Basketball success
The Desert Sands Community School senior girls’ basketball team won the consolation final at a tournament in Lake Country on the weekend of December 10, with a dominating 45–30 win over the triple A team from Seaton in Vernon.
Prior to that the Rams defeated double A Summerland 53–51 in a close up-and-down game. In the tournament opener the Rams lost to Heritage Christian of Kelowna, the defending Okanagan champions and a bronze medallist in the provincials. The Rams led in the third quarter, but were unable to score with them after that, losing 75–50.
Rams players Haley Schroeder, Mackenzie Woodburn, and Elizabeth Ranta were awarded game star T-shirts. The team played very strong defence in the consolation final, winning the first quarter against Seaton 17–2, and winning the fourth quarter versus Summerland 12–6.
Parking payment change at RIH
There is a new payment system in place for parking at the new clinical services building at Royal Inland Hospital in Kamloops. From its opening until early December, payment was made at the gated exit onto Columbia Street, based on the amount of time the car had been parked.
Now, however, there will be a gateless pay-on-entry or pay-in-advance system, with drivers having to estimate the length of time they will be there and then pay in advance at one of four payment stations by entering their licence plate number and a payment method. This is similar to the system previously used for parking at the hospital.
Help for slide area
The Ministry of Transportation has announced that in spring 2017 it will embark on a $60 million project aimed at stabilizing the 10 Mile Slide area on Highway 99, 15 kilometres northeast of Lillooet.
The announcement was made by Fraser-Nicola MLA Jackie Tegart on behalf of Transportation Minister Todd Stone on December 7.
The project will include placing some 400 soil anchors above the highway, and is expected to be completed in 2018. The area has been subject to slides and slide movement for many decades; the most recent incident, in late September 2016, closed the highway for several days. It has since been reopened, but to single lane alternating traffic only, with load restrictions. Improvements to restore the road to two lanes and remove the load limit will be carried out in January and February 2017.
Be winter ready before travelling
The number of vehicles on the road increases at Christmas, as people travel to be with family and friends ones. The province reminds drivers to make sure their vehicle is equipped with winter tires that are appropriate for where they are travelling, and to check DriveBC and the weather conditions before they head out. A map showing the designated routes throughout the province that require passenger vehicles to be equipped with winter tires can be found at http://bit.ly/2gVaONC.
Skills training coming
A pre-employment essential skills training course will be taking place at the Ashcroft HUB from January 9 to February 3, 2017. Sponsored by the Ashcroft Aboriginal Skills and Employment Training Skills office, the event has 12 spaces available for those who are out of the work force. The course offers personal assessment, career exploration, and a job search, as well as certificates in First Aid, Transportation Endorsement, WHMIS, Serving it Right, and First Host. For more information, or to register, call (250) 453-0093.
Biosolids suggestions made
The Thompson-Nicola Regional District board has passed a motion asking that the province consider three changes to the Organic Matter Recycling Regulation, which is currently being revised.
The board is asking for local governments to be notified for all land applications and composting facilities; asking that land application of Class B biosolids or compost only be allowed during the driest months of the year and that the 30-metre setback from bodies of water be increased; and asking that on-farm compost facilities designed to process more than 5,000 tonnes annually be referred to local government for detailed consultation in respect of location and siting.