Wednesday January 6, 2016 www.saobserver.net $1.25 GST INCLUDED
Crash lands car on tracks By Martha Wickett
OBSERVER STAFF
Unwelcome home: Joyce Kenoras reflects as she sits on a bench at Pierre’s Point.
EVAN BUHLER/OBSERVER
Speaking up to
Combat Racism
Special report: Presence of oppression in community painful. By Barb Brouwer OBSERVER STAFF
Many people who live in Salmon Arm consider it to be a blessing. But not everyone feels the glow of welcome and belonging. For others, subtle and often more overt racism make living here a painful challenge. That racism thrives in Salmon Arm is no surprise to the Social Planning Council for the North Okanagan, which has received $50,000
from the B.C. government to help eliminate racism in Salmon Arm and four other Thompson-Okanagan communities. The Social Planning Council is the host agency for the Thompson Okanagan Respect Network, and partners with local agencies in Kamloops, Vernon, Salmon Arm, Kelowna and Penticton.
Joyce Kenoras
A member of the Adams Lake Band, Joyce Kenoras
was born in Salmon Arm but raised in Vernon and Alberta, heading south of the border when she married. Kenoras, who has a business degree, sits on the board of the Salmon Arm Folk Music Society and has just been appointed to the board of the College of Optometrists of BC, was surprised by the depth of racism First Nations deal with on a daily basis. “When I circled back home it was pretty obvious there was a real strong opin-
This week Snowy conditions make things treacherous for Shuswap drivers. See details on A2. It was a mixed start to 2016 for the Salmon Arm Silverbacks. Find out more on A15.
ion about First Nations,” she says. “At first, I didn’t want to believe it because I love Salmon Arm; my family is one of the original families and this has been our home forever.” In raising her three children, Kenoras taught them to “reach for the highest,” get a good education, find jobs off the reserve. “I encouraged them to step beyond the boundaries of the reserve so they didn’t See Anger on page A4
The downtown Askew’s grocery store experienced unwanted excitement Saturday morning. About 8:10 a.m. on Jan. 2, just after the store opened, a car is reported to have travelled down Shuswap Street, crossed Lakeshore Drive without stopping and slammed into three vehicles in the Askew’s parking lot. One of the cars was pushed through the chainlink fence and onto the railway tracks. Steve Reid, manager at Askew’s, said he was amazed no people were struck. “It was lucky nobody got killed,” he remarked Monday. “It pretty much destroyed three cars.” Those three vehicles belonged to Askew’s employees, he said. A police news release states: “The investigation revealed that a male driver had a medical emergency while driving and collided with three parked vehicles. All vehicles suffered extensive damage but there were no injuries directly attributed to the collision itself.” Reid said it looked like the older man lost consciousness. He helped get him out of the car, as barbed wire was trapping him. “At least nobody got killed and he wasn’t badly injured. After I opened his door for him, he was able to walk out.” See Similar on page A2
PHOTO CONTRIBUTED
Destruction: This vehicle belonging to an Askew’s employee ended up on the railway tracks after being struck in the parking lot by another vehicle on Saturday, Jan. 2.
Index Opinion ....................... A6 View Point .................. A7 Life & Times ............. A11 Sports................A15-A17 Arts & Events ... A19-A21 Time Out................... A22 Vol. 109, No. 1, 40 pages