FEBRUARY
• Shuswap parents were struggling with a lack of daycare spaces in the region. Shuswap Daycare manager Karen Bubola said daycare in Salmon Arm was in crisis and getting worse. “We have lengthy waitlists – well over two years – and the only time spots become available (for the infant to toddler age) is when they age out at 3…,” she said, noting 15 wee ones share the 12 spaces on a part-time basis.
• Police informed people at a homeless camp in Salmon Arm’s west end that they had to move because they were in the right-of-way of the four-lane highway project. Volunteers Chrissy Deye and Dan Sallis with the Crossroads Free Methodist Church helped with the move. Deye said seven people were being housed in four rooms at the Travelodge, and the church was fundraising for propane and heaters for those still living in tents during the cold snap. Volunteers were also providing meals.
•Curtis Wayne Sagmoen pleaded guilty to assault in an incident involving a sex worker in Maple Ridge in 2013. Initially charged with assault causing bodily harm, Sagmoen pleaded guilty to the lesser charge in provincial court in Port Coquitlam.
• Salmon Arm firefighters responded to a fire in a garage in a residence at the corner of Fifth Avenue and Fifth Street SE about 9:30 p.m. on Wednesday, Jan. 30.
• A sea of eye-patched and mustachioed pirates descended on the Larch Hills on Friday, Feb. 1 for the 15th annual Children’s Pirate Loppet.
• Salmon Arm residents received a look at options for a possible new recreation facility during a Feb. 10 open house at the SASCU rec centre. They included: A) a four-phase project costing $35.7 million, including renovation and expansion of the existing pool, and Option B) to include a new pool and fitness centre, $36.4 million.
• Construction on the Ross Street underpass project was expected to start in early summer of 2019, beginning on the north side of the tracks.
• Hard work ended up paying off for Courtney Bacon with a spot on the Team B.C. ringette squad at the 2019 Canada Winter Games.
• A group of Canoe residents expressed opposition to a 60-unit mobile home park proposed for their community. Their biggest concern was a desire to increase the amount of property tax that can be paid to the city.
• The Salmon Arm Senior Golds Basketball Team had a good showing at the Western Canada Tournament, earning an honourable mention as they rose up the ranks.
