West Kelowna

"The greatness of a nation and its moral progress can be judged by the way its animals are treated"
--Mahatma Gandhi

When Deana and Barry Moore left West Kelowna for a Mexican vacation, the last thing they expected was to be coming home with a new member of the family.

"My parents winter down there and my husband I vacationed there for Christmas," says Deana.

Photo: Contributed - Deana Moore

After being hit by a vehicle, an injured Luka was left to fend for himself until Deana and Barry Moore stepped in to help.

Even before they had arrived, the Moores had heard about Solovino, a stray dog that had been hit by a vehicle and left to die on the side of the road. What's worse, it appeared the owners refused to allow humane intervention.

The name Solovino is typically given to street dogs in Mexico and roughly translated means "he came alone."

Solovino had suffered severe damage to his hind quarters and blindness in his left eye.

He was unable to hunt or fight for food and was slowing starving to death on the side of a busy road in a ditch.

When they arrived in LaManznilla, Deana and Solovino would meet.

"His desire, his willingness to live is just so amazing. He has such an amazing spirit."

The next day they returned to the spot where Solovino had laid for months and discovered that no one was claiming ownership of the suffering canine, who may have been there since September.

"My Dad, along with other people in the town started feeding him every day. The ditch he was lying in was beside a home and they were under the impression that he was the homeowners dog, but in fact that was not the case."

Fortunately, Deana speaks Spanish and was able to communicate with the woman in the home.

"She said 'This is not my dog. I can't feed him. I can barely feed my children. Please take him.' and that was pretty much it."

It was Christmas eve and Solovino was going to spend the holidays with the Moores.

They originally planned to offer him comfort and, if he wasn't going to recover, have him dealt with humanely.

But like Deana said, Solovino has spirit and wasn't ready to give up.

After a few days of regular feedings, love and basic grooming Solovino began to get stronger.

"He went from being very sickly to behaving like a normal dog."

They cleaned him up at a doggy spa and then took him to the vet where they were told there's a good chance he would recover.

"They said he's not too bad. He's got a bad hip, the top and bottom front teeth are completely worn down and he's blind in one eye. He also contracted a blood virus"

"That's when we decided, OK were going take this on. He's not going to be put down because he wants to live."

Photo: Contributed - Deana Moore

Luka recovers from hip surgery as Maggie stays close by.

Originally they wanted to find a good home for Solovino, now re-named Luka, in Mexico.  However, on January 22, Barry was bringing Luka home to West Kelowna.

The next step in Luka’s journey was hip surgery, and with the help of the Westbank Animal Care Hospital the procedure went without a hitch, however, x-rays taken ahead of the operation revealed something else.

A some point in his life, Luka had been shot by a pellet gun and the pellet was still lodged in his chest.

These days Luka is recovering from his surgery at his new home in the Okanagan enjoying the company of the Moores and their two dogs.

Deana says their English Lab "Maggie" warmed up to him almost instantly, however, their Husky Shepherd “Jasper” needs a little more time to get used to his new bunkmate.

As you can imagine, the Moores are big supporters of pet adoption. On top of taking in Luka, both Maggie and Jasper were rescues from the SPCA.

"Go out and adopt an animal today. You will be happier, healthier and richer in spirit for doing so."

You can read the entire story of Luka's rescue and follow her progress here.

Talk about going 'above and beyond!'

Photo: Contributed - Andrew Deans

Even the Stanley Cup showed up at Westwood Retirement Resort.

Residents and staff at Westwood Retirement Resort in West Kelowna did just that in showing their 'spirit' and 'support' of West Kelowna's bid to become Kraft Hockeyville 2012.

West Kelowna, along with 28 BC and 227 Canadian communities have qualified for phase two of the competition.

"We find that once Christmas is done, the residents are tired in January because we've done so much in December but come February, we're all waiting for spring, we're a little antsy and a little bored," says Westwood Marketing Director, Corinne Ginther.

"When we heard about Hockeyville, Christie (Hughes) and I talked about and thought this is just what we need to take everybody's mind off of winter."

What the staff and residents were able to do in just two short weeks was mind boggling.

They cut out and sewed jersey's, knit headbands, made #1 fingers, and even a Stanley Cup.

During judging Wednesday for the commercial 'Hockeyville Decorating Contest,' residents even got into a brief, spirited game of walker hockey.

"The jersey's they sewed were old sheets that were no longer in use. We got the residents on board doing jersey's and it took off like crazy -- like wildfire," adds Ginther.

They sewed 90 jersey's over the course of one weekend.

"Another group of ladies knitted all the headbands. It just got bigger and bigger and bigger. The last week or so even some of the residents families started getting involved."

Ginther says the end result didn't surprise her but the level of involvement did.

"Quite often we'll get the same residents who get involved in events or fundraisers. This was exciting because it went past that group and seemed to bring in the others who don't get involved quite as often."

She says staff and residents are still buzzing.

"They're all talking about it. They're so excited. They just want CBC to come here so bad and show them what we can do."

In past years CBC has visited many of the top communities and produced video vignettes to help voters get to know the top 15 and top five communities.

Ginther says what got most of the residents excited was the fact they were doing something that could ultimately benefit the community and Royal LePage Place.

"We're a small community and we've gone through a lot of changes in the last few years in becoming a district and changing our name. I hate to see communities fighting with each other."

She thinks Hockeyville could be a good step in bringing the community closer together.

On March 3, the field of 227 will be cut to the top 15.

A panel will select the three top entries from each of the five regions, including:

• Pacific - BC and Yukon
• West - Prairies, Northwest Territories and Nunavut
• Ontario
• Quebec
• Atlantic 

Once the top 15 is named, voting will be open from 9 p.m. Pacific Time Saturday, March 3 until 6 p.m. Pacific Time Tuesday, March 6.

From those votes, the top five (one from each region) will be announced Saturday, March 17.

Final voting takes place from 9 p.m. Pacific Time Saturday, March 17 until 6 p.m. Pacific Time Tuesday, March 20.

The winning community, announced March 31 on Hockey Night In Canada, will receive $100,000 in arena upgrades and an NHL pre-season game in September.

Westwood Hockeyville Visit Video

RCMP are asking for the public's assistance in locating a truck believed to be involved in hit-and-run in West Kelowna Friday, February 3.

Police say around 9:30 p.m. a white pick-up truck with two occupants inside slammed into one of the support posts in front of a business in the 1700 block of Ross Road.

Witnesses say the woman who was behind the wheel at the time of the crash, switched places with her male passenger.

He then drove away.

Witnesses were unable to get a description of either person, however, a BC licence plate number provided to police did not match the vehicle.

Police are asking anyone who may have seen a white pick-up truck with front end damage to contact West Kelowna RCMP or Crime Stoppers.

Work will begin this week on the final phase of repairs to the Westside Road Interchange retaining walls.

The BC Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure announced on Wednesday that Ledcor, the contractor for the Westside Road Interchange project, is starting the process to attach the finishing panels, and they anticipate repairs will be complete by mid-March.

File photo: Trevor Rockliffe

The final phase of repairs to the Westside Rd Interchange are set to begin.

The first phase of repair works at both the west and east abutments is complete, and involved the preparation of a mounting surface for the finishing panels.

Work included removing all the panels under the abutments on both walls, preparing soil and placing shotcrete on the exposed face of the soil to prevent weathering.

Ministry officials say the wall failure was a unique event, and the retrofitting of the panels is a complex process. As a result, to design a repair that ensures quality and durability required more time than anticipated.

The ministry recognizes and thanks West Kelowna and area residents, as well as other users of the highway, for being extremely patient throughout this process, and they can rest assured that their safety is the ministry's utmost concern.

On November 20, 2011, the facing panels of the west abutment retaining wall at the Westside Road Interchange collapsed.

The Province engaged Buckland and Taylor Ltd., an internationally-renowned bridge engineering firm, to investigate the cause. Their testing of materials from the site has determined embrittlement at the bends in certain steel reinforcement bars connecting the concrete facing panels was a contributing factor in the collapse.

The investigation is not over however, and research into the failure is continuing. A detailed geotechnical analysis is still to come along with further materials testing, analysis of soil settlement, mapping of the failure areas and analysis of findings from taking apart the opposite wall to learn about other factors that may have contributed to the collapse.

Current traffic patterns will remain in place until further notice. The ministry will continue to ensure that any traffic pattern changes take into consideration hockey games and other community events. 

The family of a missing West Kelowna man continues to hold out hope someone knows something about his whereabouts.

Photo: Contributed

Andrew Lalonde

Andrew Lalonde, 30, wandered away from his mobile home sometime Wednesday afternoon, January 17.

He left behind his car, his wallet and his cell phone. The door of his home was unlocked.

Lalonde has not been seen or heard from since.

He was last seen the previous night when he visited his sister, Jessie.

An extensive search the days immediately following his disappearance by Central Okanagan Search and Rescue, police, friends and family in the immediate area turned up nothing.

The search encompassed areas around Okanagan Lake, Boucherie Mountain, surrounding neighbourhoods, KGH and other agencies.

Lalonde has an alcohol addiction and his family is concerned he may have become disoriented and wandered off.

He is described as Caucasian, although his mother says he may appear to be aboriginal. He's 5'9", 176 lbs with short brown hair and brown eyes.

Residents of West Kelowna and Kelowna are asked to check outbuildings or anywhere Lalonde may have crawled to seek shelter.

You can't miss it as you drive through West Kelowna on Highway 97.

Photo: Trevor Rockliffe - Castanet

Craftsman Collision, a relatively new business on the highway near Hudson Road, has extended what looks like a clothes line from its road sign to the building.

It's not the line that is unusual, but what is hanging from it.

Hockey sticks, hockey pants, helmets and a hockey bag are draped along the line.

"It looks a bit like a clothes line, but it's our effort to support the bid for Hockeyville for West Kelowna," says shop manager, Ian Johnson.

"I think it's great -- it helps make West Kelowna more of a community. If we were to get those funds for Royal LePage Place it would hopefully make it more of a central community location for other community events as well as hockey."

Johnson says his display is getting a lot of attention from motorists.

"We do have some good visibility. Everybody that drives by is certainly looking. People are gawking when they are stopped at the traffic jams."

As for community spirit, Johnson says he'd like to see more people involved in hyping Hockeyville.

"I don't see a lot of participation so it would be nice to see more people on board."

West Kelowna is one of 28 communities in BC and 227 across the country to hope to crack the top 15.

The top 15 will be announced on Hockey Night In Canada Saturday, March 3.

Photo: Grant Scott

Emergency crews tend to the scene of a 3 vehicle crash at Hwy 97 and Westlake Saturday afternoon.

A three vehicle crash brought traffic down to a crawl on Highway 97 Saturday afternoon.

The chain reaction collision occurred around 2:30 p.m., when a vehicle travelling southbound on the highway stopped for a red light at the intersection of Westlake/Hudson.

West Kelowna RCMP say the preliminary investigation shows the trailing vehicle did not stop in time and ploughed into the rear end of the braking vehicle.

A third vehicle also failed to stop in time and hit the second vehicle.

The crash left those involved visibly shaken, but it appears any injuries suffered were relatively minor.

The first two vehicles suffered the most damage, while the third was able to drive away from the scene and appeared undamaged.

A large parcel of land within the Rose Valley Reservoir will not be part of a land swap between the province and Westbank First Nation.

Photo: Wayne Moore - Castanet File Photo

Minister of Transportation and Infrastructure, Blair Lekstrom

The province announced Friday morning it is again in discussions with WFN for other suitable land in exchange for reserve lands which were required for construction of the Westside Road Interchange.

A firestorm of controversy erupted in July of last year when it became known the province was contemplating an exchange of 698 acres of Crown Land around the reservoir for the eight acres of WFN land required for the highway construction work.

In 2009, WFN identified four parcels of Crown land in the Rose Valley/Bear Creek area as potential replacement lands.

The District of West Kelowna and Regional District of Central Okanagan were both upset the province would consider including lands around the reservoir as part of a land deal.

Residents of the municipality were also upset.

"I have heard first-hand the concerns of West Kelowna residents and I am encouraged by the willingness of Westbank First Nation to explore other options," says Minister of Transportation and Infrastructure, Blair Lekstrom.

"We remain committed to working closely with Chief Louie and the Westbank First Nation representatives on alternative replacement lands."

Since the lands were identified, the ministry has been engaging individuals and organizations impacted by the proposed transfer.

Information from those discussions were incorporated into a detailed submission made to the Ministry of Forests, Lands and Natural Resource Operations which had a final say on the transfer.

Chief Robert Louie says WFN will consider lands other than those initially identified.

While the lands around Rose Valley are not off the table, Louie says meetings are already underway to explore other options.

"Some of these properties are much more complex than we understood to be the case," says Louie.

"We look forward to working with the province over the next few months to explore exchange land options that satisfy the terms of our agreement with BC and are acceptable to our community."

West Kelowna Mayor, Doug Findlater says he's cautiously pleased with the news.

Findlater says he believes there were lessons learned through the process, especially on the provincial side.

He hopes West Kelowna will be consulted as negotiations go forward if the lands proposed have an impact on the municipality.

The province says new discussions will centre around options with fewer public impacts that would be suitable for WFN.

Rose Valley Reservoir

Taxpayers in West Kelowna can expect to see a tax increase in the range of 3 per cent when council finally approves the 2012 budget later this spring.

Photo: Contributed

Council went through the budget line-by-line earlier this week and remained at the figure of a 3 per cent increase.

That number could drop slightly as council also requested a report on the tax impact of using approximately $150,000 in uncommitted funds towards lowering that number.

The 2012 budget calls for operational spending of $75.2M with a further $17.6M earmarked for capital spending.

Capital projects are funded through reserves, district development charges and senior government programs.

The operational side is funded directly from taxation, service charges and senior government funding.

West Kelowna will keep slightly more than $23.2M of taxes collected with the remainder forwarded to other taxing agencies.

As part of the provisional budget, West Kelowna Council agreed to fund several new staffing positions, including:

• Building Inspector (three year term)
• Facility Operator II
• Mechanic
• Transportation Technologist II
• Utilities Technologist II
• Utilities Operator (Sewers/Drains)
• Water Utility Operator II
• Public Works Operator II
• Four Additional Summer Students
• RCMP School Liaison and another one other Officer (three yrear term)

Council also approved several capital projects included in the $17.6M budget, including:

• $1.5M Road Rehab Program
• $2.1M Wine Route Upgrade for Boucherie Road from Hwy 97 to Stuart Road
• $250,000 Pedestrian Improvement Program
• $2.5M Gellatly Road Upgrade from Angus Drive to IR9
• Upgrades to two more beach accesses
• Municipal Hall Addition
• New Sunnyside Reservoir
• Horizon Lift Station Upgrade
• Glenrosa Sewer Phase 4
• Lakeview Heights Sewer Phase 7

Council is expected to give the 2012-2021 Financial Plan, which includes the 2012 budget, on February 14.

Following that, public open houses will be held to gauge public reaction to the budget.

Council will adopt the budget in April.

Today (Tuesday) is the final day for submissions during phase one of West Kelowna's bid to become Kraft Hockeyville 2012.

Photo: Contributed - Elyse

Drawings like this one submitted by Elyse show support for West Kelowna's Hockeyville bid

West Kelowna is one of 26 communities in BC and 209 across Canada which have already qualified for phase two of the competition.

To date, the West Kelowna/Royal LePage Place bid has nearly 500 members and more than 1,100 submissions.

The deadline to post stories, pictures and videos in support of the bid is 9 p.m. Pacific time tonight (Tuesday).

Hockeyville bid co-chair Adam Less has this advice for anyone thinking of getting involved.

"Get online, upload stories, upload pictures, upload videos, do whatever you can to upload whatever you can before 9 p.m.," says Less.

"And, don't forget the value of our social media presence. Every Facebook post, every Twitter tweet, all of it will help give us a final push before the contest entry phase closes."

Once the entry phase closes, contest organizers will get together and whittle the qualified communities down to 15.

The top 15 will be announced on Hockey Night in Canada Saturday, March 3.

People across the country will then have a chance to vote for their preferred community from 9 p.m. PST Saturday, March 3 to 6 p.m. PST Tuesday, March 6.

The winning community, announced March 31, will receive $100,000 in arena upgrades and will also host an NHL pre-season game in September.

The West Kelowna bid committee will also be hosting a number of events throughout the month of February.

Details and dates will be announced soon.