HO HO HO | Popular annual tradition in Enderby known as Santa’s Workshop opens for a new season [A4]
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Snow storm brings smiles to skiers RICHARD ROLKE Morning Star Staff
A winter wonderland has unfolded and that’s great news for skiers. Valley-bottom rain on the weekend has translated into a 50-centimetre alpine base at Silver Star Mountain Resort, meaning the resort’s nordic trails open Saturday. At the adjacent Sovereign Lake Nordic Centre, cross-country skiing begins Friday. “A week ago, it was so mild and warmer here than it was in town. We were getting worried a little bit,” said Anne Haight, the resort’s new sales and marketing director. “But in 24 hours we went from fall to boom. You have to love it.” On Saturday, there will be 53 kilometres of trails available including the Meadow Trail, the Sidewinder, the Tin Tin, the Alder Point Loop, the Comin’ Round The Mountain, Howie’s Loop and Moose Alley. At Sovereign Lake, there is 40 centimetres of snow. “Conditions should be some of the best early-season skiing in the past five years,” said Scott Lemon, SLNC general manager. “We will be opening 25 kilometres of trails, including popular trails Carl Wylie and the World Cup. Trails will be ready for both skate and classic skiing.” And if the snowfall continues, it’s expected that the alpine
season will begin at Silver Star Nov. 28. “I have the skis out and ready to go,” said Haight. “It (season) is here, it’s realistic.” Beyond preparing the trails and watching the weather forecast, Silver Star staff have been busy spreading the word about the resort and the North Okanagan. “Our marketing team just came back from Calgary and there was a good response in Toronto,” said Haight. “I am heading to Seattle this weekend.” Silver Star has also unveiled the MyMtnFlexiCard, which costs $179 and reduces an adult day ticket to $60. The new card is valid for three days of skiing/ snowboarding, any three days of the winter season. The deadline to buy the MyMtnFlexiCard is Dec. 26 and it is available only to residents of B.C., Alberta and Washington State. Haight was the Star’s marketing manager in 2006 and she has more than 20 years experience, including at Sun Peaks and Banff. “We are thrilled to welcome back Anne to the Silver Star family,” said Michael Sherwood, resort general manager. “We know that Anne has the creativity, passion, and fresh ideas to grow Silver Star’s reputation as the premier mountain destination it is.”
SILVER STAR MOUNTAIN RESORT PHOTOS
Silver Star Mountain Resort is preparing to open 53 kilometres of cross-country trails Saturday. A storm on the weekend has translated into an alpine base of 50 centimetres of snow (left) at Silver Star.
Police may have lead in commercial break-ins For the first time in four weeks, there were no commercial break-and-enters in Vernon over the weekend. And police believe they may know why. A man police feel may be responsible for some of the
break-ins is in custody. Five businesses were hit over the three-week period. “He is remanded and there is still a lot of work to be done on this matter,” said Vernon RCMP spokesperson Gord Molendyk. “One or two individuals can create our statistics to go up and down. It
would appear since the arrest of the latest individual, we have seen a decline in activity. Nothing recorded of major commercial break-and-enters in the last few days.” The suspect is a 32-yearold man who was being sought by police as he had an outstanding warrant for
break-and-enter, mischief and breach of probation. Vernon RCMP got lucky as they found the suspect while dealing with another matter. “Our officers went into a house in an attempt to retrieve a stolen television when one of the officers noticed a foot
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sticking out from under a bed,” said Molendyk. “We checked and there he was. We’d been looking between here and the Lower Mainland for him.” Molendyk said the investigation into the break-ins is continuing. “What we have to do is
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find out if we have surveillance tapes or sometimes a witness will come forward,” he said. “There are times we are quite confident that an individual is responsible but you have to prove it in a court of law. You can’t go on assumption. You must have hard evidence.”
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ROGER KNOX Morning Star Staff
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