Hundreds of Osoyoos residents made their way to the Sun Bowl Arena on Monday, Jan. 30 for the final push to have Osoyoos declared CBC Kraft Hockeyville. It is now up to residents to visit the Hockeyville website and vote for Osoyoos before the finalists are declared. Osoyoos was in first place in the Pacific region of B.C. as of Tuesday morning. Photo by Mathew White

Hundreds of Osoyoosites made their way to the Sun Bowl Arena Monday night for the final push to have Osoyoos declared CBC Kraft Hockeyville.

“This is the final push to get in the finals, which I’m sure we will,” said Cathy Martins, a local hockey fanatic who has been leading Osoyoos through this Hockeyville journey.  “Now everybody’s got to vote, vote, vote like crazy to get us to win the $100,000.”

“It’s exciting and I’m so glad everybody has been so supportive in the past week.”

A large crowd of over 200 local residents showed up at the arena Monday evening for a group photo and video shoot, which will be uploaded to the Kraft Hockeyville website, before contest organizers decide which communities across the country are moving on to the finals.

Even if Osoyoos doesn’t win the grand prize of $100,000 to upgrade the Sun Bowl Arena and the pre-season NHL game, Martins said just making it to the finals will guarantee the arena a $25,000 upgrade.

Decked out from head to toe in his Osoyoos Coyotes gear, Councillor Mike Plante said it’s wonderful to see the community come together like this.

“You can see it right here, this is something we can take pride in as a community,” said Plante.  “All the people that come out here from our community, you can see they want to support this team and support this arena.

“To see this turn out, I can tell you right now that Cathy Martins, we have to give her a lot of props for actually starting this and we can now see the town starting to support this idea too and we can be Hockeyville.  We can make this happen.”

January 31 was the deadline for submissions to the Hockeyville contest and now it’s up to people to go to the website and vote for Osoyoos to be in the finals.

Martins said the voting lasts roughly two weeks before the finalists are decided.

As of press time Tuesday morning, Osoyoos remained in first place for the pacific region.  The Kraft Hockeyville website can be found at http://krafthockeyville.cbc.ca/.

These are exciting times in the Adams family home here in Osoyoos as parents Justin and Chantelle prepare for their April trip to Kenya, where they and son Teagan (third child from left) will help build a school. Teagan and his siblings, from left, Serenity, 4, Tanner, 5, and Tate, 8, have been raising funds for this special project since last summer. Photo by Keith Lacey

What started out with two dollars and a dream is close to becoming reality as young Teagan Adams from Osoyoos and his parents Chantelle and Justin are only weeks away from embarking on the trip of a lifetime to help school children in Africa.

Eight months ago, Teagan’s parents gave Teagan, 9,  and his brother Tate, 8, two dollars each and asked them “to use their imagination and creativity” to try and raise money to help a worthy cause, said Chantelle.

“I gave them each a couple of dollars and told them to take that money and come up with their own creative ideas … the only thing we had in mind was for the money to be used to try and help others who might be less fortunate,” she said. “We didn’t say how they could raise the money or for what as we left that up to them.”

A couple of weeks later, Chantelle and her husband were reading  about Free the Children, the renowned organization dedicated to helping eradicate poverty in the Third World, and that organization’s commitment to building schools in Africa.

After a “family discussion”, Teagan and Tate decided any money they raised would go towards helping build a new school in Kenya.

The Adams boys then went to work as Teagan opened his own lemonade stand at Osoyoos Elementary School, while Tate hosted a couple of magic shows for friends and neighbours.

They also collected bottles for a bottle drive, with help from their siblings Tanner, 5, and Serenity, 4, making the fundraising efforts truly a family affair.

“I’m very proud of all of my kids for getting involved,” she said. “Teagan and Tate have done a lot of the work, but the two younger ones wanted to get involved too and really helped out during the bottle drive.”

She and her husband have tried to instill the need to help others in their children from a very young age and obviously the message has gotten through.

“We’ve tried to teach them that we’re very lucky here in Canada, but there are other people who aren’t as fortunate,” she said.  “The good news is they get it and know how lucky they are … and they really do want to help others who don’t have what they have.”

Teagan was all smiles when he informed the board of trustees with School District 53 last Wednesday night that he and his brother have raised over $2,200 since June.

“I like pizza, reading, playing guitar, making Legos, and, of course, changing the world,” said Teagan, who said he was nervous, but certainly didn’t show it during his presentation to district trustees and administration.

With a substantial amount of money now raised, Teagan’s plan is to approach elementary school teachers across the school district in the next couple of weeks, said his proud mother.

“What we’ve decided to do is have Teagan give $100 to as many classrooms as he can throughout the district,” she said. “We hope that students in each class will want to get involved and can help raise additional money. If it goes like we hope it will, we think we can take the money already raised and increase that substantially by getting other school children involved. Hopefully we will have raised enough build one or two schools when we visit Kenya in April.”

Two teachers from Osoyoos Elementary School have already jumped on board and accepted Teagan’s $100 donation and are planning fundraising events and she expects similar reaction from other teachers in the next few weeks, said Chantelle.

“So far we have two classrooms involved and the reaction has been great, now we need another 18 or 20 teachers who want to get their classrooms involved.”

While it’s difficult to comprehend for many, a new one-room school can be built for less than $10,000 in Kenya, she said.

“That’s enough to have bricks, a nice roof and windows,” she said. “These are small, one-classroom schools, but they’re very nice and much better than what they’ve been forced to use.”

Being able to travel to Africa “has been a dream of mine since I was a young girl” and being able to travel there with her husband and young son to help a worthy cause is a dream come true, she said.

“To think we’re only a few weeks from actually going over there to help build a school is very exciting,” she said. “I hope one day to be able to bring all of my children over to Africa to work on another project, but they’re too young for that right now.  Teagan is a very mature little guy and I know he’s ready to take this on now.”

Teagan said he’s enjoyed being an entrepreneur with his brother and very much looks forward to raising more money before travelling to Kenya in April.

“We’ve had a lot of good times,” he said.

While many kids his age worship professional athletes and musicians, Teagan said his hero is Craig Kielburger, the founder of Free the Children.

By conducting research about child poverty in Africa and Free the Children, Teagan and his mother also read about  the Early Entrepreneur Experiment, headed up by British Columbia teacher Taylor Gordon.

Gordon’s company came up with the concept of taking a small amount of money and donating it to teachers and students and asking them to get involved in their own fundraising ventures.

With a $100 donation by his organization to several classrooms in B.C., students, with support from their parents, quickly raised $17,000 or enough to build almost two schools in a matter of weeks.

After seeing his presentation online, Chantelle contacted Gordon and that’s how she came up with the idea to take the money her sons have already raised and and donate it to get other school children involved.

Teagan and his mom received a nice round of applause from school board trustees and administration following their presentation.

Justin Adams said he couldn’t be prouder of his kids and wife for their hard work and dedication and trying to make a difference to helping other children half a world away in Africa.

“I can’t keep up to them, but I try my best,” he said smiling.

Teagan and his parents will be spending 10 days in Kenya and plan on recording everything so they can encourage others to get involved in future projects once they return to Canada.

“This is about helping my people,” said Louie, following a presentation to town council Monday about the OIB’s plan to own and operate, with assistance for Correctional Service of Canada (CSC) a five-room halfway house proposed for 45 Street heading towards the Spirit Ridge resort. “Talk is cheap, we can’t say we want to help our people, but say not here in my backyard.

“It’s easy for people to say they want Grade A furniture in their homes, but they don’t want foresty in their backyard. Everyone has tons of stuff in their home made out of metal, but most don’t want mining in their backyard. I want to help my people and I’m prepared to do it here in my backyard.”

Louie made a brief presentation before council about why the OIB wants to get involved, before Melissa Taylor, project manager for aboriginal offenders and Lorrie Kelsey, area director, answered numerous questions from councillors about the halfway house called NK’Mip House.

NK’Mip House, as proposed, would be a five-bedroom home that would host conditionally released, aboriginal male federal and provincial offenders.

No offenders with any convictions for sex-related offences will be eligible for residency at the proposed halfway house in Osoyoos.

In keeping with the values of the OIB, employment and pride in aboriginal heritage are the cornerstones of the program, Louie told council.

Louie participated in a Blue Ribbon Panel, which conducted an independent review of the CSC. It’s through this exposure with CSC, that the OIB became interested in developing a housing and employment program for aboriginal offenders to help them with the reintegration by instilling the values of hard work and pride in aboriginal heritage, that have been the foundation for the success of the people of the Osoyoos Indian Band for decades, Louie told council.

Every resident accepted into the program would be responsible for contributing to the functioning of the household and to secure gainful employment on or off the reserve, he said. They would be charged $500 a month and be responsible for cleaning their room and household cleaning.

NK’Mip House would be run by a house leader who works full-time hours within the house, said Taylor. The house leader would play a significant role in creating a “home like atmosphere”, while also providing structures and rules for co-operative living, said Taylor. The house leader would also assist residents in obtaining employment after their admission to the house.

Entry level positions will be available for those with little job skills or training. For residents who possess job ready skills, an effort will be made to put them in a position that will match their skill set and allow for professional growth, she said.

The OIB would be responsible for owning the house and operating it, but would work in a close partnership with CSC staff, who run similar programs throughout B.C., including successful halfway houses in Kelowna and Kamloops, said Taylor.

1996, The Canadian Government commissioned an investigation on the government policy with respect to the historical nations of this country. The Co-chair of the Royal Commission on Aboriginal Peoples is famously quoted as saying; “The legacy of Canada’s Treatment of aboriginal people is one of waste, wasted potential, wasted money and wasted lives,” Taylor told council during her presentation.

Problems in Aboriginal Communities were related in large part to the intentional movement by the government to assimilate aboriginal people into society by requiring them to abandon their language, culture and heritage, she said.

Assimilation policies have done great damage, leaving a legacy of brokenness affecting aboriginal individuals, families and communities.

It concluded that “the justice system had failed Aboriginal peoples” and the key indicator of this failure was the steadily increasing over-representation of aboriginal people in Canadian penitentiaries and prisons, Taylor said.

Aboriginal Peoples make up about four per cent of Canadian society, however, they comprise about 20 per cent of the prison population.

The Commission stated all Canadians need to have a greater recognition and understanding of aboriginal community issues as well as aboriginal cultures and traditions, she said.

“We must ask ourselves as Canadians, what is our collective and individual responsibility when it comes to helping aboriginal communities, families and individuals to continue to heal from the damage that was done through these government policies?” she asked.

Taylor is hopeful local residents show up in large numbers to get questions answered and have a better idea of the facility during a public open house set for Tuesday, Feb. 14 from 4:30 - 6:30 p.m. at 7851 45 Street.

Weekend staff members would work four hours each day on the weekend and would check in regularly with residents and assist them to engage in social and recreational activities that promote healthy integration into the community, Taylor said.,

A private security company would also be hired to conduct regular checkups at the house as detailed in CSC protocol, including overnight checks, she said.

A high-tech security system, including numerous alarms and cameras, will also monitor when residents are there and ensure they are following house rules and protocol, she said.

If a resident tries to sneak out or isn’t where he is supposed to be, parole officers and authorities will be contacted and appropriate action will be taken, she said.

An Elder will be selected to work with residents and provided one-on-one counselling and support and will offer the opportunity to take part in cultural, spiritual and social activities available on the OIB reserve, including psychological and drug and alcohol counselling, sweat lodges, drumming classes, fishing, hunting, community events and language classes, she said.

Each resident will be supervised by his parole officer and will be able to access CSC programming as well, said Taylor. An aboriginal liaison officer will be closely involved with the residents and serve as an additional member of the case management team.

Each resident will be monitored regularly with respect to their progress as well as potential risk, said Taylor.

A close working relationship between CSC, the house leader, OIB chief and counsel will ensure residents meet the expectations set out by the parole board, said Taylor.

Once an offender who is interested in living at NK’Mip House approaches a eligibility date for release, an institutional parole officer will send a request to the Kelowna office requesting a community strategy be completed by a community parole officer.

A screening committee, made up of CSC staff, community members and key stakeholders will have an opportunity to screen the cases and determine if they are prepared to accept the offender into the halfway house.

A community assessment and strategy outlining the acceptance and expectations of the offender are then detailed.

Members of the screening committee will include numerous professionals from CSS, parole officers, psychologist, mental health nurse, police liaison, aboriginal community liaison officer and member at large from the public.

Staff hired will have to be aboriginal and fully qualified to meet the various job descriptions available, said Taylor. In the event a qualified aboriginal person does not express an interest in these positions, successful candidates would receive appropriate cultural and spiritual training in order to ensure the aboriginal integrity of the house and program is fulfilled, said Kelsey.

Offenders accepted into the program must adhere to a very strict set of rules and if they breach, they will be asked to leave or returned to prison if they commit any further offence, said Taylor.

“They can’t be 10 minutes late from being where they said they would be or we’ll make a call to the national office in Ottawa,” she said. “If a resident decides to sneak out for a couple of beers, they will be caught on camera. We will know what they are doing because of the cameras and monitoring systems.”

All offenders being sent to a halfway house are clearly informed they must abide by very strict rules and if they break the rules, police are contacted immediately, said Taylor.

Coun. Michael Ryan said most of the questions he wanted answered were answered during the presentation and he’s hopeful the community at large will support the program.

“I find this a very exciting program and I certainly know a lot more about it now than I did before this meeting,” he said.

Coun. Sue McKortoff agreed.

“You have answered most of the concerns I cared about and you have nothing to hide and the whole approach is very transparent … there are a lot of things I learned today,” she said.

Mayor Stu Wells said the fact a standing committee of seasoned professionals, including a member of the public, will determine who is selected for residency, is very important as is the fact no sex offenders would be considered.

It’s up to the OIB and CSC to engage in public discussions and perhaps some advertising to answer public concerns and ensure this halfway house can be successful for the residents and community at large, said Wells.

Coun. Michael Plante suggested CSC bring a successfully rehabilitated former offender who has gone through a similar program to meet members of the public during an upcoming open house on Feb. 14 at the proposed site.

Chief Clarence Louie, who has earned the distinction of being one of the most respected First Nations leaders in Canada, made a presentation to Town of Osoyoos councillors Monday afternoon detailing his vision for NK’Mip House, which would be located on 45^th Street heading up the mountain towards the Spirit Ridge housing development owned by OIB.

Louie was accompanied by Correctional Services Canada staff members Melissa Taylor, a regional director for aboriginal affairs, and area director Lorrie Kelsey, who answered all the tough questions presented by councillors.

First and foremost, Louie, Taylor and Kelsey made it very clear there are numerous similar halfway houses for aboriginal offenders spread across Canada, including residences in Kelowna and Kamloops, and the vast majority of them have operated quietly and successfully and become part of their respective communities.

The whole idea of the program is to allow aboriginal offenders who meet a strict set of criteria to attempt to integrate back into the community and society in general.

Those who would qualify to live at NK’ MIp House would have to find work, either the OIB or on their own.

A selection committee made up of professionals, including CSC staff, veteran social workers and at least one member of the public, would be in charge of selecting who qualifies to live at the halfway house.

As Osoyoos Mayor Stu Wells pointed out, having this qualified selection committee in place and not allowing any registered sex offenders to be considered for the program, should quell the concerns of many residents.

Those selected to live in the halfway house will be encouraged to enroll in native counselling and spirituality programming and will have to answer to a qualified house leader and native Elder, who will be available to guide them and provide assistance.

Those residents who will be selected must agree to abide by a strict code of conduct and adhere to strict rules and regulations and if they refuse to play by the rules, those running the program will be able to take quick and appropriate action to have them removed and/or to contact the authorities.

There will be security cameras in place to ensure the residents are where they are supposed to be and a number of other checks and balances in place to ensure residents are abiding by the rules and doing their part to continue their rehabilitation.

As Louie said following the presentation to council, it’s very easy for people to say “not in my backyard” when it comes to programs like this.

The reality is more than 20 per cent of the prison population in Canada is made up of aboriginal offenders and many of them need a place to go and support programs in place to help them return to society peacefully and productively.

Hundreds of other halfway houses like this one are operating without any problems at all across this great country and there’s no reason NK’MIp House can’t become another success story associated with the Osoyoos Indian Band.

Anyone who has questions or concerns should show up at the open house scheduled for Tuesday, Feb. 14 to see more of what is being offered and exactly how the halfway house will operate.

Jill Price (left), Justin Price (centre) and Ezra Cremers stand together after the South Okanagan Youth Soccer Association's town meeting last week. SOYSA held a town meeting to introduce residents to this year's improved program, new staff, and finally, to allow people to get a jump on early registration. Photo by Mathew White

A quick look outside will tell you that you would have to be crazy to be thinking about playing soccer at this time of the year.

But that certainly wasn’t the feeling at the Sonora Community Centre last Tuesday night as more than 30 people came out of the cold for the South Okanagan Youth Soccer Association’s (SOYSA) town meeting.

“Osoyoos is a community that’s had a soccer tradition since the ’50s,” said Steve Coates, operations manager with SOYSA.

The town meeting was used as a way to introduce the community to the new SOYSA program and staff, and at the same time, give people a chance to register for the spring and winter programs.

Ezra Cramers, new head coach and executive director of SOYSA, spoke with enthusiasm as he walked the crowd through some of the improvements being made to this year’s program.

“The days of here are some balls and cones are over,” said Cremers.

In total, 10 different areas have been improved this season, including new local and regional staff, improved coaching programs, a new SOYSA website, the new winter program, consistent game times, regional investments and referee training.

“This year is going to be very different from the past,” said Cremers.  “The possibilities are endless.”

Of all the different changes being made this year, an important one to note is the introduction of the new winter program, he said.

Cremers said living on the coast, he was used to playing soccer up to 10 months out of the year. But in Osoyoos, without the luxury of mild winters and indoor facilities, soccer fanatics are limited to six months a year and that’s something he wants to change.

SOYSA will be hosting three different, six-week soccer programs in Osoyoos (U5-7, U8-10 and U11-14) beginning February 10.

Another exciting addition to this year’s program is the fact SOYSA now has a small budget to hire local head coaches who can work within the community on a regular basis.

For the past three years, Jill and Justin Price have volunteered to coach Osoyoos’ teams, but this year they will be doing it officially, and with more than 40 years of soccer experience between the two of them, Osoyoos couldn’t have asked for two better coaches.

“We love the game,” said Jill. “It’s our passion.”

With soccer now sitting as the number one youth sport in Canada in terms of participation, Jill and Justin agreed there’s no reason there shouldn’t be a full roster this year.

And for those who are thinking soccer may be slightly out of budget, SOYSA has a program in place (provided by Canadian Tire and KidSport) to help anyone less fortunate get on the field and have a good time.

“We just want children to come out and play and with a program like this we’re able to get those funds in for them,” said Justin. “They’ll work around anything to help get those children out there.”

“We’d love to see every kid in the community playing soccer,” added Jill.

Despite the fact  a number of improvements have been made this season, registration fees have not changed.

Before February 7 there is an early-bird discount for registration with U5-10 costing $140 and U11-18 running at $150.

After February 7, those prices will each increase by $25 each until February 28, at which time they will once again increase by another $10 per age category.

SOYSA is hosting two more registration sessions at the Sonora Community Centre before February 7.  They will run on January 23 and 27 from 3-6 p.m., respectively.

Anyone looking for more information on registration or SOYSA can visit the SOYSA website at www.soysa.net or email the operations manager at steve@soysa.net.

Hopefully, the heavy traffic congestion that accumulates along Main Street on “Motel Road” on the east side of the bridge will ease substantially now that Town of Osoyoos council has voted unanimously in favour of installing a new traffic light and crosswalk at the intersection of Hwy. 3 and Cottonwood Drive.

During a special meeting of council on Monday, council made the wise decision to spend $165,000 - or half the costs - of the $330,000 project, which is expected to begin construction sometime in February after the construction contract is awarded in the next couple of weeks.

Jeff Wiseman, operations manager for the area with the Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure, told council the project will allow for easy access to Hwy. 3 (Main Street on that section of road) from numerous nearby side streets, particularly Cottonwood Drive.

The way things have been for the past many years, it was almost impossible to access the highway during many parts of the day during the busy tourist season here in Osoyoos.

Electronic sensors will be installed under the pavement to signal when oncoming traffic is approaching Main Street from nearby side streets, which will then turn the new traffic light amber and allow for easy access to the busy thoroughfare.

There is no need to install a dedicated left turning lane off Main Street onto side streets at the current time and the ministry doesn’t anticipate that is going to change any time in the next decade or so, said Wiseman.

The bottom line is Main Street is going to remain extremely busy during the spring, summer and fall months, but the new traffic lights and crosswalk will allow for many residents to no longer have to wait  for long periods of time to access the town’s busiest thoroughfare.

This is money well spent on a project that is going to benefit many residents of this community for many years to come.

Council also announced Monday final plans are being put in place to installed a pedestrian-activated flashing signal light at the corner of 62 Avenue and Hwy. 97. The town has already paid $10,000 in engineering fees towards the project, with the province on the hook for the entire costs of installation of the new lighting system.

Wiseman said he expects to present full details on this project to councillors in the next few weeks.

Another ancillary benefit of having a new traffic light installed along this section of Main Street is it should ensure traffic slows down the street isn’t packed with motor vehicles. Drivers tend to naturally slow down when they know the green light they see ahead might suddenly turn amber or red.

Kudos to council for fast-tracking this project to ensure the entire project will be completed before the end of March, only weeks before hundreds and hundreds of tourists start flocking to Osoyoos on a regular basis.

A week after submitting the official entry letter and photos to the Hockeyville website to enter Osoyoos into the wildly-popular national contest, sponsored by Kraft and CBC, Martins is very happy Osoyoos, as of Tuesday morning, was in third place in the Pacific region for B.C.

“We’re off to a great start, but we need tons more of support if we’re going to achieve our goal,” said Martins, an avid hockey fan and longtime supporter of Jr. B hockey  in Osoyoos for most of the past 20 years.

Next Monday evening, Martins is urging all community members who are supporting her Hockeyville campaign to show up at the Sun Bowl Arena for a “community spirit picture”, where photos will be taken and a video shot to submit to the contest.

“I want people to show up for a group picture showing off our community spirit, so we want them to wear hockey jerseys or hockey gear or their Coyotes jerseys,”  she said. “We will have minor hockey teams there and members of the Osoyoos Coyotes will be there. I have a young guy lined up to shoot a video for the whole event and we’ll submit that to the contest.”

Martins is also lining up numerous members of town council to participate.

Everyone is urged to show up Monday between 7 and 7:30 p.m.

While dozens of people have pressed “like” on the town’s Facebook site designed for the Hockeyville contest, that doesn’t count as an official entry into the contest, said Martins.

“You have to officially sign into the Kraft Hockeyville website and send a submission,” she said. “The local response has been very good for only being registered for one week and we’re in third place, but we need a lot more people to sign up.”

Martins, a local supply teacher, has continued to lead the way as she sent in another detailed letter about her love of hockey on Monday, as well as another half dozen photos, bringing the total number of photos she’s submitted to the contest to almost 50.

“I’m quite fine with leading the way, but I’m asking everyone in the community to get involved,” she said. “People have until Jan. 31 to send in letters and pictures and then it will be announced which communities will be in the finals to be Hockeyville.

“Once we reach that stage, then we’ll really get things going because then we need the entire community behind this.”

Osoyoos was in second place for the first several days after she entered the contest, behind Campbell River, but fell to third place in the Pacific region following a surge by supporters in West Kelowna, Martins said.

“We’ve got one more week for people to get involved, so I’m really hoping they will,” she said.

All entries can be submitted to www.krafthockeyville.ca

The Osoyoos entry can be found under the Sun Bowl Arena.

The winning community in the Kraft Hockeyville contest receives a $100,000 upgrade to its local arena as well as the honour of hosting an NHL pre-season game.

For more information, contact Martins at 250-495-7274 or by email at cathymar@telus.net

The recent cold snap to hit the South Okanagan has allowed a number of local wineries in the Osoyoos area to pick the remainder of their grapes for the annual ice wine harveset. Photo Supplied

While most people have been cursing old man winter lately, a few local wineries have been praising the recent Arctic blast as it has finally allowed them to pick the remainder of their grapes for the annual ice wine harvest.
“It’s good. It was good quality [this year],” said Sandra Oldfield, CEO and wine maker with the Tinhorn Creek Vineyards in Oliver. “Everything was late this year with the harvest, but our grapes were actually in really great shape. We had no rot, which is rare, the grapes were still hanging on their wines, they hadn’t started falling on the ground, so it was very clean fruit.”
Lindsay White, marketing co-ordinator with Tinhorn Creek, said this year’s grapes were picked on the morning of January 12 when temperatures dropped to roughly -11 Celsius (in order for the grapes to be harvested, it must be at least -8 Celsius.)
White said it took roughly 90 minutes to complete the harvest, with resulted in about 3.6 tons of grapes or roughly 550 cases of ice wine.
Oldfield said the winery wasn’t really affected by the late harvest. She said the grapes were actually late ripening, so although they weren’t able to pick the grapes until January, they looked and felt like it was November, making for a great harvest.
“From our standpoint, it was better quality then we’ve seen in a lot of years,” said Oldfield.
While some wineries specialize in more than one type of ice wine, Tinhorn Creek only produces wine using the Kerner grape, which Oldfield says is a unique variety because it’s a cross with the Riesling grape, which tends to give it more of an apple and pear flavour as opposed to an apricot flavour.
Blank said the ice wine should be ready for sale sometime in July, with a 200 millilitre bottle being sold for $29.99.
Just a few minutes up the road, the Gehringer Brothers Winery also managed to complete their ice wine harvest, however, according to wine maker Walter Gehringer, it wasn’t nearly as smooth.
“We’re down on volume because of the late hang,” said Gehringer. “Our picking date was a little bit later for sure.”
Gehringer said they harvested their grapes on January 11, when temperatures sat around -10 Celsius. In total, he said it took about five hours, and while he did not want to disclose the amount of grapes picked, he said this year’s volume will only be about 40 per cent of what they expected.
“Because they froze and thawed, froze and thawed, you’re getting cell structure rupturing, and through that you’re getting desiccation happening, like evaporation, so we lost some volume that way,” said Gehringer.
Leading up to the harvest, Gehringer admitted there were some anxious times around the office as they waited for the temperature to dip far.
“You’re spending a lot of sleepless nights watching your thermometer,” said Gehringer.
But despite the stress, the co-ordination and massive commitment it takes to produce ice wine annually, Gehringer said it’s well worth it.
The complete difference shown in the flavours of wine simply because the grapes are frozen is amazing, he said.
“Freezing isn’t a new science and we all do it every day in our freezers, but it is quite amazing, the taste profile of the grape juice and the resulting wine from that process,” said Gehringer.
Unlike Tinhorn Creek, the Gehringer Brothers produce three different types of ice wine - Riesling, Minus 9 Ehrenfelser and Cabernet Franc.
“All three are looking pretty good at this point,” said Gehringer. “We’re just starting fermentation, so it’s a little premature to suggest what we know is going to come out on flavours.”
Gehringer said he expects the ice wine to be ready by April-May, with 375 ml bottles going for roughly $50 each.
In total, 27 wineries across British Columbia indicated they would be taking part in the ice wine harvest this year, producing a record 873 tons.

“We’re thrilled,” said Greg Norton, spokesman for the Grassland Park Review Coalition, which has opposed the proposed national park since discussions of a feasibility study were first introduced by Parks Canada more than eight years ago.  ”Our issues have been blatantly ignored and rejected by Parks Canada since the beginning of this process, yet the provincial government has finally seen the light and made the correct decision to withdraw its support for the park.

“The fact Parks Canada has steadfastly refused to listen to the legitimate concerns of the people who live here and wanted their concerns addressed has, in my opinion, swayed a great many people.”

Doug Brown, president of the Oliver/Osoyoos Naturalist Club, and Dick Cannings, an outspoken and well-respected environmentalist from Penticton, said they remain in shock the province has, without notice, announced its decision to withdraw support for the park, which would run from the American border West of Osoyoos and wind throughout large tracts of the south Okanagan heading towards Mount Kobau.

Brown said no reason has been given by the province for withdrawing its support, which is “deeply frustrating” after eight years of negotiations by stakeholders.

“I’m not sure why they did it and there has been no reason why they have come to their decision,” he said. “They just said they are withdrawing their support at this time.”

Those is favour of the park “far outweigh” those opposed as a recent public opinion poll and numerous surveys  conclude more than 60 per cent of residents in the affected area are favour building a national park, which makes the government’s decision hard to digest, said Brown.

Norton disagrees saying all public opinion polls and surveys have been heavily swayed by “people who aren’t truly affected” from cities like Penticton and Kelowna and largely ignored the majority of residents who live and work in or near the park’s proposed boundaries - the majority who remain opposed.

Brown insists the government and public at large “has been lied to by the no people … lied to about the threat of expropriation of land, which has never been discussed, and greatly influenced by people unwilling to acknowledge the vast majority of people are in favour of this park.”

Brown insists a powerful lobby by hunters and ATV operators has influenced the government to withdraw its support.

Norton said any suggestions make him extremely upset.

“You know that really bothers me,” he said. “One must never forget the people leading the way for this park are corporate environmentalists from Vancouver and they have their locals here willing to spread their message. Blaming it all on the hunters and ATVers is all part of their convenient strategy.

“Go into any fire hall in B.C. or any search and rescue organization and you will find most people there hunt and enjoy the outdoors. The reality is in rural B.C., business owners and doctors and lawyers and orchardists love to hunt. This campaign to smear these people is attacking the very fibre of our communities. They’re trying to vilify an entire group of people for no good reason and it has backfired.”

Brown said it’s now up to people who support the national park to write their local MLA and premier Christy Clark to voice their disappointment and make it clear this fight is far from over.

The south Okanagan “is home to more endangered species than anywhere else in Canada” and building a national park would ensure dozens of species would be protected, said Brown.

There’s no protection in place through legislation for these species and so few staff to manage environmental resources the problem is only going to get worse unless a park is built, he said.

Cannings, who has been a vocal environmentalist for more than three decades, agreed saying he’s flabbergasted the province would withdraw its support without giving any reasons after eight years of negotiations.

“No one seems to know why they made this decision, which is very frustrating,” he said. “Considering the majority of people are in favour of the park, this decision came out of the blue and on the face of it, really doesn’t seem to make any sense.”

The government’s withdrawal of its support “clearly comes down to politics” as nothing else makes sense considering local MLA and former Osoyoos mayor John Slater has long supported building the park, but has suddenly had a change of heart, he said.

“He’s obviously been told to tow the party line,” he said.

Slater could not be reached for comment as of Tuesday’s press deadline.

There are numerous reasons he supports a national park, but at the top of his list is the fact several  hundred badly-needed jobs would be created, said Cannings.

“Jobs are scarce and these would be good, clean, long-term jobs,” he said.

Cannings believes most of those opposed to the park “have been fed false information” by a small, but vocal and influential group leading the opposition.

The province’s withdrawal of support comes at a curious time, said Cannings, considering  tentative agreements have been reached to appease the many concerns of local native bands and majority of ranchers in the affected boundaries of the park, said Cannings.

“Just when several outstanding issues were finally getting resolved, the province pulls the plug, which baffles me after eight years of hard slogging,” he said. “If it wasn’t so serious, it would truly be funny.”

Cannings said the province’s withdrawal of support doesn’t mean this issue is dead and finished.

“The reality is there is a huge amount of support out there for this park,” he said. “This is far from over and all of us who realize the benefits are going to have to work very hard to have this decision overturned.

“I really thought facts and logic would carry the day, but obviously politics got in the way. Businesses in general … hotel owners, restaurants, wineries, are all in favour realizing the economic impact will be significant. But these people have been essentially afraid to speak out and have been muzzled by opponents who continue to spread the message most people in this area are against the park, which is blatantly false.”

Norton, who said he has great respect for Brown and Cannings and their passion for the environment, disagrees with pretty much all of the arguments they presented in favour of the national park.

Norton said he became involved because his orchard, home and private property are located very close to park boundaries and he’s concerned about the potential of forest fires threatening his land and safety if a national park were opened.

For the yes side to suggest the majority of ranchers in the area have been appeased and are now in favour of the park “is simply untrue” as he speaks to these people every day and the vast majority want nothing to do with the park, he said.

“Anyone I know with tenure has only fear and uncertainty,” he said. “To suggest these ranchers are in favour, is not true. They have deep concerns. Tenure holders are not comfortable at all with Parks Canada as they have been ignored throughout this process from day one.”

Opening a national park would increase bear populations and threaten numerous fruit growers in the area, the forestry sector, while not large, would be adversely affected and numerous mining claims that have been filed in the affected boundaries would have to be settled at the cost of tens of millions of dollars, said Norton.

“These are all legitimate concerns that have been basically ignored,” he said.

The fact thousands of acres of land would no longer be available for hunting and motorized recreation activity is also a concern, but nowhere near as important as park proponents lead the public to believe, he said.

After more than 40 years serving his community as a conservationist, member of the Regional District of Okanagan Similkameen and a businessman, Norton said he’s never seen such a concerted effort by interest groups in favour of this park to mislead the public.

“Most of what they’re telling people is just not true and that’s the problem,” he said. “The province’s land management plans in the south Okanagan have basically been put on hold for nine years and that’s a crying shame because we could have been working together to improve the quality of life for everyone here.”

Another key element those in favour have failed to divulge is Parks Canada doesn’t have ” a red penny” to spend on land acquisition to purchase land from ranchers or property owners.

“Where is the money,?” he asked. “They don’t have any money. Why spend millions and millions of dollars to open a park with very little economic benefit. I’ve talked to friends working in Jasper and they’re working with a fleet of vehicles 12 years old because the cupboard is dry. The reality is national parks don’t make any money and provide very little economic benefit.”

Many opposed to the park are staunch environmentalists as well and would be open to meeting in the future with all stakeholders to work out a detailed long-term plan to protect wildlife habitat, while allowing outdoor enthusiasts and ranchers to maintain their property rights, said Norton.

He doesn’t believe the province is going to change its mind on this issue as it’s clear they have listened to all stakeholders before making the decision to withdraw support, said Norton.

Town of Osoyoos council has voted to spend $165,000 or half of the $330,000 price tag to install a new traffic light and crosswalk at the intersection of Cottonwood Drive and Hwy. 3 in Osoyoos. The project is scheduled to be completed by the end of March. Photo by Keith Lacey

Town of Osoyoos council has approved spending half of the $330,000 costs to install a new traffic light at the intersection of Cottonwood Drive and Hwy. 3, which will enable traffic from side streets to enter the highway during high volume summer periods.

At a special meeting of council on Monday, councillors voted unanimously in favour of spending $165,00 (HST not included) as part of a 50/50 cost sharing project with the province’s Ministry of Transportation to erect a new set of traffic lights and build a crosswalk at Cottonwood and Hwy. 3.

The project will be put out to tender this week and construction is expected to be fully completed by the end of March, said Jeff Wiseman, operations manager with the Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure’s Okanagan-Shuswap district.

Barry Romanko, the town’s Chief Administrative Officer, said council has been in discussions with the ministry of transportation on several improvement projects within town boundaries for several years and new traffic lights at this intersection has become a top priority.

Council agreed to fund the project by taking $42,000 from a road development fund and the remaining $124,000 from reserves.

Councillors also tentatively approved the installation of a new pedestrian-activated flowing amber light allowing people to more easily cross 62^nd Avenue at Hwy. 97. The province will pay the entire costs of this project as the town has already spent $10,000 on engineering fees. Final details on this project have yet to be finalized or approved by council.

During the peak spring, summer and falls months, Hwy. 3 can often be difficult to access off of several side streets in the area and construction the new traffic lights will allow for easy access, particularly from Cottonwood, Wiseman told council.

Traffic flow will be maintained on Hwy. 3 as underground electrical sensors will only activated when vehicles from side streets approach the intersection to gain access to the highway, he said.

“Operation of this signal will be fairly simple,” he said.

The ministry has technology in place allowing for the adjustment of the new traffic signal based on time of day, time of week and even seasonally, he said.

“It’s amazing today what they can do with traffic signals,” he said.

A study done by the ministry indicates there will be 20 per cent traffic growth in Osoyoos over the next few years, but the same study concluded there would not be any need to pay significant dollars to install left hand turning lanes in the Cottonwood Drive area for at least another 10 years and a simple traffic light will ease a  lot of problems during peak summer months, Wiseman said.

There will be minor delays during construction of the traffic light and crosswalk, but single lane options will be available at all times and no delay should last more than 20 minutes during a few of the busiest days of construction, he said.

Construction of the project is expected to begin some time in February once the two-week bidding process wraps up and the contract is awarded.