BUDGET APPROVED | Vernon School District cuts three vice principal positions to make budget [A10]
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Friday, May 8, 2015
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Beaches won’t go to the dogs
HIKE FOR HOSPICE
RICHARD ROLKE Morning Star Staff
A tight leash will remain on dog owners. The Greater Vernon Advisory Committee voted Thursday not to allow dogs on beaches at any time of the year. “We heard from a lot of people who are opposed to dogs on beaches,” said director Bob Fleming. “There is vigorous opposition to that idea.” A request for dogs on Kal Beach from Oct. 1 to May 1 came from a resident whose elderly mother lives near Kal Beach and regularly walks her dog there. However, even if the dogs are on the beach, GVAC officials say a health concern exists. “It (ban) is the right thing to do due to some owners not being responsible,” said director Akbal Mund. “It’s for the protection of people who lay in the sand and the kids who play in the sand.” Information from GVAC says contamination from dog waste can lead to e.coli, hookworm and ringworm, and beach sand can act as a reservoir for longliving bacteria. GVAC’s decision came after staff reviewed how other jurisdictions handle dogs on beaches. “The District of Sicamous, the City of Kelowna, the Columbia-Shuswap Regional District and the City of Salmon Arm all prohibit dogs or domestic animals in areas where beach or swimming activities are taking place,” said Keith Pinkoski, parks manager, in a report. “The City of Penticton and Town of Osoyoos allow dog use at public swimming beaches at specific times during the year but generally dogs must be on a leash, and in many cases, they are limited to a promenade or a hard surface that can be cleaned.”
KRISTIN FRONEMAN/MORNING STAR
Amelia Hayden, nine, and Axel Remillard, one, warm up for the Hike for Hospice Sunday at Polson Park. The event raised $39,000 for programs and services offered by the North Okanagan Hospice Society. Elaine Host and Brian McCallion, with Ruth McGrath Dance studio, perform to Grease’s You’re the One That I Want to promote Dancing with the Vernon Stars. Vernon Hospice House volunteer Audrey Sutton walks with Panadda Kosakarn, grief and bereavement counsellor, and retired nurse Nora Fulop.
Politicians remain parked against road plans RICHARD ROLKE Morning Star Staff
Local politicians refuse to budge from opposition to plans for Cosens Bay Road. On Wednesday, Regional District of North Okanagan directors turned down a request from the Cosens Bay Property Owners Society to support a Ministry of Transportation bid to have a 20-metre right-of-way removed from Kalamalka Lake Provincial Park so safety and maintenance
issues can be addressed along the road. “I haven’t heard anything compelling that changes what we discussed,” said director Juliette Cunningham. Directors took a stance April 1 when they adopted a motion opposing a right-ofCunningham way greater than what
VERNON
is needed for safety and drainage measures. CBPOS has stated the right-of-way would allow the transportation ministry to manage the road, which services residents of the Cosens Bay community as well as park users. However, some Greater Vernon residents have protested the plan, saying the right-ofway will negatively impact the park’s ecosystem and could lead to further development at Cosens Bay.
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Director Hank Cameron suggested that a decision on the CBPOS’ request be deferred. “It would be better to hear from B.C. Parks until we discuss it,” he said. But Cunningham questions why RDNO has even sought a delegation from B.C. Parks on the right-of-way issue. “It’s clear B.C. Parks won’t be giving us an opinion. That’s not their role,” she said. “They can’t say anything. They are following a process.”
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