Community Safety
is our number one priority
Dear Neighbour,
Looking in the rear-view mirror, 2020 will be a year forever rooted in all our memories. It was a year that fundamentally challenged how we think about our health, our safety and our future.
We have endured an unbelievable year of challenges, but we have also witnessed a time of positive opportunities and change. The pandemic has shown us that working together, we can achieve great things. Our community, our country and the world have all come together to find ways to fight back against COVID-19.
We are especially proud of how our own community has come together to help support and protect one another. Here at Predator Ridge, we are fortunate to have an amazing group of volunteers that participate in the FireSmart and Block Watch programs and the Commonage Road Improvement Committee (CRIC) that continues to pursue major improvements to Commonage Road. This year, in the spirit of the holidays, we also saw both the community and Predator Ridge come together to participate in one of the best displays of Christmas lights ever.
We are also grateful to Predator Ridge, for their swift action in adapting new policies, procedures and thorough communications over this past year. They went above and beyond, creating new activities to help keep us safe, healthy and connected. From online music nights, virtual wine tastings, fitness classes and cooking classes, ploughed trails, a skating rink, golf simulators and the amazing holiday fireworks, we can’t say thank you enough!
PREDATOR RIDGE COMMUNITY SAFETY UPDATES:
Safety
With the winter season now upon us, many of us turn our thoughts to the beauty and fun of skating on natural ice on local ponds and lakes. Many factors can affect ice thickness including: type of water, location and the time of year. Why not take a moment to refresh your knowledge of ice safety by visiting this Red Cross website for some excellent information before you venture out on the ice.
This year with so many of us out walking on the roadways with family, friends and our pets it is important to be safe and visible. Please keep in mind that we are not always visible to oncoming traffic especially at dawn, dusk and at night. Wearing some form of reflective clothing or headlamps is one way to stay VISABLE. With the fluctuating temperatures, the road and pathways can be very icy and slippery. Wearing cleats is an excellent way to prevent an unexpected and possibly dangerous fall.
This year there have been several coyote sightings in and around our neighbourhoods. We remind our residents that we live in nature’s back yard. Contact with wildlife can occur and we need to be aware of how to respond. For more information on keeping wildlife wild and communities safe, visit the Wild Safe BC site of the BC Conservation Foundation.
Emergency Preparedness Throughout the Winter
During the next few months, it is important for us to think about being prepared for emergencies such as snow and or ice storms that could result in either road closures or power outages. We need to be prepared to be isolated for a period of 48 to 72 hours. Click the following link to preparedness at the Prepared BC website.
Block Watch
Our neighbourhoods have been made safer with the help of community Volunteer Block Watch Captains. We are one of the most organized Block Watch areas in the interior and have received many accolades for it. Visit our Community Safety website to discover more about what Block Watch is doing in our community: Block Watch.
Commonage Road Improvement Committee – CRIC
We will continue to monitor the winter road maintenance and the challenges we have experienced with ACCIONA Infrastructure and Maintenance (AIM). In late December we received a response to the Letter of Concern CRIC sent to the Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructures Deputy Minister. + View the letter from MoTI Deputy Minister.
FireSmart
Citizen involvement is the cornerstone of the FireSmart Canada Neighbourhood Recognition Program and here at Predator Ridge, we have no lack of involvement from our residents. Our community has been on the forefront of earning recognition as a FireSmart Neighbourhood and 2020 has been no exception. On October 17th, neighbours turned out in full force to clean-up a portion of the Birdie Lake Trail. In addition, throughout the entire year, many residents worked towards making our community that much more FireSmart by cleaning up their own private properties. To learn more about the FireSmart program here at Predator Ridge, visit the website at FireSmart.
In Closing
We continue to work with the City of Vernon and provincial authorities to provide information that is essential to our community well being. To view this information please visit Community Safety at Predator Ridge.
We trust that in spite of the many challenges in 2020, we have much to be grateful for in our community. We wish our entire community the absolute best in 2021.
Sincerely,
Your Predator Ridge Community Emergency Management Committee (PRCEMC)
Jim Popowich
Colleen Scott
Jane Toppozini
Gord Wilson
Kathy Pedersen
Luiz Araujo