SUMMERLAND REVIEW THE VOICE OF OUR COMMUNITY SINCE 1908
VOLUME
66
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ISSUE
NO.
43
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S U M M E R L A N D,
WWW.SUMMERLANDREVIEW.COM
B.C.
• T H U R S D AY,
OC TOBER
24,
2013
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20
WHAT’S INSIDE:
The Kettle Valley Steam Railway took time on the weekend to honour the many dedicated volunteers who assist with the train.
$1.15
INCLUDING
GST
Culture plan needed by John Arendt
Page 19
Transit route
The route for Summerland’s new transit service was officially unveiled on Monday.
Page 8
Top wines
Outstanding wines from Summerland wineries were recognized at a recent judging.
Page 10
Learning to tweet
The Summerland Chamber is hosting an event to teach social media skills.
Page 13
Hockey tourney
Midget level hockey teams from around the province were in Summerland on the weekend for a tournament.
Page 14
I get enough exercise just pushing my luck.
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Municipality will seek public’s input and comments for plan
Volunteer effort
YOUR SMILE
PA G E S
Band concert
John Arendt Summerland Review
Maria Raitt, a Grade 9 student at Summerland Secondary School, was one of the musicians performing at the school’s band concert at Centre Stage Theatre last week.
Marijuana plants seized A 31-year-old Summerland man was arrested and 492 marijuana plants were seized from a commercial building in Summerland on Friday evening. The incident occurred at a building in the 9000 block of Shale Avenue. The man had a Designated Person Production Licence,
issued by Health Canada for the production of marijuana. “He was not operating according to his licence,” said Sgt. Stephane Lacroix of the Summerland RCMP. All the plants at the facility, along with the related equipment were seized. A police investigation is continuing.
Police say they have received numerous complaints about marijuana grow operations in Summerland this year. “Each one we investigated had licences,” Lacroix said. Changes in the regulations governing the production of medical marijuana will take effect in early spring.
Summerland has a vibrant, diverse culture, but the community needs meeting spaces and a cultural plan, members of Summerland Cultural Development Committee say. In September, a meeting to discuss culture in Summerland drew close to 60 people, representing a cross-section of the community, organizers said. “It was clear Summerlanders are interested in looking at the cultural climate,” said Margaret Holler, one of the event organizers. She said Summerland offers plenty of cultural opportunities. “We have so many activities. We have the diversity. We’re a little community that offers something for everyone,” she said. While the diversity is in place, she said the community needs a long-term cultural plan. Other organizers of the September meeting agree. “I truly believe we can become a much more vibrant community,” said Barbara Thorburn. She added that leadership from the municipality and the chamber of commerce would help to maintain Summerland’s vibrant culture. David Mallory, another of the event organizers, added that the need now is to find a way to bring together the various groups and cultural activities within the community. Municipal administrator Tom Day said the municipality has identified a cultural plan as a priority for Summerland. “The whole cultural side of a community is very important,” he said. Municipal staff will meet to determine how to get the necessary community input to create the plan. “We need a proper public process to develop a plan,” Day said. In addition to creating the plan, Day said he will work to redefine the terms of reference for the Cultural Development Committee. “The existing terms of reference didn’t match what they had been doing,” he said. Much of the committee’s work has been in planning and organizing various cultural events for Summerland. The new terms are needed to reflect this direction.