Press Release - Fire at RDNO Recycling Facility, 116 Birnie Road

Posted Saturday, March 2, 2013

Late Friday night, March 1, 2013 a fire destroyed the Regional District of North Okanagan’s (RDNO) material recovery facility (MRF) to the point that it is currently not usable. This facility received all of the RDNO’s Blue Bag Recycling Program material (approximately 100 tonnes per week) for processing and marketing and also approximately 5,000 tonnes per year of commercial recyclable material.

The entrance to the Greater Vernon Recycling and Disposal Facility (RDF) is not compromised and the RDF will remain open as usual. With the smoke still rising from the fire, those with respiratory ailments should postpone their trips to the RDF.

Other options for recycling at this time are Interior Freight and Bottle Depot in Vernon and the RDNO’s other two RDFs in Spallumcheen and near Lumby:

Interior Freight and Bottle Depot – 4205 24th Avenue
Open Monday to Saturday 8:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. and Sunday 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.

Armstrong/Spallumcheen RDF – 3367 Powerhouse Road
Open Monday to Friday 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. and Saturday/Sunday 8:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.

Lumby RDF – 221 Trinity Valley Road
Open Thursday to Sunday 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.

Arrangements are being made with other recycling businesses to take the material until the RDNO can either rebuild or finalize a contract with another recycling facility. “This is very unfortunate for the 30 plus employees of Bluewater Project Inc and Venture Training who have been providing the processing services for the RDNO for over 10 years” stated Patrick Nicol, Chair of the RDNO Board of Directors, “We are relieved that no one was injured in this fire.”

Blue Bag collection services will continue as usual; however, some temporary stockpiling of material (paper, cardboard, plastics and tin) may be required until more permanent arrangements can be made.

For further information, please call the RDNO at  250-550-3700 . 

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CITY OF VERNON'S TRANSPORTATION PLAN 2008 -- VERNON & DISTRICTS TAXPAYERS' ASSOCIATION.

Vernon City council is allowing City Administration, WITHOUT real input from the general public, to ram through a bypass of Vernon which will cost over $600 million. Administration's Transportation Plan focuses on a western bypass and ignores vital issues.

It's business as usual with four 'open houses' in February to ram through a proposal that will be finalized in early March. These open houses will be an attempt to sell the Administration's favoured option.

All the alternatives have not been put on the table. Staff are putting the pressure on citizens, in a tight time frame, to answer surveys that require a great deal of reading and consideration with a marked bias in favour of the western bypass. There will be NO REAL PUBLIC INPUT. It will be business as usual just as with the Civic Complex issue.

The western bypass as outlined is a development corridor. The Ministry of Transporation and the Provincial Agricultural Land Commission are on record as NOT endorsing the current western bypass proposal. This is a City of Vernon initiative. Truckers contacted are highly critical of such a bypass and will not use it due to the increased length and additional grades.

The Vernon & Districts Taxpayers' Association demands that Vernon Council--STOP. They must make available to the the public ALL the information and they must hold public hearings followed by a referendum.

We demand public hearings that will address ALL the options.

We call on Council and Administration to cease and desist immediately.

We call on Council to rein in Administration from imposing projects on citizens without the support of the taxpayers.

There must be real public consultations in this process and an appropriate length of time for this process to be concluded satisfactorily.

Contact:

Jane Weixl 545-4915 or 938-1297

Vernon & Districts Taxpayers' Association

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Budget Open House reminder!

Open House -- Coldstream Council Chambers, January 7!

Time: 5-7 PM

Make sure you attend and express your views!


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Why we should vote NO!

ATTENTION COLDSTREAMERS!

Courtesy: Maria Besso-Ockert (Click on image to enlarge)

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Attention, Coldstream residents!

ATTENTION COLDSTREAMERS!

We need your help AGAIN, to save our Agricultural Land.

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Please come to the meeting this Tuesday Nov. 6 at 7pm at Coldstream Elementary and bring as many friends and neighbours as possible.

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Learn more about how our community would be affected if the upcoming referendum were to pass.

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Even though Al McNiven said at the Sept. 11 meeting that they would reduce the number of parking places to 500 and not build a banquet hall, did you know that if the referendum should pass, Coldstream Council will no longer have control over what gets built on that land?!

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Try to imagine what the effects of a mega sports complex would have on:

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• agricultural production and Coldstream's heritage
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• the environment - the noise, flood lights, wildlife and habitat, the view
  
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• the water - all the run-off with it's gas and oil, herbicides and pesticides, will no doubt end up in Kalamalka Lake
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• the traffic - both Aberdeen Road and Hwy6 already have speed and volume concerns
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• our taxes - we have no idea what any of the costs would be
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• our way of life – what would the benefits to Coldstreamers be – if any?
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Go home from the meeting armed with information to help you explain to others why we all need to get out and vote “NO” on Dec. 15!

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