KAMLOOPS THIS WEEK THURSDAY
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MARCH 5, 2015 | Volume 28 No. 28
WEATHER Sun and clouds High 9 C Low 1 C
SUN PEAKS SNOW REPORT Mid-mountain: 124 cm Alpine: 160 cm Snow phone: 250-578-7232
UPLANDS HITS THE MARKET Large low-income building on block
A5
ARE YOU A E LEFT-LANE ? LOUT?
Government is cracking down
A10
Dudy not ‘beholden’ to large donor ANDREA KLASSEN STAFF REPORTER andrea@kamloopsthisweek.com
END OF A YOUTHFUL ERA
DAVE EAGLES/KTW
Demolition of the McArthur Island Youth Centre began this week. The building that once housed the Boys and Girls Club of Kamloops, the 204 Black Maria Air Cadets and seniors’ groups will be replaced, likely by an indoor-soccer facility. The city last year estimated the cost to replace the roof and other upgrades at $1.5 million, while demolition was pegged at $400,000.
IS CITY MUSEUM WORTH ANNUAL COST? ANDREA KLASSEN STAFF REPORTER andrea@kamloopsthisweek.com
A city councillor wants to see improved numbers at the Kamloops Museum and Archives to justify money spent on the space. At a regular meeting of council on March 3, Coun. Tina Lange said she thinks the museum’s visitor numbers — 15,000 in 2014 — don’t justify the $383,126 tax requirement to keep the downtown facility running. “It seems to be it’s time we re-did the whole way museums are done,” Lange said, suggesting the city look at integrating more historical displays into other buildings, similar to the Kamloops Sports Hall of Fame at
the Tournament Capital Centre, rather than continue to host displays at its building at Seymour Street and Second Avenue. “I never go by there without stopping and looking,” she said of the Hall of Fame display. “I think if we have roving displays of heritage where the people are, that would be better.” Parks, recreation and cultural services director Byron McCorkell believes the city will see an increase in numbers at the museum that will put some of Lange’s concerns to rest due to changes in staff, including a new curator, and what he called a “new vision” for the space. “Our staff is being challenged to be more in tune with the community and make the
community more responsive,” McCorkell said. “Give us a chance. I think we’ll see that museum take its rightful place in the community.” The parks department is hoping to secure extra funds from the city for the museum as part of this year’s supplemental budget. The money would be used to convert the heritage B.C. Sheep Breeders Building on Lorne Street into a storage space for artifacts dropped off by the public and collected by the museum. McCorkell said the space would be interactive, allowing the public to get a behindthe-scenes look at museum operations. Repairs and a retrofit of the building would cost $150,000, funded via taxation.
Go down the lists of campaign contributions for Vancouver’s Non-Partisan Association or Vision Vancouver and you will find plenty of November civic-election donations in the five-figure range. In Kamloops, there’s only one candidate to bring in that much cash in a single donation — newly elected Coun. Dieter Dudy. Dudy’s $15,000 donation from Richard Antoniak was the largest of any in the city by a large margin, with Mayor Peter Milobar a distant second with a $5,000 contribution from developers Jeff Arnold and Frank Quinn. But, Dudy told KTW, the contribution — which covered all but $1,400 of his election expenses — could have been higher, had he wished for more. “I didn’t feel comfortable with that,” he said. “In fact, I didn’t totally feel comfortable with the amount he gave me.” Antoniak, who does not live within the City of Kamloops and could not vote for the candidate he supported financially, declined to speak to KTW about his donation. Other high-profile donors also refused comment or didn’t return inquiries at all. Dudy attributes the donation to his opposition to the proposed Ajax copper and gold mine south of Aberdeen. Antoniak’s ranch at Goose Lake Road was one of many properties proponents KGHM needed to purchase for its operations. When Richard Antoniak and wife Sharon sold the property last year, they said they did not want to do so, but felt it was either sell then or be pushed out later after the company had purchased all surrounding properties. See MAYORAL, A4
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