Straight From DeHart – Feb. 26, 2020

Next time you drive past St. Hubertus Estate Winery at 5225 Lakeshore Road, you might be able to see the flock of sheep that are grazing on the vineyard. The flock of 15 arrived in November from Kamloops and belongs to Greg Sokoliuk and Kari Powell of Whistling Wind Ranch. There is a mix of lambs and sheep and they can fully graze about 1.3 acres within a month, so every month they need to move to another section of the vineyard for grazing. When it is colder than normal, the flock is hay fed. The sheep can manage to get the vegetation under the snow, but it becomes a strong challenge with over a foot of snow. Predators have been a concern since the beginning, but the electric fencing surrounding their grazing block and that “Flower “and Timothy” wear bells deter the coyotes. It’s an old idea going back to old farming techniques. Normally, St. Hubertus mow the vineyard before winter starts, so not only is the flock reducing the amount of tractor driving, but they also fertilize and aerate the soil with their hooves. With the sheep walking everywhere they are also damaging the tunnels from the pocket gophers and mice, as rodents do severe damage to the vines root system. St. Hubertus and Oak Bay Estate Winery Ltd. is owned and operated by the Gebert family. Reto Gebert is the vineyard manager.  www.st-hubertus.bc.ca

 

UBC Okanagan will have a new face heading its leadership team through the new decade. Professor Lesley Cormack will take over the school’s top position of deputy vice-chancellor and principal from Deborah Buszard on July 1. Lesley has spent the past 10 years as Dean of the Faculty of Arts at the University of Alberta and prior to that she held a similar position at Simon Fraser University.

Molly Maid Kelowna/Okanagan franchise has new owners. Julianna Schell and Geoff Webb, partners in life and business, have purchased the franchise from Brigit Winkler who retired after 11 years. Molly Maid specializes in both residential and commercial cleaning and operate throughout the valley Monday to Saturday.  They currently have four staff and use environmentally preferable green products as part of their green housekeeping program. Molly Maid house cleaning service is very flexible and provides regular or occasional maid service depending on your schedule. They also service short-term legal rentals. www.mollymaid.ca

After 41 years of service as a pastor, Tim Schroeder has left Trinity Baptist Church, but is definitely not retiring. Tim started his career in Edmonton where he stayed for six years. The remaining 35 years have been at Trinity Baptist. His entire career spanned in only two parishes and when Tim came to Trinity Baptist the parish was only 400 people. During our chat, he mentioned that he has enjoyed a great ride and does not believe in retirement. That is why he will now be devoting his time to the RCMP as their Chaplin at both the Kelowna Detachment and the South East District. Tim is definitely the person to help out as another extremely helpful resource for the members. Incidentally, Tim celebrated his 65th birthday on February 24th.

Steve Harvey, owner of Business Finders Canada reports business purchases are up over 34% from this time last year. Due to this increase, the company has hired three more brokers in the Okanagan. Joining the company is Rob Raybould who assists entrepreneurs in navigating business transaction processes to ensure transactions are easy, confidential and stress-free. Brent Marshall has owned many businesses and operated the No.1 Chrysler-Jeep-Ram truck dealership in Canada. Todd Sanderson is a local Chartered Professional Accountant who has practiced for 30 years. The company has also added a new marketing director to the Kelowna office. David Steenkamp manages over 1,000 online business listings across multiple online listing websites and leads the charge on all their social media accounts and campaigns. www.commercialfinders.com

Congratulations to Dosa Crepe Café at 110 Gray Road who won a 2020 Consumer Choice Award. Owned and operated by Dinesh Viswanathan and Shylender Selvaraj, Dosa also operates a food truck that specializes in the South Indian fermented crepe made from rice batter and lentils and is served crispy. Consumer Choice is a market research firm that focuses on brand reputation, consumer satisfaction and business excellence which recognizes businesses that get exceptional feedback from customers.  www.dosacrepecafe.com

Three local businesses are finalists for the 2020 BC Tourism Awards. Big White Ski Resort and Okopogo Tours were nominated for the Ministry of Tourism Arts and Culture-Accessible Tourism Award. Wicked Wine Tours was nominated for the GoRVing Canada Customer Service Award. www.bctourismconference.ca

Women in Leadership Diversity and Inclusion Luncheon is March 11th at Coast Capri Hotel from 11:30 a.m. to 11:30 p.m. hosted by the Women in Leadership Foundation (WIL). The speakers are Amal Alhuwayshil, founder of I’m All Courage, a TEDx speaker, intersectional feminist and a courage expert and Renee Merrifield, founder and CEO of Troika Management Group. WIL delivers inspirational programs that bring women together to collaborate in the development of their leadership skills and creates positive change in the future of women’s leadership. Register at Eventbrite/e/WomenInLeadership. www.womeninleadership.ca

USB album format, what next? Local musician Jeremy Messenger has spent over 30 years working on various singing styles and released his first album “Christmas Time of Year” 12 years ago. Jeremy has now released his first full length album “Brooklyn”. Finding his niche in the music world, he also produces and masters his original music, despite dealing with Autism and Type 1 Diabetes. His talent has culminated in his current repertoire of originals and well-known songs which he performs live. Now, at the age of 43 he can play seven instruments. On his new album, Jeremy does lead vocals, harmonies and all songs and plays drums, bass, guitar, piano, keyboards, ukulele, accordion and harmonica. Some of the best musical talents are also featured on this album including Grammy Award winning saxophonist Fabian Hernandez from Los Angeles. Brooklyn is now available in a unique USB MP3 credit card size disc album format which allows listeners to play the album in a vehicle USB drive, as well as on their computer and traditional CD format. The album is available at Sunrise Records in Orchard Park Mall and New Tew Yew Clothing in West Kelowna. Facebook Jeremy Messenger Brooklyn Album or phone/text 778-214-4453.

Do you have autism, a diversability or learning disability and are having a tough time finding the best job for you? Finding the Best Job for You! Employment Workshop is Saturday, February 29th from 1:00 to 2:30 p.m. at Pathways, 123 Franklyn Road. Invited are adults over 19 with Autism, a diversability (disability) or a learning disability. Registration required by contacting Linda Youmans, Okanagan Self-Advocate Group Advisor at 778-478-1304 or [email protected].

The Okanagan Sun have confirmed CFL Commissioner Randy Ambrosie as the keynote speaker at a luncheon on Thursday, April 23rd at the Coast Capri Hotel from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. Randy will speak about his global vision for the CFL, a vision he calls CFL 2.0.  CFL 2.0 is his strategic plan launched in 2018 based on operational excellence, international presence, regional market strategies and global football participation. All Okanagan Sun supporters and football fans will definitely enjoy this exclusive and informative event. MC is Phil Johnson from AM1150 and tickets are now on sale at https://trellis.org/cflBrett Kryskow is the Okanagan Sun President. [email protected]

The Central Okanagan Heritage Society Heritage Award Winners for 2020 are Shui Lee (Distinguished Community Service); Surtees Barn & House at 4629-4639 Lakeshore Road by Worman Commercial and the City of Kelowna (Kelowna Conservation Project on a Heritage Building Currently in Non-residential Use); 1368 Ethel Street, formerly 1730 Ethel Street, Lois McCloskey (Conservation Project on a Heritage Building Currently in Residential Use); Fumerton House, 1922 Abbott Street, Jeannette Mergens (Continued Conservation of a Heritage Building in Residential Use); St. Mary’s Anglican Church, The People of St. Mary’s Church (Continued Conservation of a Heritage Building in Non-residential Use); Okanagan Rail Trail Committee (ORTC) Vernon to Kelowna  (Conservation of a Neighborhood, Area or Cultural Landscape); Nellie Duke Exhibition, St. Michael and All Angels Cathedral Committee (Special Heritage Project).

Birthdays of the week – Bill Kolodychuk (Feb. 26); Mike Sizeland (Feb. 26); Kirsten Moxness (Feb. 27); Norm Lecavalier (Feb. 27); John Matzgkeit (Feb. 27); Ken Laloge (Feb. 28); John Crofts (Feb. 28); Ken Salvail (Feb. 29); Brad Sieben (Mar. 1); Karen Harper (Mar. 1); Rick Patterson (Mar. 2); Jock Craddock (Mar. 2); Rick Pushor (Mar. 2); Faye Willms (Mar. 2); Bruce Murray (Mar. 3).

Maxine DeHart is a Kelowna City Councillor and local hotelier. Phone her at 250-979-4546 or 250-862-7662 E-mail [email protected] and website www.maxinedehart.ca