EaglE VallEy
NEWS
Helping on the farm to feed those in need Page 3
Martin-Patterson shares in men’s doubles win Page 7
Wednesday, September 25, 2013 PM40008236
Vol. 57 No. 39 Sicamous, B.C., • 1.25 (GST included) • www.eaglevalleynews.com
Feast for the senses: Sean O’Reilly breathes in the aroma of a lobster mushroom during the annual Fungi Festival held over the weekend at the Red Barn Arts Centre. The three-day event once again brought together mycologists and mushroom lovers for guided tours, presentations and fine dining. Photo by James Murray
More E. coli cases linked to Gort’s cheese
UBCM: CSRD Area E director Rhona Martin poses with B.C. Premier Christy Clark at last week’s UBCM convention. BC Government photo
Martin named UBCM president
Rhona Martin, Columbia Shuswap Regional District board vice-chair and director for Electoral Area E Rural Sicamous, was acclaimed president of the Union of British Columbia Municipalities for the 2013-14 term. Martin, who was first vice-president last year, was named president at a plenary session on Wednesday, Sept. 18. Martin has been the area director since she was first elected to the CSRD board in 1990. She currently serves as chair of the North Okanagan-Columbia Shuswap Regional Hospital District and sits on several committees – Milfoil Control Planning Committee, Shuswap Economic Development Commission, Shuswap Tourism Committee, Parcel Tax Review Committee, Shuswap Regional Airport Commission, Southern Interior Development Initiative Trust and the Shuswap Lake Integrated Planning Process executive committee.
Search for drowning victim extended
Illness: Apart from one death, all others recovered or recovering.
By Lachlan Labere
By Martha Wickett
Should additional products be recalled as part of the ongoing food safety investigation, the CFIA will immediately inform the public.” Currently, 15 varieties of Gort’s cheeses have been recalled. The notice continues: “There is currently no indication
Another two outings are planned in the ongoing search for the body of a missing Calgary man. Royal Canadian Marine Search and Rescue #106 Shuswap Station leader Rob Sutherland says marine search and rescue volunteers and the RCMP plan to return to Cinnemousun Narrows on Sept. 28 and 29 to try again to locate the body of Kevin Boutilier, who went missing in Shuswap Lake on Aug. 24 and is presumed drowned. Sutherland says police and search and rescue possess photos taken two minutes prior to Boutilier
See Owners devastated on page 2
See Photos on page 2
Eagle Valley News
The news just keeps getting worse. As of Monday, the Public Health Agency of Canada issued a notice that seven more cases of E. coli-caused illness linked to Gort’s Gouda Cheese Farm in Salmon Arm are being investigated,
bringing the total to 21. Nine of those cases are in B.C., including a Vernon woman who died in August from the illness, along with one case in Alberta and one each in Saskatchewan, Manitoba and Quebec. Three of the B.C. cases are in the Interior Health Authority. Except for the one death, all other cases In Canada have
recovered or are recovering, states the agency. The notice adds that “certain contaminated cheese products manufactured by Gort’s Gouda Cheese Farm… have been identified as the source of the illnesses. The Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) has issued a Health Hazard Alert warning the public not to consume the affected product.
Eagle Valley News