It was only a matter of milliseconds from the word “go” to dozens of children making a beeline onto the field during the annual Easter egg hunt in Osoyoos. And it was only a few more milliseconds until they’d gathered every candy egg from the field. (Richard McGuire file photo)
The Osoyoos Times was named the best newspaper for its size in the entire province and a retired Osoyoos school teacher admitted to criminal charges in April.
A group of industry professionals voted the Osoyoos Times as the finest newspaper in the province for a town the size of Osoyoos.
The Osoyoos Times claimed the gold award in the General Excellence Category for newspapers with a circulation of between 2,000 and 3,000 at the 2014 Ma Murray Community Newspaper Awards, which were sponsored by the British Columbia and Yukon Newspaper Association (BCYNA) Annual Awards ceremony at the River Rock Casino and Resort in Vancouver.
Reporter-photographer Richard McGuire was awarded a gold award in Best Spot News Photo for circulation under 25,000 for his colourful front-page photo that appeared in the Aug. 21 edition of the Osoyoos Times of a fire that broke out near Spotted Lake.
McGuire’s photo captures a provincial fire bomber dropping huge amounts of fire retardant from the sky on to the fire down below.
Editor Keith Lacey said there may not be a large staff that work at the Osoyoos Times, but all staff members are committed to excellence.
“It’s a pleasure to come to work every day at a newspaper that employs people who care about their job and care about their community,” said Lacey, who has worked in community journalism for most of his 31 years in the business. “Everyone in our office is a dedicated professional and they work hard at their jobs to ensure we put out a product that everyone in the community will be proud of and will want to read each and every week.”
Retired Osoyoos school teacher Michael McWhinnie pleaded guilty to stealing more than $40,000 from the Osoyoos Rural Fire Protection District.
McWhinnie, 67, was charged with fraud and theft over $5,000 and pleaded guilty to the theft charge at the Penticton Courthouse after admitting to misappropriating more than $40,000 during his time on the board with the rural fire protection district.
McWhinnie, who taught at Osoyoos Elementary School for more than 30 years, was sentenced in the fall.
McWhinnie offered no excuses about why he stole the money or why he would engage in criminal behavior after leading an exemplary life as a teacher and respected community volunteer, except to say he has been battling depression for years.
“I have very little recall of what I did and I honestly can’t remember what I did,” he said. “I’ve been struggling for some time now and I’m 67 years old and really can’t fathom why I would do something like this, but depression is a mindboggling thing. It really is.”
McWhinnie reiterated that he was very remorseful for what he has done, even though he has little recollection of making a conscious decision to steal money from an organization he was committed to.
In other news, the announcement WestJet was going to provide daily direct flights between Penticton and Calgary was most welcome news in Osoyoos.
“I think it’s wonderful news and as a council, we’re really excited about the WestJet proposal,” said Osoyoos Mayor Stu Wells.
“But this is a good start and I know I’m really excited about it.”
Meanwhile, the Okanagan Basin Water Board (OBWB) continued stepping up its efforts to get the provincial and federal governments to take action against invasive mussels.
Anna Warwick Sears, OBWB executive director, sent a letter to Premier Christie Clark, Environment Minister Mary Polak and other provincial government MLAs “to reiterate the sense of urgency we feel here in the Okanagan.”
The threat of invasive mussels to the Okanagan lakes was underscored weeks earlier when a boat encrusted with quagga mussels was stopped coming into Canada at the Osoyoos border crossing.
The OBWB estimates the annual cost of controlling damage would be around $43 million a year if quagga or zebra mussels enter Okanagan lakes.
The mussels have taken over many lake and river systems in eastern Canada and the United States, where they encrust themselves on water intakes and docks, contaminate water and leave razor-sharp shells on beaches.
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Osoyoos Times
