Editor Brian Lawrence compiled this brief look back at some of the goings on in the Creston Valley over the last 12 months, gleaned from the pages of the Advance.
2 — On Sept. 20, a one-day workshop in the use of hempcrete — a concrete made of industrial hemp chips and fibre, lime and cement — resulted in a low wall being built in the corner of the College of the Rockies farm to create a learning area, as well as keep visitors from trampling delicate plants in the farm’s Food Forest. The workshop was presented by Jayeson Hendyrsan, a Vancouver Island resident who spent time in Creston in 1986 with the Canada World Youth exchange program. Hempcrete is fireproof, rat proof and earthquake resistant, and is a similar process to what ancient Romans used in their construction.
•Erickson couple Gary and Susan Snow left Sept. 30 to deliver 1,000 four-ounce bottles of Tabletree black cherry juice to Commonwealth Stadium, where it will be available to members of the Edmonton Eskimos. Head coach Chris Jones wanted the juice in smaller bottles than Tabletree has been using so that his players could open and consume the juice in one or two swigs. He was impressed with the juice’s nutritional value and also that testimonials and lab tests indicate it has anti-inflammatory properties.
9 — In a scene reminiscent of Groundhog Day, three local fire chiefs proposed a move toward formation of a Creston Valley fire protection service, to be formed under the Town of Creston umbrella. Regional District of Central Kootenay fire chief Terry Swann and Area B director John Kettle dismissed a similar proposal when Guthrie and his colleagues presented the proposal more than three years ago. A motion to have RDCK and Town of Creston staff produce a report on the system was passed.
•Baillie-Grohman Estate Winery earned two medals from the BC Wine Awards. One, a platinum, feted Baillie-Grohman’s 2012 Cabernet Franc as one of the best six wines in the province, and the gold recognized the strength of its Pinot Noir.
16 — Winston Blackmore and James Oler appeared in Creston Law Courts on Oct. 9 to face polygamy charges. A Vancouver attorney represented Blackmore on a temporary basis and Oler had not retained counsel. Neither had husband and wife Brandon and Emily Blackmore, charged with unlawfully removing a child under 16 from Canada with the intent that an offence of a sexual nature would be committed outside of Canada. The cases were remanded until Dec. 4 so they could retain counsel.
•As many as 40 workers spent 12-hour days since August on a $4.9 million paving project that totals 33 kilometres of roadway, including 22 kilometres on Highway 3 from the chain up spot to Blazed Creek Forest Service Road. The shortest part of the project, the repaving of Erickson Street, resulted in the most obvious change, with the addition of drainage upgrades and widening, where possible, the existing ministry right-of-way to enhance mobility for pedestrians and cyclists.
23 — Two murals destined to brighten up the Cook Street location of the Creston Valley Farmers’ Market were unveiled on Oct. 16. The murals were a joint project between Cresteramics Society and the farmers’ market, and painted by Cresteramics clients Claire Lemaire and Laila Currie, who added colour to an agriculture-themed design by artist and Creative Fix owner Brandy Hunt.
•Nelson-Creston MLA Michelle Mungall said that the provincial government did not seem well prepared for the fall session that opened Oct. 13. Puzzling, she said, was that any mention of becoming a debt-free province, reducing tax burdens or establishing a prosperity fund has been abandoned, when a year ago anticipated liquid natural gas revenues were being promoted as a financial windfall for the province.
30 — Construction originally intended to provide a residential and care facility for seniors could become a distillery, bistro and commercial centre, town council learned at the Oct. 21 committee of the whole meeting. The property on Northwest Boulevard and Vancouver Street has been the site of a large concrete foundation, a.k.a. "the bunker", since 2000. The original owner’s plans fell through and the site was purchased in 2008 by Chaplin West Venture Ltd. Principal owner Michael Chaplin proposed a project consisting of 84 apartment units in a three-storey wood framed building.
•A parcel of land that was once home to a groundbreaking potato processing plant could soon become home to another innovation in the Creston Valley. Negotiations were nearing completion that would see living lettuce and freshwater coho salmon produced on the Spetifore and Sons property on Reclamation Road.