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Review Vol.17
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Number 43
Thursday, October 22, 2015
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Serving the communities of Keremeos, Cawston, Okanagan Falls and Kaleden
Overdose suspected in Ollalla deaths Tara Bowie Review Staff
While the majority of the country was painted Liberal red Monday night, Conservative Dan Albas, running in his newly-created local riding, squeaked out a victory.
It’s suspected that two overdose deaths in Olalla last week are linked to fentanyl and the couple who died might not have known they were using the drug. A middle aged male and female were found dead in their Olalla home by a neighbour sometime during Thanksgiving weekend. The couple were known to police said Cpl. Sean Hall in charge of the Serious Crime Unit based out of the South Okanagan. The deaths are currently being investigated by the B.C. Coroners Service. A definitive cause has yet to be determined. “Everything points towards that. There’s suspicion about fentanyl but nothing has been confirmed yet,” he said. During the last month, seven people in the region have needed medical attention after overdosing. Continued on page 7
New riding bucks national trend - barely Tara Bowie Review Staff
The majority of the country may be red, but the new riding of Central Okanagan Similkameen-Nicola is blue – barely. Conservative Dan Albas earned his seat by a slim margin Monday night, bucking a national trend that saw the Liberals capturing 184 seats, Conservatives 99 seats, NDP 44, Bloc Quebecois 10 and the Green Party 1. “It was a lot tighter than we expected it to be,” Albas said about his fight to return to Ottawa. Early in the night Albas had a more than 15 per cent lead on his closest rival Liberal Karley Scott. Media outlets called the election within the first 90 minutes of the polls closing but in the remaining hours the gap was closed to a mere
2.2 per cent difference. The final result was Albas with 24,425 votes; Scott 23,028; NDP Angelique Wood 11,939 and Green Robert Mellalieu 2,428. Because results were so close, Albas put off interviews with the press until counting was almost complete. He spoke with the Review only after 230 of the 231 polls were counted. “We knew it was going to be a close election. It’s good to see that the people want to have an experienced member of parliament.... someone who can work with anyone. I think the people are always right,” he said during a phone interview from his celebration party in West Kelowna. Albas was first elected in 2011 as Conservative MP for Okanagan
Coquihalla. Electoral boundaries were adjusted in 2012 to reflect current population trends. The new boundary includes Princeton, Keremeos, and stretches north to Logan Lake, Merritt and east to West Kelowna. Albas, a former Penticton city councillor, moved to West Kelowna in 2012. During his time as MP, he served a majority Conservative government. He is now part of the official opposition and said he looks forward to the challenge. When asked to comment about the overall standings of the Conservative Party following the election he expressed sympathy for all MPs who were not re-elected. Continued on page 7
Prime Minister-elect Justin Trudeau speaks to supporters in his Quebec riding Monday night.