Archives for May 22, 2020

Making a Difference

What does it take to make a difference in someone else’s life? That is a huge challenge. Last week I wrote about what Jesus did NOT do. This time let’s consider what actions He DID take and why that really made a difference in those same disciples.

He deliberately allowed them to experience life-threatening storms on the lake, failures in trying to help desperate people and the extreme fear of being killed the way He was. In all these situations He remained encouraging. It was part of the curriculum. His ability to deal with crises was unquestioned. This does not mean that He never made negative statements about people’s actions. He called the Pharisees hypocrites.

He showed them overwhelming evidence that He had risen from the dead just as He promised. No matter how unlikely the resurrection seemed, the promise was kept. This lifted them from the depths of doubt and despair to the heights of fully trusting Him with everything.
Although He would physically leave them, by His Spirit He would be present with them and available to everyone on the planet. Physical presence would be much more limiting. This gave them comfort and power.

He gave them a purpose to live for, and even die for. This same Spirit would empower them to undertake challenges far beyond their own abilities. The same disciples who were hiding behind locked doors were transformed into courageous messengers who endured unbelievable persecution and most of them martyrdom. No one will die for something he knows isn’t true.
That is the difference His actions made. We cannot do the same but we can make some difference in someone’s life.

Henry Wiebe

The single detached dwelling at 6569 Lakeside Road has been undergoing construction for the past twenty-five years with the owner residing in the basement without an occupancy permit issued from the Town of Oliver. The owner of the property is Fred Babuik.

The property contains a number of problems, specifically:

• There are several excavations and exposed footings for a garage, retaining wall and
window well. These holes are three to five feet deep and unfenced.
• There is no suitable external access for the house and a four to six-foot drop to the
upstairs entrances at the front, south side and rear of the dwelling.
• There are loose piles of dirt, which pose both a visual nuisance, and a hazard with
the potential for children to be injured on it.
• There are unstable and disorganized piles of construction materials on the property.
• The house and the shed both lack siding. The exterior of the House is exposed house
wrap.

Town staff is concerned that the above conditions create unsafe conditions or constitute a nuisance. For years the Property has been essentially an unfenced construction site.

Permits for construction of both the dwelling and garage have expired, with no permit issued for the shed. Reports completed by the Building Official in November of 2001, June of 2019 and February of 2020 are included as Attachments 3 to 5, providing a background on the ongoing history of the subject property and permits issued to date.

Several letters have been sent to the property owner to try and remedy the unfinished condition of the property. The building official has worked extensively with the property owner over the past two decades trying to complete the permits, with no success. On March 2, 2018, an extension was issued for house permit, which expired on October 7, 2018 (BP 2018-10). On December 31, 2018, a six-month extension was issued for the garage permit, which expired on June 30, 2019. No tickets have been issued to the property owner, given the likelihood that they would end up in collection. Staff is recommending that Council impose a Remedial Action Requirement (RAR) to deal with the current state of the property in order to make it safer and mitigate nuisance conditions. This would give the owner a timeline to get the works complete, and enable the Town or the Town’s contractors to complete the works and add the costs to the property owner’s taxes.

The Town’s Fire Chief has provided comments regarding the dwelling, stating that he “toured the residence at 6569 Lakeside Drive earlier in 2019 and found that this residence is under construction and residents are living in the basement portion that is also incomplete. There appears to be only one stairway out of the basement and this is also not complete. There was a
window in the basement but this was boarded on the inside and had a lot of construction material stacked across the opening outside, the resident said he would open this window. The overall condition of the residence, the amount of construction material and lack of easy access and egress is a serious concern to safety.” Staff has confirmed that the boarded up window has been removed, but note that the lack of emergency egress remains a concern.

Town staff says that many of the hazardous and nuisance conditions can be addressed by the owner constructing proper steps, landings and guardrails to access the building’s entry and exits, completing some of the concrete form work, smoothing the terrain, organizing the piles of construction materials and putting siding on the house.

Staff anticipates that all of the works can be completed within three months with the hiring of
contactors. Each of the required items have been broken down individually and costs have been
estimated, with the total value of $50,000.

The issue discussed by council recently and this is the first concrete report on what can and should be done to remedy the situation.

The Regional District of Okanagan-Similkameen (RDOS) has received funding support from the Ministry of Agriculture to continue coordinating COVID-19 safety precautions at Loose Bay Campground near Oliver, BC.

The $60,000 in funding will help cover costs associated with hiring an RDOS COVID-19 coordinator, cleaning and hygiene measures, as well as printing educational materials and signage. The RDOS shares the Province’s recognition of the importance of providing seasonal accommodations for domestic temporary workers who support farms and tree planting.

“Domestic temporary workers are a designated essential service and they are a crucial and appreciated resource in maintaining part of the food supply system,” says RDOS Chair Karla Kozakevich.

“Providing seasonal accommodations at Loose Bay Campground helps agricultural workers remain safe and available for service.” The RDOS will continue working with the Province, Interior Health, industry representatives, and local elected officials to help prevent the spread of COVID-19.

The RDOS is also in regular communication with the Province to identify ways to minimize the health and safety risks posed by the current practice of open camping in the region. Senior officials from the Ministry of Agriculture will be working with farmers and industry associations to ensure farmers understand their responsibilities as employers to promote community and worker health and safety during this time. Once workers arrive at a safe site, they’re encouraged to stay local and avoid all non-essential travel.

To: Councillor Petra Veintimilla, Town of Oliver – Council

I am asking you to add the request for providing a one time donation of $1,000 to the grad class
of 2020…. not to be used for banners, but for some other form of memorabilia for, the grads.

The “Rockery” picture of the Grad class has been a long standing tradition at SOSS. There are many
things this grad class will not get to experience as a result of Covid 19, and the Rockery Picture is one of them. I have been working with the photographer in charge of grad photos, etc. and we think we have developed plan that will produce a “Rockery” picture.

It will be extremely labour intensive as grads will be photographed individually, then photo shopped into a Rockery picture that we hope will resemble the traditional one. Due to the amount of, time required to produce this product, the cost is quite significant. If the town were to contribute a one time donation to the grads, they would receive an 8×10 Rockery picture that would go a long way to keeping tradition going and to provide them with something memorable in these trying times.

I look forward to your support.

Rod Kitt
SD#53 Career Education Coordinator

Will you wear a mask? Three answers possible

all the time

never

sometimes

at grocery stores

at all stores

in the open air

at home

driving your car

comments – poll and this advisory are not aligned and designed to get you to answer the poll

 

As we turn a corner on the Pandemic – let us all (especially the media) do stories on the systems coming back online – next Monday,  then June 1st and even a School Graduation June 24th.

With caution we open up, with plans and new procedures evident to customers.

But lets shut off the fear game.

A constant pressure to find something negative to “blow up”…..

If we in BC have flattened the curve – let us think positive that a “new normal” can be attained and maintained.

I am watching less of mainstream media – it is too depressing – new stats, colourful graphs, more stories about how bad it is.

And the daily announcements of more money (on loan) being distributed when the plan should be to open the economy – with more people working not just receiving a cheque.

No one can ease the pain of death – if a senior member of your family  has passed away.

To the best of my knowledge less than a handful have died in the north, the interior and on the Island.

Get out into the sun, walk, keep your distance – plan family outings – the Parks are opening all over BC.

 

As of May 15th, the Oliver Community Tennis Courts reopened for casual drop in tennis and pickleball play (no organized or league activities) for singles play or doubles with members of the same household. A full set of guidelines have been developed for before, during and after play to reduce the risk of transmission and these guidelines have been distributed through the Oliver Tennis Club and the Oliver Pickleball Club and signage with the key messages are posted at the court entrances.

An order by Interior Health’s Chief Medical Health Officer (MHO) closing all fitness centres, gyms, yoga studios or similar personal training facilities was lifted on May 19, 2020. This will allow these facilities to re-open as long as they can meet requirements to protect staff and clients against the spread of COVID-19. June 1st is the target date.

Until such time that we are confident in our plans to mitigate the risks associated with the transmission of COVID-19, the following recreation facilities will remain closed:

Rotary Park Playground
Tots & Tykes Playground (Community Park)
Kinsmen Park Playground and Splash Park
Lion’s Park Playground
Oliver Community Centre
Oliver Community Pool

The Recreation Administration Office will reopen for public access during regular business hours Monday to Friday 8:30 am-4:30 pm starting Monday, June 1.

Source: OPRS

Owl at Sunset

Fairview Townsite – looking south

Flaxseed Flowers

• Karla Krook, a medical radiation technologist, prepares for a CT exam with Robert Hurford at Penticton Regional Hospital. The South Okanagan Similkameen Medical Foundation has launched a $3-million fundraising campaign to acquire a second CT scanner for PRH.

 

$3-million CT campaign for PRH  gets major launch boost

A long-time community supporter is helping launch a $3-million fundraising campaign for a new CT scanner at Penticton Regional Hospital. 

Peters Bros. Construction is donating $1.7 million to the South Okanagan Similkameen (SOS) Medical Foundation towards a second CT medical imaging unit at PRH.  The new scanner will be located near the Emergency Department, now undergoing a major expansion. 

Along with the CT itself, extensive building renovations are required which brings the total project cost to $5 million. The Okanagan Similkameen Regional Hospital District will provide $2 million with the SOS Medical Foundation raising the remainder.

The new CT scanner will be operational by the time the Emergency Department renovation is completed in early 2022. The CT was not part of the original plans for the $312-million hospital expansion – now into Phase 2.

Peters Bros. president Joe Cuzzocrea said the CT scanner provides another boost to the community’s healthcare.  “It’s needed, the hospital is new. Let’s support it and get this new equipment for the hospital now,” he said.

Cuzzocrea hopes the company’s gift will encourage other businesses and individuals in the community to donate as well. 

Peters Bros. has long been involved in supporting such community events as Peach Festival, Snowbirds aerial performances and providing free children’s tickets to Penticton Vees hockey games.  The company’s late owner David Kampe was also a major supporter of PRH.

Peters Bros. has about 150 employees involved in paving and road construction projects throughout BC and operates a number of asphalt plants in the province.  Cuzzocrea has been with the Penticton-based firm since 1982.

“Penticton is home and most everything we support is in this community,” he said. “We do help other communities, but not like this one.  This is home.”

Jeff Wojcik, section head for medical imaging at PRH, said not only will this latest model CT scanner provide higher quality images, but it will also reduce the heavy demand on the existing machine. The CT currently operates from 6:30 a.m. to 11 p.m. and on-call overnight.

“We’re having trouble keeping up with volume,” Wojcik said.  “We’re often trying to sandwich Emergency patients in between out-patients and oncology patients.” 

Carey Bornn, Executive Director of the SOS Medical Foundation, applauds Peters Bros. generous support for the CT campaign and encourages the community to mirror their efforts.

“If nothing else, the Covid-19 outbreak has shown how important good health is to all of us,” he said. “Now as elective surgeries begin again, the addition of another CT scanner at PRH will prove even more valuable.”

Donations to the CT campaign can be made online at sosmedicalfoundation.com, by phone 250-492-9027, or by mail to the SOS Medical Foundation, 550 Carmi Ave., Penticton BC. V2A 3G6.

 

 

Campsites in B.C. provincial parks will be closed to people from outside the province this summer, as officials continue to adjust the rules to the coronavirus pandemic.

BC Parks said in a statement on Thursday that non-B.C. residents who already have reservations should call before June 15 to cancel and receive a full refund.

Reservations made after next Monday by non-residents will be subject to immediate cancellation without refund.

“The health and safety of our BC Parks staff, park operators and visitors continue to be our top priority. We are all in this together,” the agency said in the statement.

According to an environment ministry spokesperson, all campers will be asked to show ID proving their residency when they arrive at the parks.

Asked about the parks closure at his daily briefing, Health Minister Adrian Dix said the closure has been done, in part, to ensure British Columbians have first and only dibs on their provincial campsites for a summer during which they are not supposed to travel outside B.C.

“What we’re trying to do … is to control, to a degree, non-essential travel or overnight travel. It’s just a prudent step that’s being taken. It’s also being done to ensure access should such campsites be reopened sometime in the summer … British Columbians have full access.”

BC Parks did not say how it will determine who is a resident.