SUMMERLAND REVIEW THE VOICE OF OUR COMMUNITY SINCE 1908
VOLUME 66 - ISSUE
WWW.SUMMERLANDREVIEW.COM
NO. 38 • S U M M E R L A N D, B.C. • T H U R S D AY,
SEPTEMBER
19,
2013
•
24
PA G E S
WHAT’S INSIDE:
•
$1.15
INCLUDING
GST
Student numbers decrease slightly
Slight dip in secondary and Trout Creek elementary enrolments by John Arendt
Full Steam ahead
Summerland Steam kick off season on the road with two wins thanks to outstanding goaltending.
Page 17
Pedestrian killed
Summerland woman succumbs to injuries in collision with motorcylce.
Page 3
Liquor consult
Province begins consultation process with public about liqour laws.
Page 3
Bus schedule
B.C. Transit determines schedule and route between Summerland and Penticton starting Oct. 28.
Page 7
Garden tour
Friends of the Summerland Ornamental Gardens host fundraising event.
Page 14
YOUR SMILE A warm smile is the universal language of kindness.
At the market
Mark Brett Black Press
Three-year-old Barrett Scherger is surrounded by sunflowers at one of the agriculture display tables at the Summerland Curling Club during the 104th Summerland Fall Fair on the weekend. Visitors to the popular event were treated to a wide range of entertainment, exhibits and just plain fun. For more pictures see Page 12 and 13.
Water levels remain high by John Arendt
Despite hot and dry summer weather, the municipality still has plenty of water in its reservoirs. Shawn Hughes, water distribution chief operator for the municipality, said Summerland’s reservoirs have around 11,000 megalitres at present. The total capacity is 14,136 megalitres. Because the water level has remained high, the community has not needed to impose watering limits beyond the Stage 1 restrictions which are in place throughout the year. “There’s no concern about
going into Stage 2 at this point,” Hughes said. He said careful water use from the community is part of the reason the storage levels are good at present. Hughes said the municipality did not need to issue any water quality advisories this summer. In the past, advisories were issued during the summer as water processed at the water treatment plant was mixed in with chlorinated water, in order to meet the community’s summertime demands. Although the plant was operating near full capacity on several occasions this summer, Hughes said supplementing the
treated water with chlorinated water was not necessary this year. The water system separation, which separates domestic water from irrigation water, has reduced the demand on the treatment plant, he said, but added that further separation is still needed. The next phase of water system separation will be in the Garnett Valley area. At the Union of B.C. Municipalities conference this week, Summerland representatives were scheduled to meet with provincial officials to ask for the funding assistance for this project.
The student population in Summerland’s schools is close to the same as last year’s enrolment. Linda Van Alphen, one of Summerland’s two trustees on the Okanagan Skaha School Board, said there are around 1,300 students in the community this year, according to the preliminary enrolment numbers. At Summerland Secondary School, there are 451 students this year, down from 458 last year. At Summerland Middle School, enrolment rose from 310 last year to 314 this year. Giant’s Head School saw its student population rise from 325 last year to 340 this year. Trout Creek School has 195 students this year, down from 215 last year. Van Alphen said student population figures have fluctuated over the years. At one point, Trout Creek Elementary School had around 100 students. “Trout Creek is way up from where it was,” she said. The increase at Giant’s Head Elementary School is significant enough to justify a staff expansion. “Giant’s Head is up 15 students, so we’ve added one more teacher there,” she said. Van Alphen said some of the schools have had higher student populations in the past. When she first became a trustee around a decade ago, she said Summerland Secondary School was close to its capacity of 650 students. Despite the decline, the school will remain open, she added. “We’re not closing the high school. We’re not even having that discussion,” she said. Prelimary numbers provincewide show a loss of nearly 6,000 students compared to actual enrolment in the 2012-2013 school year.