THE www.keremeosreview.com PM Agreement #40012521
Review Vol.16 Number 45
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Thursday, November 6, 2014
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Serving the communities of Keremeos, Cawston, Okanagan Falls and Kaleden
Voters pack hall for fiery debate Tara Bowie Review Staff
Although the meeting was dominated by questions for Area G candidates, village councillor hopefuls did get a few chances to have their voices heard at the Victory Hall all candidate debate last week. The panel included six of the seven councillor candidates – everyone except Bob Thurston who was out of town – and both men running for mayor. The ongoing transient nuisance issue was a topic of interest as candidates fielded a question regarding a possible solution. Councillor candidate Jason Wiebe’s answer solicited applause from many of the 250 people in the audience when he mentioned a recent police report linking property crimes to three or four people who are not transients. Those people have since been charged. “It’s unfair for a people or group potentially being accused of something that is escalating. They are not responsible for this. It was organized criminals that lived in the village,” he said, before thanking the RCMP for catching the offenders. Jeremy Evans, incumbent councillor candidate, described the decade-old problem as inevitable. “You can’t stop them from coming back.” His suggestions align with work already underway – classifying the river bank as an environmentally sensitive area and working
with other government agencies. Arlene Arlow, the other incumbent councillor up for election, said at least part of the solution consists of beefing up legislation with regards to the responsibilities of farms that employ seasonal farm workers. “I think that the farmers have to better care for their farm workers,” she said. Sherry Philpott-Adhikary, who has attended many of the recent council meetings where the transient issue has been discussed, said enforcement is the real issue. “We can put no camping rules in place but what’s that going to do for the issue of enforcement,” she said. Gary Johnson suggested all governments involved need to work together to address the inappropriate behaviour that takes place each year. “Whoever the new council is should start on this as soon as they take office,” he said. Current Mayor Manfred Bauer said steps have been taken to address the issue by working with the Ministry of Forest and the Regional District Okanagan Similkameen. “This will prohibit any of the indivisible activity,” he said. Mayoral candidate Martin Menzies was quick to point out that the real issue is with transients, not farm workers, and that the problem is hard to fix and will take time. He called for fair enforcement on illegal camping and loitering. “We need to deal with the troublemakers.”
Candidate faces accusations Review Staff
A former Area G Director, running against incumbent Angelique Wood in the November 15th municipal election, faced some pointed and even accusatory questions at the October 29th all candidates meeting. Question from the floor regarding a washroom facility built in Hedley more than three years ago emerged numerous times. Elef Christensen, who was Area G director when the project was completed, came under
fire regarding financial decisions impacting the $90,000 project that was funded equally by a provincial grant and the Regional District Okanagan Similkameen. One woman in the audience pointed to a $1,900 consultant fee Christensen claimed through his business Mountain Mist Gift Shop. Tara Bowie When pressed Christensen acknowledged Keremeos councillor and Area G director hopefuls answered the tough questions at the he billed the project for a consulting fee but all candidates meeting last Wednesday at Victory Hall. cont. page 3