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Arrow Lakes News 7 78195
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Vol. 90 Issue 01 • Wednesday, January 2, 2013 • www.arrowlakesnews.com • 250-265-3823 • $1.25 •
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year in review 2012
Water levels reached highs in 2012 not seen since the early 1990s. The high reservoir tides meant peril for ferries in the form of shortened cable lengths and floating debris. Claire Paradis/Arrow Lakes News
The arrow Lakes news looks back at the stories that filled the pages over the last year NEWS March 1
Teacher strike to start Monday The B.C. Teachers’ Association has served strike notice for Monday through Wednesday after teachers across the province endorsed the option in a province-wide vote. The union was required to give two school days’ notice before being in a legal strike position, under a Labour Relations Board ruling on essential services that allows for up to three consecutive days of full strike action next week. Education Minister George Abbott said Thursday that schools will be open, and it’s up to parents if they want to send children to school. The LRB ruling prohibits picket lines, allowing unionized support staff to go to work. Administrators will supervise students, but normal instruction will not take place. April 11
Spruce Grove Cafe founder Margaret Williams turns 100 Margaret Williams turned 100 on March 30 this year, with the celebratory shindig being held at the Rotary Villa. Relatives came from all over southern B.C. to ring in the turn of her century. Although born in a small house in Nakusp, Margaret grew up in Burton. The two-storey log house built there is still in the family, being looked after by younger generations. Her marriage to husband Alf saw her move to Edgewood. Even though he had lost an eye in an accident as a boy, Alf was an excellent marksman, serving as a sharpshooter. Both Margaret and Alf enjoyed hunting and fishing in the Kootenays, as a photo on display at the party of Margaret with a bear she’d shot proved. Lively and sharp, Williams
recalled clearing the land, building and running the Spruce Grove Cafe. The restaurant saw a lot of business, too much for Margaret’s heart condition, so she moved on in life. April 26
body, the brain in particular, has a fine electrical balance, one that can be upset by wireless transmissions from devices like cell phones and smart meters, he said. June 16
Smart meter critic comes to Nakusp
Happyface unhappy with contract
The Coalition to Stop “Smart” Meters’ presentation at the Bonnington Friday, April 20 was the one-man show of Werner Hoffelinck and a series of slides and short videos. Even with sound difficulties, the audience of 45 Nakusp citizens sat captivated by the information Hoffelinck put forward. Originally an electromechanical engineer from Belgium, Hoffelinck now lives in Vernon and is volunteering with the Coalition spreading the word about smart meters. The talk started with a description of electrohypersensitivity, a condition Hoffelinck himself claimed to suffer from. The human
Local bottle depot Happyface recycling may be closing its doors as of June 30, if the little company that could and product stewardship corporation Encorp don’t see eye to eye. At the moment, Happyface’s contract with the company has lapsed, and a new one has yet to be signed. Encorp Regional Operations Manager Doug Merrier has told depot owner/operator Wendyle Jones that unless Happyface accepts the agreement as it stands, Encorp’s third party transporters will cease pickups from the Nakusp-based depot. For Jones, who has serious reservations about the contract, this
could very well mean the end of what was an increasingly successful business. July 5
Casseroles’ clang heard in New Denver In one corner of the Hidden Garden Gallery, a small party of New Denver residents quietly unwrapped the pots and pans they had brought with them and took to the streets on Wednesday, June 27, 2012. The small parade was a show of solidarity with Les Casseroles in Montréal, the movement that started as a student protest against increased tuition fees, which quickly turned into a demonstration against the current economic inequity in our society and has now bloomed into a much larger statement against measures taken by the government to quell social protest. Most readers, I’m sure, are well
See NEWS page 2
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