Not a secret, snowpack well below normal May 1st

 

Another ER Closure

 https://www.castanet.net/news/Oliver-Osoyoos/613356/South-Okanagan-General-Hospital-ER-to-close-overnight

Rock Creek Transfer Station

Location:

1610 Rock Creek Dump Rd.

Phone:

250.446.2231

Hours:

Monday, Thursday & Saturday: 10:00 am – 3:00 pm
Sunday: 10:00 am – 5:00 pm
Closed Statutory Holidays*

Tipping Fees:

Weight based

Payment Options:

Cash, cheque, debit, Visa, Mastercard

Materials Accepted:

• Household waste (mixed waste)

RECYCLABLE MATERIAL

• Commercial customers - printed paper and packaging including: corrugated cardboard (please flatten); boxboard and paper products; plastic and metal containers; gabletop and Tetra-Pak cartons; 
• Recycle BC Depot for blue box materials including: corrugated cardboard (please flatten), boxboard and paper products; non-refundable plastic and metal containers; gabletop and Tetra-Pak cartons; Styrofoam containers, trays and packaging; non-refundable glass bottles and jars; plastic bags and overwrap; other flexible plastic packaging. Please empty and rinse all containers. For a complete list or to download a Recycling Guide, visit Recycle BC.
• Scrap metal EXCEPT vehicle bodies. Please remove all fluids (eg. oil, gasoline). Take vehicle bodies to auto wreckers. Consider taking large metal objects to your local scrap metal dealer.
• Large appliances/white goods
• Empty propane tanks up to 100 lbs.
• Yard and garden waste
• Clean wood waste

Note: all refundable beverage containers are banned from the transfer station recycling depot – please take them to your nearest bottle depot.

Please separate all recyclables. Ask the attendant for assistance. 

Waste Type	Fee (per tonne or per bag)
Yard and garden waste (grass clippings, leaves)	$5 per load
Clean Wood Waste (unpainted wood, branches and woody plant waste)	$50 per tonne ($2.50 min.)
Rubble (gravel, brick, concrete, asphalt and rock or a mixture thereof)	$50 per tonne ($2.50 min.)
All vehicle bodies and auto hulks are Not accepted at RDKB sites. Please take these to your local auto recycler for disposal.	N/A
Scrap Metal(not including major appliances in the MARR stewardship program) Please consider taking large metal objects to your local scrap metal dealer.	$30 per tonne ($3 min.)
Major appliances under the MARR stewardship program	No charge
Appliances requiring Ozone Depleting Substance removal (excluding MARR Products)	$20 per unit

Super El Nino??

 https://www.castanet.net/news/World/613305/What-to-know-about-the-predictions-for-a-potentially-record-breaking-El-Nino 

Please don't burn..........call Andrew and Brandon - make a plan with your neighbours.......

The snow has gone early, time is of the essence to prepare for what could be a bad fire season. 

We do not have a burn pile at this time. Larix Tree Services works with our friend Andrew. Andrew falls trees, Brandon is an arborist, has a bucket truck, a stump grinder, and a trailer that hauls a big load of yard waste. His Facebook page notes bringing a chipper on site. He has a small excavator with a rake blade for property cleanup and debris loading.

Brandon also climbs, but less often now that he has a boom truck.

Without a community burn pile, Andrew and Brandon may be able to come up with an affordable plan for your FireSmart clean-up. If you engage them to chip, check with BMR, they have taken chips in the past.

Talk to your neighbour and build a plan to do your work at the same time.

 

Andrew and Brandon did this clean-up for a Baldy owner last year - Andrew dropped many dead trees, debris removed, future firewood stacked.

Andrew and Brandon did this clean-up for Kendal last fall. Dead trees down. Ground fuels and alder removed, fuel free zone established.

These guys know how to work. You may recognise Brandon from his high school days when he was a lift operator. Andrew has been a part of the Baldy family since he first came here working in lift maintenance, groomer operating and park building. He now works in the forest industry, but comes up and helps us out falling trees.

News from the Community Association

Please note that there is currently no community yard waste pile operating at Baldy.

At this time, there is no entity with the appropriate licensing, insurance, and liability coverage able to take responsibility for managing such a site.
There are ongoing private discussions with the Osoyoos Indian Band regarding potential future solutions for yard waste disposal. However, until an approved and properly managed solution is in place, all residents and property owners remain responsible for disposing of yard debris appropriately at authorized facilities.
We appreciate everyone’s cooperation in helping keep the community FireSmart, safe, and environmentally responsible.

 

Construction down by the ranch......and a little history

I have had several inquiries about the construction equipment along the road just above the ranch. I held off posting hoping to catch Harvey in person to get the full story.

I can tell you that the speed bump we have been slowing down for has been repaved.

When I was a kid, it was Arthur McCuddy's ranch, aka McCuddy Creek Ranch. Extensive water rights are attached to that property.

The next owner was architect Henry Mann. The original stagecoach route, McKinney Road, went right through the property in front of the house. When the Oliver Baldy road was put together in the eighties, Henry did not want a wide road through his yard. A new road was built around the ranch, known as the Mann Bypass.

Current owner of "Camp H" is Harvey Demelo. The dirt bike features were built for one of his sons who was on the Red Bull and other extreme sports circuits.

What we have been watching lately, I believe is an upgrade and/or repair of the water supply to the ranch.

Harvey's Dad, was one of the first Portuguese immigrants  to come to the area in the 1960's. He worked hard on orchards owned by people I knew, and eventually acquired a lot of acreage, and brought his sons into the orchard operations.

Harvey and his brothers were on the same school bus route as I was. 

Luis taught gentlemanly manners to his boys, and when Harvey operated a cherry orchard next to my house in Osoyoos, he called me Ma'am.

Now that the senior Demelos have passed on, the remaining acreage including cherry orchards, the packing building, the family home, and Bow Tie Tech are all on the market.

Cherries grown at the ranch mature later than the valley cherries, and most years they will hit the market when the price is better.

The roof was already caved in...........

The old office trailer that has been down near the shop for a few years is in the process of being dismantled. I shall bite my tongue on what wasn't looked after back when the area was in receivership. This unit served the place well, and was moved when Snowy's woodfurnace was installed.

Yahoo - Danger tree removal

Day two of a contractor working for Fortis. They don't use the orange paint dot anymore, the trees are on a GPS map. As in the past, they have encountered, and taken down more dead trees than are on the map. I talked to a couple of the guys - one maybe two looked familiar, but it is a different contractor. They confirmed that Fortis does not want them to take down anything that has even one green branch.

Back to work on the Eagle

Trevor and Parker went to the CWSAA conference last week, and they are back working lift maintenance.