WEDNESDAY FEBRUARY 24, 2016
KOOTENAY ICE
KIMBERLEY DYNAMITERS
See LOCAL NEWS page 3
See SPORTS page 6, 7
STAYING IN CRANBROOK; FOR NOW
THE HUNT BEGINS FOR THE CHAMPS
THE BULLETIN PROUDLY SERVING KIMBERLEY AND AREA SINCE 1932 | Vol. 84, Issue 37 | www.dailybulletin.ca
Dam Review, phase I complete
No urgent issues found in first phase, second phase will look more closely C AROLYN GR ANT Bulletin Editor
The City of Kimberley is in receipt of the first stage of a report on the condition of the Mark Creek dam. The city was ordered to have a dam safety review done in 2012 by the provincial Ministry of Environment. At the time, the Ministry indicated the review was long overdue and the city was not in compliance with dam safety regulations. In a report to Council, Manager of Operations Mike Fox said that due to the dam’s somewhat unusual design — it is a double arch dam — it was a bit difficult to find a consultant to do the review. The city finally hired Northwest Hydraulic Consultants out of Kamloops to do the review, however that was delayed as well. Said Fox in the report: “The DSR Stage 1 report prepared by Northwest Hydraulic Consultants was not submitted on time, in fact, it was very late, and the Dam Safety Officer was not happy with the intended timelines for stage two reporting. For these reasons the City has selected Urban Systems to finish the stage 2 report with NWH Consultants’ blessing. Urban Systems has committed
to working on this review and having it completed in 2016.” As to the phase one review, no urgent issues were found with the dam, which was constructed in 1994. However, a comprehensive‐type dam safety review is now recommended that is focused on more detailed engineering evaluations, including areas where not enough information is available. Northwest Hydraulics first stage report says Stage 2 will involve at least a Geotechnical/ Rock Mechanics Specialist and a Concrete Dam Structural Engineer. A detailed evaluation of the dam and associated safety measures will be scrutinized during this Stage in order to deliver a Comprehensive DSR. “Based on the review of Stage 2 findings by the MFLNRO’s Dam Safety Officer, further individual studies may be required to investigate specific dam safety concerns.” The Mark Creek dam was constructed in 1994 by the forward thinking council of the day, which wanted to get a key piece of infrastructure built while industrial taxes were still flowing from Teck Cominco. The dam is 21.5 metres high, with an arch three metres thick at the base and 1.9 metres at the crest. “A dam breach flood wave would cause serious flooding of homes and businesses, hence the extreme consequence classification of this dam,” the review says.
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TREVOR CRAWLEY PHOTO
There will be no repeat for defending Stone Soup Challenge champion Shelby Schiller of BJ’s Restaurant, the only Kimberley chef in the contest, as she lost the preliminary round to Rusty Cox from the Hideout on Monday.
Cox defeats defending champ Schiller Opening round of Kootenay Granite Stone Soup Challenge concludes with a clash of two local culinary heavyweights TRE VOR CR AWLEY
There will be a new champion for the Kootenay Granite Stone Soup Challenge this year. In an intense culinary battle, Rusty Cox of The Hideout Restaurant and Brewhouse exploited a loophole to take down Shelby Schiller, the defending champion, who represents BJ’s
Restaurant and Creekside Pub. The last matchup of the opening round at the Salvation Army soup kitchen, Schiller brought a pecan pie as a mystery ingredient that Cox had to use in his soup, however, he declined to give Schiller a mystery ingredient that she had to use in her soup. But it wasn’t out of the kindness of his heart, as there was a strategic principle at stake. Had Cox given her a mystery ingredient and she used it in her soup— that would automatically award her five extra points. By denying her a mystery ingredient and using the one she provided for him, Cox was
automatically up five points before voting even started. “It was an act of aggression,” Cox said. “It’s kind of like going to battle and taking your opponent’s artillery away, so, by taking five points away, I hope I don’t lose by four points now, because that would be terrible.” Cox ended up taking the win by a vote of 27-16 as polled by Salvation Army clientele. Although an unorthodox strategy, the Cranbrook and District Community Foundation, which is taking the lead on organizing the Stone Soup Challenge, ended up sanctioning the move. Schiller admitted being a little thrown off
by the luxury of not having a mystery ingredient to use. “I was absolutely blank. No points and no basis for my soup? It stumped me more than I thought it would have,” she said. “Not having it [mystery ingredient], I was like, ‘Well, I have so many options now, it’s gotta be good.’” While Cox hoped his tactic would add an element of psychological warfare, he knew she would be serving up a challenging mystery ingredient, but wasn’t sure what he’d see on the kitchen counter. “I heard rumours that Shelby was bringing some kind of habanero scotch bonnet pepper powder, and I have a chilli allergy, so
that would’ve absolutely devastated me, but she didn’t follow through on it,” Cox joked. “…If she would’ve found that out, that would’ve been my doom right there.” In the end, it turned out to be a pecan pie that Cox had to work into his soup. Both ended up making very similar culinary creations; Schiller with a steak goulash, while Cox served up a steak vegetable soup. Both were looking over their shoulders, spying on what the other was doing with their similar ingredients. “We kept looking over, like, ‘What are you doing? That’s what I’m doing…’,” said Schiller. See SOUP, page 4