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BASEBALL is just around the corner as Kelowna Falcons unveil their 37-player roster for 2012 West Coast League regular season.
MAXINE DEHART celebrates the 14th anniversary of her business column leading off with an update on the Carmelis Goat Cheese farm and shop in south Kelowna.
WEST KELOWNA community groups made their pitch to district council this week talking about what they do and areas of interest they feel the district needs to improve upon.
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THURSDAY March 22, 2012 The Central Okanagan’s Best-Read Newspaper www.kelownacapnews.com
▼ WATER WEEK
Reasons cited to celebrate valued resource Judie Steeves STAFF REPORTER
Wearing moccasins, colourful long skirts and head scarves or bandannas, three generations of the Manuel family drummed and sang the Okanagan song for the water, as part of the opening ceremonies for Canada Water Week at UBCO Tuesday. Trish Manuel is a knowledge keeper for the Okanagan Nation and explained that the words they sang in the Okanagan language essentially mean that we must take care of the land and the water or we’ll be ‘the last ones’. She was joined by her daughter Golden Butterfly and granddaughter One Who Likes Water, each with their own hand drums, while gusty winds send dark clouds scudding across the sky, threatening to present some liquid sunshine on those assembled to celebrate it. Chief Byron Louis, of the Okanagan Nation ,warned that the streams of the Okanagan basin are over-allocated, and if everyone used their allocation we would run out of water. With so little water here, we should look to using native landscaping in order to conserve water, he said. This sub-basin of the Columbia River system used to support 16 million salmon and now there are none that return to Okanagan Lake. “We have been fighting since the early ’90s to get the salmon re-introduced here,” he said. “This lake is like an ark for different species,” he added. He suggested everyone think about what the value of their home and their property would be without water. “The loss would hurt every one of us. The beauty of this valley is also what killed it,” he commented. Not only is water essential to people, but also to many species, some unique, that depend on it, he noted. Louis said he is the third generation of his family to live here, and his grandfather was here when Father Pandosy built the mission in Kelowna. Lake Country Mayor James Baker expressed his concern about water for food, noting that his municipality is 40 per cent in the Agricultural Land Reserve, yet not all that land has any rights to water. See Resource A6
DON SIPOS/CONTRIBUTOR
KELOWNA paramedics and firefighters attend to the injuries of the male driver and female passenger of a Harley Davidson motorcycle that was hit by Jeep Cherokee at the intersection of Cooper and Harvey on Tuesday afternoon. The driver later died of his injuries.
▼ FATAL ACCIDENT
Motorcyclist killed in collision with SUV Kathy Michaels STAFF REPORTER
Mounties are voicing concerns about driving behaviour in the Central Okanagan, following a spate of deaths on local streets. “This time last year, there had been no fatal crashes, with a total of 14 for the entire year,” he said. As of Tuesday, however, the death toll reached seven. It’s a growing number Clark eerily warned Okanagan drivers to be mindful of just a day ear-
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lier, saying, “people are losing their lives to teach us lessons, and we’re not learning those lessons.” The latest deadly traffic accident happened on Harvey Avenue at Cooper Road, at around 3:20 p.m., Tuesday. “A 59-year-old Kelowna man and his 56-year-old wife were riding a Harley-Davidson motorcycle and were apparently stopped behind a white Dodge van when they were struck from behind by a black Jeep Cherokee,” said Clark.
“The force of the collision thrust the two riders into the back of the Dodge van.” The man driving the bike was rushed to hospital, but died from injuries he sustained in the crash. The woman suffered serious but non-life threatening injuries. No one else was injured. Clark says Central Okanagan Traffic Services continue to investigate and are attempting to determine whether the use of a cell phone was a factor in the crash. At press time it was unknown
what charges may be recommended. “Anytime a driver uses a hand held device while driving it takes their attention away from the road around them,” he said. “There are no messages or conversations that are so important that you need to endanger yourself or others.” Anyone who has information about this crash, call the Kelowna RCMP at 250-762-3300, Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-TIPS (8477) or online at www.crimestoppers.net.
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