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SONGFEST STARTS THE SEASON
A traditional gathering to sing carols and share some joy of the season continued last Wednesday night at Princeton Baptist Church with the Community Christmas Songfest.
The standing room only crowd of over 150 filled the church to capacity.
Ernie Lawrence welcomed everyone with a pleasant greeting, "Welcome to the magic of our Christmas Songfest for 2005 and Merry Christmas."
As the program has been an annual fixture for well over twenty years, Lawrence pointed to the history of the event for a special presentation.
"Christmas is magic and it is also history, so we¹ll start with a little recent history."
A short collection of video clips were played on the overhead screen covering most of the past Songfest events. The video presentation, requested by Lawrence, was titled OA Little Town in the Middle of Nowhere¹ and was created by Wen Wong.
Lawrence explained that the original Songfest was hosted in the United Church, but due to it¹s popularity, had to move to a larger venue.
"The magic of songfest is the people in both performing and in the audience and will continue to be as long as we keep Christ in our Christmas."
Lawrence handed the MC duties over to the 'Pair of Pastors' - Dan Brama of the Baptist Church and Tony Essex of Princeton Pentecostal Tabernacle, but before Lawrence could leave the stage, he was presented with an elf hat for his years of dedication to the program.
Karen Smart presented him with a holographic piano to recognize his efforts in securing funding for the 'community piano.'
Then Songfest kicked into gear with the 'Two Pastors' leading everyone in the building in singing an abbreviated version of 'Joy To The World.'
That was followed by the Grade 2's and 3's in the John Allison School Choir, directed by Raylene Campana.
Laurie Thomas directed the boys and girls of the Baptist Church Junior Choir followed by solo performances by Glenda Jones, Alan and PattyAnn.
Karen Smart performed a Christmas Song of her own on piano.
Then the audience performed 'The Twelve Days of Christmas' under the direction of Ernie Lawrence with audience members leaping to their feet when singing the line in the song that corresponded with their birth month.
It generated a lot of laughter and gave the traditional carol a life of it's own.
Pastor Tony Essex put the meaning of Christmas into perspective with a reading from Chapter 2 of the Book of Luke.
Nathan Giesbrecht introduced his solo, 'Here Comes The Flood,' a song by Peter Gabriel, as a song about people dealing with different battles.
"As my special Christmas wish I want us all to think about how we can help those in battles."
Laurie Thomas was featured with her solo, '(Who Needs Christmas Presents) We Already Have The Gift,' followed by a Christmas Medley sung by everyone in the building.
The Baptist Church Senior Choir performed as did Mike Leiding in a solo.
Everyone sang 'Silent Night' and Pastor Dan Brama commented, "It's unfortunate that you all can't be up here to hear yourselves sing. You actually make the building vibrate."
The program ended with everyone singing 'We Wish You A Merry Christmas' followed by refreshments and fellowship.
TURNER SWEARS IN NEW COUNCIL
Local barrister Stan Turner conducted the swearing in of Princeton's new Town Council on December 5 at Town Hall.On behalf of the citizens of Princeton, he thanked Council members for donating their time to serve the community, and wished them luck.
Mayor Randy McLean read a statement that set his philosophy. He emphasized keeping Princeton an attractive place to live by maintaining clean air and water, low crime rate, lower cost of living and open spaces as a way to attract industry.
"Future industry must not endanger the very things that make us so attractive," Mayor McLean stated.
He promised to use public meetings and the media to keep Council actions "transparent".
He thanked former Mayor Keith Olsen and his Council for their accomplishments and dedication.
"They have distinguished themselves by their participation and Princeton owes them a debt of gratitude," Mayor McLean said.
Mayor McLean advised that he had sent a letter to BC Transportation Minister objecting to reduction of inter-city bus service. He said the proposed reduction would leave Similkameen Valley and South Okanagan communities with only one bus per day each way, and force them to stay overnight in Vancouver.
He further advised that Council has begun the process to hire a replacement for Town Administrator Cornie Froese, who is scheduled to retire in March.
COUNCIL SETS COMMITTEES
Council standing committees were set for 2006 during the inaugural meeting, as follows:Mayor Randy McLean
Finance, Transportation, Personnel and Safety, Regional District Director,
PEP, Skills Centre alternate, Police, Library alternate, CAPE and Airport.
Councillor Maria Sadegur
Finance, Museum, Library, OMMLRA, Skills Centre alternate, Circle Tour.
Councillor Jim Manion
Finance, Water, Fire Department, Deputy Mayor, Skills Centre, Regional
District alternate, Chamber of Commerce, PABEA, and PXA.
Councillor Pam Jones
Finance, PEP, Trails, Recreation/Arena, Sewer, Health.
Councillor Ray Jarvis
Finance, Dyking/Flood Control, Cemetery, Arts Council, PEP, Airport,
Landfill, Child and Youth Committee
Committee of the Whole
Economic Development, Budget, Bylaws, Land Acquisition, Rezoning,
Subdivision, Industrial Park, Animal and Pest Control, Drug Control.
The Community Forest Committee will be determined at a later date.
COUNCIL HELPS HAMPER FUND
On December 5, Council received an appeal from Princeton Crisis Assistance for a donation to the Christmas Hamper Fund. This is an annual appeal, but Gloria Oerlemans, Secretary, added information about what Crisis Assistance does throughout the year.The free clothing and household items store on Vermilion Avenue operates on a donation system where people pay what they can afford. It does not make money. They are assisted by Elks Lodge in delivering household goods to families who experience floods, house fires, or extreme hardship. Churches refer people to Crisis Assistance, and the United Church helps with a "food cupboard" for emergencies.
Often, there are hardship cases as a result of motor vehicle accidents or vehicle breakdowns, resulting in stranded travellers. There are destitute transients, and people who are stranded by highway closures as a result of landslides, snow or floods.
Oerlemans told Council the society does fundraising once a year, at Christmas, and each year the donations amount to less than the year before.
Council donated $1,000 to Crisis Assistance.
