Slater remembered

Flags at the Town Hall are flying at half-staff this week to mark the recent death of former councillor, mayor and MLA John Slater, who died suddenly last week at his home.

Mayor Sue McKortoff remembered Slater as “a really positive leader” for Osoyoos.

Councillor CJ Rhodes said the death came as a shock and described Slater as “a kind of mentor of mine, who encouraged me to get into politics.”

He leaves a strong legacy of community service, said Rhodes.

No face on Facebook

The Town of Osoyoos has a Facebook page, but Chief Administrative Officer Barry Romanko told council it takes too much staff time to keep it current.

As a result, the town’s page remains hidden from public view, only to be used as “an important communications tool” in the event of an emergency.

No action on airport lands

Plans to re-zone the Osoyoos airport lands for industrial or commercial use have been put on hold.

Mayor Sue McKortoff told council Tuesday that with the withdrawal of a plan from Home Building Centre for a new store on the property and a lack of any other such proposals, there is no urgent need to take action.

The issue, which could have been very time consuming, has been set aside for the time being.

Royalty candidates drop by

Three Osoyoos Royalty candidates stopped in Tuesday to introduce themselves to members of council.

Emma Fernandez, Tianna Morgan and Bailey Toepfer said they became part of the Osoyoos Royalty Program to develop confidence and public speaking skills.

 

O.I.B. and Watermark Beach Resort Planning Lakeside Store For Fish Sales

The Osoyoos Indian Band (OIB) wants to set up a lakeside store for the month of August selling sockeye salmon caught by First Nations fishers in Osoyoos Lake.

Charlotte Stringam, general manager of the Nk’Mip Desert Cultrural Centre, was part of a delegation to Osoyoos Town Council on Monday seeking support for the idea.

The market, likely housed in a tent, would be between the entrance to the Watermark Beach Resort and Gyro Park, between the paved pathway and the lake.

The store would sell fresh and canned sockeye salmon. In previous seasons, the OIB has sold sockeye at the PetroCan station on Highway 3.

At the new venue, said Stringam, “We’re probably going to sell more fillets so people put them right on their grill.”

The sale of fish is planned to be part of a broader education effort to inform locals and tourists about the history of the Osoyoos Lake Sockeye and its relationship to the OIB.

Stringam hopes to have the cultural centre operate boat tours taking visitors onto the lake to observe the fishery. There are also presentations at the cultural centre about the importance of the fishery to local First Nations.

It is also proposed that native carvers from the Okanagan Nation Alliance will spend one day a week at the market site carving a canoe from a cedar log.

Okanagan Nation Alliance biologist Richard Bussanich told council that, following a population crash in the mid-1990s, the Osoyoos Lake Sockeye run has dramatically improved.

In 2014 the return was estimated at about 300,000 fish, with about 100,000 actually making it to the spawning grounds.

About 50,000 fish were taken by the commercial, recreational and native food fishers.

While official estimates have not been released, the preliminaries show the expected Columbia River system sockeye return to be up from 347,100 to 394,000. The Osoyoos River is part of the Columbia system.

The spectacular rebound over the past two decades has led to a healthy First Nations commercial fishery and a recreational fishery open to non-aboriginal people.

Bussanich told council the fishery contributes between $350,000 and $400,000 to the Osoyoos economy and the group is seeking “the full collaboration of council.”

Watermark general manager Ingrid Jarrett told council the story of the recovery and regeneration of the Osoyoos Lake Sockeye fishery is being told by conservationists and otheers around the world.

She said her organization supports the fishery and the efforts of the OIB to create a space where “people can tell the story of the fishery and buy fish.”

The reaction of council was positive, although no formal vote was taken. Mayor Sue McKortoff urged the delegation to work with town staff to get the project moving ahead.