SUMMERLAND REVIEW THE VOICE OF OUR COMMUNITY SINCE 1908
VOLUME
66
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ISSUE
NO.
31
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S U M M E R L A N D,
WWW.SUMMERLANDREVIEW.COM
B.C.
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T H U R S D AY,
AUGUST
1,
2013
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WHAT’S INSIDE:
The Summerland Yacht Club held its annual Giant’s Head Regatta on the weekend.
Preventing fires
Despite the hot and dry conditions, firefighters have still received calls to abandoned campfires.
Page 3
Watching water
Summerland’s reservoirs have now stopped spilling and the community is using its stored water for the remainder of the year.
Page 11
Getting fit
A new fitness centre, providing 24-hour access, is now open.
Page 9
Renovation work
After seven months of renovations following a flood, a restaurant is now open for business once again.
I like a cool dip in the pool — especially if it has water in it.
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$1.15
INCLUDING
GST
Transit options studied by John Arendt
Page 7
YOUR SMILE
PA G E S
Regional management of bus service under consideration
Sailing
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16
Balancing act
Carla McLeod Special to the Summerland Review
Louis Philippe Desrosiers walks a temporary tight rope he and some friends had rigged up at Rotary Beach on Thursday. A long line of young people soon formed waiting to take a turn at testing their balancing skills before falling into the water below. Only one person made it all the way across, and when he did, a loud cheer went up from everyone watching
While Summerland still awaits its own bus service, officials with B.C. Transit are undertaking a study into the future of the service in the region. Municipal administrator Tom Day said the plan is examining the needs and the delivery of the service over a 25-year period. One issue which will be contemplated is a study of whether the various community-based transit services in the South Okanagan are best served through a combined authority or whether they are best managed independently. “It would be an opportunity for Transit to lay out the pros and cons of a more regional system,” Day said. If transit is delivered regionally, the service would require fewer spare buses than if each community service had a spare bus of its own. However, the individual transit services give each community greater control over the costs of delivering the service. In the South Okanagan, communities with transit systems in place are in charge of managing the services independently. In the Central Okanagan, one system controls all bus service from Lake Country to Peachland. Day said the study will not affect whether Summerland will receive its transit or how the service will be structured in the long term. After years of requesting the service, Summerland has been promised a bus service this fall. The service will provide weekday bus service between Summerland and Penticton four times a day in each direction. Details of the transit service have not yet been determined.
Directional signs approved by John Arendt
Directional signs, pointing the way to Summerland’s downtown and waterfront areas and presenting information about upcoming community events, will be set up at the north and south entrances to the community.
Council approved the signs at the July 22 meeting. Funding is in the 2013 financial plan. Mayor Janice Perrino said this is not the first time the directional signs have been considered for Summerland. “It’s taken us three years to get to this place,”
she said. In the past, electronic signs were suggested, with the message on the signs changing to highlight the next upcoming festival or community event. At present, however, the provincial Ministry of Highways does not allow new electronic signs
along the highways. If electronic signs are not allowed on the signs, another method will be used to promote events. “There’s going to be some way to inform people of our festivals,” Perrino said. The design of the directional signs is simi-
lar to the design of the existing welcome signs already in place along the highway. She added that reaching a consensus on the look of the signs was difficult because of the variety of ideas presented. The work is expected to be completed over the next year.