Human Interest
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This afternoon, 68 year old Neil Saunders is taking time on his weekend to clean up the ditches along Dog Creek Road near Mountview Elementary School.
Neil, who has lived in Williams Lake for 41 years said he just wants to make it look nicer. He is being ultra responsible by wearing a high-visibility vest.
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Williams Lake’s own Dave Dickson was one of thirty two British Columbians honoured at the tenth annual British Columbia Community Achievement Awards ceremony held at Government House in Victoria recently.
The Community Achievement Awards highlight citizens whose contributions, leadership and inspiration have helped to make their community more positive and engaging. "They do whatever needs to get done - from sitting on boards and committees to far exceeding their job descriptions to sharing their talents of organizing, fundraising, preserving a community's heritage or teaching environmental awareness," said BC Achievement Foundation Chair Keith Mitchell.
Cariboo Draft Horse Club loses one of their own; remembering Lincoln
Well-known and much beloved Williams Lake draft horse, Lincoln, died suddenly on March 16th, leaving owners Karen and Kim Sepkowski devastated.
Lincoln, a sorrel (red) colored rare breed of horse called a Suffolk Punch, along with his partner, Bentley, were a popular and familiar sight to many Williams Lake residents. They participated in the Santa Claus parade bringing Santa to town. They gave annual rides at the seniors’ complex. They appeared at weddings, graduations, the well-known Valentine’s Day sleigh ride with the Cariboo Draft Horse Club, and gave rides to the public each year at the fall fair. In the winter, the team gave sleigh rides to families and businesses. Last year they took Premier Christy Clarke and MLA Donna Barnett in the stampede parade.
Cariboo couponing group invites new members to save money
On her Facebook page, Williams Lake resident Shelby Philpotts describes herself as a “coupon punk, trying to get the best deal I can and helping anyone I can along the way.”
Shelby first became interested in saving money using coupons after seeing the TV series ‘Extreme Couponing’. Her curiousity piqued, she researched couponing in Canada and found that the rules were vastly different from the US.
A local couponing group did not exist, and there was no source for acquiring coupons, according to Shelby. So, in the summer of 2011, she started the Facebook group Cariboo, BC Coupon Swap. “Within a couple of months, the group had grown to 100 members across Canada,” explains Philpotts. The group is now up to 225 members.
(Photo: Shelby 'Couponpunk' Philpotts, founder of Cariboo, BC Coupon Swap.)
Rare sighting of burrowing owl near Williams Lake
Very recently, Master Birder and Cariboo Mountains Bird Specialist Phil Ranson discovered a rare visitor to the Cariboo region. An unbanded burrowing owl was seen on the Sugarcane Reserve just south of Williams Lake.
“The bird was seen for two consecutive days standing on an earth mound which had a large burrow -- probably Marmot,” said Mr. Ranson. “It was only about 35 metres from a residence and there are multiple free-roaming dogs in that area. This is only the third spring record.” The others were on Dog Creek Prairie in 2006 and a pair at Alexis Creek in 2008.
Burrowing owls are sometimes known as ‘Howdy Owls’ because of their habit of bobbing up and down in a bowing motion, a behaviour that likely allows them to determine distance from multiple viewpoints.
(Photos by Evan Nicholson.)
Name the new school in Williams Lake
All members of the community are encouraged to participate in naming the new two campus Williams Lake High School.
Things to consider may include:
- The histories of the secondary schools in Williams Lake
- First Nations culture
- Names of prominent people, both present and past, in our community
Please include rationale with each submission.
150 Mile VFD proud of its training and skills
By Bev Boyle
150 Mile Volunteer Fire Department Chief, Stan McCarthy, was visiting his brother Jack on the coast over 30 years ago when he got a call telling him his house in 150 Mile had burned to the ground. There was no Fire Department.
Stan rebuilt his house and started a fire department 32 years ago and has been the Chief there for 25 years. That fire department now has four fire trucks, a Chief, three Deputy Chiefs, three Captains, two Lieutenants, and over 36 volunteer firefighters. The crew is dedicated to protecting their area and, rightfully, proud of the work they do as volunteers.
The Heart and Stroke Foundation seeks Big Bike teams in Williams Lake
The Kamloops/Cariboo office of the Heart and Stroke Foundation is recruiting teams to participate in Williams Lake’s annual Big Bike event, presented by Dairy Farmers of Canada, which is taking place at The Recreation Center 525 Proctor Street on June 11. Local organizations are invited to help take a seat to extend a life by getting a team of 29 together to ride a 2km route in their community on Canada’s only 30 seat bike.
“This fun, team-building event is a great opportunity to increase employee morale and your organization’s visibility in the community and all for a good cause” says Lianna Jansen, Area Coordinator of the Kamloops/Cariboo office of the Heart and Stroke Foundation.
Williams Lake to celebrate the life of 'Tuba John' Sykes
Well known community volunteer and local musician ‘Tuba John’ Sykes passed away in Williams Lake on March 29, 2013.
John participated in just about anything musical in Williams Lake, taking part in musicals, playing with the Williams Lake Community Band, a local dance band, at the church and he even entertained shoppers at Christmas time by playing his tuba during his Salvation Army kettle shift. He played alongside elementary and high school students, lending his thirty plus years of tuba playing and general musical experience. “I will step in at any time and volunteer my services anywhere,” said John in a recent interview with CBC radio. “I think it’s very important for kids to have a good (musical) background.”
SPCA: Bunnies not appropriate pets for small children
With Easter just days away, and a tradition of gift giving around this time of year, the BC SPCA urges the public to not buy bunnies as Easter gifts.
Craig Naherniak, general manager of humane education for the BC SPCA, says it may come as a surprise that rabbits and children are not a great match.
"Rabbits are great companions for adults, but are not appropriate pets for small children despite the pervasive media images of children with rabbits," he says. “They don’t like to be picked up, as they are prey animals and picking them up distresses them. Like any pet, they require proper care and can live up to 12 years.”
Learn to Run program provides the foundation for lifelong running
The annual Learn to Run program hosted by Cariboo Memorial Recreation Complex, is designed for beginner runners and will give you the basics of establishing your own sustainable running program that you will carry on beyond the 12-week program, theoretically the rest of your life. It will provide you with adequate base training to enter the local Kidsport Classic on Sunday, June 23rd either in the 5 km (team) or 10 km (individual or team) categories.
The program is designed to gently increase your running distance. It starts with 30 seconds of running and 4 minutes of walking and slowly increases the endurance so that you are able to participate in a 5km Kidsport Classic Run at the end of the program.
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