• A man who rammed a police cruiser with a vehicle and then attempted to flee pursuing officers by kayak remained in police custody facing several charges.
RCMP spokesperson Cpl. Dan Moskaluk said the chain of events that led to the arrest of 35-year-old Justin Daniels began about 2:30 a.m. on Dec. 28, when a Sicamous RCMP officer conducting a traffic stop attempted to pull over a pickup truck on Old Spallumcheen Road.
• For the second time in as many days, Shuswap Search and Rescue were called out to the Sicamous area to assist with a snowmobiler who was suffering from chest pains.
On Dec. 28, at 1:27 p.m., crews were called to Morton Peak in the Owl’s Head recreation area, roughly 15 kilometres southwest of Sicamous, to help an Alberta man who had been sledding and began experiencing chest pains due to a possible heart attack.
Due to the remote location, Shuswap Search and Rescue requested assistance from the Vernon helicopter winch team.
“We had reports there was fog up there but somehow the helicopter managed to find a window to get in,” John Schut, os Shuswap Search and Rescue says. “They literally had to package up the patient in six minutes and get out of there because darkness was coming in and they had to get out before then.”
• The assessed value of Shuswap residential properties was on the rise, owed in part to strong sales activity and, in some cases, limited inventory.
Most British Columbians will have received their annual property assessments last week from BC Assessment. In general, property values across the province were up by an average of 11 per cent, with the Lower Mainland seeing some of the highest increases, in some cases has high as 28 per cent.
In the Okanagan/Shuswap, assessed values for residential properties followed the provincial trend, with the majority having increased between two and 10 per cent.
• The year was new, but Shuswap MLA Greg Kyllo’s already had both eyes on the future.
“I see my role as moving things forward,” said the first-term MLA. “The economy, infrastructure projects, those are all things I’m looking to advance, both in our province and in our riding.”
Kyllo said, under the Liberal government’s direction, the province is well-positioned for growth and increasing prosperity, even in light of economic uncertainties brought on by a decline in the oil industry.
He noted some of Canada’s chief economists had forecast B.C. to be No. 1 in terms of growth in 2016. He pointed to the strides the province had made in diversifying its economy in sectors like natural gas, agrifoods and technology, as well as the focus on creating new markets in Asia, as key to B.C.’s economic success.
• Prices of produce and beef were exceptionally high, due to a combination of factors, primarily poor weather, the low Canadian dollar and the high cost of shipping.
A resolution to move the Columbia Shuswap Regional District-run recycling depot from its current location on Main Street to the rear parking area of Parkland Mall, received unanimous support by Sicamous council. It was made in response to a Dec. 17 letter to the district by CSRD environmental health services team leader Ben Van Nostrand.
In his letter, Van Nostrand stated the CSRD, in advance of undertaking the relocation process, would need assurance the district would “pay for the one-time costs of approximately $10,600,” as well as an additional $300 a month for the increased cost of the new leased site.
• The District of Sicamous had put out a request for proposals for the development of a “brand identity and communication strategy.”
The RFP set out a budget between $45,000 and $60,000 for the successful candidate to assist in the “development of a brand identity, including a logo and a visual guide, and a communication strategy for the District of Sicamous.”
• The District of Sicamous had been awarded a second grant of $20,000 to assist in the community becoming age friendly.
Awarded by the B.C. government for age-friendly community planning and projects, the grant money was intended to help seniors stay mobile, physically active, socially connected and healthy.