THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 18, 2016
Volume 42, Issue 07
www.starjournal.net
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Police warn of RCMP phone scam, and thefts of trucks and snowmobiles
New standards to come for pet breeders ..... page 2
Assisted living rules to be eased ..... page 2
In wake of fentanyl deaths, let’s start a conversation ..... page 5
One life taken every seven minutes by heart disease ..... page 9
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Fellers voted Citizens of the Year Meet Barriere’s newly named Citizens of the Year for 2015 – Glenda, Hannah and D’Arcey Feller. When the Star/Journal advised the Feller family of the award, Glenda’s first comment was “Oh, my! Hannah does much more volunteering than D’Arcey and I, she’s very involved in the community.” Glenda then realized that her humble family would now be in the community spotlight for awhile.
This family of three were nominated for the honour by 18 area residents. Here is an excerpt from their nomination, “Over the past 13 years, we have worked with D’Arcy, Glenda and Hannah in a variety of clubs, activities and school events and their dedication to the youth of our town has been integral in all aspects... The Feller family has gone above and beyond to help make Barriere a better place to live... Many youths
from our community have benefited from all the time that this family has devoted and their efforts should not go unnoted.” Folks will get their chance to roast and toast the Feller family at the Citizen of the Year Banquet, with a date being announced in this newspaper over the next few weeks. The North Thompson Star/Journal annually sponsors the Barriere Citizen of the Year Award.
Barriere RCMP Cpl. Steve Mancini warns area residents that there has been an increase in telephone scams where the caller identifies themselves as an employee of Canada Revenue Agency and states that money is owed. The caller requests money be forwarded, and if not an arrest warrant will be issued. Mancini says that recently, a second call is made, with the caller identifying themselves as an RCMP member and stating that a warrant has been issued and money would need to be received in order to cancel the warrant. “Of note is the caller ID shows the number to be local RCMP Detachments,” said Mancini, “Barriere RCMP want to advise the public that they do not call people requesting money. Should you receive any calls of this nature, do not send money, and notify the Barriere RCMP of the incident.” Lock up your vehicles and snowmobiles Clearwater RCMP advise that Highway 5, from Kamloops through to the Highway 16 interchange north of Valemount, has seen an increase in thefts of full-size pickup trucks and snowmobiles, either on trailers or in the back of trucks. Police are actively investigating these occurrences and ask everyone to take caution where and how they are parking and storing their vehicles and snowmobiles. If at all possible, when storing snowmobiles on a trailer use a hitch lock on the trailer and keep the ...continued on page 6
Almost $5 million for Barriere water system North Thompson Star/Journal
Pink Shirt Day is Wednesday Feb. 24th Join against bullying ..... page 10
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District of Barriere has been awarded a $4,836,735 dollar gas tax grant for 100 per cent funding of new twin production deep wells, a second reservoir for the south end of the existing distribution system and an upgrade to the main line between Bradford Rd. and Barriere Lakes Rd. “Potable water is the life blood of a community. With this grant the community is ensured a source of safe, clean drinking water, as well as fire protection, for many years to come. Without this grant the district could not have undertaken this project. Thank you on behalf of the citizens of Barriere,” said Virginia
Smith, District of Barriere mayor. These improvements will provide the District of Barriere with a very robust and secure water system that will be sustainable over the long term. With two existing deep wells nearing the end of their productive life, the two new wells will be supported by a younger existing well while the older deep well and another shallow ground water well will be taken out of service. The new reservoir on the south end of the system will increase the quantity of water immediately available for fire protection and distribution throughout the district. A water main upgrade from Bradford to Barriere Lakes Rd. will eliminate a bottleneck created by old and un-
der-sized asbestos/concrete (A/C) pipe. The project will take two to three years to complete all of the phases. Work will begin on the upgrades as soon as tenders are prepared and awarded and weather permits. This project is one of the 57 projects that are being funded through the Strategic Priorities Fund under the Federal Gas Tax Fund for 2016. “Through the federal gas tax fund, the government of Canada is allowing communities in B.C., and all across Canada, to make informed decisions about their infrastructure investments and how best to spend federal dollars,” commented the Honourable Amarjeet Sohi, federal Minister of Infrastructure
and Communities. Union of BC Municipalities administers the federal gas tax fund in British Columbia in partnership with the governments of Canada and British Columbia. Each year, the government of Canada provides over $253 million in indexed funding for local government infrastructure projects across British Columbia through the federal Gas Tax Fund. The funding can be spent on any eligible project the community prioritizes across a broad range of eligible project categories, or it can be pooled with other communities for regional projects, banked for later priorities or used to pay for financed projects.
S E R V I N G T H E N O RT H T H O M P S O N VA L L E Y F R O M H E F F L E Y C R E E K TO B L U E R I V E R