THE www.keremeosreview.com PM Agreement #40012521
Review Vol.17
We acknowledge the financial support of the Government of Canada through the Canada Periodical Fund of the Department of Canadian Heritage
Number 40
Thursday, October 1, 2015
$1.15 including GST
Serving the communities of Keremeos, Cawston, Okanagan Falls and Kaleden
Another fruit stand picked over Review Staff
Stef Laramie
About 60 people attended the World Rivers Day event at Kobau Park Sunday. As part of the day Lee McFadyen led a group to the spot where the Keremeos Creek and the Similkameen River meet. More photos can be found on page 9.
Another break and enter at an area fruit stand has the police appealing for the public’s assistance in identifying the person or people responsible. After several other break ins at Keremeos fruit stands, a thief or thieves tried to pick off Harkers Fruit Stand in Cawston September 24. At about 2:45 a.m. last Thursday a suspect or suspects entered the fruit stand through a side door. An alarm at the business scared the culprit(s) off. It’s unknown if anything was taken from the fruit stand. This is the fourth break in at an area fruit stand in the last few months. Sanderson’s fruit stand was the last to be broken into just a few weeks ago. An undisclosed amount of cash and other items were taken. It is unknown if the thefts are related. If you have any information that can help this investigation please call CRIMESTOPPERS at 1-800-222-TIPS (8477) or the Keremeos RCMP at 250-4995511.
Youth rehabilitation facility reopening not a done deal Tara Bowie Review Staff
Addicted youth and their families will be left out in the cold as plans to reopen the treatment facility outside Keremeos won’t be decided or implemented before the end of 2015. It turns out the Regional District OkanaganSimilkameen communications team misstepped when sending out a release last week stating the Minister of Health Terry Lake hoped The Crossing would be open by the beginning of 2016. In an email exchange with the Review the Ministry of Health stated there is no timeline for the reopening of the facility but that discussions with stakeholders are underway. It was also stated that a model of care had not yet been decided and hiring a new operator isn’t even in the works yet.
The facility has sat empty for more than six months since previous operator Portage abruptly ceased operations in March 2015. Spokespersons from both Portage and the province stated at the time that budget issues and properly trained staff were the main reasons for the closure. The facility opened in 2009 on a 58-acre property located approximately six kilometres west of Keremeos. Central City Foundation, a Vancouver based charity, originally bought the property in 2000 with the goal of fundraising to have the property upgraded to a teen addictions rehabilitation facility. It took almost 10 years for the foundation to raise $6.5 million needed for renovations and for partnerships between the government and an operator to be secured. Continued on page 3
File photo
Discussions surrounding a model of care for an addictions facility near Keremeos have not yet been made. The facility will not be reopening before the end of 2015.