Ranta re-elected
Cache Creek mayor John Ranta has been re-elected to a third consecutive one-year term as board chair of the Thompson-Nicola Regional District. Electoral Area “I” director Steve Rice of Spences Bridge has been elected to a first term as vice chair.
Brushes and Booze 2
Following a very successful first event, the Ashcroft and District Lions Club will be holding a second “Brushes and Booze” workshop at the Ashcroft HUB on Friday, November 25 and Saturday, November 26 from 6:30 to 10 p.m. Local artist Jo Petty will be on hand to help participants create a masterpiece (no painting experience is necessary). Tickets are $40 each (for one night only), and include matåçerials, snacks, and a complimentary drink (the themed event will feature Coronas, margaritas, and sangria); $5 from each ticket purchased will go directly to the Lions club. Tickets must be reserved by November 23; e-mail attackkat@hotmail.ca, or call (250) 457-0732, to reserve.
Medal of Good Citizenship
The province is seeking nominations for its newest provincial honour, the Medal of Good Citizenship, which was established in summer 2015. The medal recognizes individuals who have made outstanding contributions to the well-being of their communities, and the province relies on citizens to nominate candidates who are deserving of this honour. Two communities and 21 individuals have received the medal; among the 21 individuals honoured was Cache Creek resident Clayton Cassidy (“Local volunteer honoured with Citizenship Medal”, The Journal, June 30, 2016).
Nominations for the medal are accepted year-round, and can be made by an individual or group. Nominees can be of any age and from any region of the province. To learn more about the Medal of Good Citizenship, or to nominate a good citizen within your community, go to www.gov.bc.ca/medalofgoodcitizenship.
Poinsettia time
Did you know that poinsettias—the popular plant that is indigenous to Mexico, and is associated with Christmas in North America—derives its English name from Joel Roberts Poinsett, the first United States Minister to Mexico, who introduced the plant to the States in 1825?
And did you know that Cache Creek Elementary School is running its annual poinsettia fundraiser once again this year? The school is selling red, pink, and white poinsettias for $10 each, as well as azalea plants for $14, and colourful dish gardens (which contain a poinsettia as well as tropical plants) for $16. All the plants are supplied by Art Knapp’s in Kamloops, and The Journal can attest to their high quality. The money raised goes to support extra school activities. Order forms can be obtained at the school or at the Journal office; the deadline for orders is November 25, with the plants arriving around December 7.
Be careful out there
Both the BC Coroners Service and WorkSafeBC are urging drivers to be more careful, now that darkness is falling earlier. Statistics from the Coroners Service consistently show that pedestrian deaths occur more frequently in the winter months, with January, November, and December being the months with the highest numbers. Alarmingly, there were 10 pedestrians killed in B.C. this October as a result of road accidents; more than twice the average number for October over the past six years.
WorkSafeBC says that the number of workers who experienced a lost-time injury after being struck on the road or roadside is highest during the wetter, darker fall and winter months. “Workers who must perform their duties near traffic face the risk of being struck year-round, but especially when drivers may find it more difficult to see them,” says Mark Ordeman, WorkSafeBC industry and labour services manager. “We ask all drivers to keep that in mind and slow down; especially as weather conditions can change quickly and deteriorate.”
Changes to campsite bookings
Changes are coming to the BC Parks Discover Camping reservation service for 2017, to improve fair access for everyone looking to book a campsite in B.C.’s parks. The changes are in response to concerns raised during the 2016 camping season, including reselling and/or transferring reservations and “overbooking” (in which someone makes a reservation that includes more nights than are needed to secure a desired date, such as a long weekend, then cancels the dates they never intended to use). Although these issues represented a very small percentage of the 185,000 reservations made in 2016, both practices are increasing.
Beginning on January 2, 2017 the mid-March “opening day” for reservations at B.C. parks will be eliminated, and the three-month rolling reservation window will be extended to four months. This means that reservations at a campground can be made four months before that campground’s first reservable date. New measures will prevent the reselling of reservations; restrict the alteration of arrival dates to prevent overbooking; and implement a pilot project in select parks to reduce the maximum length of stay to seven days during the peak camping season, in order to provide more camping opportunities in provincial parks.
Environment Minister Mary Polak says that “We want to make sure that the campsite reservation service is doing its job as effectively and efficiently a possible. We know British Columbians want a reservation system that is fair.”
To learn more about the Discover Camping reservation system, or to book a camping trip, go to https://secure.camis.com/Discovercamping/.