Exciting and scary times as summer sets upon us; but careful times are also in order. I still see the occasional cigarette butt fly out the window of a moving vehicle, even with the record number of fires in our province. Scary indeed.
You want water restrictions? Try Vancouver, at one hour a week. Nanaimo is at zero tolerance—no water use until further notice due to the extreme drought conditions. The latest is that the Ministry is closing a number of fisheries due to high water temperatures. They’ve issued a notice urging all communities to practice conservation measures whenever possible. Spences Bridge, as of this writing, was still on an every other day schedule. The hours are 6:00 am‑11:00 am and 6:00 pm‑11:00 pm on odd days for odd-numbered addresses, and the same hours on even days for even-numbered addresses. Ten hours total every other day.
It should be noted that a letter was circulated stating that watering was allowed for two hours every other day. That was the case for a short time. However, after a few days regular regulations were restored.
Walhachin: what’s up? If you want to go on a short road trip, head down to Walhachin and check out the great work Luke and Lyle are doing at the Soldiers Memorial Hall. The back deck is nearly complete and a covered arbour and pizza oven are on the way. Inside there are new restroom facilities, a new door to the deck, a new heating system and storage closet. We are talking a major makeover. It will afford folks a long overdue inside and outside social gathering ground, and also be a very attractive facility for people to rent for parties, weddings, and family reunions, thus providing a source of income for the Friends of Walhachin.
A big shout out to our Volunteer Society, who have gone door to door explaining the Old School Improvement Project. As we know, the building is showing its age. Should the folks be successful, the project would unfold in two phases, with the building makeover being Phase One, and the grounds Phase Two. The incredible number of signatures gathered in just two days—approaching nearly one hundred . . . wow!—is a resounding mandate to revisit an opportunity to upgrade our old school building substantially, and possibly add amenities that our local residents would like to see, whether it be a new ball field, a beautiful playground, or a shaded arbour for gatherings. It would also allow existing activities to continue and expand into other activities if so desired.
At the end of the day it would be the community’s vision, certain to attract visitors as they pass along the Trans-Canada Highway and the economic impact they would provide. A good thing.
The Parish Hall in Lytton is sporting a beautiful new deck and ramp, thanks to some Gas Tax funding and great work by Luke and Lyle. The stunning new addition was badly needed, as age had caught up with the existing deck and safety became a concern. Well done, gentlemen.
We have a few things in the hopper for Spences Bridge. As of yet I have not finalized exactly which projects are a go, but hopefully we will see a couple of new additions before the year is out. No promises, but we are working hard to move the slow machine of government a little bit faster.
Steve Rice