Standardbred horses make their way down the track in the first ever harness race at Desert Park in August. The course was one mile long and the horses passed the finish like twice during the race. (Richard McGuire file photo)
Serious milfoil problems on Osoyoos Lake and the introduction of a new daily ground shuttle service between Osoyoos and the Kelowna International Airport made headlines in August.
Many Osoyoos residents were upset and complaining about the abnormally high levels of milfoil growth in Osoyoos Lake, but there was nothing the Okanagan Basin Water Board (OBWB), which runs the milfoil control program, can do about it after the provincial and federal government halted milfoil harvesting to protect fish habitat.
Rules put in place by the provincial and federal governments to protect smallmouth bass spawning areas have meant the annual spring milfoil cutting program on Osoyoos Lake was suspended until early July, instead of the usual starting date of early April, said James Littley, office and project manager for the OBWB, which is responsible for milfoil control in Osoyoos Lake and other waterbodies across the Okanagan Valley.
The lack of spring harvesting of milfoil in Osoyoos Lake has resulted in one of the worst concentrations of milfoil in the lake’s history, said Littley.
“We were not allowed to start our milfoil control program anywhere on Osoyoos Lake until July 1 … when we usually begin in early April,” said Littley, who acknowledges his office has been swamped with complaints from Osoyoos residents over the past several weeks about the unusually high levels of milfoil.
The introduction of the Rocky Mountain Ridge mussel to a small section of the northwest part of Osoyoos Lake has also resulted in milfoil control being banned on this section of the lake, said Littley.
The program is most effective in early April as there isn’t any traffic on the lake and huge amounts of milfoil are cut off at the roots and rise to the surface of the lake, where it is gathered and harvested, he said.
In other news, B.C. Premier Christy Clark announced in August that $325-million expansion of the Penticton Regional Hospital has been approved, which was very good news for the hundreds of Osoyoos residents who visit that hospital every year.
Clark surprised many, including Janice Perrino, the chair of the South Okanagan Medical Foundation, by confirming the province is committed to funding $160-million to the project.
The project will be built in two phases with a new seven-storey patient care tower to include 84 medical and surgical beds in single-patient rooms, a walk-in medical care centre, surgical services, new medical device reprocessing unit and space for a new Faculty of Medicine program by the University of British Columbia.
Phase 2 will involve renovation of the vacated areas of the current hospital to allow for a massive expansion of the emergency department, which will quadruple the current size. There will also be renovations to the existing pharmacy, storage areas and laundry.
“This is absolutely wonderful,” said Osoyoos Mayor Stu Wells, who has pushed for PRH expansion for several years not only as Osoyoos’ Mayor, but also as a longtime board member with the Regional District of Okanagan-Similkameen (RDOS).
“It has been a very long time coming and is very much needed because the current hospital is old and overcrowded. The committee that has led the charge to get this expansion built has worked very, very hard for several years and I’m just thrilled this project is moving ahead.”
When completed, PRH will truly be a world-class regional hospital that will be able to offer quality healthcare and world-class programs and services to residents from across the South Okanagan, said Wells.
After many months of hard work and negotiations, residents across the South Okanagan were finally able to connect between communities and get to the Kelowna International Airport after the official launch of the Let’s Go ground shuttle service in August.
Shuttle service between the communities spread across the South Okanagan officially began with four daily round trips offered between Osoyoos and Kelowna International Airport.
Customers are shuttled between communities across the region in modern, air-conditioned 15-passenger vans initially, but Let’s Go Transportation owners Birgit and Fabio Santana said they will be looking at expanding the current fleet if there is sufficient demand for their service in the coming months.
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