ENTERTAINMENT
PETE GUARASCI has a passion for basketball, one the former Canadian Olympian wants to pass on to his new players at UBCO.
DUBBED THE worst road in B.C. in a recent BCAA survey, Westside Road will be the subject of more improvements in the months to come, says Westside-Kelowna MLA Ben Stewart.
CELEBRATE the musical version of fertility this weekend at the Kelowna Fertility Festival, featuring Leila Neverland and Fields of Green at the open-air event at Summerhill Pyramid Winery.
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THURSDAY May 10, 2012 The Central Okanagan’s Best-Read Newspaper www.kelownacapnews.com
▼ FLOODING
High temperatures forecast to speed snowpack melt Judie Steeves STAFF REPORTER
If cooler overnight temperatures continue in the next few days as forecast, it might delay flooding around local streams, but soaring temperatures forecast for the weekend will begin rapid melting of snow at high elevations. In fact, Environment Canada meteorologist Doug Lundquist says a ridge of high pressure returns in the next couple of days, with temperatures as high as 28 C forecast for Sunday, and overnight thawing right up to the tops of the mountains. With 20 per cent more snow than normal accumulated high in the Mission Creek watershed, there’s a lot of snowmelt still to make its way down streams into Okanagan Lake. Lundquist said he’s expecting more sun and less cloud than earlier in the week, which means temperatures will be high-
er and there will be more melting. Because of a hot spell last week and a day of heavy rain the previous week, local creeks are already higher than normal for this time of year. Dave Campbell, manager of the provincial River Forecast Centre, expects an advisory about Mission Creek will be issued by the weekend. Low to mid-elevation snow has largely melted in the past couple of weeks, but the cold nights have slowed runoff from higher elevations. Flows in Mission Creek jumped up Wednesday, but he expected to see a further change when overnight thawing begins at higher elevations. The seasonal flow into Okanagan Lake was changed by the single day of rain April 26, when a month’s average rainfall occurred in one day, noted Campbell. However, overall, the snowpack is not that far off normal, with higher-
than-normal amounts on the east side of the lake, but lower amounts on the west side, he said. Kelowna assistant fire chief Lou Wilde said although the melt is a week or so ahead of last year, weather conditions in the next few days should help keep flows down, but higher temperatures next week could cause some problems. Residents in low-lying areas and near watercourses should take precautions against flood damage, warns Bruce Smith with the Central Okanagan Regional District. “Those adjacent to creeks and streams in the Central Okanagan should make annual preparations to protect their properties in the event of rapid snow melt combined with significant rain causing rising water levels,” he said. Sandbags are available from local firehalls, but residents are responsible fining the sand.
DOUG FARROW/CONTRIBUTOR
WITH A FORECAST of much warmer weather this weekend, the fear of flooding is top of mind as the local creeks fill with water from the rapidly melting snowpack in the mountains.
▼ WILDLIFE
Conservation officer forced to kill black bear in Glenrosa It was not the bear’s fault he had his life cut short Wednesday. It was the fault of an anonymous Glenrosa resident who left garbage out where a wild bear would be attracted from the
nearby wild canyons and woods—and if conservation officer Terry Myroniuk had his way, that resident would have to pull the trigger. Instead, he had to put the bear down before he harmed a child or destroyed property to get at the easy human food he’s
become accustomed to eating. Before it reached this stage, the Conservation Officer Service logged 11 calls about this bear since last year. That was his death sentence because that indicates that the bear, a larger black bear, has be-
come habituated to consumption of human foods such as he could scrounge from trash cans, bird feeders, pet food dishes, and rotting fruit, instead of the berries and shoots, grasses and ants he would survive on in the wild. Once habituated to people food, a bear re-
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members where those food sources are, and he will return again and again, year after year, to those sources—and he will become more and more bold about his right to that food. Eventually, he could harm people he sees as coming between his
put garbage out until the morning it’s to be picked up, and it should be secured inside until garbage day, he notes. Bird feeders should be taken down now until bears go into hibernation,
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tummy and that food, or he could break into residences where he can smell there’s more such food. Myroniuk says, “It’s frustrating. Bears come in conflict with people because of people’s behaviour. It’s a people problem.” Residents should not
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