January
• The grand opening of Sorrento’s Community Health Centre was celebrated on Jan 17. It was an opportunity to take in the site and meet health practitioner Judy Deringer.
• Police investigated an aggravated assault that followed an altercation between two men. The victim was taken to hospital in serious condition for treatment of a skull fracture.
• Sorrento Elementary School did away with report cards in favour of taking part in a pilot program involving student portfolios.
These give students a visual of the progress they’ve made, including strengths and where there’s room for improvement.
• The Sorrento Food Bank received 500 pounds of food and 50 winter coats through donations over the holiday season.
• Cedar Heights Hall hosted its first Chinese New Year celebration, capitalizing on the hall’s recent makeover.
• The Columbia Shuswap Regional District board approved development of two trail projects in Blind Bay and Sorrento to the tune of $44,500.
• CSRD directors approved grants for the following non-profit organizations: Carlin Elementary Parent Advisory Committee ($5,000) and South Shuswap Chamber of Commerce ($23,435).
February
• The Shuswap Lake Festival board is on the hunt for a president and a treasurer. If unable to fill the positions, the festival will be cancelled.
• The South Shuswap Chamber of Commerce was up and running after being dormant for most of 2013.
The new board of directors includes: Brad Davies, president, Tim Thompson, vice-president, Erica Zazzi, treasurer, and directors Gareth Seys, Dan Baskill, Brad Long, Brad Scott, Fiona Harris, Dee Crinion, Dave Brice, Samara Sonmore, Katlin Zsufa and Robin Cyr. And, after playing an instrumental role in the chamber’s revitalization, Karen Brown was hired as manager.
• Public input was sought for the development of a water-quality program to be overseen by the new Shuswap Watershed Council.
• The cause of a second residential fire in less than a week Bolton Road in Tappen has yet to be determined.
On Feb. 13, fire crews were called to a residence which was empty at the time of the blaze.
Firefighters were unable to save the 30-year-old home. On Feb. 9, a family of five lost their home on Bolton Road to a fire, believed to have originated in a basement wood stove or chimney.
• Chris George stepped forward to be president of the Shuswap Lake Festival board. Confident a treasurer will be found, the board has decided this year’s festival is a go.
• CSRD board chair David Raven says he will not reconsider a rezoning decision regarding the expansion of Blind Bay Resort. This means the board’s Jan. 16 decision to reject Dan Baskill’s application stands. In response, Area C South Shuswap director Paul Demenok challenged Raven’s authority, arguing the voting process was flawed.
In response, Raven said, “I do not personally have a dog in this fight. My determination is that this decision was made in an appropriate manner by the board. The process that was followed was defendable and the decision is defendable.”
• Notch Hill residents were steaming over a CP Rail coal train blocking the only road out of the Davies Road area. CP said the blockage was the result of a mechanical failure.
March
• Vancouver’s favourite mariachi band, El Mariachi Los Dorados, brought their authentic Mexican traditional music with a northern touch to Carlin Hall on Thursday, March 20.
• Interior Health officer Brian Gregory was in Blind Bay looking into a report of “brown, gooey stuff” near a pumping station in the 2001 block of Eagle Bay Road.
• The South Shuswap Recreation Trail Society considered dissolving at its annual general meeting. The decision was considered as the society’s goal was partially achieved with the addition of a paved shoulder along the Blind Bay/Eagle Bay Road corridor.
• The Sorrento Village Farmer’s Market was named the best in the small markets category at the BC Association of Farmers’ Markets Conference.
• Area C South Shuswap director Paul Demenok said recent decisions at the CSRD board prompted some to call for incorporation of Blind Bay-Sorrento as a municipality.
“It is important to consider that there are many pros and cons associated with incorporation, all requiring careful study and deliberation,” said Demenok.
• Interior Health confirmed the brown goo found on the shore in Blind Bay, though unsightly, is not harmful. The fluid was believed to be groundwater rising to the surface, with iron content reacting to bacteria in the water.
• The Shuswap Hospital Foundation stepped up with a donation of $12,712 to assist the newly opened Sorrento and Area Community Health Centre Committee in furnishing and equipping two examination rooms.
April
• At a March 23 karate tournament in Japan, Shorei Kan members Jean-Luc Desgroseillers earned second in his match; Vic Hargitt judged other matches and Conrad Northeast took senior black belt and was third place overall.
• The CSRD board approved $50,000 for a parks and recreation study, to be completed by Thompson Rivers University. The study will provide the board with a more comprehensive understanding of recreational uses and future park needs.
• A second mudslide in 10 days took place on Eagle Bay Road. On April 7, 20 trees and 30 cubic metres of water came down, blocking the road. The slide occurred in the 5900 block, the same location as another recent slide.
• The Sorrento Centre board confirmed Peter Roundhill will be taking on the role of interim executive director.
• The Community Health Centre was seeking local heroes to be featured in a 2015 fundraising calendar.
• An electrical outlet was believed to be the source of a residential fire on Taylor Road in Sorrento.
While at the Taylor Road fire, the department was paged to attend an out-of control grass fire on Bolton Road in Tappen. As he was returning to the Taylor Road fire scene from the Tappen grass fire, CSRD fire services co-ordinator Kenn Mount spotted an unattended brush fire near CP Rail tracks in the 2600 block of Notch Hill Road.
The following day, the fire department knocked down a brush fire on Skimikin Road.
“We have just witnessed small fires getting out of control quickly and they’re doing damage to infrastructure,” commented Mount. “My biggest question is ‘do you really have to burn? Was it absolutely necessary?’ If you’re removing slash and you want to get rid of it, take it to the landfill instead of burning it.”
• Author Gail Anderson-Dargatz hosted a free workshop at the South Shuswap branch of the Okanagan Regional Library. Geared for older teens, college and university students, the workshop will look at how to turn real-life stories into works of fiction.
• FACES Dance Studio hosted a fundraiser for Megan Leverrier so that she may continue to receive treatment in Toronto for a rare double tumour.
May
Sorrento Elementary School students placed third in B.C. and sixth in Canada for the 60 Minute Kids Club Health Challenge.
For 60 days, the students tracked their health habits – how much water they drank, minutes of exercise, fruit and veggies eaten and hours slept, receiving bonus points for minutes of reading and thinking positive thoughts.
• The White Lake Residents Association hosted a public information meeting regarding the recent decline in the trout population in White Lake. Concerns surfaced early in the year, when longtime fisherman Alf Davy raised the alarm about a substantial drop in rainbow trout catch in the past three years.
Residents had also questioned if there have been changes to the food system or vegetation. A long-term plan is in the works to do a study on vegetation in White Lake and several other Interior lakes.
• The South Shuswap Children’s Theatre Foundation held two performances of Alice in Wonderland, adapted from the Lewis Carrol classic, with a modern twist.
• Thomas Schroeder, Bryce Roberge, Alex Muir, Ethan Senger, Austin Crocker, Cameron Roberge and Cory Lebeau were honoured in a recognition assembly after their Grade 8 track and field team won the North Zone Championships held in Kamloops on May 8. The girls team was second in the North Zones behind Revelstoke Secondary.
June
• The new Sorrento & Area Community Health Centre Society was established and granted charitable status under the Income Tax Act. It was now able to provide tax-deductible receipts for donations. This will allow for fundraising to support the Centre.
• Carlin School’s after-school soccer program has been hugely successful, with kids in kindergarten to Grade 6 flocking to the fields every Wednesday after the last bell. This year, four groups of kids are coached by 10 volunteers, including five middle-school mentors.
• The White Lake Stewardship Group, Shuswap Trail Alliance and the Columbia Shuswap Invasive Species Society partnered to mark Invasive Species Week by pulling yellow flag iris from Little White Lake.
-Next week, the Shuswap Market News will continue with the year in review for July through December.
