EAGLE VALLEY
NEWS
Eagles Atom Team tops division finals Page 6
Forum explores food security in the Shuswap Page 8
Wednesday, March 19, 2014 PM40008236
Vol. 59 No. 12 Sicamous, B.C., • 1.25 (GST included) • www.eaglevalleynews.com
Eye on the house: Allison Rokosh takes aim before delivering her “rock” Friday during Parkview Elementary School’s Jamcan event. See more on page 7. Photo by James Murray
Treatment facility cost up to $7.9 million By Lachlan Labere Eagle Valley News
Though details around what, where and when were of interest, the real eye-opener was how much. At an open house held prior to last week’s council meeting, Sicamous residents learned how the community’s proposed water treatment plant jumped in cost from an estimated $4.5 million to $7.9 million. Timothy Phelan, a manager with the consulting business Opus DaytonKnight, explained the cost increase is largely due to the way filtered debris, or “residuals,” is handled. He explained the district has gone from a design that captures 95 per cent to one that captures 99 per cent. “The real driver for that decision is, once you have those residuals, you’ve got to do something with them,” said Phelan. “One idea was, well, it came from the lake, let’s put it back in the lake. That could happen, potentially, but it’s a little short-sighted in terms of what does that mean for the federal Department of Fisheries and Oceans, what does that
Details: Opus DaytonKnight manager Timothy Phelan provides the technical details of a water treatment facility proposed for the district. Photo by Lachlan Labere mean from the B.C. Ministry of Environment.” Phelan said the waste would be stored on a site near Holly Avenue, and that liquid from the waste would be decanted into the district’s sanitary treatment system. Reducing that waste will reduce the additional burden on the
system. In April 2013, the federal government joined its provincial counterpart in a commitment to provide $1.5 million each towards the cost of a new treatment facility – then esSee District on page 3
EVN office closing on April 30th By Lachlan Labere Eagle Valley News
The Eagle Valley News Sicamous office is shutting down, but the paper will continue to serve the community and area. Effective April 30, the News’ office at Parkland Mall will be closed, with operations moved to the paper’s Salmon Arm office at 171 Shuswap Street. Necessitated by a challenging economic environment and the resulting need for greater efficiencies, the move will allow the Eagle Valley News to continue to provide its award-winning coverage to the community. “We want to stress that, as we move forward, the Eagle Valley News will continue to be published every Wednesday, as it has been since the paper was initially established,” said publisher Rick Proznick. “The new economic realities have forced us to adopt a new business model which improves on efficiencies without compromising the quality of the newspaper. “We will continue to serve and support the residents and businesses of Sicamous and the Eagle Valley for a long time to come.” EVN’s Sicamous office supervisor Joan Thomson will continue to work out of Salmon Arm, while Terry Sinton – who had been working part-time at the office, has taken on the role of advertising sales representative for Sicamous and area businesses. Calls to the Sicamous office will be rerouted to Salmon Arm and handled by staff there. Tips, submissions, letters to the editor, etc. can be submitted by email to newsroom@saobserver.net or lachlan@saobserver. net, by telephone at 250-8322131, or through the Eagle Valley News website at eaglevalleynews. com.