CONTRACT BLUES | Agreement approved but teachers continue to have concerns [A5]
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Rain doesn’t soak record
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RICHARD ROLKE Morning Star Staff
JOSÉ LAROCHELLE/MORNING STAR
Fireworks explode over Vernon Sunday night celebrating Canada’s 145th birthday. The annual event attracted a large crowd to line local roads while people attending Funtastic at the Vernon army camp also took in the show. Look for more Canada Day photos on A3.
Evacuation alert remains firm Residents along the Shuswap River should remain vigilant. Officials had anticipated removing the evacuation alert for the river, from Sugar to Mara lakes Tuesday. However, that didn’t occur. “The water has come up a bit because of rain Tuesday,” said Gord Molendyk, Regional District of North Okanagan spokesperson. “We will continue to monitor the river and we hope that by the weekend and anticipated warm weather, levels will go down again.” Molendyk insists there is no choice but to keep people prepared for a possible evacuation. “We want to be on the safe side,” he said. Howie Cyr, Enderby’s mayor, was hoping the alert would be lifted.
— Howie Cyr “The toll it’s taken on people has been significant in terms of people worrying about their homes and people giving of their time (volunteering),” he said. The areas hardest hit have been beyond city limits, including Mara, Grindrod and Ashton Creek. To get a better handle on the situation, North Okanagan Emergency Management has used remote-controlled helicopters to take digital photographs of the river at various stages of flooding.
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“These remote helicopters allowed staff to get a very close-hand look at bridges and areas of concern where a much larger aircraft would not be able to fly,” said Molendyk. “The photographs that were taken could become very important at a later date when it comes to looking at repairs to not only the infrastructure, but also to private property in the area.” NORD is currently working with the provincial government to establish a process for residents to apply
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for disaster financial assistance. While there has been localized flooding in the Enderby area, Cyr says residents’ thoughts have been with Sicamous, which was hit hard by flooding. “Those people out there were really up against it,” he said. Highway 97A between Grindrod and Sicamous reopened to traffic Sunday. It was closed June 23 after raging flood waters ripped the highway apart in the Two Mile area. As a result of ongoing repair work to the highway, motorists should be aware of construction three kilometres south of Sicamous until further notice. Shuswap Emergency Program safety teams are inspecting Sicamous area homes and businesses affected by flooding to determine if they are safe for occupancy.
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RICHARD ROLKE Morning Star Staff
June was damp but not enough to soak through the record book. The official record at the Coldstream Ranch weather station was 85 millimetres of rain last month, while there are unverified reports of close to 100 millimetres in other areas. “Vernon isn’t anywhere near record territory,” said Doug Lundquist, with Environment Canada. “There are at least four months wetter than this one. This may be the fifth wettest.” The record is 134 millimetres of rain in June 1923, while there was 121 millimetres in 1953. The last heavy rainfall was 95 millimetres in June 1990. Normal rainfall for June is 54 millimetres. “Last month was close to double the amount of (average) rain,” said Lundquist. “June is our wettest time of the year. It’s our monsoon season.” The average temperature for June 2012 was 15.2 while normal is 16.4. For those seeking summer, they won’t have to wait long. “We will get into the mid-30s for the weekend. It’s on, we’re on track,” said Lundquist.
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