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January 21, 2011 Peachland, BC
Volume 07 | Number 03
Kelowna-Westside
An independent member broker
MOTI responds to road improvements
Local media enjoy the debut of TORA with David Suzuki
By Cindy Fortin
Young actress Krista Shepard, who co-starred in TORA, portraying eight year-old Kimilo, autographs DVDs of the film following the screening.
At the top of the agenda at Tuesday’s Committee of the Whole meeting of Peachland council was the district’s request to the Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure (MOTI) for better illumination of Drought Hill and the installation of a traffic signal at Clements Crescent and Hwy 97. District staff met with the MOTI early in the new year and were advised, with respect to Drought Hill: “Full cost responsibility lies with the municipality for both installation and ongoing maintenance and power costs, for illumination between the intersections. For illumination at intersections, installation costs are shared equally with the province.” MOTI has not studied the Drought Hill stretch of Highway 97 to determine the cause of accidents, but are prepared to review the accident statistics and make recommendations on how the highway conditions might be improved. A rough cost estimate by Urban Systems for installing illumination on both sides of Highway 97 along Drought Hill is $919,500, excluding any
unknowns, which could push the cost close to $1 million Less costly options than light standards are temporary speed reader boards, more road markings and rumble strips. A traffic signal at the intersection of Clements Crescent and Highway 97 was also discussed. MOTI’s initial rough cost estimate is $300,000. Two-third of that is payable by MOTI, and one-third by the district. However, according to Elsie Lemke, Peachland District Chief Administration Officer, MOTI’s 2011/2012 electrical budget is already fully allocated. They did offer another option. “The MOTI has stated that the district can choose to ‘upfront’ the full costs for the signalization, and enter into an agreement with MOTI to pay back its share over the next few year, when budgets permit,” said Lemke. Council has taken this under consideration, as well as passed a resolution requesting the MOTI review accident statistics and recommend improvements to the Drought Hill stretch of Hwy 97.
Photo Cindy Fortin
By Cindy Fortin It is a significant segment of Canadian history, albeit not one to be proud of. Last Saturday Okanagan media and special guests were invited to the debut screening of the film of TORA, starring David Suzuki in his first ever acting role. TORA addresses the issue of Japanese Canadian internment during WWII. The 30-minute film is
set in the stunning scenery of B.C.’s Interior, shot on a lakefront property in Lake Country, and swings between present day and the cold winters of the 1940s. The poignant story follows a jaded city woman Jenna, played by Vancouver actress Kate Bateman, who inherits a lakefront property, which she soon learns was once a Japanese internment camp. Unsettling visions of a ghostly eight year-old
Japanese girl, Kimilo, hint that there’s more to her new property than she’s been told. Suzuki plays a motorcycle-riding lawyer who contacts Bateman’s character about her inheritance, and greets her at the property. “History fades as easy as its lessons,” is a poignant line used by Suzuki, as he and Jenna discuss the history of the acreage and its dilapidated buildings.
Over 50 Japanese Canadians took part in the film, including Kelowna resident Roy Kawamoto who was an extra in the movie. While he may have had a bit part in the production, Kawamoto, 80, and his family had a real life role in a Greenwood, B.C., Japanese internment camp in the 1940s. “All the people of Japanese origin were ordered to be moved 100 miles from
the coastline to various centres, already selected by the government,” recalls Kawamoto. Only 11 years-old at the time, he, his mother and six siblings were uprooted from their Vancouver home and ordered to a Greenwood camp in the Kootenay Boundary region of southern British Columbia. Canada interned more than 22,000 people of Japanese descent during WWII,
three-quarters of who were Canadian citizens. All of their belongings were sold and the profits used to the support the camps. Kawamoto’s father had a non-confrontational outlook on the situation. Kawamoto recalls his father’s words: “This is how it is, and there’s no point in worrying about things. You
continued page 7 see TORA
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