Welcome to Your Kamloops!

Definitive Pictorial Evidence that Kamloops Rocks!

You would probably expect me, born and raised in this town, elected to represent its awesome people, to say that Kamloops rocks. But, wait, I have pictures! As a councillor, one is offered an amazing opportunity to get a great overview of local community events and initiatives. I am proud to report that the community spirit and strength in Kamloops is so incredibly healthy.

Here is a quick pictoral tour of just some of what I have experienced over the past month:

 

March 24th: Art Gallery Opening of two amazing shows. One with Internationally renowned French artist Esther Shalev-Gerz. The other with arts luminaries Doug Buis and Astrid Menze.

 

March 25th: Boogie the Bridge Training starting at Runners Sole in Aberdeen. I have so appreciated the opportunity to train for the boogie this year and to write a weekly column in the Kamloops News. Truly getting back on a path to health. Thousands of people are coming out on April 29th to prove that "movement is change"

 

March 29th: The Kamloops Chamber of Commerce installs its 2012/13 board. Our chamber is a vibrant, powerful organization that offers a diverse range of  tangible benefits to its members.

 

April 5th: Kamloops hosts another Kamloops International Bantam Ice Hockey Tourney (KIBIHT). This has been a longstanding tradition, renewed under new leadership. I had a chance to welcome many of the players over breakfast one morning.

 

April 14th: Our community celebrates Vasaikhi festival. The Ord Road Sikh Temple raises a new flag. The flag at a Sikh temple, the "Nishan Sahib", serves as a beacon to welcome all to this place of worship, of community, and of refuge.

 

April 14th: Kamloops RCMP Regimental ball raises $32000 for United Way. An elegant and traditional event on a local RCMP detachment's calendar. Great community support for and from our police force!

 

April 18th: Harvey Fraser, Lynda MacKenzie, Acacia Schmietenknop, and Ruth Williams honoured with Community Distinguished Service Awards. This an amazing annual opportunity for city council to honour amazing people who do so much for Kamloops.

April 21st: Local Rotary Clubs organize their largest food drive yet. 60 000 pounds of food for the Kamloops Food Bank. I am proud of my Rotary Club's role in the effort to make sure no one goes hungry in Kamloops.

 

 

April 21st: The BC Regiment (Duke of Connaught's Own) honours Kamloops WWII Vets. Very happy and honoured that leaders of the BC Regiment and the BC Regiment Veterans associated traveled from out of town to honour three local WWII Vets from the Regiment. Up the Dukes!

Perils and Opportunities of the Ajax Mine Review Process...

I wrote a column in this past tuesday's Kamloops Daily News with some thoughts on the perils and opportunities of the Ajax Mine review process. The online comments on the article have been very interesting, and I've enjoyed the opportunity to engage with most of the commenters. The Daily News comment boards are a bit like the wild west. Not the most civil place on the planet. Not awful but also not for those with thin skin. Here is the column, comments follow below.

2012 City Budget Process Robust and Messy...

Broadcast Centre reporter James Peters tweeted the above very understandable sentiment from the council budget meeting this morning. Indeed, the meeting was messy, but it was also robust. Almost every budget item on today's agenda was discussed and every councillor had a lot to say. I think in the final city budget meeting of any given year, of any meeting, the tone and tenor was entirely appropriate. We are living under the paradigm of fiscal restraint and greater involvement. In the end, largely through the work of city hall's assistant finance director Doug Stewart and other city staffers, we were able to get the city tax increase from a 5.7% number a couple of weeks ago to 1.92% today. This exercise in decreasing the tax rate happens every year but I can't help but feel we have a new vigour about it right now.