SUMMERLAND REVIEW THE VOICE OF OUR COMMUNITY SINCE 1908
VOLUME
66
-
ISSUE
NO.
20
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S U M M E R L A N D,
WWW.SUMMERLANDREVIEW.COM
B.C.
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T H U R S D AY,
M AY
16,
2013
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24
PA G E S
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$1.15
INCLUDING
GST
WHAT’S INSIDE:
Celebrating Shakespeare
Students from around the province were in Summerland for the Good Will Shakespeare Festival.
Page 16-17
Tax increase
Property taxes will rise slightly this year in order to meet Summerland’s municipal budget.
Page 7
Wireless access
Summerland will soon have free wireless Internet access for residents and visitors.
Page 12
Tourism plan
The Thompson Okanagan Tourism Association has spent two years developing a 10-year tourism plan for the region.
Page 6
Softball tourney
Teams from Summerland hosted a 24-team softball tournament on the weekend.
Page 19
YOUR SMILE The other day it was so hot I saw a dog chasing a cat — and they were both walking.
Election night celebration
Mark Brett Black Press
Liberal candidate Dan Ashton talks to supporters at his election-night headquarters at the Penticton Ramada Inn and Suites Tuesday night. He was declared the winner about 10 p.m. with half the polls reporting in. With him is daughter Chantal.
Ashton wins riding
Penticton mayor elected here while B.C. Liberals win fourth mandate by Steve Kidd and John Arendt
Dan Ashton started his election night off biting his nails. It wasn’t, though, because the B.C. Liberal candidate was nervous about the election, or even the results of the hockey game playing on the big-screen TV at the Penticton Ramada Inn, where friends and supporters were gathering to watch the election results come in. “I’ve got a hangnail I’m trying to get rid of,” said Ashton, who had put a hard day in working the phones and getting the vote out in the riding. He was successful and by 10 p.m. he had been
declared winner in the Penticton riding. Ashton, however, was cautious though happy at the news. “I sure hope the experts are right,” he said, commenting that only about half of the 184 polls in the riding had reported in so far. By the end of the evening, the trend shown in the earlier results continued. Ashton received support from 45.83 per cent of voters. Next was New Democratic Party candidate Richard Cannings with 40.3 per cent voter support. Sean Upshaw of the Conservatives received 9.25 per cent of the vote while Doug Maxwell of B.C. First received support from 4.62 per cent of voters. Ashton’s election mirrored what was happening across the province, with the polls in Pentic-
ton closer than expected earlier in the campaign. Ashton was still running neck and neck with NDP candidate Dick Cannings when a Liberal majority had been declared in B.C. By midnight, the Liberals were elected or leading in 50 of the province’s 85 ridings while the New Democrats were elected or leading in 33 ridings. One riding was won by an independent candidate and one went to the Green Party. The election is the fourth consecutive majority for the Liberals, who have formed the provincial government since 2001. From six months before the election, polling had indicated an NDP victory, though their margin narrowed to seven per cent as election day neared. See BYELECTION Page 3
Election results
Dan ASHTON B.C. Liberals 10,489
Richard CANNINGS New Democratic Party 9,225
Doug Sean MAXWELL UPSHAW B.C. First Conservatives 1,057 2,117 The Penticton riding election results shown are from Elections B.C. as of midnight on Tuesday. These figures are preliminary results. The final voting results will not be released until after the final voting count on May 27.