Spring book sale
The Ashcroft Library is holding its annual spring book sale from May 15 to May 22 inclusive. Come into the library during regular hours and browse the hundreds of items on offer, including kids’ books, fiction, non-fiction, and more.
Come by early for best selection. On May 22, everything left is on offer for just $1 per box, so bring your own box and load it up for a great deal.
Free disposal day
The Cache Creek Transfer Station will be holding a free disposal day for residents of the TNRD on Saturday, May 19. This is a great opportunity to do some spring cleaning and save money on tipping fees.
Each household can bring in one load of material (up to an eight-foot (full-sized) truck box or up to an eight-foot trailer), with fees waived for items such as household garbage, cooling appliances, tires on rims, mattresses, couches and other furniture, wood waste, demolition/renovation/construction material, and more. This offer does not apply to business or commercial loads.
Community Fest at 108 Mile
It’s not precisely local, but all are welcome at the 108 Heritage Site’s free Community Fest on Saturday, May 19. It’s their way of saying “thank you”, with events for the whole family from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., and a barn dance featuring the band Front Porch from 7 to 10 p.m. (admission to the dance is by donation).
Among the events taking place during the day are a performance by the Canim Lake Dancers (at 11 a.m.), pony rides, a dog agility display, a packhorse demonstration, and live music. The 108 Volunteer Fire Department will be there, along with a magician, a blacksmith at the site, the 100 Mile Car Club, a heritage market, a Kids’ Corner, the South Cariboo Weavers and Spinners, concessions and food vendors, and much more.
The event is being hosted and sponsored by the 100 Mile House and District Historical Society. For more information visit their website at www.historical.ca.
Movie Night at the HUB
This month’s movie presentation at the Ashcroft HUB is Indian Horse (rated 14A), which will be presented at 7 p.m. on Friday, May 25 (doors open at 6:30). Admission is $3 per person, and a concession selling popcorn, drinks, and chocolate bars is available.
Indian Horse is a critically acclaimed film based on the novel by the late Richard Wagamese, and centres on Saul Indian Horse, a young Ojibway boy who survives the residential school system and becomes a star hockey player. The film—which boasts Academy Award-winner Clint Eastwood as executive producer—debuted at the Toronto International Film Festival in 2017 and has won numerous awards.
Equality Project AGM
The Equality Project will be holding its annual general meeting on Tuesday, June 5 at 1 p.m. at the clubhouse on Stage Road in Cache Creek. All members of the public are welcome to attend, although only members in good standing are eligible to vote.
The Equality Project is always looking for items for individual members, for the essentials room, and for the clubhouse, including small appliances, a variety of clothes items, toiletries, kitchen items, cat and dog food, and more. For the most recent list of needed items, check the Project’s Facebook page (The Equality Project).
Ashcroft Fun Fair
Mark your calendar now for Thursday, June 7, when the 10th annual Ashcroft Fundraising Fun Fair will be taking place at Desert Sands Community School from 4 to 8 p.m. Highlights of this year’s fair include seven inflatables, food trucks, and the always-welcome Uncle Chris the Clown.
Bring the whole family for a great evening of fun that celebrates the school and its students, and raises funds for the Desert Sands Community School Parent Advisory Council to support student activities throughout the year.
This Is You! offers free day at sea
Girls and women aged 12 and older are invited to apply now to test-drive a real Navy warship on Sunday, May 27 as part of the Achieve Anything Foundation’s “This is You!” event. Successful applicants will enjoy a free day at sea with the Royal Canadian Navy, which will include tours of duty stations (there’s a top secret war room!), as well as a chance to witness an awesome SAR joint demonstration with a Royal Canadian Air Force helicopter, experience the thrill of a simulated threat/response scenario involving an “enemy” at sea, participate in fire/rescue demonstrations, and try out tactical gear.
Check out the Achieve Anything Foundation Facebook page, or go to www.achieveanything.ca/thisisyou.html for more information and to apply. Other upcoming free experience events include a Search and Rescue at Richmond’s Sea Island Hovercraft Base, a “Behind the Scenes” event at YVR, and a Tactical Day with the Vancouver Police Department.
Three B.C. parks to be renamed
Three provincial parks—including Roderick Haig-Brown Park in the Shuswap—will be renamed to reflect their historic and cultural significance as part of reconciliation efforts with Indigenous peoples, if proposed legislative amendments introduced are passed.
The bill amends the Protected Areas of British Columbia Act and the Parks and Protected Areas Statutes Amendment Act, 2003. The bill proposes to add more than 1,600 hectares of land to 10 parks and one conservancy, as well as improve boundary descriptions and make administrative changes.
“These amendments allow our government to take an important step forward towards our ongoing reconciliation efforts with Indigenous peoples throughout British Columbia, which includes honouring the commitments we made under the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples,” says George Heyman, Minister of Environment and Climate Change Strategy. “The renaming of these parks to traditional Indigenous names, as rooted in history, reflect the significant heritage values recognized by all British Columbians and beyond.”
To reflect ancestral connections and support reconciliation efforts, three parks are proposed to be renamed with Indigenous titles. Roderick Haig-Brown Park in the Shuswap will be renamed to the traditional Secwepemc name Tsútswecw Park, which translates to “many fish”, at the request of the Little Shuswap Indian Band. Brooks Peninsula Park (a.k.a. Mquqwin Park) on Vancouver Island will be renamed to Mquqwin/Brooks Peninsula Park. The word Mquqwin means “The Queen” in the Nuu-Chah-Nulth language.
Boya Lake Park near the northwestern B.C. border will be renamed Ta Ch’ila Park (a.k.a. Boya Lake Park), meaning “holes in a blanket”, at the request of the Kaska Dena First Nation.
Proposed changes to Elections Act
British Columbia’s Chief Electoral Officer, Keith Archer, has submitted a report to the Legislative Assembly recommending changes to the Elections Act. The recommendations are aimed at increasing the accessibility and efficiency of B.C.’s electoral process.
The report’s main recommendations are:
· Allow 16- and 17-year-olds who will become eligible to vote to pre-register, so that they will be added to the voters list automatically when they turn 18;
· Provide Elections BC with greater access to information held by public bodies to maintain the voters list;
· Use technology to modernize voting and counting administration while maintaining paper ballots;
· Make the election period longer in unscheduled general elections to allow more time for nominations, material distribution, staffing, and communicating with voters.
The report proposes a new administrative model for voting and counting. This model would eliminate the need for the final count of absentee ballots, which takes place 13 days after General Voting Day under current legislation.
The Chief Electoral Officer recommends establishing a legislative committee to work towards implementing the proposed administrative model over the next three to six years. The full report can be found at http://bit.ly/2wGFDSi.
Atlas Obscura
Atlas Obscura (www.atlasobscura.com) is a website that bills itself as showcasing “Curious and Wondrous Travel Destinations” from around the world. Now and then one of the sites is within striking distance of our region, so travellers might want to check them out next time they visit.
It’s unlikely that humans will be travelling to Mars anytime soon, but travellers through southern Alberta who are willing to go off the beaten track a little bit can get a small taste of what standing on the red planet might be like.
Red Rock Coulee, about 30 miles southwest of Medicine Hat, has some of the largest sandstone concretions anywhere in the world. The red, spherical boulders—some as large as eight feet across—are scattered about the landscape, where they can be viewed, photographed, and even climbed on.
Because Red Rock Coulee is not on the way to anywhere, it can be a little difficult to find, although detailed maps showing how to get there can be obtained from Alberta Parks. The traveller who ventures there will find a remarkably peaceful site; the perfect place to see a wonder of nature and take some time out from the world.
For more information about Red Rock Coulee, visit http://bit.ly/2IH1kWO.
editorial@accjournal.ca
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