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LINDA DROPE of Kelowna was one of hundreds of local athletes competing at the recent Jack Brow Track and Field meet.
COLUMNIST Laura Mills says staff meetings at work tend to focus on task and process, while long-term strategizing sometimes gets lost in the time shuffle.
JAZZ TRUMPETER Chris Botti returns to Mission Hill Family Estate Winery in West Kelowna for an outdoor concert July 12.
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83 serving our community 1930 to 2013
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A straight-shaft grass trimmer for heavier-duty use around the home. Regular $279.95
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1892 Spall Road, Kelowna • 250-868-1010
THURSDAY July 4, 2013 The Central Okanagan’s Best-Read Newspaper www.kelownacapnews.com
Woman stabs bus driver with a needle Jennifer Smith
BEAT THE HEAT…
STAFF REPORTER
JENNIFER SMITH/CAPITAL NEWS
▼ AGRICULTURE
Another Kelowna packinghouse to close STAFF REPORTER
Efforts to consolidate operations of the B.C. Tree Fruits Cooperative in the north and south ends of the valley are moving along with the sale of the Vaughan Avenue packinghouse in Kelowna last week. The adjacent Clement Avenue facility was sold this spring, with that deal to be completed later this summer, leaving only a cold storage facility and administration and sales offices in Kelowna. This year’s cherries and Bartlett pears will still be packed at the Vaughn Avenue plant, but after that the facility will close, says B.C. Tree Fruit Cooperative chief executive officer Alan Tyabji.
JUDIE STEEVES/CAPITAL NEWS
APPLES ready for shipment from the soon to be closed Vaughan Avenue fruit packinghouse in Kelowna.
It’s all part of the downsizing that has become necessary because of reduced apple production in B.C. The property sales will help grower-members of the co-op to get better returns for their fruit, as the operation becomes more lean and efficient, he explained. Scattered hailstorms throughout the valley in the past few weeks have reduced the estimated crop at this year’s harvest by 20,000 bins, (around 18 million pounds) of apples, says Tyabji. That accelerated the planned shutdown of the Vaughan Avenue plant. The remaining fruit can be run through the plants in Oliver, Osoyoos and Winfield, where a $7.5 million upgrade is to be complete for this year’s harvest. The matter of staffing is still being
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discussed with the union, he said. “We all care for the welfare of the employees affected by the declining tonnage,” he added, as details of the future plans for the co-op packing plants were not available. But, Tyabji said the co-op is also committed to achieving the best possible returns for grower-members. The downsizing and closure of the Kelowna facilities is part of the co-op’s long-term strategy, and is based on a reduced crop volume. The BCTFC was formed from the four remaining major co-ops in the Okanagan and Similkameen Valleys in the past few years. It packs, markets, stores and distributes apples, pears, cherries, peaches, apricots, prune plums and blueberries.
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Judie Steeves
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See Stabs A5
(Left to right) Kayla Short, 4, and her sister Jessica, 6, joined Shayla Shea, 7, and her niece Iris Leyva, 6, at the Ben Lee Park entrance fountain where they found just as much fun as the kids inside the popular Rutland water park.
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A woman who is no stranger to the law is alleged to have used a syringe to stab a bus driver Saturday, without provocation, leading to an hourlong manhunt. The 31-year-old suspect, who comes from the Kelowna area and is wellknown to local RCMP, boarded a bus near Banks Road, saying she was heading for Orchard Park Mall, and wound up stabbing the driver when he reached the bus shelter on Main Street near Hoskins Road. The alleged assault occurred at 10:10 a.m., after the other passengers left the bus. The assailant is described as nonchalantly approaching her victim before driving in the needle. “The driver sought immediate medical attention due to the risk of possible transmission of infectious disease,” said Kris Clark, Kelowna RCMP spokesman during a press briefing Tuesday morning. The Canada Day long weekend proved a busy one for RCMP who dealt with more than 230 files on the holiday alone.
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