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Review Vol.17
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Number 24
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Thursday, June 11, 2015
Serving the communities of Keremeos, Cawston, Okanagan Falls and Kaleden
Flasher targets youth
015 Scott’s Ride 2
Tara Bowie Review Staff
Photos courtesy of Facebook group - Scott’s Ride
By the time many of you read this edition, Keremeos resident Debbie Vernon should have completed her more than 4,000 kilometre bicycle ride to Ottawa, Ontario. Vernon biked her way to the capital in honour of her brother Scott who died of mitochondrial disease in 1985. Vernon was accompanied by mom Linda Pilon, who completed the trek by bicycle along with her daughter in 2011 during the first Scott’s Ride. This time Pilon drove the support vehicle along with great-grandchildren Quinn Davy, 18 months, and Aiden Bailey, 5. A full story of the Scott’s Ride will appear in an upcoming edition. For more information about mitochondrial disease visit www.mitocanada.org.
It’s unclear why the RCMP took almost two months to release information to the public surrounding a report of a man allegedly exposing himself to a young girl near Keremeos. RCMP issued a release Friday morning about the incident that took place April 16 at about 5:40 p.m. Cpl. Dave Tyreman, a media relations officer for the RCMP, said the release wasn’t so much a news release but a public notice in hopes of advancing the investigation. Tyreman who is based out of Prince George works with investigating officers in several different RCMP branches and helps filter information out to media and the public. He said he was not aware why investigating officers did not ask to issue a release earlier. “We put this release out looking for information from the public to identify this individual,” he said, adding later in the interview with the Review, “the most important thing is identifying this person so this doesn’t happen again.”
Although he couldn’t speak specifically to the details of the current case, Tyreman speculated that there are many reasons officers might release information several weeks or months after an incident. Reasons include the investigative officers have identified a suspect but need the public’s assistance in placing the person in the area including surveillance video and eye witness accounts.
Police also might issue a release weeks after the fact if a lead turns cold or if they think a person of interest might flee before being caught if the information is released earlier. Cpl. Sean Hall, the acting commander of the Keremeos detachment, was unavailable to provide information about why the release was not issued earlier as he is currently working
an unrelated case in Penticton. Although little was released about the incident a lengthy description of the man and the vehicle was provided. The man was described as being; light skin, possibly Caucasian in his late 20s with short black hair, approximately 1-2 inches long. The man has dark coloured eyes, approximately 5’7” tall, slender build with muscular arms. The man possibly has acne. He has a tattoo of a lizard or dragon on his right upper arm and has rings on every other finger on both hands. He has a piercing on his left eyebrow and was wearing a gold bracelet on his wrist at the time of the incident. The man was clean shaven. Vehicle driven is believed to be a red single cab Ford pickup truck. It may have had an Alberta Licence plate on it with a trailer hitch on the back with a tennis ball. If you have any information, or saw anyone fitting this description, please contact the local Detachment at 250499-5511 or Crimestoppers at 1-800-222-8477 (TIPS).
Christmas hamper program could end without new committee Review Staff
The future is uncertain for a long running program that provides more than 125 people the food needed for a Christmas dinner. The current board of the South Similkameen Christmas Hamper Committee is stepping down, a letter to the editor received by the Review from the committee stated. “It is now time to pass on the torch,” the letter read. Joan Popovich, one of the first members of the committee said it’s time new blood takes over the important program. “It’s been almost 15 years. It’s
time to give up the reins,” she said in an interview Tuesday with the Review. “I still remember that first year. It’s been wonderful giving back to the community in this way but it’s time someone else took over.” Her reason for stepping down at this time is that she wants to spend a relaxed Christmas season with family without all the extra work. “It is quite busy. I would like to have a Christmas and spend time with family,” she said. The board is hoping someone or a group of volunteers will step forward sometime over the summer so they have time to organize the
hamper program starting in the fall. The South Similkameen Christmas Hamper Committee was started about 14 years ago when a need was recognized. Many families and individuals go without a Christmas meal each year because they can’t afford it. “When it started out it was actually churches doing it and it got away from that over time,” she said. About 125 individuals and families receive a hamper each year through the program. That number has remained fairly steady since the program started. “What most people don’t realize
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is that it isn’t just young families. It’s a lot of seniors that are on fixed incomes that just can’t afford that extra,” she said. A hamper includes everything needed for a special Christmas meal. Over the years methods of distributing food has differed. Some years vouchers and a small hamper were handed out while other years it was just hampers made up of donated food. This past year vouchers only were given out so people could pick what they wanted for their special meal. Currently the committee works
with just three board members – president, secretary, and treasurer. Several other volunteers attend meetings on a casual basis. The committee usually starts meeting in October and meetings become more regular as Christmas approaches. Popovich said the season can get quite hectic getting closer to the big day but that most of the elements of running the hamper program run fairly smoothly after all these years. Anyone interested in helping organize the program for the 2015 holiday season is encouraged to contact Popovich or Ruby Cavenaille.
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Matthew R. Tolley Financial Advisor #3-9150 Main St., Osoyoos 250-495-7255 1-877-742-4007
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