Archives for May 9, 2020

Seasonal volume forecasts for select watersheds (appended to end of the report) are also
mostly elevated as a result of the seasonal snow pack.

Volume inflow forecasts for the Okanagan system are 127-129% of average and are significantly higher than the overall Okanagan snow basin index.

In contrast, runoff forecasts for the Similkameen River (at Hedley) are at 89-90%, below the snow basin index of 119%.

Typically, 100% of the annual BC snow pack has accumulated by early May as the provincial
snow pack normally peaks in mid-April. Lower elevation snow sites usually start to melt
prior to May 1, while high elevation snow stations can continue to accumulate snow in May
depending on weather conditions.

Warm weather forecasted for this weekend (May 9-10) is  expected to initiate high elevation melt, but it is not expected to substantially increase flows in most rivers. Seasonal temperatures the following week should keep most rivers fairly level.

Mother’s Day

Scenes abound where families get together to honor mother. This is fitting and well-deserved. However, for some women – Mother’s Day approaches with feelings of apprehension or even dread.

Some are struggling with re-surging feelings of grief over infertility or miscarriage.

While some mothers are excitedly expecting a first child, others are struggling with seeing the last child leave home.

While some are rejoicing at family gatherings on this day, others are grieving over a broken relationship with a child they haven’t heard from in years.

A few may even be remembering mother as verbally or physically abusive.

Some are worn out from the strain of boisterous little-ones around all day.

But there is hope. Some of these same women have found ways to offset the dread of enduring such losses. They have devoted themselves to volunteer work with children in need, pursued adoption, offered to help over-burdened young mothers, or accepted their lot and re-directed their energies into positive use of their natural abilities in other ways.

Whatever the circumstances are for you who are not looking forward to Mother’s Day, be encouraged. You can occupy a very important place in your sphere of influence.

We honor you.

Henry Wiebe

Oliver Food Bank has temporarily changed its distribution schedule to every other week
on Wednesday morning, giving double portions to fill the week we are closed.

Dates of operation are posted outside the food bank so you can check there and in the media for changes to this schedule.

Further donations are best given on either Wednesday or Friday mornings between 9 and 11:00 a.m. at the Food Bank on Station Street.

We soon will have need of one or two additional drivers to pick up donations from our local businesses. We have a new panel van generously given to us through a government grant last year, and this greatly aids in this process. If you think you can help with this vital part of our outreach, please contact Jon Kurnik at 250-498-1955.

B.C.’s unemployment rate rose by nearly two-thirds from March to April, Statistics Canada said Friday, with hundreds of thousands of jobs wiped out by the COVID-19 pandemic.

The provincial jobless rate jumped from 7.2 per cent to 11.5 per cent last month, according to the latest Labour Force Survey data.

Addressing the grim numbers late Friday morning, B.C. Finance Minister Carole James confirmed more than 396,500 jobs were lost across the province over the past two months. Just over 264,000 positions were eliminated in April alone.

Those numbers, she said, don’t include the people who were already out of work and stopped looking for a new job.

“Those jobs [numbers] are people. They’re families. They’re businesses,” James said.

Source: CBC May 8th