The beginning of another new year often gets those who like to prognosticate all excited as they look forward to – and make predictions about – what might take place in the coming 12 months.
Here are just a few things we believe might take place over the next 52 or so weeks as we wish everyone in our wonderful community a very happy and healthy new year.
We predict that the Osoyoos Coyotes will make their small army of loyal and dedicated fans exceptionally happy and skate their way to the Kootenay International Junior Hockey League (KIJHL) championship.
The Coyotes have had an exceptional season with only six losses in their first 37 games and they are all but guaranteed to become the league’s regular season champion, meaning they will have home-ice advantage in each and every playoff series they participate in.
Head coach and general manager Ken Law and team owner Randy Bedard have pieced together an exceptional team and there’s no reason to believe they won’t go all the way and generate some tremendous excitement in this community throughout the playoffs.
The Desert Live Music Festival was a solid success in its first year last summer and we predict the festival will become a “must attend” event for music fans across the South Okanagan.
Organizers haven’t announced the lineup for the 2015 festival, but they made it well known they would like to attract a “big name” star as the festival headliner.
Osoyoos hasn’t hosted a major music concert in more than 20 years and the second annual Desert Live festival promises to generate some great excitement and present some outstanding music and musicians when it returns this summer.
We’re also confident the successful horse racing programs that have returned to Desert Park will return and be more popular than ever in 2015.
The two cards held in 2014 attracted roughly 1,000 patrons per event and we remain confident the huge crowds in excess of 2,000 that filled the Desert Park grounds in 2013 will return this summer.
Desert Park is a wonderful facility with a lot of potential for other users in this community, but it was originally designed as a horse racing facility and that focus should never be forgotten like it was for more than a decade.
We predict the new Mayor Sue McKortoff and the new Town of Osoyoos council – which includes incumbent C. J. Rhodes and political neophytes Carol Younberg, Jim King and Mike Campol – will do a solid job in their first year together following the recent municipal election.
The goal of the new council should be to keep any property tax increase to a reasonable level.
Council has its work cut out for it as a collective unit as there are many challenges ahead, including expanding the town’s economic development opportunities and putting a plan in place to ensure Osoyoos becomes much more than a popular tourist destination for four months in the spring, summer and fall.
We wish McKortoff and the new council all the best in trying to achieve their many goals over the next calendar year.
Finally, we predict that Osoyoos will once again enjoy a magnificent spring, summer and fall filled with endless days of sunshine and hot weather.
It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to figure that one out as we continue to be blessed with the finest weather in the country.
But our beautiful weather is one of the biggest reasons we chose to live in this wonderful small town and we hope Mother Nature continues to bless us throughout the coming months.
The staff here at the Osoyoos Times promises – and predicts – we will continue to publish an outstanding and quality newspaper each and every week in 2015.
We hope all our readers have a great, safe and happy 2015.
