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Year in Review: September 2018 from the pages of the Salmon Arm Observer

Looking back at what made headlines in 2018 from the pages of the Salmon Arm Observer.
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Joyce Marchant competes in the mini chuckwagon race on Sunday, Sept. 9, 2018. (Jim Elliot/Salmon Arm Observer)

Looking back at what made headlines in 2018 from the pages of the Salmon Arm Observer.

Here’s a glimpse from September 2018:

• The intersection of Balmoral Road and the Trans-Canada Highway near Blind Bay was the scene of a fatal collision.

A 69-year-old man driving a Moto Guzzi motorcycle from Kamloops was pronounced dead at the scene. His 63-year-old spouse suffered serious injuries and was airlifted to Royal Inland Hospital in Kamloops.

• Looking back eight years to when she first took up martial arts, Christine Ahola never imagined she would be taking the podium to accept a medal in an international jiu-jitsu competition. However, the 44-year-old Enderby woman found herself stepping up to accept a silver medal after her fights in the 2018 World Master Jiu-Jitsu Championship in Las Vegas, Nevada.

• The weather held and attendance at the Salmon Arm Fair was up by more than 1,000 over last year.

“It’s likely our best attendance in over a decade,” said Steven deBoer, co-chair with Phil Wright and Star McGregor.

• Warnings posted at Marine Park about blue-green algae in Salmon Arm Bay could remain for a while. Although the algae that was seen mainly in the area in front of the Prestige Harbourfront Resort wasn’t extensive, it was enough to prompt the warning.

• The Salmon Arm Tennis Club reached a major milestone on the road to their new indoor tennis facility, completing the building’s foundation and making plans to raise the roof on the indoor court.

According to the tennis club, more than 2,200 volunteer hours have been sunk into the project so far, with businesses, club members, families and friends all contributing to the efforts.

With the foundation complete, the wait now begins for the arrival of steel towards the end of September, which will be used to raise the roof and begin construction of the frame.

• Declarations are in and the race is on for a seat at various municipal tables.

There are three people vying for mayor of Salmon Arm – incumbent Nancy Cooper, current councillor Alan Harrison and newcomer Jim Kimmerly.

Hoping to retain their seats in council chambers are incumbents Chad Eliason, Kevin Flynn, Tim Lavery and Louise Wallace Richmond.

Debbie Cannon and Wayne Matthews, who both served on Salmon Arm council prior to 2014, are making another run for office.

Also vying for a seat at the council table are Kevin Babcock, Aaron Brookes, Karmen Krahn, Sylvia Lindgren, Mary-Louise McCausland, Jo McDermott and Chris Meikle.

• A line of thunderstorms powered through the Shuswap on Sunday afternoon bringing a mix of torrential rain and hail. On Sept. 16, 22.1 mm of rain fell in Salmon Arm, the most rain in one day since a record set in 1907 when 26.9 mm fell on the community.

• Tucked away in a quiet little stand of trees surrounded by the natural beauty of the Shuswap, just over 100 students in Salmon Arm spent their first week back to school learning in the great outdoors.

Principal Isabelle Gervais said the outlook and the energy levels for students and staff at the outdoor school is sky-high.

“A lot of parents have said their kids are excited to get up in the morning and are looking forward to coming to school, they are sleeping well.”

• A total of 178 registrants plus 20 volunteers turned out to the Terry Fox Run in Salmon Arm, raising a total of $6,905 to go toward cancer research.

• A man charged in connection with the Halloween robbery of the Tappen Esso in October 2017 has been sentenced to a total of 27 months and 22 days in jail, less time served.

On September 11, a Salmon Arm judge sentenced Paulo Anthony Murphy-O’Neil, who faced charges related to a crime in which three people were arrested on the Trans-Canada Highway as Salmon Arm’s Halloween Treat Trail was wrapping up last year.

• A young girl from the Shuswap is making her mark on the ice after a summer spent training with the Junior A Salmon Arm Silverbacks helped land her a spot on a regional major midget female team.

Teegan Webster qualified for the Thompson-Okanagan Major Midget AAA Lakers team.


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