DECEMBER
1 — Town building inspector Ross Beddoes reported that building permit activity has been “very steady, but steadily slow this year.” The total value of permits issued through October, about $10.9 million, was almost identical to the 2010 figure after 10 months.
• A plan to provide Creston town council members with iPads and take away their cellphones would save money and increase efficiency, according to town financial director Steffan Klassen. Council members, when the iPads are purchased, would receive agendas and supporting materials electronically, eliminating the need for photocopying the packages, which often exceed 100 pages.
• A B.C. Supreme Court judge upheld Canada’s law against polygamy, finding that the potential harm to women and children in multiple marriages outweighed the infringement of religious freedom. The ruling cleared the way for the B.C. Attorney General’s Ministry to try again to prosecute the leaders of Bountiful.
8 — Volunteers, elected officials and Columbia Basin Trust (CBT) representatives celebrated the opening of a new emergency services building at the airport on Dec. 2. Neil Muth, CEO of CBT, said that the trust’s $100,000 contribution towards the construction project was the result of a team approach to providing emergency services in the area.
The new building includes a waiting room and washroom with a shower for the use of air ambulance pilots, who often have a wait of several hours while patients are transported to the airport from Creston and other communities in the area.
• The many benefits of cellphones are obvious, but they were also chewing up police resources. In the six-month period ending in September, Creston RCMP received 92 “emergency” 911 calls, only 14 of which were for legitimate emergencies. The other 78 were considered to be “abandoned” — the source could not be traced, the number was dialed inadvertently or phone service issues were blamed.
• Responding to concerns that some senior residents have problems removing snow from their sidewalks, a requirement under town bylaws, Mayor Ron Toyota created a volunteer program that would see the Creston Valley Thunder Cats shovel sidewalks. While Snow Cats is not an official town program, town hall staff would take phone calls from seniors and people with handicaps, creating a list for the volunteer snow shovellers.
15 — RDCK director John Kettle was returned unopposed Dec. 8 for a second one-year term as chair of the Regional District of Central Kootenay. Kettle said the board faces a “challenging year” in which it will have to “focus fundamentally on core services and watch what we’re doing financially.”
• The Creston Kootenay Foundation’s Quality of Life for Seniors Fund was $140,000 richer, thanks to a bequest by Dorothy McEachern. Combined with that donation, McEachern, who died June 6 at 97, has contributed nearly $300,000 to Creston Valley organizations.
The donation to the CKF was encouraged by her niece, Mary-Lou, and Mary-Lou’s husband, Colin, both active volunteers in the community, who realized that having her funds invested by the CKF would provide more help to the community than a onetime donation to specific groups.
22 — For more than 400 families, Christmas was a little brighter because of the annual Creston Ministerial Association hamper drive.
“This is a reminder of what an incredibly generous community the Creston Valley is,” said Pastor Carl Sawler. “We are all very fortunate to live here.
• About 10 tons of apples were shipped by Shukin Orchards, destined for food banks in Calgary, Edmonton, the Lower Mainland, Cranbrook, Kimberley and Creston.
• Creston RCMP were frustrated that criminal charges were being dismissed because of a shortage of provincial court judges. A recent example came in November when a judge threw out charges arising from a 2009 indoor marijuana grow-up bust, citing “unreasonable delay”.
