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NORDEN THE MAGICIAN
SHOREBIRDS
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MUSIC IN THE PARK
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Vol. 89 Issue 30 • Wednesday, July 25, 2012 • www.arrowlakesnews.com • 250-265-3823 • $1.25 Includes HST
Vancouver couple plans to ‘protect’ St. Leon Hot Springs
Newly-formed society hopes donations and user-fees will raise $2.9 million to purchase St. Leon Hot Springs property to create their vision for healing retreat. ALEX COOPER/BLACK PRESS MP David Wilks and Nakusp mayor Karen Hamling (left) were on hand at Music in the Park to honour DIamond Jubilee medal recipients Bea Anton (centre) and Dr. Norm Lea (right), as were family Teresa and Pattie, and a grateful community. SONYA DANN/ARROW LAKES NEWS
Diamond Jubilee medals awarded in Nakusp By Sonya Dann
Special to the Arrow Lakes News
This year, 2012, is a year for celebrations! Not only because of the end of the Mayan calendar and the myths surrounding it, but because 2012 marks 60 years since Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II became the Queen of Canada. Her Majesty, technically the Queen of Canada, the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, and 12 other states belonging to the Commonwealth of Nations ascended to the throne on February 6, 1952. Celebrations of this Diamond Jubilee year will be held in all 16 Commonwealth countries and will be marked by parades, parties and awards with the pomp and pageantry expected of a Royal occasion. In Nakusp, the pomp was marked by the Diamond Jubilee medal being given to two local residents on Wednesday, July 18 during Music in the Park. Dr. Norm Lea and Bea Anton each received one of the 60,000 medals to be awarded in Canada, presented by MP David Wilks for Kootenay-Columbia. Diamond Jubilee medals are intended to commemorate the event by honouring those Canadians who have made contributions to our communities and country. MP Wilks began the formalities by giving the audience a short history of our Queen, her ascension to the Throne, and the royal family. He also read part of the speech that Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II made on
February 6, 2012, Accession Day, or the anniversary of when she became queen. At ceremonies like the conferring of the Diamond Jubilee medal, it is standard for the presenter to pin the medal to the chest (hopefully to their clothes only) of the recipients, but our local honorees were a little too shy and looked very grateful once they could leave the stage and after the photos had been taken. Perhaps even more than the medal, the applause from the crowd of citizens indicated how much Dr. Lea and Bea Anton are valued by the community for all their efforts. Mayor Karen Hamling gave voice to the applause with a speech thanking the recipients for their contributions to our community. Dr. Lea was presented with the award for his dedication to ensuring medical coverage and services to local residents. Having come here in 1988 after medical school and not intending to stay more than one year, Dr. Lea has instead become an enormous asset to this community over his many years of service. His efforts to ensure the emergency room is kept open for those who become injured and need immediate care have literally made the difference between life and death. The second recipient of the Diamond Jubilee award was Bea Anton. A resident of Nakusp for over 80 years, Anton has seen many things change in this community. Through it all, Anton has contributed to the community by caring for those who cannot care for themselves.
Diamonds, page 3
By Aaron Orlando
Arrow Lakes News A Vancouver couple wants to protect the St. Leon Hot Springs from future development by creating a healing retreat on the location – saying if they don’t, it’s just a matter of time before the popular natural hot springs is developed into a commercial resort. However, the couple’s vision for the property includes significant development plans, including a campsite, parking lots, renovating the existing natural pools, potentially piping water to new pools and introducing fees for some of these services. The couple would also like to live on the property themselves for part of the year. The hot spring’s pools are located off of Highway 23 about 25 kilometres north of Nakusp. It was commercially-operated as a spa until the 1950s when steamer service ceased, ending its viability. Flooding of the Arrow Lakes Reservoir in the late 1960s covered much existing infrastructure, including the remains of the St. Leon Hotel which burned in November, 1968. Since then, it has existed as a natural hot springs accessed via a drive, hike or ski up a logging road. Currently, users can access the pools for free, but they are technically trespassing to get there. Vancouverite Heather Bryant and her common-law husband Bill Small have recently set up a booth at the Nakusp Farmers’ Market, where they’re providing information on their vision and taking donations from residents on behalf of the St. Leon Hot Springs Society. Bryant explains it is a subsidiary of The BC Hot Springs Preservation Society, a brand new umbrella organization interested in preserving hot springs in B.C. by developing them into healing centres. Bryant explained their lawyer was setting the societies up in a way to ensure a hostile takeover wasn’t possible. They’re looking for Nakusp and Revelstoke residents hoping to get involved. Their vision for the 390-acre property includes the campsite and temporary structures including yurts, tipis, tents and geodesic domes. “Low key, off the grid,” Bryant said. They hope to install composting toilets and solar showers on the site. The healing hot springs
would be complimented by healing stations equipped with massage tables. “The biggest part of our vision is to maintain the natural environment around the hot springs,” Bryant said. “We don’t want to create a resort, we don’t want a condominium structure, we don’t want a golf course. We want it to stay natural so people can come there as mother nature offers it to us.” “We need to protect our land. We need to protect and maintain the natural environment around us or we’re not going to have any fresh air or water left,” she said. Bryant said she is originally from California and has a degree in Classical music and has spent time as a professional musician and in office settings, saying she’s a “a forest girl stuck in the city.” She said her common-law partner Bill Small has experience with the Vancouverbased B.C. Compassion Club Society, which opened and operated Canada’s first marijuana compassion club. Bryant said several individuals other than herself and her common-law partner were involved. She described them as individuals with law degrees, real estate agents, those interested in the natural environment and natural health sciences. However, she declined to provide the names of those involved. The Registrar of Companies with the Ministry of Citizens’ Services on July 20 confirmed that neither The BC Hot Springs Preservation Society nor the St. Leon Hot Springs Society are registered provincially under the Business Corporations Act, Society Act, Cooperative Association Act, Financial Institutions Act or Partnership Act. What’s most unconventional about the proposal is their means of funding. The property itself is listed for $2.9 million. They hope to raise about $50,000 from public donations to get them to their first phase, then an additional $500,000 through operating revenues and additional donations from the public. Bryant said they were also exploring environmental grants and had approached the Columbia Basin Trust for grant funding. The municipally-owned Nakusp Hot Springs has struggled financially for years – including losses – and is for sale. Halcyon Hot
See story page 2
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