I N S I D E : Crowdfunding goes big. Page 3
Journal ASHCROFT t CACHE CREEK
Volume 121 No 5 PM # 400121123
The
Thursday, February 4, 2016
Serving Clinton, Spences Bridge, Lytton, Savona, Walhachin and surrounding areas Since 1895
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Landfill revenue down, taxes up
Nicole Hampton-Montgomery (right) and Adrienne Baker Teague put on a well-enjoyed puppet show at the Cache Creek Library last week. Close to 100 children and their parents took part in the Family Literacy Week events around the area last week.
Lytton sites receive Chinese Heritage designation by Bernie Fandrich There is no disputing the important role that the Chinese have played in Lytton’s past. Heritage BC just announced that the Chinese Historic Places Recognition Project has announced special recognition for two Lytton sites: the Lytton Joss House site and Rip Van Winkle’s Flats & Brownings Flats, (Chinese placer mining sites along the Fraser River), have been selected from 77 distinct Chinese sites from all over BC. Ten sites were recognized throughout the province. The Lytton Joss House - or Joss Temple - is probably the site of the oldest Chinese Joss House in BC. It was located in the heart of Lytton for half a century. Dorothy Dodge, curator of the Lytton Archives and Museum for many years, is excited about the special designation. “Lytton has such a rich past and has played a very important role in the ear-
ly days of our province,” she says. “The Chinese were a very important part of Lytton’s history.” The multi-purpose building was officially opened with much fanfare in 1883. Chinese visitors from Victoria and New Westminster steamed to Yale on the sternwheeler Reliance, then by rail and stagecoach to Lytton. It was quite a celebration with balloons, music and firecrackers. The Joss House housed two deities and provided spiritual, emotional, and physical support to the Chinese railway workers, gold rush mining labourers, local merchants and farmers. It represented hope during a time often filled with suffering and despair for the Chinese. One of the purposes of the Joss House was to take care of sick and injured workers. When Chinese Work Camp 37 was attacked by a gang just south of Lytton in 1883, resulting in the murder of one worker and injury
to seven or eight others, one of the injured was carried three miles to the Joss House so other Chinese could care for him. The structure remained under Chinese control from 1878 until 1928. From 1901 until 1928 it became a matter of national importance involving the Dominion of Canada, the Chinese Consulate General, Chinese businessmen, and local residents. In 1933, a fascinating account of the earlier turmoil surrounding the potential sale of the Joss House property to a neighbor was written in the Vancouver Province newspaper. A copy of the intriguing news story – “Gods in a Lytton Woodshed” - was in the possession of Joe Chute, a teacher, principal, and former Lytton mayor. He gave a copy of the story to Lorna and Bernie Fandrich who, in 1980, had purchased the vacant lot that had once housed the Joss House. See LYTTON on p. 3
by Wendy Coomber Calling it a “transitional period with the landfill,” Cache Creek Council held a public meeting on Jan. 25 to present upcoming plans and projects to the public as well as the 2016/17 budget with its tax and utility increases. “People appeared to be reasonably comfortable with where Council was going,” said Mayor John Ranta after the meeting. Council is considering a utility increase of approximately $75 per home and a tax increase that will amount to approximately $100 per home. “We need to do that to balance the budget,” said Ranta, who added that Council considered borrowing from its Landfill Legacy reserve up to $71,000, but are reluctant to. “We don’t want to keep using the Landfill Legacy to balance the budget,” said Chief Financial Officer Sheila McCutcheon at the public meeting. She told the meeting that the rising costs were all “catch up” to make up for declining landfill revenues. The landfill is scheduled to close at the end of 2016 and it will likely stop accepting garbage well before then. For many years, royalties from the landfill provided $2-$3 million per year for the Village. Ranta said if the landfill had never existed, residential taxes would probably have gone up by 75 per cent of what they are today. “We are in uncertain times,” he said, “but hopefully we can establish the Extension. If it doesn’t get going, there will be additional hard decisions to be made by Council.” The Extension is waiting for the province to grant it an Operational Certificate. The Village is hoping that will come before the landfill closes so that the jobs and customers aren’t lost. “Landfill revenues in previous years have subsidized a lower tax and user fee regime,” said a document prepared for the public meeting. “However, with the closure of the landfill at the end of 2016, a new financial strategy is required to ensure the sustainability of services and future development.” Ranta said the Village was anxious to get this year’s budget approved so it could proceed with plans for any capital projects that need to be done this year.
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