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NEW KELOWNA Rockets coaching braintrust watch rookie prospects take to the ice at Prospera Place.
COLUMNIST Marjorie Horne offers some advice on how to start the discussion with aging parents about the need to move from a house to livingassisted or smaller residence.
THE K-TOWN Showdown offered a tasty treat for barbecue grilled food lovers last Saturday.
ALISTAIR WATERS says Westcorp only too happy to dedicate $350,000 to upgrade of Kerry Park next to its new hotel site.
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TUESDAY August 26, 2014 The Central Okanagan’s Best-Read Newspaper www.kelownacapnews.com
▼ REGIONAL PROJECTS
CORN donated by Kelowna Farmers’ and Crafters’ Market vendors last Saturday raised around $326 for the Kelowna Gospel Mission. The homeless facility’s kitchen coordinator Matthew Reimer was serving up delicious ears of corn. “People are loving it,” said Reimer on Saturday. “They’re eating the corn, then asking, ‘Where can I buy it, it’s delicious.’”
Don’t keep First Nations on the sidelines Alistair Waters ASSISTANT EDITOR
Kelowna’s mayor says when it comes to regional projects, such as a bid by several Okanagan municipalities to acquire the unused CN rail line right-of-way between Kelowna and Vernon, it’s vitally important to make sure area First Nations are consulted and included from the start. Walter Gray made the comment Monday during council’s regular meeting in response to local media reports that the Okanagan Indian Band had not been consulted as Kelowna, Lake Country, Coldstream and the North Okanagan Regional District put together a proposal to buy the rail corridor. Kelowna is leading the negotiations for the four local governments. Gray said the OIB was consulted but declined to participate because it has a pending land claim for the Commonage area near Vernon. According to Kelowna city manger Ron Mattiussi, the band also has a “revision clause” for some of the lands along the rail corridor on its reserve that stipulates if CN does not use the lands for the rail line, they revert back to the band. At the council meeting, Gray warned that if First Nations are not involved from the start on major projects such as the rail corridor or the proposed second crossing of Okanagan Lake, there could be problems down the road. But he said in both cases that won’t happen as the OIB was consulted in the case of the rail line and the WFN is part of a technical committee for regional transportation that is looking at second crossing issues. He said the city has very good relationships with both the WFN and the OIB and feels the province has also learned to consult First Nations early on, after it failed to do so when it planned the William R. Bennett Bridge in the mid-2000s. But, while Gray said the province’s failure back then resulted in extra costs for the city when it came to improving the east side approach to the new bridge on Harvey Avenue, Mattiussi said that was not the case. He said the reason Kelowna had to pay more for the east side approach was because the public rejected See Land A4
KATHY MICHAELS/ CAPITAL NEWS
▼ KELOWNA
Still no wine at local farmers’ market Kathy Michaels STAFF REPORTER
The Kelowna Crafters’ and Farmers’ Market is arguably the most popular Saturday morning attraction in the city, but there’s one thing that could make it even more appealing. Market president Martin Miller said Saturday that he’s continually fielding requests from visitors
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wanting to know why the market doesn’t offer winery samplings. Kelowna, after all, is a key player in Canada’s wine industry. “Every week they’re asking me,” he said. “We want to, but we can’t let the wineries in until we have the OK from the city…they already have it in Penticton and Winfield, and there it’s been a great success.” The city will have to
hold a public hearing for that to happen, and they’ll need an application from the market to go through the process. According to Ryan Smith, the City of Kelowna urban planning manager, it’s an application staff have been eagerly anticipating for months. They’re currently working with the market manager to get the required licensing.
Once the application is in, it’s expected to take around eight weeks to jump through all the right hoops, meaning this summer has likely been a missed opportunity for the market to feature local wineries. The Liquor Policy Review recommendation to allow licensed manufacturers of beer, wine, cider and spirits to sell their products at B.C. farmers’
markets was implemented on June 21. To date, more than 100 B.C. liquor manufacturers have set up at farmers’ markets in over 40 communities around B.C. Many of those communities don’t have any discernible relationship with the wine industry, unlike Kelowna.
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