TIME CHANGE | Get ready to turn your clocks back one hour as you go to bed Saturday night
Morning gStar
The
Friday, Nov. 2, 2012
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Main street work gets green light
LOVE ME DO
RICHARD ROLKE Morning Star Staff
KRISTIN FRONEMAN/MORNING STAR
Vernon Secondary School staff and students get a Halloween surprise Wednesday morning as teachers Mike Allen (left), Steve Simon, John Keeley and Cliff Acob (not seen) dress as “The Beatless” performing to The Beatles on the roof at the front entrance to the school.
Hunter uninjured in bear attack RICHARD ROLKE Morning Star Staff
A North Okanagan man is lucky to have escaped serious injury after an attack by a grizzly bear. A hunter was out looking for game when he walked into an area near the Harris Creek forest service road, south of Lumby, Saturday. “He saw a brown blur come at him and it knocked him down,” said Barb Leslie, a conservation officer inspector with the Ministry of Environment. The man used his rifle to poke the bear in the face but there was no opportunity to fire a shot. “The bear broke off within a few seconds when the (man’s) partner came upon the scene.” A grizzly bear sow and her cubs were seen leaving the area. It’s believed they were feeding on
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“He saw a brown blur come at him and it knocked him down.” — Barb Leslie
a deer carcass when the hunter came upon them. The confrontation created the potential for serious injury or death. “The individual is extremely fortunate that he didn’t sustain any injuries,” said Leslie. With hunting season well underway, Leslie is urging anyone visiting the backcountry to be cautious. “Bears are not denned up yet and they are feeding and people need to be aware of their sur-
roundings,” she said. “If you are seeing bear prints in the snow, you may want to consider where you are going.” It’s not known if the sow bear had killed the deer or if she and the cubs just came across the carcass. “There are wolves and coyotes in that area.” Conservation officers continue to receive complaints about nuisance bears in residential neighbourhoods and rural areas in the North Okanagan. To keep bears away, residents are asked to secure garbage cans ad barbecues, clean up ripe fruit and remove bird feeders and pet food. “They are looking for food sources right now,” said Leslie of building up fat reservoirs for hibernation. “Don’t leave anything out that bears can get into.”
The last piece of Vernon’s main street is going to be transformed. Eighty-one per cent of the property owners, representing 66 per cent of the property values, have agreed to fund $250,000 in streetscape improvements to 30th Avenue from 33rd to 35th streets. “We give full credit to the business and propDowhaniuk erty owners. They understand the benefit of this,” said Mark Dowhaniuk, the City of Vernon’s infrastructure engineer. Other parts of 30th Avenue have been revitalized for years but property owners between 33rd and 35th streets were reluctant to participate because of the cost. With the successful vote, Focus Corporation has been contracted for design work. “We are meeting with all of the business owners and property owners next week (Wednesday) to go through the design,” said Dowhaniuk. The goal is for construction to begin in March and be completed before July. “It’s a pretty aggressive schedule,” said Dowhaniuk, adding that the city wants to minimize the impact to merchants, residents and tourists. “Businesses will be open throughout construction.” The total cost of the project is $2 million, with the property owners providing $250,000 for street furniture, decorative bricks and twinkle lights. The city will contribute the remainder of the funding for sewer, water and asphalt upgrades.
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