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BRANDI SCHIER
Publisher brandi@sunpeaksnews.com
HOLLIE FERGUSON
Community Editor hollie@sunpeaksnews.com
LIZ MCDONALD
Community Journalist liz@sunpeaksnews.com
SONIA GARCÍA
Layout & Graphic Designer sonia@sunpeaksnews.com
04
MAYOR AL RAINE EXPLAINS
SUN PEAKS PROPERTY TAXES
T he municipality breaks down tax rates after receiving feedback from residents about high taxation.
URGENT CARE CENTRE OPENS IN SUN PEAKS
The weekend service is available for anyone who needs immediate medical care, whether they live in Sun Peaks or are visiting.
06
ACCESSIBILITY AUDIT RECOMMENDED FOR SUN PEAKS RESORT
While there are facilities with accessible bathrooms and parking, barriers remain for people with disabilities.
OCCUPANCY CHANGES FOR RENTALS IN SUN PEAKS APPROVED
Guest and parking limits included in the amendments to business bylaw, changing the game for short-term rentals in Sun Peaks.
07
SUN PEAKS SECONDARY ACADEMY CELEBRATES LARGEST GRADUATING CLASS TO DATE
This year, Sun Peaks Secondary Academy saw its largest graduating class of 9 students - all leaving with honours.
08
EVACUATION PLANS DEVELOPED FOR SUN PEAKS
Sun Peaks Mountain Resort Municipality developed the plan alongside a Kamloops-based emergency management consulting firm.
09
COMMUNITY PLAYGROUND AND PLAZA SLATED TO OPEN IN SEPTEMBER
T he project will provide no-cost activities for families and improve community gathering space.
10
WHITE'S PASING
Robert and Rose White lived in the Heffley-Louis Creek area as ranchers and are remembered fondly.
12
LOCAL FILMMAKERS SEEK FUNDING FOR DOCUMENTARY FILM
'This is what real life is about': documentary film explores the life of Steven Stark, an Indigenous man who overcame trauma and addiction.
14 EVENTS
15
PUZZLES
16
ADAPTIVE SPORTS SUN PEAKS LAUNCHES SUMMER EVENTS
While the organization has a strong history of winter adaptive programs, this is the first year the group is offering outdoor recreation opportunities for the summer season.
18
SUN PEAKS RESORT LAUNCHES DISK GOLF
The new nine-hole course is free with the cost of a lift ticket and offers distances of 41 to 124 metres.
The municipality breaks down tax rates after receiving feedback from residents about high taxation
By Liz McDonaldSun Peaks Mountain Resort Municipality (SPMRM) wants to remind residents who own property how taxation is applied after receiving public feedback regarding high taxes this year.
During the budget presentation in April, SPMRM announced municipal tax collection would increase by 7.5 per cent on average due to the growing need for services and inflation. Additionally, property taxation includes other levies which go to the provincial and regional governments. The other levels of government which apply taxes will increase property tax bills well above the 7.5 per cent.
“We have nothing to do with the other taxes – we don't influence when [the province] sets a rate for schools, the regional hospital board has the authority to set rates for hospitals and same for the regional district,” said Al Raine, Sun Peaks’ Mayor.
While taxation for local services represents 38 per cent of SPMRM’s budget, provincial taxes represent 41 per cent of local tax bills and regional taxes represent 21 per cent. These taxes include B.C. Assessment Authority (BCAA), hospital services, the Municipal Finance Authority, provincial education, policing and the Thompson-Nicola Regional District.
“They send us a bill for services, and it's a bill we can't dispute,” Raine said.
Property taxes are based on the assessed value of homes under provincial law, with B.C. Assessment evaluating property values throughout the province. The average home value in Sun Peaks is higher than the average for the region, at $1.6 million which Raine said results in Sun Peaks’ property owners paying more per home than the average regional homeowner for all services that are not municipal services.
B.C. Assessment Authority is a B.C. crown corporation, and a portion of property taxes are used to cover administrative costs for assessing home values.
While the tax for BCAA represents less than one per cent of a resident's tax bill, the levy paid to cover administrative costs increased by 19.7 per cent compared to last year, or $9,586.
Policing represents four per cent of local taxation and it increased by 39.8 per cent or $71,325 this year.
Hospital taxes account for seven per cent of the overall tax bill for residents and increased 9.4 per cent or $43,619 compared to the year before.
The province also collects education taxes, which is paid out to school districts per capita by examining the number of students, schools and busing requirements depending on rural or urban environments, Raine explained. The provincial education tax represented 36 per cent of total municipal property tax funding for this year and increased by $429,316.
The Thompson-Nicola Regional District levy is 14 per cent of property tax bills, which goes to fund services like libraries in the region, increased by 10 per cent or $90,885 of residents' overall property tax bill.
Finally, the Municipal Finance Authority also levies a tax of less than one per cent of property taxes. This increased by about $69.
Access to urgent health care on weekends is now available in Sun Peaks.
Sun Peaks Community Health Centre (SPCHC) is operated by Kamloops-based non-profit, STEPS. The pilot project offering urgent care services started June 17 and it runs Saturdays and Sundays from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. The service is open to both non-residents and locals, and patients can recieve care by showing up at ski and bike patrol. Patients registered with SPCHC can book an appointment online.
Family physician Dr. Shane Barclay said the new service is available because of STEPS funding.
“[STEPS] had some funding, which included health care workers like nurses,” Barclay.
The clinic hired three part-time nurses who will work on weekends and throughout the week.
While the clinic has opened on weekends during past winters through provincial funding, the urgent care centre has expanded hours thanks to increased capacity after amalgamating with STEPS, Barclay said.
Christine Matuschewski, STEPS chief executive officer, told SPIN urgent care would help meet community needs.
“Dr. Barclay, Dr. Frank and other family doctors who are providing care up in Sun Peaks feel very strongly about providing the service,” Matuschewski said. “They have expertise, and it's the right thing for the community as opposed to having people drive into Kamloops for services.”
Sun Peaks Resort LLP and the ski and bike patrol service have collaborated with SPCHC to offer the pilot program.
The service will likely be extended to seven days a week during the ski season, according to Matuschewski.
The weekend service is available for anyone who needs immediate medical care, whether they live in Sun Peaks or are visitingUrgent care is now available on weekends at Sun Peaks Community Health Centre. File photo
While there are facilities with accessible bathrooms and parking, barriers remain for people with disabilities
By Liz McDonald
Guest and parking limits included in the amendments to business bylaw, changing the game for short-term rentals in Sun Peaks
By Liz McDonaldAfter months of public consultation and meetings at Sun Peaks Mountain Resort Municipality (SPMRM), council has approved amendments to the business license bylaw, which regulates short-term nightly rentals, to increase occupancy limits. Additionally, SPMRM put limits on parking and now requires rental property managers to dispose of garbage left by guests.
Single-family homes permitted to rent both the main dwelling and the auxiliary suite are now allowed to rent to up to 16 guests. Auxiliary units are capped at three renters per bedroom, condos and townhomes at two people plus two people per bedroom and studio units can accommodate three guests.
The changes reflect the need to balance tourism within the community and the needs of full-time residents, according to mayor Al Raine.
“Multi-generational [families] would like to come for a vacation in Sun Peaks,” Raine said. “That's going on in ski resorts around the world, and prior to the max 16 occupants, it wasn't always feasible for some families coming to Sun Peaks to do that.”
Parking limits were capped at five vehicles per home following community feedback regarding traffic and neighborhood congestion after council initially proposed to remove parking limits altogether.
Additionally, short-term nightly rental managers must implement a garbage disposal plan due to concerns about dumping outside the transfer station when it’s closed.
The transfer station in Sun Peaks operates on seasonal hours, closing on Tuesdays and Fridays in the summer. Guests may check out of their rentals before the station is open, and rental managers must handle their guests' garbage if necessary.
“If people can't get to the transfer station when it's open, then the property management companies are going to have to take the garbage away,” Raine said.
Sun Peaks Coun. Len Hrycan said the municipality’s biggest concern with the changes would be enforcing the bylaw.
“If you look at the history of how we've tried to do short term rentals, regulations is the one area where the municipality really dropped the ball,” Hrycan said. “We didn’t have a solid enforcement program.”
The municipality is introducing a monitoring software called Granicus to help fill the gap. The software scours advertisements of short-term rentals in Sun Peaks and determines if ads are above permitting limitations for guest numbers.
The fine for breaking occupancy limits is $500 per day, according to Nicky Jonsson, director of corporate services for SPMRM.
Council will continue to monitor whether the changes need to be amended again.
Adaptive Sports Sun Peaks (ASSP) has recommended Sun Peak Resort (SPR) engage in an official accessibility audit after performing an informal consultation for the resort.
Katherine Campbell, program manager for ASSP, met with staff from SPR in early June to discuss accessibility at the resort. The areas in most need of accessibility improvements include washroom facilities, parking areas, signage and SPR’s website.
While the Annex, the Village Day Lodge and Sundance Lodge have bathroom facilities available, Campbell told SPIN there are barriers to people using each building’s facilities.
“The Annex is considered a building that has accessible bathrooms because there's no stairs and the bathrooms are levelled,” Campbell explained.
However, access to the family bathroom in the Annex requires a key.
“It’s not really an accessible bathroom if it’s locked and you have to go get the key from somewhere,” Campbell said.
She noted the Annex is often crowded, and it can be difficult to navigate the space.
The bathrooms in the Village Day Lodge’s are in the basement of the building and the elevator also requires a key from the activities desk, according to Campbell.
Sunburst Lodge, a restaurant at the top of the Sunburst Express chairlift, also has problems in terms of access for people with physical disabilities.
“If you're in a sit ski, you need to transport yourself out of it into a wheelchair,” Campbell explained. “There's no wheelchair there. So someone in a sit ski can't utilize that facility.”
The proposed new Burfield parking lot will have an accessible washroom, according to a presentation by SPR to council about the proposed development.
Accessible parking is available at the Annex and the Village Day Lodge, but Campbell said parking stalls should be wider and require better snow removal.
Lastly, she noted many people use the spaces for picking up and dropping off visitors instead of the designated area by the playground. She suggested implementing clearer signage so people know where they should go.
Campbell also suggested SPR have information about accessible services readily available on their website.
“We talked a lot about the Sun Peaks Resort website [including] an accessible tab that shouts loud and proud what the accessible features of the resort are,” Campbell explained.
Proposed features for SPR’s website included the location of accessible bathrooms, which hotels have accessible features and a link to Adaptive Sports.
SPR’s website currently has a page that links to Adaptive Sports, but Cambell wants to see more integration online regarding accessible services offered at the resort.
Because she isn’t an expert in accessibility, Campbell has recommended SPR engage in an official accessibility audit.
SPIN has reached out multiple times for comment from SPR but did not hear back in time for publication.
Friends, family and community members gathered under cloudy skies, narrowly avoiding rain, to celebrate the success of Sun Peaks Secondary Academy graduates in June.
This year’s cohort is the largest to date, with nine students officially moving on to the next stage of their lives – all with honours. 2023’s graduation included one student who received their education locally from kindergarten through grade 12.
After attending a private ceremony, soon-to-be graduates rode down the Sunburst Express chairlift before walking through the village, where attendees greeted them with cheers. The public portion of the ceremony was emceed by Laurel Seafoot, vice president of Sun Peaks Secondary.
The public ceremony provided an opportunity to celebrate the graduates while thanking the community for their support and highlighting
students' achievement, Seafoot said in her speech. “Our students have been lucky enough to learn in this beautiful setting,” she said. “They have been leaders, employees, students, community members, adventurers and risk-takers.”
The graduating class of 2023 includes James Escott, Mattias Grunling, Brock Hawes, Grace Kilba, Aiden Kramer, Noah Lara, Charlie Roberts, Nicole Shaw and Cole Shieven.
Mayor Al Raine was in attendance as well, and he told the graduates that while there is often a bleak narrative about the world today, he believes that they are entering a world in which people are free to express their identities fully while encouraging the young adults from Sun Peaks to help change the world for the better.
“There are great things that you can make happen,” Raine exclaimed to a clapping audience. “Make it happen.”
Trish Landry, a representative of Sun Peaks Education Society, told the audience and students that while being educated in a small community comes with some limitations, there are also opportunities to connect.
“You have had the opportunity to form deep and meaningful connections with your peers, your teachers, your community members that you may not have had in a larger setting,” she said.
Darcy Alexander, general manager of Sun Peaks Resort (SPR), provided graduates with five scholarships from SPR. The Rotary Club of Sun Peaks, Sun Peaks Independent News, and Raine and his wife Nancy Greene Raine and Remax Alpine Sun Peaks also awarded students scholarships.
After almost a year of developing an evacuation plan, Sun Peaks Mountain Resort Municipality (SPMRM) received an executive summary of plans designed with Innomergence, a Kamloops-based emergency management consulting firm.
Much of the information for evacuations will be shared when an emergency event happens, because the details are highly dependent on the type of hazard at play. The document presented at council notes that plans developed for Sun Peaks’ evacuations are “intentionally non-prescriptive.”
“It can't get too prescriptive because we can't predict the nature of what every hazard is going to do with exact certainty,” Elaine Scott from Innomergence explained.
As evacuation routes are chosen depending on the hazard at hand, Scott said routes will not be provided prior to an emergency.
“[Evacuations] are not going to be the same each time,” said Sun Peaks Fire Rescue (SPFR) chief, Dean Schiavon. “Depending on what type of evacuation we're doing, we might be just doing a small section of the community versus the whole community.”
To develop the plan, the company worked with SPMRM and Sun Peaks Resort, as well as provincial ministries to gather ideas, Scott explained.
The executive summary available to the public primarily outlines the roles and responsibilities of council during an evacuation. For example, the mayor would be tasked with supporting actions required for an evacuation and giving strategic guidance during the event. The mayor can also act as the spokesperson for Sun Peaks, and declare a local state of emergency.
The designated community spokesperson could also be a member of council, the chief administrative officer or a public information officer.
One of the most important considerations during an evacuation is ensuring information comes from official sources, according to Scott.
“Having an official source of information, it definitely provides a sense of security for community members because they know that the information source that they're getting it from is the most accurate,” she explained.
The plan includes a checklist for enacting an evacuation order and for rescinding one. While there was not a checklist provided for the public in the plan, council could decide to distribute one.
Schiavon noted that SPFR would combine various methods during an evacuation, from going door to door, to using the Voyant Alert system. Voyant is a communication app that provides targeted information about distance from hazards, directions to shelters, evacuation routes and other necessary information, like boil water advisories or wildfire evacuation alerts. It can also send voice messages to landlines for people without access to a cell phone.
Sun Peaks – and all geographic regions – have unique challenges that can't always be identified on the maps, which is why the company started “ground truthing” before winter 2022 – that is, exploring Sun Peaks in person to determine if the routes available on maps will work for various evacuation scenarios."
“By ground truthing, we actually go to the location,” Scott explained. “I'll drive the route…to make sure that what we're seeing on a map and what we think is going to make sense in terms of traffic flow or resource allocations actually makes sense on the ground."
During this process, the company assessed the roads leading in and out of the village. The main route into the village is Sun Peaks road, which is a paved single-lane road. The other main route is McGillvray Lake, a forest service road that is impassable during winter. The remaining roads out of the village are all forest service roads.
Schiavon said that the emergency plan provisions include contact information for shuttle buses if
people without access to vehicles need to leave on forest service roads.
Resident Alex Morrissey was evacuated during the Embleton fires and explained he would like to know what routes are available, but understands that providing information in advance isn’t always possible depending on the scenario.
“I would like to know what are the exit routes, and how do we get there… I can see why [the municipality] is somewhat protective of that information because people expect certain things to happen,” Morrissey said.
Morrissey noted that emergency teams “did a fantastic job” during the Embleton fire, but he is concerned that future wildfires could shut off evacuation routes.
“My concern is what happens if the fire comes from a multitude of directions… there's a lot of forest around us,” Morrissey said.
The main hazards that may impact Sun Peaks include forest or structural fires, avalanches, emergencies at the Fortis propane plant, traffic accidents, power outages and flooding, according to Schiavon. The spring melt this year caused a washout on Sun Peaks road May 14, reducing traffic to single-lane, alternating for one day.
The water travelled over the road and started washing out the bank underneath the cement, creating structural concerns, Schiavon said.
While the problem was resolved within a day, he said it is important to prepare for emergency events ahead of time.
“Things like portable radios, spare batteries, flashlights, candles, matches, phone chargers,” Schiavon said. “If you do have to leave at a moment's notice, you've got a grab and go kit and they're always good to revisit.”
He recommends checking your kit seasonally, similarly to checking smoke detector batteries in your home, as well as having your vehicle gassed up in case you have to travel a long distance during an evacuation.
Other resources to help prepare for emergencies and evacuations include B.C.’s preparation website, which includes information for assessing hazards, building an emergency go-bag, making a personal plan and more. Destination BC’s website includes specific information for tourism driven areas, including modules for effective communication during emergencies.
Sun Peaks’ community park will soon be ready for gathering this fall.
Construction has begun on Sun Peaks plaza and playground outside Sun Peaks Centre, with grading of the site completed in the last week of June.
The project’s next steps include construction for drainage, brickwork, cement and finally, installing
playground equipment. The space should be open to the public in early September and will provide expanded infrastructure for community events and no-cost recreation for families in Sun Peaks.
The project is funded through provincial grants, organizational and private donations and municipal funding totalling approximately $1.65 million.
A grant from the province for $898,241 makes up a significant portion of the project’s funding, and Tourism Sun Peaks (TSP) provided $350,000 for playground equipment. Donations from individuals represent $198,876 and Sun Peaks Mountain Resort Municipality (SPMRM) contributed $190,000 from the municipal parks reserve funds. Sun Peaks Rotary donated $10,000 and Adaptive Sports Sun Peaks also gave the project $2,000.
The space’s features include an accessible playground with rubber surfacing and wood fibre chips throughout the grounds, a slide, swing, carousel agility course and more.
“The Park Plaza project will give another performance space,” said Shane Bourke, chief
administrative officer for SPMRM. “We saw on the [Canada Day long weekend] the village stroll got a bit cramped. We'll have a little bit bigger space to offer some small performances and also be a central gathering space. The playground will provide another free activity for community members and visitors.”
Arlene Schieven, president of TSP, said the nonprofit organization used reserve funds to help the municipality complete the project. The savings were accumulated during COVID-19, which resulted in scaled-back marketing.
“It's given us the ability to help some of these projects because there wasn't enough money to complete them, and we're really able to take them to the finish line,” Schieven said.
The park may eventually have lighting installed for the shorter winter days, according to Bourke, and SPMRM will install conduits that can be used for lighting if future funding is available.
The tennis and pickleball courts at the site have been moved to parking lot five and should be open by the middle of July.
Two members of the Whitecroft community who passed away were celebrated for their legacy in the region.
A celebration of life was held at Heffley Creek Community hall June 4 for long-time residents, Rose Lilian White and her husband Robert Williamson White.
Robert, who passed away April 5, was born Sep. 16, 1932 in Richmond, B.C. and moved to the HeffleyLouis Creek valley in 1943 at the age of 10. His home, originally named Shaw Ranch after his grandfather, was later renamed Whitecroft Ranch after his father. A passionate poet, he started ranching full-time at 17 after his father died and continued until he retired.
Rose, who passed away Jan. 27, was born Feb. 19, 1933 and grew up in Richmond and Vancouver, B.C. before her family relocated to the Kamloops region. A proficient hunter and rancher, she married Robert Nov.10, 1956.
Aside from running the ranch, the couple had three children and were actively engaged in the 4-H club. They also travelled extensively.
Candise White, the daughter-in-law of Rose and Robert and the emcee for their celebration of life, said the afternoon brought people from near and far.
“There were a lot of ranchers, a lot of people we hadn't seen in 30 years. A lot of people that you
didn't necessarily expect to come, but when they arrived, you thought, ‘Oh, of course, you're here, how very kind.’”
The White family has lived in the area for many years and Candise said this is one of their biggest impacts.
“I think their impact was just that they were part of the longest contiguous family in this area, because everyone else has either passed on or sold, or both,” Candise said.
Candise said the event included speeches from family members, including Barry Brady, nephew to the couple and their daughters, Rosemary Kanigan and Shannon McIlquham.
The event, according to Candise, “was just about perfect.”
“Not because of anything any one person did, but because of what the group did.”
There were memorial books created and displays of cherished items, from Robert’s spurs and cowboy hat to Rose’s bag of yarn. Blankets the couple often used were displayed as well. Family members also made baked goods using Rose’s recipes, from Swedish strips to gingersnaps.
One of the poems Robert penned for Rose is in his obituary.
The couple lived in the Heffley-Louis Creek area as ranchers and are remembered fondlyPhotos of Rose and Robert White. Photo provided by Candise White
My Lady Rose my wife
A blossom so true and dear
Together through life we shared Our hopes and dreams and fears
A blossom so fresh
When she came to the ranch
Our love grew rich and deep
The girl of my dreams
The one I would keep My Lady Rose
Three blooms did come From my Lady Rose
She gave them life and love
Only a mother knows
And they grew to an image of My Lady Rose
Our many years together
Through times both bad and good
Few men could be so lucky
To pick a bloom of such beauty
As my Lady Rose
By Robert White
A Kamloops-based Indigenous filmmaker, Nolan McAllister, is making a documentary film exploring the story of how one man is recovering from a traumatic childhood, homelessness and addiction to become a giving community member and businessman. McAllister, whose ancestral heritage is Métis, Cree and Assiniboine from the Red River settlement, is producing a documentary about Steven Stark (Slə́qsit) from the Tsawwassen First Nation with the help of local mental health counsellor Karan Lara. The documentary's goal is to shed light on Stark’s story and give hope to others who want to embark on a healing journey, and the team is currently seeking funding for the project.
Stark wants to share his story through a documentary film because he says he’s one of the few people within his community open to discussing his struggles publicly.
“I'm one of very few males in my group that are willing to share about mental illness, sexual abuse, physical abuse,” Stark explained. “I do take the opportunity to try to share wherever I can, trying to get more people to not be afraid to talk about it or even to get people to come forward from the film.”
Born in Chilliwack, Stark moved around with his mother and stepfather throughout his childhood, experiencing physical and sexual abuse. He was eventually kicked out of his home by 15. His family bought him a one-way ticket to Vancouver, where he connected with his estranged biological father from Tsawwassen. His father introduced him to smoking crack, and Stark spent subsequent years travelling between Alberta and B.C. and going to jail at various times.
He eventually went to rehab and started working in the fishing industry alongside a mentor who took him in while he was in recovery before going back to school for carpentry.
Stark now owns Tsawwassen Shuttles Inc., has served as an elected official with Tsawwassen First Nation, is a father, built his own home and has 18 years of sobriety.
“I've had some huge struggles, but there's a desire inside of me that's never gonna allow anything hold me down,” Stark said.
The next step for the film about Stark’s life is securing funding for production, and the crew has a goal of fundraising between $250,000 and $500,000.
McAllister says the budget is necessary to produce a high quality documentary, using various techniques to shift the perspective of the audience.
“I don't want it to feel like you're watching a documentary or these random moments of his life. I want everything to be very strategic and specific.”
He describes the documentary film as narrativedriven and uses storytelling techniques like developing flashback scenes and changing aspect ratios to keep the audience involved from scene to scene.
Because it’s a documentary, McAllister noted the more research they uncover about Stark’s life, the more the narrative shifts and grows.
The evolving nature of the film is symbolic of Stark’s journey and steps away from traditional narratives around the complexity of being a human.
“Life is not linear,” Lara explained. “It’s circular. We keep revisiting things and relearning things. This is what real life is about.”
To learn more about the upcoming documentary film or to become a sponsor, visit the production’s website, stevenstarkfilm.com
Many of the experiences Stark candidly shares are narratives McAllister hasn’t personally come across before, including reading a transcription of a counselling session where Stark described his first time using crack cocaine.
“It’s bone chilling…I’ve never read something like that before where someone's talking about their first interaction with crack,” McAllister said.
However, for Lara, who works with people who use drugs, stories like Stark’s are common.
“This is trauma counselling,” Lara explained. “These are stories that I hear in Indigenous community and non-Indigenous community –from street-entrenched folks really struggling with substance abuse and poverty to extremely successful wealthy people, to middle-class families.”
The difference between what Lara sees as a trauma counsellor and what the average person
understands about mental health and substance use relates to historical concepts about the topics she explained.
“Our historical idea of mental health is very connected to pathology, and would actually be a very, very small percentage of the population,” she said.”In reality, we all have mental health, we all have an emotional experience. We all have a cognitive experience, this is just part of life. But we've boxed it into a really unusable definition.”
For Lara, working on the film helps to shift these narratives for a broader understanding of mental health and enacting the principles of Truth and Reconciliation.
“A function of the film is: how can we actually create change through this, how can we enact the Truth and Reconciliation principles? How can we shift the language, the discourse around mental health?”
McAllister echoed that sentiment and highlighted that promoting Stark’s story and specifically opening up conversations about men’s mental health can help other people going through similar experiences.
“Maybe hearing someone else who has overcome that trauma and is still battling but found a way to cope and move forward in a positive way – that might spark change in their own lives.”
'This is what real life is about': documentary film explores the life of Steven Stark, an Indigenous man who overcame trauma and
JULY 15 - AUGUST 11
MONDAYS
Quizzy Rascal nights are back for the summer at Morrisey's Public House! Starting on June 12 at 8 p.m., grab your team of six, pay $2 and reserve your table in advance.
TUESDAYS
Trail building nights are back! Join community members and help maintain trails throughout Sun Peaks. Weekly events are held by Sun Peaks Recreational Trail Association and members of the association are welcome to attend.
Bottom's Bar + Grill has Taco Tuesdays.
THURSDAYS
Games night at Morrisey's Public House starts at 3 p.m.
FRIDAYS
AA meetings at Sun Peaks Secondary Academy at 7:30 p.m.
SATURDAYS
Kamloops Farmers Market, 8:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.
Live music at Morrisey's starts at 8 p.m.
SUNDAYS
Sun Peaks market in the village runs from 9:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. and features local vendors with art, food, beverages and more.
July 4 to August 26
Thompson-Nicola Regional Library has a summer reading club open for all ages with a theme of “All Together Now.” For more information visit tnrl.ca/src.
July 16
Jana Seale performs a free concert at Sun Peaks Resort from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the village stage.
July 19
JuggerBean Tattoo Parlour is holding a fundraiser for the Sun Peaks skatepark with a flash tattoo day from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. $50 from every tattoo is donated to help secure a location for a skatepark and the shop can coordinate donations if people want to help out without getting inked. Email juggerbean@gmail.com.
July 20
If you’ve always wanted to learn how to practice wood burning, come out to an event hosted by Kamloops Art Party, JuggerBean Tattoo Parlour and Cleavage Axe Co. The event runs from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. and costs $60, including a beverage. Visit kamloopsartparty.com/all-eventsand-classes for more information.
July 21
Ontario-based band Zuffalo performs at the Village Stage from 7 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. for a free evening of music.
July 22
Peaks West has a rodeo themed block party, with businesses holding an event including food and drink, live music from Whitecroft Irregulars, yoga, kids activities, axe throwing, shopping – and a mechanical bull. The event runs from 4 p.m. to 10:40 p.m. at the Peaks West parking lot.
July 29
Current Swell performs a free slope side concert outside the village Day Lodge from 8 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. Bring your own chair as seating is not provided.
August
August 4
First Fridays is back for August and features an artisan market and circus performances, as well as a free concert by Yellow Brick Road Experience featuring Andrew Johns. The day-long events run from 4 p.m. to 9:40 p.m.
47 "Uno + due"
49 Kosovo's continent: Abbr.
51 Be a peeping Tom, with "on"
52 Depar tment store honcho
58 Flamenco dancer's cry
59 Mouse battery size
60 Absorb, as with a sponge
64 Funny situations, and a hint to the puzzle theme
69 Basemen and shor tstop
70 Move about like a moth
71 Math subgroups
72 Grave message?
73 It's more, in a writing rule
52 Acid found in green veggies
53 Gaucho's grassy plain
54 You have to break these to make "une omelette"
55 "Duck Dynasty" channel ___
56 To swim: Fr.
57 The first word of 17-, 22-, 41-, 52- and 64-Across, in text shorthand
61 Brazilian soccer great
62 Leon who wrote "Exodus"
63 Levies not paid in Alta.
65 Give, to Robbie Burns
66 All worked (up)
67 Test taken lying down
68 Nile biter
Adaptive Sports Sun Peaks (ASSP) launched its first-ever summer programming of outdoor experiences for 2023.
The summer season will join the long list of winter adaptive programs, offering hiking, paddle boarding, canoeing and mountain biking.
Katherine Campbell, program manager for ASSP, told SPIN the programming targets locals for the first year.
“We don't have any equipment, and so we're really targeting our locals who have participated with us before,” she said.
To fill their equipment needs, ASSP and their instructors partner with existing companies and experts in the offered activities.
“We're using experts in all of those fields to actually lead those activities because right now
we're experts in snow adaptive snow sports, but we've never had a summer program,” Campbell said.
Because it’s a new offering by ASSP, the events are introductions to summer sports versus the organization’s existing winter programming that offers in-depth instruction.
ASSP’s Canadian Adaptive Snowsports (CADS) certified instructors will attend each event and are trained to work with neurodivergent community members, people living with visual impairments and people with physical disabilities.
ASSP will hold a hiking session Aug. 5 from 10 a.m. to 12 p.m. for hikers 13 years and up. The deadline to register for the hike is July 22. Hiking in Sun Peaks costs $30 per person, plus the cost of a lift ticket.
ASSP needs at least three people to register for the event to go forward, and there are six spots. Hiking guides from Sun Peaks Sports School will lead the hikes.
Heffley Lake will host stand-up paddleboarding with instructor Bodie Shandro, owner of Paddlesurfit, August 18. The application deadline is Aug. 11. The cost is $85 for the two-hour lesson between 10 a.m. and 12 p.m.
Those in attendance will need to navigate a steep trail to the dock and receive instruction on water safety, paddling technique and more.
Kamloops Canoe and Kayak Club offers family paddling August 15 from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. Attendees must be over seven years old. Family members can learn how to group paddle, kayak or practice solo canoeing. The cost is $35 per person or $120 for a family of four.
The program needs a minimum of six people and a maximum of 10 to run. Registration closes July 25.
An introduction to mountain biking with Heidi MacGowan runs July 29 and August 26. Deadlines to register are July 21 and August 18. Registrants must be able to ride a bike and bring a mountain bike with disc brakes, a helmet and closed-toe shoes. The instruction includes a bike safety check, trail etiquette and more.
The July event is open to those aged 13 and up, and the August event is for youth from 10 to 12 years old. Registration costs $65, and the events run from 10 a.m. to 12 p.m.
Finally, Kootenay Adaptive Sports Association is coming to Sun Peaks from August 12 to 13 for adaptive mountain biking.
For more information, visit adaptivesportsatsunpeaks.org/summer-programs.
While the organization has a strong history of winter adaptive programs, this is the first year the group is offering outdoor recreation opportunities for the summer season
Sun Peaks Resort (SPR), home to endless outdoor pursuits, has a new player in town –disc golf.
The Sun Peaks Disc Golf Course is officially open for nine holes of fun. Free to play with the cost of a lift ticket, disk golfers can find the course by taking the Sunburst chairlift and walking about ten minutes east along the cat track and past the alpine maintenance shop. Here, surrounded by pines, biking and hiking trails, players can tackle teeing off at distances from 41 to 124 metres.
If you’ve never played disc golf, it’s similar to regular golf, with a few small changes. BC Disc Sports’ website explains players use a disc or frisbee, instead of sizing up a green with clubs, and throw the object towards a target, usually a metal basket attached to a pole.
The goal is to get the disc into the basket in as few throws as possible, as in the traditional sport. Wherever the disc lands, players must take their shot and try to avoid various terrain challenges.
The Professional Disc Golf Association notes the sport’s creation has a “blurry” history. While it’s not definitively known who was the first to play the sport, Ed Headrick is considered integral to the game for inventing two key tools – the Frisbee in 1966 while working at Wham-O and the Disc Golf Pole Hole in 1975.
While the course at SPR currently has nine holes, SPR’s chief of mountain operations, Tom Foster, said the goal is to develop an 18-hole course eventually.
“A couple of things are a bit of a challenge, just available space when we have bike trails coming and going, we have hiking trails,” Foster explained.
According to Foster, the course was developed last year and originally envisioned by SPR’s slopes manager, Seth Worthen and the slopes crew.
Players can bring or rent their discs at guest services in the Village Day Lodge.
The course is open until September 24.
The new nine-hole course is free with the cost of a lift ticket and offers distances of 41 to 124 metres
EACH OFFICE IS INDEPENDENTLY OWNED & OPERATED
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