Skip to content

Local News Briefs: Nomination period for Rotary Citizens of the Year extended

Plus social media workshops for businesses, a drumming circle, and more.
10276233_web1_180123-ACC-M-Citizens-of-the-Year-2017
Last years Rotary Citizens of the Year and their sponsors. The deadline for nominations for this year’s awards has been extended to February 8. Photo: Barbara Roden.

Nominations for Rotary Citizens of the Year extended

The Rotary Club of Ashcroft and Cache Creek has extended the deadline for nominations for its Citizen of the Year awards. People are encouraged to nominate local residents who have gone above and beyond in their efforts to help their communities.

There will be awards given to an Ashcroft and area resident, a Cache Creek and area resident, and a youth from anywhere in the area covered by the Rotary Club of Ashcroft and Cache Creek. Submit your nominees by February 8 by email to theresatakacs@hotmail.com; by mail to P.O. Box 11, Ashcroft, B.C., V0K 1A0; or online at http://bit.ly/2BUgyRo. Forms can also be picked up at Interior Savings in Ashcroft or the Royal Bank in Cache Creek.

Social media workshops for businesses

The Cariboo Chilcotin Coast Tourism Association (CCCTA) will be holding a series of free web-based workshops to help businesses use social media to enhance their marketing. From speaking with business owners over the last year, CCCTA learned that while many of them knew they should be using social media to enhance marketing for their business, many might not know how to do that.

The three workshops—basic, intermediate, and advanced—are tailored to fit different levels of expertise, and will show how to make social media work for individual businesses. You can register directly by going to http://bit.ly/2DonuHL (basic; January 30, 10:30 to 11:30 a.m.); http://bit.ly/2DyzFVD (intermediate; February 15, 10:30 to 11:30 a.m.); or http://bit.ly/2mWkLz1 (advanced; March 15, 10:30 to 11:30 a.m.). Participants can take part in as many of the workshops as they want.

The workshops will all be fully interactive, and participants can take part from the comfort of their own business or home. When you click on the link to register, you will receive all the information you need to join the workshops. For questions or support, email kelly@landwithoutlimits.com.

Drumming circle

A drumming circle will be taking place at UniTea Tea Room in Ashcroft on Thursday, February 1 starting at 7 p.m. No experience is needed for this unique night out, which is a great way to release stress, get energized, and meet other people. For more information call UniTea at (250) 457-1145.

Chicken-Like Birds in concert

Touring musicians Ari Lantela and Jasmin Frederickson—who go under the name Chicken-Like Birds—are a sweet country/blues duo who thrilled audiences at last year’s Desert Daze Festival in Spences Bridge. They’ll be performing at UniTea on Friday, February 2; doors open at 6:30 p.m., and the show starts at 7:30.

A limited number of tickets are available, at $15 for advance tickets (reserve in person at UniTea), or $20 (reserve over the phone or at the door).

Cars on Ice

If the ice on Barnes Lake holds, the Western Canadian Ice Racing Association of B.C. will be holding a second IceX event there from 7 a.m. on February 3 to 4 p.m. on February 4.

Twenty-one vehicles have already registered, and there are still spots available. IceX is an autocross event that features a single-car timed event completing one lap at a time. IceX allows beginners to learn car control techniques and gives an experienced driver a chance to hone and perfect the skills he or she already has. Previous experience is not required. To register, go to http://carsonice.ca/register.

Collective Learning

UniTea Tea Room will be hosting “Collective Learning: Our Changing Times” from 2 to 4 p.m. on Saturday, February 3. Join like-minded community members for an ongoing series of discussions about our changing times and opportunities to share and grow together. Participants are encouraged to exchange ideas and create a collective learning process.

Indigenous hockey players sought for Team B.C.

The Indigenous Sport, Physical Activity and Recreation Council (ISPARC) announced that it will be holding its Team B.C. Hockey Player Selection Camp from April 6 to 8 in Kamloops. Indigenous hockey players will be evaluated at the camp over three days, and Team B.C. will be selected from attendees.

Team B.C. will be represented by one male and one female team made up of bantam/midget aged players. The teams will attend the 2018 National Aboriginal Hockey Championships (NAHC) in Nova Scotia from May 6 to 12.

Interested players must be a resident of B.C. and of Aboriginal ancestry (First Nations, Inuit, Métis); born between 2000 and 2004; and registered, or eligible to be registered, with B.C. Hockey.

Online registration for the selection camp is now open. Visit www.teambcnahc.com for more details.

Calling all filmmakers

The Kamloops Independent Short Short (KISS) Film Festival is a celebration of the short film format and local filmmakers; and the festival is once more looking for submissions from regional talent. Cash prizes will be awarded to the winners, and the films will be shown on the big screen at the Paramount Theatre in Kamloops.

The deadline for entries is February 22, 2018. For information about submissions and formats, go to www.kamloopsfilmfest.ca/kiss/.

Merritt Visitor Centre closes

The BC Visitor Centre at the junction of Highway 97C and the Coquihalla Highway, which opened 16 years ago, closed for good on January 12. Kathleen Harvey, manager of visitor services with Destination BC, said that the centre had primarily been used as a bathroom stop rather than as a place for travellers to obtain information.

Visitor services in Merritt have been available at the historic Baillie House downtown for several years, and Destination BC is working with the City of Merritt to help them provide services to visitors. It is hoped that the new location will stimulate the Merritt economy by encouraging more travellers to pull off the highway and go downtown.

The new visitor centre will provide the same services as the now-closed one at Exit 286, and will be open year-round. No decision has been made about the building or land at the old site.

Recycle and save

Now that the holiday season is over, BC Hydro is encouraging customers to recycle their old electronics and small appliances as a way to save energy and money.

With electronic items like laptops, televisions, and tablets, as well as small appliances, being popular gifts for the holidays, many people have older products they will no longer use.

On top of creating clutter, if left plugged in, these old electronics and appliances can contribute to a higher electricity bill by being a source of standby power. This can account for up to 10 per cent of a household’s electricity use. For example, an old television left plugged in for one year uses enough electricity to wash about 119 loads of laundry.

BC Hydro customers looking to reduce post-holiday clutter, or who have recently upgraded small appliances or electronics, can recycle most items for free at a local Return-It or ElectroRecycling depots.

Some of the accepted products at ElectroRecycling depots include small kitchen appliances (including blenders, kettles, coffee makers, and toasters); home appliances and devices, including digital alarm clocks, vacuums, and oil-filled space heaters; personal appliances, such as hair dryers, curlers, and rechargeable toothbrushes; and power tools, such as drills, grinders, and power saws.

Some of the accepted products at Return-It depots include home electronics, such as televisions, desktop and laptop computers, tablets, telephones, and electronic children’s toys.

For more information or to find a local recycling depot, visit electrorecycle.ca and return-it.ca.

Too much sodium

Although they may not realize it, Canadians are eating more sodium (salt) than is considered healthy. This can lead to high blood pressure, which is a risk factor for heart disease, stroke, and kidney disease.

In 2012, in an effort to reduce the amount of sodium in the food supply, Health Canada established voluntary sodium reduction targets for 94 processed food categories following extensive consultation with the food industry. The Department encouraged the food industry to achieve these targets by the end of 2016.

Last week, Health Canada released an evaluation of the food industry’s efforts to meet these sodium reduction targets (go to http://bit.ly/2DrlYbQ to see the full evaluation).

Results show that sodium reductions in most categories of processed foods were modest. Specifically, industry met the targets in 14 per cent of food categories. These results are an indication that additional measures are needed to reduce sodium in processed foods. Over the next few months, Health Canada will conduct an in-depth analysis of each category and will meet with industry stakeholders and scientific experts to better understand the challenges encountered in reducing sodium.

As part of the Healthy Eating Strategy, Health Canada is committed to reducing sodium in processed foods. It will be proposing regulations that aim to make it easier and faster for Canadians to make healthy choices when buying food, while at the same time developing modern tools for Canadians to build their knowledge about healthy eating.

Oscar oddities

Nominees for the 90th annual Academy Awards were announced on January 23, with the awards being handed out on March 4. In the run-up to the ceremony, here is an Oscar oddity.

Of all the categories Oscars are handed out in, there are five which are considered the “big ones”: Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actor, Best Actress, and Best Screenplay (Original or Adapted).

Perhaps surprisingly, in the nine decades that the Oscars have been awarded, only three films have managed to capture all five of these awards; and a diverse group they are.

The first was the 1934 comedy classic It Happened One Night, where Claudette Colbert’s spoiled-rich-girl-on-the-run falls for Clark Gable’s hardened reporter, who’s intent on getting the story (Colbert and Gable won the top acting awards, with Frank Capra winning Best Director and Robert Riskin winning Best Adapted Screenplay; the script was based on the short story “Night Bus” by Samuel Hopkins Adams).

Lightning did not strike again until 1975, when the comedy-drama One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest—about inmates bucking the system at a mental asylum—took all five top awards. Jack Nicholson and Louise Fletcher won Best Actor and Actress respectively, while Milos Forman won Best Director, and Lawrence Hauben and Bo Goldman took home the award for Best Adapted Screenplay (from the novel by Ken Kesey).

The third and last film (so far) to win all five “big” awards is 1991’s horror-thriller The Silence of the Lambs. Jodie Foster, playing an FBI trainee trying to get information about a serial killer, and Anthony Hopkins, as an already imprisoned serial killer, took the top acting awards, while Jonathan Demme won Best Director and Ted Tally won Best Adapted Screenplay (from the novel by Thomas Harris).

“Close but no cigar” awards—that is, the films that won four of the “big five” awards—go to four films: Gone With the Wind (1939; Clark Gable failed to win Best Actor); Mrs. Miniver (1942; Walter Pidgeon failed to win Best Actor); Annie Hall (1977; Woody Allen failed to win Best Actor); and American Beauty (1999; Annette Bening failed to win Best Actress).



editorial@accjournal.ca

Like us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter