crompton says he hopes to call it for sometime during the month of December.
PXA TAKES A LOOK AHEAD
Members of Princeton Exhibition Association (PXA) had a long meeting October 21. Much of the meeting involved a review of work done and events held during the past year, but the members discussed plans for the winter and projects for spring. The PXA is the Board of management for Princeton's fairgrounds complex. Lyle Thomas, Town employee responsible for recreation and cultural activities, attended the meeting, and is expected to be part of future discussions as the fairgrounds complex is now part of the Town recreation plan. Following the annual community Halloween party, the west end of the complex will be shut down for the winter. The east end, containing the barns and the major indoor arena, will see more activity. President Paul Bedard said winter bookings are well underway for barn accommodation. Stephanie Antonick offered proposals for activities for the indoor arena. Members were pleased to hear there are plans from the Princeton Riding Club for utilization of the indoor facility. Princeton Riding Club has nearly 100 members. A fun event will be held November 2 with a fee of $10 per participant.
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Motor sports
PXA members have given approval in principle to Bill Allinott to hold a motor sports event at the fairgrounds on Labour Day weekend 2015. President Bedard said there is adequate room at the west side of the infield for two 200 foot mud racing pits, but the demolition derby would ideally be held in the rodeo arena. He said the plan would be to scrape off the existing sand cover of the rodeo arena during the demolition derby, then put it back in place and groom it after the event. He met with representatives of Princeton Rodeo Club who appeared to be in favour, but planned to discuss the matter with all members at the Rodeo Club annual general meeting.
The annual general meeting of Princeton Rodeo Club was held October 23. There was a poor turnout to the meeting, but the former Board of Directors was returned with Ken Crompton as President again. The year end financial statement showed a loss for the year of just over $5,000, $3,000 of which was a loss for the rodeo itself. This is not to say the rodeo was not well done: the rodeo show was good, but revenues were down
and expenses were more than anticipated. Sponsors were as generous as usual. Some money owed to the Rodeo Club has not yet been paid. The concession made a good profit of $1,773, and the beer garden brought in a profit of $1,914. This amount would have been higher, but the costs associated with the band were paid from beer garden revenues. Admission charges brought in $7,427, with over $6,000 on Saturday, indicating once again that the Saturday is the favourite day to attend. The problem of poor attendance on the Sunday is attributed to it being on Mother's Day. The club is seriously looking at changing the date to the third weekend of June. The club decided to apply for that date, providing rodeo personnel hired for the rodeo are available. Despite the loss this year, the Rodeo Club has enough in reserve to be confident of being able to hold a rodeo next year if the same level of sponsor support is maintained. Little Britches is eager to have their rodeo in Princeton in 2015. No date has been assigned to it yet. Members agreed to hold two Best Butt contests in 2015 in conjunction with the rodeo. There will be a Ladies Best Butt and a Gents Best Butt. Volunteers will be needed to assist Dawn Johnson in putting on the contests. Bob Lind has a new idea for the rodeo, but he needs more information before proceeding. He will be looking for a committee to help him. If his plan goes ahead, it will make the rodeo a lot more exciting. Entertainment for half time is under consideration. Members will be looking for suitable entertainment. The next meeting of the Rodeo Club will be at the call of the chair. President Crompton says he hopes to call it for sometime during the month of December.
PXA TAKES A LOOK AHEAD
Members of Princeton Exhibition Association (PXA) had a long meeting October 21. Much of the meeting involved a review of work done and events held during the past year, but the members discussed plans for the winter and projects for spring. The PXA is the Board of management for Princeton's fairgrounds complex. Lyle Thomas, Town employee responsible for recreation and cultural activities, attended the meeting, and is expected to be part of future discussions as the fairgrounds complex is now part of the Town recreation plan. Following the annual community Halloween party, the west end of the complex will be shut down for the winter. The east end, containing the barns and the major indoor arena, will see more activity. President Paul Bedard said winter bookings are well underway for barn accommodation. Stephanie Antonick offered proposals for activities for the indoor arena. Members were pleased to hear there are plans from the Princeton Riding Club for utilization of the indoor facility. Princeton Riding Club has nearly 100 members. A fun event will be held November 2 with a fee of $10 per participant.
---
Motor sports
PXA members have given approval in principle to Bill Allinott to hold a motor sports event at the fairgrounds on Labour Day weekend 2015. President Bedard said there is adequate room at the west side of the infield for two 200 foot mud racing pits, but the demolition derby would ideally be held in the rodeo arena. He said the plan would be to scrape off the existing sand cover of the rodeo arena during the demolition derby, then put it back in place and groom it after the event. He met with representatives of Princeton Rodeo Club who appeared to be in favour, but planned to discuss the matter with all members at the Rodeo Club annual general meeting.
October 21, 2014 - News Leader
LEUKEMIA STORY OPENS LOCAL HEARTS
When Jessica McCarthy and Colby Huff of the Princeton area shared the news with their family and friends about the health of their 2-year old daughter, Hayley, it came as a shock to everyone. One friend, Stephanie Vermette, went online to try to make a difference and launched a fundraising page at Go Fund Me on October 14th to try to help collect some donations to help with costs. In just two days over $23,000 had been raised from 184 people. The majority of them from the Princeton area. Stephanie explained the project in this way: "Recently our good friends received devastating news that their 2 year old daughter has ALL leukemia, a cancer of the blood and bone marrow. The treatment is intensive and costly and for the time being the family will be living away from their home in Princeton and close to the Children's Hospital in Vancouver. We are hoping to fundraise enough money to cover the medical expenses, loss of wages, and travel and housing expenses. Any contribution will be greatly appreciated by this amazing family we are so blessed to call our friends." The amount continues to climb and if you wish to make a contribution you can do so by visiting http://www.gofundme.com/ftol2c.
THE ONLY CANADIAN IN THE AMERICAN HORSEWOMEN'S CHALLENGE
by Marion Weisskopff
The first-ever American Horsewoman's Challenge officially began April 1st, 2014. To qualify, a trainer submitted video documentation of various "tasks", including liberty, cowboy dressage and trail obstacle, which were judged by several experts. Jim Hutchins founded this competition to determine the finest female horse-trainers in America. Once a contestant qualified, she entered a young horse three to six years old with no more than about ten previous rides. She had six months to train this horse in the above disciplines, plus a unique free-style performance by the top 10 finalists - but all needed to prepare for the free-style entry. Originally 50 trainers were chosen, including three Canadians, but Oklahoma is a long way away and not all of them made it there. I was the only Canadian who arrived in Guthrie, Oklahoma, at the famous Lazy E Arena to compete... and I very nearly cancelled, myself, due to the incredible shortage of training time I'd been able to wring out of that unexpectedly strange summer. From April until October a host of gremlins dogged my trail, including evacuation of my horses for several weeks due to forest fires very near our farm, and a hair-raising number of other distractions. I did manage a few trail-riding trips with my contest horse, Rambling Rosie, both before and after she bucked me off and stomped me soundly into the ground during a demonstration at the Backcountry Horsemen Rendezvous on June 1st. She took the starch out of me that day and I proceeded very carefully from there. By the time I set out for Oklahoma in late September, I had wrangled exactly two weeks of arena training focused on the "tasks" for the competition. I tried to weasel out of going, but my family and friends, and the guilt over my devoted sponsors - three of whom actually came all that way to help - drove me relentlessly onward. So on October 3rd Rosie and I entered our first competition, "Liberty", which means commanding your horse entirely free of ropes, through, over and around obstacles and in pattern formations. Of the 28 contestants, Rosie finished in 3rd place. Though she skipped out on me once, I was thrilled by how attentively she worked with me. Many of the other horses ran off and never came back! On October 4th, (which was also my birthday), the challenge was "Cowboy Dressage". Rosie was perfect that day, and we moved up to 2nd place overall. As we were leaving the arena, I was shocked when everyone there sang me Happy Birthday! The last day began with the "Extreme Cowboy Race", which tested for ranch and trail versatility - at high speed! Rosie again gave me an outstanding performance, and we held our 2nd place standing overall, which put us in the top ten finalists. Time for our free-style performance. Up until that morning, the contestants understood that their accumulated points in the various disciplines would determine the winners. This decision was changed by a vote that morning, and now the winners would be determined by the free-style performance only. Personally, I voted against this unusual method of judging a well-trained all-around horse, as did the lady who was in 1st place overall at that stage. Naturally, this idea appealed to contestants with lower overall placings, and the vote was carried. Rosie scored high points in the free-style event, and performed with integrity and honesty. We tied for 3rd place in the final event. In overall points, Rosie actually came in 0.2 points behind 2nd place - still in 3rd place but not tied for 3rd - had the original marking system been upheld. Needless to say, I was incredibly happy with Rosie's consistently high placings, proving her to be a great all-around horse who responded with such loyalty to so little training.
When Jessica McCarthy and Colby Huff of the Princeton area shared the news with their family and friends about the health of their 2-year old daughter, Hayley, it came as a shock to everyone. One friend, Stephanie Vermette, went online to try to make a difference and launched a fundraising page at Go Fund Me on October 14th to try to help collect some donations to help with costs. In just two days over $23,000 had been raised from 184 people. The majority of them from the Princeton area. Stephanie explained the project in this way: "Recently our good friends received devastating news that their 2 year old daughter has ALL leukemia, a cancer of the blood and bone marrow. The treatment is intensive and costly and for the time being the family will be living away from their home in Princeton and close to the Children's Hospital in Vancouver. We are hoping to fundraise enough money to cover the medical expenses, loss of wages, and travel and housing expenses. Any contribution will be greatly appreciated by this amazing family we are so blessed to call our friends." The amount continues to climb and if you wish to make a contribution you can do so by visiting http://www.gofundme.com/ftol2c.
THE ONLY CANADIAN IN THE AMERICAN HORSEWOMEN'S CHALLENGE
by Marion Weisskopff
The first-ever American Horsewoman's Challenge officially began April 1st, 2014. To qualify, a trainer submitted video documentation of various "tasks", including liberty, cowboy dressage and trail obstacle, which were judged by several experts. Jim Hutchins founded this competition to determine the finest female horse-trainers in America. Once a contestant qualified, she entered a young horse three to six years old with no more than about ten previous rides. She had six months to train this horse in the above disciplines, plus a unique free-style performance by the top 10 finalists - but all needed to prepare for the free-style entry. Originally 50 trainers were chosen, including three Canadians, but Oklahoma is a long way away and not all of them made it there. I was the only Canadian who arrived in Guthrie, Oklahoma, at the famous Lazy E Arena to compete... and I very nearly cancelled, myself, due to the incredible shortage of training time I'd been able to wring out of that unexpectedly strange summer. From April until October a host of gremlins dogged my trail, including evacuation of my horses for several weeks due to forest fires very near our farm, and a hair-raising number of other distractions. I did manage a few trail-riding trips with my contest horse, Rambling Rosie, both before and after she bucked me off and stomped me soundly into the ground during a demonstration at the Backcountry Horsemen Rendezvous on June 1st. She took the starch out of me that day and I proceeded very carefully from there. By the time I set out for Oklahoma in late September, I had wrangled exactly two weeks of arena training focused on the "tasks" for the competition. I tried to weasel out of going, but my family and friends, and the guilt over my devoted sponsors - three of whom actually came all that way to help - drove me relentlessly onward. So on October 3rd Rosie and I entered our first competition, "Liberty", which means commanding your horse entirely free of ropes, through, over and around obstacles and in pattern formations. Of the 28 contestants, Rosie finished in 3rd place. Though she skipped out on me once, I was thrilled by how attentively she worked with me. Many of the other horses ran off and never came back! On October 4th, (which was also my birthday), the challenge was "Cowboy Dressage". Rosie was perfect that day, and we moved up to 2nd place overall. As we were leaving the arena, I was shocked when everyone there sang me Happy Birthday! The last day began with the "Extreme Cowboy Race", which tested for ranch and trail versatility - at high speed! Rosie again gave me an outstanding performance, and we held our 2nd place standing overall, which put us in the top ten finalists. Time for our free-style performance. Up until that morning, the contestants understood that their accumulated points in the various disciplines would determine the winners. This decision was changed by a vote that morning, and now the winners would be determined by the free-style performance only. Personally, I voted against this unusual method of judging a well-trained all-around horse, as did the lady who was in 1st place overall at that stage. Naturally, this idea appealed to contestants with lower overall placings, and the vote was carried. Rosie scored high points in the free-style event, and performed with integrity and honesty. We tied for 3rd place in the final event. In overall points, Rosie actually came in 0.2 points behind 2nd place - still in 3rd place but not tied for 3rd - had the original marking system been upheld. Needless to say, I was incredibly happy with Rosie's consistently high placings, proving her to be a great all-around horse who responded with such loyalty to so little training.
October 14, 2014 - News Leader
PRINCETON'S WEISSKOPF TAKES TOP FIVE FINISHES
Princeton's Marion Weisskopf has been participating since April in the American Horsewoman's Challenge. The Challenge is a six-month contest to train a young horse for a cross-discipline competition held this year at the Lazy E Arena in Guthrie, Oklahoma. The competition combines the equestrian skills of Cowboy Dressage, Ranch/Trail Versatility and Liberty. The top ten finishers split a purse worth $28,000. The Challenge Finals culminated with an exciting Freestyle event demonstrating the horse-human partnership, lightness, music interpretation and creativity. A panel of celebrity judges critiqued and scored the freestyle performances in front of a live audience between October 3rd and 5th. While three Canadian competitors began the challenge in April, only one made the journey to the finals. It was Marion Weisskopf of Princeton, who was at the top of the pack, with a preliminary combined score of 376.45 good for second place (Liberty - 67; Cowboy Dressage 216.25; Ranch/Trail 93.2), and she scored 25 points in the Freestyle which firmly positioned her in fifth place overall in that category.
TOWN APPROVES FINAL PHASES OF PROJECT
Town Council awarded a contract to Kaeser Compressors Limited at their October 6th regular meeting. The contract, worth $34,960, is for the replacement of the blowers on the wastewater lagoon aeration system. Director of Infrastructure and Parks Kevin Huey explained to Council in his report that the existing blowers are several years old and that the new ones are more efficient and the "last phase of a multi phase project." Huey says the existing aeration blowers were originally installed in 1985 and require updating. "These new blowers would be installed in place of the two existing blowers and would run parallel configuration to meet the aeration requirement of 1,200 cfm." A total of three different quotes were received for this part of the project. Although the winning bid was the lowest, the highest bid was just over $52,000. The project is funded entirely through the Gas Tax Regionally Significant Projects Program 2013.
COUNCIL AWARDS WATER MAIN REPLACEMENT CONTRACT
Town Council awarded a contract to Grizzly Excavating at the their October 6th regular meeting. The project, worth a total of $73,495, will see the replacement of steel water mains on Tulameen Avenue and Third Street. According to Director of Infrastructure and Parks Kevin Huey, the project is required as the existing water mains "have exceeded their life expectancy and are subject to leakage." The project will start this week and is expected to be completed within a two-week time frame. Huey says, "It was determined in the TRUE Consulting Water System Capacity Report and further in 2013 that the Town water distribution system contained steel water mains that were over their life expectancy." There were a total of four bids submitted for the contract with quite a span of prices with Grizzly Excavating having the lowest. The highest bid was just under $160,000. Councillor Marilyn Harkness asked why there was such a price difference in the quotes and Huey explained all of the companies that submitted bids were using the very same specifications. He responded with a comment that he didn't expect such a price difference either.
Princeton's Marion Weisskopf has been participating since April in the American Horsewoman's Challenge. The Challenge is a six-month contest to train a young horse for a cross-discipline competition held this year at the Lazy E Arena in Guthrie, Oklahoma. The competition combines the equestrian skills of Cowboy Dressage, Ranch/Trail Versatility and Liberty. The top ten finishers split a purse worth $28,000. The Challenge Finals culminated with an exciting Freestyle event demonstrating the horse-human partnership, lightness, music interpretation and creativity. A panel of celebrity judges critiqued and scored the freestyle performances in front of a live audience between October 3rd and 5th. While three Canadian competitors began the challenge in April, only one made the journey to the finals. It was Marion Weisskopf of Princeton, who was at the top of the pack, with a preliminary combined score of 376.45 good for second place (Liberty - 67; Cowboy Dressage 216.25; Ranch/Trail 93.2), and she scored 25 points in the Freestyle which firmly positioned her in fifth place overall in that category.
TOWN APPROVES FINAL PHASES OF PROJECT
Town Council awarded a contract to Kaeser Compressors Limited at their October 6th regular meeting. The contract, worth $34,960, is for the replacement of the blowers on the wastewater lagoon aeration system. Director of Infrastructure and Parks Kevin Huey explained to Council in his report that the existing blowers are several years old and that the new ones are more efficient and the "last phase of a multi phase project." Huey says the existing aeration blowers were originally installed in 1985 and require updating. "These new blowers would be installed in place of the two existing blowers and would run parallel configuration to meet the aeration requirement of 1,200 cfm." A total of three different quotes were received for this part of the project. Although the winning bid was the lowest, the highest bid was just over $52,000. The project is funded entirely through the Gas Tax Regionally Significant Projects Program 2013.
COUNCIL AWARDS WATER MAIN REPLACEMENT CONTRACT
Town Council awarded a contract to Grizzly Excavating at the their October 6th regular meeting. The project, worth a total of $73,495, will see the replacement of steel water mains on Tulameen Avenue and Third Street. According to Director of Infrastructure and Parks Kevin Huey, the project is required as the existing water mains "have exceeded their life expectancy and are subject to leakage." The project will start this week and is expected to be completed within a two-week time frame. Huey says, "It was determined in the TRUE Consulting Water System Capacity Report and further in 2013 that the Town water distribution system contained steel water mains that were over their life expectancy." There were a total of four bids submitted for the contract with quite a span of prices with Grizzly Excavating having the lowest. The highest bid was just under $160,000. Councillor Marilyn Harkness asked why there was such a price difference in the quotes and Huey explained all of the companies that submitted bids were using the very same specifications. He responded with a comment that he didn't expect such a price difference either.
October 07, 2014 - News Leader
PRINCETON SENIORS GET A $25,000 BOOST
Princeton Leaders for Literacy is always looking for ways to assist the people of Princeton with their literacy needs. Sometimes that means just connecting community members to the right agencies and other times it means finding ways to provide literacy services where demand arises. One need that has surfaced for seniors is the need to gain and/or improve computer skills. Seniors have approached the Princeton and District Community Skills Centre repeatedly looking for help and courses. "At times we have had waiting lists for computer assistance," stated Skills Centre Manager Sharan Jung. Seniors have come to the Skills Centre with all sorts of requests. Some grandparents are just interested in surfing the net and/or sending e-mails to their children and grandchildren, while other seniors want to construct documents, organize files, manage photos and much more. They are asking for courses that cover all the basics, make sure that their questions are answered and that they can leave feeling ready to take on this next phase of their life with confidence. Jung also feels it is important to make sure seniors know that there are online predators out there, looking for someone to fool with banking schemes, inheritance stories, and other fraudulent actions. Information is the key to avoiding fraud and Jung tries her best to ensure seniors that a computer can be safe as long as it is used with caution. "Today, the use of technology, and more specifically the internet, requires more of the user than point and click," admitted Jung. "There is a greater requirement for problem solving and critical thinking to avoid traps and pitfalls that can increase risk and expose vulnerability. For seniors, a class is that place to build the awareness and create the starting point at developing these key skills." Grants have become a very viable option for communities to scout out funding. Literacy Outreach Coordinator, Dierra Maynard, felt it was extremely necessary that she find a grant for this high need senior computer program. "I had this one grant in mind that seemed like a perfect fit for us and working with Sharan Jung from the Skills Centre, we came up with a solid plan to get ready for the Government of Canada's New Horizons for Seniors grant application period. Both Sharan and I did surveys with the seniors, reaching out to those who had taken a past program and those who might be interested in taking a future program," stated Maynard. "The Royal Canadian Legion worked with us to get the one survey filled out and sent us a letter of recommendation. It was the surveys, senior success stories and community support and partnering that made our grant a solid one." Maynard said that right from the day she submitted the Government of Canada's New Horizons for Seniors grant, she had a good feeling that they would be in the running for some funding from the federal government. "We asked for $25,000 to purchase computer equipment for the Skills Centre and to administer the program and I honestly felt that we had a strong fighting chance. Who wouldn¹t want to give funding to a program that has need and value?" Earlier this year, Maynard got the call she was waiting for, with instructions to make no official announcement until the cheque arrived. "I rushed down to the Skills Centre and told Sharan quietly, 'We did it Sharan. We got the money.'" Maynard recalled, "I was just thrilled. Now we could get busy planning four two-week long sessions and get the much-needed computer equipment necessary to start helping our seniors. We were pretty stoked." Jung and Maynard got busy requesting quotes, sifting through prices and reading computer reviews. Ten Toshiba Pro laptops, 10 wireless mice, 50 flash drives, one Dragon Naturally Speaking program and one printer and cartridges were delivered to the Skills Centre for Jung to begin preparations for the year ahead. "We have been partnering with Princeton Leaders for Literacy for a couple of years now delivering a one week computer skills class for seniors," stated Jung. "We heard seniors say they wanted more time to learn and solidify their learning with practice. This New Horizons for Seniors federal government grant now provides us with modern operating systems and the ability to extend our work with the senior population to develop this essential literacy for today. We are thrilled that the Skills Centre is able to use this technology to deliver future computer classes to the general community." When Program Officer, Paul Myers from the Government of Canada's New Horizons for Seniors Kelowna office called to confirm that Princeton Leaders for Literacy was going to receive the full grant request, Maynard told him she was delighted and Myers responded, ³I kind of feel like Santa Claus today." Maynard's response, "You are like Santa Claus." The Senior Computer Classes are completely free to seniors and run on the upcoming dates: November 17 - 28 and February 9 - 20, 2015.
Princeton Leaders for Literacy is always looking for ways to assist the people of Princeton with their literacy needs. Sometimes that means just connecting community members to the right agencies and other times it means finding ways to provide literacy services where demand arises. One need that has surfaced for seniors is the need to gain and/or improve computer skills. Seniors have approached the Princeton and District Community Skills Centre repeatedly looking for help and courses. "At times we have had waiting lists for computer assistance," stated Skills Centre Manager Sharan Jung. Seniors have come to the Skills Centre with all sorts of requests. Some grandparents are just interested in surfing the net and/or sending e-mails to their children and grandchildren, while other seniors want to construct documents, organize files, manage photos and much more. They are asking for courses that cover all the basics, make sure that their questions are answered and that they can leave feeling ready to take on this next phase of their life with confidence. Jung also feels it is important to make sure seniors know that there are online predators out there, looking for someone to fool with banking schemes, inheritance stories, and other fraudulent actions. Information is the key to avoiding fraud and Jung tries her best to ensure seniors that a computer can be safe as long as it is used with caution. "Today, the use of technology, and more specifically the internet, requires more of the user than point and click," admitted Jung. "There is a greater requirement for problem solving and critical thinking to avoid traps and pitfalls that can increase risk and expose vulnerability. For seniors, a class is that place to build the awareness and create the starting point at developing these key skills." Grants have become a very viable option for communities to scout out funding. Literacy Outreach Coordinator, Dierra Maynard, felt it was extremely necessary that she find a grant for this high need senior computer program. "I had this one grant in mind that seemed like a perfect fit for us and working with Sharan Jung from the Skills Centre, we came up with a solid plan to get ready for the Government of Canada's New Horizons for Seniors grant application period. Both Sharan and I did surveys with the seniors, reaching out to those who had taken a past program and those who might be interested in taking a future program," stated Maynard. "The Royal Canadian Legion worked with us to get the one survey filled out and sent us a letter of recommendation. It was the surveys, senior success stories and community support and partnering that made our grant a solid one." Maynard said that right from the day she submitted the Government of Canada's New Horizons for Seniors grant, she had a good feeling that they would be in the running for some funding from the federal government. "We asked for $25,000 to purchase computer equipment for the Skills Centre and to administer the program and I honestly felt that we had a strong fighting chance. Who wouldn¹t want to give funding to a program that has need and value?" Earlier this year, Maynard got the call she was waiting for, with instructions to make no official announcement until the cheque arrived. "I rushed down to the Skills Centre and told Sharan quietly, 'We did it Sharan. We got the money.'" Maynard recalled, "I was just thrilled. Now we could get busy planning four two-week long sessions and get the much-needed computer equipment necessary to start helping our seniors. We were pretty stoked." Jung and Maynard got busy requesting quotes, sifting through prices and reading computer reviews. Ten Toshiba Pro laptops, 10 wireless mice, 50 flash drives, one Dragon Naturally Speaking program and one printer and cartridges were delivered to the Skills Centre for Jung to begin preparations for the year ahead. "We have been partnering with Princeton Leaders for Literacy for a couple of years now delivering a one week computer skills class for seniors," stated Jung. "We heard seniors say they wanted more time to learn and solidify their learning with practice. This New Horizons for Seniors federal government grant now provides us with modern operating systems and the ability to extend our work with the senior population to develop this essential literacy for today. We are thrilled that the Skills Centre is able to use this technology to deliver future computer classes to the general community." When Program Officer, Paul Myers from the Government of Canada's New Horizons for Seniors Kelowna office called to confirm that Princeton Leaders for Literacy was going to receive the full grant request, Maynard told him she was delighted and Myers responded, ³I kind of feel like Santa Claus today." Maynard's response, "You are like Santa Claus." The Senior Computer Classes are completely free to seniors and run on the upcoming dates: November 17 - 28 and February 9 - 20, 2015.