Five bomb threats in 1 hour

The Canadian Press - Sep 25, 2016 / 8:53 am 

Police in the Halifax area say they responded to five unfounded bomb threats within about an hour early Sunday.

The RCMP say they received a call at about 1:30 a.m. from an anonymous male who claimed he was in the parking lot of a sports facility in Cole Harbour with bombs and a hunting rifle.

Shortly after 2 a.m., the RCMP office received an automated phone message from an anonymous person indicating there was a bomb at Halifax Stanfield International Airport.

Around the same time, Dalhousie University received a threatening automated phone message, and while police were investigating that, nearby Saint Mary's University also received a bomb threat from an anonymous person.

Seven minutes later, Halifax Regional Police received reports of a bomb threat against a downtown Halifax library.

Nothing suspicious was found in any case.

School districts in four Canadian provinces and territories received unfounded bomb threats last week, with one faxed threat in Prince Edward Island prompting a province-wide evacuation of public schools and colleges.

There were also threats made against schools in Nova Scotia, Winnipeg and Nunavut.

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City of Kelowna responds!

 Read more

Note that the Mayor of Kelowna does not want to have domestic water used for agricultural irrigation. He wants to have all Kelowna residents to receive city water for their domestic consumption. Kelowna uses Okanagan Lake for their domestic supply and to date Kelowna does not need filtration!

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Getting soaked for water!

by Darren Handschuh | 

Sep 17, 2015 / 5:00 am

Photo: Contributed

If North Okanagan residents feel like they're getting soaked on their water bill, it's because they pay the highest water rates of the Okanagan's three major cities.

Vernon residents pay for their liquid gold per cubic metre, and the cost is set by the Regional District of North Okanagan on a tiered-rate system.

The first 10 cubic metres cost 51 cents each, but it only goes up from there. For 10-20 cubic metres, the Tier 2 cost is $1.07. For 20-40, the charge is $1.22. For 40-80 cubic metres, residents pay $1.53 and, in the top tier, for 80 cubic metres or more, the price jumps to $2.19.

In Kelowna, residents pay $0.412 for the first 60 cubic metres of water; $0.554 for the next 100; $0.84 for the next 90 and $1.618 per cubic metre for the balance used beyond that.

Kelowna also has a bi-monthly flat rate of $24.10.

Penticton communications officer Simone Blais said the southern city charges a fixed rate of $19.77 per month plus a variable consumption charge of $1.67 per 2.83 cubic metres.

The rates also vary from industrial to residential use.

“There are 10 different fixture rates based on your meter size,” she said.

According to Jennifer Miles, water sustainability co-ordinator with the RDNO, there is also an “infrastructure base fee" in the North Okanagan, which is $101.80 per quarter.

"We have to have a base fee that covers the majority of expenses over the year," she said.

However, Miles said it's difficult to compare Vernon to other centres because “different water systems have different treatment systems. We have different sources in Vernon.”

Vernon gets its water from Kalamalka Lake and the Duteau Creek watershed, while several Okanagan communities draw water from Okanagan Lake.

Miles said Kelowna and Penticton have different treatment systems and may have accessed grants over the years to help offset the expenses of building and maintaining water treatment facilities.

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We do not have to cover the majority of expenses by base fees! That flies in the face of our principle of user pay system. The 2015 budget proposes a 55/45% split in favour of base fees. However, a low water consumer (10 cubic meters or less) can pay as much as 95/5% in favour of base fees. That is the bigger problem here (aside from the selected MWP).

 

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Pellet plant clears hurdle

by Carmen Weld | Story: 121273 - Aug 19, 2014 / 1:30 pm

Photo: Google Street View

The proposed pellet plant would be constructed next to the Tolko plant in Lavington.

After six hours worth of public hearings and deliberations, Coldstream Council left Monday night's meeting having approved a rezoning request for a new pellet plant in Lavington.

The lengthy public hearing, which ended just before midnight, was the last chance for members of the public to speak out about the proposed 39 million dollar facility to be built through a conditional partnership between Tolko Industries and Pinnacle Renewable Energies.

Despite weeks of public hearings, a petition to stop the plant, and public outcry, council gave its approval by a slim 4-3 margin on the third reading of the rezoning application.

Councillors Doug Dirk, Gyula Kiss and Richard Enns opposed the rezoning.

Kiss says the marathon of public hearings led him to believe that the public, the people who voted him in, unequivocally wanted the plant to be denied a place in their town.

Photo: Google Street View

 

Residents have fought the idea, saying the plant will raise air quality concerns next door to an elementary school.

 

“I didn't think at first I would vote against the plant itself because they had a reasonably good case,” explains Kiss.

“But, the biggest problem is that almost all the people that came from Lavington, who live around the plant, opposed it.

“The fact is that I am a representative of the people who elect me and I am supposed to actually look after their interests, and what they want.”

The biggest complaint has come from nearby residents who feel air emissions from the plant will be a health hazard for residents and children attending Lavington Elementary, situated next door to the facility.

Kiss says that while he feels the pollution created by the pellet plant would be minimal, he believes pollution levels in that area are already high enough and any additional pollution created would put levels above the safety threshold.

“The proposed plant is only 300 metres from the school and this is the biggest worry, that the kids there will be exposed to the additional pollution.”

In fact, Kiss says he and his late wife got cancer decades ago because of a pulp mill in Prince George. His wife later died from that cancer.

“I have a little more empathy for people who feel their health may be influenced by the pollution created by manufacturing,” adds Kiss.

Coldstream Mayor Jim Garlick says the decision will go to a fourth and final reading next week. Garlick wants to point out that all public input on the proposed plant is now closed.

“At this time council receives no more input on the application, from either side,” says Garlick.

While it appears the rezoning application will be approved by Coldstream Council, the pellet plant still has a few more hurdles to cross – including approval from the Ministry of Transportation, an environmental permit on emissions, and further building permits before construction can begin.

Note: Association between my cancer and the pulp mill effluent was just a conjecture and cannot be verified!

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Accepting political freebies? – by Castanet Staff

Kelowna Mayor Sharon Shepherd will not be attending the 2010 Vancouver Olympics on the backs on corporations or anyone else.

Members of the media, including Castanet, have tried to determine whether the mayor has received an invitation from the BC Lottery Corporation to attend events as their guest.

“I have made no plans and will be making no plans to attend the Olympics or Paralympics, except to cheer on our Canadian and Kelowna athletes by watching from home,” Mayor Shepherd says.

Mayor Shepherd says she received an invitation to attend a reception during the Games, but has sent her regrets. She has not received any tickets to Olympic events.

The story came to light over the weekend when Chilliwack mayor Sharon Gaetz announced she had received an invitation from BCLC to be their guest at the Olympic games.

The package included tickets to hockey, figure skating, speed skating and the opening and closing ceremonies.

Gaetz says she refused the offer, saying she believed it to be illegal and unethical.

BCLC has sent invitations to government officials in 20 B.C. communities.

The City of Kelowna was given two pairs of tickets for its participation in the GamesTown2010 online contest and the Olympic Torch Relay, all of which were donated to Kelowna residents who participated in these programs.

“If I was planning on going to the Olympics, I would have requested tickets to purchase,” says Mayor Shepherd, whose policy is to personally pay for tickets or fees unless attending events in an official capacity on behalf of the City of Kelowna.

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Cities sign historic agreement -- by Wayne Moore, Castanet

Sep 16, 2008 / 2:00 pm

Vernon Mayor, Wayne Lippert, says sometimes you just have to do something that 'makes sense.'

With that, Lippert joined three other Okanagan mayors in putting their names on an historic resource sharing agreement.

The Intermunicipal Agreement, signed in Kelowna Council Chambers Tuesday, will allow Kelowna, Vernon, Westside and Penticton to work together to share or craft bylaws of regional significance.

Chief Administrative Officers of the four municipalities have been working together for several months to shape the agreement, which will allow the communities to work together on such issues as affordable housing, transportation, sustainable development and global warming.

Kelowna Mayor, Sharon Shepherd, says she already has her eye on borrowing a bylaw which has been successful in Vernon.

"We've been looking at a 'Good Neighbour' bylaw that the City of Vernon has," says Shepherd. "It's a drug house bylaw the community has been using."

Under the bylaw, no persons are permitted to enter the residence or reside there until it has been brought up to building code standards by the owner.

Shepherd says the agreement will also save taxpayers money.

She says it takes about 80 hours of staff time to put a bylaw together, and with potentially four communities sharing in the cost, taxpayers will get a better bang for their buck.

"Sometimes you just have to do something that makes sense," added Vernon Mayor, Wayne Lippert.

"It will help us move things along that will really affect the day to day lives of the people that live within the Okanagan Valley. It will reduce government, reduce structure, reduce costs and allow us to operate in a more timely fashion."

Lippert says a recently adopted valley-wide mobile licensing bylaw took only a few months to put together, when typically, it would have taken about two years.

The big winner in this agreement could be the District of Westside.

The municipality, not quite a year old, is still in the process of putting a number of bylaws into place.

"I think the citizens of the District of Westside will benefit the most initially because of the recent incorporation. Although we do inherit some of the bylaws from the Regional District, some of those are not of an urban standard," says Westside Mayor, Rosalind Neis.

"I do hope in time the Westside can also be a big contributor, so we're not just the recipient of the benefit, but as time goes on we can bring forward things to help the other municipalities as well."

Penticton Mayor, Jake Kimberly, says taxpayers this is not another level of government.

"The initiative here was to reduce government because the proposal by the three regional districts was to create another governance to look after the issues that we want to address collectively, and that was something the four mayors opposed," says Kimberly.

He says each of the four municipalities have the staff in place to deal with what has been initiated through the agreement.

Kimberly says it's a matter of sharing that information with each other.

The agreement, the first of its kind in B.C., is already garnering national attention.

Neis says her office has received a request by a councillor from Newfoundland asking to view this document.

"It is wonderful to be involved in something so simple yet so powerful, and that it could change the way local governments work with neighbouring municipalities. Cooperation is a wonderful concept, often easier said than done, but when there is a willingness to work together we can always find a way.
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"Vernon Mayor, Wayne Lippert, says sometimes you just have to do something that 'makes sense.'"

Well said Mayor Lippert. Too bad so many things that had been done made little or no sense.

In Vernon, think about the Alternate Approval Process and the Referendum.

Mayor Neis became the Mayor of Westside insisting that she wanted to join Kelowna after the people of Westside voted for a separate community.

Mayor Kimberley just recently been accused of misleading the taxpayers of Penticton about the cost of South Okanagan Event Centre costs. Apparently the City of Penticton is $10 million poorer than they thought they were.

I can see the big savings these crafty mayors will create when they "craft bylaws of regional significance". I still remember the savings we got from the creation of the immensely successful Greater Vernon Services Commission. We tucked away tons of money in savings on that adventure. Of course that was not another level of government either!

We might also remember the great exercise of the Valley Wide Regional Governance Study that saved us millions.

However, there is still a bit of a problem here. November 15 is looming on the horizon. Mayor Neis already announced that she is not seeking reelection. Mayors Kimberley and Lippert will have to explain their previous deeds to the taxpayers and will have to see if they'll be able to follow up on their proposed crafting of regional bylaws.

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Divide the lake by use: Hobson -- by Kelly Hayes - Story: 38083

A Kelowna city councillor thinks we should consider dividing the lake according to use.

Robert Hobson says it may be time to consider looking at guidelines for restricting certain types of activities on Okanagan Lake.

“I’m talking about having areas designated as ‘high activity’ areas for water skiing and such and ‘low activity’ areas that wouldn’t allow speed boats,” says Hobson.

He says there are already federal regulations in place about speeding on the water.

“People are not supposed to drive their boats at certain speeds within 15 metres of shore, but I don’t think a lot of people know that. It’s a safety and noise issue, it makes sense to identify areas that are suitable for certain uses and those that are not.”

Hobson says smaller, reservoir lakes might be good spots to be motorboat-free zones, while other areas would be more appropriate for those who want to water ski.

“It’s something I think we will have to think about as we look at expanding lake front facilities. We have put a proposal to the RDCO to look at future moorage and safe harbour facilities and I think we need to look at the size and location of these in relation to possible conflicts.”

“Many parts of the world divide their lakes according to use and I think it’s time we look at that possibility.”

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Valley governance moving forward.

The following article was plagiarized from Don Quixote's blog. It is an excellent review of the work of the Super governance group. I specifically enjoyed his reference to the "cross fertilization of ideas" and its benefits. Enjoy!

Castanet Feb 28
The committee studying possible area-wide governance options in the Okanagan Similkameen is moving forward and forming a focus in its work. It’s planning to complete a report for the Minister of Community Services by March 31st. At its meeting in Vernon Wednesday, the Regional Governance Study Working Committee received the results from consultations with all local governments in the North, Central and South Okanagan Similkameen regional districts. Consultant Allan Neilsen-Welch presented a report based on the sessions that were held during the past three weeks. The consultation process has found the most support from elected local government officials for a strong inter-regional authority or authorities within the governance study area. Neilsen-Welch says there was little support from municipal and regional district politicians for a single area-wide regional district model. His report also says local elected officials want more information and details regarding the proposed governance model options. In particular, they’d like specifics on the cost benefits for each option as well as voter representation and any voting structure.

Working Committee Vice-Chair Jerry Oglow, who chairs the Regional District of North Okanagan welcomed the consultant’s report. It shows some common themes and focus developing on the part of local elected officials throughout the Okanagan Similkameen as the discussion continues regarding possible region-wide governance options. More than 120 elected officials representing municipal councils and regional district boards in the Okanagan Similkameen have been invited to a ‘Council of Councils’ meeting. At the session in Kelowna on March 7th they’ll be asked to provide the Working Committee with feedback on the various governance options that are under consideration. This information will be used by the Working Committee to guide its recommendations in a report to the Minister of Community Services by the end of March. A link to the consultants report will be available in the next few days on the Okanagan Similkameen Regional Governance Working Committee website: www.valleygovern.ca. Residents may also go there to view information from past committee meetings and for upcoming ones. A direct email contact form is also available online for residents to complete, so that their thoughts, ideas and suggestions can be considered by the Governance committee. After the March 7th ‘Council of Councils’ session, the next regular Regional Governance Study Working Committee meeting is scheduled for Wednesday, March 19th at 1:00 pm at the Regional District of Okanagan-Similkameen office, 101 Martin Street in Penticton. The meeting will be open for residents to view the proceedings.
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Don Quixote Note: Along with about 5 media types,and a handful of interested politicians mostly from NORD, I endured 2 hours of the gathering of the chosen 12 and their hired consultants as they received the hired gun's report, reviewed it and then tried to hammer out an agenda for their following meeting. Mercifully the Noon lunch hour intervened and my ride home desired to exit and so we left as the assembled Politicos hunkered down to barley soup and sandwiches. The chosen 12 actually was reduced to the heavenly 11 as Chairman Robeert Hobson of Kelowna was apaprently working hard in Malibu. The phrase that caught my ear was "cross fertilization of ideas". I know little about farming, but it always has been my belief that throwing different kinds of shit together on the same field doesn't necessary mean a bumper robust crop, it might just mean you wind up with a big pile of shit that has to be cleaned up.

These guys were still arguing about what the true purpose of the super regional governance committee was, what the 'leader' meant with her original decision to assemble and mobilize the chosen 12 (originally the Divine 9), and whether the electoral areas should be discussed in the open or their fate merely left to the capricious whims of the revered leader Minister Ida Chong.

To me it appears that we have three separate regional districts with different reasons for being told to come to the table by the leader. The nucleus is the Central Regional District (CORD) who has lost a good portion of their 'raison d'etre' when the Westbank opted to become a municipality and now have a surplus of bureacrabs and anointed politicians that must find new homes in which to work or rule. On the north end is NORD which is unraveling and is a dysfunctional version of its original being as it blindly stumbles through governance and personality issues and was ordered to the table by the provincial government. On the South end of the table is the South Okanagan Similkameen regional district that appears to be working quite well and would like to be left alone but has been forced to endure this traveling circus probably in the hope that its functionality will serve as an example and will rub off on its Northern Cousins.

The next meeting tentatively called the 'council of council' (a ripoff of the loya Jarga in Afghanistan) will be comprised of 120 elected officials representing municipal councils and regional district boards will convene in Kelowna (Mecca?) on March 7. The Provincial Government has received special dispensation to suspend certain sections of the Kyoto protocol that prevents the large creation of artificially created hot air that contributes to global warming. The public is welcome but watching gramma's home movies might be a more entertaining choice.

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