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RISING UFC MIXED martial arts local fighter Rory MacDonald won his third consecutive welterweight bout last weekend.
COLUMNIST Robert Smithson salutes the legacy of of three business leaders who each recently passed away but who won’t soon be forgotten.
LOCAL seniors encouraged to tune up their musical instruments or work on their singing voices to participate in the annual Senior Star talent competition.
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TUESDAY April 24, 2012 The Central Okanagan’s Best-Read Newspaper www.kelownacapnews.com
▼ DEVELOPMENT
Further study for Kelowna Mt. project Wade Paterson STAFF REPORTER
Last week, the Central Okanagan Regional District board gave first reading to a new Official Community Plan bylaw for the South Slopes neighbourhoods of the Central Okanagan east electoral area. The OCP is the first for the area, which includes the electoral area outside the City of Kelowna boundary between June Springs Estates and the south portion of Lakeshore Road. In the draft bylaw, the property of Kelowna Mountain is identified as a resort study area. A secondary planning process is required prior to consideration of any future change in land use. The Kelowna Mountain project—a dream of developer Mark Consiglio, who owns a 259 hectare property just south of Kelowna—is proposed to include a ski hill, mountain bike park, skating pond, championship golf course, suspension bridges, commercial village, resort and residential accommodations, winery and a community theatre. The current land use of Kelowna Mountain is designated rural resource. Ron Fralick, manager of current planning for the regional district, said that the OCP is still in the early stages of development. “We’ve only had first reading on the OCP bylaw— we are going to public hearing next month, so there could be further change. Nothing is in stone yet,” said Fralick. “Until we get past that public hearing a number of things could happen.” The public hearing is tentatively set for May 14; however, a location for the hearing has not yet been determined. As the draft bylaw states, the planning process is to be clearly outlined in a terms of reference. A series of professional reports and studies will be required to properly assess the proposed Kelowna Mountain development. “The City of Kelowna is going to be part of developing those terms of reference because the developSee Study A13
by Dave Taylor on how to control the ground digging machine during an open house hosted by the school in Lake Country last week. The school says over the next decade, heavy equipment operators will be in high demand to meet forecasted labour shortages in the oil and gas, mining, construction and forestry sectors.
▼ KNOX MT. PARK
Report of grizzly bear seems unlikely Judie Steeves STAFF REPORTER
Grizzly bear sightings are rare in the Okanagan Valley—even more so at this time of year, when their higher-elevation hibernation dens are still blocked by snow. However, it’s not im-
possible that a Friday afternoon complaint to the RCMP about a grizzly bear being sighted in Knox Mountain Park was actually a grizzly, say conservation officers. It just isn’t that likely, says Sgt. Josh Lockwood, with the CO service. “In the brown phase,
a black bear can look a bit like a grizzly bear,” said Lockwood, but he was unable to get adequate information because the person who complained didn’t leave a name and phone number so they could contact him to ask more questions. Photos, even from a
cell phone, are a real asset to identifying wildlife, he noted. There was only the one sighting and even the park caretaker hasn’t seen either a grizzly or a bear. Some years ago, there used to be lots of bear sign in the park, noted Mark Goddard, who lives on Knox Mountain as the
park caretaker. On the other hand, Lockwood notes, it is a wild area so people should expect to see wildlife in the park, including does with fawns, and deer can be very protective of their young.
See Grizzly A11
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EARTHER MOVER…Heather Taylor, a loader student at the Interior Heavy Equipment Operator School, is given instruction