Bayside Plumbing & Gas Fitting
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Small Business Week Oct. 20-26
Lake Country
Proudly Serving
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Winfield, Oyama, Okanagan Centre and Carrs Landing since 1951
Qualified, reliable, bonded. Over 30 years exp. res./comm. service renovations, new installations, h/water tanks, dishwashers, washers, dryers.
250-317-2279
October 23, 2013
Sustainable living on track in Lake Country
Inside
KEVIN PARNELL
to focus on (see sidebar), such as reducing our reliance on single occupant cars and the health of Kokanee fish stocks in Wood Lake.” The State of Sustainability report was developed as part of Lake Country’s Integrated Community Sustainability Plan (ICSP) that is currently under way. The sustainability goals measured in the report were developed jointly by the district and representatives of the general public, including community associations and arts and culture groups, as well as UBCO and Interior Health. The report was put together by consultants and using a $250,000 grant received from the federal government’s gas tax fund. The full report was presented at a public meeting in Lake Country on Tuesday night and can also be viewed online at www.oursustainablelakecountry.ca. The forum was the public’s chance to com-
ment on the report and to suggest actions that could be taken by the district, community groups and individuals to make Lake Country more sustainable. “I think this is partly a community document for residents and community groups to have an understanding of the initiatives the district is under-taking as well as a great tool for council and policy makers to look at how they can address some of the issues as we move forward,” said Koch. After the forum the consultants will take the feed back and make the necessary changes to the document and it’s hoped that more funding can be acquired in the future to keep updating the document. “Future funding resources are unknown but we would certainly like this to be a living document to see how progress is being made on the goals as identified,” said Koch.
Support your local businesses. .....................
The District of Lake Country has released its first State of Sustainability Report describing the district’s performance on 15 goals in the areas of social, cultural, economic and environmental sustainability. It’s the first of what is expected to be a new report released every two years, allowing the district and the community to keep track of progress on the issues surrounding Lake Country. “Knowing that our progress towards sustainability will be measured and publicly released every two years will help us stay focused and on track,” said Mark Koch, director of planning and development at the DLC. “We are very pleased to see that Lake Country continues to be a safe community with increasing housing choices that appeal to young people and families. At the same time, this report highlights some issues that we need
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Excerpts from the District of Lake Country’s Sustainability Report
Oral health effects your entire body, as outlined by dentists at a recent health forum held at UBC Okanagan. ...............................
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Water Despite over-allocation of water reservoir use, the province continues to issue licenses. ...............................
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Small Business Week
9-16
■ Home Depot ■ JYSK ■ Rona ■ Shoppers ■ Staples
Here is some of what the District of Lake Country’s Sustainability Report, released last week, had to say. Housing Lake Country has steadily improved its
housing diversity over recent years with new townhouse and apartment dwellings in new subdivisions such as The Lakes and the Woodsdale neighbourhood. In recent years, the num-
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ber of new single‐family dwellings has been matched almost equally by the number of new multi‐family dwellings. Traffic accidents The total number of traffic accidents rose dra-
CONTRIBUTED
MEASURING and releasing local sustainability efforts will help the District of
Lake Country stay focused on its goals, said Mark Koch, director of planning and development at the district.
matically in 2010 and has remained at that elevated level since then. The number of fatal accidents is typically one to two per year. These typically occurred on the stretch of Highway 97
along Wood Lake, so the opening of the new highway may result in a reduction in these numbers. Walking Trails About 25 km of walking trails are includ-
ed in the District’s trail guide. This does not include the trails in Jack Seaton Park or the new Pelmewash Parkway
SUSTAINABILITY A5
374,000
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