Letter

Serving the communities of Ahbau Creek, Baker Creek, Bouchie Lake, Cinema, (lower) Cottonwood, Dunkley, Hilborn, Milburn Lake, Moose Heights, Parkland, Quesnel-Hixon, Riverpark, Strathnaver, Ten Mile Lake and many areas in between!

January, 2014 Volume 3, Issue 1

UPCOMING EVENTS & MEETINGS Cariboo Regional District Board of Directors Meeting Jan. 17th Bouchie Lake Rec. Commission Meeting - Jan. 20th Bouchie Lake Community Assoc. SPECIAL MEETINGFeb. 1st Local Government Leadership Academy WorkshopsFeb. 57th Quesnel Ag. & Hort. Leap Feb. 8 & 9th North Cariboo Sub-Regional Recreation MeetingFeb. 25th

HAPPY NEW YEAR FROM YOU TO ME across Electoral Area B!

Greetings to all residents within Area B and beyond. With a new year, comes a January newsletter. I did not managed to distribute a Letter B in November nor December due to it being incredibly busy with our farm business. I hope everyone had a fabulous Christmas and that 2014 will prove to be all what is hoped for. With the Winter Solstice now past us, I for one look forward to the days lengthening and an increase in daylight. In the interim, Happy Winter Days! This newsletter has a particular focus on recreation. Recreation is a large component of having a healthy, vibrant community for a great number of reasons. It brings people together, its social and fun, and it results in good health. I have been assisting, where I can, both the communities of Bouchie Lake and Parkland with developing a recreation structure that is functional and well structured. This has its challenges but the time volunteers put into this is paying off as both communities are offering programming. Yay! If you are a user of the rural NCRP funded facilities (Bouchie Lake, Parkland, and Barlow Creek) and /or Alex Fraser Park, you may notice the implementation of a 2-tiered rate for program registration & /or facility rental. Participants who do not have a Recreation Pass will pay 25% more than Recreation Pass Holders. Recreation Passes are available through the Quesnel & District Arts & Recreation Centre for NO CHARGE to residents who pay recreation taxes or for $157.00 / year / family for those who do
On December 21st, I attended the 10 Mile Lake Volunteer Fire Department Christmas Banquet with my husband, Ted, at the Ten Mile Lake Fire Hall. While there, I was treated to some official brand clothing Very nice!! Thank you to the 10 Mile Lake

CONTACT ME
Email
hdixonwarren@cariboord.bc.ca

BLOG
http://heloisedixonwarren.blogspot

not. This systems has been in place at the CRD and City of Quesnel jointly owned centrally located facilities for a number of years (e.g. Twin Arenas, Arts & Rec. Centre). The rural recreation commissions and Alex Fraser Park society have been directed to implement a similar system for 2014. Recreation passes ensure residents who contribute to the NCRP function through annual taxation are not subsidizing the use of the facilities by residents of non-contributing areas. It may take a while for this system to be fully implemented at these facilities and it likely will cause some frustration. Please be patient with the volunteers as they roll this system out.

FACEBOOK
Heloise-Dixon-WarrenCRD Director Area B

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Letter B

THE ROLE OF REGIONAL DISTRICTS

People often wonder what is the Regional District and what is their role. This is a question that especially comes up by residents who have recently relocated to a rural area from a municipality. It can be confusing. Regional districts have three basic roles: 1. Regional districts provide regional governance and services for the region as a whole. They provide a political forum for representation of regional residents and communities and a vehicle for advancing the interests of the region as a whole. They provide a vehicle for the delivery of typical region -wide services like economic development, water supply, sewerage disposal, and solid waste management. Regional districts provide a political and administrative framework for inter-municipal or sub-regional service partnerships through the creation of "benefiting areas". Any combination of municipalities and electoral areas can jointly decide to provide services and recover the costs from the beneficiaries. For example, a large scale recreation center that benefits four municipalities and an electoral area; a fire protection service that enables a municipal fire department to provide fire protection to a rural area immediately adjacent to municipal boundaries; and a park service that enables parks in three rural electoral areas to be maintained. Regional districts are, in the absence of municipalities, the "local" government for rural areas. At the very least, this means that the regional district provides community planning and land use regulation in rural areas. However, in addition, it typically means the region is providing the following services: building regulation and inspection; nuisance regulation; street lighting; and house numbering.

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Reference: PRIMER ON REGIONAL DISTRICTS IN BRITISH COLUMBIA, 2006 (Ministry of Community Services )

If you would like to be added to my distribution list for Area B, please email me at hdixon-warren@cariboord.bc.ca

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Letter B

BC Healthy Communities Workshops To Be Held in Area B

The Parkland and Bouchie Lake Community Associations are gearing up to hold workshops prior to March 31st within these communities focused on creating healthy communities and identifying barriers. Through the Cariboo Regional District, these Community Associations have accessed funding through BC Healthy Communities to host a total of four workshops. The purpose of the workshops are to identify issues related to community health in Bouchie Lake / Milburn Lake and Parkland (Moose Heights / Ten Mile Lake) so there is an enhanced knowledge and better understanding of the barriers and challenges faced by residents in rural electoral areas who much travel to access services. Two workshops will be held in each community. The first will be a workshop at which stakeholders will be invited to participate. Following this initial workshop, another workshop will be held which community members-at-large will be invited to. This latter workshop will be an "Open House" . The intent of both workshops is to engage both community leaders and residents in discussions on local health priorities, barriers to accessing services, and other issues and concerns in these rural communities where services are limited. The workshops will focus on identifying challenges and finding solutions to rural issues such as health in low income families, access to localised organised recreation, hungry children, mental health, isolation and physical fitness. The workshops may also address issues of local food security. Watch for more information being distributed. A Request for Proposal to hire on a Workshop Co -ordinator has just been distributed. If you are interested in learning more about the workshops and /or how to get involved, please contact me at 250.249.5329 or hdixon-warren@cariboord.bc.ca

10 MILE LAKE VOLUNTEER FIRE FIGHTERS

RECEIVE LONG TERM SERVICE AWARDS
On December 21st, I attended the 10 Mile Lake Volunteer Fire Department Christmas Celebration and was honoured to be involved with the presentation of some long term services awards. A very BIG thank you to these people who are community minded and volunteer their time to assist and support their community. Left to Right: Wade Affleck (5 year pin), Chris Hamelin (5 year pin), Bert Sturt (5 year pin), Heloise DixonWarren, Chief Robert Shkuratoff, Albert Hesselgrave (5, 10 and 15 year service pins)
If you would like to be added to my distribution list for Area B, please email me at hdixon-warren@cariboord.bc.ca

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Letter B

RURAL RECREATION
UPGRADES TO BOUCHIE LAKE HALL CONTINUE!
The Bouchie Lake Hall continued to receive upgrades right through to December 31, 2013. OIL TANK REMOVED During summer, a 30 year old residential heating oil tank was removed from the front of the hall. Upon removal, it was learnt that the site was contaminated so the site was excavated and remediated. and contaminated soil removed. Plans for construction of the Volunteer Appreciation Garden can now begin. LIGHTING UPGRADE The Bouchie Lake Recreation Commission was approved for a lighting upgrade through Community Works Funding (Gas Tax Fund). The hall is now equipped with energy efficient lighting and some other electrical improvements. KITCHEN RENOVATIONS The kitchen at the Bouchie Lake Hall is one the community should be proud of. It is a fully serviced kitchen stocked with a dish sanitizer, multiple fridges and freezers, dishes and cutlery and now a NEW commercial gas stove complete with automatic lighting and shut off valves. After a considerable amount of discussion, the existing gas stove was sold in the fall as it did not meet the needs of the hall. This was a big decision but in the long term, the right decision. The kitchen has also been painted and new flooring will be installed. A few more minor changes are in the works. FRONT STEP REPAIR / REPLACEMENT The front steps of the Bouchie Lake Hall were identified as needing some attention in the fall. The concrete was cracking and the step surfaces becoming increasingly uneven creating a serious tripping hazard. As a temporary measure a ramp has been installed over the lower steps. It is hoped that the steps will be properly repaired and / or replaced in 2014. UPSTAIRS RENOVATIONS 2014 Plans include the renovation of the upstairs room so it becomes a Multi-Purpose Room perfect for social functions, meetings, and small gatherings. Plans include painting, reconstructing the office, and doing some upgrades on the kitchen area and adding a seating area. If you would like to be involved with this project, your assistance will be most welcomed and appreciated. Please contact Bouchie Lake Rec at 250.249.5508 or bouchielakerc@gmail.com The UPSTAIRS RENO. TEAM is planning to meet January 18th, 1:00 pm at the Bouchie Lake Hall. EVERYONE WELCOME TO ATTEND.

Bouchie Lake Home Based Business Fall Market on November 16th was a huge

Bouchie Lake Community Christmas Potluck Neighbours getting together Dec. 8th

If you would like to be added to my distribution list for Area B, please email me at hdixon-warren@cariboord.bc.ca

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Letter B Letter B

RURAL RECREATION
PARKLAND RECREATION

Letter B

RURAL RECREATION
BOUCHIE LAKE RECREATION

If you would like to be added to my distribution list for Area B, please email me at hdixon-warren@cariboord.bc.ca