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June 12, 2013
George Elliot remembered at namesake school
Inside
Norm Letnick, re-elected MLA for Kelowna-Lake Country, has been appointed to be Premier Christy Clark’s parliamentary secretary for intergovernmental affairs. ...............................
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A new truck will help Lake Country firefighters deal with blazes that encroach on both housing and forested areas. ...............................
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Flyers ■ Home Depot ■ JYSK ■ Lake Country Builders ■ Rona ■ Shoppers Drug Mart
Students attending George Elliot Secondary School in Lake Country won’t have to go far to figure out exactly who George Elliot was. The Lake Country Museum and George Elliot Secondary School have unveiled an exhibit at the school, taking a look at the man who the school is named after, and telling his story. The exhibit includes photographs and personal items belonging to Elliot including his wallet, professional teacher’s card and licenses, gym whistle, pen and notebook. The items on display were recently donated to the Lake Country Museum by the Elliot family. “This is a great opportunity for our students to learn about local history; rather than just thinking of their school as a name, they now can learn about the man behind the name and the values he stood for,” said Lea. “We look forward to working with the Lake Country Museum through future projects.” George Elliot was born in Paisley, Ontario in 1902 and moved to Vancouver when he was 12 years old. After completing his education, he taught in Mapes (Vanderhoof area) for six
CONTRIBUTED
THE GEORGE Elliot exhibit, at secondary school
named after him, was unveiled late last month with principal Derek Lea (left) and Elliot family members Jim, Alan, Dave, Jean and Audra Elliot .
months before securing his position at Winfield Public School in 1923. The school had two classes, the junior grades, 1 through 4 and senior grades, 5 through 8. Elliot served as teacher and principal at Winfield Public School for 26 years, now home to the Lake Country Boys and Girls Club and community organizations. Elliot married Dorothy Monford of Kelowna in 1924. They had two sons, Alan and Doug, and the family lived in the teacherage beside the school for a number of years. Elliot shared his love of sports with his sons and took the boys fishing in Joe Rich during summers. In addition to his work as teacher and
principal for the community, he was involved in many aspects of community service. He was a member of the Farmer’s Institute and he held the office of president and secretary of the Community Hall Board where he was instrumental in the building of the Winfield Memorial Hall. Elliot also organized the Eureka Branch of the Canadian Red Cross, the first in British Columbia. Although Elliot had asthma, he was a skilled athlete, a dedicated coach and umpire. He was one of the organizers of the Rural Schools Track Meets. He had a passion for baseball and was the captain of the local team for several years. It is said that he secured his job as teach-
er at the Winfield Public School when Tom Duggan, secretary of the school board, realized that he played baseball in Vancouver and would be an asset to the local team. Elliot also enjoyed playing badminton at the old Seaton Packinghouse. In 1949, at the age of 48, Elliot died during treatment of asthma in Kelowna General Hospital. Derek Lea, principal of George Elliot Secondary School, worked closely with the Lake Country Museum to develop the exhibit.
Museum curator Dan Bruce said the school played a big part in getting the exhibit together. “This is a significant exhibit for the museum and the school,” said Bruce. “George Elliot was instrumental in the community-building of Lake Country and the opportunity to present his history at the school named after him has been incredibly rewarding. The museum especially thanks museum volunteer Karen Gibbons for designing the exhibit.” The exhibit opening
was hosted by George Elliot Secondary School principal Derek Lea and staff, and attended by Elliot’s son Alan (of Kelowna), daughter-in-law Jean (son Doug died in Winfield), and grandchildren Jim (Winfield), and Dave and Audrey (Kelowna), museum staff and directors and Mayor James Baker. For more information about the exhibit or local history, you can contact the Lake Country Museum at 250-766-0111 or go to the web site at www.lakecountrymuseum.com.
Council upholds bylaws, despite staff recommendation KEVIN PARNELL Lake Country council has gone against a recommendation from its staff and will force a veteran Lake Country builder to go back and alter the construction of
a massive house in Okanagan Centre to bring it into compliance with Lake Country bylaws. That’s despite the fact that the builder—who requested his name be withheld from publication—was erroneous-
ly given the OK to build the house from staff at the District of Lake Country (DLC). DLC staff originally approved plans for the house in Okanagan Centre but after it was built to the fram-
ing stage, including shingling the roof, the DLC realized the eave of the home’s roof encroached on the allowable two metre setback from the neighbouring property line. Under DLC bylaws,
an eave may encroach two feet into that allowable zone but the district found that this particular eave was encroaching about three feet. DLC staff told council it shared the blame with the builder, admit-
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ting that staff had missed the encroachment in the development process. Planner Mark Koch also said it’s up to the developer to know the current bylaws and stated
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