News Leader News for July 22, 2008
BRIDGE PROJECT RECEIVES $501,973
The Town of Princeton will receive $501,973.00 to replace the Bridge of Dreams, a key link in the Spirit of 2010 Trail, in support of a greener, healthier community, Rick Thorpe, MLA for Okanagan-Westside announced July 18th.
"Princeton has shown great leadership and innovation in finding local solutions to build a more sustainable community for its citizens,"said Thorpe.
"This LocalMotion funding will help get local residents out of their cars, improve their health and air quality and assist with the provincial goal of reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 33 per cent by 2020."
The Bridge of Dreams Reconstruction project is fulfilling a promise made by Premier Gordon Campbell to make the Trans Canada Trail uninterrupted across BC by 2010. The newly restored bridge will serve both pedestrians and cyclists, and will provide opportunities for residents and tourists to be active outside while enjoying Princeton's beautiful scenery.
"We are excited that the Province of BC is partnering with our community to assist us in establishing one of the last connections within the Trans Canada Trail," said Mayor Randy McLean.
"The investment in the Bridge of Dreams will not only provide a way for recreation users to cross the Tulameen River but it will also be used by commuters going to and from several of the largest employers in the area."
"We would like to thank the Town of Princeton, the Province of BC and our other generous funding partners, along with our Vermilion Trail Society members, for making this dream come true," said Judy Short, Vermilion Trails Society President.
"We feel the Bridge of Dreams will be an asset to this community by bringing visitors to our area."
LocalMotion is investing $40 million over four years to help municipalities build bike paths, walkways, greenways, support community playgrounds and improved accessibility for people with disabilities. The funding supports capital projects, and is based on a 50/50 cost share with the municipality. In the case of Princeton's Bridge of Dreams funding, about $800,000.00 has been raised through applications for funding made by Similkameen Valley Planning Society and include: $29,000.00 (Western Economic Diversification), $75,000.00 (Southern Interior Development Initiative Trust), $222,000.00 (Trans Canada Trail Foundation), with additional funds to come from the Community Forest Corporation and the Federal Gas Tax Fund. Add all that to the $501,973.00 LocalMotion Grant and the Bridge of Dreams becomes a million dollar project. In 2007, the province provided $20 million to 34 projects in 28 communities.
This funding for Princeton's LocalMotion project is in addition to other provincial funding, including $200,000.00 in BC Spirit Squares funding for upgrades to Cenotaph Park and $1.7 million from the federal and provincial governments, through the Canada-BC Municipal Rural Infrastructure Fund to extend the water system to East Princeton.
LocalMotion is one of four Green Cities programs announced by the Premier at the 2006 Union of BC Municipalities Annual Convention. For more information on LocalMotion and links to other local government supports, visit www.localmotion.gov.bc.ca.
ARTS COUNCIL ELECTS PREVIOUS BOARD
Princeton and District Community Arts Council held its annual general meeting on Wednesday, July 16, at Riverside Centre. President Rika Ruebsaat was elected President for a second term, with Del Hall as Vice-President. Nick Mills returns as Treasurer and Jon Bartlett as Secretary. Directors are Mary Bedford, Sue LePoidevin, Joan Kelly and Norma Kraetor.
President Ruebsaat summed up the past year as another successful year for increasing activities of Arts Council member groups. She thanked Councillor Ray Jarvis for his ongoing interest in, and support of, Arts Council projects, and for his input as Town Council liaison. Del Hall and Joan Kelly were praised for their promotion of downtown beautification and their work in promoting the former Goldion Restaurant, along with Mary Bedford, as a place to display the work of local artists.
Treasurer Nick Mills gave the financial report showing the Arts Council has a healthy bank balance. He advised member groups that the annual grant applications must be in his hands by September 17, along with newspaper clippings and a report of the group's activities. The application forms should be available soon. Member groups can obtain the forms in late August by visiting Mills at the museum.
The September 17 meeting is a planning meeting to outline plans and event dates for the coming year. Every group is requested to attend with a plan and schedule.
Each group gave a report of its activities.
Performing Arts
Susan Kerr reported 90 people attended the gala, and it is expected to become an annual event. Currently, eight girls and six boys are rehearsing Monsters Under the Bed and The Prince Who Wouldn't Talk for performances in November. Dramatic arts training is part of the summer recreation program, including lessons for 4 - 8 year olds. Two week-long sessions will involve older children in acting and writing skills, with a special performance at Riverside Centre lounge on July 24. Traditional Music Society
The Traditional Music Festival, August 16 and 17, will feature 85 performers. As the festival is admission free, Jon Bartlett is going to contact seniors' residences and centres in the Okanagan to suggest they bring busloads of seniors to the festival. The CD about Princeton is in production now, and will soon be available at the museum or the festival. Bartlett played the title song of the CD, a catchy tune about Princeton being a "billion dollar" place to live. Vermilion Forks Field Naturalists
The Field Naturalists groups is 90 members strong, who work on the Swan Lake project, and participate in the annual Christmas bird count and the Meadowlark Festival. They had an active year of lectures and hikes. Princeton Writers Group has only four members but hopes to become involved in playwriting, working with Performing Arts Society. Princeton Community Band has performed at the Secondary School in concert, and most recently at the Canada Day celebrations in Keremeos. They will be performing and running a bingo at the Fall Fair. Vermilion Artists hosted a number of excellent workshops and put on five art shows, all of which were successful. The June 27-28 show at the former Goldion Restaurant featured 56 works by 20 artists, with 167 visitors signing the guest book.
Princeton Potters Guild has expanded membership, with eight members using Riverside studio space. The Guild held a successful show of clay masks, and is working on a clay mural for Riverside.
Bunchgrass Quilters are still creating quilts for children involved in crisis situations, and will be putting on a quilt show at the Fall Fair. Princeton Museum is hosting a community tea party on Saturday, August 9, as part of Heritage Month. The will be history displays in shops downtown, for BC's 150th anniversary of founding. The Museum Society is celebrating its 50th anniversary, which prompted the tea party.
Celebrating with the Museum Society at the tea party are businesses with anniversaries: Overwaitea (75 years), Billy's Restaurant (30 years), and the News Leader (10 years). The Chamber of Commerce has joined the fun at 95 years, and the Hospital Auxiliary at 97 years! It should be quite a party.
FESTIVAL BRINGS FIDDLE TUNES AND LOGGER'S POETRY
The Princeton Traditional Music Festival is just three and one half weeks away and we're getting pretty excited. We have a roster of excellent performers from BC as well as from as far away as San Francisco and New York. The performances happen on two stages right in town one in front of the Museum and one on Billiter right next to the Pharmasave. The opening ceremony is at 11:30 AM on August 16th. After that there are performances from noon until 6:00 PM on August 16th and 17th. And it's all free no admission will be charged. We need lots of volunteers to help with things such as setting up the stages, selling CD's or billeting performers. If you'd like to get involved please call Jon and Rika at (250) 295-6010.
In today's article we feature three performing groups who will be appearing at the festival.
If you like fiddle tunes you'll love Fiddle Frazzle from Penticton. We met them a few months ago and immediately invited them to the festival. Since then we've jammed with them and were very impressed. They are a five-piece band including fiddles and keyboard that will get you dancing in the streets.
Chris Corrigan and Brad Ovenell-Carter live on Bowen Island down on the coast. Chris plays Irish flute and Brad recites Irish poetry, primarily William Butler Yeats. An Irish flute looks similar to a regular silver flute except that it's made of wood and has a mellower sound. Chris and Brad combine their talents to produce a mesmerizing combination of poetry and music. Sometimes Chris plays behind Brad's recitations providing atmosphere and phrasing, at others he plays between recitations providing musical transitions. Both of them will also be singing.
You've all heard of cowboy poets. Well, this year's festival will also feature a logger poet. We first heard Lorne Dufour many years ago at a festival on Vancouver Island and were so impressed that we had to invite him to Princeton. Lorne is a horse logger at McLeese Lake between Williams Lake and Quesnel and has been writing poetry for almost forty years. He writes about the hardships and humour of life as a logger. Lorne has published three books: Spit on Wishes, Starting From Promise and Jacob's Prayer which will be for sale at the festival. Hope to see you there!
NEWS LEADER ADDS NEW PUBLICATION
This week the Similkameen News Leader expands it's publication product to include an information guide with a twist.
"The usual tourist information guide format has been done time and time again and after publishing our
'Discover The Similkameen' guide for the past ten years I knew we had to do something totally different," explains News Leader Owner/Publisher George Elliott.
The inspiration came from the series of articles written for the News Leader by Princeton Museum's Nick Mills and that this year marks British Columbia's 150th year.
"I have always been aware of the fact that the Princeton area has a very rich history and that the Museum contains an extensive collection of historic photos and documents and wondered if those elements could be formatted into an interesting historic information guide."
Once Elliott decided the guide would be historic in content, he approached Mills for access to photographs from the Museum.
"Nick was the one who suggested the guide be in the form of an old-fashioned newspaper, which he though would make it a unique collectible," Elliott says.
"I knew at that moment we had a pretty good idea on the table but would anyone else buy into it without seeing an actual first copy?"
News Leader Salesman John Gillis set out to find out with the aid of a list of potential advertisers and Elliott soon found out there was a lot of interest in the product.
"In addition to the endorsement from the Museum, the Similkameen Valley Economic Development Officer (Michael McLaughlin) got behind it right away as did Princeton Parks, Recreation and Culture Director Lyle Thomas."
The first issue of the guide, titled, "Princeton BC News" was printed early this week and is the first of many.
"Because there is so much history about Princeton and its people we decided that a single issue couldn't do it all so we plan to publish new issues of Princeton BC News three to four times a year and for added exposure for the advertisers who participate in the program we will post each entire issue on our website
(www.princetonbcnews.com) and probably run with that printing schedule beyond 2010."
Elliott says that in addition to Princeton Museum, Similkameen Valley Planning Society and Princeton Parks, Recreation and Culture Department the support of the following advertisers made the first issue possible: Winking Pedlar, Cowboy Coffee, Princeton Plaza Laundromat, Princeton Paint & Decorating, Shirley's Arts & Crafts, Deerview Motel & Cabins, Bugnut Toys, Irly Bird, Century 21 Princeton Realty, The Source, The Hut, Billy's Restaurant, Princeton Redi-Mix, Pharmasave, Evergreen Motel, Heart To Heart Flowers & Gifts, RE/MAX country, Copper Mountain Bar & Grill, Kepner Welding and Dairy Queen.
Plans are to have the second issue of Princeton BC News published in November.
