Revelstoke Times Review, February 27, 2013

Page 1

ROD & GUN CLUB AWARDS BANQUET PHOTO GALLERY: Award winners and new lifetime member - 24

E

V

E

L

S

T

O

K

E

$1.25

It’s On, It’s Off - 13

1

PM40050491

50 0 1 6

Weds., February 27, 2013 www.revelstoketimesreview.com Vol. 115, No. 09

78195

TIMESReview

7

R

Residents vote on long-term sustainability priorities Aaron Orlando

editor@revelstoketimesreview.com

Climate adaptive landscaping? An urban forest plan? Greeley Creek watershed protection? Illecillewaet Greenbelt management plan? A backcountry recreation plan for the region? A food security charter? Financial awareness initiatives? A storm-water management plan? Stable paramedic staffing? More inter-generational activities? Better small and homebased business support? An arts centre at Mountain View School? This is just a small sampling of may ‘priority actions’ residents voted on as part of an Integrated Community Sustainability Plan (ICSP) fair at the community centre on Feb. 21. Residents placed stickers next to ideas they’d like to see move forward over the 20-year plan. Many of the ideas were generated during planning sessions in late 2012. Consultant Peter Russell explained the ICSP is an umbrella plan that charts a course for the city over the

next 20 years. “It’s going to be an overarching plan,” Russell said, explaining it helped coordinate the dozens of other planning documents the city has created over the past decade. “This is a high-level plan and a long-term plan.” ICSP committee member Kevin Dorrius said he was impressed with the plan so far. “It’s been a real interesting process,” he said. “It’s meant to be a guiding tool.” Dorrius, a business analyst with Community Futures Revelstoke, helped bring economic input to the ICSP. Consultants working on the plan have struggled to convey the plan was not a ‘green’ plan, but one that sought to balance economic and social development as well as environmental concerns. Past iterations of the ICSP were known as Community Development Action Plans, but the new ‘sustainability’ wording caused some to assume it was primarily environment-related.

ICSP, page 3

Consultants, staff and residents look through an information display on the City of Revelstoke’s ongoing Integrated Community Sustainability Plan on Feb. 21. Residents used stickers to vote on their priorities for city and community initiatives over the course of the 20-year, long-term plan. The report is near completion and will head to city council for comment and approval in the coming months. Aaron Orlando/Revelstoke Times Review

Avalanche survivor remembers victim as ‘positive’ and ‘always happy’ Alex Cooper

reporter@revelstoketimesreview.com

A view down Greeley Bowl. The skiers were touring in an area to the right of this photo when the avalanche happened. File photo

Holger Achim Fritz was a passionate skier who loved the outdoors. On Friday, he was leading a group of five skiers into the backcountry beyond Greeley Lake when disaster struck. “We knew it was dangerous but Holger was very confident. He was definitely the leader of the group,” David Fritzsche told me. “He was the first, he made the tracks.” The group was skinning up from Greeley Lake towards an out-of-bounds run known as Birthday Chute early Friday afternoon. They weren’t planning on skiing the chute, but were instead going to descend along

the ridge back in bounds. The group was in the alpine and, recognizing the avalanche hazard, they decided to go one at a time up the slope. Fritz went first while the other four waited in what they thought was a safe spot. “We waited for Holger to traverse. He was maybe 10 metres in front of us and we waited on a spot we thought it was safe,” said Fritzsche. “The guy behind me screamed ... I just saw from the right, coming from top, huge clouds, noise. I set my skis into the direction of the slope, pulled my backpack. Everything was white, there was snow in my mouth. I was tumbling, tumbling.” Fritzsche opened his ava-

lanche airbag and was able to remain above the snow. Another in his group also wound up on top of the debris field. Two others were able to stay out of the avalanche. When the snow settled, they called out to each other to say they were OK. “We thought for a moment everyone was safe,” he said. “We couldn’t see the guys on top and they couldn’t see us. We screamed, ‘We are OK.’ They screamed, ‘We are OK too.’ That was a problem.” When they realized Fritz was missing, they started a search. They found him lower down the slope. He had been swept over some large cliffs.

Avalanche, page 23

"NOBODY WORKS HARDER FOR YOU THAN RE/MAX"

149 Colbeck Road $930,000

1975 Beruschi Road $469,900

55 Johnson Way $249,000

"Right Agents for Today's Market" Revelstoke Realty

1503 Front Street $439,000

#4 - 320 Second St. East $184,350

209 1st St. West, Revelstoke, BC V0E 2S0 250-837-5121/fax: 250-837-7020

revelstoke-realty.com

327 Pearkes Drive $449,000

OMREB

Okanagan Mainline Real Estate Board


Turn static files into dynamic content formats.

Create a flipbook
Issuu converts static files into: digital portfolios, online yearbooks, online catalogs, digital photo albums and more. Sign up and create your flipbook.