CIVIL UNREST | Vernon family running orphanage in violence-plagued central Africa [A7]
Morning gStar
2014 BUICK REGAL GS AWD
The
Friday, December 18, 2015
P R O U D L Y
S E R V I N G
O U R
N O R T H
w w w. v e r n o n m o r n i n g s t a r. c o m
O K A N A G A N
C O M M U N I T I E S
F O R
2 7
Y E A R S
ONE OWNER ONLY 3,900 KMS!
Stk# 15-757B
$
36,800
*
*PLUS DOC FEE & TAXES.
BANNISTER
4703 - 27th St. VERNON • 250-545-0606
GM DL#9133
Christmas tradition serves up cheer RICHARD ROLKE Morning Star Staff
A holiday tradition continues to bring people together. Vernon’s seventh annual Together for Christmas dinner takes place Dec. 25 and it’s for individuals or families who don’t want to be alone. “You could be a millionaire or not have a penny, it doesn’t matter,” said Ron Birch, who founded the celebration with Joe Dorval. “Everyone should be somewhere at Christmas. It can be a tough day on your own.” Everyone is invited no matter their circumstances — an individual with no family nearby, seniors, a single parent with children or entire families who just want to embrace the spirit of Christmas. And if someone is unable to get to the dinner, a meal can be delivered. Birch believes about 300 people were served last year.
LISA VANDERVELDE/MORNING STAR
Rebeka Toporchak, five, and Kayla McDermott, 10, make tarts during a baking bee Saturday at St. James School for Together for Christmas, which takes place Dec. 25 at the St. James Parish Hall. This year’s dinner, which also includes entertainment and crafts, will be
held at the St. James Parish Hall (St. James School), with doors opening at 2:30
p.m. and the meal at 4 p.m. Anyone needing a ride to the dinner or wanting a
meal delivered to them can call Jae at 250-540-1120. Volunteers are in place
and businesses have helped provide the food and other supplies. “There is incredible support from the community to help us provide a special day for people,” said Birch. Birch and the other organizers look forward to Together for Christmas. “The reward we get is unbelievable,” he said. “There is no way to describe the feeling we get from doing this. Just being there and enjoying Christmas is so important.” Planning is also underway for next year. “As a result of the size that we are getting to be, we are in need of a place to store our supplies and decorations for the year,” said Birch. “We probably need a room about eight-foot-byeight-foot. The other issue we have is finding a freezer to store up to 25 turkeys and all of our baking from the baking bee from about Dec. 5 until Dec. 23 each year.”
Pellet plant air quality results prove positive
JENNIFER SMITH Morning Star Staff
Lavington’s pellet plant is providing evidence of being a good environmental neighbour. McCall Environmental was hired to conduct air emission testing on the dryers and stacks at Pinnacle Pellet Plant, which took place Nov. 11 and 12, 2015. “We’ve reduced emissions by 83.1 per cent,” said Leroy Reitsma, Pinnacle presLeroy Reitsma ident. Test results show the combined emissions of the pellet plant and
Tolko planer mill is .75 grams/second. That represents 16.9 per cent of the previously permitted emissions of the planer mill. “It’s a huge improvement to the local air shed,” said Reitsma. “We hope that this sets the community at ease.” Particulate matter has been a major source of resident concerns, with fear that the new plant would only exasperate the issue. “They think that there’s particulate matter in it (steam coming from stacks) and that’s why we test,” said Reitsma. The results show that all sources are operating well below permitted levels, which were set at the highest standards in the province for new pellet plants. The guideline for
dryers is 50, while Pinnacle applied for a permit of 15 and tests show they are operating at less than half that, 6.81. The other stacks must be under the provincial guideline of 115, but were only permitted to be 15 and are actually much lower at 4.91 and 2.5. “I just hope that people can understand the results and they can see that we’re well below the promised levels,” said Reitsma. The findings have been presented to Coldstream council and the full report is available online at www.pinnaclepellet.com/ pdfs/PP_pdf_Tolko-Q4-CF13-Stack-Test. pdf It’s a “good news story” for the community, says Trevor Seibel, Coldstream’s chief administrative officer. “The total emissions now between Tolko
2016 TOYOTA
LEASE
VERNONTOYOTA.COM
250-545-0687 3401 - 48TH Ave Vernon
DL# 30382
VISIT US AT
FROM
78
$
1
SEMI
MONTHLY
COROLLA CE
THAT’S LIKE
36
$
PER WEEK
**
and Pinnacle are significantly lower,” said Seibel. The testing, which was done by an independent third party, will continue annually with additional testing taking place on the dryers every three months for the next three quarters. Pinnacle has also taken steps to reduce the level of noise from the plant and believes its efforts are working. “I have not been hearing from the neighbours,” said Reitsma. Production at the plant is going well, with the first two months exceeding plans. The plant produced 370 metric tonnes of wood pellets per day in October (it budgeted for 318) and 575 in November (exceeding the 388 budget). The target is to reach 700.
See Our Ad On Pg.
A13
*On Approved credit, 2016 Toyota Corolla CE, 0.49% Lease Rate, $1,275 Down, 40 month Term, Total Paid $7,545 plus all applicable taxes, admin fees and based on 60,000 KMS total. **For information purpose only, see dealer for full details. Sale end date Dec 22, 2015.