South Okanagan

The Town of Oliver says farmers may be held hostage by local civic employees looking to secure a new contract.

The town issued a news release late Friday afternoon stating members of CUPE Local 608 had voted earlier in the week in favour of strike action following a breakdown of mediated negotiations.

The union has been without a contract since December 31, 2010.

The town says CUPE has also refused to acknowledge the importance of agricultural irrigation water supply as an essential service.

"By fighting an essential service designation by the Labour Relations Board for agricultural water supply, Oliver's municipal workers are attempting to hold farmers hostage to satisfy their wage demands," says Oliver Mayor, Ron Hovanes.

"This is a major concern for council as the town is responsible for providing water to the entire community including the farming sector. We will continue to exercise all avenues available to pursue a favourable decision by the LRB and, failing that, to keep water flowing using management staff."

Hovanes says the town has offered CUPE a four year contract with wage increases of 0%, 1.5%, 1.5% and 1.5% plus a $400 signing bonus in the first year.

He says the offer was better than a contract accepted by CUPE workers in Penticton.

"Council believes the town's offer is more than fair under the current economic circumstances in Oliver. We did not ask for any wage concessions for positions as was the case in Penticton," says Hovanes.

The mayor says the union is seeking  a 1.95% increase in each of the four years, a contract similar to one agreed to in Osoyoos, a community which Hovanes says collects more than $1M more in taxes per year.

Hovanes further states that the last contract, which ran from 2007 to 2010, provided workers wage increases compounding to approximately 14.5%.

He adds the difference between the two offers would cost tax payers of Oliver over $113,000 over the life of the contract.

Castanet reporter Grant Scott was on hand this morning, near Summerland, when crews pulled a truck and trailer from Okanagan Lake. The vehicles stopped near the edge, after they did a 360 on Highway 97. The driver and his dog escaped serious injuries.

Summerland MVI Feb. 16, 2012

Photo: Grant Scott

Photo: Grant Scott

Photo: Grant Scott

Photo: Grant Scott

Photo: Grant Scott

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A potentially toxic situation was narrowly avoided early Thursday morning after a a pick-up truck hauling a trailer full of chemicals used in producing spray foam insulation spun off Highway 97 just south of Summerland.

The truck was travelling southbound near Kickinee Park when the driver lost control just before 7:30 a.m. The road was reported to be extremely slippery at the time of the crash.

"He veered off road through the opposing lane of traffic," says Cpl. Ted Manchulenko. "Fortunately he never struck anybody. He ended up half submerged into the lake."

The driver and his dog were able to escape from the cab of the pickup and neither were injured in the mishap.

The main concern then became the chemicals inside the trailer.

"There's some indication that the construction materials inside may pose an environmental risk."

With no visible sign of leakage, crews at the scene then had to wait for approval to move the rig from the Ministry of Environment.  After a delay of almost two and a half hours, it was deemed safe to move.

Two tow trucks were used to get the truck and trailer out of the water. The pickup was removed first and was actually able to drive away from the scene.

The trailer had to pulled upright, then dragged out of the water in a procedure which lasted about 15 minutes. Once upright, firemen donned breathing gear and the trailer was opened. One large container could be seen lying on it's side, but nothing had leaked out.

"The load was secure inside and there's no environmental damage at all. There's no spillage out of the trailer or the drums that were enclosed inside," says Manchulenko.

"There's severe damage to the trailer mind you, and it's going to be towed back to a facility to be checked."

The highway was down to a single lane in either direction for over an hour while the scene was cleared up.

The Osoyoos Times has no plans to release the video showing editor Keith Lacey’s interaction with a police officer during a routine drinking and driving stop on Feb. 3.

Photo: Contributed

Osoyoos Times Editor, Keith Lacey

Although there had been a tremendous amount of pressure to do so, we have been advised it is best we don’t and we will take that advice, said publisher Chris Stodola on Wednesday.

“We need to move forward and this is going to prolong the fight, which I believe is over,” he said.

Information there was a video of the incident came out after Lacey published a scathing editorial on Feb. 8 describing his experiences the night he was pulled over by Cpl. Ryan McLeod.

In the write-up, which Stodola says he saw beforehand and deemed appropriate, Lacey accused the officer of humiliating, disrespecting and traumatizing him.

The RCMP reacted by saying there was a video available of the incident, proving McLeod acted in a very calm and professional manner throughout the situation. 

RCMP Supt. Ray Bernoties, Officer in Charge of “E” Division Communications Services, even said he was willing to drive to Osoyoos and show it to the community.

Lacey subsequently wrote an apology to McLeod which appeared on the paper’s home page on Sunday.

Since the apology, Bernoties said the RCMP has moved on.

But McLeod, who is currently out of the area, is reserving comment on the apology, according to Cpl. Bryce Petersen, with the RCMP’s South Okanagan Traffic Services Unit in Keremeos.

“It’s not the position of the RCMP, but he is reserving any further comment until the video has been released to the general media,” said Petersen.

Stodola realizes there are a lot of people who would like to see the video, but said it is Mr. Lacey’s right not to release it.

In addition, he stated the video does not show much.

“It’s pretty boring and uneventful,” he said.

Lacey, who has only been with the Osoyoos Times for a short time, will also be keeping his job.

Photo: Contributed Photo is of June Delisikos waiting with Briarwood. We had placed a coat over his withers to help protect him from the rain.

It was Friday afternoon (Feb. 10) when the call came in, reporting a starving horse near the road leading to Mt. Baldy ski resort.

Theresa Nolet co-ordinator of Project Equus of Critteraid took the call. She thought it might have been one of the wild horses in the area.

Nolet says she left to pick up the person who had reported the horse hoping that it would still be in the area and could be assessed to see what could be done to provide some aid to the horse. 

"Once the horse was located it was obvious that this was an emergency situation," says Nolet. 

She says she slowly approached the horse and to her amazement the horse was not wild and was in fact very tame. A halter was slipped over his head and a call was made to Ken McRae of D-bar-K ranch in Oliver who quickly agreed to transport the horse to the Critteraid farm in Summerland.

Nolet says they soon realized that the horse was too weak to travel the hour and half trailer ride.  Again Ken agreed that the horse could stay at his facility while he regained his strength.

A vet was called to examine the horse who estimated him to be about 15 years old, a gelding and would not have survived more than another week before he would have succumbed to hypothermia due to his severe state of starvation. 

Another team member, Deborah Silk, named the horse Briarwood. They say it is to signify his strength and perseverance to survive.

Although safe and warm now Nolet says, "Briarwood still has a rocky road ahead of him. Once a horse is at this stage, food has to be introduced slowly with small frequent meals provided though out the day, and the threat of complications is ever present."

To find out what you can do to help or to donate for the care of Briarwood you can check out their website: www.critteraid.org

Nolet says Critteraid is a non profit organization and is totally run by volunteers.

Here is a short video of Briarwood shot on Friday just after they found him on Mt. Baldy.