DO YOU WANT INPUT INTO THE FUTURE OF AREAS B & C???

The BX-SWAN LAKE COMMUNITY ASSOCIATION will be hosting an informational meeting on Tuesday October 21 at 7:30 PM in the gymnasium of the BX Elementary School. At our Annual General Meeting of January 2008, we had a presentation of local governance options pertaining to amalgamation, incorporation or status quo by Mr. Greg Betts from RDNO which generated considerable interest and discussion. The Provincial Government was in the process of exploring and evaluating valley wide governance options at the time, and it was felt that we should hold off on further discussion of the options available to Areas B & C until the dust had settled on the valley wide governance issue. Nothing has yet been decided pertaining to this matter yet, so we are pressing forward with informing our residents on what our options may be pertaining to local governance. As you know, annexations by the City of Vernon of properties within Electoral Areas B & C have been ongoing. The City of Vernon has put forward an Official Community Plan which ultimately includes Areas B & C within it's boundaries. We know that some residents of Areas B & C are in favour of this action, some are not and others want to know if there are other options which may be explored. On Tuesday Oct 21, presentations will be made by Greg Betts from RDNO, Kim Flick Manager of Planning from the City of Vernon and Mr. Alan Hill, a resident of Okanagan Landing, formerly Area A and annexed by the City of Vernon. After the presentations are completed, written questions from the audience or questions that have been received prior to the meeting will be addressed to the appropriate presenters for the purpose of acquiring more information or clarifying some issues. All written questions will be processed through a moderator. Written questions will be accepted by email prior to the meeting by sending them to "hivac@hivac.com" with "Oct 21 questions" in the subject line of the email message. We hope to see you there!!!

What is currently happening with Meat Inspection Regulations?

Taken from Page B13 Morning Star April 23 "The B.C. government is still allowing farmgate sales of meat to consumers as it attempts to bring rural areas up to new federal health standards. Meat is being sold as "uninspected" and is only for local consumers, not for retail or restaurant use" Please read the article for more complete information.

Amalgamate or Incorporate

Residents in Areas B & C continue to see land being annexed by the City of Vernon for more development. Under current regulations, there is little the residents can do to oppose annexation. More development means more traffic, less privacy, more water usage, more waste, more noise pollution, more light pollution and in general, more destruction of the way of life most of us wish to preserve. The link below "Amalgamate or Incorporate" outlines some of the options to consider for the protection of our lifestyle. You may email hivac@hivac.com if you have any comments on this or any other matter relating to the BX-Swan Lake Community.

March 27, 2008

PINE BEETLE

It looks like the BX area NE of Vernon is considered to be in a "high pressure" area regarding the Pine Beetle. What this means is that there is about a 20% chance that the mature Ponderosa Pine in the area will survive over the next five years, with or without Sevin spray or Verbenone pouches. So it seems we must make our own decisions as individuals if we want to spend the money to try to protect them or not.

MEAT INSPECTION REGULATION

There is not much new to report because the minister cancelled the last meeting that was scheduled with his office so he could "read the recommendations" that were put forward by Birgit Johnson in her report. He must be still reading it as the meeting has yet to be re-scheduled. Cabinet shuffle or ????

LOCAL GOVERNANCE

Because more and more of Area "C" land is being swallowed up by the City of Vernon for developement purposes, it becomes increasingly clear that the residents of Areas "B" and "C"

must give purposeful consideration to taking steps to prevent more of this from happening if the way of life is to be maintained that so many of us are here for. See the back page of the Morning Star in last Sunday's issue.

There will be more on this issue on this site in the near future.

WATER

Water is getting to be an issue that also requires attention be paid to it. If the report in the Morning Star Wed March 19 page A21 is correct, the whole Okanagan Valley should be making some plans right now with a conservative eye to the future, particularly to new developement, better water use and management.

NEXT MEETING

Tuesday April 15 7:30 PM Pantry Restaurant, Vernon (meeting room)

More on Meat Inspection Regulation-Impact Report

There will be a presentation about the report to the Regional District North Okanagan board at 2 pm on Wednesday Feb 6 at the Regional District offices on Aberdeen Road, The Board may discuss the report, although the present resolution is to refer it to staff for comment. The meeting is open to the public. A meeting for producers and processors to review the assessment results, update everyone on meetings with provincial officials, and discuss next steps will be held on Feb 13, Wednesday at 6:30 pm at the Schubert Centre in Vernon. All are invited, and please spread the word.

Final Report On Meat Inspection Regulation

IMPACT OF THE MEAT INSPECTION REGULATION ON SLAUGHTER CAPACITY IN THE NORTH OKANAGAN REGIONAL DISTRICT (RDNO) (Click on link below right "Meat Inspection Final Report") This is a "must read" for anyone interested in 'Farm Gate' sources for beef, pork, lamb, and poultry and the impact it has had and will have on this industry and how it will impact us as consumers. It is our understanding that this legislation is just the beginning. We hear this will be extended to garden and orchard produce as well. This would seem to be another case of legislation being passed without any consideration regarding how it will impact those involved. More later.

Jan 30 update

For more information on the valley-wide governance initiative, we urge residents to visit valleygovern.ca and fill in the online comment form. This site is available under "Links" on our website. (Okanagan Valley Governance) For any questions about NORD, please contact their switchboard at 550-3700, or email Electoral Area Services (Greg or Inge) at eas@nord.ca . The final report from Brigitt Johnson on the impact of the new meat regulations will likely be available from the nord.ca website after the February 6, 2008 Regional Board meeting. We will do our best to keep you updated! More later!