This week’s column is dedicated to long-time friend and well-known reporter, talk-show host and news anchor Kim Calloway, who passed away last week. Most recently with Q103.1, Kim was in the industry for 50 years and worked in Kelowna for more than 20 years. He was a good friend, a respected reporter and a huge community supporter. The media industry and our city will miss his familiar face and voice. Personal condolences to his fiancée, Arlene McClelland, his entire family and his many friends.
Relocated from Calgary, Meagan Hughes is the new owner of Cottage Quilting at 110-2000 Spall Road. Meagan has brought a new energy and feel to the store, saying the coffee’s always on. She offers classes, from beginner to expert, for small or large projects, technique drive and has open sew days (Finish it Fridays—bring your unfinished projects to the store and sew away), along with demo days. The store is a Bernina and Brother authorized dealer,
which means it i also an authorized service centre for both brands, as well as a repair shop for all types of other machines as well. You can purchase notions from rulers and cutters to threads. Mark your calendar for the big sale Oct. 5. It is pairing up with Brother for an all-day event, giving away $1,000. Open Monday to Saturday, call 250-860-1120 or visit www.cottagequiltingonline.com.
It’s only two weeks until Judy Lloyd leaves for London to participate in the Triathlon World Championships. She will be competing on Sept. 11 in the World Aquathon Championship (run/swim/run) and then again on Sept. 13 in the World Spring Triathlon Championship. Judy has also been named to Triathlon Canada’s 2013 Canadian President’s Team. Her silver medal at the 2012 World Sprint Triathlon Championships in her age group category earned her a place on this exclusive team. Also, this year, along with Judy, four athletes from Kelowna qualified for Team Canada. They are Ian Crosthwaite, Randy Wissman, James Young and Claire Young. Randy and Ian both competed in the worlds in New Zealand last year. This is the first world championships for James and Claire. All four are competing in the Standard race on Sept. 15. Contact Judy at jlloyd2@telus.net.
Congratulations to George Andrejew, Brock Waldron, Terry Wardrop, Barry Carter and Terry Nicol who were the Kelowna Golf and Country Club’s overall gross winners in the 2013 Zone Two, five-man tournament .
Bellissimo Pizza Take Out and Delivery, located at 4125B Spiers Road (next to Harvest Grocery, across from South Kelowna Elementary School) is celebrating its first anniversary in business. The farm-to-table business, run by Jenelle Hynes and her partner Buzz Shuttleworth list all the local farms they use for their pizzas on every pizza box. They offer home-made tomato sauce, cheeses come from Triple Island Farm (Lumby/Cherryville), garlic is grown in Vernon and they buy their chickens just down the road. They even buy Okanagan flour. Open daily 4 p.m. to 9 p.m. and Saturday from 12 noon to 9 p.m. Call 250-862-8332
The 3 on 3 ice rink in West Kelowna, (formerly known as OTR, NTR and Puckmasters) has new owners, and has been re-branded with a new look. It has been completely renovated, offering a safe, clean and fun environment to all users of the facility. Local residents Bob Petty and Cory Davidson have purchased the facility, which is now named Okanagan Ice and Training Centre (OIC), located at 1322 Stevens Road in West Kelowna. The pair are a good fit for partners, as Bob is focusing on the business/finance part of the operation with his background and Cory is focusing on marketing with his skills in that area. The facility now boasts good ice, good boards and a clean atmosphere for everyone to enjoy. Together, Bob and Cory have four children in minor hockey and are excited to have this new facility in the area. Drop in and take a look, you will be pleasantly surprised. Call 250-769-7825 or sales@oichockey.ca.
Replacing Julian Cheng, who is on sabbatical, Okanagan College computer science professor Youry Khmelevsky has been appointed interim chairman for the Okanagan of the International Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers. He is also an adjunct computer science professor at UBCO.
Creator Paulette Breault and her valley-wide associates of EZee Piano Systems are offering, for the first time, a beginner hands-on piano seminar for adults and seniors in Kelowna at the Fairfield Inn on Saturday Sept. 14 from 1 p.m. to 3:15 p.m. Whether you’re 30 or 85-plus, a total beginner or a frustrated player, you will have the opportunity to play on digital keyboards and learn to play hands together. The cost is $20 each and a spouse or partner is free. This is to give people who always wanted to learn to play the piano an opportunity to find out how “EZee” it is to play the piano, no matter what your age. For info and to register call Paulette at 250-768-5089. or go to www.EzeePianoSystems.com.
The 34th edition of BDC’s (Business Development Bank) Small Business Week, a nationwide entrepreneurship event, will take place from Oct. 20 to Oct. 26. This year the theme is Success Ahead! Map your Future Growth. To illustrate the theme, BDC is working to produce a series of five articles to help entrepreneurs tackle future growth. Topics will cover the impact of changing global trends on Canada’s economy, financial planning, e-commerce, web strategy and exporting. The articles are professionally written, are accompanied by photos and will be available free of charge as of Sept. 5. If you are interesting in receiving a copy, e-mailMelissa.DIPAOLA@bdc.ca.
The Rodney Hobson Karate Academy and the Kelowna Tsuruoka Karate Club hosted the ninth biennial Tsuruoka National Karate Tournament with teams from Canada and the United States. Congratulations to the local groups which won medals: Taneda Karate Dojo (five silver, two bronze); Kelowna Tsuruoka Karate Club (seven gold, seven silver, two bronze); Rodney Hobson Karate Academy (28 gold, 18 silver, 53 bronze). The team from Rodney Hobson Karate Academy won almost all the black belt divisions and it won an unprecedented 42 per cent of all the gold medals awarded in the tournament. Call 250-491-8313 www.rhka.com.
The 50th class reunion of ’64 Kelowna High School (KHS) is slated for next year on July 18 and 19. Organizers are looking for all classmates, friends and teachers of KHS to join them, with everyone welcome for a really great weekend. If you missed the last reunion, you won’t want to miss the 50th, it may be the last. Early registration is appreciated. Call Karen Vizi at vizi.var@telus.net.
The latest edition of Homes & Land (Thompson Okanagan/Kootenays) is now on shelves. Published by Suzan Hardy, and with Debbie Legary, the vice-president of marketing, along with Alison Lowes, this upscale magazine is all about buying, selling, improving and connecting. Call Debbie at 250-808-7074 or marketing@homesandlandbc.com.
The Salvation Army Music and Arts School will launch this fall for children in Grades 1 to 9. There will be three electives to choose from; fine arts, choir and percussion, all within a faith-based setting. Classes will be held at the Salvation Army Community Church at 1480 Sutherland Ave. every Tuesday evening from 6:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. from Sept. 17 to Dec. 3. Registration is now open. Fees are based on a sliding scale. Call Jill at 250-860-2329 (ext. 33) for information and to to register. www.kelownasalvationarmy.ca
The 16th annual Okanagan Volunteer Opportunities Fair will go Sept. 7 at the Parkinson Recretion Centre from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. There will be more than 75 local non-profit organizations setting up displays and you will be able to learn more about their services and how you can volunteer and help the community. It’s a good way to network, learn new skills, give some time to the community or even partner your business with a non-profit organization. For more info call Dawn Wilkinson at Kelowna Community Resources (one of the sponsors) at 250-763-8008 or dwilkinson@kcr.ca.
The Italian Club is again hosting its Italian dinner on Sept. 14 at its clubhouse at 770 Lawrence Avenue. Tickets cost $20 each for the five-course meal. Call Joe for tickets or details at 250-878-3619 or kcic@shaw.ca.
The ovarian cancer Walk of Hope will go Sept. 8 at Mission Creek Regional Park at 9 a.m. Register online at ovariancancerwalkofhope.ca or call Jann Harrison at 250-878-8554.
Canadian Blood Services still need your help. There are hundreds of unfilled appointments that are posing challenges for blood inventory and donors are needed to fill the gap. Coupled with a constant hospital demand, Canadian Blood Services is forecasting a need for hundreds of appointments to be filled between now and Labour Day to replenish stocks. It has extended the Blood Signal until Sept. 3, which is a call to action to rally together and book a blood donation appointment. You can give blood at the Kelowna Blood Donor Clinic, 103-1865 Dilworth Drive, which is open Mondays, Tuesdays and Thursdays from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. and from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. on alternating Saturdays. For group bookings call local Gayle Voyer at 250-448-4022 or gayle.voyer@blood.ca or call 1-888-236-6283. www.blood.ca.
Interesting trivia from Tourism Kelowna. Did you know that the Arrowleaf Balsamroot, aka the Okanagan sunflower, is the official flower of Kelowna? The Okanagan sunflower thrives particularly well in the Kelowna area and is one of the longest blooming wildflowers. The plant is drought tolerant and completely edible. The flower was even used by First Nation’s peoples as a food source at one time. Its large yellow flowers reflect the sunny Okanagan skies and the hot summer climate.
Birthdays of the week: Mark Rogers, (Aug. 3); Fran Houston (Sept. 1); Valaura Vedan, KelownaNow.com (Sept. 2); Debbie MacKinnon (Sept. 2); Mayor Walter Gray (Sept. 4); Ione Yeager (Sept. 4); Shirley Philip (Sept. 4); Paul Johnson (Sept. 4); John Marritt (Sept. 4).
Correction: In my Aug. 15 column, I wrote about a company, Infinity Laser Clinic (owner Tarcicio Roslaes). Unfortunately the phone number was incorrect in the column. The correct number is 250-862-3553.
