News Leader News for June 26, 2007
LOCAL WOMAN RECEIVES AWARD FOR COURAGE
On August 19, 2006, Carol Skinner was driving on the Connector when "something caught my eye". She slowed and became aware that an accident may have occurred just before she arrived. Another vehicle stopped and they went to investigate. Skinner noticed smoke.
She saw a vehicle over the bank. She and others went down to the vehicle, which had begun to burn. She and others broke windows and pulled three people from the burning vehicle.
Two survived, and Skinner helped them up the bank away from the burning car. Skinner administered first aid and gave the survivors comfort until an ambulance arrived.
The RCMP report stated, "Many thanks to the multitude of passersby who risked their own safety in assisting the victims in this tragic event. The survival of the two remaining passengers are solely due to the many 'Good Samaritans' courageous and selfless actions."
At the June 18 Town Council meeting, Mayor Randy McLean formally presented Skinner with the Certificate of Commendation for bravery on behalf of Governor General Michaele Jean.
In his comments, Mayor McLean noted that all three of the people in the care were just 19 years old, and Skinner had helped ensure that two of them could live out their years.
Carol Skinner told the News Leader she did not think she was being brave when she helped rescue the people. She felt she was just doing what was needed.
Others who assisted at the scene were Garry Azcona, Michael Beetlestone, Steve Berry, Barry Hirtz, Benjamin Lazarus, Trevor Paquette and Alan Stebbing.
COUNCIL WANTS SPLASH PARK SIGN
Mayor Randy McLean wants a highway sign advertising the splash park. He introduced the idea at the June 18 Town Council meeting."You're driving down the highway on a hot summer day and the kids are hot and tired. Imagine seeing a sign advertising a free splash park. You could stop for half an hour and everybody could enjoy a stop at the park."
He added the benefit to Princeton is all these hot, tired parents would have to drive through downtown Princeton.
He suggested a sign on the highway saying "free splash park".
There is money in the budget for a few more improvements to the splash park, and there may be money for such a sign. Council agreed to look at the costs and proceed if money is available.
COUNCIL WANTS TO END BRIDGE BLOCKADES
There are signs directing transport trucks to use Highway 5A and avoid trying to go through Princeton via the wooden bridge, but truck drivers continue failing to see the signs. The most recent fiasco was a B-train having to back up Bridge Street, effectively blockading the wooden bridge and half of Bridge Street.At the June 18 meeting, Council looked at placing an overhead sign around Harold Avenue saying something about "last chance to turn" transport trucks. The matter is under consideration.
GHOST TOWN DVD REACHES MILESTONE
Similkameen News Leader Owner/Publisher George Elliott couldn't be happier with the response to his first DVD project, 'Princeton Area Ghost Towns The DVD.'
The DVD turns one year old this week and last week the 200th copy was sold through the News Leader's downtown office.
"I originally thought that if it sold an average of one a week I'd be happy. I never expected it to be such a popular item that we'd be selling copies all year even in the non-tourist season."
The hour-long DVD features detailed history on six area ghost towns, Allenby, Blackfoot, Blakeburn, Copper Mountain, Granite Creek and Leadville. Included in the DVD is detailed directions to the three ghost towns that can still be reached by vehicle as well as narrated slide shows of some of the remains in Allenby, Blakeburn and Granite Creek.
"The majority of them have been purchased by tourists, which we expected with a lot of sales coming through our website at www.thenewsleader.ca," Elliott says.
The idea for the DVD came from an information booklet Elliott first published in 1998 titled 'Princeton Area Ghost Towns' which ended up being the best seller of the nine titles he published in a five-year span. "I was concerned at first that I may have gone back to the well one too many times, but it worked."
The DVD sells for $19.99, plus $2.00 for shipping anywhere in Canada.
HOW WOULD YOU LIKE TO WIN $1,000?
Princeton Rotary Club members will be selling their annual Similkameen Cup Sweepstakes tickets in town this week. The traditional fundraiser revolves around the Similkameen Cup feature horse race at Sunflower Downs on Friday afternoon.A total of one thousand tickets have been printed. They cost five dollars each and this is how the prizes are won: if there are eight horses entered in that race a total of eight tickets will be drawn. If there are nine horses entered, nine tickets will be drawn.
Each ticket will be assigned to correspond with each horse in the race.
For example, if your ticket is assigned to the number 3 horse and that horse wins the Similkameen Cup race, you win $1,000.
There are other cash prizes as well.
The ticket holder whose horse finishes in second place will receive $300 and the third place horse will earn the Rotary Similkameen Cup Sweepstakes ticket holder for that horse $200. The remaining tickets drawn for that race will be worth $100 each.
The Rotary Club will stand to earn close to $3,000 from this fundraiser with all the proceeds going into a variety of local community projects the club is involved in.
