At this time, we present our annual year in review, looking back at the events of 2012 as recorded in the pages of the Creston Valley Advance.
August
2 — The Kootenay Zone may have brought home 15 medals from the 2012 BC Summer Games, but only one matters to Kieran Simpson: the bronze he earned in the long jump competition. His longest jump was 5.32 meters, which put him in third place, behind Valemount’s Omar Medina, who won with 5.95 metres.
•The Ktunaxa annual general assembly included the renewal of an agreement designed to improve health outcomes for First Nations people in the East Kootenay. Ktunaxa Nation chair Kathryn Teneese and Interior Health Authority board chair Norman Embree re-signed a letter of understanding (LOU) at the Lower Kootenay on July 25.
•Katrina Tarrant’s first time on the water came when she was 14. Four years later and about to turn 18, Tarrant parlayed her passion for rowing into a four-year full-ride scholarship at Washington State University (WSU).
9 — Cycling isn’t supposed to be a contact sport, but according to one Creston cyclist, it often nearly is on local roads. In a four-day period, Rick Smith experienced two close calls, one caused by a driver’s lack of attention, the other when a driver “buzzed” him — intentionally, it seemed, passed too close, despite having plenty of room to share the road.
“They flew up the hill past me with the wide trailer missing my shoulder by no more than 13 inches,” he said. “The force of the air dam that he was pushing almost blew me off of the road and down the cliff.”
•Kootenay Lake author Luanne Armstrong wrote a book for young readers, I’ll Be Home Soon, which chronicles the harrowing story of Regan, a 13-year-old who lives with her mom in Vancouver’s downtown eastside. When her mom doesn’t return from a promised two- or three-day absence, Regan is left to fend for herself and, eventually to unravel the mystery of her disappearance.
16 — Nearly a week after a lightning strike started a wildfire on Mount Thompson, crews continued to battle a blaze that had grown to 56 hectares (138 acres) on Aug. 13. The fire started during an Aug. 8 electrical storm and crews were on the scene by Aug. 10. As many as six helicopters supported a crew of 36, many of which are rappel specialists, trained to fight fires in steep, rocky terrain.
•Ten Creston Fire Rescue firefighters spent two hours putting out a suspicious wildfire near the Crawford Hill water reservoir on Aug. 4.
“There are trails and tree forts in the area,” Deputy Chief Michael Moore said in a press release. “It appears that it is frequented by youth.”
The fire, approximately 50 feet by 100 feet in size, was located just west of the Erickson water reservoir and about 600 feet from the closest residence.
• When Irvin and Evelyn Sobry signed a five-year lease to house their new electronics business on Canyon Street 19 months earlier, they thought they would have at least five years operating as the Source. That expectation changed in April when the couple learned by email that they were among more than 160 stores across Canada whose contracts were being cancelled. They remained in business, reopening as Lectric Avenue Electronics.
23 — Creston cherry grower Jenny Faynor said the 2012 late season cherry harvest has its challenges but, compared to recent years, “it’s a big crop that ranges in quality from pretty good to very good.”
Faynor, with her husband, Rick, had about 36 acres of cherries in production. They operate their own sorting and packing facility, hiring about 50 local residents to sort, pack and weigh Lapin, Staccato and Sweetheart varieties for distribution to retailers in Asia, Europe and even Florida.
•Disaster was narrowly averted on Aug. 19 when a vehicle went over the bank on Highway 3 and into a campsite near Canyon-Lister Road.
“Fortunately, the campers weren’t in their tent,” said Staff Sgt. Bob Gollan. “They were sitting around the campfire.”
The male driver and a female occupant in the vehicle both were taken to hospital for treatment of minor injuries. The driver told police he was tired and simply failed to negotiate the tight curve above the campsite.
•Creston hit the national airwaves in a live TSN broadcast on Aug. 17 — part of winning the Kraft Celebration Tour — and the organizers couldn’t be happier.
“I’m so excited not only for Creston and the Creston Valley, but the Kootenays,” said Myrna Johnson, the driving force behind the campaign to see Creston host the tour and SportsCentre broadcast. “All of Canada gets to see what we get to see every day, and they can see our pride and support.”
A large crowd enjoyed free samples of Kraft products on the field at the Creston and District Community Complex (CDCC), then headed up to the parking lot, where a portable TSN stage was set up to air SportsCentre, which featured a segment on Creston’s Therapeutic Riding Program, with hosts Darren Dutchyshen and Kate Beirness.
30 — An 11-year-old boy was pronounced dead on the scene on Aug. 27 after he fell while playing on trusses that support Canyon Bridge. RCMP Staff Sgt. Bob Gollan said police, ambulance and fire department personnel were called to the scene after 5 p.m.
“Three young brothers were climbing around the trusses,” he said. “One slipped off and fell to the ground below. It was a drop of 40 to 60 feet.”
•Lower Kootenay Band Chief Jason Louie was presented with a Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal on Aug. 26 by Richard Blackwolf, president of the Canadian Aboriginal Veterans and Serving Members Association.
Louie was a recipient of one of 80 medals the association was asked to distribute to selected members across Canada. The lieutenant is a serving member of the Canadian Army in the 49th Field Engineering Squadron based in Trail.
