News Leader News
PGSAR RECEIVES ROPE RESCUE GEAR
The Princeton Ground Search & Rescue Society, with financial help from the Royal Canadian Legion Branch 56 members, took delivery of their 2006/2007 New Initiative Fund Project (NIF) "rope rescue gear acquisition".
The federal government's National Search & Rescue Secretariat NIF project helps SAR groups with equipment funding. This is the third and final year for the PGSAR funding project. In the first year they received a stretcher with wheel, and the second year Swift Water rescue gear.
This year the team received $4,327.18 in rope rescue gear. In each year of the program PGSAR has to raise $1,000.00 as their portion.
This year the Legion contributed the $1,000.00 in support of PGSAR. The team would like to thank the Legion members for their generous contribution this year.
The rope rescue gear will allow PGSAR members to safely traverse and assist in stretcher carries on slopes and embankments, and swift water rescue rope work. The gear will also allow for further advanced training in rope rescue techniques so that members can become certified as PEP rope rescue members.
Princeton Ground Search & Rescue team members are trained and certified to PEP Standards, and volunteer their time to, and respond to, missing person requests and rescues from the RCMP, BC Ambulance Service back country carry outs, and any PEP emergency requests by the Town of Princeton, RDOS, or mutual aid requests anywhere else in the Province.
Princeton Ground Search & Rescue team thanks Princeton Legion members for their support.
Anyone interested in joining the team is asked to contact the SAR Manager at (250) 295-5364.
MAYOR SPEAKS OUT AGAINST 'DIRTY POWER'
Conservation organizations Wildsight and Pembina Institute joined the Mayor of Princeton last Friday in expressing dismay at BC Hydro's long-term commitment to purchase power from two proposed coal-burning plants.Compliance Energy's Princeton Power Project and Hillsborough Resources and AES Wapiti Energy's Wapiti Power Project will release pollutants into the air as well as increase BC's greenhouse gas emissions by as much as 1.7 million tonnes each year.
"Coal-fired power plants are major sources of a wide range of pollutants, such as particulate matter, sulphur dioxide and nitrogen oxides that cause smog and acid rain. They emit heavy metals, especially mercury, which is also a health concern," says Karen Campbell, the Pembina Institute's legal counsel.
"In Ontario, the government has estimated that air pollution from coal-fired power plants is responsible for the premature deaths of 668 people per year in the province."
"It is hard to believe that the government is committing BC to dirty coal that will cause massive increases in toxic pollution and make it even more difficult for the people of BC to address the climate crisis," said Casey Brennan, Wildsight program manager for energy and mining.
Conservationists are not alone in their concern. Princeton Mayor Randy McLean is also very worried about what Compliance Energy's plant will mean for the Similkameen Valley.
"It is disturbing that our provincial government is embracing a minimally updated nineteenth century technology that other provinces are phasing it out. How can we promote tourism and real estate investment under the cloud of a coal-burning plant? I am concerned for the future of our valley and the people who live here. Industry profit at the expense of everyone's environment is unacceptable."
"I am worried for my children's and grandchildren's health," said Princeton rancher Brad Hope.
"The air pollutants and toxic mercury emissions from dirty coal that will be released into our air shed will accumulate and impact the health of all living creatures in my community."
"This decision could be the first of many, as there are coal deposits across BC," said Wildsight's Brennan.
"Instead of committing to dirty coal, we need a stronger focus on energy efficiency and developing more renewable energy sources," added Campbell.
PARTNERSHIP FLOURISHES
The Town of Princeton, Area 'H' of the Regional District of Okanagan-Similkameen and the Upper Similkameen Indian Band continue to make considerable progress with several initiatives under a renewed Memorandum of Understanding (MOU). These initiatives will foster sustainable economic development and continue to protect the Upper Similkameen Indian Band's cultural history and improve relationships with local governments.Since renewing their commitment to the MOU, the three partners have been diligently working on a Partnership Statement of Intent that will see the proponents form a community forest corporation known as the Vermilion Forks Forest Corporation. Equal partners in the corporation, the group has made an initial application to the Ministry of Forests for a Community Forest License that will be situated in the western portion of the Similkameen River watershed, between Manning Park and Hedley and within the Cascades Forest District.
Under the Partnership Statement of Intent, the partnership will increase local involvement in the management of the Princeton area forestlands that will assist in maintaining or enhancing the economic diversity and quality of life for residents, as well as ensuring that other natural resource uses and values are maintained in perpetuity.
Key objectives of the Vermilion Forks Forest Corporation include:
- To operated the Community Forest area in a manner which achieves a reasonable and consistent profit from forestry operations.
- To provide employment opportunities for all parties' constituents.
- To ensure that residents of the area are directly involved in setting priorities for forestry management and expenditure of net profits generated from forestry operation.
- To ensure a sustained harvest level throughout the licence area and to potentially increase the annual allowable cut over time, through innovative forest practices.
- To provide for the highest return and best use of forestlands resources, using sound, environmentally responsible management practices.
- To enhance and promote the educational and research value of the forest resource.
- To maintain a long-range view for deriving benefits and managing the resource.
- To ensure that the management of the forest resource does not compromise the ability of other resource users to maintain or increase their use and benefit from the forested land base.
- To develop and maintain a working partnership model other local government and aboriginal government organizations may emulate.
The next step in the application process is an invitation by the Ministry of Forests to pursue the feasibility of the application. The partnership is confident that the provincial government will see the benefits of granting the Vermilion Forks Forest Corporation a license for this area.
