Stolen truck and quads found

Jackson's Grandma reports that the stolen truck and quads have been found and returned. Tips appreciated, and thanks to the RCMP. 

Without mentioning any names............

When you see a tourist standing at the signs outside the lodge, it is usually well worth it to spend the 5 minutes and talk to them.

Today I encountered a couple from Whitehorse. They have escaped the northern winter to Smithers, and to Sun Peaks in the past, and were checking out Baldy. They were inquiring about accommodation.

When the conversation went to grooming and Tyler, they think he is a friend of someone they know.

I didn't have any material to hand them, but did my usual best to promote Baldy. 

Wednesday Road Work

AIM had a grader and a water truck on McKinney Road today.

We benefitted from a contractor "oops" today. I didn't drive the whole village, but a big grader went by my place and along Cougar. I notified the council President - it was a "wrong turn", not grading arranged by council.

Steady Melt

The creek is noisy these days, but the snow melt has been gradual and steady - maybe some of the moisture is going into the ground this year.

New railings going up, Sugar Chairs coming off the line...........

 

Mossies and Ants............

A little early for "mossies" , but I had a few swarming my head while I was outside this evening. Ants in the flowers.

My cousin dug out her spring bulb bed last fall, and I was the lucky recipient of a whole bunch of bulbs. The ones she gave me several years ago are still doing well. There are a few more blooms each day, although I am told that some of the smaller bulbs may not flower until next year,

 

Road Work and cattle..........

AIM and YRB had graders on the roads today. AIM was also patching potholes on the pavement.

The cattle have started moving up McKinney, and of course they tend to relieve themselves while walking across the road.

Take your time. This year's calves are not accustomed to cars yet. I encountered three on one side of the road, with their Mom's on the other side of the road.

Transfer Station

We know from experience that when the transfer station area is clean, it tends to deter non compliant dumping. The mess that is there now, may well have happened when there was snow on the ground, or when  a lid was left open. It may not be your mess, but as a community, we can keep it clean if everyone pitches in.

Thanks PW and LH for picking up a bunch of the stuff today.

 

Truck Stolen ........last night in Oliver

Update - found and returned.

Keep your eyes open for Jackson's grandpa's truck.

Could everyone please keep their eyes open for Tom’s truck. It was stolen last night from our house, around Fairview area. It has a red 400 Honda quad in the back that has a seat attached to it. We know they went down road 5.

It does not make a whole lot of sense to me.............

Yesterday they told me that they are not taking down danger trees, just limbing branches that could compromise their lines. They have taken branches off trees that have bark indicating they are nearing the end of life, and trees with danger trees right beside them.

Makes me wonder if this has anything to do with the backlash on their proposed power turn off plan in case of extreme weather.

At Miller Time

Limbed tree left of centre, dead ones nearby.

 

Well look who's back.

 

Russell made the mistake of filling out a season pass form using an e-mail address that had "carpenter" in it. He has decades of construction experience along with the trade qualifications. He was on the Baldy maintenance team in 2016-17, and somewhere I have a photo of him in a CSPS uniform, from a long time ago.

He's sort of retired now, but is happy to be up here leading the repairs to the entrance deck. His youngest is 14 now, and they skied more than 50 days last winter.

It was curiosity about the car that led me to the job site. He is driving what was his Mom's car - almost identical to Marge's. 

For those who have enjoyed concerts in the Venables Theatre in Oliver, it is named in honour of his late Grandfather.

The cows like to get under that deck, and push things around. Once the structural supports are completed, it will be closed in so the cows can't get under there.

In the olden days, we had a wood burning furnace in the lodge basement. We'd have a work party to fill the space under the deck with firewood, and there was a pass through to get the wood inside.

Asplundh

I saw the truck at the Canyon Bridge last night, and was hoping. I spoke to the guys during a snow squall this afternoon. They are not falling danger trees, they are "trimming" trees near the power lines. I didn't watch them work, but  the sound was like a saw with a blade, not a chainsaw.

Wednesday

The evening drive .

• Amazing cloud formations everywhere if one had the time to stop multiple times.
• ERT vehicles headed back to Kelowna from somewhere on Hwy 33
• Person squatting beside a small warming fire at the side of the Baldy Road just this side of Fish Lake Road - no vehicle in sight.
• Shiny work truck flying up the Baldy Road and headed down McKinney at 8:30pm - looked out of place.

And, the too common annoyance. It seems that whenever we get a good surface on the roads, someone has to do donuts on it and chew it up.

 

First BMR Newsletter of the Off Season

If you aren't on the newsletter list, sign up on the BMR website.

The next round of season pass rates/sales starts June 1st to August 17th - these passes have a payment plan option.

Summer Barbeques - mark your calendar.

Summer BBQ events   Over the summer, Baldy will be hosting a couple of summer BBQ events and all are welcome. Enjoy a burger in that crisp Mount Baldy air. It’s consistently 10 degrees cooler on the mountain than it is in the Okanagan valley.   June 28th: 12PM-4PM The Mount Baldy Village will be participating in a Firesmart BC training and cleanup day to ensure the continued safety of our lovely community in case of an unexpected fire threatening our area. Afterwards Baldy will be hosting a BBQ at the lodge. Come grab a burger and socialize with our fantastic community members. Come for a scenic hike or some disc golf, and end with a meal!   August 30th: 12PM-4PM Cap off the summer with another community BBQ at Baldy. Get in one last summer adventure before the snow starts falling!

Long Weekend

There is an old saying in the South Okanagan - "don't plant your tomatoes until the snow is off of Kobau."

I can't see  Kobau from here, but I have no plans to take my tomato plants out of the cabin in a snowstorm.

Condolences to the family

A lot owner in our community was in the wrong place at the wrong time on April 1st, and was swept away by the mudslide on Westside Road. Our thoughts are with his family. They endured a long period of missing person investigation, search, and wait for recovery from Okanagan Lake. The following link is for the recently posted obituary.

https://www.kelownacapnews.com/obituaries/gordon-glen-felske-8007840

Right on time..........

 Bulbs ready to bloom, snow in the forecast.

Volunteer Appreciation Day

"This is for any volunteers (past & present) to enjoy.

Hope to see you there!"

An invitation from Area E Director Sharen Gibbs. Are you a volunteer who contributes to making your community better? RSVP as indicated on the poster.

 

Upper End of McKinney Road

Some serious grading happening on the upper end of McKinney Road today. Operator is cutting fairly deep, extracting some fairly big rocks. It is a little soft, so take it easy and help with the compacting. Wondering if it is a subcontractor, as the grader was still working at 6:00pm.

The AIM section still had some ripples after it was graded, and those are growing.

Recycle - Other Flexible Packaging

These can be taken to the Rock Creek Transfer Station, or the Encorp Bottle Depot in Oliver.

 https://recyclebc.ca/what-can-i-recycle/flexible-plastics/ 

Many items that do not go in our transfer station recycle bin, but can be recycled.

We pay taxes in the RDKB, but most of us shop in the RDOS.

Take a good look around the Encorp Depot in Oliver.

They take:

• styrofoam, white and coloured.
• batteries
• light bulbs and tubes
• small electric appliances 
• electronics
• paint
• clean food related glass

https://t2marketrecycle.wixsite.com/t2marketrecycle/materials-accepted

Update from our MLA on the Fortis "proactive' power cutting during extreme weather..........

 

Yes, it can happen any month of the year up here.

 

Follow The Pink Palace on Facebook

Thanks Rob for the 360 of the current snow melt.

 https://www.facebook.com/share/p/1Bx6HMaAQv/

Quiet? Friday night

There are so many full time residents, and so many cameras in the village, unusual activity is usually noticed.

Shortly after 9:00pm last night, two marked RCMP cars were spotted in the village, shining spot lights to the side of the road. They weren't here long, but having two cars up here on a Friday night suggests that something was up in the area.

Bentley alerted us to a pedestrian walking a dog shortly before, but the marked cars were not picked up on my camera.

A few more warm days, and it will be time for a work party at the transfer station.

You don't have to wait for all the snow to melt - every little bit helps.

Lost and Found - did you forget something?

 

Snow Survey Bulletin as of May 1st

The full document can be found through the sidebar link.

The media is full of concern for drought conditions. The bare patches are growing fairly quickly, but we don't seem to have high stream flow yet. When the melt really gets going, I can hear the roar of the creek from my home.

In conversation with a rancher down the hill yesterday - he is concerned that the creeks aren't running much. Maybe more is soaking in to the ground??

BC Airtankers on Wannacut Lake Fire, south of the border.

 BC Wildfire Service 

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We are aware of a wildfire approximately 18 kilometres south of Osoyoos located on the south side of the US-Canada border. At this time, we are supporting with airtanker resources and are in communication with our partners in the U.S.

Smoke from this wildfire is highly visible to communities in the south Okanagan.

For more information:

Washington State Department of Natural Resources: https://experience.arcgis.com/.../6cdda73cf6154949a1fae76...

National Wildfire Coordinating Group: https://maps.wildfire.gov/sa/#/%3F/%3F/48.9835/-119.6577/11

It was a little strange driving to Oliver late this afternoon - it looked like a back lit band of showers running up the valley. It turned out to be smoke. A very distinctive wood smoke.

https://www.castanet.net/news/Oliver-Osoyoos/549081/BCWS-air-tankers-cross-U-S-Canada-border-to-combat-Washington-wildfire

Change in the four days I was on the other side of the Rockies

Western Larch pushing more green.

 

Monday Last Day for Frozen Rate Passes

For sale online on the BMR website. 

Sunday night ER Closure

 https://www.castanet.net/news/Oliver-Osoyoos/548487/Emergency-room-closed-overnight-at-South-Okanagan-General-Hospital-in-Oliver

Saturday night ER closure

https://www.castanet.net/news/Oliver-Osoyoos/548351/Oliver-s-South-Okanagan-General-Hospital-emergency-room-to-close-over-Saturday-night 

Another ER Closure in Oliver

 https://www.castanet.net/news/Oliver-Osoyoos/548207/South-Okanagan-General-Hospital-emergency-services-closed-overnight-Friday-to-noon-on-Saturday

There are many firefighters in town for the weekend training seminar.

Firesmart Assessments

To get on the list for a free FireSmart home assessment, and info on rebates, check out this link.

 https://emergency.rdkb.com/Be-Prepared/FireSmart