Wednesday January 27, 2016 www.saobserver.net $1.25 GST Included
Pushing for local produce By Martha Wickett OBSeRVeR STAFF
An idea about greenhouses is germinating in the minds of a newly formed group in Salmon Arm. With unobtrusive cauliflower gaining unexpected celebrity these days because of its cost, and other produce getting pricey, the Plan 4 Prosperity group has been thinking about ways to start growing local produce quickly. Spokesperson Jim Kimmerly explains that as the price of produce and the American dollar climb, and with much food imported from california, Mexico and sometimes South America, citizens in the Shuswap are left in a bind. “There’s no reason why we can’t grow this ourselves but in a greenhouse format,” he says, quickly adding that the idea is still in its early stages and more research needs to be done. His initial inquiries show about 50 per cent of farmland in the area is unused. “If you take an acre of land and look at the yield doing traditional farming, a greenhouse could do eight to 10 times more yield than farmland, depending on the crop.” Kimmerly said he was asked to form the Plan 4 Prosperity group, which includes successful businesspeople as well as those with other backgrounds. Although prosperity is often thought to be linked to the economy, in this context it refers to community, economy, culture and environment. A person can feel rich, for example, if what they’re doing is protecting the environment, he says. Regarding greenhouses: “You start off trying to supply your local market – Salmon Arm and Salmon Arm area. We will be meeting with farmers to get an idea. We will also be talking to grocers as well to see what their needs are. “If there was ever a good opportunity, the table’s been set for it. The opportunity is now. The high dollar will stay for a while now. This is the opportune time.” He’s already heard of another couple of small operations starting up. “I applaud those people, they see what the potential could be. You start small, build on that and See co-op on page A2
vernon search and rescue photo
tricky rescue: A search and rescue volunteer brings a snowmobiler stranded for two nights on Crowfoot Mountain out of a gully via winch as the Vernon Search and Rescue helicopter hovers above.
Pair rescued from gully Snowmobilers: Poor visibility hinders search in dangerous terrain. By Barb Brouwer OBSeRVeR STAFF
A team of 30 searchers and a winch-equipped helicopter were involved with the rescue of two snowmobilers from crowfoot Mountain on Saturday. After two cold, wet nights on the mountain, 48-year-old Mike Griffiths of Moberly lake and chase resident Allan dunk, 46, were hungry, thirsty and thankful for members of the crowfoot Snowmobile club as well as Shuswap and Vernon Search
This week A Shuswap artist forges photography and metal in unique creations. See A19. Canadian beef is in high demand, leaving local meat eaters paying more. See A3.
and Rescue. Griffiths and dunk made a four-hour run out to Grizzly lodge last Thursday, calling friend Brad Hutton in chase at 2:30 p.m. to say they were heading home, with an eTA of about 6:30 p.m. But the men lost their way because of the low cloud, fog and snow. When the pair failed to return, Hutton called the snowmobile club, whose members immediately began searching. RcMP Sgt. Gary Heebner of the chase detachment
says police were alerted at 4:33 a.m. and immediately called on Shuswap SAR for assistance. Heebner says an RcMP helicopter and one from lakehead Helicopters in chase began an aerial search Friday but had to call it off because of the poor visibility. The Vernon SAR helicopter was also called in but was not able to get into the area and spent Friday night in Salmon Arm. Ground searchers, including 13 members of SAR and some 17 members of the
crowfoot Snowmobile club, went looking for the two men in the area of Grizzly lodge. “later in the day, we got radio communication, but the visibility was so poor, even with communications, they had to spend another night out there,” John Schut, Shuswap SAR search manager, says. “The avalanche danger was high so we had to be careful about where people were going.” Griffiths says Hutton loaned radios to SAR and See rescue on page A2
Index Opinion ....................... A6 View Point .................. A7 Life & Times ............... A8 Time Out................... A10 Sports................A15-A18 Arts & Events ... A19-A22 Vol. 109, No. 4, 40 pages