News Leader News for July 31, 2007
FATAL FIRE KILLS TWO, DESTROYS FOURPLEX
Two people are dead following a fire early Saturday morning, July 28th, which gutted a fourplex located at 282 Bridge Street.
Princeton Volunteer Fire Department Chief Eric Gregson says the call came in at about 1:00 AM and a total of 14 firemen were on scene, but the building was "fully involved" by the time they arrived.
A total of seven people were living in the building including a family of four who had moved to Princeton from Korea in January.
Two members of that family - Kim and Jane Bae, the mother and daughter - did not survive the blaze.
The father and son, David and Luke, were taken to Princeton General Hospital for treatment related to smoke inhalation.
St. Paul's United Church, where the Bae family worshiped, has taken on the task of funeral arrangements and church members are working on gathering clothing and household items.
A variety of local businesses have also put 'coin jars' in their stores to collect additional funds to aid the survivors of the fire, who lost all personal belongings.
The United Church has also set up a Trust Fund at Valley First Credit Union for cash donations.
A number of other fundraising efforts are currently in the works as residents reach out to help.
The identities of the other tenants were not known at press time and it is believed that the Bae family was in the process of moving out of the fourplex.
Fire investigators were on the scene for most of the weekend sifting through the charred remains of the building to determine the cause of the blaze.
KATIMAVIK LOOKS TO PRINCETON
Princeton is among the short listed communities for receiving Katimavik volunteers in the coming year! If selected over 10,000 volunteer hours would once again be available to local non-profit organizations.
At this stage in the community selection process, any individual or organization from the Princeton area is invited to attend a community meeting to discuss the possibility of Katimavik volunteers returning to your area.
At this meeting, attendees will receive information on how they can apply to receive volunteer support. A brief overview on the Katimavik program will also be given for any organizations not already familiar with the program and recent changes will be introduced.
The community meeting is scheduled for Monday August 13th at 9:00 AM in the Princeton & District Chamber of Commerce and Visitor Centre (105 Hwy #3 East). For specific directions, please call 250-295-3103.
Now is the time to express interest in becoming involved with a Katimavik project that would run from January, 2008, to August, 2008.
For more information about Katimavik or about bringing Katimavik to Princeton, contact Melinda Boon, 1-877-570-0666, ext. 23, or e-mail plang@katimavik-bcyk.org or mboon@katimavik-bcyk.org; or go to www.katimavik.org.
The Katimavik Program:
Every year, more than 500 non-profit organizations across Canada benefit from the volunteer services offered by Katimavik participants. Katimavik was created to foster the personal development of our nation's young people through a challenging program of community service, training and group living. Katimavik places groups of 11 young people, 17-21 years old, in 99
communities nationwide, where they provide full-time volunteer support to local agencies for up to nine months.
Katimavik participants contribute to the host communities through a wide variety of social, administrative and physical work for not-for-profit organizations.
For example, over the last year participants worked with organizations such as the Canadian Earth CARE Society in Kelowna, Central Okanagan Community Gardens, Centre Cultural Francais de L'Okanagan, City of Kelowna - Sport & Recreation, Canadian National Institute for the Blind Kelowna, Kelowna Community Food Bank Society, the Okanagan Boys and Girls Clubs Kelowna and the YMCA-YWCA in Kelowna.
There are few limits to the type of work that Katimavik volunteers can do, or organizations that can apply, including community development or support agencies; health care facilities; multicultural groups; educational institutions; First Nations bands; arts organizations; youth groups; festivals; municipalities; heritage groups; and community service clubs.
Katimavik is particularly interested in assisting environmental agencies.
COMMUNITY KEEPS MEMORY ALIVE
A dozen Princeton area youth received a special present last week and in the process kept alive the memory of a local student.
Aaron Heuser was only 18 when he suffered a heart attack while playing in a 3-on-3 basketball tournament. Family and friends banded together and raised over $10,000 with the goal of keeping Aaron's memory alive by sharing his love of basketball to other Princeton area students.
The 9th annual Aaron Heuser (junior) Basketball Camp was held last week and true to the original promise made by Aaron's family and friends, the camp continues to teach basketball team skills at no cost to the participants.
Aaron's father, Ken, attended the camp last Thursday afternoon to speak briefly on the reason why the event takes place and presented each participant with a special t-shirt with his son's #13 on it to remind them who inspired the annual sports event.
Another camp will be held next month for senior students and is run by Aaron's long-time friend, Jesse McLean.
Heuser thanked the students for participating in the special event and spoke briefly about his son.
"Aaron loved basketball and played here (Princeton Secondary) for six years and went on to Okanagan College to play."
The high school gym has Aaron's #13 Rebels jersey framed and hung on the gym wall at centre court as a tribute to the former local player.
Heuser told the News Leader the basketball camp continues to be a popular element in the annual Summer Recreation Program.
More photos on Pages 11, 12 and 26.
