The District of 100 Mile House received the Community Tourism Plan at the Committee of the Whole Meeting.

Back on Tuesday, April 23rd, Council was given a strategic plan for continued investments in tourism initiatives, and support the long-term and sustainable growth of tourism.

Mayor Maureen Pinkney says the goal is to have a strong visitor economy for one of their main economic drivers.

"Tourism is a very important sector of our local economy. The district always looks to actively seek and support that, and this plan will help identify some actions to not only support it, but also to hopefully help it grow." says Pinkney.

"The tourism sector has been bigger in the past, and maybe we can get it back to that."

Four main goals were given, including increased stakeholder collaboration and capacity, more market-ready experiences and diverse accommodation, expanding tourism marketing activities, and enhanced capacity of operators and communities to develop tourism.

Pinkney says there's a ten year plan to reach the goals, and have already planned a tourism forum in the fall.

She says a lot of this wouldn't have happened without grant money from Destination BC and Pacific Economic Development Canada.

The next steps are for Council to review the action items and prioritize those to move ahead.

More information on the District's Community Tourism Plan can be found on their website here.

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SPCA's across the Cariboo will be hosting an open house on Saturday, April 27th.

The event is a great way for anyone wanting to learn more about the SPCA, but also to meet new furry friends.

Williams Lake and District Community Animal Centre Manager, Elizabeth Dighton talks about the event.

"We just want to encourage people to come up and stop by," says Dighton

"maybe spend a few minutes with some of the cats we have that are looking for homes, get a tour of the shelter, learn more of what we do up here, so we can hopefully dispel a few myths because they're still out there."

Starting today (April 25th) until May 5th, adoption fees will be 50 percent off, which Dighton says is a great opportunity for anyone interested.

At the same time, she says they're also looking for various volunteers to help with animal care, such as having one on one time with shy animals.

Quesnel SPCA will have their open house from 12:00pm to 4:00pm at 1000 Carson Pit Road, and Williams Lake and District from 12:00pm to 3:00pm at 709 Bond Lake Road.

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The Indigenous Sports Gallery at the BC Sports Hall of Fame in Vancouver can now be experienced by fans throughout the Province and around the world without ever having to leave their homes.

Earlier this month they opened the door to the world's first fully immersive digital Indigenous Sports Gallery.

Project Lead Shelby McCannel said they really wanted people to learn more about Indigenous sport and to see the amazing contributions Indigenous athletes have made.

“Over the last two to three years we've been in the process of figuring out what the digital Indigenous Sport Gallery looks like and within the last year it's been our fully development process. Going through our physical gallery and coming up with the ideas of what we wanted to include in this space and how best to make this as accessible as possible. Not everyone has the same learning styles or access to high speed internet so we wanted to make sure that every Canadian could be able to interact with this content online.”

A key feature includes a 360-degree virtual tour of the gallery with additional content not found in the physical gallery like video profiles of 14 featured athletes and honoured members as well as 3D interactive artifacts.

[caption id="attachment_96807" align="alignright" width="300"] Photo Search & Rescue Marketing Agency[/caption]

McCannel said more than 40 past and active Indigenous are featured in the Gallery including Anahim Lake's Carey Price.

“Carey is one of our featured athletes in our hockey section of our gallery so we do talk about him growing up and learning how to skate on a frozen lake behind his home and how he ended up making it to the NHL playing with the Montreal Canadiens.” McCannel said, “ We do have a few artifacts on display from him, a jersey, sticks and pads, but through the digital Indigenous Sport Gallery, we actually digitized one of his items, his goalie mask so fans on the site will be able to fully interact with that behind the glass feeling and interact digitally with the item. Turn it around, see the back, see the top, and get a different view than what you would typically be able to see in our physical space.”

The Indigenous Sports Gallery opened in 2018 at the BC Sports Hall Hall of Fame and is the largest known permanent gallery in the world containing more 1,500 square feet of exhibit space celebrating the rich history and contributions to sport by First Nations and Metis athletes, teams, coaches, builders and volunteers.

In 2019 it won Best New Exhibit in the world by the International Sports Heritage Association.

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Repairs to the Horse Lake Water System is prompting a water service disruption and boil water notice.

The Cariboo Regional District said that on Wednesday, May 1st, repairs will be made to a damaged blowoff along a section of Mulligan Drive east of Granberg.

Water supply to those properties will be turned off from around 8:00am to 2:00pm while the repair is being completed, with the boil water notice in effect after the repairs.

They said the notice will continue until two successive water samples with acceptable results are returned.

During the notice, residents are asked to bring their water to a rolling boil for at least a minute before consuming, cooking, brushing teeth, washing food, dishes and animals.

It's recommended to use hand sanitizer after hand washing with water from the system.

A system-wide flushing will also occur after the repairs until Friday, May 3rd, to remove any built up sediment and other materials in the water, and residents are asked to run their water until clear when sedimentation is observed.

The full release can be found on the CRD's website here.

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A cyclist is making the trek to Vancouver, raising money for the BC Cancer Foundation.

Mark Camps' journey began in Prince George on Sunday, April 21st, and has continued riding south, making his way through the Cariboo.

[caption id="attachment_96791" align="alignright" width="204"] Photo - provided by Mark Camps[/caption]

Camps says he doesn't just have one person in mind when he's riding.

"There's been parents of good friends, there's been personal relatives of mine, very good neighbours at home." says Camps.

"It's not specifically for one individual, but it's kind of for everybody that's had a bit of a struggle."

While Camps had done some preparation, the consecutive longer days has put a bit of miles on the body, but goes alright once the ride starts.

From Prince George, he's gone to Quesnel, then Williams Lake, made his way to Clinton yesterday, and will now be making his way to Lillooet, Pemberton, and finally Vancouver by Friday.

Donations can be done on Camp's personal fundraising page on the BC Cancer Foundation's website here.

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100 Mile House RCMP and BC Highway Patrol responded to two vehicle incidents involving alcohol.

The first was back on April 16th, where BCHP observed a vehicle travelling 150 kilometres and hour in a 110 zone during a patrol on Highway 97 near Yale Road.

Sergeant Brian Lamb says an open alcohol container was found shortly after.

"The vehicle was stopped, where it was determined the vehicle had no valid insurance." says Lamb.

"The male driver, who held a valid novice drivers license, displayed symptoms of alcohol consumption and an open liquor container was also present in the vehicle."

Lamb added that the driver refused to provide a breath sample, and was given a 90 driving prohibition, vehicle impounded for 30 days, and violation tickets for no insurance and speeding.

Then on April 21st, RCMP was called to a single vehicle collision on Horse Lake Road near Macmillan Road.

EHS and fire crews also attended where the vehicle had gone off the road, struck a driveway, through a fence and struck a utility pole sheering it off, where she sustained undetermined injuries, and was transported to hospital.

The driver had multiple open liquor containers in the vehicle, and there was suspicion of alcohol consumption, where she refused to give a breath sample.

They were given a 90 driving prohibition, and a 30 day vehicle impoundment.

Lamb says whether or not an impaired driver gives a breath sample, the penalties given are the exact same.

He adds that if you are intoxicated to not get behind the wheel, and instead have a designated driver.

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Ulkatcho First Nation will have clean energy through a new solar energy project after a $15,841,000 investment from the Federal and Provincial governments.

In an announcement, the project is said to reduce the diesel generation need in the community by 64 percent, which is equal to a reduction of 1.1 million litres of diesel a year, making it the largest off-grid solar project in Canada.

Ulkatcho First Nation, that's power is currently 100 percent diesel generated, had studies and business case completed determining that solar power was the best alternative for the community.

Minister of Housing, Infrastructure and Communities, Sean Fraser said "This solar energy facility will not only reduce the community's greenhouse gas emissions, but will also bring about reduced expenses due to the shutting down of diesel generators."

The project will also include construction of new access roads and paths, control and monitoring of the facility, fire management, security, signage, and other related assets.

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Williams Lake will be bustling this weekend, as contestants and rodeo enjoyers take in the Indoor Spring Classic Rodeo.

Performances began yesterday evening, with more rodeo action at the Cariboo Memorial Recreation Complex Today (April 20th) and Sunday at 1:00pm.

One of the organizers of the event, Roy Call talks about what people can expect to see at the rodeo.

"We've taken out the calf roping, the steer wrestling and the team roping this year, and all we have is the bareback riding, saddle bronc riding, bull riding, and barrel racing. For the major events, there's $5,000 added per event." says Call.

"Then we have the wild horse race, junior steer riding, mini bull riding, and then the juniors and pee-wee barrels as well."

Call added that with the replay board back and the entertainment, it'll be an exciting weekend.

More information on the Indoor Spring Classic Rodeo can be found on Interior Rodeo Event Association's website here.

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150 Mile Volunteer Fire Department was sent out to a fire at the 150 Mile Elementary School this morning.

Crews received the call at around 10:30am, and upon arrival, they spoke with staff as students were evacuated from the building.

Regional Fire Chief for the CRD, Roger Hollander says the fire was quickly extinguished.

"The fire department was able to locate a small fire located in one of the classrooms." says Hollander.

"150 Mile Fire Department was able to extinguish the fire and made sure there was no extensions in the classroom."

Hollander added that no injuries were reported, and crews remain on scene as the fire is still under investigation.

He also gives his thanks to school staff for acting quickly, and the Williams Lake Fire Department for assisting in the call-out.

School District Superintendent, Chris Van Der Mark said that students were dismissed early, and is expecting busing and school to resume as per usual on Monday.

Van Der Mark also gave thanks to parents and caregivers for their understanding.

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100 Mile House residents will be able to vote for a new Councillor through an upcoming By-election.

This comes after former Councillor Ralph Fossum, who has served the community for more than 5 terms, resigned from his position due to health reasons.

Nomination packages will be available starting April 22nd, and the nomination period starting on May 7th, ending on May 17th with the declaration of candidates.

Mayor Maureen Pinkney said she's excited to see who and how many people step up to try their hand as a politician.

She added since it will only be for 2 years, it would be a great opportunity to see if the role is the right fit for someone.

The start of the campaign period will be on May 25th, then the advanced voting opportunity on June 12th, at the District's Council Chambers from 8:00am to 8:00pm.

General voting will be on June 22nd, at the same location and time as the advanced voting.

More information on voting in the by-election can be found on the District of 100 Mile House's website here.

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A deceased relative found in man's vehicle prompted an immediate investigation by 100 Mile House RCMP.

Police received the report on Tuesday, April 16th, and confirmed the death was not suspicious.

Sergeant Brian Lamb said the man was located and taken to hospital for any treatment he may have needed, and the deceased individual was recovered and is being dealt with accordingly.

RCMP added that no further details will be released as it pertains to this incident.

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The Letwilc Ren Semec Centre Recovery House gave a presentation to Williams Lake Council on Tuesday.

This was to talk about the work being done to provide addiction and mental health supports, while also giving awareness about the long term after treatment recovery house itself.

Letwilc Manager, Laurie Brown explains how the centre came about.

"Esketemc First Nation and Alkali Lake has had a really great long history in sobriety movement, and they made a movie called 'The Honour of All' where they work in they community with their addiction and their sobriety." says Brown.

"So when this was offered, Esketemc jumped all over it, because it's the perfect fit for them."

Brown added that they got their first clients in 2019, and have been helping around 10 to 15 people a year.

The recovery centre, which is funded by the First Nation Health Authority and Interior Health, provides five beds for people exiting treatment needing to get their feet under them.

Brown says they help lead them learn life skills such as getting a drivers licence, getting a job, reconnecting to the community, and getting into housing.

Beyond that, she makes sure to stay in contact with clients, which she believes long term recovery is being missed throughout BC.

Members of Williams Lake City Council said during the meeting that they would tour the recovery house.

More information can be found on their website and Facebook page.

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A special Town Hall meeting will be held May 14^th at the 100 Mile House Community Hall.

From 7 to 9 that evening air quality monitors will be dispersed to those that have applied for one through the efforts of Carters Project and the BC Lung Foundation.

Amber Vigh, who's son Carter passed away last Summer on July 11^th from an asthma attack exacerbated by wild fire smoke, said at the time the closest Air Quality Monitoring Station to 100 Mile House was Williams Lake and still is.

“So we've teamed up the BC Lung Foundation and are bringing Air Quality Monitors into the small communities and towns across BC that don't have accurate, up to date Air Quality Monitoring Systems starting in 100 Mile House. We will have 100 Monitors coming in so 10 of those are Outdoor Monitors and 90 of them are indoor monitors.”

Vigh said they are currently working on trying to figure out exactly where the best place for the Outdoor Monitors will be.

[caption id="attachment_96616" align="alignright" width="200"] Carter Vigh (Photo submitted by Amber Vigh)[/caption]

“In my opinion I believe that they should go at the schools around town, Horse Lake, Forest Grove, Lac La Hache, 100 Mile House. There are quite a few different areas that I think they should go just because I'm familiar with the community and kind of the needs that I believe we have.”

Vigh said talking with the BC Lung Foundation there have been 63 applications sent in.

“So 63 people in 100 Mile are hoping to have an air quality monitor in their home and a lot of them probably, depending on what area of town they are in are hoping for an outdoor one too for their area. The goal is give all 90 of those monitors out to people within our communities. My main thing around Carters Project is, yes I want these monitors out there. I want every town in BC that doesn't have Air Quality Monitoring to have that.”

She said she also wants to bring the education surrounding the indoor air quality, outdoor air quality, asthma, all of the lung diseases how much they are all affected by the air quality.

“There's so much more to it than just bringing these devices into town. There's so much education that goes along with that and I hope that we're able to convey as much information to everyone as we possible can,” Vigh said.

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April 22nd is Earth Day, highlighting the environment and how to protect it for future generations.

Over the years, awareness to protect the world have gone beyond just the one day, with various organizations such as the Cariboo Chilcotin Conservation Society giving tips on how to do so.

Program Coordinator, Dani Gastaldello says the efforts have brought tremendous growth.

"Earth Day originated from 1969 when the U.S Senator at the time was appalled by the affects caused by the Santa Barbara oil spill, and wanted to infuse some energy into the emerging public consciousness about air and water pollution." says Gastaldello.

"In 54 years, it's a global network that empowers people to better understand and to better protect the environment, and the world around us."

Gastaldello added that the day is now commonly coined as "Earth Day everyday" on social media through hashtags and other ways.

She says efforts to protect the environment shouldn't just be for the one day, as reduce, reuse, recycle and even repairing can make a big difference every day.

This year, the society will be doing a repair café on April 27th, at the inspired builders market to promote the reuse and repair initiative.

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The 108 Greenbelt Commission will be holding a public meeting this evening at the 108 Community Hall.

Cariboo Regional District Director for Area G Al Richmond said the 108 ATV Club requested an opportunity to present a proposal to the Commission tonight at seven.

On their Facebook the club posted that their request is to provide two corridors across 108 Greenbelt lands for licensed and insured ATV's in order to gain access to the Gold Rush Snowmobile Trail.

They added these corridors will be well marked and signs installed requiring all to stay on the access corridors.

“The current bylaw doesn't permit the utilization of any motorized vehicles on the Greenbelt,” Richmond said, “unless their service vehicles or owned by, for example, Enbridge Pipelines that has infrastructure they have to maintain on there, or Regional District vehicles, or Ducks Unlimited who have infrastructure in there. Right now the only motorized vehicle allowed for use by the general public would be a snowmobile but we don't allow ATV's or dirt bikes on the green space and they would like that changed.”

Richmond noted that Bylaw Enforcement spends some time chasing down vehicles that are running up and down on the Greenbelt and destroying the Grasslands.

“So this group feels they tend to have a solution to that so the Commission has agreed to formally receive their proposal and to take public input and that's what we intend to do this evening. The Commission as with the Regional District, any delegation will receive a delegation and others comments. We have a number of other people that have expressed an interest to come to the meeting to hear what's said and be able to ask questions of the delegation being the 108 ATV Club. The Commission will hear those questions, the responses, and take that under consideration when it considers the request.”

The Greenbelt Commission is made up of four representatives recommended for appointment by the 108 Ranch Community Association, five members at large from the general public and a member from the 108 Resort.

Richmond says the Greenbelt is about 1500 hectares with the largest portion in the Walker Valley area that runs from Tatton Road right through to just a little bit North of the 108.

“The other pieces are smaller ones that are intertwined throughout the community. Some could be 10, 12, 15 acres in size, some a little larger that provide green space throughout the community and then of course the trails around the lake are all on green space,” Richmond added.

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100 Mile House RCMP responded yesterday (Monday April 15) to multiple reports of a vehicle that had gone off the road on Highway 24 near Falcon Road.

Sargent Brian Lamb said Emergency Health Services and local Fire Departments were on scene where the driver, who was the lone occupant, was trapped inside.

“Although the vehicle had relatively minor damage, the male driver was extracted from it and upon observation by Police displayed symptoms of alcohol consumption. A breath demand was issued to the male who initially attempted to provide a sample but then refused.”

Police said the driver who had no apparent injuries was issued an immediate roadside prohibition from driving for 90 days and his vehicle was impounded for 30 days.

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After carefully considering all fiscal decisions, the District of 100 Mile House Council endorsed a five-year financial plan.

At their last regular meeting on Tuesday April 9th, they approved a six percent increase on municipal taxes to ensure the continued provision of essential services and the maintenance of infrastructure .

Director of Finance, Sheena Elias said the increase on the residential rate equates to an approximate $15 per $100,000 of assessed value and approximately $44 per $100,000 of assessed value on the business rate.

Mayor Maureen Pinkney said with the endorsement of the six percent increase in taxation the District hopes to be able to continue with their core services at a reasonable level.

“We realize all costs are up for taxpayers. Just like the taxpayers, our costs of hydro, insurance, employee wages and more have risen.”

Pinkney noted they've been replacing underground sewer and waterlines as roads and sidewalks are fixed, and water towers, fire trucks, roads and the bridge need to be replaced.

“With the loss of revenue from the Norboord OSB Plant, that source has to be made up somewhere else to make ends meet.” Pinkney said, “We apply for every grant possible to stretch our dollars as far as they can go. Costs have doubled and we feel we had no choice as capital reserves have been depleting over the past years, and we have to look into the future.”

Pinkney added there is a great presentation on the District's website that outlines where the expenses are and where the revenues come from.

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**Update 520 pm April 11**

RCMP Sargent Brian Lamb said 100 Mile House Rcmp Detachment will be open regular hours of operation tomorrow (April 12).

**Original story 1:10 pm April 11***

A sewer/flood issue has temporarily closed the 100 Mile House RCMP Detachment.

Sargent Brian Lamb said the building will be closed for at least the remainder of the day (April 11) while the issue is resolved.

“Police response is not affected,” Lamb said, “and members are continuing with regular duties.”

He added the detachment main phone line will be answered as will calls to 911.

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Over 700 local, provincial, federal, Indigenous and forestry leaders will meet starting tomorrow (April 10) at the annual BC Council of Forest Industries convention.

Chief Economist Kurt Niquidet said a number of topics will be covered from workforce development to new approaches to managing our forests for wildfire prevention as well as his new impact report that was just released.

“The focus of our report was for 2022 so that was a year where markets were pretty good,” Niquidet said, “and in 2023 the markets really turned. We've also been having a lot of challenges with accessing fibre. There has been a significant downturn and we've seen some job losses and that's why we need to work together to resolve these fibre supply issues.”

After the convention ends we asked Niquidet what the next steps are that the BC Council of Forest Industries takes.

“Ultimately working with Government, it's a very complex issue, there's no real silver bullet. We were happy to see that Minister Mercier has been appointed to focus in on some of the fibre supply challenges and so I think it's a matter of working together to be creative and come up with solutions.”

President and CEO of Council of Forest Industries, Linda Coady stated in a release the province's forest industry is in transition and this years COFI convention will focus on what we need to do differently to move forward from here.

“We know that there has been some declining access to fibre,” Niquidet said, “we've also seen markets changing. Over the longer term we've also expect that there are going to be opportunities for new products and so with our changing fibre supply base and sort of the new demands for different types of products going forward we need to adjust to those new realities.”

Niquidet said over the longer term they (COFI) think that there are a lot of opportunities in the forest sector, global demand for forest products is going to be strong it just depends won how BC responds to play a part in that marketplace.

The Cariboo is a major forestry dependent Region with about twenty-two percent of the jobs being forestry related.

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100 Mile House RCMP were advised yesterday morning (April 8) of an abandoned vehicle parked at a residential parking lot on the 500 block of Birch Avenue.

Sargent Brian Lamb said it's a purple Honda Fit with BC licence plate TD504J and was determined to have been stolen from Penticton.

“Police attended and located the vehicle in motion which proceeded to Highway 97,” Lamb said, “Police attempted to stop it but it fled at a high rate of speed heading north on Highway 97. Police did not pursue the vehicle as it's speeds posed too great of a risk to the public at that time.”

Police said it is believed that there were three occupants in the vehicle.

Lamb said Police are continuing the investigation and are requesting any dash cam footage if this vehicle was encountered by the public.

The incident occurred approximately between 8:10 am and 9 am.

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