SUMMERLAND REVIEW THE VOICE OF OUR COMMUNITY SINCE 1908
VOLUME
65
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ISSUE
WHAT’S INSIDE:
NO.
31
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S U M M E R L A N D,
A Summerland winery has received a provincial honour for winemaking excellence.
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T H U R S D AY,
AUGUST
2,
2012
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16
PA G E S
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$1.15
INCLUDING
HST
Window sign allowed by John Arendt
Wine award
B.C.
WWW.SUMMERLANDREVIEW.COM
Signs at a new Main Street business are larger than the regulations in the municipality’s sign bylaw, following a variance at the July 23 council meeting. The variance, for the Bad Robot electronics and computer store, allows for a wall sign of 2.7 square metres and window signs of 3.2 square metres.
The maximum wall sign allowed under the sign bylaw is 2.5 square metres while the maximum window sign is 1.5 square metres. The wall sign, when it is in place, will be the same size as the sign for The Source, which had been there earlier. Maged Said of Bad Robot said the window signs are needed as people will notice his business while walking
along Main Street. He said the existing sign bylaw is too restrictive. “We think the bylaw’s broken,” he said. “Small business in Summerland has a hard enough time as it is.” A resolution to approve the wall sign but to postpone a decision on the window sign until after the sign bylaw is revisited was defeated. A second resolution to
approve the larger signs received unanimous approval. Coun. Robert Hacking was not present for this discussion. Mayor Janice Perrino said the sign and design policies in Summerland are changing. In the late 1980s, Summerland adopted an Old English theme for the downtown area. The theme design guidelines specified the colours
allowed on buildings, the lettering on signs and the exterior finishes. In recent years, municipal council has relaxed on the downtown theme. “I think we’re going more to a Summerland approach,” said Mayor Janice Perrino. “It’s where we need to go in the future.” The lettering on many of the Old English signs proved difficult to read, she added.
Page 9 Longboarding It will be a weekend of fast-paced excitement as longboarders from around North America compete on Giant’s Head Mountain.
Page 7 Job action A labour dispute involving unionized members of the Okanagan Regional Library is affecting the Summerland branch.
Page 6 Endurance triathlon Participants in the Ultraman Canada event will finish the demanding three-day triathlon in Summerland.
Page 11 Summer events There are plenty of recreational and cultural activities taking place this summer.
Page 15
YOUR SMILE Errors have been made. Others will be blamed.
Flying low
Carla McLeod Special to the Review
A helicopter pilot hovers low over an orchard on Canyon View Road following rain on the weekend. Helicopters are used by some cherry growers to dry the ripe cherries after a rain.
RCMP station officially opened by John Arendt After years spent working in a cramped and aging facility, Summerland’s RCMP members now have a new and large building for their detachment. On Friday morning, police and community
members attended the official opening of the new detachment on Pineo Court. Mayor Janice Perrino said she first toured the former building in 2000. “It was already old. That was obvious,” she said. In one corner, plastic
sheets were in place to keep rain from damaging the computers. When prisoners were taken to cells, they were taken through the building, past unarmed support staff. “This building was not safe,” she said. The building had been
constructed in 1969 as a restaurant and was converted to become a police station in 1975. At the time, it was adequate for the community’s policing needs. Perrino said the new building was in the works for many years. Over 12 years, the com-
munity had four mayors, five municipal councillors, three municipal administrators, three sergeants and three referendums. “The amount of money wasted over those years is mind-boggling,” she said. See COMMUNITY Page 3