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VANDERHOOF WATERSHED P. 2 EDITORIAL P. 6
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Va Ron nd a P er Pa ull-o hoof ge s 7 ut -10
CUPE 4177 P. 3 SENIORS CONNECTED P. 5
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$1.30 Inc. GST Vol. 36 No. 29
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Wednesday, September 18, 2013
Pool concept revealed
The Vanderhoof aquatic facility is in its fundraising stage: a basic design has been decided but many elements and placement of the centre are still up in the air. The interior image of the pool is not final and not a guarantee that it will look exactly like the sketch. Current design specifications show that the pool has a river, a hot pool which could accommodate about 15 people, sprinklers, a water arch, a rope swing and a lap pool. The preferred site to place the centre is on the east side of the arena, in what is right now just the back parking lot. The new parking lot would accommodate people parking at the pool and the arena and would be shaped quite differently than the current lot. The expected cost to build the pool is estimated to be between
$10- $12 million. “We’re just getting into the fundraising end of it all,” said Steve Little, city councillor and representative on the pool commit-
tee. “That’s where we’re at right now and that should be continuing until we hit our target.” Council is speaking to several people
at the UBCM conference who have gone through similar problems with their aquatic facilities and can help Vanderhoof plan and fundraise for the new centre.
Recycling program rejected Sam Redding Omineca Express The District of Vanderhoof has chosen to reject the provinces Incentive program offered by Multi-Material BC (MMBC) for curbside recyclables collection. If Vanderhoof were to accept the conditions of MMBC then the district would have to purchase a second garbage truck resulting in a net loss of about $73,000/year. And the other option would have been to only
use one truck but this would reduce garbage collection from weekly to bi-weekly. The second option would cost the district about $10,000/year. The Stewardship Plan for Packaging and Printed Paper is concept designed by MMBC after new recycling regulations introduced in the province. The goal is force consumers and producers to pay for recycling and save taxpayers money. But this means that each community must front the cost to get the program up and running. Even the City
of Prince George has rejected the offer. “I’m currently hearing from all the other mayors I met with in the regional district and everybody is responding either that they totally reject or that they would accept it if it was done under different formulas,” said Vanderhoof Mayor Gerry Thiessen. “We’ve heard from no communities who have accepted joining up with their program.” Only the bowl area from the river to Prince George hill has service currently. The district is going to look at what kind of ser-
vice Vanderhoof really needs since when the community was expanding, the decision was made to not collect garbage in the expanded area at the time. “We certainly want to see recycling come to Vanderhoof,” said Thiessen. “If this is a provincial program then it has to meet the needs of communities in northern rural British Columbia. The offer that they gave to us, they said that they were willing to negotiate with us but each time our staff talked to them there was no negotiation.”
To help celebrate
CUSTOMER APPRECIATION DAYS Here’s your chance to do something special for your valued customers! Please call ...250-567-9258 or Fax: 250-567-2070 to book your ad space or for more information Published Oct 23 & 25, 2013