BUSINESS Vermilion Forks Fitness opening soon Page A3
SPORTS
EVENTS Check out some of our photos from the 5th Annual Air Show Page 12 & 13
Princeton Kokanees are breaking records Page 8 $1.10 Includes TAX
SPOTLIGHT The Similkameen
Volume 63 Issue 30
Wednesday, July 25, 2012
Proudly serving the community since 1948 • www.similkameenspotlight.com
Health minister explains strategy Joe Fries Penticton Western News
Health Minister Mike de Jong used hockey metaphors to explain the B.C. Liberals’ election strategy during a visit to Penticton Friday, but he skated around any commitment to funding hospital expansion here. De Jong, who was in Kelowna on government business, dropped in on a Free Enterprise Friday luncheon hosted by the local Liberal riding association, which is gearing up for the May 2013 provincial election. “We’re in the playoffs. The regular season is over. And if we’re going to hoist the trophy one more time, we’ve got some work ahead of us,” de Jong told the crowd of about 30 people. The five-term MLA for Abbotsford West acknowledged his party has seen its popularity slip in recent polls, but said the only count that matters is the one on election day. He also said the campaign will be won or lost by local organizers’ ability to get the vote out. “We’ve got to play basic hockey. Nothing fancy. We’ve got to talk to British Columbians, understand the issues that they are confronted by in their day-today lives and ensure that they see us as part of the solution,” de Jong said. “We do that, and we’ll hoist the trophy. We’ll have the honour of helping to guide public policy in British Columbia for another term.” But de Jong was more circumspect on the prospect of his ministry funding part of a proposed $300-million expansion at Penticton Regional Hospital. The project, as envisioned, would add a new fourstory building for clinical services, plus a five-story parkade nearby. Local government and the hospital foundation have committed to contributing $140 million to the build, leaving the province on the hook for the rest. “It’s not generally the capital” funding that holds up such projects, de Jong said. “Those are one-time costs. Our obligation to you is to ensure the health authority has enough of your money... to fund the additional staff, to fund the additional clinicians that need to be in place. And those are recurring costs. And so that’s what we’re struggling with now is to come up with a plan so that when we’ve got the new facility it’s staffed on an ongoing basis.”
See Minister - Page 8
Weather Watch
Photo courtesy of Jack White
This semi flipped after loosing control during the heavy rainstorm on Friday, July 20. With assistance from passers by, the injured driver walked away from the wreck.
Torrential downpour causes near miss Lisa Carleton lisa@similkameenspotlight.com
Two travellers, one heading west and the other east had a chance meeting on Friday, July 20 that neither had expected. At approximately 12:10 in the afternoon, local resident Jack White was headed back into Princeton during the torrential rainstorm. “It was coming down so hard I could barely see,” said White, “my wipers were going full
Princeton
blast.” White said he saw a semi unit coming towards him—then he noticed that the truck had started to jackknife, then hydroplane right across into his lane. “The guy wasn’t even going fast, he said, the road just turned into a skating rink—there was so much water.” “It scared the hell out of me!” White said that while the back end of the truck was coming at him he thought... choose... the ditch or the truck.
See Truck - Page 13
EARLY DEADLINE NOTICE for the
August 8 Edition
All Ads & Insertions must be received by THURSDAY August 2 at NOON. Spotlight Office will be
CLOSED Monday August 6.
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