There was an election in BC over the weekend. Gareth Smart and Barbara Roden held a four hour marathon to see what the final results at the end of the night were. The Candidates in the riding of Fraser Nicola included, for the NDP Aaron Sumxheltza, for the BC Greens Jonah Timms, two independents Mike Bhangu and Dennis Adamson, and the Liberal Incumbent Jackie Tegart.

Provincially the NDP (overall) were seeking to secure a majority in the legislative assembly, over the last three years they shared power in a minority capacity with the Liberals. However after this election they had done what they set out to do and won fifty-five seats, securing a majority for the next four years. All of the main party leaders were elected in their ridings and in Fraser Nicola the incumbent Jackie Tegart was re-elected. Jackie said in a Facebook message “I want to say a heartfelt thank you to my amazing campaign team, and to friends, family, and every volunteer who worked so hard on my campaign. I am humbled and grateful to have been a candidate in this election, and for your support. I am proud of the campaign we ran. Thank you all for being a part of it”!

However there is a caveat at this time. Usually there aren't to many requested mail in ballots, but during this election (presumably due to COVID-19) 70,000 mail in ballots were requested. In Fraser Nicola alone there were 2500 ballots requested. These votes have yet to be added into the final results. At this moment we will have to wait for November 6th to find out who has really won the election but it is widely believed that these votes will not change much over all. The final results for the Fraser Nicola were Jackie Tegart with 4,703 votes Aaron Sumexheltza with 4,318, Jonah Timms with 1,419, Dennis Adamson with 381 and Mike Bhanghu with 292.

Ashcroft Council Meeting - There was the Ashcroft Council Meeting last night that involved a delegation from the Ashcroft Slough Society. Dan Collett made a presentation to council pointing out some of the reasons why the Slough society was created. They claim that the Ashcroft Terminal has removed access to the slough when they put up a gate preventing citizens from reaching a crossing point to get over the railroad tracks and reach the slough water front. The delegation ended with the Ashcroft Slough Society asking for a $500 Grant in Aid to help with the societies start up fees, as well as use the resources of the Village Office to apply for grants until they become a non profit organization. After the delegation there was period of time for public questions, Patty Kinvig was there, Patty works at the Ashcroft Terminal, she mentioned that the gate that was put up divides private property from public and that the crossing on the Terminal land is illegal to cross, and that CN has released a statement saying that CN will not do anything in regards to crossings in that area. 

The Cache Creek Council also had a meeting that also started with a delegation. This time from the Cache Creek Volunteer Fire Department. Damien Coulture gave a presentation of how their breathing apparatus for fire fighting works. He noted that the particular unit he was demonstrating was obsolete because one of the pieces that you cant get anymore has failed. He then asked the council for money to get new air tanks and equipment. Some now and some in 2021 as their gear will start to expire as of next year. Ultimately they were asking for 4 new tanks and other pieces of equipment to accompany the tanks. The brand of equipment they are asking for is “Scott”, these tanks are carbon fiber and are compatible with the Ashcroft Volunteer fire departments equipment.

Damien also asked for additional funding to purchase individual masks for each of the fire fighters. At the moment the group is practicing without masks because they are communal and the group is apprehensive about using shared equipment. After his presentation, the councilors debated, Councilor Annette Pittman asked if this was something that was already a line item in the current budget. The Chief Financial Officer said that it was not, but that the required funds could be taken out of the landfill legacy account. Councilor Pittman then asked if there was a way to spread the purchases out so it wasn't a big purchase all at once. Ultimately Mayor Talarico stepped in and said that "this is an appropriate purchase for the safety of the Volunteers", and the motion passed with Annette opposing “the cost”.

The meeting then moved on with at a brisker pace with no more debates, there results from the Cannabis survey are to be posted for public viewing and a donation will be made to the Christmas Hamper. The meeting took just under an hour before going in camera.