West Kelowna News

Westside motorists will face the usual disruptions Saturday as the Westside Daze Parade takes precedence for the morning.

Although the parade itself doesn't kick off until 10:30 a.m., the road and parking restrictions around the parade route begin to come into play as of 8:30 a.m. due to the ongoing staging of the entries.

Staging for the parade will take place on Louie Drive between Butt Road and Bering Road.

The parade will follow a slightly different route at its start this year, proceeding up Bering to Old Okanagan Highway and left past Zellers before resuming its usual routing.

The ever-popular "Get Wet Zone" will be found on Brown Road between Bering and Butt roads.

"Motorists are asked to obey the Citizens Patrol and the RCMP at all times for the safety of the large number of pedestrians expected," says Westside Celebration Society administrator Leah Thordarson.

John Murray made a small piece of Westside history when he was elected to the first Westbank First Nation's Advisory Council in 2005 as a director, and his fellow council members elected him their inaugural chair.

Murray, 76, died Sunday still serving as the representative of the Prairie riding on the council, and as the chairman, having been re-elected to both posts 10 months ago.

"John was highly respected and represented the Westbank First Nation community and his constituents in a most professional manner," Chief Robert Louie says of Murray.

"John was an exceptional individual and he will be sadly missed," the WFN chief says.

Murray and his wife were avid fans of the Westside Warriors for the three years the team was in West Kelowna.

Murray had pursued a career in municipal administration and served as the chief administrator of Powell River and Whistler at various points before retiring to the Okanagan.

The WFN advisory council represents the interests of the reserves' 8,000-plus non-members to the WFN's membership-elected chief and council.

A by election will be required to fill his seat on the advisory council, but no word on a date for it has been released.

John is survived by his wife Louise, daughter Jacqueline, son George, his daughter-in-law Michelle and his granddaughters Kayla and Kelsey.

A service will be held on Friday, July 10th, at the Sun Village club house, 2330 Butt Road.

Attendees are asked to make a donation to the Canadian Diabetes Association or Prostate Cancer Canada in lieu of flowers.

A 42-year-old Kelowna man has died from injuries suffered in a motorcycle accident on Westside Road Wednesday afternoon.

The unidentified man passed away shortly after being transported to Kelowna General Hospital.

The crash, which occurred about 2:30, forced closure of the road for a couple of hours.

RCMP Cpl. Mike McVicar, says the motorcyclist was travelling northbound along Westside Road about four kilometres from Highway 97 when the collision happened.

"He was taking a right hand curve when he lost control, crossed the centre-line and crashed head-on with an oncoming car," says McVicar.

This is the second time in less than a week a motorcyclist has died in a collision.

Last Friday, a 26-year-old Edmonton man died from injuries sustained in a crash at Harvey and Gordon.

"Five people died in motorcycle accidents in Kelowna last year. We've now had two in less than a week," added McVicar.

"Some people are pushing the limit. I'm not saying that's the case here (Wednesday's incident), but some people are making bad decisions."

McVicar says the combination of speed, bad decision making and machines that are too powerful for the person riding are partly responsible for some of the crashes he's seen over the past few years.

Police continue to investigate Wednesday's incident.

McVicar says weather conditions were ideal at the time of the crash.

While the former Westside District Municipality and the old Westside regional electoral area have both passed into history, there will always be a Westside Daze, at least for the foreseeable future, according to Westside Celebration Society administrator Leah Thordarson.

"We're not changing our name," Thordarson said on behalf of the non-profit volunteer organization that organizes and presents the annual community festivity and Canada Day commemoration.

"We've informally questioned it, and we as a committee decided that (West Kelowna) would be too limiting. We encompass the area from bridge to connector, which includes the regional district, Westbank First Nation, and West Kelowna. So Westside is a good catch-all name."

West Kelowna council makes an annual contribution to the society to put on Westside Daze, which amount totaled $10,000 for 2009, but Mayor Doug Findlater of West Kelowna has no problem that the Westside Celebration Society has not fallen into line on civic nomenclature.

"A festival like this involves people from all over the greater Westside," Findlater said. "It can include Peachland, it can include Trepanier, and WFN for that matter, so it is an event with a much larger catchment that simply our municipality."

Thordarson noted that the WFN is contributing $5,000 this year to Westside Daze to sponsor a day-long "sukanaquin sxslxalt" Okanagan Day on Friday, July 3 featuring Westbank First Nation displays, entertainment, demonstrations, tee pee theatre, story telling, and a salmon bbq.

Meanwhile, and as the heat generated by the naming challenge for the new municipality and public opinion ballot on the topic in November slowly cools, Findlater offered some interesting observations on the matter.

"The words Westside and Westbank are not banished from the language. I live in Westbank, but I'm the mayor of West Kelowna, and proud of it. I think West Kelowna is going to be a good name for us."

Thordarson, who is also executive director of the Westbank & District Chamber of Commerce, said that organization is now looking at renaming options that the full membership of the chamber will address as the annual general meeting in November.

The Westside Daze organizers are going beyond the normal promises of engaging events for all ages and interests and a good time for all at the 2009 celebration, which is coming up in little more than a month.

"We call this area paradise and to celebrate our good fortune, we have banished rain and mosquitoes to the other side of the lake," the Westside Celebration Society boldly declares on its Westside Daze '09 website --www.westsidedaze.com.

There's not much point looking for a money-back guarantee on those mother nature-daring promises, however, because most of the major events, including the Neil Diamond tribute and several other concerts, the kids' fair, the Okanagan's best fireworks, and the B.C. Interior's largest parade, are absolutely free.

Westside Daze kicks off on July 1 -- Canada Day -- with the car and motorcycle shows and shines. Dignitaries and special guests will cut and serve the Canada Day cake in the afternoon.

The Rock Band, Rock On teenagers' music contest will run all afternoon and evening on July 2, while the Westbank First Nation's "Okanagan Day" goes on July 3 with entertainment, cultural presentations and food.

The annual parade kicks off on July 4 at 10:30 a.m. to launch a full day of fun and activity, with the popular Kids Fair running from 12 noon to 4, and winding up with the annual fireworks show on the beach at 10 p.m.

West Coast Amusements will have its classic midway and its biggest rides on site all four days.

Link: Link to Westside Daze Website

Residents receiving their water bills from the District of West Kelowna or Lakeview Irrigation District are subject to the following water regulations:

Stage 1 Sprinkling Guidelines
The Stage 1 Sprinkling Regulations are in effect throughout the irrigation season:

Days of Watering:

Sprinkling is only permitted at residential, commercial, and other non-agricultural properties as follows:

• Even numbered addresses: Watering is only permitted on even calendar days.
  
• Odd numbered addresses: Watering is only permitted on odd calendar days.

Automatically Controlled Underground Sprinkling Systems (Residential and Commercial):
Properties equipped with an automated time clock sprinkler system may only sprinkle between the hours of 12 midnight to 6 a.m. on the days permitted by the sprinkling regulations as described above.

Manually Controlled Sprinklers (Residential and Commercial):
Properties equipped with only manually controlled sprinkling systems, including those attached to outside taps, may only operate from 6 a.m. to 11 a.m. and from 6 p.m. to 12 midnight on the days permitted by the sprinkling regulations as described above.

If you do not receive a water bill from the District of West Kelowna, you have a different water provider.

Please contact your water provider directly if you require more specific information.