Year in Review: January 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.

Here’s a glimpse from January 2018:

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January

• Local RCMP spent the last days of 2017 responding to multiple motor-vehicle collisions. Between Dec. 27 and 29 they responded to 15 collisions. Staff Sgt. Scott West of the Salmon Arm detachment said the crashes were related to speed and road conditions. In all the incidents there were either no injuries or only minor injuries.

• Fire took its toll in the Shuswap during the final week of the year, destroying the Copper Island Pub in Scotch Creek. The seven occupants of the building were able to get out unharmed.

Related: Copper Island Pub destroyed by fire

• A family was grateful for the help of a good Samaritan who helped a young man after he slid down a 30-foot embankment near Sorrento. Adrian Butler, in order to avoid a collision due to icy road conditions, pulled onto the shoulder of the highway. The shoulder gave way and he slid down the embankment. He was uninjured and a Sorrento resident took him to his home nearby and looked after him until family members came.

• Salmon Arm RCMP were still looking for a suspect of an armed robbery. On Jan. 6 at about 1:30 p.m., RCMP responded to a 911 call from a commercial business on Ross Street which reported a lone male wearing dark clothing and a dark scarf over his face entered a financial institution, brandished a handgun and demanded money. He made off with an undisclosed amount of money and fled on foot.

• The Silverbacks pulled two wins out of a jam-packed three-game weekend against tough opposition. First they chased the Wenatchee Wild out of the Shaw Centre with a 3-0 shut-out win on Jan. 5. They lost 4-2 in Merritt but made a comeback against the Prince George Spruce Kings with an overtime goal by Nick Unruh.

• Jaeden Izik-Dzurko performed at a solo recital at the First United Church on Jan. 6. Home from his first semester of studies at Julliard in New York City, Izik-Dzurko created the concert, entitled Snowdrop, to share with his hometown fans.

• Salmon Arm council voted to extend mobile vending options. The bylaws pertain to zoning, ticketing, and business licences, allowing them in most commercial and industrial zones around the city, with the agreement of the property owners.

Related link: Salmon Arm council approves rainbow crosswalk

• Salmon Arm council gave the proposed rainbow crosswalk the green light at its Jan. 15 meeting. The crosswalk will be located on Fifth Street SW near the Blackburn skate park.

• No pleas were entered by Curtis Sagmoen who appeared by video in Vernon Court and elected to have his charges heard before a Supreme Court Judge alone. Sagmoen is facing a number of charges in connection with an incident in Falkland on Aug. 27. Sagmoen, born in 1980, is charged with: disguising his face with intent to commit an offence; intentionally discharging a firearm while reckless; uttering threats; careless use or storage of a firearm; possessing a weapon for a dangerous purpose; and possession of a controlled substance. He has been in custody since his arrest.

• A small group of people celebrated a significant event at the District Education Support Centre. A powerful book of “historical collage poetry” created by School District #83 Storefront students was launched on Jan. 9. The book, The Drums of Hope: Knowledge Keepers’ Words, is the culmination of a collaboration between former teacher and published B.C. poet Wendy Morton, Indigenous elders and students.

• The Okanagan Regional Library made the decision to cut operating hours of the Silver Creek library from 15 to eight. This means the library will no longer be open on Wednesdays, and will open one less hour on Tuesday and Thursday. Effective Jan. 23, the new Tuesday and Thursday hours are from 2 p.m. to 6 p.m.

• Skiers, along with the Heart and Stroke Foundation, all won as the 34th Reino Keski-Salmi Loppet enjoyed beautiful conditions and raised $5,468 to create a 34-year total of $408,818 in support of heart health.

Skiers from B.C., Alberta, Ontario, Washington, Montana, California, Belgium and Australia came to challenge themselves.

Related: Skiers speed through 34th annual Reino Keski-Salmi Loppet