In a year unlike any other, the Vernon Morning Star is looking back at the bright side of 2020. Here are a few stories from December that show some of the positive work, activities and accomplishments in our community:
Kal Rotary raises more than $90K
The club’s annual Dream Auction went online this year due to COVID-19, raising $70,000 in its first six weeks. As a final fundraising push, volunteers held a two-hour drive-thru donation collection in Vernon Nov. 21.
Armed with a hockey stick and ice bucket, volunteers with the Kal Rotary Club stayed social distanced while collecting cash.
“We’ve been really amazed at the community involvement so far,” said Brian Reid, chair of the 2020 Dream Fund.
In total, The Kalamalka Rotary Dream Fund raised $91,3198 to support local and international organizations.
Cooper the border collie gets a calendar
Famous Lumby dog Cooper, an eight-year-old border collie, will now grace the pages of his own calendar.
Cooper’s lovable mug is widely known by locals – so much so that some have suggested to his owner Jerry Mason that Cooper could have his own calendar. When Mason took up the idea, he thought he’d get around 10 or 20 requests.
Having greatly underestimated the demand for his pup’s portraits, he had his work cut out for him.
“I’ve now got orders for 110 calendars,” he laughed, adding that requests came in from as far as Red Deer. “This is ridiculous!”
Back row, L-R: Werner Ott, Bronwyn Watson, Gord McPherson. Front row, L-R: Rick Fairbairn, Judith Thoreson, Kathleen Ott, Julie Kentel, Trevor Seibel. The Lavington Community Association was presented with $60,000 from the District of Coldstream and Regional District of North Okanagan Electoral Area D to fund the Raise the Roof campaign at Jeffers Park’s multi-purpose pad on Nov. 6, 2020. — ahead of the province’s latest COVID-19 restrictions banning events. (RDNO)
Roof raised at rink
The final support beam went up over the weekend over top Jeffers Park’s multi-purpose pad in Lavington and installation of roof panels began Tuesday, Dec. 1.
The summer sports court and the outdoor ice rink in winter is a beloved community asset and the addition of a roof will extend the length of both seasons while preventing weather to affect play, improving recreation opportunities year-round.
Lavington Community Association’s (LCA) Raise the Roof campaign saw support from Coldstream and the Regional District of North Okanagan Area D to the tune of $60,000.
National magazine dubs Vernonite a health hero
Alison Houweling, a harm-reduction counsellor at the Cammy LaFleur Street Outreach Program, joins the ranks of doctors, health policy leaders and health information scientists – to name a few – in Best Health Magazine’s list recognizing Women of the Year.
The list Best Health calls non-exhaustive but “hella impressive” points to some of these women, the “everyday heroes who put extraordinary effort into our best health.”
Houweling, who is also the manager of education and community programs with Turning Points Collaborative Society (TPCS), may be best known for her work through the clinic.
“What she does contributes to the health of this community in ways that most people will never realize,” said TPCS communications manager Josh Winquist.
Armstrong artist creates wolves for TRU
Armstrong’s Braden Kiefiuk of Majestic Metal Art was commissioned by Thompson Rivers University in Kamloops in collaboration with Kamloops-based L.A. West Associates landscape architects and project lead Christina Walkden to create a sculpture for the school’s east gate roundabout on University Drive.
Kiefiuk, 54, created three wolves, each forged of hundreds of pieces of hand-cut steel fur, and took a year to build. Each wolf sits on a boulder on the roundabout.
These sculptures are the latest to join a growing gallery of public art on the TRU campus, located on the ancestral lands of the Tk’emlúps te Secwépemc.
