EAGLE VALLEY
NEWS
Snowy weather contributes to collision on TCH Page 3
Students do well in worldwide math contest Page 9
Wednesday, November 26, 2014 PM40008236
Vol. 59 No. 48 Sicamous, B.C., • 1.25 (GST included) • www.eaglevalleynews.com
Change of season: Jeremy Lafreniere of Sicamous Electric hangs banners celebrating the Christmas season Friday along Main Street. Christmas in Sicamous begins Saturday with the annual Light-up Parade starting at 4:30 p.m., with the parade at 6. For more information, see page 7. Photo by Lachlan Labere
Public input wanted to help make rail trail a reality Trail alliance: Corridor communities encouraged to plan ahead. By Lachlan Labere Eagle Valley News
There’s still opportunity for the Shuswap to become a hub of one of the of the most ambitious trail projects in the province, provided more people get onboard. The Shuswap Trail Alliance is asking the public to help in the push for government support of the Shuswap-North Okanagan rail trail concept that could potentially link Sicamous to other communities along decommissioned rail lines extending to the U.S. border. This includes a connection to the famous Kettle Valley Rail Trails. The District of Sicamous, the cities of Enderby, Salmon Arm and Vernon, the Columbia Shuswap
Regional District and the Splatsin First Nation are already backing the plan, and this summer were successful in garnering support from the Union of B.C. Municipalities for a resolution calling on the B.C. government to “facilitate public acquisition and ownership of abandoned transportation corridors,” and to work with UBCM to develop a funding mechanism, such as a provincewide parcel tax, to help governments or community groups purchase and maintain corridors for public recreational use. Still, for this to be successful, the Trail Alliance’s Lori Schneider Wood says communities along the proposed corridor better have a vision and a plan in place. “I’d guess… there’s maybe a 20 per cent chance of pulling this through right now without having the government levels all saying no,” said Schneider Wood. “So that’s why it’s so important the comSee Sicamous on page 2
Off track: Rails are removed for salvage along CP’s discontinued line from Sicamous to Armstrong. File photo