OUTDOOR SHINNY
LOTS OF SHOES
Young players enjoy an outdoor game in Keremeos See page 10
SESS elementary students enjoy year end party at the rec centre See page 3
CAWSTON SCHOOL RAFFLE Raffle basket winners See page 8
Review E H
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www.keremeosreview.com
Thursday, January 3, 2013
Vol.15 Number 1
Serving the communities of Keremeos, Cawston, Okanagan Falls and Kaleden
PM Agreement #40012521
$1.15 including HST
Volunteer departments see changes in incident calls By Steve Arstad The Review
Photo by Steve Arstad
Police continue their investigation into a pre Christmas incident at the corner of Tenth Avenue and Bridge Street on December 21. Around 2 p.m., police, ambulance and fire personnel were called to the scene, where a pickup truck had driven off the road, striking a power pole before ending up against the garage of a nearby residence.
The nature of regional district volunteer fire department’s incident calls has been changing in recent years, the Protective Services Committee heard at the December 20 regional district board meeting. Regional district fire departments’ calls to structure fires made up less than 2.5 per cent of total call volumes, while 50 per cent of all fire calls were of a first responder nature, the committee was told. Penticton accounted for 69 per cent of all calls made by dispatch in the regional district, up to the third quarter of 2012, with Kaleden taking up 1.3 per cent. Okanagan Falls took 4.6 per cent of all calls, with Keremeos at 2.8 per cent and Hedley at one per cent. Okanagan Falls led all departments in first responder calls, at 100. Surprisingly, Okanagan Falls and Keremeos both shared the same number of structure fires, at six. There were no high angle rescues performed by regional district fire departments in 2012.
Snowy Christmas in Keremeos makes Seventh Avenue access difficult By Steve Arstad The Review
Keremeos and the Lower Similkameen experienced a snowy Christmas season this year as several days’ accumulation before and after December 25 began to pile up. Pedestrian traffic on Keremeos’ Seventh Avenue had to slog through large amounts of curbside snow
and slushy back alleys in order to access main street businesses through Christmas week. Access to the bus stop on Sixth Street was also an issue through the week as snow piled up on the curb. Street corners were especially difficult for seniors to negotiate, with street snow piled up at the intersections. The Review fielded several complaints from residents on Thursday, December 27 over the unusually large accumulations on the village’s main business block. The village office was closed through Christ-
mas week, but Keremeos Mayor Manfred Bauer noted that village plows were being hampered by vehicles parked in the street through the week. “We don’t have the equipment or the manpower to deal with an excessive amount of snow,” he added in an email response to the Review on December 27. Two village maintenance personnel were available on December 28 to clean up Seventh Avenue and nearby alleys. By New Year’s eve, steady progress had been made to clean up the curbside snow on main, as well as Seventh Street.
START THE NEW YEAR OFF RIGHT! Make a resolution that will have financial results in the years to come! NOW is the time to start or contribute to your TFSA and RRSP.
Matthew Tolley Financial Advisor
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As of January 1st, 2013, the TFSA annual contribution limit will increase to $5500. A reminder that March 1st, 2013, is the last day to make a RRSP contribution for the 2012 tax year. Call or visit us today to make your TFSA/RRSP contributions!
Member Canadian Investor Protection Fund
www.edwardjones.com #3 9150 Main St., Osoyoos 250-495-7255 TF: 877-742-4007 matthew.tolley@edwardjones.com