NEWS PENTICTON WESTERN
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Okanagan drivers paying heed to drinking and driving laws
VOL. 48 ISSUE 18
Canada’s top country band coming to Peachfest
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WEDNESDAY, March 5, 2014
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entertainment Arts council recognizes Leydier’s contributions
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sports Vees take Interior Division with two wins over SilverBacks
CITY NIXES CULL
Caron came loaded with alternate suggestions, including the use of herding dogs, contraceptives and simply not putting in plants deer like to feed Deer in the Penticton area can breathe a huge on. sigh of relief. After the 6-2 vote, she says she is guardedly opAfter years of discussing the deer problem, pub- timistic, but expects the subject of deer control will lic input and many hours of research by city staff, resurface. Penticton city council dropped all plans to deal “This is ongoing, it will come back up. If we are with deer inside city limits, including moving in where wildlife lives, there the plan approved last month to try has to be some sort of agreement relocation. about living together,” she said. “If “There just seem to be too many those thousand houses get built up on impediments and too many obstacles. Naramata Road, we’re moving again It is now going to go back to the ininto territory where there is going to dividual to deal with the situation in be deer.” their own yards,” said Mayor Garry Coun. Judy Sentes said she wanted Litke, who initiated the relocation I refuse to say to be clear the city wasn’t giving up concept. the problem entirely, but would it’s your fault on According to Coun. Helena Kocontinue to enforce the bylaw forbidnanz, the city has already invested you hit a deer. ding feeding of deer and educating too much time, energy and money on the public. — Wes Hopkin “I don’t feel it (relocation) is apdeer already. She was happy not to be propriate, I don’t see it as being sucspending even more to relocate them. cessful and I will say again, I am “I think we have just saved not sure what the problem is,” said $15,000. We need to move on. I feel bad for the amount of time staff has been spending Sentes. “There have been fears expressed, but we have on this when we have more important things to do no documentation to support those fears.” in the city,” she said. Education wasn’t enough for Coun. Wes HopKey to this change of heart was a letter received on Feb. 28 from the provincial government detail- kin, who, along with Coun. Andrew Jakubeit, voted ing problems with the proposed relocation plan, in- against simply abandoning the relocation plan. “We have to take some action because there is cluding the proposed site and the effect the process would have on the deer. More community consul- no way to remove the human error which could lead to a safety problem,” said Hopkin. “I refuse to tation would also be needed. “It was shocking to receive the communica- say it’s your fault you hit a deer.” That too, said Litke, shouldn’t be considered the tion from the ministry of the environment creating a whole new bunch of obstacles,” said Litke, who sole responsibility of the city. “It is not the responsibility of government to thought the ministry was in support after discussprotect people from every risk or every harm they ing the plan with their representatives. Litke’s move to put the onus on landowners might encounter in their life. We don’t have that jibes with the opinion expressed by Heather Caron, capability,” he said. Coun. John Vassilaki, who admitted he once who led a delegation at council Monday to plead struck a deer, said there is nothing new about that against the relocation plan. “I think we have a human problem,” said Caron. situation. “There are always deer on the road, there are “The city and the taxpayers are not responsible for individual landowners and them having deer always mishaps that happen,” said Vassilaki. “In most cases, it is road conditions or speeding in their backyards. It is their responsibility, if they that causes those accidents. We just have to respect don’t want that situation to occur, to deal with it. nature, just like we expect nature to respect us.” “It is not the city’s problem.” Steve Kidd
NEWS PENTICTON WESTERN
MOTORING TO FAIR — Charley Smith, a Grade 8 student from McNicoll Park Middle School in Penticton, with a model prototype of a car he designed that is fuelled by wood. His exhibit tied for third overall Monday at the annual Kiwanis Club and School District 67 (Okanagan Skaha) Science Fair at Summerland Secondary School. The young student will now go to the regional science fair with a chance to earn a spot in the national competition later this year.
Mark Brett/Western News
Western News Staff
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