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Year in Review: September 2018 from the pages of the Eagle Valley News

Looking back at what made headlines in 2018 from the pages of the Eagle Valley News.
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Sarah Wright looks over the edge of a bridge at the Sockeye Salmon running up Yard Creek to spawn on Sunday, Sept. 2.(Jim Elliot/Eagle Valley News)

Looking back at what made headlines in 2018 from the pages of the Eagle Valley News.

Here’s a glimpse from September 2018:

• The group which successfully campaigned as a team in the 2014 Sicamous municipal election, winning five of six seats on district council, will try to repeat the feat in the upcoming election.

Gord Bushell, Jeff Mallmes, Malcolm Makayev, Colleen Anderson and Todd Kyllo campaigned as a team in the last election.

Bushell said the decision for the whole team to run again is based on a desire to see projects and priorities started in their first term through to completion.

• The fall festival celebrating the mycological marvels that grow in B.C.’s wild woods is returning to Sicamous for another year.

Fungi Fest, which features activities based around wild mushrooms to educate and entertain, will be held in the Sicamous Curling Club Sept. 27 to 30.

The Sicamous Eagles are going into the 2018/19 KIJHL season confident and with a good core of returning players to back it up.

The team’s head coach Rob Fitzpatrick said depending on the number of last year’s Eagles who succeed at their tryouts for Junior A teams, as many as 15 players could be veterans of the previous season.

• A bold plan is in the works to bring more affordable rental housing to Sicamous.

At a public meeting giving residents of the district a chance to discuss the issue of housing affordability, the concept for a project that would bring 20 or more affordable rental housing units to the district was debuted.

The District of Sicamous Development Corporation and the Eagle Valley Seniors Housing Society are partnering on a grant application for a BC Housing program that provides up to $100,000 per unit to build affordable housing developments.

• The Sicamous Eagles kicked off the KIJHL regular season play with a pair of tough losses to the Golden Rockets and the Neilson Leafs on Sept. 7 and 8.

Parkland Dental Centre is up and running in its new location on Main Street in Sicamous.

The new dentist office opened on Sept. 10 after Dr. Bruce Prokopetz moved the business from its old location in the Parkland Shopping Centre.

• Sicamous Mayor Terry Rysz was prepared for a campaign battle that isn’t to be, as no one stepped up to run against him.

Rysz says he’s happy to have the opportunity to serve the community for a second term as mayor.

• A year-and-a-half of organizing meetings, clean-ups, competitions and more, all geared towards revitalizing and beautifying the community, paid off for Deb Heap and the District of Sicamous at the recent B.C. Communities in Bloom Provincial Awards.

During the ceremony held last weekend in Clinton, the district received a 4-Blooms award, which is an improvement over the 3-Blooms it received last year.

• The District of Sicamous may not be getting into farming but it has put in an offer on a berry farm. On Sept. 13, the district announced in a news release that a conditional purchase offer has been accepted on the acquisition of 23 acres of farmland and riverfront property located at 231 Old Town Rd.

“Council has been diligently working on increasing tourism accommodations with the municipal campground initiative since 2015 and this acquisition provides the critical access to both agricultural opportunities and recreational camping facilities,” said Mayor Terry Rysz.

Due to the rain on Sept. 21, Parkview Elementary students limited their running for the Terry Fox Run to the school’s annual corn-shucking relay, held each year in conjunction with the run. As students ran to the corn shucking stations, other students awaiting their turn cheered and danced and helped keep up the momentum.

• The North Fork Bridge replacement project on the Trans-Canada Highway is complete, with the hope of improving safety, capacity and efficiency for people using the highway between Sicamous and Revelstoke.

The new four-lane structure replaces the last remaining truss bridge on the Trans-Canada. The former 59-year-old bridge, crossing the Perry River 28 kilometres east of Sicamous, had two narrow lanes, low clearance and no shoulders.

• An iconic Shuswap sternwheeler finds a new home and is being made shipshape and ready for a return to service by the new owner, Mike Helfrick.

The Phoebe Ann was recently purchased by the Reds Rental owner, who is fixing it up to make it a special part of his Sicamous-based business fleet.



Jim Elliot

About the Author: Jim Elliot

I’m a B.C. transplant here in Whitehorse at The News telling stories about the Yukon's people, environment, and culture.
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