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April 16, 2014
▼ CHARITABLE CAUSE
Inside
Lake Country food bank opens own thrift store KEVIN PARNELL
George Elliot students to learn some real-life lessons when Kevin Brooks tells them the story of how he became paraplegic and restricted to a wheelchair. ...............................
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Medals and motherhood are a natural combination for Winfield mom and Canadian Adult Figure Skating gold medal winner Karen BlythSmith. ...............................
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Flyers ■ Home Depot ■ Jysk ■ Kal Tire ■ News Marketing ■ Rona ■ Save On ■ Shoppers
When Lake Country student Madeline Muir was thinking about topics for a speech project in her Grade 6 class at Davidson Road elementary, she had zeroed in on a topic she thought would work. The assignment was to write something that would promote positive change in the world. Then spring break arrived and everything changed. Over the two week holiday from class, Muir’s mother Connie decided to take her kids to volunteer at the Lake Country Food Bank, responding to an ad that volunteers were needed. When Connie, Madeline and brother Malcolm showed up at the food bank, they were asked to help out at the
Madeline Muir food bank’s thrift store and its planned new location on Berry Road. And the focus of Madeline’s speech about making positive change in a community changed with her experience at the food bank. “It was supposed to be a topic that was close to our heart,” said Madeline, who spent a large part of her spring break helping to stock shelves and get the thrift store ready. “We worked from
CONTRIBUTED
VOLUNTEERS help to set up the new Lake Country Food Bank Thrift store on Berry Road. 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. every day. I was so tired but I couldn’t wait to go back. The people there were so kind and I felt really good doing it, knowing that I was helping people. I knew in my heart they really appreciated our help.” Back and forth Madeline and her family went over spring break as they caught the volunteering bug, heading in to help move the thrift store
from the food bank to an actual store-front. After working for most of the two week spring break, Madeline returned to class with her completed project and presented it to her classmates. “How it works is tons of amazing people donate their items, then the thrift store sells them, and finally all the proceeds are given to the food bank,” Madeline
wrote in her speech that she read to the volunteers at the food bank and to her classmates at Davidson Road (where she received 94/100 for a mark). “None of this would be able to happen without all of the amazing volunteers.” And this week those amazing volunteers have opened up the doors at the new Lake Country Food Bank Thrift store, located across from the
RCMP building. “This is much better, there is more room and great exposure,” said Mary-Ann McCormick, food bank secretary. “It’s a wonderful feeling, but nervous at the same time.” And so when the doors opened on Tuesday and the food bank began a new venture with a brand new thrift
SEE THRIFT STORE A2
▼ B.C. LIBERAL GOVERNMENT
Letnick back in Clark’s cabinet as agriculture minister It’s back to the future for Kelowna-Lake Country MLA Norm Letnick. After serving as B.C.’s agriculture minister prior to the last provincial election under Premier Christy Clark and then being dropped from cabinet to serve as Clark’s parliamentary secretary, Letnick is back in cab-
Norm Letnick
Aly
inet as agriculture minister for a second time. Clark replaced Pat Pimm with Letnick Friday, April 11. He was sworn in by Lt.-Gov. Judith Guichon that afternoon. Pimm, 56, is battling colon cancer and underwent surgery in January. He will continue to serve as MLA for Peace Riv-
er North. Reached in Victoria before his swearing in, Letnick said he does not expect the learning curve associated with taking over as minister to be as steep for him this time as he has only been out of the agriculture portfolio for a year. But there will be challenges and he expects to
learn more in a briefing by ministry staff. “I’m looking forward to getting to work, and that starts with reconnecting with stakeholders, sitting down and working together on our common goal of a sustainable and thriving agricultural sector,” said Letnick. “We’ll work together
to ensure British Columbia’s farmers and ranchers have a bright future, for generations to come.” He said he plans to continue traveling around the province to hear directly from farmers and agricultural organizations and wants to SEE LETNICK A3
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