Pressure is building in Lumby to see a legacy created for one of the community’s oldest businessmen.
Wally Chaput, now 91 years old, started Chaput Bros. Logging in the community which he grew up in.
“A lot of truck drivers got their first shot at driving at Chaputs, and Wally and his brother Eddie employed a lot of men with their logging outfit and gravel business, thus contributing to the economy of the village,” said Jo Ann Wallace, in a letter to Lumby making the request.
“I would like you to consider naming the oval, or another park or street, after Wally Chaput.”
The village is sending the request to the White Valley Parks, Recreation and Culture Committee for consideration.
As a veteran, Chaput also played a large part in Pat Duke moving to Lumby, said Wallace.
“When he was in the army, he met Pat Duke in England,” she wrote. “Pat was also a soldier, and when the war was over he came out to see Wally in Lumby and stayed.”
Fire prevention sparked
Lumby has a prescription for prevention of forest fires.
John Davies of Valhalla Environmental Consulting has been working to lay out strategic wildfire initiatives to stomp out fires before they start.
“They’ve mapped out all the danger spots and how to address them,” said Mayor Kevin Acton.
Having Valhalla undertake the work also freed up Lumby staff, who are busy with Hockeyville plans as well as the day-to-day operations.
University of Lumby
Lumby is reaping the benefits of having university students using the village as their classroom.
UBCO third year nursing students as well as marketing students have been working to promote health and wellness in Lumby since 2013.
In total, 17 students, six different groups, have worked on projects to help with initiation of the smoke-free bylaw and health promotion. They’ve also been working on a business plan for the physical fitness centre.
“We’ve got nursing students coming out and marketing students coming out and basically doing their practicum here,” said Mayor Kevin Acton, who is pleased with the work being done.
“We’re just really utilizing young minds. Taking advantage of the fact that these young kids have some great ideas.”
Water woes
Hard water is hitting the pockets of the Lumby Curling Club, well, hard.
The club treats village water to make the ice for the rink so it is softer. But it is finding that it needs to replace filters more frequently and would like to see if improvements can be made to Lumby’s water.
“It’s about $5,000 a year,” said Mayor Kevin Acton, of the costs the club is incurring to make the water more pristine.
It could be old pipes that are deteriorating water quality before it gets to the curling club, says Acton. While some old pipes are being replaced in Lumby, he says it would be very expensive to replace them all.
“We’re going to talk about maybe some pre-filter options,” said Acton, as Lumby wants to ease the hit in the pocket for the club.