Kamloops This Week March 29, 2023

C I T Y PAG E

Mar 29, 2023

Council Calendar

The public, media, delegations, and staff are encouraged to par ticipate in meetings vir tually through Zoom or to observe through the City YouTube channel.

April 4, 2023 (Cancelled)

10:30 am - Finance Committee

April 4, 2023 (Cancelled)

1:30 pm - Civic Operations Committee

April 18, 2023

1:30 pm - Regular Council Meeting

April 18, 2023 (Cancelled)

7:00 pm - Public Hearing

April 19, 2023 (Cancelled)

1:30 pm - Development and Sustainability Committee

April 20, 2023 (Cancelled)

10:00 am - Community and Protective Ser vices Committee

Expect new meetings to be scheduled in the coming weeks

The complete 2023 Council Calendars is available online at:

Kamloops.ca/CouncilPor tal

Council Meeting Recap

Sign up for the Council Highlights e -newsletter at: Kamloops.ca/Subscribe

Notice to Motorists

Please use caution when driving in the vicinity and obey all traffic control personnel, signs, and devices in the following areas:

• For tune Drive

Oak Road to Overlanders Bridge

• Singh Street

Ord Road to Parkcrest Avenue

• Lorne Street

8th Avenue to 10th Avenue

• Westsyde Road Multi-Use Pathway

Westsyde Road to Alview Crescent

• 6th Avenue

Columbia Street at 6th Avenue

• 12th Street

Tranquille Road to Kenora Road

• St. Paul Street

1st Avenue to 2nd Avenue

• Highland Road South of the Valleyview Arena to Valleyview Drive

To stay up to date on road work projects, visit: Kamloops.ca/Kammute

Repor t an issue: 250-828-3461

For after-hours emergencies, press 1.

C A P I TA L P R O J E C T S U P DAT E

12th Street: Work has recommenced on the 12th Street Road Reconstruction Project. Crews will be on site Monday to Friday, 7:00 am to 5:00 pm, with possible evening or weekend work Project completion is anticipated to be mid-April 2023.

Lorne Street: Work on the Lorne Street Improvements Project, including utility and road works, as well as sidewalk and curb/gutter preparation west of 8th Avenue, continues Project completion is anticipated to be late April 2023.

Highland Road: Phase 2 of the Highland Road Upgrades Project has begun on the west side of Highland Road from south of the Valleyview Arena to Valleyview Drive.The estimated completion date for Phase 2 is the end of June 2023.

For tune Drive: From now until the end of May, traffic on For tune Drive between Oak Road and Wood Street will be in the east side lanes (one lane each direction) to accommodate sanitar y replacement work The project completion date is anticipated to be the end of June 2023.

For updates, visit: LetsTalk.Kamloops.ca/CapitalProjec ts

AC C E S S I B I

The City of K amloops has a goal to be one of the most accessible, inclusive cities in Canada and to be a model for other municipalities to follow. Effective September 1, 2023, municipalities are required to develop an accessibility plan and establish an Accessibility Engagement Group, under the Accessible BC Act.

In addition to our commitment to diversity and equity-seek ing communities, we are work ing to ensure that the City meets or exceeds the requirements laid out in the Accessible BC Act by reviewing and updating our existing 2018 Accessibility and Inclusion Plan.

The Accessibility Engagement Group will assist and suppor t the Accessibility Work ing Group by, among other things:

• providing input and feedback for the Accessibility Work ing Group’s activities

• identifying oppor tunities to remove barriers to accessibility at the City of K amloops

• providing input into the City ’s new Accessibility Plan

Members of the public with lived experience and a desire to advocate for accessibility are encouraged to apply.

If you are interested in applying, please submit an online application at Kamloops.ca/Volunteer or phone 250-828-3582 by 4:00 pm on April 3, 2023.

To learn more about the updates to the Accessibility Plan, visit: LetsTalk.Kamloops.ca/AccessibilityPlan

N O T I C E T O R E S I D E N T S

Daily scheduled blasting has begun in the area of Greenstone Park and will continue until the week of April 17 for the replacement of the Pember ton water reser voir Blasts will be signaled by the sounding an airhorn prior to and following each blast.

All blasts will be designed to ensure no damage is done to any proper ty or structures in the area and with the utmost regard for public safety

For more information on this project, visit: LetsTalk.Kamloops.ca/Greenstone

L I N E PA I N T I N G J U S T A H E A D

Annual spring line painting will begin soon, weather depending and once street sweeping operations are near completion, and will continue until approximately the end of June Please slow down, be patient, and use caution when approaching areas that are being painted Motorists are reminded that driving over newly painted lines is an infraction under the Motor Vehicle Act and subject to a $109 fine

Let's Talk K amloops is our engagement website where you can share your voice and shape our city Please subscribe to the project of interest to receive updates Sign up and speak up at: LetsTalk.Kamloops.ca

KAMLOOPS MP MEETS U.S. PRESIDENT

A chance encounter on Parliament Hill led to the Kamloops-Thompson-Cariboo MP shaking hands with U.S. President Joe Biden during his first visit to Canada.

MP Frank Caputo took in the 46th president’s speech to Parliament during a twoday visit in Ottawa last week.

TODAY’S FLYERS

Following the near-40 minute address, Caputo told KTW the president shook hands with him and a few other MPs after being introduced to them.

Caputo said Biden had a brief exchange with each of them and remarked to Caputo that he knew someone

with the same last name.

“It’s kind of anticlimactic, but it’s something I’ll always remember,” Caputo said.

From the president’s visit, the MP said he took away a sense that the power of optimism in a leader rubs off on the people around them.

WEATHER FORECAST

March 29: Sun and clouds 13/-2 (hi/low)

March 30: Sunny 14/-1 (hi/low)

March 31: Showers 11/3 (hi/low)

April 1: Cloudy 12/1 (hi/low)

April 2: Cloudy 12/1 (hi/low)

ONLINE

www.kamloopsthisweek.com

facebook.com/ kamloopsthisweek

twitter.com/ KamThisWeek

youtube.com/user/ KamloopsThisWeek/videos

Instagram: @kamloopsthisweek

HOW TO REACH US:

Switchboard 250-374-7467

Classifieds 250-371-4949

Classifieds Fax 250-374-1033

Circulation 250-374-0462

classifieds@kamloopsthisweek com

publisher@kamloopsthisweek com

editor@kamloopsthisweek com

The body of 57-year-old Jo-Anne Donovan was found near her home in Westsyde on March 22. She had been reported missing since March 13. Police remained at Donovan’s trailer in the Warren’s Mobile Home Park through Tuesday, when an autopsy was scheduled to be done. Donovan’s death is the first homicide of the year in Kamloops.

MICHAEL POTESTIO/KTW

Disappearance now a homicide probe

seen watching over the home.

News that a missing neighbour is believed to have been the victim of a homicide came as a shock to a resident of a Westsyde trailer park, while close friends are hoping there will soon be answers to myriad questions.

Jo-Anne Donovan, 57, was found deceased somewhere near her trailer in Warren’s Mobile Home Park on March 22, nine days after she was last seen near her residence on March 13. Police are not releasing the specific location where the body was located.

“It’s tragic,” said park resident Alex, who did not wish to give his last name. “It’s kind of surreal. If it is a homicide, then it’s pretty dark.”

Alex, who has lived in a trailer above Donovan’s for the past five years, said he had seen Donovan around the park, but had not met her or spoken to her. He said “all the neighbours were talking about it” when Donovan went missing.

Donovan lived in trailer No. 6 with son Brandon. On March 24, a security guard and a uniformed officer could be

The security guard said the home was empty as it would remain in police hands until at least March 28, when an autopsy of Donovan’s body was scheduled to take place.

No police tape was strewn about the home, an intentional decision, according to the security guard, in order to keep a low profile at the scene. A blue tarp strung up on the property was there to obscure view of the property from the public.

The security guard said he had been watching over the scene since March 22 at 7 p.m., after Mounties conducted forensic work inside the trailer.

Another neighbour, who requested KTW not use her name, said police had been coming and going since Donovan vanished.

Paul Riegert, a longtime friend of Donovan’s, has been left with questions as her disappearance became a homicide investigation.

“Just to know where she was found and what the cause is would definitely give some closure,” Riegert said.

Riegert, a Westsyde resident, said he went to high school in Kamloops with Donovan,

who was also childhood friends with his wife, Heather. He said he reconnected with Donovan last summer through mutual friends, noting neither he nor his wife were aware of anything untoward going on in Donovan’s life leading up to her disappearance.

Riegert said he is not aware of anyone who would have wanted to hurt Donovan.

“We all wish we knew more,” he said.

Speaking to CFJC-TV in a segment that aired on March 20, prior to police announcing Donovan’s death was a suspected homicide, son Brandon said he last saw his mother going to bed on the night of March 12, noting everything seemed normal. He also said events leading to her disappearance may have left her distraught.

Donovan’s vehicle — a grey, 2011 Chevrolet four-door Impala, with B.C. licence plate MK8 77W — remained in her driveway following her disappearance.

Anyone with information on her vehicle’s movements around March 13 and anyone who recently spoke with Donovan or visited her Westsyde home is urged to call Kamloops RCMP at 250-828-3000.

MICHAEL POTESTIO STAFF REPORTER michael@kamloopsthisweek.com

Neighbour startled awake by gunshots

MICHAEL POTESTIO STAFF REPORTER michael@kamloopsthisweek.com

A neighbour heard loud bangs that rousted her from bed in an apparent early-morning drive-by shooting in downtown Kamloops on March 24.

Mounties arrived at the scene at 846 Battle St. at about 2:30 a.m., responding to multiple calls of reported gunshots. Investigators discovered an insecure residence, along with signs that at least one firearm had been discharged. One man was taken to a hospital with serious injuries, but nobody else was found with injuries.

The neighbour, who did not want her name published for fear of reprisal, said she was awoken in the middle of the night by her dogs making noise between about 1:30 a.m. and 2 a.m. She said she tried calming them down.

“Usually, that means there’s a cat in the yard, so didn’t think too much of it,” the neighbour said.

She went back to bed, but her dogs began barking again and that’s

when she heard the gunshots ring out. That was followed by the sound of a car engine revving and vehicle peeling out.

About 10 minutes later, she said she came outside to see police lights and officers with their guns drawn at the nearby house.

The neighbour said the home has been a known problem house for the past six months, since a few young people moved into the top floor. She said she has noticed sev-

eral people coming and going at all hours and leaving the house with the appearance they are under the influence of drugs.

“There’s bikes being broken down in the front yard all the time, different property showing up out of nowhere,” the neighbour said, noting a woman with two children live in the basement of the house.

The neighbour said she has seen police attend the home on numerous occasions, but noted they have

Among items removed from the home at 846 Battle St. on March 24 were weapons, though it has not been revealed what type of long guns were seized.

MICHAEL POTESTIO/KTW

never been there for long.

Asked if the shooting has left her fearful, the neighbour pointed to the proximity of one of the bullet holes to her home and another neighbouring house.

“Absolutely,” she said. “Had it been off trajectory enough, then we would have had Swiss cheese holes in our houses, too. That’s insane. I have kids and you don’t want that kind of stuff around your kids.”

The neighbour said she moved to Kamloops from Chilliwack to get away from this sort of crime, adding police have advised her to call the city and file a nuisance complaint.

“We’ve [neighbours] all spoken to the owner of the house and complained directly to the owner about the type of stuff that’s going on here, but she hasn’t done anything about it,” the neighbour said.

When KTW visited in the after-

noon of March 24, several police vehicles remained at the scene and officers were coming and going from the home, some carrying paper bags and at least three long guns with apparent evidence tags on them. Multiple bikes, a wheelchair and black garbage bags could be seen in the front yard.

Police were on scene at the bullet-riddled house for hours on March 24, from early in the morning until at least about 2 p.m., when they began removing police tape.

“And now the fun begins again because once they’re finished, everybody’s [residents] allowed to come back and then you just play hurry up and wait until the next incident happens,” the neighbour said.

Kamloops RCMP Staff Sgt. Troy Durand said that while the investigation is in its infancy, some of the people involved are known to police and early indications suggest it is an isolated incident.

Anyone with any information who has yet to speak with police is asked to call Kamloops RCMP at 250-828-3000.

Extra $200,00 cost causes debate

CITY HALL HAS ALREADY SPENT CLOSE TO $1 MILLION ON MEMORIAL CUP

MICHAEL POTESTIO STAFF REPORTER michael@kamloopsthisweek.com

The City of Kamloops is not asking the Canadian Hockey League nor TSN to chip in on an 11th-hour cost to the 2023 Memorial Cup because the expense is one typically shouldered by the host venue.

“Hosting requirements are borne by the host venue,” Jeff Putnam, the city’s parks and facilities manager, told KTW “That’s the reason there wasn’t a motivation to reach out, because we ordinarily wouldn’t do that. We would figure it out ourselves.”

Council on Tuesday, March 28, was debating whether to spend $200,000 on a predesigned elevated platform to be situated on the east side of Sandman Centre, creating private suite spaces for Canadian Hockey League officials, sponsors and broadcast and media partners.

It would also create individual team executive spaces, as well as space for the TSN broadcast centre.

Council engaged in a long debate and its decision came after KTW press deadline. Go online to kamloopsthisweek. com for an update.

As for why the city has not asked the Kamloops Blazers to contribute to the cost, Putnam said that is because the team is contributing revenue guarantees to the municipality and because the arena is a city-owned asset.

“We really feel this is a venue hosting cost for the city,” Putnam said.

A report to council from Putnam stated that the elevated platform requirement was not identified by the Canadian Hockey League during previous facility discussions.

Putnam told KTW the city had planned to add these additional suites on the concourse, as the municipality did during the 2016 Women’s Ice Hockey World Championship.

However, after winning the Memorial Cup bid in May 2022 and getting into more detailed discussions with TSN, the Blazers and CHL, the city realized the broadcast booth requirements were larger than

originally planned and the arena did not have enough space for what would be needed on the concourse to also allow for circulation of fans.

“So, we looked at other options and one was to take advantage of that vacant elevated space on the concourse,” Putnam said, adding the city views the project as a venue responsibility, not one for the event partners.

Asking other event organizers to help foot this kind of bill is something Putnam said he has not seen in his 20 years’ experience, noting the host venue is typically responsible for suite and broadcast spaces with any large tournament or concert.

The $200,000 platform is only a temporary structure, however, and would be taken down at the end of the 10-day Memorial Cup as the city is not purchasing it for that price, Putnam told KTW If the platform proved successful for the Memorial Cup, the city would consider erecting a permanent version of the structure in the arena, Putnam said.

“I’m confident it will be suc-

cessful if council agrees to the recommendation, and it would definitely be an improvement for the venue’s hosting ability in the future,” Putnam said.

The $200,000 expense would be covered from the city’s gambling revenue fund, which is money the city receives annually (10 per cent of revenue) from the two casinos in Kamloops.

The $200,000 expense is in addition to $940,000 the city has already spent on upgrades to the downtown arena for the national major junior hockey championship.

Previous upgrades included game presentation systems, video production control room/ video replay systems, broadcast cable infrastructure, signage, sponsorship and distributed video system and temporary dehumidification and air conditioning units for the Memorial Cup event itself.

The $940,000 cost was funded from community works funds ($445,000), asset management reserve fund ($350,000), gambling revenue fund ($120,000) and the existing operating budget ($25,000).

Thinking of moving, for a fresh start?

During a relationship breakdown, the idea of taking a new job in a new city for a fresh start can be inviting, but when children are involved, things can become more complicated. The Family Law Act sets out the requirements pertaining to a parent who wants to relocate with a child, or children, from a former relationship

Under the Act, where both parents are having “contact” with the children and one parent wants to relocate with them, that parent must give the other parent at least 60 days written notice of the proposed relocation Relocation can then occur unless the other parent, within 30 days of receiving notice, files a court application opposing the relocation

This legal process can become understandably complicated and emotional. Our family law team has the knowledge and experience to help you navigate this delicate situation

If you have questions, we're here to help

JOHN GROVER

A doppleganger with very little dopple OPINION

Sometimes you get a phone call that, for a brief moment, ignites in your mind a flashback sequence of your life, like those rapid-fire clips you see in a movie.

Sometimes, again for a brief moment, you wonder: What if?

Such a freeze-frame moment happened to me last week via an email, then a phone call, from the RCMP in Alberta.

The message in my work email box was short, to the point and startling: “Hello Chris, I am an investigator with the Slave Lake RCMP who is assigned to investigating this file. I received an anonymous tip that you may be the missing person Jeffrey Dupres.  Are you available sometime this week for a chat? I can be reached at the following numbers below. I can provide more information when we talk.”

The message was indeed from a corporal in the Alberta town’s RCMP detachment, confirmation of which was obtained via a phone call with the officer and a separate call to the national police force to confirm the corporal’s name, location and contact information.

Turns out that an appeal for information on a missing person’s case from 1980, involving a thenthree-year-old Jeffrey Dupre, led to an anonymous caller suggesting I might be Jeffrey.

The corporal explained that the caller saw my photo — the one attached to this column — and felt it resembled the artist’s rendering of what Jeffrey Dupre might look like today, when he would be 46

years of age.

I don’t think the sketch looks like me. Nobody I showed the sketch to thinks it looks like me. However, one person who came across my column headshot saw a resemblance and decided to call the RCMP, anonymously, via Crime Stoppers.

The corporal explained police are obligated to follow up every tip, regardless of how outlandish it may seem. For that, I am grateful for the Mounties’ persistence despite knowing such a venture is the longest of long shots. The family of little Jeffrey surely would want police to follow every lead.

I initially replied to the email with the certainty I am not Jeffrey Dupre, based on the fact Jeffrey is almost a decade younger than me, though I added a part of me wishes I was Jeffrey, if only to reverse age nine years.

In my phone call with the corporal, I was asked to state where I was born, list the names of my parents and offer up the number of siblings I have. I am one of six kids

born in the 1950s and 1960s, with none of my siblings having been mistaken for a missing child four decades later, as far as I know.

Of course, the fact I look least like the others, and the fact I endured endless adoption jokes at as I grew up, made me think, age difference notwithstanding: Could I be Jeffrey?

I was then asked to send a photo of my birth certificate to the corporal, a birth certificate that has resided in an old wallet for about a decade and which is now about as legible as a doctor’s prescription, faded as it is.

I further explained to the corporal that, aside from the age discrepancy, I have vivid memories of a young Fouldsy falling off his bike at age five (and having Mrs. Jack carry me home), of a young sevenyear-old Fouldsy getting stung by a bee while climbing a slide (and having Mr. Hardman carry me home) and of a young Fouldsy at age 11 stricken with the severest form of puppy love ever diagnosed.

How could I be Jeffrey with those memories? My alleged doppleganger wasn’t even born for

CONTACT US

KTW editor Christopher Foulds doesn’t think he looks like the man in this sketch, but someone else did, leading RCMP to contact the editor to ask if he was, in reality, Jeffrey Dupre.

two of them.

The story of Jeffrey Dupre’s disappearance is heartbreaking. On April 24, 1980, the three-year-old was given permission to walk next door to visit his friend while his mom did the laundry.

Jeffrey never made it to his friend’s home. Multiple witnesses at the time said they saw Jeffrey being led by a woman into a newer-model blue Chevy or GMC truck with a man in the driver’s seat.

On that very day, police were also busy evacuating parts of Slave Lake due to a wildfire.

Alberta Mounties said earlier this month they believe Jeffrey is still alive. He would be 45, would not have any baby pictures and may wear glasses and walk with a limp (he was wearing orthopedic shoes when he vanished).

As RCMP Eastern Alberta District Chief Supt. Gary Graham explained at a March 1 press conference: “You’ve probably moved around a lot in your early life. Maybe you even feel like you’re different than the rest of your family.”

Jeffrey Dupre’s disappearance is one of too many involving kids stretching back decades.

The sad case of Michael Dunahee, the four-year-old who vanished from a Victoria playground in 1991, is the probably the best-known in B.C. Michael

disappeared from a playground near where his mom was playing flag football.

More than three decades later, the mystery of what happened, despite occasional slivers of hope when a person here or there thought they could be Michael, only to have DNA tests prove otherwise.

And, of course, the Madeleine McCann case continues to create headlines as her parents await DNA tests involving a Polish women who believes she may be Madeleine, who was three years old when she vanished from an apartment while on vacation in Portugal with her parents.

And, Kamloops has a wellknown case, that of 21-month-old Edna Bette-Jean Masters, who disappeared in the Red Lake area northwest of the city on July 3, 1960. She would now be 65 years old.

Police were seeking a man and woman who were seen in the area in a rust-colored 1959 Chevrolet car with cat eye or bat wing style tail lights and with Alberta plates. The couple was described as being in their late 20s.

Only family members who have been through such a nightmare can comprehend how terrible such an ordeal can be.

I hope that the next time someone receives a stark email such as the one I received, that person may indeed be the loved one being sought for so many years.

editor@kamloopsthisweek.com

Twitter: @ChrisJFoulds

KTW

Special Projects Manager:

Ray Jolicoeur

EDITORIAL

Editor & Associate Publisher:

Christopher Foulds

Newsroom staff:

Dave Eagles

Marty Hastings

Jessica Wallace

Sean Brady

Michael Potestio

Breanne Massey

CIRCULATION

Manager:

Serena Platzer

Manager:

Liz Spivey

Linda Skelly

Jodi Lawrence

Paul De Luca

Jack Bell

Robert W. Doull President

Robert W. Doull President/Publisher

Robert W. Doull President

Switchboard 250-374-7467

Aberdeen Publishing Inc.

Aberdeen Publishing Inc. President/Publisher

Aberdeen Publishing

ADVERTISING

Classifieds 250-371-4949

Rylan Willoughby

DIGITAL SALES:

Manager:

Chris Wilson

DIGITAL DESIGNERS

Jackson Vander Wal

PRODUCTION

Manager:

Lee Malbeuf

Production staff:

Fernanda Fisher

Dayana Rescigno

Moneca Jantzen

Kaitlin Vander Wal

FRONT OFFICE

Front office staff:

Lorraine Dickinson

Angela Wilson

Marilyn Emery

Rosalynn Bartella

Classifieds Fax 250-374-1033

Classifieds@Kamloopsthisweek.com

Circulation 250-374-0462

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR OPINION

TREAT ALL WITH DIGNITY, RESPECT

Editor:

On Friday, March 31, people around the world will observe the International Transgender Day of Visibility, dedicated to celebrating trans people and raising awareness of discrimination faced by trans people worldwide.

Globally, the LGBTIQA+ community needs our support. Uganda recently passed a measure to make it a crime to identify as LGBTIQA+. Closer to home in the United States, 29 states have failed to pass laws that protect gay and transgender workers.

This day is especially meaningful for me as member of the LGBTIQA+ community, a leader at BCLC and, most importantly, as a parent. I have always raised my kid to feel empowered to be their true self. But as a parent, I fear society’s judgment.

Transgenderism is so misunderstood — many times, much of what is thought about it is not out of hatred, but igno-

CALLING FOR COUNCIL SPORTSMANSHIP

Editor:

rance, which leads to fear and loathing. It is not simple and there are so many nuances.

I encourage our community members and other business leaders to educate themselves about sex and gender identity and to listen to LGBTIQA+ voices with an open mind. Defend your LGBTIQA+ friends and colleagues against discrimination.

Confront your own prejudices and bias, even if it is uncomfortable to do so. Believe that all people, regardless of gender identity and sexual orientation, should be treated with dignity and respect.

While we have made progress, it is speaking up, challenging one’s own discomfort and taking action to create interpersonal, societal and institutional change that will become the catalyst for everyone to deservedly feel like they belong.

Belonging is a human right.

Peter ter Weeme Kamloops

TALK BACK Q&A:

At the March 21 special council meeting, Coun. Dale Bass complained that the public can’t be trusted to maintain confidentiality on committees.

Perhaps Bass should first look in her own backyard. Who at city hall sent Mayor Reid Hamer-Jackson’s standing committee list to the media? It seems that in some cases, city hall wants to be fully transparent, but only when such can potentially be used to bludgeon the mayor.

With the exception of Coun. Mike O’Reilly — who addressed the mayor respectfully and even pushed back a bit on Bass’s motion to pause the standing committees and create a select committee to review how standing committees are run — councillors badgered the

BUCK STOPS AT TOP

mayor, slid nasty jabs at him into their speeches, demanded he seek council approval for everything he does and repeatedly interrupted him. One city administrator shook their head while the mayor was speaking; another had an edge to their voice when addressing him. It was rude and unprofessional.

I agree the mayor could use some lessons in decorum and active listening. But isn’t the office of mayor, regardless of who occupies it, worthy of a respectful, civil environment?

This raises the question: can the mayor get anything done in such a hostile work environment?

Take, for example, the issue of the mayor’s recent motion to review options to relocate the 48 Victoria St. W. storage facility for the homeless and

Editor:

The in-fighting among city council is embarrassing — and the buck stops at the top.

To have all eight councilors come together to agree that the mayor is not doing his job in a respectful smart way is astonishing.

When has this ever hap-

hard-to-house.  The mayor’s approach to this situation seemed to be to incrementally resolve some of the problem areas, but council and staff wouldn’t allow him to do even that, so nothing got done about the only spot in that corridor owned and controlled by the city.

Councillors appear to want to usurp the mayor’s powers entirely. They all claimed to be team players in their election campaigns, but it turns out that’s only if they get to pick the whole team plus the coach and call all the plays.

It’s long past time our Tournament Capital council and administration showed some sportsmanship and professionalism.

Bronwen Scott Kamloops

pened? Eight people are not all wrong. I think thousands of residents still can’t believe Reid Hamer-Jackson came up through the middle and was elected.

If he continues to be deemed unfit by councillors and cannot mediate issues or lead a council of experienced,

reasonable people, then his time is up. We did not elect a rogue mayor. The position demands dignity, fairness and working together.

Note to all: city politics is not a child’s sandbox. Show you can get things done as adults.

Gary Birkeland, Kamloops

Kamloops This Week is a member of the National Newsmedia Council, which is an independent organization established to deal with acceptable journalistic practices and ethical behaviour.

If you have concerns about editorial content, please email  editor@kamloopsthisweek.com or call 250-374-7467

If you are not satisfied with the response and wish to file a formal complaint, visit the website at  mediacouncil.ca or call toll-free 1-844-877-1163

OPINION

Cycling with others for sight this spring

Last weekend, I decided to ditch the Giant Cyclotron Fluid ST trainer that my Norco Scene bike has called home for the winter.

After flipping my bicycle upside down to rest on its handlebars, I was able to remove the quick release, deflate and unhook the rear tire.

The purpose of this task was to swap out the Tacx clincher tire, which contains a thicker, more durable rubber that won’t lose traction on the steel trainer wheel, in favour of its regular Kenda tires for the road.

This was following my registration to participate in the 15th annual Cycling For Sight fundraiser this spring, a cause that has recently become important to me as someone living with mild vision loss.

Fifteen years ago, Cycling For Sight began in Toronto and gradually expanded to Western Canada in an effort to support vision research.

More than 5,000 riders have accepted the challenge on single

BREANNE MASSEY Massey’s MUSINGS

or tandem bikes since 2009, raising more than $6.2 million for Fighting Blindness Canada.

While the event is geared toward cyclists, Fighting Blindness Canada encourages anyone to pursue athletics, such as running, walking, swimming, climbing, dancing, jumping rope or yoga, with a fitness goal of your choice.

This will be my first year participating in the fundraiser, which was prompted by three disorienting eye surgeries in less than a year.

My goal is to raise $1,500 by

riding at least 27 kilometres per week, running four times weekly and swimming with my son on a regular basis.

My first outdoor ride of the season took place this past Saturday, spanning from Garnet Street in Westsyde to Pioneer Park downtown along the Rivers Trail.

I immediately rushed back by bike to avoid the storm clouds that

were trailing behind me, not unlike the feeling of the disease in my eyes.

My hope is that cyclists from our community will register for the early bird pricing, which ends on April 1.

They can take part in the virtual event — which takes place on June 17, with activity chosen by participants taking place from now

to then — and log their physical activities on the Strava app.

If you’re not able to participate as a cyclist, I would ask that you to consider making a secure online donation to my page at tinyurl. com/ysvkkteb or mail a cheque (with my name in the memo line) to Cycle for Sight at Cycle for Sight, 890 Yonge St., 12th Floor, Toronto, Ont., M4W 3P4.

Autism program for kids to close in May

BREANNE MASSEY STAFF REPORTER breanne@kamloopsthisweek.com

The way medical interventions are being done for children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is changing for some families in Kamloops in the coming weeks.

The Kamloops Autism Program (KAP), which operates out of the Kamloops Children’s Therapy and Family Resource Centre across from Thompson Rivers University, is slated for closure this May.

“We let the families know so they have lots of time to transition to another program,” Resource Centre executive director Mary-Ellen Milutinovic said.

“We’ll stop doing that one program at the end of May.”

The KAP offers early intensive behavioural intervention (EIBI) for children up to six years old who have been diagnosed with ASD.

During the week, services could include six hours of EIBI on a recurring basis to help children with behavioural issues with physical activity, socialization and assistance to prepare for the transition to school, preschool or daycare.

The decision to close the program will result in approximately 12 families without access to services for ASD from KAP. The decision was made following the government’s

plan in October 2021 to scrap funding for individual children diagnosed with autism and instead move to a hub model.

However, in November 2022, Premier David Eby retracted the plan following criticism from families.

Had the original plan proceeded, families of children with autism said they would have lost funding of up to $22,000 a year until their children turned six, followed by $6,000 annually until their children turned 18.

“We’re just not making any money doing this at all,” Milutinovic said, explaining government funding is provided to families to subsidize programming at a facility of their choice.

She said the KAP cannot cover employee wages or rent. But the non-profit Resource Centre’s other existing programs and services will remain intact.

“We’re still going to serve those children with speech, occupational therapy and physiotherapy,” Edy said.

“We’re just not going to do the morning and afternoon program anymore. We’re still here and we’re still serving another 800 children in our region. We really looked at [KAP] and how we could continue on, but we can’t continue with no funding at all. When we looked at it, for probably the last six years, it’s been costing us money to run the program. It was just financial. As a non-profit, we couldn’t subsidize it anymore.”

KAP’S CLOSURE LEAVES

BREANNE MASSEY STAFF REPORTER breanne@kamloopsthisweek.com

SCHOOL-AGE PROGRAMMING REMAINS UNCHANGED

The Chris Rose Autism Therapy Centre executive director Wanda Edy said the provincial government’s announcement in 2021 “panicked” the non-profit, but ultimately the approach was to lobby the government to change its plans and figure out alternative solutions to support families that couldn’t afford programming.

Edy said it was a relief when Eby rolled back the decision in 2022.

“I was sad for those families because early intervention is important,” Edy said, noting Chris Rose had previously opted out of offering services for early years children to avoid competing with the KAP.

Edy said Chris Rose currently serves school-age children older than six and suspects the non-profit would not have the capacity to implement programming for those under six unless a strong need is communicated from families in the area.

“I think probably one of the largest issues would be that they [Kamloops Children’s Therapy] worked with under six and we work with schoolage children in conjunction with the school district and, in some cases, private schools,” Edy said, adding that Pivot Point, Insight Support Services and Social Butterflies serve early years children with autism.

“Our goals are a little bit different.”

Kimberley Packard recently learned the Kamloops Children’s Therapy’s autism program would be closing in late May.

Her seven-year-old son, Julien Omichinski, attended the Kamloops Autism Program (KAP) for two years before transitioning to Parkcrest elementary. Packard said the KAP set Julien up for success at school, where is thriving in in Grade 1 with support from a speech therapist. However, he currently does not attend a school-age program for autism.

Packard’s four-year-old son, Connor Omichinski, received early intensive behavioural intervention (EIBI) twice weekly from 9 a.m. to noon at KAP for approximately the last year. Connor was born with autism and has difficulty communicating with others. Packard said Connor also has a global developmental delay, which means it takes longer for the four-year-old to reach developmental milestones than his peers.

“Children on the spectrum typically don’t like to move around and have a lot of changes,” Packard said about the search for a new program in the community. “It really sucks.”

While the individualized autism funding for children remains intact and can be re-allocated at the family’s discretion, Packard is worried that alternative programs may not be a fit for her youngest son. He has struggled to attend childcare programming in the past, she said, and the family opted for the KAP instead.

“The staff at KAP work really hard and they really do care,” Packard said, noting she is waiting for guidance from the staff at the KAP on other services in the area.

Packard is a stay-at-home parent who graduated from the Visual College of Art and Design in Vancouver, where she studied 3D modelling for games, with the hope of obtaining remote employment as there are two years remaining before Connor starts school.

“My plan was to keep him in KAP until he turned six and could start school,” Packard said, adding she is upset that Connor won’t have the same success in preparing to start Kindergarten as Julien had.

“All I can hope for is that I can find some programs that have space and to find a program that does everything [KAP] they do. They really care at KAP and that’s my big concern … Everybody is pretty heartbroken.”

Mayor removes controversial committee choices

MICHAEL POTESTIO STAFF REPORTER michael@kamloopsthisweek.com

Kamloops Mayor Reid HamerJackson has rescinded public appointees he made to standing committees following backlash from councillors.

However, the move is temporary as the mayor intends to re-appoint the nine volunteers he selected once council completes its review of the terms of reference for standing committees via a three-person select committee.

On March 24, Hamer-Jackson sent a letter informing city council of the reversal — a copy of which he emailed to KTW

In the letter, Hamer-Jackson said he removed his public appointees as it will take “considerable time” for the review to be completed, adding he hopes the nine will volunteer again once the process is completed.

The letter also noted the mayor did not want his appointees to feel they did anything wrong by volun-

teering, noting media reports and council discussions about their ability to maintain confidentiality, and avoid conflicts and their motives for volunteering.

“They’ve been drug through the media,” Hamer-Jackson told KTW, adding he wished people had focused more on their credentials for serving on committees.

“They’re just volunteering to do good for the city and that’s all I was doing, too, in making adjustments.”

On March 16, Hamer-Jackson added nine members of the public to the five standing committees and removed three councillors as chairs of a trio of committees. Many of the people he added have personal connections to him. The nine additions included two people who contributed money to his election campaign, according to disclosure statements from Elections BC.

Bailey’s Pub owner Brandon Coyle, who the mayor added to the community and protective services committee, along with

himself, contributed $1,250 to Hamer-Jackson’s campaign. Bill Swaine, a former senior management advisor for Emil Anderson Construction who was added to the civic operations committee, gave Hamer-Jackson $300.

A third appointee, Deborah Newby, worked on HamerJackson’s election campaign and worked previously for the province.

City councillors have criticized the move for lacking consultation and vetting and accused the mayor of unilaterally installing his friends and political allies in positions of voting power within the committee structure.

“I don’t think there’s any reason why they shouldn’t be [on committees] just because they donated to my campaign,” Hamer-Jackson said.

He said while the move may look to some as if he is giving favours to financial supporters, he said his selections were made based on each appointee’s credentials.

“That’s not bad, eh? Two out of nine,” Hamer-Jackson said.

The mayor told KTW he will be on the select committee reviewing the terms of reference, noting he was asked to join by Coun. Kelly Hall, who is forming the committee.

Asked to confirm if the mayor had been added to the select committee, Hall refused to comment, noting members will be revealed during the March 28 council meeting.

Concerns expressed by councillors in adding members of the public to standing committees include how they will navigate issues of confidentiality, conflicts of interest and code of conduct

Members of council are bound by specific rules, but it is not clear how the rules would be applied to members of the public.

The mayor has contended the committees have no real power, noting any recommendations committees make require the final approval of council to be implemented.

KAMLOOPS MAYOR REID HAMERJACKSON, ADDING HE HAS BEEN ADDED TO THE SELECT COMMITTEE REVIEWING TERMS OF REFERENCE FOR STANDING COMMITTEES

“I don’t think there’s any reason why they shouldn’t be [on committees] just because they donated to my campaign.”

—

Mayor wanted campaign staffer as assistant CAO

MICHAEL POTESTIO STAFF REPORTER michael@kamloopsthisweek.com

Kamloops Mayor Reid HamerJackson suggested hiring a member of his election team as city assistant chief administrative officer shortly after the Oct. 15, 2022, election.

Hamer-Jackson confirmed to KTW he proposed the idea to CAO David Trawin of adding Deborah Newby — a retiree and former project manager for the provincial government who served on HamerJackson’s election campaign — in the assistant CAO role.

Hamer-Jackson said he said he made the suggestion when he learned Trawin had been talking to a CAO from another city about possibly taking on the job in a few years, when Trawin retires. Hamer-Jackson said he suggested Trawin speak with Newby, noting Trawin took a meeting with her.

“I just discussed it with David Trawin to see if he felt he needed some assistance,” Hamer-Jackson told KTW.

Asked why he felt Trawin needed an assistant, Hamer-Jackson cited workload, claiming Trawin told him, when Hamer-Jackson was first elected, that he had cut his hours back and does not work past 7 p.m. or on weekends unless it is an emergency.

“I thought, ‘Well, gee, we’ll get somebody to help him out,’ but it never happened,” Hamer-Jackson said. “It wasn’t a lengthy, drawn-out thing or anything like that.”

Trawin told KTW he works 50 hours a week now, down from 70 hours in 2020. He clarified his comment to the mayor was that he did not want to receive emails after 7 p.m. or on weekends if they were not an emergency because, in the past, he was receiving emails at all hours and days with expected immediate responses. Trawin said he and the previous council put guidelines to that effect in place.

“Does that mean I don’t work after seven at night and on weekends? No, I do, depending on the topic,” Trawin said, adding that Hamer-Jackson wanted him to work around the mayor’s schedule, which

includes Saturdays, and to accompany the mayor on 3 a.m. tours, visiting the city’s marginalized population. Trawin said he has gone on those tours and has corresponded with Hamer-Jackson on Saturdays.

Trawin confirmed HamerJackson asked him if he needed an assistant CAO and that the mayor expressed concern with his workload and health, to which Trawin said he assured the mayor he has had no health issues since a fainting incident in council chambers in June 2020. He went on temporary leave due to health issues that were compounded by stress and returned to work that August.

Trawin told KTW he has no plans to retire any time soon, noting succession planning is often looked into at the city.

Trawin said he took a meeting at city hall with someone HamerJackson felt would be “a good fit” as an assistant CAO, but noted it was an introduction, not a job interview.

Trawin said he told the mayor the additional hire was not something he needed at the time and that he was

GRAND WINE TASTING PARTY

waiting to see the result of council’s strategic plan — which is still pending — to determine if any additional resources may be needed to implement it.

Asked if he was also concerned about Trawin’s health, HamerJackson said he wanted to make sure Trawin was in good health.

Coun. Bill Sarai told KTW he feels Hamer-Jackson citing Trawin’s recent health issues is a disingenuous excuse to install one of the mayor’s campaign workers and supporters into the role of assistant CAO.

“I don’t think it’s right,” Sarai said, adding he has no concerns about Trawin’s health.

Trawin also labelled as “offline” Hamer-Jackson sharing comment about his health issues, which he has none, about his possible retirement, for which he has no timeline, and about his ability to do his job.

Hamer-Jackson has also cited wanting to relieve councillors of their workload in his decision to remove Sarai and two other councillors as chairs of their committees — relief neither had requested.

Asked if part of the reason he proposed Newby as an assistant CAO was due to a distrust of Trawin, Hamer-Jackson replied, “No comment.” Asked if he distrusts the rest of council, the mayor also replied, “No comment,” then admitted he distrusts Coun. Stephen Karpuk.

Trawin said there are deputy CAOs in the province, but they report directly to the CAO, noting such a position would be opened up to a competition.

“There’s more and more municipalities with deputy CAOs because the role is always getting more complicated,” Trawin said. “Right now, I haven’t had to go that direction because my corporate leadership team is phenomenal.”

B.C. municipalities are structured to have the CAO serve as council’s lone employee.

Following the assistant CAO inquiry, Hamer-Jackson said he also wanted Newby to fill the vacant position of executive assistant to mayor and council. The city, however, ultimately hired internally, tapping 15-year veteran Chrissy Cossentine.

Pursuant to subsec tions 24(1), 26(3) and 94 of the Community Char ter, S.B.C. 2003, Ch. 26, the City of K amloops (the “City ”) intends to dispose of an interest in land to and provide assistance to the K amloops Tennis Association (“K TA”). The City is granting a fur ther lease of the Canada Games Rotar y Tennis Complex, legally described as: PID: 017-830-125, Parcel B (KF61531) Blk 74 DL 234 KDYD Plan 193, PID: 017-830-117, Parcel A (KF61531) Blk 74 DL 234 KDYD Plan 193 and par t of PID: 013-027-093, DL 981 KDYD (the “Premises”) to K TA for an 8-year term (the “ Term”) with base rent in the amount of $10, plus additional rent In connec tion with lease of the Premises to K TA, the City is loaning a sum of $175,000 to K TA for completion of cour t resur facing, with the loan bearing interest at a fixed rate of 3.9% per annum, to be repaid to the City in blended payments of principal and interest with the balance due at the end of the Term. As a term of the loan, K TA will be required to spend not less than $50,000 of its own capital reser ve funds to contribute to the cost of the cour t resur facing

For more information, please contac t Jeff Putnam, Parks & Civic Facilities Manager, at 250-828-3700

Guests are invited to stroll around sampling from a large hall full of wine-related vendors, and ciders too! Plus

City of Kamloops

SNAKES ALIVE!

Zach Johnson of the BC Wildlife Park shows to visitors Carmina, an endangered 13-year-old rubber boa. The snake was brought to the park’s rehabilitation hospital and cannot be released into the wild. Carmina met park visitors during spring break daily reptile encounters. The park in east Kamloops also has plenty planned for the upcoming Easter long weekend. All the details are online at bcwildlifepark.org.

Grassfire east of Kamloops now under control

Golf Links.

A suspected human-caused grassfire east of Kamloops is now classified as being under control.

BC Wildfire Service fire information officer Taylor Wallace told KTW the fire, which was about two hectares in size, was ignited on Sunday, March 26, about 28 kilometres east of Kamloops.

The name of the blaze is the East of Lion’s Head fire and it is near Rivershore

Wallace said the fire was deemed held on Monday morning before the crew of eight managed to get the blaze under control.

There are now 26 active fires in the province, with three blazes being sparked in the past two days.

Ten of those active fires are in the Kamloops Fire Centre — five under control, two new, two being held and one out of control.

“Once we start to see snow clearing up, typically we start seeing grassfires in the Kamloops Fire Centre around March,” Wallace said.

The Kamloops Fire Centre extends from the northern border of Wells Gray Provincial Park to the Canada-U.S. border in the south and from the Bridge River Glacier west of Gold Bridge to the Monashee Mountains east of Lumby.

The fire centre is approximately 7.1 million hectares in size.

Student snares $100,000 scholarship

Graeme Hanks of South Kamloops secondary has been awarded the prestigious Loran scholarship, a comprehensive award valued at $100,000 that will help the student through a four-year undergraduate degree.

Hanks is one of 36 students across the country to earn the scholarship. He was selected from a pool of 4,800 applicants in a process that included interviews in Toronto.

Other winners in B.C. include students from Victoria, Vancouver, Duncan, Richmond, Chilliwack and Surrey.

The Loran Scholars Foundation was founded 34 years ago and has since contributed $62 million in undergraduate awards to more than 3,200 Canadian high school students, including 757 who earned the same level of scholarship as Hanks.

The scholarship criteria is based on integrity, courage, grit and personal autonomy rather than standard academic measures. Founded in 1988, the Loran Scholars Foundation addresses a “gap in the Canadian system of merit-based financial assistance.”

KAMLOOPS THISWEEK

KAMLOOPS THISWEEK

Loran scholarship winner Graeme Hanks of South Kamloops secondary.

BREATHTAKING AURORA BOREALIS

KTW reader Tyler Wilson shared this striking photo he took of the Northern Lights over Kamloops. Tyler positioned himself in Rose Hill on the night of March 23 and pointed his camera north. What he captured was an awe-inspiring image of the Aurora Borealis. According to space.com, for all the beauty of the Northern Lights, their creation is a rather violent event. Energized particles from the sun slam into Earth’s upper atmosphere at speeds of up to 72-million km/h, but our planet’s magnetic field protects us from the onslaught. As Earth’s magnetic field redirects the particles toward the poles — there are Southern Lights, too — the dramatic process transforms into a cinematic atmospheric phenomenon. This image was included in the KTW newsletter, a free email sent to almost 3,000 subscribers every weekday morning. The newsletter gives you stories of note, serves up interesting facts, previews various events, offers the weather forecast and points you to some fantastic reads elsewhere. To sign up for the free newsletter, go online to kamloopsthisweek.com/account/mailinglist

Tolko’s Kamloops mill will reduce shifts

AFFECTED SHIFTS INCLUDE THE OVERNIGHT LATHE SHIFT AND WEEKEND DRYING SHIFTS. THE CHANGES TAKE EFFECT STARTING IN APRIL

SEAN BRADY STAFF REPORTER sbrady@kamloopsthisweek.com

Tolko has temporarily reduced shifts at its Heffley Creek mill, citing market conditions.

Affected shifts include the overnight lathe shift and weekend drying shifts. The changes take effect starting in April.

“Employees have been informed this week and we are working to redeploy those impacted,” Brett VanderHoek, Tolko’s director of people and services, told KTW.

VanderHoek said the mill along

Highway 5 will continue to produce veneer to meet the internal demand for plywood production.

The company is citing high fibre costs and a weak North American plywood market as the reason behind the cuts.

VanderHoek would not say how many employees are affected or when the re-deployment process is expected to be completed, but noted the mill has 250 total employees and, ideally, employees will be re-deployed within the mill.

“I’m unable to comment on that because what we are attempting to do is re-deploy our

employees who are impacted under the language of the collective agreements,” he said.

He said the situation is “not ideal.”

“As you can imagine, it’s complex. We’re facing challenging market conditions. ... It really is related to high fibre costs and a weak North American plywood market,” he told KTW

Earlier this month, Tolko resumed operations at its lumber operations in Armstrong and at Soda Creek in Williams Lake after a three-month shutdown that impacted about 350 employees.

Fly north on Victoria Day weekend

If you have a long weekend to spare in May, you can zip up to Whitehorse from Kamloops via Air North.

On the Victoria Day long weekend, the airline is offering a one-off round-trip flight from the Tournament Capital to the Yukon capital, with the flight leaving on Friday, May 19,

and returning on Monday, May 22.

The cost of the round-trip flight is about $370.

For more information, go online to flyairnorth.com.

JOIN OUR BOARD

Do you have a passion for history and a desire to add to the awesomeness that is Kamloops? If so, we would love to speak to you about joining our Board of Directors. KAMRAIL.COM

For more information, call 250-374-2141, visit kamrail.com or simply point your phone camera at the QR code and follow instructions.

Brahms’ Requiem

Holm allegedly admitted to murder during arrest

“Are you really going to put me in jail?

One of the most iconic choral pieces of the classical repertoire, this distilled version of Brahms’ German Requiem will feature a chamber ensemble of Kamloops Symphony musicians, fabulous soloists, and our own KSO Chorus.

BREANNE MASSEY STAFF REPORTER breanne@kamloopsthisweek.com

Jason Michael Holm made what appears to be a damning confession at the time of his arrest three years ago.

Holm, 38, is charged with seconddegree murder in connection with the Aug. 1, 2020, fatal stabbing of his neighbour, 39-year-old Paul Samuel Whitten, in a West End home.

Holm’s trial began in B.C. Supreme Court in Kamloops on March 21.

In a police recording that Crown counsel Tim Livingston presented in B.C. Supreme Court in Kamloops on court March 28, while former Kamloops RCMP Insp. Simon Pillay appeared on the stand as a witness, Holm was heard confessing to police and hearing voices.

“Someone in my mind keeps telling me what to do,” Holm is heard saying on the recording, moments after admitting he killed Whitten.

I’m such a good boy,” Holm told police in the recording.

Court heard police ask Holm if he had any weapons, if he smoked and if he had any medical conditions. While initially Holm admitted to throwing out his medication, the recording played in court had Holm denying the need for medication during his arrest later that morning.

After 15 minutes of conversation at the police station, Holm was urged by police to contact a lawyer before speaking to them and advised he could contact another lawyer if he wasn’t satisfied with the one he met. While waiting for a lawyer from Legal Aid to arrive, police made two follow-up calls to find out what the delay was in the arrival of his representation so that they could talk to Holm directly.

Afterwards, Holm told police he spoke with a lawyer and understood their advice, which included not talking to them.

kamloopssymphony.com 250.372.5000

At the time of the arrest, police recorded audio of Holm interacting with five officers accompanying Pillay from the West End of Kamloops to the local RCMP detachment. Pillay told court that Holm was allowed to smoke on two occasions while repeatedly being read his rights and was informed that smoking is typically not allowed until after the accused contacts legal representation.

Last week, residents living near Holm testified his behaviour became unusual leading up fatal stabbing, including an incident in which he was walking around the neighbourhood and masturbating while naked, wearing only sneakers and a baseball cap.

Holm is being defended by lawyers Matthew Smith and Marilyn Sandford. The trial continues.

Mounties probe reported mugging on McArthur Island

POLICE ARE SEEKING WITNESSES AFTER TEEN SAID HE WAS MUGGED BY FOUR MASKED ASSAILANTS, WHO STOLE HIS SHOES

KAMLOOPS THISWEEK

Kamloops Mounties are looking for witnesses after a teenager was attacked in McArthur Park and had his shoes stolen.

Cpl. Crystal Evelyn said the mugging took place at about 9:20 p.m. on Monday, March 27. The teen told police he was walking

across a soccer field near the disc golf course when he was confronted by four people and beaten with weapons. The teen said the masked culprits took his red and black shoes, then ran toward the Holt Street beach.

Evelyn said the victim was taken to hospital with non-life

threatening injuries.

“According to the investigation so far, there may have been other people gathered in the park who may have witnessed the event,” Evelyn said. “Those people are encouraged to Anyone with information is asked to call Kamloops RCMP at 250-828-3000 and reference file 2023-10303.

$12.5 million for Tk’emlúps healing centre

MICHAEL POTESTIO STAFF REPORTER michael@kamloopsthisweek.com

The federal government is coming through on a promise Prime Minister Justin Trudeau made to Tk’emlúps te Secwépemc.

On March 23, Minister of Indigenous Services Patty Hajdu joined Tk’emlúps Kúkpi7 (Chief) Rosanne Casimir for a press conference at Moccasin Square Garden to announce federal funding to build a healing centre for the band.

The Canadian government will contribute $12.5 million to the project and another $1.5 million to potentially renovate parts of the former Kamloops Indian Residential School, which today serves as the band’s headquarters.

Casimir said an architectural firm is working with the band on the design of the healing centre, noting updates on the plans, permits, construction and groundbreaking will be forthcoming.

“Like all builds, there are bureaucratic processes and much paperwork to break through, and that is all underway,” Casimir said, adding Tk’emlúps is grateful for the government’s “meaningful” and “impactful” steps on reconciliation, ensuring the band

has resources to serve people impacted by the residential school system.

“This announcement of a healing house will provide a culturally safe and relevant support, along with a capacity to contribute to the current and future well-being of our people who’ve been impacted,” Casimir said.

The federal funds to build the centre on Tk’emlúps lands will flow from the First Nations Health Authority (FNHA).

The FNHA has also provided an additional $1.3 million to assist the community with the engagement and planning and will continue to work in partnership with the community to establish the healing centre.

Casimir said the FNHA will guide delivery of the healing programming at the centre, noting there has been much public engagement conducted ahead of the facility’s construction.

The $1.5 million will be used to assess the feasibility of possible structural renovations and design upgrades to the Kamloops Indian Residential School building, with the goal of determining what funding would be needed for future work. Casimir said that work will soon commence.

The band chose, by a com-

munity referendum, to keep the Kamloops Indian Residential School building, viewing its preservation as a reminder of the ongoing legacy of the residential school system, ensuring its history is never forgotten, the band said in a release.

In a release, Hadju said the discovery of potential graves on grounds near the former Kamloops Residential School, as well as potential and realized unmarked graves at other former residential school sites, shocked the country.

She said Tk’emlúps led the way in opening the nation’s eyes, adding the band is paving the way in showing what is possible along the healing journey.

“It’s never going to be money that will take away loss and pain,” Hadju said.

“It helps. It helps for projects like this. It helps to acknowledge loss people face, to acknowledge the racism and ongoing systemic racism.”

Hadju said she hopes the country gets to a point where there are no more lawsuits needed against the federal government to achieve equity.

Manny Jules, chair of the 13

Grassroots Advisory Council and former Tk’emlúps chief, said he would like to see 50 healing houses built across B.C., adding that only when Indigenous peoples “achieve economic reconciliation with Canada will we be able to truly stand on our own two feet.”

The healing centre is a project that has been discussed since October 2021, when Trudeau visited Tk’emlúps to apologize for skipping out on an invitation to mark the inaugural National Day for Truth and Reconciliation with the band on Sept. 30 that year.

The prime minister instead vacationed in Tofino.

The new national holiday was enacted by the government just days after Tk’emlúps announced in May 2021 that a ground-penetrating radar survey found signs of 200 potential graves on the site of the former residential school.

The band has said it plans to excavate to confirm the ground-penetrating radar’s preliminary findings, but no date has yet been announced for that work.

Tk’emlúps Kúkpi7 (Chief) Rosanne Casimir speaks during a press conference at Moccasin Square Garden to announce federal funding to build a healing centre for the band.

DAVE EAGLES/KTW

T he Swa ine Fam i ly

In memor y of t heir late mot her, Bill, And y, Sandra , Les (L- R) and Doug (not pic tured ) created t he Pat S waine Memor ial Volunteer B ur sar y. For t his year ’ s Day of Gi v ing , t hey donated $ 3, 3 8 0, increa sing t heir bur sar y ’ s endow ment to $25,0 0 0 and ensur ing posit i ve impac t s for generat ions to come

For some, the ‘stars aligned’

Students from PLATO Tech shared their experiences after completing the culturally inclusive training program to gain employment in information technology.

The purpose of incorporating a culturally safe learning program for Indigenous students encourages diversity in the field and Indigenous representation in the tech sector across the country.

“I heard about the program through a chief and council meeting in my band,” said Matthew Antoine of the Bonaparte First Nation near Cache Creek. “The stars aligned. I was there to look for funding to get into an IT course at TRU and this rolled onto my plate and it lined up perfectly.”

Antoine said many education opportunities at Bonaparte are tied to forestry or fisheries, noting he was eager to work in information technology.

Experience for Indigenous students

BREANNE

PLATO Tech recently delivered an eightmonth training program for Indigenous software testers to gain meaningful employment in the technology sector.

In April 2022, the hybrid classroom was offered to students in Kamloops and Vancouver, with nine students graduating. Students from PLATO’s latest cohort started internships last September and became full-time employees of PLATO in December.

“We thought it was going to be difficult to get a full class of 15, so we thought we would do half the class in Vancouver and in Kamloops,” said Mike Hrycyk, PLATO’s vice-president of service delivery. “We had subject matter experts in both locations and one trained educator.”

Two of PLATO’s graduates are in Kamloops, having completed course work from the program at the Kamloops Innovation classroom and having obtained work placements at the BC Lottery Corporation.

“BCLC has been a supporter of growing the tech community in the Interior for a long time,”

BCLC CEO Pat Davis said, adding he hopes to see the inclusive training program offered again in Kamloops in the future.

“For us, it’s not just about growing, it’s about making it inclusive for everybody.”

Davis is hopeful the next iteration of the training program will be promoted early to encourage student recruitment and engagement.

“We’d love to be able to grow it and repeat it,” Davis said, noting Kamloops would make an ideal hub for BCLC to repeat the program.

The PLATO training program is designed to jump start careers in information technology and requires applicants to be of First Nation, Inuit or Métis heritage. To gain entry to the program, applicants are required to have a high school diploma or GED and a strong desire to learn about information technology.

The company’s train-and-employ model includes five months of in-class instruction, followed by a three-month paid internship, which results in a full-time apprentice position with benefits and paid vacation at PLATO. Apprentices at PLATO work in the real world with support from experienced software testers.

In the past, PLATO has completed training programs in Ontario, Prince Edward Island, New Brunswick, B.C., Saskatchewan and Alberta. There are upcoming programs slated to take place in Calgary, Prince Albert and Ottawa.

“When we founded PLATO, it was a separate entity under PQA [Testing] that employed all of our Indigenous graduates,” Hrycyk said.

“We were proud because this gave us a company that was 100 per cent Indigenous employees. We thought that was a fabulous thing and one of our goals.”

The partnership meant juniors were trained under PLATO, but mentorship with seniors at PQA Testing occurred in parallel to offer a blended experience.

As a result, a $2-million investment from Raven Indigenous Capital Partners, a Vancouver-based venture capital firm that aids companies making positive social and environmental impacts, has increased its ownership stake in PLATO in order to support training and employment for the only Indigenous-led and staffed technology company in Canada.

For more information, go online to platotech.com or email training@platotech.com.

BC Lotteries Corporation CEO Pat Davis said the option to work remotely is an asset to many First Nations residents who often struggle with leaving their homes to obtain training and employment.

“PLATO, as you may be aware, is an Indigenous-owned company,” Davis said. “One of their goals is breaking down barriers for people. It’s about creating opportunities for marginalized communities and this is one step and one way we can support that.”

Antoine was surprised to learn the course he was taking was mere steps from his house, allowing him to walk to his apprenticeship each workday.

“My favourite part of the course would be the content,” he said. “I’ve done a couple of university courses. There’s a lot of fluff at university. Here, you can just come in, learn what you need to know and start working.”

Meanwhile, Métis participant Michael Bishop believes that studying close to home was “a huge asset.” He said he particularly enjoyed learning about SQL (structured query language) and content management systems.

“If I were to talk to anybody about the program or anything along the lines, I would always try to push positive support towards this program and anything that they need help with,” Bishop said. “I did try to share it with a couple of friends before they moved out of town.”

Both PLATO apprentices have recommended the program to their friends and family in anticipation of its next delivery in Kamloops.

Prospective participants should follow PLATO Tech on social media for announcements about upcoming training sessions.

— Breanne Massey

MASSEY STAFF REPORTER breanne@kamloopsthisweek.com

PLATO Tech software testing employees Michael Bishop (left) and Matthew Antoine at the BC Lottery Corporation headquarters in Kamloops.

DAVE EAGLES/KTW

HOLI EVENT ON APRIL 2

the pandemic put that to an end until this year.

Spring will be welcomed with a Holi celebration in Riverside Park on Sunday, April 2, with the free event running from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. at the Rotary Bandshell.

The event, dubbed Rang de Basanti, was started by the TRU Students’ Union about 10 years ago. The citywide version of the event was first held in 2019, but

“You dance to music, you have some food and you play with colours. That’s about it,” said organizer Arjun Kadaleevanam, president of the Holi committee.

Kadaleevanam said Holi is about the arrival of spring, the triumph of good over evil, making amends and starting fresh.

Activities will include dancing and throwing colours — brightly coloured chalk powder — while doing so.

About 700 people attended the event in 2019 and this year even more are expected. Kadaleevanam said 1,000 free tickets have already been reserved, with colour packages included. For those without tickets, colour packages will be given out on a first-come, first-served basis, also for free.

A variety of street-style Indian food will also be available for purchase and music will be provided by Vancouver DJ Aftershock.

Community events, in brief

The upcoming pride festival at Sun Peaks will include drag events, live music and yoga.

Peak Pride will run from Thursday, March 30, to Sunday, April 2.

The event will begin on Thursday with drag bingo at Masa’s, while Friday will feature QUSIC après ski with performer Matthew Presidente at Morriseys, a free stage show, Unicorns Reawakened, at the Sun Peaks Grand and Ella’s Drag Karaoke at Masa’s.

The festival’s busiest day will be Saturday. Activities will include the Morning MX coffee meet-up, a rainbow skate, pride parade and another QUSIC après ski session. Finishing off the day

will be the festival’s signature Fruitcake drag show at 7 p.m. at the Sun Peaks Grand.

Flow yoga and a drag brunch at Mantles will cap the event on Sunday.

A complete listing of events is available online at rebelliousunicorns.com/ pages/peakpride-sunpeaks.

Ticket prices range from $15 to $59.

NEVER TOO

LATE TO LEARN

The Kamloops Adult Learners Society has a vast array of courses available.

If you are an adult interested in culture, science, the environment or local tours, the non-credit, spring session low -cost courses, taught by local experts, begin in April. Register online at www.kals. ca.

For more information on the Kamloops Adult Learners Society, go online to kamloopsthisweek.com and read the story under the Community tab.

GO BATTY WITH LIBRARY PROGRAM

The Thompson-Nicola Regional Library is introducing a new program in which people can get outside and explore the mysterious world of bats, with the program free to access with a library card. The program includes Bat Packs, which are an engaging tool to learn all about bats and their role in nature and which can be checked out with a library card.

For more information on the program, and for tips when approaching bat habitats, visit tnrl.ca/bat-packs.

Holi participants dance up a colourful storm in Riverside Park in March 2019. ALLEN DOUGLAS/KTW FILE PHOTO

SEAN BRADY STAFF REPORTER sbrady@kamloopsthisweek.com

KAMLOOPS THISWEEK

Faith: On being a lowly donkey for God

During the last week of Christ’s life in Jerusalem, two symbols stand out: palm branches and the cross.

The palm branches represent the acclaim of shouting crowds greeting a Messiah coming to His own. The cross represents tragedy.

A logical question arises: Why did Christianity not take the palm branch as its symbol, a joyful token with its recollections of hosannas to the conquering Christ? We know the Christian church would never have survived the centuries with only palm branches over its altar. The cross goes deeper, much deeper than anything else into the heart of man’s experience, need and deliverance.

It stands for a rescue story around sin and saviourhood on Calvary, locked in a desperate encounter with the fate of the world, depending on which of those two will win in the end.

Let us say to ourselves this Palm Sunday, April 2, as we see the master entering Jerusalem amid the crowd’s hosannas, that saviourhood is still present in this world.

Lowly and humbly, riding on a donkey’s foal, He came to the great city as a saviour and there He did face sin as all saviours do — the sin of the priests who did not wish their orthodox establishment disturbed, of businessmen wanting no money changers’ tables overturned, of politicians like Caiaphas playing their clever selfish games, of cowards like Pilate washing his hands of his responsibilities, of Roman soldiers

NARAYAN MITRA

You Gotta Have FAITH

doing whatever cruelty they were commanded, of the crowd persuaded by skilful propaganda to cry, “Crucify Him!”

So, as always, saviourhood faced sin. But today, more than 2,000 years later, it’s not the sin we are celebrating, but the saviourhood. The Holy Week celebrates that exciting truth at the heart of the Christian gospel, that there is saviourhood in the world and in it is a quality that lays hold on us as nothing else ever does.

Florence Nightingale need not have gone to nurse the wounded in the Crimean war.

There was no outward pressure to urge her.

All the circumstances were against her going — the military authorities and her own family calling her “crazy” for even thinking of it. But there was that “have to” inside of her.

We had better be grateful when we think of it, for all the background of our lives is full of it and every decent and lovely thing we have or

hoped for has come from it — men and women who need not have done what they did, but who were compelled by the “have to” inside of them.

Christ had that. That is what took Him to cross: “I lay down my life … no man takes it from me, but I lay it down of myself. Greater love has no man than this that a man lay down his life for his friends.”

What a “have to” inside of Him.

So, human life is a struggle between sin — whatever debases and debauches life — and the great successions of the saviours, with the “have to” inside of them.

On which side of that issue do we find ourselves in today?

Let no one spend this Holy Week without facing that question.

In one of Rembrandt’s paintings of the crucifixion, one’s eyes naturally rest at first upon the central figures in the scene. But, in the shadows, one sees another figure — Rembrandt himself — helping to crucify Christ.

This struggle between sin and saviourhood is happening inside all of us and we cannot thrust this off as though it were a public issue.

It is private, the central issue of each person’s life, as someone has aptly said: “No possible rearrangement of bad eggs can ever make a good omelette.”

The one thing that makes it worthwhile to retell the Palm Sunday story is that dual experience — accepting saviourhood for ourselves, then going out to be saviours by becoming a donkey for God.

We can no longer take civilization for granted. Look

at the vast catastrophe and collapse of civilization in the midst of counter-culture and cancel culture. It’s going to be a continuous struggle of sin against saviourhood and saviourhood against sin.

The saviours better be saved themselves, as Moses met God

Narayan Mitra is a volunteer chaplain at Thompson Rivers University. He can be contacted via email at ryanmitra225@ gmail.com.

KTW welcomes submissions to its Faith page. Columns should be no longer than 700 words in length and include a photo and short bio of the writer. Email editor@ kamloopsthisweek. com.

alone at the burning bush before he confronted Pharaoh in the public court.

So may some of us this Holy Week face the cross of Christ and, seeing there sin and saviourhood locked in a desperate encounter, choose Christ’s side.

Dig It: The dog days of pre-contact B.C.

Many years ago, early in my (Matt Begg’s) career as a professional archaeologist, I was sitting around a campfire with a couple of colleagues, one of whom was an accomplished faunal analyst (someone who analyzes bones, or fragments of bones, found at archaeological sites).

I asked my colleague about dogs, specifically, what did the average village dog in the Southern Interior of British Columbia look like?

He pointed at my medium-sized, mixed-breed brown/black/tan/white dog and said, “Probably a lot like him.”

Many of us have heard about some of the specialized dog breeds in pre-contact B.C., such as the Salish hair dog, but we don’t hear much about the average, run-of-the-mill village dog that was living alongside, or with, the pre-contact inhabitants of our region.

I’ve always had somewhat mixedbreed dogs — the good-to-a-free home or sprung-out-of-the-pound variety. They’ve always been medium-sized and somewhere between one breed or another.

Is this what the village dog looked like? Were they anything like the Sadies, Fidos and Bellas we know and love today?

Domestic dogs have been identified in archaeological sites around the world. Research looking at dog remains excavated from pithouse village sites along the middle Fraser River, near Lillooet, indicates their presence alongside people during the last 2,000 years at least, though we can assume for much, much longer.

At the Keatley Creek site, for example, the remains of at least 15 domestic dogs were uncovered during academic investigations (Crellin and Heffner 2000:162).

In a recent publication, the function of dogs in mid-Fraser village sites are hypothesized under four categories: hunting aids, sources of labour, indicators of wealth or free roaming.

The archaeological evidence is compared to ethnographic descriptions and some broad conclusions can be made.

Free-roaming village dogs were likely ubiquitous in pre-contact villages, serving as refuse cleaners (think of any food you drop on the floor or disposal of waste products), warnings of nearby dangers (I have a dog that warns me about approaching snowplows) and, likely, as companions.

Ethnographies in the middle Fraser describe dogs as forms of wealth, providing dog hide clothing, dog skin quivers and sources of meat. The use of dogs as labourers is not well documented in the archaeological record, but at least one set of dog remains found at the Keatley Creek village site suggests it may have served to pack goods, such as hauling fish up from

the river (Prentiss et al. 2021, Crellin and Heffner 2000).

Although there is still some uncertainty surrounding what those free-roaming village dogs would have looked like, the excavated remains of Canis familiaris in middle Fraser village sites show a distinction between domesticated village dogs and wild canines (wolves and coyotes).

Notably, village dogs are described as being smaller than wolves, but more robust than coyotes, with shorter muzzles than their wild relatives.

We can’t know for sure what these dogs looked like, but we suspect their genes continue to be passed down through modern dogs.

Whenever I’m at a dog park, I overhear conversations about dog breeds — the particular modern breeds that fit into nar-

row categories or suggestions about the various breeds that went into creating the mutts to which I am drawn.

Whenever I watch my dog clean up after a campfire or warn me about nearby wild animals (or snowplows), I wonder if she might be, at least partially, a descendent of the village dogs of the past.

Alysha Edwards is a St’at’imc archaeologist currently at graduate school at the University of Montana and Matt Begg is a Kamloops-based archaeologist. Interested in more? Go online to republicofarchaeology.ca.

Dig It is KTW’s regularly published column on the history beneath our feet in the Kamloops region, written by a group of archaeologists. Past columns are at kamloopsthisweek.com.

Matt Begg’s medium-sized, mixed-breed brown/black/tan/white dog probably looks a lot like its ancestors from pre-contact days.

MATT BEGGS PHOTO

MATT BEGG AND ALYSHA EDWARDS SPECIAL TO KTW

Finnie, Levis, Minten clicking on third line

Emmitt Finnie stood 5-foot-3 and weighed 110 pounds when the Kamloops Blazers nabbed him in Round 4 of the 2020 WHL Prospects Draft.

The 17-year-old forward from Lethbridge, who moved to Abbotsford about five years ago to play for Yale Hockey Academy, has added height and weight — 6-foot, 170 pounds — and blossomed throughout the 20222023 campaign, with substantial growth coming after joining forces with linemates Connor Levis and Fraser Minten in March.

“He’s matured physically and that helps him out a lot, but he also works really hard, doing a

lot of the unseen work, putting in skates with coaches, extra guys and scratches,” said Fraser Minten, the 18-year-old Toronto Maple Leafs’ prospect who led the Blazers and tied for fourth in the league with 17 power-play goals.

“It’s paying off and he’s doing really well right now.”

Finnie — a left shot who plays on the left wing, with left-shot Minten at centre and right-shot Levis on the right wing — is riding a 10-game point streak into the post-season, with 16 of his 35 points this season coming during the stretch.

“Mints and Lev, they’ve been giving me a lot of confidence, allowing me to play my game,” said Finnie, whose hockey IQ was praised by both of his linemates. “It’s been good. I feel like we read each other pretty well. Mints, he’s real good out there. He talks

a lot and helps us out.”

The Blazers brought in overage power forward Ryan Hofer and 19-year-old import Jakub Demek this season to help with their run at major junior hockey’s greatest prize, the Memorial Cup, with the 2023 national championship tournament scheduled to take place from May 26 to June 4 at Sandman Centre.

Head coach Shaun Clouston and the Blazers formed a first line that includes reigning CHL player of the year Logan Stankoven and NHL-drafted players Caedan Bankier and Matthew Seminoff.

Yaletown product Minten, who boasts prowess on the piano, said acquisitions and deployment did not key consternation on his place in the concerto.

“I’m here to win,” said Minten, whose younger brother, 17-yearold Bryce, participated last year at

Blazers’ training camp.

“That’s the goal of our team. I’m all in with that. If our coach thinks it’s best for me to play with these guys, I’m happy to do that. If he wants me to play with Stanks and Banks, I can do that, too. Wherever I’m put, I’m just going to do the best I can and try and help the team win.”

The stretch run proved fruitful for Levis, who tallied 13 goals in the last 16 games of the season to finish the campaign with 27 goals and 67 points in 68 games.

“Me and Mints really love playing with him [Finnie] because he can make plays off the rush and down low, so it creates a lot of time and space for us,” said Levis, a 6-foot-2, 190-pound Vancouver product.

“We’re a really deep team. It’s pretty easy to play with everybody. Our systems are really good.

It’s kind of like a brotherhood in there. Everybody is fine with playing with one another.”

The Blazers (48-13-4-3) are the No. 2 seed in the Western Conference and will square off against the No. 7 Vancouver Giants (28-32-5-3) in Round 1 of the post-season. Game 1 is scheduled for 7 p.m. on Friday, March 31, at Sandman Centre.

“I like our matchup against them,” said Minten, whose shorthanded goal in Game 6 at Langley Events Centre broke the Giants’ back in a Round 2 playoff series last year. “It works for us. We’ve had a good season series against them. But with that said, they’ve got a good team, good coaches, good goaltending — Vikman is really strong and he can keep them in pretty much every game — so we’re going in expecting a good battle.”

$29,995

Kamloops Blazers’ forward Emmitt Finnie scores against the Vancouver Giants earlier this month at Sandman Centre, with linemates Connor Levis and Fraser Minten joining the celebration. ALLEN DOUGLAS/KTW

MARTY HASTINGS STAFF REPORTER sports@kamloopsthisweek.com

BROWN OPEN TO POSITION CHANGES AFTER HAWES EXIT

Dezaray Hawes is moving out of province and leaving the Team Brown curling rink.

“It’s been a wild ride,” said skip Corryn Brown, who has been teammates with Hawes for seven years. “I think we’ve had two provincial championships, we’ve gone to China twice together and we have some amazing memories. We’re going to miss her a lot. Definitely some big shoes to fill.”

Hawes, from Anmore, has been living in Peachland and playing second for the Kamloops Curling Club rink, which plans to return three members

for the 2023-2024 campaign — Brown, third Erin Pincott and lead Samantha Fisher, each of whom are from the Tournament Capital.

“Just with all the travel requirements that would entail in being the import, it just didn’t quite align with what I had planned for the upcoming years,” Hawes said. “Due to that, I’ve made the very difficult decision to step away from the team and look for something more local, Alberta-based, that wouldn’t require travelling out of province every week.”

Brown said finding a new second would be ideal, but a positional shakeup is not out of the question.

“All three of us, I think, would be willing

to move positions where needed if it meant we kind of had the best team possible,” Brown said.

“I don’t think we are married to any of our positions, but a natural fit would be second. We’re in full tilt trying to find a replacement for her.”

The Brown rink reached the 2023 B.C. Women’s Curling Championship final, but fell 10-9 to Lower Mainland-based Team Grandy in an extra end in the championship game in January in Chilliwack.

“There are so many amazing memories I’ll cherish forever,” Hawes said. “Our friendships don’t end here. There are memories that will last a lifetime.”

Pack stay local

Grace McDonald of Kamloops has committed to play next season for the TRU WolfPack in the Canada West women’s basketball ranks.

McDonald, a post for the South Kamloops Titans, is the third player from the Tournament Capital to join the Pack’s 20232024 recruiting class, which also includes River City products Jayse Matonovich and Jocelyn Orr.

“Grace’s defensive energy and willingness to learn make her an instant asset,” WolfPack women’s basketball coach Todd Warnick told TRU Sports Information. “As a multi-sport athlete in high school, her athletic skills are tremendous.”

McDonald helped the Titans claim bronze earlier this month at the B.C. School Sports AAA Basketball Provincial Championship in Langley.

“I’m a physical player that likes to play under the hoop,” McDonald said. “I like to be aggressive in rebounding the ball.”

Dezaray Hawes has left team Brown. ALLEN DOUGLAS/KTW

Kamloops Blazers’ forward Matthew Seminoff earned second-team B.C. Division all-star honours. ALLEN DOUGLAS/KTW

Blazers are all-stars

Two Kamloops Blazers are firstteam B.C. Division all-stars.

Defenceman

Olen Zellweger and forward Logan Stankoven cracked the team, along with goaltender

Jesper Vikman of the Vancouver Giants, defenceman Ethan Samson of the Prince George Cougars and forwards Andrew Cristall of the Kelowna Rockets and Chase

Wheatcroft of the Cougars.

Four Blazers were named to the B.C. Division second all-star team.

Goaltender

Dylan Ernst, defenceman Kyle Masters and for-

wards Caedan Bankier and Matthew Seminoff cracked the list.

Two Cougars — D-man Hudson Thornton and forward Riley Heidt — round out the team.

Evans sisters golden

Kamloops sisters Alicia and Bethany Evans won gold in the female curling event at the postponed 2022 B.C. Winter Games, which wrapped up on the weekend in Vernon.

Ivy Jensen and Ava Arndt of Vernon rounded out the Thompson-Okanagan Zone 2A rink, which earned a 6-5 victory

in an extra end in the championship game, edging the Thompson-Okanagan Zone 2R team that featured players from Penticton, Kelowna and Lake Country.

The gold-medal winning rink posted a 3-0 record in round-robin action and throttled a Terrace/Kitimat team 10-0 in the semifinal round.

Ava Arndt (left), Bethany Evans, Ivy Jensen and Alicia Evans were all smiles after finishing atop the podium on the weekend at the B.C. Winter Games in Vernon. ALLEN DOUGLAS/KTW

Thompson nabs bronze

The host Thompson Blazers snared bronze at the Under-15 Female B.C. Hockey Championship, doubling the North East Predators 4-2 in the third-place game on Sunday at McArthur Island Sport and Event Centre.

AC T I V I T Y P RO G R A M S

Music at the Museum

Age 0-5 8/$10

Introduce your little one to the Kamloops Museum through songs, stories and music Each session will offer a variety of sensory and play experiences for young children and caregivers alike

Kamloops Museum and Archives

Sat April 15 - June 10

6:30 PM - 8:30 PM

Easter Bunny and Chick Cupcakes

1/$35

Hippy Hop get ready by joining Shirley the Cake Lady as she teaches you to decorate your cupcakes in true Easter fashion! Some supplies required

NorKam Secondary

Thurs April 6

6:30 PM -8:30 PM

Hula Hoop Dance

10/$125

Hula hoop meets movement with sweet tunes cool vibes and an awesome tribe! In this class you will learn hoop and body isolations as well as stretch and flow with dance inspired movement with the hula hoop

Let’s Move Studio

Wed April 12 - June 14

3:00 PM -4:00 PM

Ground and Glow Women’s Wellness Workshops

Gwen Storry, Kaia Fletcher, Allison Plowe and Lily Dekkers scored goals in support of winning netminder Destry Eli.

The Blazers won the Okanagan Mainline Amateur Hockey Association title, besting the South Zone Knights 7-0 in the championship game earlier this month in Valleyview Arena.

Thompson posted a 13-2 record to finish atop league standings.

Mike Brown is the club’s head coach.

1/$25

Have you been feeling overwhelmed or perhaps you have gone through some stressful or traumatic experiences and are looking for tools and techniques to cope? Join trained facilitators to explore how stress affects the female body and mind and how yoga, mindfulness and breathwork practices can help us cope, heal and grow

Hal Rogers

Sat April 1 & May 13

AM - 12:00 PM

A KNIGHTS’ TALE

The Under-11 Kamloops Knights are Okanagan Mainline Amateur Hockey Association champions. In the back row, left to right, are Benett Douthwright, Ryan Caissie, Jace Cavanagh, Daxon Read, Cole Zurowski, Ryder Mcdivitt, Preston Brearley-Morin and Blake Grieg. In the front row, left to right, are Payton Samson, Rhyker English, Connor Semeniuk, Maelle Schneider, Roman Stroulger, Blake LeBlanc and Lucas Jones. Grahame Stroulger coaches the team, with help from assistant bench bosses Dale Caissie, Dan English and Darin LeBlanc. The Knights concluded an outstanding season by knocking off Kelowna 5-4 in overtime on the weekend to claim the regional banner. The club prevailed 10-9 over West Kelowna in a semifinal barnburner in Lumby to advance to the championship game. The Knights scored late in the third period in the final against Kelowna to force overtime. The club opened the campaign with a victory at the Kamloops Minor Hockey Association Atom Blast Tournament and also claimed gold at a tourney in Summerland.

City of Kamloops

ANSWERS TO CROSSWORD FOUND ON A 33

The provincial bronze-medallist Thompson Blazers celebrate a goal on Sunday at McArthur Island Sport and Event Centre. ALLEN DOUGLAS/KTW

MARY-BETH HARRISON

Human resources manager at New Gold 10K

While working in human resources, we have the opportunity to welcome new employees into our community on a regular basis, which leads to great questions about Kamloops.

What activities are there? Which neighbourhoods are good? How are the local schools? Where is the best coffee? I am sure you all have answers to these queries — and they all are different.

My favourite thing about Kamloopsians is how passionate they are about their community and their own neighbourhoods. There are people in Barhartvale who swear it is the best location in town, while Westsyde residents would never live anywhere else and tell you while listing the amazing attributes of their local community.

Due to our love for our own ‘hoods, we often don’t venture into the others for leisure purposes. What does this have to do with running? Whether you are new to Kamloops or you haven’t been across a bridge in awhile, I suggest trying RunClub. Every week, we gather in a different location and meander our way through the streets or trails of different neighbourhoods — a weekly Kamloops tour by foot.

Depending who you run or walk beside, you may even get a history lesson of the old buildings downtown or the remnants of old bridges you can see from Rivers Trail as you near MacArthur Island. Join us at Boogie on April 23 for a tour of downtown and the North Shore!

NATHANIEL MARTIN Millwright at Teck Highland Valley Copper 21K

Preparing, committing and succeeding.

It’s a bit of a mental game facing down any distance relative to your body’s abilities. But you can also be committed to something and fall flat on your face partway down the road. I’ve been there a few times — didn’t get the right shoes or equipment, didn’t spend the time required to focus on my body or its needs, just took off with that, “Hey, yeah, I got this” attitude, which is great, but it could have been a better memory.

I’ve taken to the hills and leg workouts to increase my strength and to battle with that no-quit attitude — little steps, one in front of the other. It’s also about finding that window of time to make it work. Be it early morning or late evening, get that two-hour window before a kid’s or work event.

Preparing also means focusing on what you put in yourself. Never forget your water. Look into electrolytes and running gels and gummies. Talk to the staff at Runners Sole, a sponsor of Boogie, and educate yourself through shared knowledge.

And once you commit to the run, take that time at each hydration station to re-lubricate your body fluids. I have always recovered and felt better after any run if I have taken the time to hydrate before, during and after any length of run.

Just remember to tell yourself your success will begin when you commit to crossing the starting line and be found when you’re cheered across the finish by family friends and community.

RUNCLUB PLAYWORK, WEEK 4

ACACIA PANGILINAN Executive director at Kamloops & District Chamber of Commerce

5K

There’s nothing quite like the feeling of lacing up your running shoes after a long break from training. Whether it’s due to illness or a hectic work schedule, getting back into the rhythm of running can be a challenging, yet rewarding experience.

I had kept up with walking while recuperating and logged a ton of time on my feet while spending a few days in Toronto.

For me, the first run back after being sick and busy with work was both difficult and rewarding, leaving me feeling excited to resume training and for race day. I had been out of commission for a few weeks, feeling run down and drained from the long hours at work and the cold that had taken hold of me.

I chose a familiar route, one I had run many times before, and set out with a sense of trepidation. Would my body be able to handle the exertion? Would I feel like myself again? But as I got going, something amazing happened. Despite the initial struggle to find my pace and my breath, I felt my body start to awaken and come alive.

Sure, the run was hard. My legs felt heavy and my lungs burned with each breath. But there was also a sense of joy that came with pushing myself to keep going. I was reminded why I like running so much — the freedom and exhilaration that comes with moving your body through space and the sense of accomplishment that comes with meeting a challenge head-on.

Week 3 training is complete and what a week it has been!

The Runners Sole team came out on Tuesday night (March 21) with a full fleet of running shoes for us all to try. Wayne Richardson and team made the night so much fun. We laughed more than we ran.

Shoes are a big deal for healthy movement — a really big deal. Being in the wrong shoe almost always causes injury.

Runners Sole has the expertise (and fun) to make sure movement is comfortable and safe. We all have a different body, foot type, running gait and biomechanics, so it makes perfect sense to be in the proper shoe — not only for running and walking, but for life.

COOL DOWN 10 minutes walking, cool down and stretching.

TIPS We all need to get outside more. Many people are vitamin D-deficient, affecting important things like bone health and immune systems.

It’s not the finish time, it’s the finish line!

I am looking ahead to Boogie on April 23 with a renewed sense of excitement and anticipation.

1) Walk 2 minutes, run 8 minutes. Repeat 7 times.

Total 70 minutes.

2) Walk 2 minutes, run 8 minutes. Repeat 5 times.

Total 50 minutes (with hills).

Tuesday night was a total blast and we stayed well past sunset, sharing stories and enjoying fellowship. Thank you, Runners Sole! Happy feet, happy hearts and happy movement are happening at Boogie training 2023.

Running is a mind-blowing, lifechanging activity. Running (and walking) is the therapy we all need. We make lifelong friends, find community and discover a safe place to be in life.

These three tips have helped my running journey be a huge success:

10 minutes walking, cool down and stretching.

The best complement to your run is yoga. Yoga packs serious perks for runners, including flexibility, easing aches and pains and recovery.

times.

Total 51 minutes.

10 minutes walking, cool down and stretching.

You’re doing fantastic. The long run is your anchor. By increasing your long, steady distance safely, you are increasing your endurance, fitness and distance.

3) Walk 2 minutes, run 8 minutes. Repeat 6 times. Total 60 minutes.

10 minutes walking, cool down and stretching.

Remember to hydrate before, during and after your runs. Hydrating is energy-giving and reduces inflammation, injury and fatigue.

1) 17-kilometre run.

2) Walk 2 minutes, run 8 minutes. Repeat 6 times.

Total 60 minutes.

2) Walk 2 minutes, run 8 minutes. Repeat 7 times with some hills.

Total 70 minutes.

10 minutes walking, cool down and stretching.

Half-marathon training is lifechanging. Start visualizing and plan out pacing for Boogie. By putting a plan in your mind, the Boogie half-marathon is already a picture of success.

1. Create consistency: If you don’t move it, you lose it. Motion is the best lotion, three to four times per week. Sweat is liquid awesome.

2. Focus on the time on your feet, not the run intervals: No matter what pace you move at, concentrate on the time you are out there. This will get easier and soon you will ask, “Do I have to go home?”

3. Just get started: I have never come home after running  and said, “Man, I wish I didn’t go for that run.”

I feel most anyone can run (or walk) and get better at it. Running can be a lifetime activity. It keeps you young in body, mind and spirit. I just love it and you will, too.

Boogie on — one month to go!

• Great starter or downsizer in this 2 bedroom 1 bathroom manufactured home

• Bareland strata with low strata fee of $110/month

• Great location close to both Kamloops and Sun Peaks

• Well maintained manufactured home with 2 bedroom 1 bathroom and built in 20`04

• Nice flat and fenced yard

• Pad fee of $600/month

• Centrally located apartment in The Manor House with 2 bedrooms and 1 bathroom

• 55+ building with no pets allowed

• Quick possession possible

• Immaculately kept 1 bedroom 1 bathroom apartment in Pioneer Landing

• Many updates throughout including kitchen, bathroom, flooring

• 1 dog /cat allowed with strata permission

• Nicely updated 2 bedroom 2 bathroom townhouse in Wedgewoods

• Centrally located close to all amenities including Thompson Rivers University

• 2 pets allowed with strata permission

• Spacious 4 bathroom 3 bathroom half-duplex in walking distance to amenities

• Fully finished daylight basement

• Quick possession possible

• Rancher style 3 bedroom 2 bathroom townhouse in West Pine Villas

• Just over 1700 square feet of living space on one level with double garage

• Backing on to The Dunes golf course

• Well cared for 1+2 bedroom 2 bathroom bareland strata in Glencairn Hill

• Lots of updated throughout

• Bareland strata fee of $160/month

• Great lower Bachelor Heights location with 3+2 bedrooms and 4 bathrooms

• Beautiful river and mountain views

• Full walk-out basement with separate entry

• Beautifully updated and maintained 2+1 bedroom 3 bathroom home

• Fully finished walk-out basement with separate entry

• Many updates through including furnace, hot water tank , flooring, and more

• Great family home and area with 3+2 bedrooms and 3 bathrooms

• Daylight walk-out basement

• Nicely maintained and flat yard with patio and sundeck

• Custom built 5 bedroom 4 bathroom home in the heart of downtown Kamloops

• Fully finished basement with separate entry

• Fenced yard with large covered deck

211-550 LORNE STREET $375,000 • MLS®171384

NEW YORK TIMES CROSSWORD

1. Turn off

6. Make a trade 10. Emulate Rockin’ Robin, in a 1958 hit

13. Poke

18. ‘‘Go me!’’

19. Somewhat, musically

20. Hemingway’s home for over 20 years

21. Skatepark trick

57. Inoffensive

Deep

BY DAVID TUFFS

117. 2012 Seth MacFarlane film with a 2015 sequel

118. Vocal nudge

119. Notification DOWN

1 Unyielding

2 Feminist writer Jong

3 Westminster competitor

4 Popular French periodical

5 Article in a French periodical

6 Stolen goods

7 Like yarn and old film

8 Intermission follower, often

9 Party person, informally

10 Siddhartha Gautama by another name

11 Like Nero Wolfe

12 One getting out early

13 California’s Tree National Park

14 Brown of the Food Network

15 Donation center

16 Paris-based carrier

17 Tiny prop

20 ‘‘Pleeease?’’

23 Impatient contraction

24 National birds of Germany, Egypt and Mexico

CROSSWORD ANSWERS FOUND ON A27

WORD SCRAMBLE

Rearrange

ANSWER: SUNNY

Each number can appear only once in each row, column and box. You can figure out the order in which the numbers will appear by using the numeric clues already provided in the boxes The more numbers you name, the easier it gets to solve the puzzle! ANSWERS

2 0 2 3 B O O GIE TR AINING

Star ts: Sunday, March 5 - 8 AM | Tuesday, March 7 - 6 PM

Location: Sandman Signature Hotel

All levels: Walking program / Learn to Run / 10K training/ Half marathon training

WEEKLY COMICS

WEEKLY HOROSCOPES

Requests from friends, associates and family this week can have your ner ves on end, Aries You may have to escape the crowds to recharge Plan a getaway in the next few days

You are awesome at staying on track when you need to be, Taurus That is what makes you a potentially ideal fitness guide Tr y to inspire others to be regimented as well

There is nothing wrong with putting rose -colored glasses on from time to time and looking at the world in a more positive way A more positive outlook can be helpful, Gemini

Cancer, be sure that your generous nature does not come at the expense of your own well-being You tend to put other people’s needs before your own quite often

Leo, for some reason you are having problems finding balance in your life right now You may have to experiment a little bit to see if new strategies might work

Let others in on some of your secrets, Virgo You can’t hold ever ything in all of the time, and you have been shouldering a lot of responsibility for some time

Libra, the personalized touches you put on any project will showcase your personality and passion Think about embracing a crafty task to really showcase your talents

Scorpio, friends are lining up to be quite helpful of late When you figure out how much you’re getting done with the assistance of others, you may be more welcoming of it in the future

Overcome resistance to listening to another person’s side of the story, Sagittarius Embrace this person’s desire take the lead on something at work or in your home life

MARCH 29, 2023 - APRIL 4, 2023

A changing environment has you figuring out how to adapt your schedule and your skills, Capricorn With a suppor t team in your corner, you can achieve quite a bit

Spending is a tad out of control this week, Aquarius Money is flying out of your wallet at a rapid rate You may need to be a bit more choosy with your spending moving for ward

Wait a few more days before making major decisions as your emotions are high right now, Pisces You want a level head to prevail

ZITS by Jerry Scott & Jim Borgman

SHOE by Gary Brookins & Susie Macnelly

HAGAR THE HORRIBLE by Chris Browne

PARDON MY PLANET by Vic Lee

ARCTIC CIRCLE by Alex Hallatt

BABY BLUES by Rick Kirkman & Jerry Scott

778-2577155

GC Annual Family Facilit y Pass for YMCA $500 250-376-6607

of the paper in the event that errors occur in the publishing of any advertising shall be limited to the amount paid by the advertiser for the portion of the advertising space occupied by the incorrect item only and there will be no liability in any event beyond the amount paid for such advertisement

Greeting cards made in England each cellophane wrapped 90,000 for $6,000/obo 250-376-6607

Brand new Daymak H D Electr ic Scooter $2,000 250-315-2334

St Multi-Family

SAHALI Sat, Apr il 1st 10am-2pm 1840 Grenville Place (off Robson Dr ive) Kitchenware canning travel, camping, pet items, hshsld Xmas crafts etc Excellent qualit y, cheap

• Tree Pruning

• Hedge Trimming

•

Free:

Animals

BBQ w/side bur ner $200 Patio Table w/chairs $150 Sofa-bed $175 250-5541599

N/Shore Riverbend 2bdr m apt 55+ Complex $2400/mo 250-812-1420

PETER S YARD SERVICE

It's time to pr une your fr uit trees

Tree pr uning or removal

2006 Yamaha Star Exec cond $5500/obo 250851-1115

2017 Yamaha FX6R-4 Full brothers exhaust 5500kms $5,400/obo 250-299-4564

& Cer

sold as "purebred stock" must be registrable in compliance with the Canadian Pedigree Act.

KTW is looking for warehouse space for distribution

We need approximately 1,500 sq ft of flat, dry space one night a week to receive a 45’ trailer, offload skid cages of newspapers and transfer loads to our local drivers in smaller delivery vehicles. We typically receive between 16 and 18 skids We have an onsite supervisor who co-ordinates the unloading and loading.

Typically the work happens between midnight Tuesday and 10:00 am Wednesday but it can go longer if we have bad weather, highway closures or heavier papers.

We are open to renting or subletting space in a suitable location or subcontracting the receiving operation to a logistics operator

We store a forklift and a skid of stacked pallets on the site.

For more information contact Ray Jolicoeur at: 250-371-1333

Responsible

Municipal Sewage Regulations conditions

• Inspection of Infiltration trenches and composting facility

Responsible for the operations and maintenance of the Wastewater Collection System, including:

• Inspection of Sanitary Manholes and sewer piping.

• Assessment of problems and organize regular maintenance of collection system

Responsible for the operations and maintenance of the Water Treatment System, including:

• Maintaining potable water provided to customers within operating condition perimeters

• Assisting in aquafer and surface water management and projections

• Chemical testing effectiveness of treatment filters by testing for organics iron, manganese chlorine as well as determining future coagulant dosing to optimize organics removal

Responsible for the operations and maintenance of the Water Distribution System, including:

• Maintaining potable water provided to customers within operating condition perimeters

• Potable water distribution system (valves, mains, services, sampling stations, etc.)

• Perform “A” & “B” inspections and make repairs to Utility fire hydrants including unidirectional hydrant flushing. Winterize hydrants and inspect to meet the requirements of the BC Fire Code

Responsible for the operations and maintenance of the Gas Plant and Distribution Grid System and provide emergency assistance to Make Safe , including:

• Daily inspection and recording of gas plant operation.

• Assist in the response to gas odor calls

Other Miscellaneous Duties

• Assist and provide information to customers and guests as required.

• Ensure all operations of the utility are performed in compliance with the various regulators and all safety requirements

• Record and report to management (and regulators if required) all known damage

Attend Utility meetings and Site Meetings with owners/contractors to help identify locations of gas, sanitary, potable water, and storm services

• Perform inspections on utility service connections from the customer ’s site to the Utilities’ distribution or collection systems (including but not limited to the installation of backflow prevention devices water meters gas meters sewer inspection chambers storm sewer connection chambers plumbing fixtures, etc.)

• Perform non-fire suppression hook ups and temporary meter installations at all fire hydrants and standpipes

• Assist & coordinate repairs to utility infrastructures including emergency repairs to potable water wastewater, storm and gas infrastructure and facilities

• Operation of Heavy Equipment (as needed) to assist field staff

• Coordinate snow removal at gas plant, fire hydrants as needed for emergency access purposes

Qualified applicants are requested to forward their resume cover letter and certifications to the undersigned. Applications will

STATUTORY HEARING NOTICE

Notice is hereby given that a Statutory Hearing will be held on TUESDAY, April 4, 2023 at 6:30 p m in the COUNCIL CHAMBERS, #1 Opal Drive, Logan Lake, in order to afford all persons who believe that their interest in property is affected by the following amendment to Zoning Bylaw 675, an opportunity to be heard or to present written submissions respecting matters contained in this amendment

DEVELOPMENT VARIANCE PERMIT

Notice is hereby given that Council will consider issuance of a Development Variance Permit on TUESDAY, April 4, 2023 at 6:30 p.m. in COUNCIL CHAMBERS, #1 Opal Drive, Logan Lake, to vary the provisions of Zoning Bylaw 675, 2010, Section 9, R2 Zone - Two Family Residential s 9 2 2 -

Minimum Parcel Width for New Subdivisions for: duplex which is divided into two separate parcels from 12m to 10m per dwelling for the property legally described as Lot 1, District Lot 2217 and District Lot 6485, Kamloops Division Yale District, Plan KAP92176, except plans EPP18100, EPP29259, EPP52140, EPP75956, EPP103240 and EPP115365 (Lots 10-14 Poplar Drive) in Logan Lake as shown on the map below in bold

Sun Peaks Mountain Resort Municipality

Post Date: March 16, 2023

Closing Date: Un@ fil ed

OPPORTUNITY

Director of Infrastructure

Permanent/Full Time

Salary - $95,000 - $130,000

SUN PEAKS MOUNTAIN RESORT MUNICIPALITY is seeking a self-mo@vated ind v dual to lead the teams responsible for day-to-day opera@ons and deve op a long-term infrastructure plan to support one of the newest and fastest growing communi@es in Bri@sh Co umbia

Sun Peaks Mountain Resort Municipa ity s a v brant resort community boas@ng world c ass sk ing mountain biking, ska@ng rink, h k ng and golf It is an outdoor enthusiast s dream Th s young, fast grow ng community has a ski-in/ski out schoo , seasona farmers markets and endless fes@va s for al to enjoy

Job Summary: Under the direc@on of the Chief Admin stra@ve Officer (CAO) the D rector of Infrastructure is responsible for the safe and efficient delivery of a range of services related to water, wastewater, propane, roads and drainage systems, snow clear ng opera@ons, maintenance of pub ic infrastructure and build ng nspec@ons

Supported by 11 direct reports includ ng 7 members of the U@li@es team 3 members of the Publ c Works team and the Bu lding Inspector, you w ll provide leadership to ensure that Sun Peaks infrastructure s wel ma ntained through effec@ve planning and u@liza@on of resources You will coord nate with the CAO n order to priori@ze the implementa@on of Capital Work Pro ects

Having recently completed our water and wastewater masterplans, this posi@on wil be responsible for the development of infrastructure system upgrades to support our growing community

Where s the Job?

At a base eleva@on of 1 255m the un que European inspired walkable village is located 45 minutes from Kamloops in Bri@sh Columbia’s beau@ful nterior With 1 500 permanent residents the community has a unique ski-in/ski-out school medical centre and is a perfect community for the outdoor enthusiast

What You ll Do:

You wi l manage the department s opera@ng budget and work co labora@ve y with various vendors You wil lead the team responsib e for the proper maintenance of mun cipa faci i@es, systems, and equ pment; and you can be available for emergencies when needed Under your leadership, the U@li@es and Publ c Works crew wi l carry out du@es in:

• Water treatment and distr bu@on

• Sewer treatment and collec@on Culvert and d tch maintenance

A copy of the above permit and relevant background documents are available for inspection between the hours of 8:30 a m to 4:00 p m , Monday through Friday, excluding holidays, from March 20, 2023 to April 4, 2023 inclusive, at the District Office, #1 Opal Drive, Logan Lake, BC

For further information concerning this matter you may contact the Chief Administrative Office at 5236225 or via email at warchambault@loganlake ca

Dated at Logan Lake, BC this 10 h day of March, 2023

Wade Archambault

Chief Administrative Officer

Road sidewalk and ditch maintenance

• Snow and ce contro

• Pub ic inqu ries and requests

What You’ll Get in Return:

• An outstanding opportun ty to help bui d a unique community

• An annual wage of $95,000 – $130,000 depending upon qual fica@ons and experience A comprehensive benefits package includ ng annual ski pass

What You ll Bring: Valid C ass 5 Driver s License Professional engineer ng or applied science des gna@on or a comb na@on of train ng and relevant

BROTHERS - SONS

Nick Chomiak

December 4, 1938 - March 20, 2023

It is with profound sadness that we announce the sudden passing of Nick Chomiak. A beloved husband, father, grandfather, great-grandfather and friend.

Jesse Morgan Banfield

April 14, 1978March 22, 2011

Shane Kitson Banfield

September 15, 1980 - March 28, 2011

“To live in hearts we leave behind - is not to die.”

In MLovingemory of Francesco DeRose

–

Memory of Dad

Mom and Dad

Missing you on your First Anniversary

THE TIME IS NOW

If you are ever going to love me, Love me now, while I can know The sweet and tender feelings Which from true affection flow.

Love me now

While I am living. Do not wait until I’m gone And then have it chiseled in marble, Sweet words on ice-cold stone.

If you have tender thoughts of me, Please tell me now.

If you wait until I am sleeping, Never to awaken, There will be death between us, And I won’t hear you then.

Love Your Family and loving Wife Teresa DeRose

At the age of 84 Nick Chomiak passed away in the early morning hours of Monday, March 20, 2023, at RIH in Kamloops, BC, with his wife Linda, and daughter Lori by his side. Nick was born on December 4, 1938, the sixth of fifteen children to parents Nick and Rose Chomiak. Nick was raised on the family farm on the outskirts of Lethbridge, Alberta. In his early years Nick learned the valuable lesson of hard work and the rewards that came with it. This was a characteristic that lasted throughout his life and was admired by all who knew him.

In 1956 Nick enlisted in the military and served for three years with the Princess Patricia Regiment. While in service the family farm was sold, and his parents purchased a home in the city of Lethbridge. This is where Nick met Linda Paskuski, who Nick began courting in1960. They were married on September 2, 1961 and were lifelong partners for sixty-two years.

In the same year, Nick and Linda relocated to Golden, BC where he started his own roofing company Nick and Linda were blessed with three children, Kimberly, Craig and Lori. With the expanding family Nick and Linda built a new home where they lived until 1972.

An opportunity came to purchase a small farm thirty minutes from Golden in the Columbia Valley Coming from a farming background Nick was eager to purchase land of his own. Nick raised blonde d'aquitaine cattle and grew his own hay on the family farm. Nick was passionate about all his endeavours, and this was evident in the many improvements over the next fifty years at Chomiak Ranching. An expansion to the house, new hay sheds, new corrals, fences, gardens, a green house, and beautiful landscaping which Nick and Linda passionately maintained.

After moving to the farm, Nick changed careers and began working in the logging industry until his retirement in 1997. Those he worked with, many of whom became lifelong friends, admired his leadership, guidance, work ethic and sense of humour

Nick was President of the Golden Lion’s Club, served on the Golden Hospital Board, was involved with Air Cadets, 4H Club and was a member of the Masons and Shriners.

Nick and Linda loved spending time with their grandkids; nine grandkids and five great-grandchildren. Nick and Linda loved to fish, travel, camp, and were long time members of Good Sam. Visiting friends took them across Canada and visiting family took them to the far north, Coppermine in Nunavut, Yellowknife, NWT along with the Caribbean’s, British Virgin Islands. Their most recent adventure being to the Antarctic.

In the spring of 2021 Nick and Linda sold the farm and moved to Kamloops, BC to be closer to family Nick enjoyed going to plays, fishing, walking in Riverside Park, and going to the Blazers games. All who sat near Nick could hear him yelling, “Shoot the puck”. Nick was a positive man, and his life was filled with many great events, laughs and memories.

Nick was predeceased by his parents, Nick and Rose and sisters Rose, Mary, Priscilla, Irene and brothers Billy and Pat.

Nick is survived by his wife Linda, children, Kimberly (Timothy), Craig (Fiona), Lori (Neal), grandchildren Tyler (Brittny), Alana, Braden, Cari, Jamie, Erica, Elisa, Nicholas and Hailey. Great-grandchildren McKenna, Blake, Layla, Elian and Chrisjay and daughter-in-law Marian Romney Sisters Anne, Helen, Gladys, Francis, Kathy, brothers Mike, Don, Fred and many cousins, nieces, nephews and friends

The family would like to extend a heartfelt thank you to the staff at RIH who assisted with Nick's care.

A small family gathering will be held on April 2nd with a Celebration of Life to follow in Golden, BC, at a later date.

In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Canadian Cancer Society in Nick’s memory

Condolences may be sent to the family from www.kamloopsfuneralhome.com 250-554-2577

So, if you love me, even a little bit, Let me know it while I am living So I can treasure it.

Francis Godfrey Ferguson of Kamloops passed away on March 8, 2023 with his family at his side. He is survived by his beloved wife Deanna and their children

Judy (Len) Dunn of Kamloops, Laurie Ferguson of Slave Lake, AB, Joyce Ribalkin of Kamloops, Mike (Cindy) Ferguson of Castlegar; grandchildren Tyler (Amber) Dunn, Katie (Steve) Prior, Aaron (Melissa) Dunn, Chelsey Boissonneault, Patrick (Kris) Surrette, Charlotte Ribalkin, Kyle Ferguson, Conal Ferguson, Tyrane Ferguson and great grandchildren Braxton, Avery and Paige Prior, Casey and Emily Dunn.

He was predeceased by his parents Harold and Lottie Ferguson, brother and sister-in-law Lewis and Frankie Ferguson, son-in-law Bill Ribalkin and grandson Lonnie Ferguson.

Francis was born on April 17th, 1935 in High Prairie, Alberta where his spent most of his childhood only living briefly in the Yukon with his family after the war As a teenager he excelled in hockey, baseball and curling and loved to spent time in the outdoors hunting and fishing with his brother, Lewis and their friends.

Francis left High Prairie for Whitehorse, Yukon to find work in 1953. In 1955, he packed his car and headed south and joined his mum, dad and sisters in Edgewater, BC.

In October of 1955 Francis met a clown at the Halloween Masquerade who changed his life! That night he met Deanna, it was a relationship that started out with a strength and brightness that was sustained throughout their marriage. They were married in February of 1957 and called a tiny trailer in Moyie home. While in Edgewater Francis worked for Spike’s Sawmill, Wilder Brothers Mill, Kirk’s Christmas Trees, Government Survey in Kootenay Park and finally for Dawson Construction. It was the work for Dawson that would take Francis, Deanna and their new family to Moyie, Castlegar, Golden, Donald, Kootenay Park and finally back to Edgewater Along the way they welcomed Judy, Laurie Joyce, and Michael.

In 1964, they pulled up stakes, packed their trailer and made the big move to

Francis Godfrey Ferguson

April 17, 1935 - March 8, 2023

Kamloops where Francis worked for Patek Mill and Logging Supplies as a mechanic and then a shop manager

In 1969 Francis and Deanna opened F G. Ferguson Equipment on West Victoria Street in Kamloops – it was a nothing ventured, nothing gained moment! Here Francis started out as the lone mechanic, parts and salesperson for small engines, lawn and garden equipment, chainsaws and snowmobiles and Deanna began her career as a bookkeeper and “Girl Friday”! It was risk worth taking and very soon the business expanded to the current location on Seymour Street. Francis was an extremely hard worker always ensuring that his customers had the best service possible. He was very proud that their youngest son, Michael worked at the shop for many years and was grateful for the support of his staff members.

While this was happening, he was busy with the kids on the ball fields in summer and, in the winter, you would find them all in the arenas. In the early 1970s they purchased a tiny cabin on Dominic Lake. Francis loved teaching his children and grandchildren how to fish, chop wood and enjoy the outdoors – they all have wonderful memories of the time spent at the lake with Grandad.

Among the many community endeavours that Francis was involved in, he was most proud of being President of the Kamloops Snowmobile Association and the money KSA raised for the Children’s Hospital through Snowarama.

In 1982, Francis and Deanna moved to their beautiful log home on the South Thompson River – it was a great place for family and friends to gather to enjoy the gardens, orchard and massive lawn that Francis took so much pleasure in caring for Francis and Deanna sold Ferguson Equipment in the spring of 1990 and enjoyed retirement on the river until 2000. Then they moved to Rose Hill and had many caring neighbours.

Francis and Deanna loved to travel and had many trips to places afar but they also never missed an opportunity to reconnect with family and friends. They

Condolences may be expressed to the family at kamloops@cypressfuneral.ca

A sk DR AK E

loved to go back home to High Prairie and Edgewater to catch up with those who made these places so special.

Deanna has been in care at Brocklehurst Gemstone since the fall of 2014 when her Alzheimer ’s progressed to where she was not able to be at home and Francis moved to Mayfair to be close to her He spent all of his time with her, walking over early in the morning and staying with her until the evening. His love and devotion never lessened as he continued to care for her even after joining her at Gemstone in 2018 due to Parkinson’s disease. COVID lock down was a very difficult time as he and Deanna were cut off from family except for Facetime visits. He was so thankful when family could finally come in to visit.

Francis continued his love of sports throughout his life and always enjoyed a game of catch until the last few days of his life. He followed the Canucks, Blue Jays and enjoyed watching curling! He was a huge Kamloops Blazer ’s fan - a community shareholder and an original season ticket holder He attended games even as it became physically difficult. Francis and his family spent his last evening watching the Kamloops Blazers and Vancouver Canucks win their games – an most fitting send off!

The family would like to thank the staff and residents of both Mayfair and Gemstone who gave kindness and support to Francis over the past nine years. A very special thanks to Stephanie and Maddi for their smiles, care and the joy they brought to Francis each week as they helped him to cope with his physical ailments – they brought a sparkle to his eye each time they visited.

Donations can be made to the Alzheimer ’s Association in Francis’s name. A celebration of life will be held a later date.

Drake Smith, MSW Funeral Director

Ever y Wednesday in K T W!

Q. I can’t afford it...what should I do?

A. Usually someone pays by Visa and reimburses themselves when the CPP death benefit ($2500) ar r ives a couple of months from now If Mur ray isn’t eligible for the CPP death benefit and money ’ s tight we connect Alice with the BC gover nment ministr y ; they cover most cost s

Drake Cremation & Funeral Services

210 Lansdowne • 425 Tranquille Rd. 250-37 7-8225 • Drake Cremation.com

AFFORDABLE & NO BL ACK SUITS

Don Collins

1936 - 2023

On March 16, 2023 in St Albert, Don Collins passed away peacefully with his loving family by his side.

He leaves behind Wilma, his wife of 64 years, their son Gregory (Ruby), daughter Teresa (Craig), grandchildren Justine (Alan), Sydney (Jordan), Jesse and Riley Don was a proud great grandfather to 3 beautiful children, Xander, Myla and Zosia. Surviving siblings are Jim, Cheryl and Rick (Char) all of Kamloops.

He will be greatly missed!

A Celebration of Life in St. Albert is being planned for the latter part of May

Kenneth Fayter

Pastor Kenneth Fayter of Kamloops passed away on March 17, 2023, at 83 years of age.

Survived by his loving wife Leona, his three daughters, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren.

In lieu of flowers, please send donations to The Word of Life Church 3587 Westsyde Road, Kamloops, BC V2B 7H5.

Condolences may be expressed to the family by emailing kamloops@cypressfuneral.ca

In Loving Memory of Eileen Celestine Laidlaw

July 12, 1929 - March 19, 2023

It is with heavy hearts we announce the passing of the Centre Piece of our family Eileen Celestine Laidlaw She passed away peacefully March 19, 2023, with family by her side.

Eileen was born in Levack, Ontario in 1929. She was the eldest daughter of the family. There were also five brothers and one sister

She met the love of her life Douglas Laidlaw in Sudbury, Ontario. There they raised their 6 children.

One of Eileen’s first jobs in Sudbury was at A&W where she wore roller skates to deliver burgers. Eileen stayed home and raised her family, was a member of the Royal Canadian Legion, loved her Bingo and her beer She was a dang good bowler She was feisty, independent, stubborn as a mule, very generous and humorous. Eileen moved to Kamloops in 2002 to be with her west coast children. Her happiest place was being with her family, and this is what kept her going for 93 years. She loved family gatherings.

Eileen is survived by son Gary (Sandy), grandson Douglas, son Richard, daughter Cheryl (JP), granddaughter Crystal (Vicky) great-granddaughters Summer and Aspyn (children of grandson Thor). Daughter Corinne (Steve), granddaughter Paris, grandson Tanner Daughter Tammi, grandsons Darcy and Dallas, granddaughter Charity. Grandson Michael Salto (Katie), great-grandson Max Salto, brothers Emmet and Vincent O`Bumsawin.

Eileen was predeceased by her loving husband Douglas Laidlaw, daughter Darlene (Dee Dee) and grandson Thor, her parents Winnifred and Abraham, brothers Bernard, Miltan, Bobby and sister Claire.

We will have a Celebration to honour our Mom, Grandmother and GreatGrandmother on June 24, 2023, 1850 Tremerton Drive, Kamloops, BC. 2:00 p.m. –5:00 p.m. Details to follow Eileen will be laid to rest with her love Douglas Laidlaw in Sudbury, Ontario later this summer

Condolences may be sent to the family at DrakeCremation.com

Malcolm Stewart MacKenzie

1929 - 2023

Malcolm was born on June 2, 1929 in Bismarck, North Dakota and was raised in the Saskatchewan farming community, learning to love all aspects of that lifestyle, especially mechanics. He followed his calling into Pastoral Ministry and pastored churches in the Apostolic Church of Pentecost Organization across Western Canada. That long and winding road led to the founding of North Shuswap Christian Fellowship in Scotch Creek on the beautiful Shuswap, where Malcolm and Auriel thrived, serving that community until his retirement in 1998. Malcolm and Auriel then moved to the Mayfair Seniors Residence in Kamloops until his peaceful passing on March 22, 2023. Malcolm’s greatest joy would be to know that all of those lives that he came in contact with would have a personal, living faith in Jesus, his Saviour, whom he served whole heartedly

Malcolm is survived by his loving wife Auriel MacKenzie, children A.J. (Laura) MacKenzie of Fort Nelson, BC, Stewart (Beverly) MacKenzie of Pender Island, BC, Muriel (Wayne) Olsen of San Jose Del Cabo, Mexico, Sharon MacKenzie of Kamloops, BC, and Karmen (Garth) Wale of Kamloops, BC, and numerous grandchildren and great-grandchildren. He is predeceased by his father and mother, sister Margaret, brother Raymond, daughter Pamela Acton, and grandson Geoffrey Leach.

A private family Funeral will be held at 10:30 am on Saturday, April 8, 2023 in Kamloops Full Gospel Church. Those wishing to attend virtually via an online link may do so at bit.ly/COL-MM. Following the service, Malcolm will be laid to rest in the North Shuswap Cemetery, Celista, BC.

Condolences may be sent to the family from www.kamloopsfuneralhome.com 250-554-2577

Elizabeth Anne Saplywy

Elizabeth Anne Saplywy, with family by her side, passed away peacefully into the arms of the Lord on March 20, 2023. She is predeceased by her parents James and Winifred Campbell. Elizabeth will continue to be cherished by her husband Karol, her sister Sara Weitzel, her three children James, Carol (Robert), and John (Jessica), her granddaughters Meghan, Emma, and Ellie as well as many friends, nieces, nephews, and her great-grand-dog Nico!

Elizabeth was born in Noranda, Quebec on July 13th, 1938. She was the eldest daughter of two children born to James Magnus and Henrietta Winifred Campbell. Her family moved west and made many B.C. towns their home: Lulu Island, Steveston, and Revelstoke to name a few Finally, settled in Castlegar and in her grade 11 year, Elizabeth met “Charlie” (Karol) the love of her life. They were married June 30th, 1956 at Sacred Heart Cathedral in Kamloops.

Work commitments took the newlyweds to different locations in the Kootenays, and they soon started their family Elizabeth and Karol finally settled in Kelowna, BC, where they raised their three children. Elizabeth was a devoted mother and loving wife. She loved to be a stay-at-home mom and never missed an opportunity to express her love for and pride in her family Strong in her faith, Elizabeth gave of her time and talents in service to her family, church, and community Singing in the church choir, teaching faith formation for children, being an active member of the CWL, helping the St. Vincent De Paul, dancing around the toadstool as a Brownie leader, and teaching young, disabled adults to read, tells the story of Mom’s devotion to serve others.

In recent years, Elizabeth and Karol moved to their daughter and son-in-law’s home in Kamloops. Caring for Mom has been an honour, her daily presence in our lives brought joy to her and to all our family. We are forever grateful for this special time in our lives. Thank-you to all the staff, nurses, care aides, volunteers, and residents at The Hamlets Westsyde for their kindness and devotion to Mom and for loving her like their own.

A funeral mass will be celebrated Friday, March 31st, 2023, at 11:00 am at St. John Vianney Church, 2826 Bank Rd, Kamloops, B.C. In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be made to the St. Vincent De Paul Society or the Alzheimer ’s Society of B.C.

Condolences may be made to www.schoeningfuneralservice.com

Reinhart (Sam) Jan Kuipers

October 23, 1958 - March 20, 2023

It’s with heavy hearts that we announce the sudden passing of our brother Sam.

Sam was born Merritt, BC and passed away in Kamloops, BC at the age of 64. Predeceased by his sister Veronica, mother Nancy, father Jan, and brother Rienko.

He is survived by his son Kyle of Calgary, AB, his grandchildren Isaiah and Daxton of Calgary, AB, sisters Debbie (Stu) of Kamloops, BC, Rhonda (Joe) of Kamloops, BC, Lorraine (Rick) of Merritt, BC along with many aunts, uncles, cousins, nieces, nephews and friends.

A final farewell for Sam will be held on Saturday, April 1, 2023 at 1:30pm at the Shulus hall in Merritt, BC. Meal to follow

Isabel Charlotte Healy-Morrow

February 19, 1956 - March 26, 2023

Captain The Rev Canon Isabel Healy-Morrow passed away at age 67 on March 26, 2023 at Marjorie Willoughby Snowden Hospice.

A service for Isabel will be held at 11:00am on April 3rd at St. Paul’s Cathedral, 360 Nicola Street. All are welcome to attend.

Celebrate the lives of loved ones with your stories, photographs and tributes

Jeanne Agnes Kindrat

Jeanne Agnes Kindrat of Kamloops and Fort St. John, passed away on March 16, 2023, at 62 years of age.

She is survived by her children Stephanie Gerbrandt and Melissa Wilson, her sons-in-law Justin Gerbrandt and Mikhael Stants as well as her grandchild Jonathan Gerbrandt, and siblings Deborah Benterud, Chris Kindrat, and Bruce Kindrat.

Jeanne was a kind and caring person who was always quietly being helpful. She touched many lives through her service in BC Government, as well as being the sweetest woman alive. Jeanne was a loving mother and beloved Baba to her grandson Jonathan. She lived to take him to swimming lessons, go to the park with him, and build castles with blocks together

Jeanne will be sorely missed; her absence is keenly felt. We love her so much and are devastated by her loss. Jeanne died of endometrial cancer that had gone unrecognized and undiagnosed. She hopes more than anything that her story will encourage other women to continue with their PAP smears, even after menopause.

A Celebration of Jeanne’s Life will be held on May 27, 2023, between 1:00-3:00pm at the Heffley Creek Hall.

The family wishes to extend special thanks to the staff at Royal Inland Hospital, and Marjorie Willoughby Hospice.

Memorial donations may be made to the Canadian Cancer Society, or Kamloops Hospice.

Condolences may be expressed to the family by emailing kamloops@cypressfuneral.ca

Patrick Miles McCully

1982 - 2023

Patrick Miles McCully passed away suddenly at the age of 41 years in Kamloops, BC on Sunday, March 19, 2023.

Patrick was born January 16, 1982 on Salt Spring Island, BC. He was a kind and generous man. His sense of humour was contagious to those around him. He was an excellent athlete in Muaythai, MMA, weight training, and soccer His job took him all over the world as a security contractor

Patrick is survived by his beloved wife Amy MacPherson, his parents Yvonne and Bob McCully, brothers Sydney DeBow (Jen), Kyle McCully (Nilda), Jess McCully (Amanda) and numerous nieces, nephews, aunts, uncles and friends.

The Funeral Service will take place at 2:00 pm on Thursday, March 30, 2023 in the Kamloops Funeral Home, 285 Fortune Drive. Viewing will take place prior to the service, starting at 1:00 pm. For those unable to attend the service may be viewed online at https://ipcamlive.com/5f98c1fdc1e47. Please contact the Funeral Home for the PIN

Condolences may be sent to the family from www.kamloopsfuneralhome.com

250-554-2577

Catherine Maria Main (née Tomasso/Thomson)

1938 - 2023

Catherine was born on April 4th, 1938 in Busby, Scotland and who passed away in Kamloops, BC on March 20th, 2023 at the age of 84. The world is a wee bit darker today as our lovely mum has passed on. She grew up in Scotland and worked and lived on both coasts of Canada after arriving in Montreal, Quebec at the age of 19 when she sailed across the sea from the UK.

She was wife/friend to William Fletcher Main and mother to Steve Main (daughter-in-law: Bonnie), Jeff Main (daughter-inlaw: Liz) & Andrea Main (son-in-law: Richard).

She touched the lives of many in a very generous, kind and thoughtful way Mum will be remembered for her quirky, fun and humourous personality and delight in whimsy

She will be sadly missed by all but like she used to say/quote “shed no sad tears for me, my darling', so we will celebrate her wonderful life in our hearts and minds for years to come.

Love you mum xo Andrea, Jeff & Steve

Condolences may be sent to the family from www.kamloopsfuneralhome.com 250-554-2577

Kurt Frisk

We sorrowfully regret the passing of Kurt Frisk who bravely struggled with cancer during the final months of his life.

Left to mourn his passing is his mother Trudy Frisk and his many aunts, uncles, cousins and friends. Kurt was predeceased by his father Ralph Frisk in June of 2012.

Kurt was born in Kamloops on August 10, 1963 and spent his early years in Walachin, then his family moved to Kamloops where he started school.

During his school years, he enjoyed the great outdoors, camping and international travelling with his parents as well as spending time with his grandparents George and Anne Hicks in Valemount.

After graduation he was a freelance yard maintainer He also worked for Kamloops this Week until he landed employment with Complete Janitorial where he worked for 20 years.

Unfortunately, in the spring of 2022 Kurt was diagnosed with cancer but right to the end, he still showed interest in music and current events, and on December 11, 2022 he passed away quietly at his home in Westside.

A celebration of Kurt's life will be held on Saturday, April 22, 2023 between 1:00pm-3:00pm at the Cottonwood Community Centre, 730 Cottonwood Ave. Kurt's relatives and friends are invited to share their memories in the Oak Room.

Fond memories linger every day, Remembrance keeps them near.

Patrick Brian Wilmot

March 17, 1930 - December 16, 2022

A Celebration of Life will be held at 11:00 am on Saturday, April, 8th 2023 in the Kamloops Funeral Home, 285 Fortune Drive

Condolences may be sent to the family from www.kamloopsfuneralhome.com

250-554-2577

Sharon Tymchyshyn

1959 - 2023

It is with great sadness, we announce the passing of Sharon at the Kamloops hospital, due to health complications, on March 8, 2023.

She is survived by her siblings, Ray (Jo-ann), Judy (Zenon), and Bernie (Barb), and families.

At her request, cremation has taken place.

A private family service will be held at a later date.

GIVE LAVISHLY LIVE ABUNDANTLY

By Helen Steiner Rice

The more you give, The more you get, The more you laugh, The less you fret, The more you do unselfishly, The more you live abundantly, The more of everything you share, The more you’ll always have to spare, The more you love, The more you’ll find, That life is good, And friends are kind, For only what we give away, Enriches us from day to day.