B.C. NDP Leader John Horgan shared a laugh at Troy’s Grill in Osoyoos with Gaye Horn and Brenda Dorosz. (Richard McGuire photo)
During a brief pit stop in Osoyoos in August, B.C. NDP Leader John Horgan said his party strongly believes it can win Boundary-Similkameen from the B.C. Liberals in the provincial election next May.
That may be why he and his NDP colleagues have been spending lots of time here recently.
Horgan was in Osoyoos as part of a four-day tour of the Okanagan.
He met local residents at Troy’s Grill to discuss education and other issues before touring a vineyard and winery and chatting with vendors at Market on Main.
“I absolutely believe Boundary-Similkameen is a winnable riding,” said Horgan, who believes incumbent MLA Linda Larson has mishandled several important files – education, the national park and her recent comments about the impact of residential schools on First Nations.
Sensing weakness, the NDP has made repeated visits, most recently with Education Critic Rob Fleming visiting Osoyoos and Oliver several times this spring to show support for keeping Osoyoos Secondary School (OSS) open.
Horgan said Fleming found Larson’s participation on the education question “to be wanting,” a view he said the Osoyoos community shared.
Larson stayed away from public meetings about the school, insisting she should not interfere in the decision by School District 53 trustees.
Nonetheless, on June 30, the day OSS was scheduled to close, she announced $490,000 in provincial funding to keep the school open under a new Rural Education Enhancement Fund.
Horgan also said Larson “dropped the ball” on the national park issue.
Larson has been a staunch opponent of a national park reserve in the South Okanagan-Lower Similkameen.
More recently, her government indicated it might accept a smaller national park reserve.
“I think the overwhelming sentiment in this community is if we’re going to be a tourism-driven economy with a strong agricultural base, we need to add and complement the attractions that will bring people to the South Okanagan,” said Horgan. “A national park would do just that. I haven’t met too many people that are opposed to it … I think it’s long overdue.”
On education, Horgan told local residents an NDP government would change the formula for funding schools away from one purely based on student bodies to one that reflects the importance of intangibles such as the role of schools in rural communities.
He declined to give specifics, saying that would be announced with the party’s platform during the election.
Also in August, June Harrington, the Osoyoos school trustee who is stepping down after 26 years, said the time is right to move on and she wants to leave while the situation is positive.
Harrington submitted a letter of resignation in July, but her decision only became public Aug. 15 when School District 53 called a special meeting to plan for a possible by-election to replace her.
That by-election was scheduled for early November. Nominations for a new trustee close Sept. 30.
Harrington said she thought long and hard about her decision.
“I feel the time is right for me,” she said. “I’ve been a trustee for 26 years and this is a four-year term. I put in two years of this term. There’s another two years. I feel right now we’ve managed to save our school (Osoyoos Secondary School) and the Ministry (of Education) has committed to ongoing funding, and so things are pretty positive.”
Harrington acknowledged that this year has been difficult for her. At times she was the lone voice on the school board supporting keeping OSS open when other trustees wanted to close it.
“It was a pretty intense year,” she said. “It was a very stressful time and I care (about education). So it’s bound to affect you.”
Harrington said she would continue to serve as a trustee until her replacement is chosen.
“I would never just walk out and leave,” she said. “I will represent my community until somebody else is there to do it.”
Harrington said she’s always been committed to providing quality education for students and she believes students should be educated in their own community.
“I’m just so happy that we won the battle, more or less, in that our students will be able to go to school and get their education in their own town,” said Harrington.
When her own two daughters went through the school system, Harrington said she appreciated knowing about their friends. They were also able to participate in extracurricular activities such as music and figure skating because they went to school in their own community.
“If kids have to spend so much of their time on the bus, they don’t have time for those things, so it’s really important for them to have a well-rounded life as students,” she said. “I think to have school in your own town is a large part of that.”
Harrington was first elected to school board in 1990, when her daughters, now adults, were in the school system.
She was chair of the school board for 15 years from the mid-1990s. Since her first election, she has served continuously, sometimes being chosen by acclamation, as in 2014, but usually being elected.
Meanwhile, the sale of Mount Baldy ski resort’s operation and assets to a new buyer was made official.
Gary Powroznik, managing director of G-Force Group and receiver, announced the sale of assets to 1063205 B.C. Ltd. has been closed.
Joey O’Brien, managing director for Baldy Mountain Resort, had assumed full responsibility for the Mount Baldy assets and operation on behalf of a group of investors headed by Victor Tsao, a Vancouver-based lawyer.
The B.C. Supreme Court approved the sale of the resort’s assets on June 27.
The bankrupt resort closed at the end of the 2012-13 ski season, reopening in January 2015 for a couple months under a potential buyer, who was unable to complete the purchase.
The resort remained closed for the 2015-16 ski season when negotiations with another potential buyer fell through.
O’Brien is a passionate lifetime skier, originally from Antigonish, Nova Scotia, who now resides in Canmore Alberta.
He is a second-generation ski resort developer, who purchased his first resort, Ski Martock, from his father in 1979 at the age of 19.
Later he was president and chief executive officer at Fortress Mountain in Alberta from 2008 to 2014.
Nicknamed “Snowy Joey,” O’Brien said he was looking forward to his third resort revitalization with Mount Baldy.
“We are very pleased to announce that the Mount Baldy Resort is finally in the hands of a qualified purchaser who can begin to bring it back to full operation this year and lay a solid foundation for a thriving sustainable resort for the community,” said Powroznik in a news release.
“We truly hope that the new owners and management can forge a close working relationship with the communities the resort serves to fully capture Mount Baldy’s beauty and unique attributes so that it can reach its full potential for the enjoyment of all who can experience this,” Powroznik continued.
A Port Coquitlam woman, 26, died following a boating accident on Osoyoos Lake in August.
The woman and a male friend, both 26, were on the lake on separate rented personal watercraft when they collided with each other. Efforts were made to revive the woman using cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) and she was transported by ambulance to South Okanagan General Hospital in Oliver, where she was pronounced dead. RCMP said the two only had Rental Boat Safety Checklists rather than Pleasure Craft Operator Cards because the watercraft were rented.
OSOYOOS TIMES STAFF
Osoyoos Times
“Snowy” Joey O’Brien, who has taken on the task of getting the Mount Baldy ski resort up and running again, was guest speaker in August at the Rotary Club of Osoyoos, where he outlined his plans for the resort that has been closed for most of the last three years. (Richard McGuire photo)
Brendan Wallan, of Beaverlodge, Alta., was one of two champion limbo dancers in an adult contest at the Osoyoos Street Dance in August. Although he fell about a second after this shot was taken, he managed to limbo under some very low poles. (Richard McGuire photo)
Horses round the final bend in the sixth and final race at Desert Park in August during the one race day of the year. (Richard McGuire photo)
Guests took one of the tours along the boardwalk of the Osoyoos Desert Centre after dinner at Romancing the Desert in August. The tours gave guests an introduction to the desert habitat and animals and plants that live there, but they also stopped for wine tasting and desserts at stations along the boardwalk. (Richard McGuire photo)
Crystal Zimmerman, 8, from Osoyoos, had the second haircut of her life in August. Her previous one was two years ago. Both times she has donated her hair to the Angel Hair for Kids program, which provides prosthetic hair pieces to financially disadvantaged children who have lost their own hair to illness. (Richard McGuire photo)
Gary Fjellgaard, an acclaimed Canadian country singer/songwriter performed at Jojo’s Cafe in Osoyoos in August to a sell-out audience. Increasingly Jojo’s has been holding live music concerts, while also supporting local visual artists. (Richard McGuire photo)
Don Gayton, a consulting ecologist and expert on the effects of fire, gave a talk at the Mount Kobau Star Party in August as it began to get dark. After his talk, participants gathered around telescopes to look up at the night skies. (Richard McGuire photo)
