SPORTS
BUSINESS
SENIORS
OPINION
KELOWNA ROCKETS forward Tyrell Goulbourne will be looking to extend his goal scoring streak this week against Edmonton.
THE THOMPSON Okanagan Tourism Association has unveiled a new 10-year strategy to improve the visiting experience for tourists in the region and extend the tourism season.
KELOWNA HOMECARE providers to participate in initiative to offer free home safety inspections to reduce the possibility of falls for local seniors.
ALISTAIR WATERS says Canadians will be drawn into the photo finish in Tuesday’s U.S presidential election.
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TUESDAY November 6, 2012 The Central Okanagan’s Best-Read Newspaper www.kelownacapnews.com
▼ WATER QUALITY
▼ KELOWNA
City supports funding for SEKID upgrade
Mayor getting down to business
Judie Steeves STAFF REPORTER
Alistair Waters
Kelowna city council agreed Monday to support provincial funding for the South East Kelowna Irrigation District’s first phase in its water quality improvement plan. Borrowing $15.3 million to begin the plan was rejected by SEKID ratepayers Oct. 25, and Interior Health responded by giving the improvement district until Nov. 30 to provide an alternative proposal for implementing its plan, without government assistance. Mike Adams, environmental health officer with Interior Health, commented that it’s encouraging that all have agreed on a priority. He admitted the SEKID has challenges, with its rural population, but he said it is among the systems within IH that is most in need of improvements. “For any water supplier, the expectation is clean, safe tap water for users,” he noted. The Kelowna Joint Water Committee requested council’s support after agreeing in late October that the SEKID project should have top priority for consideration for senior government funding, because it is the project that addresses the highest health risk. Cost of implementing the first stage of SEKID’s plan would be $8.2 million. It was following a two-hour workshop on the Kelowna Integrated Water Supply Plan Monday morning that council agreed to endorse the committee’s resolution to support provincial funding for Stage One of SEKID’s improvement plan. The KJWC is made up of each of the five major water utilities—the City of Kelowna, SEKID, Black Mountain Irrigation District, Glenmore-Ellison Improvement District and Rutland Waterworks. The 400-page plan was prepared by engineer Bob Hrasko, of Agua Consulting, with the support of all five utilities, as the best, lowest-cost solutions to reach the public health requirements of Interior Health, including flexibility as far as governance is concerned and setting out a staged plan. In all, there are 48 individual projects to complete the eight-stage project, with a total implementation cost of $383 million.
ASSISTANT EDITOR
CHEERING SPIRIT… Willa Balfour is raised in the air in a carefully orchestrated move by members of the Okanagan Firestorm cheerleading squad. The 4th annual B.C. Interior Cheerleading Skills Clinic was held at the Rutland Senior Secondary School gym last Saturday. Along with the debut of the Firestorm all-star cheerleading program, participants from Kamloops and Vernon also took part. DOUG FARROW/
In a bid to deliver on one of his key election platforms from a year ago, Kelowna Mayor Walter Gray has announced the city has named its first executive director of business development. Jim Paterson, the city’s current general manager of community sustainability, assumed the new position Monday and will now be the city’s link between business and City Hall, particularly with new businesses that are locating here or are looking to do so. “Jim will be the muchneeded link between business and city services and will work with key community partners such as the Economic Development Commission to facilitate new business development opportunities, as well as support existing businesses,” said Gray. The move follows Gray’s vow during his inaugural speech last December to ensure Kelowna is recognized as “an outstanding place to conduct business.” The mayor said it also follows his council’s development of priorities for
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