Predator Ridge Community Safety
Raising Our Community Awareness through Prevention/Mitigation and Preparedness
On February 23rd and 25th, the PRCEMC team hosted a webinar on Community Safety at Predator Ridge. If you were unable to attend any of those webinar sessions, we have posted a recording of the Feb 25th session on our YouTube channel.
Give the video a view and stay up to date on community safety and other initiatives happening in and around the Predator Ridge Community.
This September brought a great deal of smoke into the interior and across BC from fires burning in the US and it serves as a reminder to all of us that we need to keep our FireSmart Initiatives going to help protect our community. The Predator Ridge FireSmart Committee has continued to apply for any grants that become available and we are pleased to announce that we have received a $500.00 Grant from FireSmart Canada and a $300.00 Grant from the City of Vernon for bins to collect and haul away debris from our Community Clean Up Event which will take place on October 17th.
We are looking for Volunteers for our Event on October 17th. We appreciate your support, participation and commitment to the FireSmart program and our volunteer efforts during the past 5 years. If you are new to the community, we welcome you to come out and learn about our FireSmart initiatives.
Due to Covid, we would ask you to sign up in advance to volunteer at this event. This allows us to plan ahead and keep everyone working at a respectable distance with covid measures in place. Please bring your own mask to the event.
Date: October 17th
Time: 9:00am to 12:00pm
Location: Birdie Lake Loop Trail
We will be starting at the Whitetail Entrance Sign and working our way along the trail towards Birdie Lake Lookout Loop. Volunteer Numbers will determine how far we make it for the clean up
Volunteers please RSVP by October 13th or if you have any questions on this event please contact us.
For distribution to all home owners as part of Block Watch.
Habitat for Humanity is a great cause and well supported by our community however we need residents to be aware of a couple of things.
Last week on Friday August 7 Predator Security advised us that there was suspicious vehicle activity in our community the night before (a smaller grey 4 door car). It was thought that this might be related to the upcoming Habitat bottle drive on Saturday August 8 as many residents put their bottles and cans out the night before. Pick up time is set for 9 am on the day of the bottle drive which was the Saturday. To prevent a situation where undesirable activity may occur residents are asked to put their items out the morning of the Bottle drive rather than the night before.
We also have a situation where boxes of bottles may get wet from overnight sprinkler activity and the bottoms may fall open when picked up in the morning. This is a safety concern for those doing pick up (possible broken glass) and adds to having to deal with individual bottles – really slows down the process.
So please address these concerns as we support this great cause in a safe and secure manner. Thank you.
Glory Westwell – Habitat for Humanity
Jim Popowich – Predator Community Block Watch
Hi Everyone,
I just wanted to let you know that a lot of Falcon Point/Chicopee residents have been working hard in their own yards and by the hockey cabin with FireSmart Activities as we all try to fill in time every day until we can once again be together with family members and friends.
I am sending you a few pictures, if you have not had a chance to walk by the cottages and around the hockey cabin, to see how nice and clean it is there.
This phased project was driven by Gerry Fester (Chicopee resident and Strata President) and Jim was the FS Rep assisting to make sure it was done to FS Standards and with Breanne’s approval prior to each phase of the project.
The total hours spent in 2020 on this project was 85 hours. Gerry also used his own truck to haul the debris to the landfill with one or two loads after each clean-up during that one-month period. This project was started in December 2019 with about 10 volunteer hours.
2 homeowners from the same household on Chicopee Road cleaned up pinecones and raked the common property beside their home and spent approx. 15 hours on this project.
Jim and Laverne have also spent about 24 hours cleaning their properties.
Gord and Shelley on Vardon Lane also recently cleaned for about 27 hours on their two properties and paid for the bin rental to haul away the debris.
Jim has also seen another 3 families in his neighbourhood cleaning up their yards, so it certainly is a snowball effect.
If you or your neighbours are cleaning your own properties, please send me a picture, date of clean-up, names, address, phone number and hours spent so we can include them all with our application for 2020.
As we are not yet sure what the rest of 2020 will look like and when we can safely proceed with our Community FireSmart Event (area by Birdie Lake that Jim has scoped out for us) and spend the $500.00 FireSmart Canada Grant that Heather has secured for us this year, we can only encourage residents at this time to clean their own yards and include the hours spent by everyone in our 2020 application.
Stay safe everyone and hopefully we will be able to meet soon.
Kathy Pedersen
Dear Neighbour,
Although Mother Nature has taken her time bringing spring, the forecast indicates that warm weather is right around the corner.
These have been very unsettling times, but please recognize that what our health officials have been asking us to do is helping to slow down the spread of COVID-19. Officials are also reminding us that COVID-19 has not yet peaked in our British Columbia or Canada. However if we stay the course, keep our distance, and stay close to home, there is hope that we will flatten the curve sooner rather than later. PHYSICAL DISTANCING is incredibly important; we need to be vigilant about our personal safety (and that of others) and do our part to slow down the spread of this virus.
Predator Ridge has made the cart paths available for getting some fresh air, as long as we follow the guidelines from health officials (e.g., staying home for 14 days after out-of-country travel, maintaining 6 feet of physical distance and not gathering in groups). We also note that guidelines continue to evolve, so it’s important for us to pay attention to those changes, such as recent health recommendations for increased use of masks.
For those who are in quarantine, we understand how difficult this time is, especially with the warm weather coming. If you need help, please reach out to your friends and neighbours. For those of you who have completed your quarantine, we thank you for your vigilance.
Our Mental Wellbeing
These times are difficult for everyone and some of us will struggle more than others with the uncertainty and isolation. The anxiety over stress, mental distress and depression, have no borders, and can hit any one. Predator Ridge has taken amazing measures to help support this by offering free access for 90 days to Akira By TELUS Health. Akira has many benefits including unlimited, unrestricted 24/7 mental health support. Tomorrow (April 8th) is the last day to register for this 90-day free service so register right away if this is of interest to you.
PredatorRidge.com/Community-Resources/Virtual-HealthCare
MentalHealthCommission.ca/English/covid19
Vernon Connect
Earlier this year, the City of Vernon launched an app to allow residents to stay connected with the City of Vernon’s Emergency Alerts and Messaging. The “VernonConnect” app allows you to select important messaging from the City of Vernon direct to your phone. You can download this app for free via the Apple App Store or Google Play Store.
Vernon.ca/homes-building/fire-safety/emergency-management/vernonconnect-app
Trails & Cart (Walking) Paths
Due to snow and muddy conditions, Predator Ridge has closed the dirt trails until further notice. This is to prevent ruts on the trails, so residents are asked to stick to the paved cart paths. Please respect and follow all signage that is and will be placed at trailheads.
Golf Course
We understand that we all want to get out on the golf course and we are all eagerly awaiting a message from Predator Ridge that will give us an opening date. Unfortunately an exact date is not possible at this time, but what we can assure you Predator Ridge is as anxious as you are to open, but will not do so until it is SAFE to do so.
FireSmart Your Yards
While we are all self-distancing it may be a good time to get outside and look around your home to see what you can do now to FireSmart your own property. Click on the below link for FireSmart spring clean up 2020 tips and how to contact the FireSmart committee with any questions. The committee is here to help and is always happy to answer any questions you may have.
PRCEMC.ca/2020/04/06/fire-smart-spring-clean-up-2020/
Support for Predator Ridge Staff
Predator Ridge has 98 of its staff still employed, with many of these employees taking on alternate jobs from what they normally do (e.g. cleaning streets, golf course and landscaping maintenance, etc.). Also included in those numbers are the staff working at Commonage Market and Pallino’s and they need our help! Numbers at Pallino’s and Commonage Market have dropped off in the past weeks, making it difficult to justify opening. If everyone one of us here in the community ate one meal a week from Pallino’s or the Market it will definitely help keep the doors open and the staff employed.
Music On Our Patios
Some fun stats regarding last Saturday’s inaugural Music on Your Patio event:
• The event registered 3,200 views
• 366 people engaged in the content (this includes likes, shares, & comments),
• 32 people shared it including the BC Country Music Association!
The next Music on Your Patio event will be happening this Saturday at 7:30pm with Gorden James. Full details at: PredatorRidge.com/Community-Resources/Music
Looking Ahead
We all look forward to when we can gather with our neighbours again, get out on the golf course, and participate in all of the other great in-person classes and events we have in our community. Remember, we’re all in this together, and until that day arrives, we will continue to follow health guidelines, participate and support each other virtually or at a distance.
Keep The Faith • Be Strong • Physically Distance • Keep Us All Safe
Sincerely,
Your Predator Ridge Community Emergency Management Committee (PRCEMC)
Jim Popowich; Colleen Scott; Kathy Pedersen; Gord Wilson;
Luiz Araujo; Jane Toppozini
Community Safety at Predator Ridge
Over 29 people participated in the FireSmart Clean-Up event today, July 14th, 2019. We need to give a big thank you to Gerry Fester, the Strata President for organizing the event today. He obtained strata approval, secured a trailer to haul the debris to the landfill and communicated with the Strata for volunteers to help make the day a success. Heather Fester made homemade cookies and served cold watermelon to the volunteers – Thank you Heather !
The FireSmart Committee assisted today advertising the event for volunteers to come out and help from the rest Community. We also provided vests, gloves, safety glasses, tarps, rakes and water.
The area cleaned was right opposite the hockey cabin and down on either side of the golf cart path towards Ridge 16 and the other way to the start of the Cottages (the area opposite Ridge 17). Branches on trees were laddered, deadfall removed from the ground, dead branches removed from the bushes and trees and many, many pine cones picked up.
We all worked for about 3 hours today. Some volunteers worked longer taking the last load to the landfill and a volunteer cleaned the path later in the day.
Two full loads were taken to the Vernon Landfill (trailer and truck loaded right to the top) so a lot of debris was hauled away today. Today’s event really shows what a Community can accomplish when working together – in just a few hours, a very large area was “FireSmarted”.
Thank you to all the volunteers who helped with the event today – the hours spent by you today will count towards applying for the 2019 FireSmart Community Recognition – We really appreciate your help and support !
Stay tuned for more details on our next clean-up event which is planned for an area in the Whitetail neighbourhood (likely late summer).
by….FireSmart Committee Coordinator….Kathy Pedersen
[ngg src=”galleries” ids=”1″ display=”basic_thumbnail” number_of_columns=”3″]The FireSmart Committee is holding a clean-up event on Sunday, July 14th at 9:00 am to assist the Falcon Point Residents complete a FireSmart clean-up of the Chicopee/Falcon Point common property in areas 1, 2 & 3. See the colour coded map below:
The FireSmart committee will be on hand at the Hockey Canada Cabin on Sunday, July 14th beginning at 9:00 am with all kinds of great information on FireSmart. This is a great opportunity to learn more about FireSmart and how you can help protect your property from wildfire.
FireSmart manuals will be available as well as other educational materials. This is a good opportunity for Predator Ridge residents to come out and see first hand what FireSmart is all about and what can be done around their own homes with laddering trees, cleaning up pine cones, etc.
For those folks that would like to participate in the clean-up, gloves, vests, safety glasses and electric saws will be provided. We anticipate the FireSmart Clean-up will take 3 hours to complete and we will get underway at 9:00 am. Meet at the Hockey Canada Cabin.
The Predator Ridge Community Forum held on May 13th was a big hit with residents, with well over 175 people attending the Forum.
PRCEMC Coordinator, Jim Popowich, moderated the event with opening remarks from Jason Kelder of Wesbild Holdings.
Presentations were made to attendees beginning with an overview from Colleen Scott discussing the PRCEMC’s History, Current Activities and Future Plans. As well, PRCEMC organizations gave the following reports:
The City of Vernon provided an excellent overview of the City’s Emergency Management Program with presentations by Chief David Lind – Vernon Fire Department and Sue Saunders – Emergency Program Coordinator.
As well, Trevor Honigman of Vernon Search and Rescue provided a very interesting discussion on the role they play in the event of an emergency.
One really important item Sue Saunders discussed was the Vernon Connect App that anyone can download and Install on their smartphone. Just go to the App Store for your device and search for – Vernon Connect. The App is a free download and once installed on your phone you are able to customize the app settings to receive notifications from the City of Vernon. Of particular importance is the ability to receive Emergency Alerts from the City directly to your smartphone device. This is an excellent App to get.
……. Jane Toppozini from the Commonage Road Improvement Committee presented an excellent update on their efforts to improve the overall safety and maintenance of Commonage and Bailey Roads. Learn more by reading Jane’s CRIC presentation here.
Jane also gave an update on the newly formed: “The Ridge Riders Cycling Club” Their mandate is to promote and encourage all levels of cycling – from experience to novice. They support the development of a multi use trail between Predator Ridge and Kekuli Bay / Rail Trail and to link Predator to Vernon & Coldstream trails etc.
Gord Wilson announced the new PRCEMC website is now launched and he provided brief overview of the website and its functionality. He also noted the website is mobile responsive and works great on any mobile device such as smartphones and tablets.
The website can be accessed at www.prcemc.ca or through the Predator Ridge Homeowner Intranet site by clicking the logo – 
The Forum wrapped up with a robust Question and Answer period followed by a number of draws for door prizes such as First Aid Kits and Fire Extinguishers. A big thanks to Jim Popowich for getting all those prizes organized.
May 11th is National Animal Disaster Preparedness Day, a good time to consider if you are prepared for the unexpected. Good planning can make all the difference in the event of a fire, flood, earthquake or other disaster. Don’t forget to include your pets in the plan – this free BC SPCA emergency checklist outlines everything you will need to ensure your furry family members are safe if disaster strikes.
Get the free emergency checklist.
Don’t wait until it is too late.
Recent flooding and wildfire events have strained the resources of Okanagan residents to adapt to climate change. Homeowners are facing environmental changes and struggling to understand the best ways to respond. The looming question is “How ready are private property owners to cope with impacts of climate change?”
The South Okanagan Real Estate Board in partnership with the Regional District of Okanagan Similkameen, South Okanagan Similkameen Conservation Program and Okanagan Nation Alliance have produced a new outreach document – Building Climate Resilience in the Okanagan: A Homeowners’ Resource Guide to address these pressing issues.
The guide explores topics such as Climate, Flood, Drought, Fire, Energy Efficiency, Invasive Species and Food Security, this guide provides practical hands on information and advice about actions each of us can take to make the places we live more robust in the face of climate change.
This Meadowlark Festival presentation will include several experts highlighting key issues in the guide including Fire, Flood and Insurance which will be followed by question period. Plan to attend this very informative presentation on May 18, 2019 from 1-4 pm in Penticton at the En’owkin Centre. All attendees will receive a complimentary copy of the Resource Guide.
Admission is free but you must REGISTER to attend: Please feel free to share this post with your network.
If you are unable attend the festival, the guidebook is available at the following link: GET THE GUIDEBOOK
