FOOD TRUCKS TREND ARRIVES: two mobile vendors serving Mexican food start up in Revelstoke - 10
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Vol. 114, No. 31
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The Nakusp Rodeo - 19
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TIMESReview
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Taxpayers pay fare for BC Transit error
First Mica Dam spill since ‘97
Delayed transit expansion now reduced from four routes to three, but will cost Revelstoke taxpayers even more AARON ORLANDO editor@revelstoketimesreview.com
Wondering what happened to the transit expansion in Revelstoke that was approved well over a year ago? Now there’s an update, and it’s not good news. Following a wave of discussion, consultations and public input sessions in early 2011, BC Transit was slated to implement a revised transit system designed to improve commute times in Revelstoke. The new system was based on a four-route system that would connect at a hub in Grizzly Plaza. That system was supposed to start in September, 2011 – but there was a hitch. BC Transit didn’t have the new bus needed for the system to work. BC Transit delayed the expansion until Sep-
tember, 2012. Now, the City of Revelstoke has revealed the four-route system is off the table due to a BC Transit calculation error that vastly underestimated the cost of the new, expanded system. Now, BC Transit is proposing a scaled-back, three-route system, which will cost city taxpayers even more than the better, fourroute system. The existing system costs the city about $294,000 annually. The city agreed to take on an extra $43,000 in annual costs for the four-route system, for an annual cost to the city of $337,000. (The
Bus fare, page 3
Does Revelstoke have a crime problem? AARON ORLANDO editor@revelstoketimesreview.com
BC Hydro has opened the Mica Dam spillway for the first time since 1997, sending up to 1,133 cubic meters of water per second down the three-pronged spillway, culminating in a violent and beautiful explosion of water at the dam base. The water drops 150 metres as it races along the 585metre spillway – the highest drop of any BC Hydro dam. BC Hydro spokesperson Jennifer Walker-Larsen explained the planned, 24-hour water release on July 26–27 was a test of the dam spillway, “in anticipation of possible releases that may be needed to pass record high reservoir inflows this year.”
Although the 1,133-cubic-meter (40,000-cubic-feet) per second rate created a roaring torrent of water that dwarfed heavy construction vehicles parked nearby, Walker-Larsen said it was only a fraction of the dam’s maximum. The Mica Dam spillway was constructed to handle 3,171 cubic meters (112,000 cubic feet) per second. The spilling follows very high water inflows into the Columbia River system in B.C.’s Southern Interior this season. The Mica Dam holds back the Kinbasket Reservoir, which is forecast to receive more inflow than any other year on record in 40 years. BC Hydro experts expect the Kinbasket Reservoir to get 20.3 cubic kilometres of inflow from February to September this year – nearly five cubic kilometres more than normal. See revelstoketimesreview.com for video.
THE STATISTIC SAY YES – OR MAYBE – IT DEPENDS ON WHICH NUMBERS YOU LOOK AT ALEX COOPER reporter@revelstoketimesreview.com
Walking down the streets of Revelstoke, it’s hard not to feel safe. There hasn’t been a murder in town in ages and assaults – aside from the occasional bar fight – are very rare. Property crime is a bit more of a problem – think of stolen trucks and snowmobiles in the winter and the recent rash of bicycle thefts – but for the most part, people feel comfortable leaving their doors (and bikes) unlocked.
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Which is why I couldn’t believe it when I was sent Revelstoke’s crime rate for 2011. It was a rate of a whopping 10,867.28 crimes per 100,000 people. That’s nearly 65 per cent higher than national rate of 6,604.04 crimes per 100,000 people. It’s higher than the provincial rate of 9,148.58. As well, whereas in the rest of Canada the crime rate dropped by about six per cent, in Revelstoke it increased by 11.5 per cent.
Crime, page 4
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