News Leader News for December 23, 2008
RECENT COLD SNAP BREAKS RECORDS
An early cold snap broke records all over southern and central B.C. Temperatures dropped abruptly from seasonal to extraordinary overnight December 13 as an Arctic air mass flowed south. Outflow winds dropped temperatures all along the coastline, while major river valleys, such as the Fraser and Columbia Valleys, funneled the cold south into Washington and Oregon.
Overnight cold temperature records were broken, along with the coldest daytime high temperature records.
Although British Columbians may have felt Mother Nature was being totally unfair, California, Texas and other points far south of the international border were dealing equally with unseasonable cold. New Orleans, located on the Gulf Coast, had a one-day snow storm, while northern Texas experienced several light snow storms as extreme cold flowed south across the continent.
The big question now is this: have we conquered global warming? If so, how do we like it?
MAYOR RESPONDS TO BUS CONCERN
A copy of a letter sent to Greyhound Canada, directed to Mayor Randy McLean, was a topic for discussion at the December 15 Town Council meeting. The letter from RockRidge Canyon expressed dismay at a termination of Greyhound services to Princeton. The letter referred to an article in a local newspaper which stated that the existing Greyhound agency was closing its doors at the end of this month.
Mayor McLean stated it was the agency that would no longer be operating, not Greyhound. He said Greyhound must find another agent to handle tickets and freight, but he said he was sure Greyhound would continue its bus service to Princeton.
Greyhound has since announced the local agency will be moving to Princeton Esso on Tapton Avenue effective January 1st.
Council praises China Ridge
China Ridge Cross Country Ski Club completed their "long house" project recently. This building is a place for skiers to warm up after a cross-country jaunt along the China Ridge ski trails.
At the December 15 Town Council meeting, Mayor Randy McLean praised the club for making a new facility for skiers. He said he had attended the official opening and enjoyed it.
Grant requests referred to budget
At the December 15 meeting Town Council received grant requests from the Museum Society ($4,000) and the Fall Fair Association ($3,500) for grants for 2009. The requests were referred to budget, although Councillor Frank Armitage, who is liaison Councillor for the Museum Society, said he would pursue the Museum Society request a little further.
Mayor seeks funding for trees
Mayor Randy McLean wants to find out whether or not Princeton's new town square can qualify for some funding from Trees for Tomorrow. The provincial government set aside $13 million on a program aimed at planting four million trees in public places such as parks, hospital grounds, and schoolyards.
Mayor McLean said the funding might not be worth much to the town square project if it applied only to seedling trees, as the Town intends to plant much larger trees. He will report to Council in January.
COUNCIL APPOINTS PRINCETON 150 CHAIR
At the request of Princeton Community Arts Council, Mayor Randy McLean and Council officially appointed Nadine McEwen as Chair of the Princeton 150 Committee.
McEwen chaired the BC 150 Committee for this year's celebration events.
Princeton was named in 1860, and the Arts Council, along with other groups, are interested in celebrating Princeton's 150 years with a celebration, or series of events, in 2010.
The request asked that the Princeton 150 Committee be an official Town committee with staff time and a seed budget allocated.
It further requested that the person appointed as Chair call a meeting of all organizations in town to form an executive.
McEwen is to draw up terms of reference for the committee as the first step toward meeting the requests.
Although the request was on Arts Council letterhead, it was signed by not only Arts Council President Rika Ruebsaat, but Kelly Cook, President of China Ridge Ski Club, Evelyn McCallum, President of Princeton Museum and Archives Society, Keith Olsen, President of Princeton Chamber of Commerce, and Joann Gabriel, President of Vermilion Forks Field Naturalists.
COUNCIL JOINS 'GREEN' GROUP
At the December 15 Town Council meeting, Council voted to become one of the many BC communities making a commitment to reduce greenhouse gases. Under the BC Climate Change Charter, a joint initiative of the provincial government and the Union of BC Municipalities, a municipality can make a commitment to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 33 percent by 2020 and to be carbon neutral by 2012.
The Community Garden and Urban Forestry initiatives are part of the Charter program. Strategies for making the change to greener community status are still being developed by the steering committee at the provincial level.
