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.
May
3 — Nearly a year after local Bear Aware representatives asked Creston town council to take steps to discourage bear activity in the urban area the first two readings of a bylaw amendment were passed in the April 24 regular council meeting. Amendments to waste management regulations bylaw No. 1395 were intended to reduce attractants to “problem animals” on properties within the Town of Creston.
•Deciding which organizations get grants has never been this easy. Creston town council announced at the April 24 regular meeting that Columbia Basin Trust (CBT) Community Initiative Program (CIP) funds totaling $56,527 would be distributed to 25 local groups.
What made the decisions easy was that requests were actually less than the total dollars available; requests added up to about $9,300 less than the $65,863 that was available.
10 — In another win for the Creston Valley Health Working Group, Dr. Susan Hopkins was coming to Creston from England to take up practice at the Osprey Medical Clinic at the Creston Valley Mall.
“We are very pleased that Dr. Hopkins has chosen Creston from among many opportunities,” said recruiter Marilin States. “She has been practicing with a partner for 13 years and has a very well-rounded background that includes doing locums and sessional work, family planning, and accident and emergency work.”
•Two males, one brandishing a knife, robbed the Your Dollar Store with More at the Creston Valley Mall on May 5. The males, believed to be teens, made off with an undisclosed amount of cash. One is described as Caucasian, wearing a grey hoodie, black pants and white sneakers. The second was dark-skinned and wore a navy blue Roots hoodie, blue jeans and black skateboard shoes.
•The Creston Fitness Centre came full circle — when Dave Perrin took the reins from Charleen Pompu a week previous, he again became the owner of the gym he started 20 years ago.
“Back then, Creston didn’t have much of anything,” said Perrin, who was a local veterinarian from 1973-2000.
Some of the equipment Perrin bought decades ago still serves its purpose, augmented with some top-of-the-line pieces Pompu bought after she purchased the facility in 2004.
17 — More than a decade after Tom Clemens began to restore his ex-brother-in-law Jeff Filutze’s 1970 Plymouth Barracuda, the project was finished and the car was shipped back to its owner in New York.
When Clemens began the restoration in 1999, he never imagined that it would take more than 1,000 hours stretched over 12 years to get the end result of a vehicle that will likely be valued between $100,000 and $130,000.
But rather than a few new parts and a fresh coat of paint, the restoration required the ’Cuda 440-6 — the sport model, as compared to the base model or luxury Gran Coupe — to be torn down to its frame.
•A bylaw amendment that would have banned backyard bird feeding except in the winter was defeated at the May 8 Creston town council meeting. Two readings were passed at the previous meeting but the final approval failed, with Coun. Tanya Ducharme, a previous supporter, out of town on business.
•Creston Mayor Ron Toyota was caught by surprise on May 14 when he and the Regional District of Central Kootenay area A, B and C directors began discussion about a plan to negotiate a new five-year fire protection agreement between Creston and Erickson residents.
“I still plan to take fire protection to a referendum,” Area B director John Kettle said, reiterating that he wants to extend fire protection to Lakeview, Arrow Creek and Kitchener residents by establishing a regional district fire department in Erickson.
For many years, Erickson residents have received fire protection from Creston Fire and Rescue on a contract with the Town of Creston. Lakeview, Arrow Creek and Kitchener are without fire protection.
•A late night blaze completely destroyed a residence at 434 25th Avenue South on Saturday. With the house already in flames, firefighters concentrated their efforts on a neighbouring residence, which had also been evacuated. The 16 firefighters on the scene fought the blaze for two hours to bring it under control but the fire wasn’t completely extinguished until 5 a.m. on Sunday, more than five hours after they arrived at the site.
•Creston RCMP arrested two teenagers early on May 13 after RCMP officers and a police dog entered into a lengthy chase late before eventually nabbing the pair at a construction site in Crestglen Mobile Home Park.
The teens were suspects in several crimes reported on Sunday morning, In short succession, RCMP received complaints about a break and entry on Scott Street — where thieves stole keys and left in the resident’s vehicle (it was later found in Kootenay River) — and other break and entry and vehicle theft attempts. They were also suspects in the May 5 Your Dollar Store with More robbery.
24 — Mention the Creston Golf Club, Creston Valley Community Radio, the Relay for Life or the Creston and District Community Complex referendum, one name quickly comes to mind: Phil Thomas. And while he may have been named Creston’s 2012 citizen of the year, Thomas was quick to place the credit directly where it’s due — with his wife, Barb.
“She holds the fort while I go out and do my thing,” said Thomas. “I never would have been anything close to it without her.”
•There were smiles all around when the ribbon was cut at the official opening of Ricky’s All Day Grill on May 17. The restaurant, part of the new Ramada Hotel and Conference Centre complex, was expected to provide a significant boost to Creston Valley tourism. The opening culminated two days of practice for restaurant employees, who served complimentary meals to invited guests in a trial run for the Creston Valley Blossom Festival weekend opening.
•The competition was fierce, but Simon Lazarchuk walked away the winner of the 50-Plus Gentlemen’s Challenge sponsored by Creston’s GoGo Grannies on May 19.
“I love competition, he said. “I think it’s fun to just go out there. And I love the roar of the crowd.”
And roar they did, particularly after seeing his talent, an Eastern European folk dance.
31 — Columbia Brewery environmental health and safety manager Tanya Ducharme flew to Whistler and didn’t come home empty-handed. In her carry-on bag was a prestigious Recycling Council of BC 2012 RCBC Environmental Award in the private sector category.
“This award is the acknowledgement of a complete team effort at our brewery,” she said. “The buy-in to our environmental initiatives by our employees has been amazing.”
Since launching Labatt’s Better World initiative in 2007, Columbia Brewery has slashed water consumption by 20 per cent, cut fuel usage by 16.9 per cent and reduced electricity use by 7.1 per cent, while recycling 99.4 per cent of waste and byproducts.
•Nineteen teaching positions were being cut in School District No. 8 (Kootenay Lake) but it wasn’t known how many jobs in Creston Valley schools would be lost, said board chair Mel Joy.
“We are hoping the cuts will largely come through attrition,” she said.
Joy said the decision to cut positions, which are disproportionate to the estimated decline in enrolment of 90 students, is in response to an anticipated end to funding protection for districts with declining student populations.
•A program sponsored by the BC Medical Association and the Ministry of Health was designed to help family physicians be better able to treat patients with depression or other mental health issues.
Dr. Tara Guthrie attended learning sessions on what the General Practice Services Committee calls the “mental health module of practice support”. And she has taken the tools and skills she learned and shared them with other family physicians in Creston, Cranbrook, Invermere and Fernie.
“This mental health module — Making it Real — makes sense to me as a physician, so it has been interesting to become a trainer so that I can pass on the information to my colleagues,” she said.
•Creston native Colby Livingstone signed on to play with the Creston Valley Thunder Cats for the 2012-2013 season, head coach Brent Heaven announced.
“Colby is a very skilled, energetic hockey player that will fit very well with the high tempo style the Thunder Cats love to play,” said Heaven.
