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Environment
HELSTON: Not everyone is motivated by money, and we’re all better for it
You’ve probably heard your grandpa say it in a nostalgic tone: ‘Land: They’re not making much of it anymore.’ You only have to look at this Google image time lapse from 1984 to 2012 to see how much green space in Vernon has been lost in the last 30 years alone. Sure, people need houses...
Proposed Shuswap River boating restrictions meet stiff opposition from locals
“I CAN TELL YOU, BUSINESS OWNERS AND PROPERTY OWNERS ARE GOING TO GO OUT SCREAMING LIKE A LION” ENDERBY - Proposed boating restrictions on the Shuswap River face fierce opposition, says a local Grindrod resident and waterfront property owner. Sherri DeCorby has lived on the river for the last 10 years and uses it for...
The beetle is gone, now the hard work begins
WILDFIRES, JOB LOSSES, JEOPARDIZED WATERSHEDS THOMPSON-OKANAGAN - For the most part the small, yet devastating, mountain pine beetle has disappeared from the landscape of the Southern Interior, but the aftermath of its work will be felt for many years to come. The mountain pine beetle epidemic that crawled into B.C. in 2000 is recognized as...
Crown argues Gaglardi and company should pay more for environmental damage
KAMLOOPS - The case against Dallas Stars owner Tom Gaglardi and the Northland Properties Corporation is not over yet as a Crown prosecutor argued the two should pay more for causing extensive environmental damage to a fish habitat. Crown prosecutor Digby Kier argued in Kamloops Supreme Court today, June 2, that the court impose a...
Tolko’s mountain of ash plagues Spallumcheen residents
SPALLUMCHEEN - Palisades Mobile Home Park resident Beverly Anderson first experienced what she calls a “soot storm” shortly after she moved in last year. “My first mistake was we went out and left all the windows open. When I came back in it was like a dust storm all over my floor, and my cupboards,”...
Proposed regulations could see motorized boats disappear from the Shuswap River
SHUSWAP - Proposed regulations could mean the end for motorized boats on much of the Shuswap River. The reasoning behind the proposal is environmental degradation and the safety of other river users, such as tubers, swimmers and kayakers, says the North Okanagan Regional District’s sustainability coordinator Anna Page. The proposed regulations would ban motorized boats...
Retired conservation officer speaks out about the realities of a service stretched too thin
“YOU CAME TO WORK EVERY DAY KNOWING YOU COULD NOT FULFILL EVERY PHONE CALL AND REPORTED COMPLAINT” KELOWNA - Retired B.C. conservation officer Greg Hoyer went into the field to protect fisheries and wildlife; by the time he left in 2009 that was only a fraction of his job. “Over the years, the government just...
Appeal to be heard over Lavington pellet plant’s operating permit
LAVINGTON - Construction may have started on a pellet plant in Lavington, but in six months time, an appeal will be heard over the company’s operating permit. Three local residents and members of Lavington Is For Everyone (LIFE) filed an appeal with the Environmental Appeal Board, calling for a review of the Ministry of Environment’s...
Many hands might make light work if co-housing comes to Vernon
VERNON - A local woman hopes to introduce a new way of living to Vernon. It’s called co-housing, and Barbara Van Sickle is passionate about it. With a blend of private homes and common areas, co-housing neighbourhoods foster community, group decision making and the philosophy that many hands make light work. “Socially, it’s much more...
Eco-friendly Earthship trend lands in Vernon
VERNON - Vernon could soon be home to a bourgeoning building trend: an off-grid, self-sustaining structure called an Earthship. The buildings — which feature recycled building materials like old tires and bottles, solar electricity, passive thermal heating and cooling, water collection systems, and indoor food production — are popping up all over the world from...
Lavington pellet plant could be operating in the next school year
LAVINGTON - A pellet plant will be up and running in Lavington within the year, says the president of Pinnacle Renewable Energy Group. According to Leroy Reitsma, site preparation work is underway and will wrap up in roughly 10-15 weeks. After that, the company will apply for a building permit and start constructing the plant,...
Environmental dialogue coming to Kamloops
KAMLOOPS – Beyond free bannock, the CommUnity Innovation Lab plans to offer the public several opportunities to hear speakers share a variety of perspectives on the environmental footprint, economics and human impact of climate change. The conference, set to take place at Thompson Rivers University from February 2 to 5 will have topics ranging from...
Lavington pellet plant yet another step closer to breaking ground
COLDSTREAM – A controversial wood pellet plant has made it over another procedural hurdle. In…
Lavington’s ongoing battle against a proposed pellet plant
CONCERNED CITIZENS TO REQUEST ENVIRONMENTAL ASSESSMENT AND JUDICIAL REVIEW VERNON - When Lavington resident Geoffrey Nielsen attended a town hall meeting about a proposed pellet plant in the small North Okanagan community, he brought an open mind. The mechanical engineer and father says he was even leaning in favour of it. Then he read the...
Doctors: Kamloops deserves same protection as Kitimat
KAMLOOPS - A local group of physicians say Kamloops has no more room for pollution and wants the province to provide more funding for air quality control in our city. Since the group formed in 2013, Kamloops Physicians for a Healthy Environment have been questioning the level of fine particulate matter already in the air...
UPDATE: Wildfire burning north of Princeton 90 per cent contained
PRINCETON - A wildfire north of Princeton is 90 per cent contained, as of Tuesday morning. The wildfire has grown to 182 hectares from the 110 ha estimated Monday morning. It is believed to be human caused, said Kayla Pepper, fire information officer with B.C. Wildfire. The fire was first reported Sunday at around 5...
Cavers shoots the messenger before council takes away his gun
KAMLOOPS - Mayor and councillors may disagree with the lack of additional public input being provided for the proposed Ajax Mine but refused to endorse one councillor's personal attack over the issue. In a recent letter to council, Scott Bailey with the Environmental Assessment Office, agreed to host a public information session on the environmental...
Community packs open house for future of Kal Park
VERNON - A Ministry of Transportation open house about removing land from Kalamalka Lake Provincial Park drew supporters and opposers, though no one seemed to be changing their mind on the project. The open house was designed to provide more information about the Ministry’s proposal to exclude a 30-meter right-of-way from the park to allow...
School district calls special meeting on proposed pellet plant
VERNON - The Vernon School District wants assurances a proposed pellet plant won’t be harmful to student health. Superintendent Joe Rogers says the school board will hear from Pinnacle Renewable Energy and Tolko Wednesday night at a special meeting. The companies want to build the pellet plant near Lavington Elementary, next to Tolko’s existing mill...
City encourages residents to take WaterWise pledge
PENTICTON - Residents and visitors will get a chance to learn how they can make water work at next week’s farmers’ market. City officials and regional partners will be at the market on Saturday, August 17 encouraging residents to take a pledge to conserve their water use. There are six different types of pledges residents...
Environmental response on Ajax ‘not good enough for the city of Kamloops’
KAMLOOPS — Council united in frustration Tuesday afternoon as they approved two separate motions asking for the Environmental Assessment Office to step up and help the residents of Kamloops better understand the proposed Ajax mine. Back in May, city councillors asked the office to host a public session to provide clarity on the process for Ajax...
Local governments team up to save water this summer
OKANAGAN - Okanagan mayors are challenging residents to conserve water this summer as part of the Okanagan WaterWise program. The program is an effort by the Okanagan Basin Water Board, local government and utility partners to encourage outdoor water conservation during the hot and dry summer months. Several mayors and councillors throughout the valley took...
Your help is needed to identify bullfrogs
PENTICTON - The Okanagan Similkameen Stewardship in partnership with the provincial government are looking for help locating bullfrog sites in the South Okanagan. The organization needs volunteer citizen scientists to help monitor bullfrogs over the next two weeks. Pond searches take place in July and a free Bullfrog Identification and Inventory Workshop will be held...
Gellatly erosion will turn fish-bearing Smith Creek into a culvert
WEST KELOWNA – A state of emergency has been declared for the slope failure along Gellatly Road, and the District of West Kelowna says their best course of action is to cover and reroute the fish-bearing Smith Creek through a culvert. The 160 metres of Gellatly Road between Witt and Angus Road was closed to...