FRIDAY, August 17, 2018
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LOCAL NEWS
Did you know? Savona got its name in honour of Francois Saveneux, who arrived in the area in 1858 to run a cable ferry, catering mainly to miners. — Kamloops Museum and Archives
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WEATHER ALMANAC
Today Smoky: Hi: 30 C, Low: 14 C One year ago Hi: 31 .4 C, Low: 14 .2 C Record High 38 .3 C (1967) Record Low 4 .4 C (1946)
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TRU launches e-bike rental program to ease parking woes University has fleet of 12 e-bikes available for students, staffers MICHAEL POTESTIO STAFF REPORTER michael@kamloopsthisweek.com
TRU’s sustainability office has launched a two-wheeled solution to the parking demand at the local university with a new e-bike sharing program. Electric bicycles, also known as the e-bike, look just like any ordinary bike, but come with an electric motor to provide a cyclist with some extra pedal-power. James Gudjonson, director of Thompson Rivers University’s sustainability office, said he believes the electric bicycles will be popular with students this coming fall semester after seeing some initial success rolling out the program over the summer. The program has been in place for about three months now and so far the office has been inundated with requests. “Right now the bikes are out almost all the time [and] it’s hard to get a bike. You have to book almost a week in advance,” he said. Similar to checking out a library book, the dozen e-bikes the sustainability office has in its fleet are loaned out to students, faculty or staff for use up to a week at a time. “They can use it again and again, but they can use it for a week straight,” said Gudjonson. The bikes are a good alternative to taking the bus for students who need to get to work, school or run errands on their own timetable. “For some students that work late hours when the buses aren’t running it seems to be working quite well, so we hope to add a few more bikes to the fleet over the fall,” he said. TRU’s sustainability office launched the program in an effort to increase the variety of transportation options on campus. “As the campus grows and
DISASTER
Searchers still looking for woman believed lost in mudslide KAMLOOPS THIS WEEK
MICHAEL POTESTIO/KTW James Gudjonson, the director of TRU’s sustainability office, models one of the university’s 12 rental e-bikes, which are available to students, staff and faculty for up to a week at a time.
parking — and parking stalls — become more of a premium, we want to increase the alternate transportation options and make it accessible for students, faculty and staff,” Gudjonson said. The office also wants to promote a healthy lifestyle on campus and reduce the university’s carbon footprint through the e-bike program. The newest models of e-bikes can provide a cyclist with enough juice to travel approximately 60 km, and saves users money by cutting down on the multitude of costs associated to driving a car such as parking, insurance and gas, Gudjonson said. “You can ride right to your door,” he said. An e-bike can cost about $2,500 but if used as the primary mode of transportation should pay for itself in a year, Gudjonson added. When it comes to locking up the bikes, users still need to rely
on an old-fashioned bike lock, but the sustainability office is working with a software developer to create an electronic locking system that will enable cyclists to lock and track their e-bike via an app. With residential buildings being erected on campus for the first time, the sustainability office also wants to see e-bike charging stations around town and is in early talks with talking to the City of Kamloops about creating them. “We think this is going to grow, not only on the campus, but hopefully across the city,” Gudjonson said. The e-bikes can be booked online through TRU’s website, and the program is one of three ridesharing options the university has in place. Students, faculty and staff can also take advantage of a free hybrid electric vehicle rental program and the university’s partnership with the American carsharing company Zipcar.
Police are now treating the search effort for a 67-year-old woman caught in a mudslide near Cache Creek on Saturday as a recovery mission. “There’s not much hope at this point that she will be found alive,” RCMP Sgt. Janelle Shoihet told KTW. “We would have hoped to have found her by now.” Valerie Morris and her husband Tom, also 67, were travelling to Kamloops from Vancouver in a group of six classic cars on their way when the convoy ran into heavy rain while driving through the 3300-block of Highway 99. The couple from Sechelt pulled over to the side of the road and Tom got out to put the top up on their 1968 Morgan convertible when the mudslide hit. “Mrs. Morris and the vehicle were washed away while he was standing on the roadway and he was able to get out of the way,” Shoihet said. Morris’ husband sustained some minor injuries, Shoihet said. The mudslide pushed the vehicle, with Morris in it, about 35 metres down an embankment and into a riverbed. “That entire area is being searched by police and search and rescue,” Shoihet said. She said their search efforts are expected to continue through the week and into the weekend. Shoihet said water levels have receded making for more favourable conditions in the area police have been searching since receiving the call Saturday evening that the vehicle had been washed off the road.
The YMCA-YWCA Women’s Emergency Shelter’s
s is in need of NEW toy The Women’s Shelter children and families and gifts to give to the Shelter! who stay at the
6th Annual “Empty Toy Box” Project August 1 - August 31 st
st
Don’t kno GIFT CARD w what to give? S are a perf ect gift!
Drop off your NEW items and gift cards at participating local businesses who are hosting empty toy boxes, waiting to be filled!
Downtown YMCA-YWCA 400 Battle Street John Tod Centre YMCA-YWCA 150 Wood Street
A3
Kamloops This Week 1365 Dalhousie Drive Kamloops Active Health 865 Seymour Street
Tumbleweed Toys
1201 Summit Drive (across the parking lot from Sahali Mall)
For more information, please contact Jesanne at 250-374-6162 or jesanne.stanko@kamloopsy.ca