TODAY’S WEATHER
Sunny and hot High 34 C Low 16 C
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SAME ARENA, NEW NAME
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Interior Savings Centre will be Sandman Centre
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KAMLOOPS THIS WEEK THURSDAY
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JULY 30, 2015 | Volume 28 No. 91
PROPOSED BOOZE-DISTANCE BYLAW DIES
Coun. Marg Spina’s idea defeated in tie vote, paving way for wine sales in grocery stores ANDREA KLASSEN
STAFF REPORTER
andrea@kamloopsthisweek.com
Kamloopsians may get a chance to buy a bottle of vino from a local grocery store after a proposed bylaw putting distance restrictions on new liquor sales was shot down by city council this week. The proposed bylaw, suggested by Coun. Marg Spina, would have barred new liquor stores from opening within a kilometre of existing shops, effectively barring grocery stores from bringing in one of the province’s new licenses to sell B.C. wines. But, following a public hearing
on Tuesday night, Spina’s proposal died via a tie vote, with councillors Tina Lange, Donovan Cavers, Denis Walsh and Spina voting in favour and councillors Dieter Dudy, Ken Christian, Arjun Singh and Pat Wallace voting against. Tie votes are considered defeats. Council’s vote came after more than three hours of public submissions, with the subject matter pitting local winery owners and B.C. wine lobbyists against owners of private liquor and wine stores. Larry and Tracy Gray of Discover Wines told council grocery stores are being given unfair advantages. Whereas wine stores like theirs in Sahali can only stock wines certified
by the B.C. Vintners Quality Alliance, grocery stores are being given the option to stock any wine made entirely in the province, including meads, fruit wines and other products Discover Wines can’t access. “If Save-On-Foods opens up a wine store near me, they can sell more wines than I can,” Larry Gray said. Private store owners are also concerned grocery stores will eventually carry full liquor selections, forcing them out of business. Local wineries, however, argued grocery stores could be the sale avenue their businesses need to survive. Shelley Thompson of Sagewood
Winery said her winery is too small and new for VQA certification and can’t produce the volumes required to distribute through government liquor stores, but could manage select grocery stores across the province. Harper’s Trail co-owner Vicki Collett said her winery sees grocery stores as a way to access difficult markets such as Northern B.C. and Prince George. “We have $8 million invested in this community and all I’m asking for is a little help,” she said. Mayor Peter Milobar recused himself from the hearing because he owns the Stag’s Head liquor store in Aberdeen.
VOTE COUNCIL novan Cavers,
n: Do For restrictio h Spina, Denis Wals arg M e, ng La Tina n, tia ris Ch tion: Ken Against restric allace W t Pa , gh Sin Dieter Dudy, Arjun or Peter Milobar Recused: May
Water thieves, beware . . . 2016, or face a $250 fine, which could escalate to $1,000. Fretz said some residents who are not running all their water through a meter may not be aware of what they’re doing due to installation issues, or because they’ve recently purchased a property in contravention. But, she added, many are intentionally hiding their total water consumption. “You would be surprised at the creativity that shows itself through our investigation of some of these claims,” Fretz said. Staff recommended the nearly oneyear grace period for water bandits to remedy the situation, since weather may not allow for outdoor plumbing work by the time letters are mailed.
GETTING A LEG UP
BOB GRETSINGER PHOTO
A missing link in the evolutionary chain? Nope, just an interesting camera angle that captures, in a moment in time, a 12-legged bighorn — which, in reality, are three sheep side to side to side.
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About 50 H2O thieves and 150 water-meter holdouts are getting warning letters from the City of Kamloops when utility bills are sent out this fall. Public works director Jen Fretz said the city has installed meters in more than 20,000 homes across the municipality, but repeated attempts have failed to bring the last 150 households into the fold. Fretz said those households without meters will be charged $3,780 per year, about $10 per day, under the assumption they have refused the installation because of “significant use.” Users who have managed to disconnect a portion of their water system — usually irrigation — from the meter will get warning letters requiring them to adjust their plumbing before June 30,
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Stay from $100 per night www.SunPeaksResort.com Central Reservations 1.800.807.3257