ENTERTAINMENT
WEST
THE KELOWNA Minor Hockey Association has much to feel positive about this season.
SUPER 8 is an original play that will be the premiere production for the New Vintage Theatre, a new theatre company in Kelowna.
AFTER much complaining, West Kelowna city council has changed its mind and will abandon the planned Hockeyville electronic highway billboard sign idea.
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THURSDAY January 17, 2013 The Central Okanagan’s Best-Read Newspaper www.kelownacapnews.com
▼ COURT
Impaired driving sentencing faces a further delay Cheryl Wierda CONTRIBUTOR
Kelowna Mayor Walter Gray .
▼ KELOWNA FAMILY Y
Feds kick in $250,000 to replace floor ASSISTANT EDITOR
There may be a ceiling when it comes to the amount of money the federal government will provide municipalities for infrastructure replacement, but that’s not the case with the floor. Ottawa, as confirmed by local MP Ron Cannan, is giving the city $250,000 to help rebuild the crumbling concrete floor beneath the women’s changing room at the Kelowna Family Y, a repair that both the city and the Y say is urgently needed. The floor in the
31-year-old building has cracked in several places and is currently being shored up by a large number of metal brace poles in the boiler room below. “This (work) is needed quite urgently,” said city buildings manager Kevin Van Vliet. “It’s a structural concern.” The federal money will be added to $600,000 that the city has already set aside for the work. The new floor is scheduled to be installed over a four month period beginning this spring. During the construction, the facility will remain open to the public.
The work will, however, mean the women’s changing room at the Y will have to be temporarily relocated within the building. Mayor Walter Gray praised the feds for helping the city maintain one of its infrastructure assets, noting if city buildings are not kept up, they cease being of any use to the community. “Maintaining public assets is very much a priority in Kelowna,” said Gray. But he noted that the cost of maintaining infrastructure—such as roads, bridges and buildings— is often too much for tax-
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payers to bear alone. That’s why the federal and provincial governments are often asked to help out. Gray made no apologies for asking for federal money, noting his city’s residents pay taxes to Ottawa and they expect to see some of that money returned to help pay for infrastructure. The Family Y building in Rutland is owned by the city and operated under contract by the YM-YWCA. The recreation centre includes a pool, exercise equipment, and rooms where recreation programs are pro-
IN THE OKANAGAN VALLEY SINCE 1977
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vided for both adults and children. Cannan agreed with Gray about the need for federal funding here, noting that there is “only one taxpayer,” and part of the federal Community Infrastructure Improvement Fund ‘s mandate is to help pay for repairs to aging infrastructure in municipalities across the country. The existing fund’s mandate expires at the end of March 2014 and negotiations are already underway with the Federation of Canadian Municipalities about how the next round of funding should look, said Cannan.
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ALISTAIR WATERS/CAPITAL NEWS
STANDING outside the Kelowna FamilyY facility in Rutland are (from left) MP Ron Cannan, theY chief executive officer Sharon Peterson and
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A Kelowna man convicted of impaired driving following a crash that killed a six-year-old boy and injured his mother will have to wait to find out how long he will spend in jail after Crown and defence asked for dramatically different sentences. Cody Wengenmayr, 21, was over the legal limit when he struck Trey Alphonse, 6, and his mother, Iris, as they jaywalked across Highway 97 just after 10 p.m. on Aug. 30, 2010. Trey died and his mother was injured. “I can’t apologize enough for what I have done,” Wengenmayr told the court Tuesday during his sentencing hearing. “I am very sorry for the pain and suffering I caused (the Alphonse family).” Calling his actions that night “stupid,” Wengenmayr said he “can only hope other people learn a lesson from my mistake.” The consequence for that mistake should be a three to four year jail term, argued Crown counsel Dave Ruse, citing case law that suggests a two to five year sentence for first time offenders. Defence counsel David Johnson argued case law suggests a sentence of between 1-4 years, but said the Wengenmayr case is “unusual.” “Nowhere could I find a similar fact pattern” in the case law used to guide sentencing submissions, said Johnson. He argued for a sentence of 90 days, to be served intermittently, or, alternatively, a sentence of no more than one year. “This is no clear cut case, where the blame rests solely on Mr. Wengenmayr,” said Johnson. Although Wengenmayr is “morally at fault,” he suggested the judge needs to “balance” that with Iris Alphonse’s decision to jaywalk that night. Crown noted other drivers were able to see Alphonse crossing the road and stop. Johnson also argued that Wengenmayr only displayed “minimal” signs of impairment that night. “It’s obviously a lesson to us,” said Johnson, noting people often go out for a few beers and think they’re fine. “The thing this case points out quite clearly is there are effects from alcohol that a person might not notice but are present.”
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