PROVING GROUND | Wrestling match raises funds for Vernon Jubilee Hospital Foundation [A18]
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2008 Pontiac Montana Srk# P13-727D
The
Friday, April 3, 2015
P R O U D L Y
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O K A N A G A N
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4703 - 27th St. VERNON • 250-545-0606
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Hotel tax adds up for city
TRAIL VIEW
RICHARD ROLKE Morning Star Staff
LISA VANDERVELDE/MORNING STAR
Bob Houston hikes the trails at McKergow Meadows Park as he goes on a geocache hunt Thursday while enjoying the sunny skies.
Lucky ticket sold in Vernon JENNIFER SMITH Morning Star Staff
This is no joke, an April Fool’s Day Lotto 6/49 winner, believed to be from Vernon, still hasn’t claimed their millions. A winning ticket of more than $5 million was purchased in Vernon for Wednesday night’s draw. The winning numbers are: 4, 7, 12, 16, 22 and 24. “It’s not unheard of for people to take weeks, months, even 364 days,” said Chris Fairclough, BCLC spokesperson. “They do have 52 weeks to claim it, although I wouldn’t advise it.” The Vernon ticket is rare as it is
one of six winning tickets splitting the nearly $35 million jackpot. The other winning tickets are from Quebec (two) and Ontario (three). Each will receive $5,827,979.10. “It’s incredibly rare to have six winning tickets on a jackpot,” said Fairclough. Eagerly excited Vernon residents are also cautioned that the winner may in fact be from out of town, and have picked up the ticket in Vernon on their way through. The odds of matching six out of the six numbers in 6/49 are one in 13,983,816.
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JENNIFER SMITH/MORNING STAR
A Lotto 6/49 ticket purchased in Vernon is a more than $5 million winner.
There are more people staying in Vernon hotels and motels and that’s boosting the economy. The City of Vernon received $535,746 in hotel room tax in 2014, up 22 per cent over 2013. As a result, the two per cent tax on room stays equates to room revenue of $26.8 million being generated by accommodators. This is an increase of $4.9 million. “We saw new accommodators in the last few years but to see growth of 22 per cent is pretty exceptional,” said Kevin Poole, the city’s economic development manager. “That’s all dollars back into accommodators’ pockets and hopefully it benefits other businesses.” In fact, Poole says people who stay at local hotels and motels wind up spending money at restaurants and shops, and exploring various attractions in the area. The $535,746 in hotel room tax will be used by the city to market Vernon as a tourism destination. “It means more money to increase our profile in the main markets of the Lower Mainland and Calgary,” said Poole. Along with traditional means of advertising, such as newspapers, magazines, TV and radio, the city is also emphasizing social media. That strategy includes websites, Facebook and Twitter. “We want to engage with visitors who want to learn about Vernon,” said Poole. However, to do all of that is challenging as there’s strong competition from other communities for tourists. “There are a lot of beautiful places in B.C. and it’s difficult to compete against larger markets but this increase in the budget will help,” said Poole. The highest-revenue generating months for hotel room tax in 2014 were $89,567 in August, $71,608 in July, $60,983 in June and $46,008 in May.
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