EAGLE VALLEY
NEWS
Youth travels from Sweden to skate with hero Page 8
Aileen Gentles remembered as dedicated artist Page 9
Wednesday, August 22, 2012 PM40008236
Vol. 53 No. 34 Sicamous, B.C., • 1.25 (HST included) • www.eaglevalleynews.com
Gold rush: Swim instructor Brianne Von Niessen looks on as Katelyn Desaulniers awkwardly makes her way to the shore during the water survivor challenge of the Olympic Beach Party Saturday at Beach Park. See more on page 5. Photo by Lachlan Labere
Waterway initiates legal action against district and province Flooding damage: Company alleges governments were negligent, seeks $1.7 million. By Tim Petruk Kamloops This Week
A Shuswap houseboat-rental company is suing two levels of government for nearly $2-million after torrential floods in June washed away much of its fleet — a flash flood the company says was caused by government negligence.
Court documents obtained by KTW show Waterway Houseboats Ltd. and Vinco Holdings Ltd. — operators of Waterway Houseboats on Mara Lake in Sicamous — are suing the provincial government and the District of Sicamous for $1.7 million. The documents, filed Monday (Aug. 20) in B.C. Supreme Court in Kamloops, claim the June 23 flash flood can be attributed largely to the work of provincial officials in the 1990s who built a forestry road — Skyline Forest Service Road — to provide better timber access for loggers. “The natural channel that formed the banks of Sicamous Creek was alSee Documents on page 2
Debris flow: Two Mile Creek cuts through Waterway Houseboats’ Two Mile property following the June 23 flash flood and debris flow. File photo