EAGLE VALLEY
NEWS
Councillor OK with water plant cost increase Page 3
Veterans to receive France’s highest honour Page 6
Wednesday, February 18, 2015 PM40008236
Vol. 60 No. 7 Sicamous, B.C., • 1.25 (GST included) • www.eaglevalleynews.com
Grant sought to fund waste water upgrade
$1.85 million: Sicamous’ share to be paid through DCCs and reserves. By Barb Brouwer Eagle Valley News
District of Sicamous council voted unanimously to support a Small Communities Fund application in the amount of $1.85 million for the wastewater treatment plant upgrade. There were two related motions on the table at council’s Feb. 11 regular meeting, one for $1.7 million for an upgrade without collection system generators, and the pricier one including the generators. Council chose the more expensive option, with Sicamous’ one-third share being funded through a combination of development cost charges and reserves. Mayor Terry Rysz said the district could have gone the cheaper route now and add the generators later, but decided to get the upgrade completed once and for all. Rysz says council thoroughly discussed the matter and did an inspection of the plant before deciding to move ahead with the grant application. “The community is definitely looking to improve the system; we’re kind of maxed out on it, so we definitely have to address it,” said Rysz. “For any future development, we need to get this plant in order.” The mayor says True Consulting has also done an inspection and given direction as to what upgrades they think are needed to bring the plant in compliance with the district’s waste management permit (issued by the Ministry of Environment) and related discharge and capacity limitations. “The application for the grant goes to government for approval and the rest remains to be seen,” he said. “Actually, I feel very comfortable that we will get support on that funding application.” And taxpayers will likely feel more comfortable when they learn Sicamous’ one-third share will come from money that has already been put aside. “There are a multitude of eligible project categories for this grant application; however, the wastewater treatment plant upgrade is the largest in scope for the district at this time,” wrote chief financial officer Kelly Bennett in her report to council. “In addition, this application is planned to be submitted as part of the Gas Tax Strategic Fund Grant program, which supports local government infrastructure which is larger in scale, has a regional impact or is innovative.”
Canadiana: A Mountie, hockey player and a beaver figure prominently in Dodie Thoms’ contribution to the Sicamous Banner Project. This year’s theme is the 50th Anniversary of the Canadian flag, celebrated nationally on Feb. 15. Banner painting runs until Feb. 27, upstairs at the rec centre, Monday to Friday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Completed banners are hung downtown for the summer. Photo by Victoria Rowbottom
Mudslide damages home, closes highway Weather: Rain and warm temperatures believed cause of events. By Lachlan Labere Eagle Valley News
The recent warm, wet weather contributed to another mudslide in the Shuswap, causing significant damage to a Mara home. On Monday at approximately midnight, a mudslide occurred 13 kilometres south of Sicamous. The slide closed HIghway 97A until about noon, when it was reopened to single-lane traffic. This followed an aerial inspection by the Ministry of Transportation
and Infrastructure to determine the extent of the slide and its effects. Both lanes were clear as of Tuesday morning. Sicamous RCMP reported the slide had also damaged a residence as well as vehicles and a boat stored on the property, and the residence had been safely evacuated. Ministry spokesperson Sonia Lowe confirmed this, adding Emergency Management BC and the North Okanagan Regional District had been contacted
to provide support and assistance. “Several vehicles parked on the property were pushed onto the highway and these have been removed by our crews,” said Lowe. Both police and Lowe said no injuries had been reported resulting from the slide. On Feb. 9, a smaller mudslide forced a partial closure of 97A between Swansea Point and Sicamous Creek. The day prior, a road gave way in Anglemont Estates in
the North Shuswap, destroying a seasonal residence. On Tuesday, Feb. 16, a section of Foothill Road in Salmon Arm was closed after a 30-metre stretch of roadside near Mt. Ida Cemetery sloughed down the adjacent embankment. This was attributed to the ground beneath the road having become oversaturated from a nearby creek. More of the same weather – rain, sun and temperatures up to seven degrees – is expected for this week.