Fall Constituency Tour
Local MLA Jackie Tegart will be in Ashcroft at Uni Tea from 3 to 4 p.m. on Friday, (Sept. 28) as part of her Fall Constituency Tour.
She will also be at the Junction Coffee House in Clinton from 3:30 to 4:30 p.m. on Sept. 29.
Tegart invites residents to join her for a cup of coffee and conversation. She hopes to hear from locals on issues that affect our rural economy and affordability.
Tegart wants to help constituents learn more about the electoral reform process.
Water restriction lifted
On Sept. 18, the Village of Ashcroft went on Stage 4 water restrictions because both river pumps malfunction.
Village crews were unable to pump any significant water to the reservoirs and were investigating whether the pumps could be repaired or had to be replaced.
On Sept. 21, the Village removed the Stage 4 watering restrictions because the water system was operating at capacity.
Outdoor watering restrictions are in place with even numbered residence being permitted to water on even calendar days and odd numbered residences watering on odd calendar days.
Family fitness passes
The Thompson-Nicola Regional Library (TNRL) in partnership with the City of Kamloops is able to loan Family Fitness Passes through local libraries.
The Family Fitness Pass can be used at the Tournament Capital Centre, Brockelhurst Pool and the Westsyde Pool and Fitness Centre.
The pass is a new addition to the TNRL’s “Extreme Lending” program, which is a commitment to healthy communities and sees libraries loaning out experience passes to help patrons discover, learn and grow.
For more information about the Family Fitness Pass or to place your hold, visit www.tnrl.ca.
Spanish Classes at The Hub
By learning simple Structure and vocabulary, you will be able to function and converse with Spanish speaking people in Spain and Latin-American countries.
Level 1 are on Wednesdays, 10:30-noon, start date was Sept. 26
Level 2 sessions are Thursdays, 6:30-8 p.m., start today (Sept. 27)d
Ten sessions are $105 (plus $30 textbook fee if needed). Pre-registration required (minimum eight to hold a class.
Info: 250-453-9177 or ashcrofthub@gmail.com.
Cache Creek Library fall events
Sept. 27 – Card making, 3-5 p.m., registration required
Oct. 2 – Joint ownership: the good, the bad & the risky, 10:30 a.m.-noon
Oct. 2 – Yarn and Yap, 10 a.m.-noon
Oct. 9 – Yarn and Yap, 10 a.m.-noon
Oct. 11 – Teen Game, 5:45-6:45 p.m.
Workshops available
There are several programs available to area residents in Ashcroft in the coming days.
A Gaming Grant Writing workshop is scheduled for the Ashcroft Community Hall (509 Bancroft St.) from 10 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.
HR workshops will be held over two days at the Ashcroft Community Hall on Oct. 12-13. The workshop goes from 6 to 9 p.m. on Oct. 12 and from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Oct. 13.
There will be three, free Wildfire Business Transition Project workshop held at the Ashcroft Community Hall on Oct. 12 and 13, with guest speaker John Singleton.
The workshops are geared towards local businesses and not-for-profit groups.
Attracting and Retaining Great Employees will be the subject for the Oct. 12 session from 6 to 9 p.m.
From 9 a.m. to noon on Oct. 13, the subject will be Bridging the Generational Gap.
Motivational Interviewing will be the topic of the afternoon session from 1 to 4 p.m.
There will be a Communications for Small Business Success workshop at the Ashcroft Community Hall on Oct. 22 from 6 to 9 p.m.
FortisBC natural gas rates stay low
FortisBC has received approval from the British Columbia Utilities Commission (BCUC) to maintain the cost of gas for its natural gas customers.
As of Oct. 1, 2018, FortisBC customers will see no change to the cost of natural gas on their bill.
More than three million British Columbians use natural gas every day with more than 58 per cent of households using natural gas as their primary heating source.
It is an affordable option to heat homes and water when compared to other energy choices in B.C. such as electricity. In fact, natural gas is about one-third the cost of electricity.
“Natural gas prices in our province continue to remain near their lowest levels in over a decade and our natural gas customers have not seen a rate increase in two years,” says Diane Roy, vice-president of regulatory affairs at FortisBC.
“The preference for natural gas is reflected by our continued customer growth.”
If customers are planning on upgrading appliances or building or renovating a home, FortisBC has rebates on high-efficiency appliances, equipment and more.
New NVIT
Nicola Valley Institute of Technology (NVIT) students now have improved access to hands-on career training in areas like culinary arts and environmental resource technology at an innovative building that has officially opened its doors.
The Centre of Excellence in Sustainability is intergenerational, with spaces that bring together children, elders, community members, and students who will learn the skills they need to be part of a vibrant British Columbia economy.”
The 2,000-square -metre centre contains new classrooms and an innovative clean energy lab that brings the mechanical room to the classroom and uses power from the building’s solar rooftop, which is also a teaching space.
The building also holds a new teaching kitchen, as well as a gymnasium and fitness centre that will be open to the community.
The $10.3-million facility was funded by the federal government’s Post-Secondary Institutions Strategic Investment Fund ($6.9 million), the Province of B.C ($2.5 million), Western Economic Diversification Canada ($720,000) and the Nicola Valley Institute of Technology ($150,000).
Western Economic Diversification Canada also provided an additional $66,000 toward the operational costs.
$1-million Gift for Okanagan College
On Sept. 7, Okanagan College received the largest single donation ever made toward its Kelowna campus.
Muriel Jacobsen and her children, Rhonda and Shayne, donated $1 million to support the College’s Kelowna Trades Training Complex in honour of their late husband and father Ron Jacobsen, an automotive sector pioneer in the region.
The gift will accelerate a centre of excellence in advanced automotive training and open doors for students for years to come.
Salmonella infection outbreak being investigated
The Public Health Agency of Canada is collaborating with provincial and territorial public health partners, the Canadian Food Inspection Agency and Health Canada to investigate outbreaks of Salmonella infections across Canada linked to raw chicken, including frozen raw breaded chicken products.
On Sept. 13, Canada’s Council of Chief Medical Officers of Health issued a statement advising Canadians to follow proper food safety practices when handling, preparing or consuming frozen raw breaded chicken products, such as chicken nuggets, chicken strips, chicken burgers, popcorn chicken and chicken fries.
When they’re not thoroughly cooked, frozen breaded chicken products containing raw chicken pose an increased health risk to people who handle, prepare or consume them.
These products may appear to be pre-cooked or browned, but they should be handled and prepared with caution.
Illnesses can be avoided by following cooking instructions carefully and verifying the internal temperature after cooking, as recommended, before consuming these products.
Frozen raw breaded chicken products and raw chicken pieces must be cooked to an internal temperature of at least 74 C (165 F) to ensure that they are safe to eat.
Whole chicken needs to be cooked to an internal temperature of 82 C (180 F).
Appeal court rules in favour of Tsilhqot’in people
The Tsilhqot’in Nation (TN) relieved by the BC Court of Appeal’s decision to grant an interlocutory injunction against a drilling permit within the sacred sites of Teẑtan Biny (Fish Lake) and surrounding areas.
On Aug. 23, 2018, the B.C. Supreme Court upheld a permit authorizing Taseko Mines Limited (TML) to undertake an extensive drilling program at Teẑtan Biny and the surrounding area.
The TN has since appealed this ruling and the BC Court of Appeal granted an injunction prohibiting the drilling program until the Court hears and decides the case.
The Tsilhqot’in Nation has called on the provincial government to resolve, once and for all, the ongoing threat to an area of profound cultural and spiritual importance to the Tsilhqot’in people, by an unacceptable mining proposal that has been rejected twice by the Government of Canada.