SUMMERLAND REVIEW THE VOICE OF OUR COMMUNITY SINCE 1908
VOLUME
65
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ISSUE
WHAT’S INSIDE:
NO.
32
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S U M M E R L A N D,
A Summerland contestant is preparing for the B.C. Ambassador pageant later this month.
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T H U R S D AY,
AUGUST
9,
2012
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16
PA G E S
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$1.15
INCLUDING
HST
Safety product shown by John Arendt
Pageant preparation
B.C.
WWW.SUMMERLANDREVIEW.COM
A Summerland company is working to get a wireless safety product into workplaces across North America. Rick Shervey, director of Pro-Active Safety Systems Technologies Inc., said the wireless technology will help to prevent collisions with mobile equipment at work sites. The device uses radiofrequency identification technologies to track the precise movements of
equipment and workers. When a worker is too close to mobile equipment, a specially designed safety helmet or safety vest emits a beep and a vibration to alert the worker. Shervey said the technology can detect people in the vehicle blind spots and lets the workers know they are in danger. “People I know have been killed or badly injured,” he said. He added that there
are many accidents across Canada and the United States each year which could have been pre-
At present, Pro-Active has been awarded four patents for its product and 10 other patents are
“In the last 10 months, there were two deaths in the forest industry we could have prevented.” Rick Shervey vented by his device. “In the last 10 months, there were two deaths in the forest industry we could have prevented,” he said.
pending. Developing the product has been a long process, the result of almost six years of work and $2.5 million. Grant fund-
ing has come in from the National Research Council. Now that the design is done, Shervey wants to get into production before the end of this year. He would like to have all parts of the product built in the Okanagan, with the final assembly and packaging to be done in Summerland. He hopes to have around 30 people employed in a couple of years when the company is in full production.
Page 9 Road markers Plans are in the works to restore some heritage road markers at the entrances to the community.
Page 7 Virus precautions Okanagan residents are urged to take steps to reduce the risk of West Nile virus.
Page 2 Serving businesses The Summerland Chamber of Economic Development and Tourism is working to provide service to its member businesses.
Page 6 A game of horseshoes Horseshoe players from across the province will compete at a tournament in Summerland.
Page 12
Longboard action
John Arendt Summerland Review
Matt Kroetsch rides his longboard on a wooden bank set up at one of the corners on the Giant’s Head Mountain path during the Giant’s Head Freeride. Longboarding enthusiasts from around North America gathered for the competition.
YOUR SMILE I’m against picketing, but I don’t know how to show it.
Apple growers turn to cider by John Arendt After years of enjoying homemade apple cider among themselves, several Summerland orchardists are now marketing their product commercially. Tom Kinvig of Sum-
merland Heritage Cider Company said he and some fellow orchardists have been making cider together for 10 to 15 years, gathering for a glass every Tuesday. At the time, Kinvig used a cider recipe he had found as a way to use
some of the apples from his orchard. Over time, as he and the other fruit growers continued their Tuesday meetings, they looked at ways to make a better apple cider. “It wasn’t always the best stuff,” said cider
maker Bob Thompson. “We thought there had to be a better way.” Four or five years ago, Thompson took a course in cider making in Washington State. The orchardists also started growing apple varieties designed for
cider. These varieties, including Michelin, Kingston, Black and others, are not grown for eating. Instead, they are European varieties, some of them more than 150 years old. See TRADITIONAL Page 3