Columbia Valley Pioneer - May 16, 2024

Bruno’s Plumbing Service

COMING EVENTS

Woodcarver Days - Several talented artisans impressed the public with their skills during Woodcarver Days in Radium Hot Springs last weekend. Check out the carvings: top left - Marie-Line Gagne; top right - Amanda Chalmers; and bottom - Michael Penny. PHOTOS SUBMITTED BY VALERIE BRACKEN

VALLEY NEWS

Canal Flats unveils ambitious housing plan

By Steve Hubrecht  steve@columbiavalleypioneer.com

Canal Flats residents will get to hear more about an ambitious new development that could transform the village.

The Headwaters Academy day care centre in Canal Flats opened in early 2023 on the otherwise vacant lot at the corner of Burns Avenue and Grainger Road. A few months later the Village of Canal Flats purchased three acres (1.2 hectares) of land adjacent to the day care, with plans to expand the day care, and to create affordable housing there. The new Canal Flats Attainable Housing and Childcare Society was formed to help steer these efforts.

The society, village officials and other representatives will unveil their plans for the space during a town hall meeting this coming Friday, May 17.

The affordable housing development plan has grown in scope, and now encompasses an expanded day care, workforce housing, affordable housing, commercial space, and senior’s housing with groundbreaking integrated medical technology to enable aging in the place.

Canal Flats chief administrative officer and chief technology officer Richard Wayken explained that it is a fairly complex project and that “Canal Flats has not seen a development of this size in many years.” At heart “it is still an affordable housing project but has commercial elements as well,” he said.

The idea for a multi-faceted housing project came because the issues of affordable housing, childcare and better medical care — as well as longer term goals of resident retention, resident attraction, and business attraction — are often interlinked, outlined Wayken.

The village opened a medical clinic, for instance, but doesn’t have a medical doctor living in the community, he noted. “So how do we tackle the lack of a medical doctor in the community?” One way is by turning the village into a medical technology and innovation hub, by incorporating cutting edge medical technology into senior’s housing, he explained. That can attract technology companies as well as doctors.

In other words, the housing development is an integrated solution to the integrated issues facing the village. Or as Wayken put it: “why not tie it all together?”

And the idea has attracted the interest of more than 10 proprietary technology companies, as well as universities, architects, researchers, health leaders, housing partners and private equity partners. The names of the health companies are being kept quiet for now, but some members of what village officials have termed ‘the health consor-

tium’ will be introduced at the town hall meeting.

In total, this initial phase of housing development will see 16 units of housing created —  in two fourplexes and one eightplex. The expanded Headwaters Academy day care space will be on the bottom floor of one of the fourplexes, and commercial space will take up the bottom floor of the other fourplex. The specific numbers of housing units being outfitted with technology is not being disclosed just yet.

The next phase of the development could see up to 32 additional units of housing added at a later date.

“It’s probably the largest innovation or technology project the Columbia Valley has seen,” said Wayken, adding it could even make the village a leader on a provincial scale.

The plan is to build the development without putting any cost on taxpayers, funding it instead through private investment, added Wayken.

The town hall event will also see Canal Flats officials outline the village’s strategic priorities and budget for 2024. Other notable projects include finishing paving the Shore to Shore trail, the village’s new age-friendly coordinator position, and the Helping Hands program (which is a part of FireSmart).

"The budget and strategic plan are pivotal elements of our mission, driving this town hall meeting to ensure our community and neighbouring areas are well informed of our upcoming projects and focal areas,” said Canal Flats Mayor Mark Doherty in a press release. “The Attainable Housing Society's ongoing contributions to Headwaters Academy are crucial as we enter phase two, which promises to be as transformative as its inception. Leading the pilot for the new health program is not only an honour but a testament to Canal Flats' role as a beacon of innovation in the valley, offering impactful resources to our residents."

Wayken added: "Healthcare, housing, and affordability are topics at everyone’s table across Canada. On May 17 the community will have the opportunity to see what is possible in Canal Flats. Council has enabled staff to take a new approach and reinvent Canal Flats. We will no longer be watching from the sidelines but will take bold steps to lead Canal Flats into the future. If you’re not coming to this event, you are missing out.”

The meeting on May 17 will be at Canal Flats Civic Centre, starting at 10 a.m. For those unable to attend, information about the strategic plan and the housing development will later be posted to the village website, and details will be available in the village’s budget booklet.

Concept design image of the planned housing development in Canal Flats led by the Canal Flats Attainable Housing and Childcare Society. CONCEPT ILLUSTRATION SUBMITTED

Ensure garbage is safe to dispose

Columbia Valley Pioneer staff

Fire officials are urging residents to ensure their garbage is safe before disposing it.

That advice comes after a fire was discovered at the Columbia Valley Landfill on May 8.

Columbia Valley Rural Fire & Rescue Service Chief Drew Sinclair reported that a crew was dispatched at approximately 9:30 p.m. to find a blaze in one of the

50-yard garbage collection bins on site.

“This is a good reminder for residents about the importance of ensuring everything they are throwing away is safe and fully cooled prior to disposal.”

Six firefighters and two pieces of apparatus responded to the fire, which was contained to the one bin and quickly extinguished.

RDEK staff was to attend the site to further investigate the potential cause.

Edgewater father-daughter duo Tim and Ursula MacIntosh captured several outstanding images of the aurora borealis (northern lights) glowing above the Columbia Valley during the geomagnetic storm on Friday, May 10.

PHOTO URSULA AND TIM MACINTOSH

Youth plans medicine garden

By Steve Hubrecht  steve@columbiavalleypioneer.com

A local Metis youth plans to create an Indigenous medicine garden in Invermere this summer.

The garden is the idea of 13-year old (Ky) Avalyn Foster, who wants to use it to bring Indigenous and non-Indigenous community members together to share traditional knowledge and cultural practices about food and medicine. Avalyn — who uses both her given name and her chosen name Ky — noted that many of these practices were once discouraged if not outright banned, and that the garden could be a way to celebrate them now, as well as to give local Indigenous people access to these plants in an urban setting.

(Ky) Avalyn was born and raised here in Columbia Valley, growing up on what she termed an “urban homestead” — a property that was once all grass, but which her parents converted into a space filled with gardens and greenhouses, chickens and ducks.

“I’ve been gardening for as long as I can remember. I love growing food,” she told the Pioneer. “I’ve spent a lot of time outside in the forest foraging.”

(Ky) Avalyn is proud of her Metis heritage and finds it has deepened her own relationship to the land.

“It’s a give and take relationship. If you take from the land, you need to give back to it,” she said.

Giving back, explained (Ky) Avalyn, can take many forms, some spiritual (such as making offerings), some practical (such as composting), and some community-oriented, such as her plan for the Indigenous medicine garden.

“It’s (the medicine garden) something I’ve wanted to do for a long time. I really want to try this,” she said.

Earlier this year (Ky) Avalyn applied for and received a $1,500 grant from the National Centre for

Truth and Reconciliation to carry out the garden project. She already has the support of the Columbia Valley Metis Association (CVMA), Groundswell Network Society, and Avalily Permaculture and the Earthskills Institute, and will reach out to the Shuswap Band, Akisqnuk First Nation, Indigenous education coordinators at local schools, and other community groups who may want to take part in the project.

Continued on page 7

(Ky) Avalyn Foster is set on creating an

Indigenous medicine garden. PHOTO SUBMITTED

Today’s youth commended

Hats off to educators at David Thompson Secondary School (DTSS) for teaching our children to ask questions and stand up for what they believe in.

The latest example is Grade 12 student Hannah Bentley who has taken on the monumental task of trying to change the school’s timetable to enhance learning. While 200 signatures on the petition is quite impressive, it likely won’t convince the powers that be to bring in a new schedule. Besides, the timetable has already been set in stone for the year.

But you have to give Bentley full credit for trying; not many secondary students would stand up to their school’s administration. Questioning authority is a good thing when you truly believe it is justified.

Kudos also go out to the high school’s Climate Club, namely Seth Rievaj and Aivian Harder who addressed the RDEK board last week to advocate for better public transit.

In yesteryear, it was rare for students to address local government for change. Most people can remember a time when the only question they asked in school was if they could go to the bathroom. In those days, you sat up straight and only talked when spoken to by the teacher. You weren’t taught how to be resilient or to question everything, you were taught the 3Rs and to respect your elders, and that was it. Straying from the rules brought you a twisted earlobe or a rap on the knuckles; spare the rod, spoil the child.

Thankfully, we have moved on from those seemingly medieval times to embrace an education system that rewards risk taking and inquisitiveness that many of our great leaders have shown.

If we don’t question authority, we run the risk of inviting tyranny and oppressiveness that erode democracy. We need to teach our youth that civil or principled disobedience is warranted when there is a strong belief that change is necessary. Student protests can be healthy depending on the cause, such as gun violence and human rights. In Canada, students have been protesting big banks for supporting fossil fuel companies that ignore climate change.

Remember the Greensboro Four? A small group of black college students sat at a “whites-only” lunch counter in North Carolina in 1960 to protest segregation. This led to a big win for the civil rights movement as the discrimination policy ended.

No one has to be reminded of the atrocity that was China’s Tiananmen Square in 1989 when the government responded with tanks and tear gas to disperse students protesting for more rights and freedoms.

The youth of today are tomorrow’s leaders, and while some are not setting good examples, many are looking into the future to make it a better place for all of us. They need our continued support in and out of the classroom.

Lyonel Doherty, editor

Historical Lens

Book banning lamentable

Many Canadians have heard of the scandal back in September involving the Peel District School Board (PDSB) decision to remove books published before 2008 from school libraries.

What made this particularly shocking was the immense scope: one book-loving Erindale Secondary School student told the CBC that over half the collection in the school’s library was removed.

Canadians across the country were also baffled by the arbitrary cut-off date of 2008 - which meant the throwing out of all 19th and 20th century literary classics, but also popular recent series like Harry Potter and the Hunger Games.

This surreal incident is part of a larger trend of censoring books deemed offensive or outdated.

In British Columbia, the Surrey school district has removed Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird and John Steinbeck’s Of Mice and Men from the recommended reading list - teachers in this district wishing to teach

these two literary classics will need special permission from a principal.

To Kill a Mockingbird is guilty of being a “white saviour trope”, and Of Mice and Men contains “ableist language”.

The Toronto Catholic school board recently passed a policy banning the assigning of books containing racial slurs against black people – with a small carve-out for books written by black authors.

This ban includes such timeless classics as To Kill A Mockingbird (published in 1960), Lord of The Flies (1954), Gone With The Wind (1936), Heart of Darkness (1899), Of Mice and Men (1937), and The Adventures Of Huckleberry Finn (1884).

These classics have never been out of print because reviewers and readers alike have long been entranced by their timeless stories of love and betrayal, suffering and joy, war, and peace.

Continued on page 7

Boucher

Policy of censorship deprives many students

Continued from page 6

To be sure, the authors conveyed their own distinctive view of the world and human nature using the language of their time period.

If you rewatch old episodes of the TV series Cheers, the jokes and phrasing will make you feel like you are looking in on another world entirely.

This is because, in effect, you are. As L.P. Hartley wrote in his 1953 novel The Go-Between (has that one been banned yet?): “The past is a foreign country: they do things differently there”.

Cheers first ran in 1982. Should we really be surprised, then, if some of the

phrasing in Gone With The Wind - published in 1936 - takes us aback in 2024?

In 2022, the Upper Canada District School Board (UCDSB) banned Agatha Christie’s famous mystery novel And Then There Were None from classrooms, apparently due to language denigrating a Jewish character.

At the time, a spokesperson for the UCDSB made this startling statement in defence of the ban: “The text was first published around 1939 and is no longer relevant or engaging to students”.

The spokesperson went on to say that the district works to ensure that it is “offering fresh, engaging, timely and relatable materials to students”.

Therein lies the underlying problem with the book banning craze: a fundamental misunderstanding on the part of some school boards of the role that schools should play in society.

Students have plenty of ability to find “fresh, engaging, timely and relatable materials” on TikTok and in conversations with their friends.

The role of schools is to provide students with interesting, edifying, and timeless material with which to challenge themselves.

Students do not have to agree with the books or essays they read in school, but in reading them they will gain the written and rhetorical skills needed to

logically articulate their own positions. Having read most of the literary classics currently on the chopping block, I can say with certainty that the occasional use of language now considered shocking or distasteful does not obscure their value or their message.

The policy of censorship employed by many school boards lacks historical nuance and charity, and deprives students of the joy of reading some of the best literature ever written.

(Riley Donovan is a B.C. journalist and founder of the independent publication Dominion Review (dominionreview.ca).

Ombudsperson report highlights complaints

Columbia Valley Pioneer staff

A number of complaints within the Regional District of East Kootenay last year have been filed and closed by the Ombudsperson of BC.

On May 10 the board reviewed the Ombudsperson quarterly report for October 1 to December 31, 2023. It highlights a couple of cases in Area E that were investigated and closed. One involved a slaughterhouse operating as a home-based business.

Based on the evidence, the office identified that the RDEK had mistakenly permitted the slaughterhouse to operate as such, said Ombudsperson Jay Chalke. However, he not-

ed the evidence did not support overturning the permit because the RDEK’s zoning bylaw allows for the butchering of animals as a principal use on the property. Chalke stated the slaughterhouse was compliant with legal requirements.

The other case was a complaint regarding an elk carcass on a public beach and a request that the RDEK remove it. But the government body declined, saying it wasn’t their jurisdiction.

The Ombudsperson noted that the Conservation Officer Services were subsequently contacted, but they too did not remove the carcass and gave the reasons why: the resources required to move the remains into

the forest are prohibitive; a biologist performed a necropsy to ensure the carcass did not have any diseases; there are no large predators that would linger around the remains to pose a threat to humans; and the remains are food for other creatures and are beneficial to ecosystem health. The Ombudsperson added there is no health threat if the carcass becomes submerged in the water. The final decision was to let the remains decompose in place.

The quarterly report highlighted other complaint topics including bylaw enforcement, conflict of interest, fees and charges, business licensing, services, disagreement, discrimination, and procedure.

Local teen sets sights on Indigenous garden

Continued from page 5

“I am really excited,” said (Ky) Avalyn, explaining the she was on a family trip when she found out that she got the grant “and I was quite literally jumping around the hotel room.”

She plans to consult with local Indigenous Knowledge Keepers and youth before finalizing the design and deciding exactly what to grow in the garden, but some ideas so far include growing wolf willow, tobacco, sweetgrass, sage, and Saskatoon berries. (Ky) Avalyn envisions the garden being about 15 to 20 feet (4.5 to six metres) by 12 feet (3.6 metres) in size. She hopes to begin planning and design soon and then start construction in June, if possible.

“The goal is to have an actual garden in place by the end of the summer,” she said.  (Ky) Avalyn wants the garden in a highly visible

spot, and so reached out to the District of Invermere seeking permission to put the garden in a plot in front of the Invermere Public Library, as well as asking the district for help with irrigation and maintenance, similar to what it does for municipal flower beds. She hopes that constructing the garden will become a community event, with all people invited to participate, and that the garden can be a small step in reconciliation and in local Indigenous cultural reclamation.

During a recent Invermere council meeting, councillors discussed (Ky) Avalyn’s request and some of them expressed concern about the size of the garden, saying it might be too big by the library, and wondered if it might fit better by Pynelogs. They directed district staff to talk with (Ky) Avalyn.

When the Pioneer spoke with (Ky) Avalyn the following week she had not yet heard from district officials.

We have the expert advice and thousands of plants to go with it.

Since she was a little girl, (Ky) Avalyn Foster has loved chickens and ducks. PHOTO SUBMITTED

Invermere butcher wins best of province

By Steve Hubrecht  steve@columbiavalleypioneer.com

It’s official: Invermere has the best butcher in the province.

Local butcher and Konig Meat and Sausage Company co-owner Micheal Hecken recently travelled to the Lower Mainland to take part in the first-ever B.C. Best Butcher competition, and came out the winner.

Hecken has been butchering for nearly three decades, since he was a kid growing up in Germany’s Rhineland, and has either worked at or co-owned Konig, on Invermere’s main street, for nearly two decades. In other words, he’s pretty experienced when it comes to chopping meat. Still, when he took to the competition floor in Pitt Meadows on May 4, lined up with 17 of B.C.’s top butchers, he couldn’t help noticing that most of the other competitors seemed older and more experienced than him.

“They all looked pretty confident,” Hecken told the Pioneer.

As Hecken’s fellow Konig co-owner Craig McGowan put it, “he (Hecken) was easily the young guy

Learn to Swim

out there.”

So Hecken did what he does best: put his head down, and started cutting, deftly, efficiently, and with the kind of skill that comes from nearly 30 years of practice.

In the first round of the competition each butcher had 45 minutes to turn a middle cut of pork, a cut of beef and a chicken into as many ready-to-retail cuts as possible. It was meant to measure skill and speed. All the fat had to be trimmed out, but butchers were penalized for wasting too much meat.

Hecken was one of three butchers to qualify for the final round. In the final each butcher was given a pork leg and access to garnishes, seasoning, and sauce and had 30 minutes to make as many value-added, ready-to-cook cuts as possible.

Speed was crucial here too, but so was creativity in using the garnishes and seasoning, and the ability to size up the pork leg and figure out how to maximize the meat in it.

With the clock ticking down, the other two finalists turned out five value-added cuts. In the final seconds Hecken managed to churn out his sixth value-added cut — a set of pork skewers — and claim the top place trophy.

“I was surprised,” he said. “I thought I was going to run out of time, but in the end I managed to make five or six skewers and those were the difference. It was pure speed. I didn’t really have a plan before I started, I just made it up as I went.”

McGowan was in the Columbia Valley, watching the competition unfold via a Facebook live stream.

“It was thrilling,” said McGowan. “I’m so proud of him.”

Hecken may have been surprised at his win, but not McGowan. “His (Hecken’s) ability to make the most out of a piece of meat is amazing.”

Hecken first started butchering when he was nine years old, by helping his dad, who worked as the unofficial butcher in the town where Hecken was raised. Hecken then got his official start in the butcher trade when he became an apprentice at age 15. In 2006 he moved to the Columbia Valley, on a work visa, to butcher at Konig. Eventually he and McGowan took over the business.

“I just enjoy it,” Hecken said of butchering. “I like taking the meat and making something pretty out of it, something that people will look forward to having for dinner and that will be part of a nice meal for them.”

Hecken is now 38 years old, and that fact it was immediately apparent how much younger he was than his fellow competitors points to a growing problem in the butcher business: very few young people are entering the trade.

And indeed, part of the reason that BC Meats inaugurated the competition this year was to help attract more attention to butchering as a career option.

“There is always a shortage of new butchers, but now it’s worse than ever before. It’s a dying art,” said Hecken.

OUT OF OFFICE…

Agri-Park Farmers Market

This Wednesday May 22 marks the first Agri-park Farmers Market of the season, which will run all the way through the summer, continuing until September 11; every Wednesday from 3:00pm6:30pm. This market focuses on local food production first and foremost; it’s quintessential farm to table.

Farmers will harvest the produce they are selling that morning - they pluck the sun-ripened tomatoes from the vine (only the ones that are ready to eat). Then they are washed and packed by hand, brought to the market, and displayed for you to devour with your eyes first, and with your mouth later. You can’t get fresher unless you grow it yourself! This is not easy work, and the people who do it are dedicated growers who care about what they produce and are eager to share their passion with their customers.

Local agriculture and food production is a touchstone of this market; food that is locally produced, fresh and unprocessed. These are some of the requirements for a food accessibility program that is currently in place and being used

by the Columbia Valley Food Bank - Nutrition Coupons (a governmental effort with funding from the Ministry of Agriculture, Ministry of Health as well as private donations) are given out to food bank users, seniors or others who may have difficulty accessing healthy food

options, and the coupons can be used as cash to purchase local farm-raised meat, honey, eggs, or locally grown fruits and vegetables. The

coupons are meant to compliment the advice found in the Canada Food Guide. Not only does this provide access to healthy food options, and create food literacy, but attending a community market can be a social event that provides the opportunity for members of vulnerable or marginalized populations to socialize and engage with the community without stigma.

Shopping at a Farmers Market is a social and fulfilling experience; live music and locally created arts and crafts round out the market experience. Good times and good food go together like nothing else! See you Wednesdays!

If you would like more information about the history of this market, the vendors, music, and artisans or to see pictures of previous markets, please visit wdfi.ca. If you are interested in supporting the Nutrition Coupons programs, or would like more information on how they work, please email Anne Rose at: farmersmarket959@gmail.com

-Deanna Berrington

Thursday, May 16

• 10:15am-1:00pm: Tech Tutors. Invermere Public Library 2:00pm-4:00pm: Tech Tutors. Radium Public Library Free one-on-one help with your computer, phone or tablet!  Assistance with websites or electronic forms.  Learn about games on your phone or iPad.  Please book an appointment with the library you would like to attend. By Columbia Basin Alliance for Literacy.

• 5:30pm-7:30pm: Come Cook With Me. College of the Rockies Invermere Campus. Free. Cooking for families.  Learn recipes and cooking tips while making healthy, budget-friendly meals.  All supplies provided. Registration required: CBAL – wvcoordinator@cbal.org or 250-409-4251

• 7:00pm-8:00pm: Bat Counting 101. Join us to learn about counting bats in our community, with guest Georgie West! Attendees will require transportation to get to the landowners property to count bats after the presentation at the library. Bat Count from 9:15-10:15pm. Bring warm clothes, a lawn chair and a flashlight.  Please contact the library to sign up!

• 10:00am-12:00pm: Pickleball Invermere Curling Club or Mt Nelson Athletic Park. Drop-in.

• 10:30am-11:30am: Senior’s Fitness Columbia Valley Centre, $2 dropin.

• 11:30am-12:00pm: Little Lambs – Baby Program. Radium Public Library. Join us for songs, rhymes, and stories with your babies! No registration required.

• 1:00pm-3:00pm: Pickleball Invermere Curling Club. Skills & Drills #2.

• 2:00pm-3:00pm: Needles & Hooks. Invermere Library. Join us on the 1st & 3rd Thursday of each month at 2:00pm for Needles & Hooks. Bring your current yarn project and meet with other makers. All welcome!

• 6:30pm-8:30pm: Pickleball Invermere Curling Club. Advanced Round Robin.

• 6:45pm: Texas Hold ‘Em Poker Invermere Legion. $30 buy-in.

• 7:30pm: Families Housing that Fits. Zoom meeting with host Ben Postmus. Inclusive and supportive housing in your community. diversefamilyroots@gmail.com

• 7:30pm-9:30pm: Trivia Night Windermere Whitehouse Pub. Host Mandi Cox $3/person, teams of more than 6 will be split into two groups. Ages 19+

Friday, May 17

• 2:00pm-6:00pm: Ktunaxa Celebration and Flag Raising. #625 4th Street. Food, Entertainment, Flag Raising; to mark AFN Enterprises Limited Partnership’s recent purchase of commercial property in Invermere. ?Akisqnuk First Nation invites everyone to join in celebrating.

• 10:00am-12:00pm: Pickleball Invermere Curling Club or Mt Nelson Athletic Park. Drop-in.

• 10:30am-11:00am: Family Storytime. Invermere Public Library. Join us weekly on Fridays for Family Storytime at the library! With stories, songs & a craft. Geared towards preschool age (2-5) but all welcome.

• 2:00pm-4:30pm: Wild Woolies. Radium Hot Springs Public Library. Join our fibre arts circle! Everyone and every skill level welcome. No registration required.

• 6:30pm-8:30pm: Pickleball Invermere Curling Club. Novice Play.

• 6:30pm - close: Meat Draw and 50/50 in the Legion! Members and guests welcome!

Saturday, May 18

• 2:00pm-6:00pm: Windermere Spring Festival. Windermere Community Hall. Local artisan market, face painting, food, snacks, drinks, First Nations Cultural exhibit, dunk tank. Live music with ROCKINOMIX at 7pm at the Whitehouse, tickets $20 online or at the door.

• 10:00am-12:00pm: Pickleball Invermere Curling Club or Mt Nelson Athletic Park. Drop-in.

• 10:30am-11:00am: Family Storytime. Invermere Public Library. Join us weekly on Saturdays for Family Storytime at the library! With stories, songs & a craft. Geared towards preschool age (2-5) but all welcome.

• 11:00am-12:30pm: LEGO/Duplo Club Invermere Public Library. We'll have Lego, Duplo, big blocks & more out to play with on Saturday mornings! All ages welcome.

• 2:00pm-4:00pm: Buddy Reading. Invermere Public Library. Contact us to book a 30 minute session to read with a librarian. Practice reading aloud one-on-one to build skill, confidence & a love of reading! Open to all ages and reading abilities.

• 2:00pm-4:00pm: Pickleball Invermere Curling Club. DUPR play.

• 6:30pm: Meat Draw and 50/50 in the Legion! Members and guests welcome!

Sunday, May 19

• 2:00pm: Cards, Cribbage and Darts Come to the Legion and have some fun! Members and guests welcome.

• 7:00pm-9:00pm: Live Music Horsethief Creek Pub & Eatery. Accompanied minors are permitted. No cover.

• 7:30pm: Dads Matter. Zoom meeting with host Ben Postmus. Dads connecting, Dads Supporting, Dads Inspiring. Do you have a son or daughter with Diverse Abilities? So do I. diversefamilyroots@gmail.com

Monday, May 20

• 10:00am-11:00am: Senior's Yoga Columbia Valley Centre, Invermere. $2 drop in, open to all seniors.

• 10:00am-12:00pm: Pickleball Invermere Curling Club or Mt Nelson Athletic Park. Drop-in.

• 6:30pm: Poker (Chip up for Charity). The Station Pub $20 buy-in. Every Monday.

• 6:30pm-9:00pm: Pickleball Invermere Curling Club. Novice Play

Tuesday, May 21

• 10:00am-12:00pm: Pickleball Invermere Curling Club or Mt Nelson Athletic Park. Drop-in.

• 10:30am-11:30am: Senior’s Fitness Columbia Valley Centre, $2 drop-in.

• 10:30am-11:30am: Homeschool Meetup. Invermere Library. Drop-in, all-ages programming with open-ended STEAM play, group activities and art projects. A chance for homeschool kids and families to get together! Please contact us to get on the Homeschool email list to stay up to date and see what extended programs are coming up.

• 5:30pm: Bingo. Invermere Senior’s Hall. $300 Jackpot, all over 19 welcome. All cash prizes. 11 games for $20 (6 cards). Lucky 7 & diamond extra games $2.

• 6:30pm-8:00pm: Second Winds Community Band. We are looking for new band members! Play an instrument? Practice at Invermere Catholic Church Annex. For info please email dalvande@shaw.ca

• 6:30pm-8:30pm: Pickleball Invermere Curling Club. Skills & Drills #1

• 7:30pm: Families on Tuesday. Zoom meeting with host Ben Postmus. Families connecting, Families Sharing, Families Supporting Families: Support, Listening, Sharing, Connecting. diversefamilyroots@gmail. com

• Wednesday, May 22

• 6:00pm-7:00pm: Write On! Writing group at the Invermere Library. Join us this month to share projects and get feedback from other local writers. All welcome to join at the library or on Zoom. Email publiclibrary@invermere.net to register. All welcome to join at the library or on Zoom.

• 10:00am-11:00am: Senior's Yoga Columbia Valley Centre, $2 dropin.

• 10:00am-12:00pm: Pickleball Invermere Curling Club or Mt Nelson Athletic Park. Drop-in.

• 11:30am-12:00pm: Story Time. Radium Library - preschool & all ages.

• 3:00pm-4:30pm: After School Club. Invermere Library. A window of transition time between school and home or extra-curriculars. Come colour, bead, play with LEGO and catch up with friends! Open to all school-aged kids and teens. Drop-off allowed for Grade 2 students and up. Younger kids are welcome with a grown-up. Please bring your own snacks! Register. https://invermere.bc.libraries.coop/

• 3:00pm-6:30pm: Wednesday Farmers’ Market. Agri park, Hwy 93 across from Copperpoint resort. Featuring farm fresh produce, local meat, eggs, and honey. Chefs, artisans and bakers sell their goods in the historic barn. Live Music.

• 6:00pm-9:00pm: Wednesday Dinners & Meat Draw & 50/50 Invermere Legion. All welcome.

• 6:30pm-8:30pm: Pickleball Invermere Curling Club. Ladies Night

‘Midnight’ gold for Columbia Valley distillery

By Steve Hubrecht  steve@columbiavalleypioneer.com

Local distiller Taynton Bay Spirits is sipping international success once again.

Readers with good memories will recall that last spring the Pioneer reported on the Invermere business winning a gold medal at the London Spirits Competition for its all natural vodka. This spring it’s a different drink, and a different prestigious global spirits competition, but the same result: Taynton Bay Spirits’ ‘midnight’ gin recently took gold in the 2024 World Gin Awards held in London.

The second international accolade is all the sweeter for the Columbia Valley company because the gold-medal-winning midnight gin is a brand-new drink, launched less than a year ago, in summer 2023.

Taynton Bay Spirits co-owners Justin Atterbury and Steve Kuffler were delighted. “The awards are always nice, especially coming from a panel of 70 judges from around the world,” Atterbury told the Pioneer

The midnight gin is only the second gin Taynton Bay Spirits has produced.

“We had a full line of vodka, but only one traditional gin,” said Kuffler. “We knew it was time to expand.”

Kuffler described the midnight gin as a “unicorn in a bottle.” When the Pioneer saw the beguiling tipple firsthand it was hard not to agree: the drink is a rich shade of royal purple and, if you shake the bottle, the swirling contents do indeed appear to glitter. Impressive, to say the least.

Taynton Bay Spirits makes it a point of pride to use only natural botanicals, so how on earth did it create a sparkling violet — a literally sparkling, and literally violet — gin?

The colour comes from butterfly pea flower tea, a blue-hued herbal tea common in Thailand and Vietnam; and the sparkle comes from pearl mica (a powdered form of the naturally occurring mineral mica, which when weathered glitters enough that it is sometimes mistaken for gold).

Even with the purple-glitter mystery sorted out, Kuffler explained that getting the mix just right isn’t easy: you need to find the right ingredients, get them in the right proportions, make sure the colour of drink is just right, and — of course — make sure it tastes delicious to boot.

“We do a lot of experimenting, a lot of taste testing,” said Atterbury. “You’re trying to create something that’s never been done before, so naturally there’s a lot of trial and error.”

To develop the midnight gin, the Taynton crew got together a bunch of botanicals they thought would work well, and began trying them. They would make a gin, taste, then tweak. Then tweak again. And again, and again, and again.

“You end up trying about 50 different versions of a certain variety. We’d discuss them as a group, then use the feedback to try and improve,” explained Atterbury.

A distiller creating a good drink is like a musician creating a hit song –there are a lot of elements, and you don’t know for certain how best to make them come together until you start trying.

With the midnight gin, the company realized they had a hit early on.

“When we bottled it, we knew it was something special, just based on the feedback from everyone who tried it. So we put a lot of resources behind it, and it quickly became our number one seller,” said Atterbury.

It was so successful, in fact, that it

in the middle is the company’s

delayed the launch of two other Taynton gins. The company had planned to put out three gins in short succession, each themed around (and coloured to match) a time of day: ‘midnight’ gin, ‘sunset’ gin, and ‘sunrise’ gin. But midnight gin proved so big that they pushed back the launch of the other two.

Sunset gin will come out in a few weeks. As you’d expect, with a name like ‘sunset’, the new gin is red and pink. It has a grapefruit and hibiscus flavour – perfect for summer time, in other words. The ‘sunrise’ gin will launch in the fall; the ‘sunrise’ colour and flavours are still top secret.

Taynton Bay Spirits is not stopping at vodka and gin either — in July or August it will unveil its first ever rum.

‘Rocky Mountain Rum’ will pay tribute to the paddle wheel steamers that once served as the valley’s main form of public transport, plying the Columbia River between Invermere and Golden. The

glass bottles the rum comes in will actually be shaped to resemble a paddle wheeler.

This April marked the company’s seventh anniversary – a milestone not all Columbia Valley small businesses reach. Kuffler and Atterbury credited Taynton Bay Spirits’ success to local support and local suppliers and extended a thank you.

The company held its first customer appreciation day last year, not long after their vodka won gold. With their new gin also a gold medal winner, a second customer appreciation day is naturally now set for Wednesday, June 12. The event will run from 4 to 8 p.m. with pulled pork-on-a-bun, more food, drink samples and discounts of 25 per cent on almost all products.

“There’ll be games, there’ll be fun, there’ll be food and there’ll be plenty of sampling. It’s guaranteed to be one of the best days of your life,” said Kuffler.

Taynton Bay Spirits’ new ‘midnight’ gin (vivid purple colour, at left) recently won gold at the World Gin Awards in London, England. The company will soon launch its ‘sunset’ gin (bright red, at right), followed later this fall by its ‘sunrise’ gin. Shown

traditional gin.

PHOTO STEVE HUBRECHT

Red Dress Day - Local Indigenous and non-Indigenous took part in last week’s Red Dress Day in Invermere, featuring drumming and singing. The day honours missing and murdered Indigenous women and girls.

PHOTO CORTNEY PITTS

J.A. Laird music students receive bursary

Submitted

Yet another school has received a $200 bursary from Columbia Lodge #38.

Local Freemason Brian Stringer presented the cheque to the J.A. Laird Elementary School Choir.

Under the direction of Bryant Olender, who also conducts the Valley Voices Choir, many Grade 4–7 students

are currently enrolled in choir and ukulele groups.

These groups have been great ambassadors for the school and have performed for the community at both the Legion and Groundswell’s Garden of Lights Festival.

Future performances include the J. A. Laird farewell assembly for Grade 7 students, and Columbia Valley Gardens.

They are definitely deserving of recognition for a job well done, and plans are underway to have a pizza lunch with this money.

Unlike their more visible counterpart, the Shriners, who provide support for crippled children and burn victims, Freemasons are involved in behind-thescenes support for community service.

Stringer, also a Shriner, originally

joined Columbia Lodge #38 to follow in his father’s footsteps.

While there is no family history required to become a member of the Masonic Lodge, one must be a Freemason before becoming a Shriner.

Either way, the organization is proud to be active in supporting others in the community.

Recreational Property OPEN HOUSE

Pick up a passport at any one of the lots featured, view all 9 properties and enter a draw for a great door prize: a night in a studio at Panorama Mountain Resort and a $100 gift card for a local business. We look forward to seeing you there! Valley’s Edge Resort

Come view the best Valley’s Edge Resort has to offer for affordable recreational property choices. With amenities including swimming pool, clubhouse, sports courts and easy access to four-season recreation like golfing, hiking and skiing, look no further to secure ownership in this destination vacation oasis!

Local Freemason Brian Stringer presents the $200 bursary to members of the J.A. Laird Elementary Choir for being great ambassadors for the school and performing for the community. They deserve recognition for a job well done. PHOTO SUBMITTED

Artym Gallery to host ‘Bears’ exhibition

Submitted

The Artym Gallery is about to host an exciting exhibition with the theme “bears” by BC artists Anita McComas and Vance Theoret.

Not only is this an amazing show of paintings and sculpture, but a chance to fundraise for a non-profit, The Northern Lights Wildlife Society (NLWS) in Smithers.

Gallery owners Connie and Grey Bradatsch started following and supporting the NLWS three years ago when they heard of a small bear cub that was in dire need of help. Found near Panorama, this little cub was fighting for its

life, stabilized by veterinarian Dr. Mark Zehnder, and then transported by caring volunteers all the way to Smithers.

The NLWS were shocked at the cub’s terrible condition.

"Koda" was unable to stand up, he moved with his head resting on his bent front paws and pushed himself along with his hind feet. He was painfully skinny and his fur was matted and dirty. But what struck the volunteers most was his attitude. Koda wanted to do things and go places. There was no giving up in his mind.

Feed had to be introduced with great care as his system needed to adjust to a healthy diet. His motor skills

were uncoordinated and the safe surroundings were of great importance as he thought he could do it, even when he clearly couldn't.

Months passed as the team watched in awe as he regained his body strength, driven by a strong spirit. He was absolutely amazing! Koda starting to gain weight and fill out as he got ready for hibernation. As a healthy young bear, he was released back to the wild at Panorama the next year.

The NLWS has more than 140 bear cubs right now, and will be releasing 124 back to their original habitat in June.

For every bear painting or sculpture purchased between May 17 to 19,

the Artym Gallery will make a donation towards “Paws For Freedom” at NLWS. McComas will also be matching the Artym donation, while Theoret will be donating an original bear sculpture, with sale proceeds going to the NLWS as well. Join the Artym Gallery and meet the artists on Friday, May 17 from 5 to 7 p.m., and on Saturday, May 18. The show will continue until June 24. You can also view the show online at www. artymgallery.com

Go to Northern Lights Wildlife Society to make donations directly through their website and learn more about the organization at www.wildlifeshelter. com.

Artym Gallery is hosting a special exhibition featuring “Bears” starting this Friday, May 17.

Residents reminded about bear family

By Steve Hubrecht  steve@columbiavalleypioneer.com

The snow is gone, flowers are blooming, bees are buzzing — and the bears are back in town.

Columbia Valley residents are used to black bears wandering the streets of local communities each fall, searching for high-calorie food sources in garbage bins or backyard fruit trees, before hibernating. But it’s not just fall — sometimes bears enter urban environments in the spring too, when they are fresh out of hibernation and their natural food sources are limited.

That’s exactly what’s happened this spring. The Pioneer has received multiple reports of a bear family – a mother sow and three yearling cubs — wandering around the Wilder subdivision and nearby areas of Invermere over the past week. The bears’ appearance in town

may have been hastened by the fact that they are already quite familiar with the community: it’s the same mama bear and three cubs that came into Invermere last October and hung around here until at least December, raiding apple trees, peach trees, apricot trees and, especially, garbage cans not kept indoors when they should have been.

Columbia-Kootenay Conservation Officer Sgt. Greg Kruger confirmed that the bears hanging out in Invermere now are the same ones from last fall. He explained it’s not completely unusual to see bears come into communities in the spring time, since their natural food sources — such as berries — are not yet accessible. Right now, all that’s available for them to eat outside of town is grass and dandelions.

“We are hoping that they will go back into the forest in a few weeks,” Kruger told the Pioneer. “Unfortunate-

Columbia Extreme Contracting

Residential and Commercial Wildfire Risk Reduction Services

• Falling, bucking and tree removal

• Mulching with FTX 140 Mulcher

• Controlled pile burning

• Wood splitting

• Brushing

• Tree skidding and small logging

ly they have gotten into some unnatural food sources in town — unsecured garbages. We are continuing education around that, and giving fines for that, but unfortunately the problem (unsecured garbage ) is continuing.”

Garbage must be kept indoors until a few hours prior to scheduled municipal garbage pickup times for each neighbourhood.

The bear family has spent most of its time in Invermere in the Wilder subdivision, and in the southern end of the community towards Westside Road, including the Westside Park neighbourhood.

Parents and pet owners are advised to keep a closer eye on their charges while the bear family is in town.

Basketball Camp

July 1-5 @ DTSS

Ages 8-13

(just finished grade 4 to just finished grade 7) 8:30am - 2:30pm

Cost for full week $375

Ages 13-17

(just finished grade 8 to just finished grade 11) 7:30 - 9:30pm

Cost for full week $125

Volleyball Camp

July 8-12 @ DTSS

Ages 8-13

(just finished grade 4 to just finished grade 7)

8:30am - 2:30pm

Cost for full week $375

Ages 13-17

(just finished grade 8 to just finished grade 11)

7:30 - 9:30pm

Cost for full week $125

For more information, or to register, email: lebourdaiscamps@gmail.com

The same bear family that hung around Invermere for months last fall is now back in town this spring.

PHOTO BETHANY TAYLOR

Category 3 open burning prohibited again

Columbia Valley Pioneer staff

Columbia Valley residents are being reminded that, starting this Friday, May 17, all Category 3 open burning will be prohibited.

The ban throughout the Southeast Fire Centre is in place to prevent wildfires and to protect public safety. This prohibition will remain in place until 12 p.m. (noon) PDT on October 28, 2024 or until the order is rescinded.

Anyone conducting Category 3 open fires must extinguish them by this Friday’s deadline at noon.

A Category 3 means an open fire that burns material concurrently in three or more piles each not exceeding two metres in height and three metres in width; material in one or more piles each exceeding two metres in height or three metres in width; stubble or grass over an area exceeding 0.2 hectares.

NOTICE OF NO PUBLIC HEARING

Monday, May 27th, 2024 at 4:00pm

At the Regular Council Meeting on May 27, 2024 at 4:00pm (also by Zoom), Village of Radium Hot Springs Council will give first and second readings to the following proposed bylaw:

Village of Radium Hot Springs Zoning Amendment Bylaw No. 509, 2024

Purpose

To amend “Village of Radium Hot Springs Zoning Bylaw No. 480, 2022” to comply with the minimum density requirements in Bill 44 – 2023: Housing Statutes (Residential Development) Amendment Act, 2023.

Per the Local Government Act

S.464 (4) A local government must not hold a public hearing on a zoning bylaw proposed for the sole purpose of complying with section 481.3 (zoning bylaws and small-scale multi-family housing).

Subject Properties

Proposed Village of Radium Hot Springs Zoning Amendment Bylaw No. 509, 2024 applies to the following residential zones in the Village of Radium Hot Springs:

• R1(MH) Single Detached Residential, MH

How Do I Find Out More Information?

• From May 16th to May 27th, view a copy of the bylaw online at radiumhotsprings.ca, or at the Village Office (4836 Radium Blvd) from 8:30am to 4:30pm Monday to Friday, excluding holidays.

• Contact the Village Office at 250-347-6455 if you have questions.

Village of Radium Hot Springs P.O. Box 340, 4836 Radium Blvd, Radium Hot Springs, B.C., ph: 250-347-6455 fax: 250-347-9068 email: cao@radiumhotsprings.ca

Starting Friday, May 17, all Category 3 open burning will be prohibited in the Southeast Fire Centre to address the wildfire hazard this summer. PHOTO RYAN WATMOUGH

Students call for better public transit

By Lyonel Doherty editor@columbiavalleypioneer.com

A group of determined DTSS students is looking for support from the Regional District of East Kootenay (RDEK) to improve public transit in the valley through a community engagement program.

The goal of the school’s Climate Club and its partner Wildsight Invermere is to increase ridership in order to sustain the service and make it more user friendly.

Grade 12 students Seth Rievaj and Aivian Harder pitched the plan to the RDEK’s board of directors last week. The presentation began with a short video featuring a Lego bus picking up Lego characters. Several people were interviewed for the video: one person said they would like to visit friends out of town but they can’t get rides; another said the bus only runs three times a day but they can’t find service after 4 p.m.

Rievaj offered some short-term solutions such as improving bus scheduling and developing a more user-friendly application. He proposed creating a new Columbia Valley website to make transit easier to navigate. “We’d love to see buses running on weekends and late afternoons (and service to Cranbrook and Golden).”

Harder proposed a longer-term solution featuring an “on-demand” system where buses show up when people book a ride. He noted this type of service has been proven more cost-efficient than a fixed route service. It can also provide more stops and take riders farther afield, he added.

The group reached out to BC Transit which basically said that ridership needs to increase before bus service can increase.

In the students’ report, Harder explained that the project began with a student survey that expanded into the community. In total, there were nearly 160 responses, he said, adding they interviewed First Na-

DTSS student Seth Rievaj encourages more people to use public transit. PHOTO SUBMITTED

tions, business owners, employees and senior citizens.

“The biggest challenge we have had with working on this project was not enough reliable public transit,” Harder said.

The only time students had to work on the initiative was during their lunch hour. In fact, Harder noted that a couple of television producers came to one of their meetings to help them with the short documentary.

“One of our common responses (in the survey) was that people either didn’t know we had transit or know how to use it. Many find it complicated to nav-

igate with not enough buses, routes or stops,” Harder said.

The students agreed that one solution would involve a transit engagement program to help boost ridership.

BC Transit told the club that the best way youth could effectively advocate for more public transit is to use it and encourage others to do the same.

Harder said the corporation encouraged the students to raise awareness through social media and to highlight the importance of reducing traffic congestion and cutting carbon emissions.

The Climate Club proposes to create a public transit website with information to increase ridership, including routes and stops.

Harder explained how people could get involved by volunteering at engagement events, and how the club could work with local organizations for funding and sponsorship. New signage was also discussed.

Harder said the club would like to model their system after other successful transit programs, such as the on-demand service utilized in Cochrane, AB. The club believes that on-demand transit is a great way to avoid the waste seen in the current system where many buses operate with very few passengers.

Following the presentation, Area F director Susan Clovechok said it’s great to have a student voice on the issue, added that she supports the project and agrees with the club’s findings.

“We need to do better on this service, and I’m sure if we put our heads together we can find some solutions.”

Invermere Mayor Al Miller agreed, saying he looks forward to working with the students.

Area G Director Roberta Schnider said she and Clovechok share the same passion for public transit. She recommended that the local school district also be included in the conversation.

Valley teen represents Canada in Peru

By Steve Hubrecht  steve@columbiavalleypioneer.com

A local teen has returned to the Columbia Valley from South America, where he represented Canada at a youth soccer tournament.

David Thompson Secondary School (DTSS) student Caden McMurray spent 10 days in Peru in mid to late April as a member of Canada’s U18 (under age 18) team at the IFA7 Copa America Raising Stars seven-a-side soccer tournament.

“It was a great experience,” Caden told the Pioneer, a week after he got back to Canada. “I was super excited to be able to go play soccer in a different country.”

Caden and his teammates were in Lima, Peru’s capital, for their entire stay. There was the soccer, of course, but the teens still found time to get out for walks around the bustling metropolis, visiting parks and some of the coastal city’s famous beaches.

“Just watching the waves come in was amazing. The beaches were surrounded by cliffs,” said Caden, adding that compared with a small town such as Invermere, Peru seems very populated indeed. “The driving is crazy, if

there’s any space (between vehicles) drivers will take it.”

Caden and his Canadian teammates played multiple games over the course of 10 days. They played their initial games in a group stage, winning one of those matches, which was enough to earn a spot in the semi-finals. They lost their semi-final, and then lost again in the bronze medal match, but their performance was still enough to earn them fourth place out of the six nations participating in the tournament. Other countries taking part — aside from Canada and the host nation Peru — were Mexico, Venezuela, Ecuador and Colombia.

In Peru, as all over Latin America, there is “big interest” in soccer, explained Caden. The games he played in had fireworks going off, smoke flares set off by the crowd watching the game, and plenty of loud music “just like in the pro games”, he said. All of the games were televised and a lot of people were watching.

Seven-a-side is a quicker, smaller version of the normal 11-a-side version of soccer. In seven-a-side there are, obviously, fewer players (seven per team) and the game is played on a smaller-than-normal pitch.

The smaller field means there’s not quite as much running as in a normal soccer game (because there is less space on the pitch) but also means that “things seem to happen more quickly. You have to make decisions more quickly,” outlined Caden. “It’s a faster pace. There’s less time to think.”

A common lineup in seven-a-side soccer includes one goalkeeper, two defenders, three midfielders and a lone forward up top. Caden played most of

the tournament in midfield, but also spent some time in defence.  He ended up on the Canadian team after playing in a seven-a-side tournament in Calgary last summer and being spotted by a coach. Caden is currently finishing off Grade 11 at DTSS and participates in the Vancouver Whitecaps’ Cranbrook-based Kootenay Caps-toCollege programs, with the hope of eventually playing soccer at the university level.

Caden McMurray, second from left in front row, is shown here with his team on the beach in Peru. PHOTO SUBMITTED

PIONEER CLASSIFIEDS

Al-Anon. Are you concerned about or affected by someone else’s drinking? For more information or to speak with someone from our fellowship, please call 250-878-2448 or 250-342-8392

Alcoholics Anonymous. If alcohol is causing problems or conflict in your life, AA can help. All meetings are at 7 pm. Columbia United AA, Invermere: Saturday, Sunday, Tuesday and Wednesday at the BC Service Building, South End-624 4th St. Invermere. Please call 250-3422424 for more information or to speak with someone from our fellowship.

Narcotics Anonymous. Open meeting.

Mondays 7 pm at the BC Service Building, South End. 624-4th St. Invermere

A Big Cheers to M&H Logging for your sponsorship of the Edgewater Elementary School May Hot Lunch! Cheers to your support of this program!

Cheers to the folks at the Purple Cow in Fairmont Hot Springs, Inspire Floral Boutique in Invermere, and the Radium Public Library for selling tickets for the Valley Voices Community Choir. Our spring concerts, Broadway Gold, were sell-out, standing room only again this year thanks to your support!

Cheers to Judy Frain for delivering my purchase. You are so kind. Cheers to Tracy Logan at Chisel Peak Medical Clinic. You always take the time to help me with any questions I have. I appreciate it.

Cheers to James at Invermere Lab. You made getting bloodwork done a breeze. You are great at your job, you put me at ease!

Cheers to Jason and Laurie of Woody’s Plumbing for coming on short notice to repair a plumbing problem at my house.  You return phone calls, give super customer service and this senior citizen appreciates all your help.

Cheers to Doug at Tristram Knives for the great job sharpening my knives. Fast and friendly service. Cheers to Linda Blakley at Home Hardware. what a great asset to the store. Great customer service. Cheers to Lyonel Doherty, editor of The Pioneer for the great editorials. Cheers to Arnold Malone for the great articles in The Pioneer. Always a great read.

Huge CHEERS to Gerriann Donahue for all that she does, and has done for many years, to keep we Baby Boomers informed, active, and on schedule. She is an inspiration to so many, and one amazing lady.

Cheers to Tony of Tony Evers Landscaping for volunteering his time to trim all the fruit trees (and hauling away all the trimmings) at Groundswell and then taking more time to do the first whipper snip and mow of the season for us. It is truly appreciated!

CELEBRATION OF LIFE

A Celebration of Life for the friends of Joan Birkett

March 27, 1929 - February 8, 2024

On May 26th from 11:30am to 3:30pm there will be a Celebration of Life for the friends of Joan Birkett at the Invermere Seniors Hall, 1309 14th St. We would also like to give a special Thank You to the home care workers. Hope to see you there.

Dale Robert Elliott

October 11, 1960 - March 3, 2024

Celebration of Life

Everyone welcome to attend Saturday, May 25 - 2 pm

Edgewater Community Hall - 4818 Selkirk Ave.

Welcome & Reading

Eulogy

Tributes & Open Mic

Memorial Slideshow Blessing

Special thanks to those who helped take care of Dale and his family:

Invermere and EK Regional Hospitals

McPherson Funeral Home

Horsethief Pub & The Old Salzburg Restaurant

Kekuli Bay Cabinetry

Columbia Valley Law

Local View Printing & Design

Norma and Rhonda Barrett

Pastor Terry Dyck

Downsizing pond and have some healthy goldfish to re home. $3 each. Call 250-345-6635

of

for

CROFT May 25, 2024

Please join family and friends for a hike up Mt. Swansea at 11 am in memory of Bill, followed by a Celebration of Life and refreshments at 2 pm at our home. 1809 Windermere Loop Road, Windermere, BC

BOOK WANTED

& TRAINING

SWIM LESSONS at Fairmont Hot Springs with Rocky Mountain Swim lessons.  Book online at rockymountainswimlessons.ca

I wish to buy a copy of the book The Kinbasket Migration and other Indian matters by Shelagh Palmer Dehart. Anyone holding a copy of the book that they wish to sell is asked to email me at: harrygow1939@gmail.com.

Cheers to the up and coming stars of the Eileen Madson Primary School Choir! Your performances at the Valley Voices Broadway Gold concert were fabulous and added real spark to the show. We look forward to singing with you again next year!

Thank You

The Family of Violet Baes would like to send a huge thank you to all the caring staff at Columbia House, Dr. Schaffer, and the staff at Ivy House and Invermere Hospital. We can not thank you enough for the care and compassion you gave to our mom Vi.

Sincerely the Family of Violet Baes

Food Truck Line Cook

Toby Creek Adventures is currently hiring a full-time seasonal (June - October) line cook to operate our food trailer. This is a great opportunity for a motivated self starter who works well with minimal supervision, has a keen eye for detail and dedication to quality and consistency. The deluxe trailer boasts a full stainless kitchen, stocked with all necessary kitchen tools and equipment. We have an excellent history of staff retention and offer a fun working environment with great perks!

Responsibilities

• Set up and stock stations with supplies

• Prepare food for service

• Cook menu items in a coordinated and timely fashion

• Plate food attractively in takeout containers

• Clean up stations and store food appropriately

• Wash dishes from prep, cooking and storage with three sink method

• End of day and weekly cleaning duties

Comply with food safety industry standards

Ensure that high standards of cleanliness are met

• Assist the food and beverage supervisor with product orders

• Meet and exceed customer expectations

• Adjust and respond to business levels throughout the day

• Operate POS system and handle payments

Requirements

• Proven cooking experience as a Line Cook, minimum 1 year preferred

• Diploma/Degree in Culinary Arts or related discipline considered an asset Current BC Foodsafe Level 1

• Familiarity with industry best practices

• Experience with POS system or willingness to learn

• Able to work weekends, Thursday - Sunday, 10 hour shifts (lunch/early dinner)

Other Requirements

• Self-starter, well-organized and independently motivated

• Upbeat, high-energy, enthusiastic, and engaged

• Ability to greet and interact with customers cheerfully & professionally

Ability to work under pressure with accuracy, efficiency, and attention to detail Works well with others and supports the team efforts to get the job done

• Accepts and overcomes challenges

• Must enjoy the outdoors

• Willing to work in all weather

Hourly Wage: To be determined based on qualifications & experience of the successful applicant.

Contact: Dean Daniele dean@tobycreekadventures.com 778 879 9982

Taynton Bay ElectricalLooking for experienced Electrician. Wages negotiable. Please forward resume to: cliff@taybay.ca or call Cliff : 250-342- 1355

House cleaner needed. 2 hours per week. $45/hr Phone Linda 250-342-9009

B. B.’s Home and Design Services

Renovations, Masonry & Handyman Services, Blinds, House checks, eavestrough/ yard cleaning/dump runs.

250-688-2897 or 403-861-8782

LAWN RANGER

250-342-9222

Lawn & Dump Services

• Yard Cleans

• Hedge & Brush Trims

• Dump Runs

Emergency Maintenance CALL MARK

General Maintenance CALL MARK

Short-term Rental Call-out CALL MARK

Short-term Rental

Maintenance CALL MARK

Need Anything Fixed CALL MARK

Become a member, 24/7 Service Mark Who?

Mark Kline 587-888-0387

Local Invermere Resident

We are hiring an Office Administrator to join our dynamic team. We are a local company and have been in the valley for 40 years. Your role will involve managing day-to-day office operations, coordinating administrative tasks, and ensuring the office runs smoothly. Monday to Friday - 9am to 5pm. Please email info@rfealarms.com to set up an appointment / interview.

Sales Representative

The Columbia Valley Pioneer is currently accepting applications for a Sales Representative position. This role is ideal for individuals who are energetic, creative, and possess excellent listening and problem-solving skills. If you are a goal-oriented individual with an open mind to new ideas and previous sales experience, we encourage you to apply. The position is full-time with flexible hours, and compensation is based on experience. Must have a reliable vehicle.

Please contact Amanda Nason at 250-341-1111 or advertising@columbiavalleypioneer.com

Drop off resume at: #4A, 1014 8th Ave, Invermere

TRUE KEY VACATIONS

Unlock the Earning Potential of Your Vacation Home!

True Key Vacations offers premier local rental management services focused on maximizing your property’s earning potential through direct booking strategies. Our highly professional team handles all reservations, marketing, revenue management and housekeeping services. With our expertise, rest assured your vacation home is in trusted hands. Contact us today to learn more about our comprehensive management solutions.

www.TrueKeyVacations.com

250-347-2992

Multi Family Garage Sale

Saturday May 18 9a-1p

Tools, household items, sewing, beading, Christmas and so much more.

1815 14 Ave Invermere. Don’t use GPS you’ll end up going to the wrong place. Take 15th Ave from Laird towards EMP. Turn left on 18th St. We are the house in the middle at the end of the block. Please come to the back.

Annual Dutch Creek

Garage Sale

May 18th 9a-1p

Household items, garden furniture and much more.

$300 13” thickness planer(Rigid)

$280 9” Wen band saw with fence and mitre gauge

THE HEARTFELT COMPANION

Services for Seniors. Since 2014 we’ve provided kind and compassionate non-medical care, transportation to Cranbrook, overnight care, meal prep, grocery shopping and more. Excellent local references. 250-341-5683

Heartfeltcompanionservices. com

Tristram Knives Knife sharpening. $1.50 per knife up to $2.00 over 8 inch blade. Call 250-342-6068

Get-ER-Done Handyman

Landscaping, Asphalt Pads, General Contracting, Cleaning Gutters, House Checks, Pressure Washing. Call Ryan 604-346-5087

Garage & Plant Sale

Sat May 18, 8 am-12pm 12B Wolf Cres (behind Tim Horton’s) Perennials, nankings, spruce, pussywillow, & other trees. Large dog house, craft items, household & more. Raising money to help bring our grand daughter home from the Phillipines.

1361 Industrial Rd. #4, Unit 10 Friday May 17, 4p-8p Saturday May 18, 10a-5p Sunday May 19, 10a-5p Truck shop downsizing, sports, misc. Indoors

ACREAGES FOR SALE Last four acreages in Elkhorn Country Estates. 2.5 to 2.89 acre parcels. Individual wells, no building time commitment. Starting at $329,000 + GST For more information, contact Elkhorn Ranches: 250-342-1267 www.elkhornranches.com

EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITY

PROJECT SUPERVISOR (COLUMBIA VALLEY or CRANBROOK) we are hiring.

Join our dynamic team as the Project Supervisor, where you’ll play a pivotal role working on a variety of projects related to water and sewer, flood control and building construction initiatives. Reporting to the Engineering Services Supervisor, the Project Supervisor is responsible for coordinating project development, facilitating public processes, project procurement, contract management, project monitoring, and supervision of capital projects to ensure they are constructed on time and within budget.

AS THE SUCCESSFUL CANDIDATE YOU ARE:

• Computer literate with experience in land management systems & Microsoft Office Suite.

• Able to coordinate projects involving multiple departments and agencies.

• Able to explain complex technical concepts and plans to non-technical people.

• Able to manage construction projects using established project management practices and tools including computer-based project management software to ensure objectives, budgets, and timelines are met.

• Able to prepare clear and concise reports.

ESSENTIAL QUALIFICATIONS:

• Civil Engineering undergraduate degree.

• Certificate in Project Management.

• BC Driver’s Licence.

OILS & GREASES

HEARING NOTICE

WHAT IS FOG?

This is a permanent, full-time (35 hours per week), Union position with an hourly rate of $47.44 - $49.83/hour.

If you possess the necessary qualifications and experience, we invite you to submit a resume and cover letter, with references no later than 4:30 pm Tuesday, May 21, 2024, to:

Ashley Grobell, Human Resources Manager

Email: hr@rdek.bc.ca (Please quote: 2024-17)

Information on our organization is available at www.rdek.bc.ca/careers

We thank all who apply. Only those selected for further consideration will be contacted.

The fats, oils, and greases that should not be going down your drain may be a bigger group of items than you think.

Some of the items that should be avoided include:

Baking goods

Butter, lard, shortening

Cooking oil

Fats /oil from cooked meats

Food scraps

Gravy

Mayonnaise and sour cream

Salad dressings

Wipes (even “flushable”)

Blockages in sewer systems are often caused by the accumulation of fats, oils, and grease (FOG). It is imperative that cooking leftovers like fats, grease, or cooking oils are disposed of in the garbage, and never in the sink or toilet. The same goes for food scraps, which are to be disposed of in the garbage (even if you have a garbage disposal/garburator). Disposable wipes of ANY kind should always be discarded in the garbage. Keep wipes out of the toilet, even those labelled “flushable”.

Blockages caused by FOG, food scraps, and wipes have caused raw sewage to back up and even run overland. They must be cleared by a vacuum truck which not only results in increased operating costs but can take time to find an available truck.

learn more:

www.rdek.bc.ca/departments/engineering/sewer_systems

The Regional District of East Kootenay (RDEK) Board of Directors is considering an application by HC Consulting Inc., RKJ Consulting Inc. and Spenoco Consulting Inc. to amend the Fairmont Hot Springs & Columbia Lake Area OCP and the Columbia Valley Zoning Bylaw to change the designations of the property from Commercial to Residential. The subject property is currently vacant. The subject land is located on Riverview Road in Fairmont Hot Springs, as shown on the attached map. Bylaw No. 3303 cited as “Regional District of East Kootenay – Fairmont Hot Springs & Columbia Lake Area Official Community Plan Bylaw No. 2779, 2017 – Amendment Bylaw No. 15, 2024 (Fairmont Hot Springs / HC Consulting Inc., RKJ Consulting Inc. & Spenoco Consulting Inc.)” will amend the OCP designation of Lot 1, District Lot 138, Kootenay District, Plan NEP86864, from GC, General Commercial to R-MF, Residential Multi Family.

Bylaw No. 3304 cited as “Regional District of East Kootenay – Columbia Valley Zoning Bylaw No. 3255, 2023 – Amendment Bylaw No. 9, 2024 (Fairmont Hot Springs / HC Consulting Inc., RKJ Consulting Inc. and Spenoco Consulting Inc.)” will amend the zone designation of Lot 1, District Lot 138, Kootenay District, Plan NEP86864, from C-1, Community Commercial Zone to R-3, Multiple Family Residential – Medium Density Zone.

A public hearing will be held via Zoom webinar conference: Tuesday, May 28, 2024 at 6:00 pm.

The Board has delegated the holding of this hearing to the Directors for Electoral Areas F and the Village of Canal Flats. If you believe that your interest in property is affected by the proposed Bylaws, you may prior to the hearing:

• inspect the Bylaws and supporting information by requesting that an information package be emailed to you by contacting kgilbert@rdek.bc.ca. Information packages may be requested up until Friday, May 24, 2024 at 4:30 pm, mail or email written submissions to the addresses shown below before Friday, May 24, 2024 at 4:30 pm; present verbal submissions at the public hearing.

You must pre-register in order to attend and provide verbal presentations or make comments at the hearing. The deadline to register is Friday, May 24, 2024 at 4:30 pm. Register in advance for this webinar: https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_6X7IlMvPRreDczVy-LGTPw or by visiting www.rdek.bc.ca (Meetings/Minutes, Meetings & Notices page).

Please note that a question and answer period will not occur during the Zoom webinar conference. You must address any questions relating to the bylaws to the Planning Technician prior to the above date. SUBMISSIONS CANNOT BE ACCEPTED AFTER THE PUBLIC HEARING.

All submissions will form part of the public record and will be published in a meeting agenda posted online. Personal contact information such as phone and email will be removed from written submissions. Questions about the disclosure of your personal information may be referred to the Corporate Officer at 250-489-2791 or 1-888-478-7335.

This notice is not an interpretation of the Bylaws. For more information, contact Krista Gilbert, Planning Technician at 250-489-0314 or toll free at 1-888-478-7335 or email kgilbert@rdek.bc.ca.

This sewer pipe that has been clogged with fats, oils, and greases.

Wings over the Rockies ‘flying high’

Submitted

The Upper Columbia Valley came alive over the past week with the premier, seven-day Wings over the Rockies Nature Festival.

In its 27th year, Wings continues to attract thousands of people to experience this unique and beautiful valley.

Throughout the week, everyone enjoyed the field events, luncheon/ evening presentations and the special events at Columbia Valley Centre. With 107 events to choose from, there was something for everyone.

On May 11, the annual gala celebration, catered by Trotters Catering, was a sold-out event.

Bob McDonald, CBC Radio host of Quirks and Quarks, was the keynote speaker and delivered an engaging message on "Earth - Perspectives on a Planet." Four Points Books hosted McDonald for a book signing opportunity

for the attendees.

Rick Kubian, president of the Wings board, along with board directors Katherine Friedley and Brian Wesley, presented a $25,000 cheque from the newly formed Wings over the Rockies - Ross MacDonald Memorial Legacy Fund - to Thiloma Hofer, executive director of the Columbia Valley Community Foundation.

This endowment has been created to provide ongoing funding to assist projects in the Columbia Valley that will support community environmental education and/or land-based conservation such as habitat restoration, maintaining or improving ecological conditions, or species at risk protection.

The Wings board and festival event planner Elizabeth Shopland wish to thank everyone who attended and supported this year's festival.

Mark your calendar for next year's festival from May 5 to 11.

CBC Radio host Bob McDonald was the keynote speaker for the event at Columbia Valley Centre on May 11. The Wings over the Rockies board presented a $25,000 cheque (below) from the newly formed Ross MacDonald Memorial Legacy Fund to Thiloma Hofer, executive director of the Columbia Valley Community Foundation.

PHOTOS SUBMITTED

FAITH

Is knowledge really a burden?

By Brent Woodard Windermere Valley

Shared Ministry

If ignorance is bliss, is knowledge a burden?

Often, I have experienced this to be true. For example, drinking coffee out of a Styrofoam cup. Not many years ago polystyrene foam (commonly called Styrofoam) was made out of chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs), which helped deplete the ozone layer. (Though apparently no longer made of CFCs, polystyrene foam is a nonbiodegradable substance and is almost impossible to recycle and reuse. It is a significant contributor of microplastics and is toxic for animals and the planet).

Columbia Valley Churches

LAKE WINDERMERE ALLIANCE CHURCH

generations burn it all up, and that it contributes to warming our planet, well, that can become a burden. Especially when fossil-fuel consumption is so tied to “the good life.” How big of a vehicle should we drive? How much air travel is justifiable? How do we “work locally, shop locally, holiday locally and play locally?”

How blissful were the days of suntanning. It’s a bit of a burden now to wear a broadbrim hat and put on sunscreen.

The use of plastic

When it is so cheap to wrap and package and contain things in plastic, ignorance is the friend of the provider and consumer. Knowledge becomes a burden, because then providers have to struggle to package and provide in other ways and consumers have to struggle with their choices too.

While you are with us, you are always welcome to join us. Sunday at 10:30 am 326 10th Avenue, Invermere 250-342-9535 | www.lwac.ca

WINDERMERE VALLEY SHARED MINISTRY ANGLICAN-UNITED

Minister: Brent Woodard Sundays at 10:30 am, in-person or on Zoom. For the Zoom link, please visit our website at wvsm.ca. 110 - 7th Ave. in Invermere.

VALLEY CHRISTIAN ASSEMBLY

Pastor: Justin Furse

After I learned this about Styrofoam, I could no longer enjoy drinking coffee out of a Styrofoam cup. It was an early experience for me of knowledge being a small burden.

How many children to have?

One of the greatest contributions we can make to the environment is to have fewer children. Children born in a poorer part of the world have much less effect on the environment than children born in a wealthier part. For those who want to have large families, ignorance to this knowledge might be preferred to the burden of knowing it.

Fossil-fuel consumption

Once you’ve read the memo about fossil-fuel, that there is only so much of it so let’s not just have a few

I just learned last year that fireworks release significant toxic chemicals in the air. The day is soon coming when people will drive in their electric vehicles to watch fireworks. There will be knowledge, and behavioural adjustments, in one area of life, and ignorance, and no behaviour change, in another.

I don’t have time to write about the culture of eating meat, but I admit that I resist being educated about the animal-eating culture because I’m not ready to change my behaviour.

I close with some questions. Is living in the bliss of ignorance often good for one but a burden for others? Is ignorance a bliss at one point in our life but a burden at another point? When is ignorance a problem and knowledge is a solution? Is there a deeper satisfaction in acting out of knowledge than there is a “bliss” that comes with acting in ignorance?

Library can help prepare you

Written by Jacqueline Kozak, director of the Radium Public Library, and Donna Tunney from the Friends of the Radium Library.

May 5 to 11 was National Emergency Preparedness week, which encourages Canadians to take concrete actions to be better prepared to protect themselves and their families during emergencies.

The Radium Public Library has resources available to help you and your family prepare for all types of emergencies. We have a range of free pamphlets and brochures, and emergency-related books available to borrow. Stop by the library to check out our emergency preparedness resources.

The library is gearing up for another busy summer. Many of our regular programs will wind down at the end of the month as we move into our summer program schedule; however, Storytime will continue throughout the summer months.

Summer Reading Club will return in July. This year’s theme is World of Curiosities! Every summer we offer a free weekly program for children ages 5 to 12. This year we will also be offering a bi-weekly program

in Edgewater.

Registration for Summer Reading Club will open in June. Due to popular interest, there will be limited spaces available each week, so we encourage you to register as soon as it opens.

Friends of the library

The long weekend is almost here. With it comes the annual Radium Community Garage Sale and BBQ hosted by the Radium Fire Hall, the Radium Rotary Gardens, and the Friends of the Radium Library.

If you’ve been busy spring cleaning and have items you no longer need, we’ll happily take them. We’re looking for donations of gently used seasonal décor, luggage, toys, games, puzzles, small appliances and electronics, kitchenware, baby items, fashion accessories (jewellery and scarves), tools, camping and sporting equipment, small furnishings (like end tables), as well as tables and chairs for the patio. Books too. No clothes or large items, please.

If you have donations for us, contact friendsoftheradiumlibrary@gmail.com, @ Friends of Radium Library on FB, or text Todd at 250-342-1753 to arrange a drop off time from May 13 to 17. You can also bring your items to the Radium Fire Hall on the evening of May 17. (Please do not drop off items at the library.)

On the Saturday, come shopping for new-to-you treasures. Stay for the ever-popular BBQ, and meet Randy the Ram, Radium’s friendly mascot. It all happens May 18 between 10 a.m. and 2 p.m.

Sunday 10 a.m. Worship Service 4814 Highway Drive, Windermere 250-342-9511 | www.vcachurch.net

ROMAN CATHOLIC CHURCH

St. Anthony’s, Canal Flats: Saturday, 4 pm Canadian Martyrs’, Invermere: Saturday 5 pm, Sunday 9 am St. Joseph’s, Radium: Sunday 11 am Father Francis Dela Cruz | 712 -12th Ave., Invermere 250-342-6167

RADIUM CHRISTIAN FELLOWSHIP

Sunday 10 a.m. Worship service Pastor Wayne and Linda Frater | 250-342-6633 #4, 7553 Main St. Radium | 250-347-9937

CHURCH OF JESUS CHRIST OF LATTER-DAY SAINTS

Worship Service, Sunday, 11 a.m. Sunday School, 10 a.m. President Kendyn Mackensie • Columbia Valley Branch • 5014 Fairway, Fairmont Hot Springs 250-439-9041

CHURCH OF CHRIST (Iglesia ni Cristo)

Worship Service: Sunday 9 a.m., Thursday 7:45 p.m. Chamber of Commerce (Lions Hall) For inquiries: 250-688-1643 250-270-2208 or 250-688-0629 For more info about the church, you can Google online at incmedia.org or pasugo.com.ph