SUMMERLAND REVIEW THE VOICE OF OUR COMMUNITY SINCE 1908
VOLUME
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ISSUE
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44
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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
30,
WHAT’S INSIDE:
After 60 years of fruit farming, Barbara Geres, 87, is retiring.
Flu vaccines
As the flu season approaches, influenza vaccines are available in Summerland.
Page 2
Candidates respond
Summerland’s candidates for mayor and councillor discuss agricultural concerns.
Pages 16, 18, 19
Transit service
S u m m e r l a n d ’s scheduled transit service celebrated its first anniversary.
Pages 8
Hockey tourney
YOUR SMILE Escalators don’t break down. They just turn into stairs.
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PA G E S
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$1.15
Halloween Haunt
John Arendt Summerland Review
Meekah Roberts, in front, along with Oona Gibbs and Eve Chester take a ride through a dark tunnel during the Halloween Haunt at the Summerland Aquatic Centre on Saturday evening. Staff and 35 volunteers hosted 350 children at the annual Halloween event.
INCLUDING
GST
Gravel lease finalized by John Arendt
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Agreement worth $90,000 a year for infrastructure work
Orchard work
The Nesters Market midget rep hockey team reached the semifinals in a weekend tournament.
2014
A gravel extraction agreement between the municipality and CantexOkanagan Construction Ltd. is expected to bring in roughly $90,000 a year to the municipality. The 20-year lease agreement is for a property adjacent to 16700 Prairie Valley Road and the Summerland Landfill. The lease payments are $50,000 a year, plus property taxes. In addition, a royalty of $1.25 per tonne will be charged. For 30,000 tonnes a year, the royalty fee will be $37,500. The terms of the lease will be reviewed every five years. The money from the agreement will go to infrastructure improvements. Mayor Janice Perrino said last year’s infrastructure maintenance costs came to $2.6 million. Coun. Bruce Hall-
quist said the revenues from this agreement will help to offset the costs of replacing or upgrading Summerland’s aging infrastructure. “I’m very supportive of these kinds of initiatives,” he said. “I’m excited about the alternative revenue source,” said Coun. Martin Van Alphen. Coun. Peter Waterman said the anticipated $90,000 a year is roughly the same as a 1.33 per cent tax increase. While the agreement will bring in money for the municipality, Perrino said it will not result in a tax reduction for Summerlanders. “This is a supplement to taxes,” she said. “It does not reduce taxes. It’s just a help.” Summerland’s 2014 municipal budget was close to $11 million. After the gravel has been extracted, the land will be rehabilitated for a secondary use. The municipality will then have the option to lease or sell the land.
Summerland man charged following Kelowna flight threat by Kristi Patton Black Press
A 35-year-old Alberta man, currently residing in Summerland, faces several charges after the Kelowna International Airport received a threat to an outgoing domestic flight on Saturday afternoon. Michael Joseph Howells has since been
charged with uttering threats, public mischief, possession of a controlled substance, endangering aircraft by false information and mischief. He was publicly handcuffed in the middle of the Kelowna International Airport terminal and led away by RCMP officers around 2:30 p.m., about two hours after the plane intended to be used
for the Calgary flight landed in Kelowna from Edmonton. Kelowna RCMP received a report on Saturday at 12:24 p.m. of a possible threat specific to an outbound flight set to depart from Kelowna International Airport later that afternoon. “The aircraft was inbound at the time of the report and, as a pre-
caution, was diverted to a secure location away from the terminal for the ongoing safety of the public, airport personnel, and the facility,” said Const. Kris Clarke. “The luggage of the outbound flight was also isolated away from the terminal building. Both the luggage and passengers were searched but nothing of concern was located.”
Clark said the alleged threat came from a phone used inside the Kelowna airport. Airport director Sam Samaddar said as a safety precaution, the plane later flew from Kelowna to Calgary with only the flight crew on board and the Calgary bound passengers were accommodated on other later flights. See EDMONTON Page 3