Wednesday February 12, 2014 www.saobserver.net $1.25 GST Included
Band gives nod to TCH upgrade Hoffman’s Bluff: Another fatal collision takes place Monday. By Martha Wickett OBSeRVeR STAFF
long-requested improvements to the lethal stretch of highway at Hoffman’s Bluff are moving closer to reality. Hoffman’s Bluff, 10 kilometres west of chase, saw another fatality Monday when a pick-up truck and a compact sedan crashed, killing the 25-yearold enderby woman driving the sedan. Moving improvements forward is a vote by the neskonlith Indian Band that saw about 94 per cent of members favour a land transfer to the provincial Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure. In return, the neskonlith will receive land and other benefits. The ministry’s plans include four-laning and realigning three kilometres through Hoffman’s Bluff, 1.2 kilometres of them within the neskonlith reserve #2. Although safety has been a concern for the neskonlith, just as important has been the need to ensure cultural heritage sites are protected. neskonlith chief Judy Wilson says the whole highway corridor is seen as the cradle of the Secwepemc people – a nation of 17 bands occupying the south-central area of B.c. “equally paramount was ensuring ancient burial landforms and village sites were protected, some dating back over 8,000 years old,” said Wilson. “The bands worked collectively on a monument that will be placed near Miner’s Bluff this year to recognize our Secwepemc ancestors and our people who have been here since time immemorial. Our own workers are doing the archaeology, ethnographic studies, and we are learning a lot more about this important corridor which studies indicate is the ‘cradle of Secwepemc’ peoples.” In 2009 an ancient burial ground was uncovered and, in 2013, an ancient village site. Wilson said a lot of work has gone into involving all band members in the process, work which included contacting members individually by going See project on page A2
Homophobic bomb threat leads to evacuation
lAcHlAn lABere/OBSeRVeR
Students at Salmon Arm Secondary’s Jackson campus were evacuated at 2 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 11, after an anonymous threat was made against the school. RCMP report a graffiti bomb threat which included homophobic slurs was noticed in the tunnel under the highway leading to the Jackson campus. Students were evacuated to the Sullivan campus as a precaution and an RCMP explosive-sniffing dog was brought from Kelowna to check the school property overnight. It was expected that school would be open as usual Wednesday morning. Check www.saobserver.net for updates.
Fire guts Tappen residence By Tracy Hughes OBSeRVeR STAFF
A family of five was unharmed but have lost their home following a Sunday afternoon fire on Bolton Road in Tappen. The family, which includes grandparents raising two grandchildren and also living with an adult child, was not at home when the fire broke out in the back of the house at approximately 1 p.m. Feb. 9. “A neighbour of theirs, who happens to be a firefighter was working in his basement when he smelled smoke, when he went upstairs to investigate, he saw the back of the house around the chimney was on fire and called 911,” says Tappen Sunnybrae Fire chief Kyle Schneider.
This week Lena Johnston is up and active as she prepares to mark her 105th birthday. See more on A8. Rebecca Howard is named Canadian Equestrian of the Year. See page A15 for details.
The firefighter ran into the house to make sure no one was inside and managed to rescue the family dog before fire crews arrived on scene. “We were dispatched at 1:07 p.m. and we arrived with 12 firefighters at 1:18. By the time we got there, the whole back of the house was fully engulfed… The house was a total loss. It was an older home with floor to ceiling cedar indoors and sawdust insulation, that didn’t make it easy.” Assistance was also provided by tanker trucks from the White lake and Shuswap fire departments. Schneider says it took firefighters eight hours to fully extinguish the blaze, which took place in bitterly cold conditions. “We had some real issues
pHoTo conTriBuTed
Attacking the fire: Members of the Tappen Sunnybrae Fire Department spray water through the front window of a home on Bolton Road. with the cold freezing our waterlines, our radios kept having to be defrosted, everything was freezing up.” The fire chief offers credit to
the Area c Rehab unit, which came out to ensure that the firefighters were taken care of durSee Quick on page A2
Index Opinion ....................... A6 View Point .................. A7 Life & Times ............... A8 Sports................A15-A19 Arts & Events ... A20-A22 Time Out................... A23 Vol. 107, No. 7, 40 pages