At the age of 81, Amilio Padula believes he is the oldest hairdresser alive and says that hairdressing gave him and his family a very good life. After 60 years in the business the well-known and extremely respected hair stylist is hanging up his scissors and retiring on December 31st. He started his 20 year career in Vancouver at First Lady Coiffures, which was named after Jackie Kennedy on West 41st and owned and operated several salons with a partner all in downtown Vancouver. Amilio moved to Kelowna to his first salon which was Trend Setters on Lawrence where he stayed for five years.
From there he started the ever popular Scruples on Pandosy Street.
At 70 years old, he thought it was time to quit and sold Scruples, but the new owners did not want him to leave. Altogether, the shop sold five times and the last owner Tara Schwartz changed the name to Metallic, but Tara still did not want him to retire. Amilio trained and coached many hair stylists in the business today. He has won numerous awards around the world and in 1966 he led a Canadian team to Italy to represent Canada, which was dubbed the hair stylists Olympics.
On Dec. 31, the hair stylist industry in Kelowna will miss a wonderful man with many eras of talent, knowledge, training and a good heart.
After 16 years on Bernard Avenue Camel Abougoush is closing his restaurant The Grateful Fed on December 23. Camel is taking a vacation and is still hoping the restaurant will sell by the end of February. The Grateful Fed is well-known for its Montreal Smoked Meat sandwich and bringing great entertainment in the restaurant and onto Bernard Avenue.
One door closes and another opens. Popular DunnEnzies Pizza Co. established in 2010 at 1559 Ellis Street is expanding their business once again. Owned and operated by Deb Dunnigan and Karyn MacKenzie, the gals are now expanding into the Mission area of the city on Lakeshore Road into the former Minstrel Café location in March. This will be DunnEnzies fourth location and is a perfect fit for the popular pizza shop and the local community. DunnEnzies serve traditional and their famous pizza’s, along with specialty pies, including butter chicken, white pizzas, gluten free or their famous 20 inch XL pizza to go. If you have not tried one of their pizzas you are really missing out. They are fabulous and the crust is extraordinary made in-house. DunnEnzies now has three locations including Landmark at 1886 Dayton Street and Airport Village at 203-1740 Pier Mac Way. Stay tuned for more updates. www.dunnenzies.com
Patrick Gaffney has joined the firm of Pushor Mitchell LLP as Associate Counsel. Patrick was previously a family law practitioner in Newmarket, Ontario. He has also worked as counsel for the Ontario Office of the Children’s Lawyer representing children and as a staff lawyer for Legal Services of BC. Call 250-869-1164 or Gaffney@pushormitchell.com.
Johnny’s Meats in West Kelowna has a new owner and a new name and is now known as Dyna’s Fine Meats and Deli. Located at 1777 Ross Road, Scott Reader is the new owner/operator of the business that has taken on an entirely new look, feel and service. The meat and deli shop offers everything you would find in a meat and deli shop including triple A quality beef, chicken, pork and even elk and bison. They also offer soup, fresh sandwiches, wraps and pot pies that are all made fresh in-house daily. Great for a grab and go lunch or picking up something for dinner. Open Monday to Saturday. Call 250-769-7178.
Congrats!
Congratulations to Black Mountain Golf Club who won the Golf Facility of the Year, presented by Minuteman Press Richmond at the PGA Golf of BC 2018 Awards and also to Sean Richardson of The Harvest Golf Club who won the Jack Westover Coach of the Year Award presented by O’Neill Golf.
Congratulations to the following local students who passed their Common Final Examination (CFE) and the final step in becoming a Chartered Professional Accountant in Canada. They are Taiya Ahola, Morgan Albo, Enyuan Chen, Nathan Cochran, Jennifer Crookes, Haley DeClercq, Brittany Denny, Chad Effa, Craig Folvik, Mathew Friesen, Lewis Isle, Stephen Knapp, Daniel Larkin, Jessica Lenz, Devyn McLennan, Vanessa Merrison, Alexis Semeschuk, Elisa Walker, Mackenzie Wong, Bryce Zavitz, Suzanne Williams, James Byra, Amritpal Gill and Spencer Gill.
Kudos to Chef Rod Butters who’s Cookbook, The Okanagan Table: The Art of Everyday Home, won a silver medal in the Regional/Cultural Cookbooks category at the 2018 Taste Canada Awards. Also to The Paisley Notebook who was awarded the Restaurants Canada & Diversity Culinary Tourism Experience Award at the 2018 Canadian Tourism Awards. This award recognizes an organization or business that delivers an authentic consumer experience showcasing Canadian food and beverage.
Kelowna’s own Scenic Road Cider Co. was awarded two Gold medals, along with one Bronze medal at the Okanagan Life Best of BC Cider Awards. Silver and Bronze medal winners were BC Tree Fruits Cider, Soma Craft Cidery and Wards Cider.
You will not want to miss tuning into 1150AM on Saturday. Don Burnett and Ken Salvail will be hosting a first time ever, three hour Friends and Family Christmas Garden Show on Saturday, December 22nd on AM1150 from 8:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. They will also be celebrating their 1,000 show that aired earlier this year, this being their 1,003 show. Don started with CKOV in 1983 and he invited his dad, mom and brother on the popular show for this annual Family Christmas Garden Show. His dad sang and his mother read a poem. Ken was invited on the show as a guest in 1986 and never left. In 1992 the show went to Walter Gray’s popular CKIQ. After closing Burnett’s Garden and Floral he again went on air on AM1150. The show will feature a little bit of everything and special surprises. Of course, you can still call in for garden tips.
Congratulations to the following City of Kelowna City Yards employees who received long service awards. Michael Murrell (30 years), Sam Tresoor (25 years), John Bundschuh and Terry Paziuk (20 years), Todd Petillion (15 years) and Darin Neufeld (10 years).
Congratulations also to the following City of Kelowna Waste Water Treatment employees who received long service awards. Robert Mandryk (30 years), Michael Gosselin (25 years) and John Sullivan (10 years).
Don’t miss out!
If you are looking for a local Christmas present or stocking stuffer, the 2019 Kelowna Branch, Okanagan Historical Society calendars are available for purchase. 300 calendars were printed and there are still a few left. The 2019 calendar features fourteen photographs of various Central Okanagan landscapes and buildings. This calendar will not be reprinted and would be a lovely souvenir. Call Chris Jennens at 250-862-2801 or Bob Hayes at 250-763-8859.
A new book has come off the press entitled Rocks Don’t Move. Jim and Anne Edgson have produced a delightful and inspiring autobiography they say they are just an average couple who share candid stories to which readers can relate regardless of their marital status. Life lessons mined from tragedies, successes and a wealth of experiences in church, business and politics makes the book an entertaining, insightful and moving memoir. The book is designed to be useful to all who want to learn about relationships, enhancing employment, being an effective marketer/salesperson, to being a politician who works well with people with an eye to serving the public. There are some surprises, humor, practical suggestions about driving skills (we could all use a little of that) and life in general. Jim was the inaugural Electoral Area West Director serving three terms in that capacity on the Regional District of Central Okanagan. Contact Jim or Anne to purchase a book at 250-306-2337 or jim_edgson@telus.net.
The Sons of Italy are hosting a New Year’s dinner party on December 31 with an Italian dinner by Chef Pietro, DJ Dan and champagne and a snack at midnight. Tickets $60.00 for adults, $25.00 for children over 12 and children under 12 are free. Contact Terry at 250-575-6755 or Sue at 250-212-8840.
Kudos to Francis Cheng and the 2018 End of Summer Hunger for the SalvationArmy was a huge success. They raised $25,000.00 of food and cash including 2,550 pounds of food, $3,000.00 matching form Scotiabank and thousands of dollars from the community.
Birthdays of the week
Mary Ringrose (Dec. 19); Gary Schnackenberg (Dec. 19); Rod Charlesworth (Dec. 19); Gail Temple (Dec. 19); Carol Hollier (Dec. 21); Karen Stearns (Dec. 20); Rennie Wutke (Dec. 20); Joan McCormack (Dec. 20); Noel Wentworth (Dec. 20); Bill Redmond (Dec. 20); Dave Cullen (Dec. 24); Cliff Serwa (Dec. 23); Norm Letnick (Dec. 23); Genelle Davidson (Dec.24); Dee Capozzi (Dec. 24); Marie Yvonne Cleaver (Dec. 25); Candy Hamilton (Dec. 25); Curtis Scriber (Dec. 25); Jim Ramsay (Dec. 25); Raquel Rose (Dec.25).
Maxine DeHart is a Kelowna City Councillor and local hotelier. Phone her at 250-979-4546 or 250-862-7662.
