Closure of Rd.7 holds serious implications for Tinhorn

An early December meeting proved to be an eye opener for Tinhorn Creek Vineyards general manager and co-owner Kenn Oldfield when Dan Bella, who works with the Ministry of Transportation told him that a plan was underway to close Road 7 at Highway 97. Road 7 is the access road to the winery.

Oldfield said during an interview Tuesday, January 3, that Bella arranged the meeting to discuss the public safety issues raised by vehicles turning left onto and out of Road 7 where the highway curves substantially and vision is reduced. They currently are at the survey stage.

"They have safety concerns and I totally agree – what I don’t agree with is their plan to redirect highway access – all the traffic to the winery –via Road 5." This is a tortuous and dead end route says Oldfield and one that would discourage highway traffic from seeking out the winery. "Right now we are .6 km away from the highway – using Road 5 would add 2.5km to the trip."

Not only that but he believes the people living along this route would not be too appreciative of the extra tourist and tractor-trailer traffic. "I have driven along that road and 20 farms and residences would be impacted," he says noting that if winery traffic were to stay consistent with current rates this would mean upward of 200-300 additional vehicles per day travelling past these homes.

And while that is certainly a downside for residents Oldfield believes it would be an even greater downside for wine tourists. "My concern is people are just going to say ‘forget it we’ll catch it next time’ – it will be just too much of a bother to get there. As well, out of sight is out of mind for a lot of people when they are wine touring."

He sees either modifying the corner at Road 7 or extending it to Road 8 as being a much better solution to the problem and has written to Bella stating his reasoning behind this choice. He also put forward a concise report pleading his case against the ministry’s choice of Road 5.

Having carefully chosen their location in 1995 with winery visibility beginning at the highway and continuing up to the buildings, Oldfield underscores the importance of maintaining this type of accessibility, "We stand to lose a lot – and [rerouting to Road 5] negates a very strong commercial feature for Tinhorn Creek."

In a letter to Bella, Oldfield recommends "shaving off the corner of Road 7 to improve visibility for northbound traffic and therefore reduce the likelihood of a left turning vehicle being rear-ended." Another option he suggested was "extending Road 7 along the irrigation ditch until it intercepts Road 8 as the highway access." He says that two wineries already are along this road, and there are left hand turn lanes in place. "The only problem would be acquiring the land along the ditch from an adjacent vineyard."

It is a critical issue for Tinhorn Creek Oldfied says pointing out that they have between 35,000 and 40,000 visitors each year. "The ministry has been looking at [doing something about Road 7] for several years but it kind of went away for a while. Now it has moved up on their list of priorities." He says his understanding is they hope to have the changes made by this time next year.

"I appreciate the fact that Dan [Bella] called me and arranged to have this meeting but I don’t agree with the ministry’s choice of Road 5 as an alternate."

Dan Bella was on holiday and unavailable for comment.

Building lots, house values in Oliver on steep increase

More than 7,600 property owners in the Town of Oliver and the surrounding areas can expect to receive their 2006 assessment notice in the coming days.

Assessments are the estimate of a property’s market value as of July 1, 2005. This common valuation date ensures that all properties are assessed fairly and there is an equitable base for property taxation.

The real estate market creates property value, which is reported annually by BC Assessment. Local governments and other taxing authorities are responsible for property taxation, and after determining their own budget needs this spring, will determine their property tax rates based on BC Assessment’s data. Note: Property owners should contact their local government, or taxing authority, for more information about their property taxes.

"Most homes on this year’s assessment roll are worth more than they were on the 2005 assessment roll, and market movement appears strong when compared to previous years," said Okanagan Region Assessor Jim Inverarity.

TOWN PROPERTY VALUES ARE UP OVER $60 MILLION

A lot in Oliver that would have been valued at $62,000 in the summer of 2004 is valued at $78,000 in the summer of 2005.

A house that would have been valued at $185,000 in the summer of 2004 is valued at $222,000 this past summer.

Changes in property assessments are reflective of movement in the local real estate market and can vary greatly from property to property. When estimating a property’s market value, a professional appraiser analyzes current sales in the area, as well as considering other characteristics such as size, age, quality, condition, view and location.

Overall, the Oliver assessment roll increased from $344,516,100 last year to $408,701,299 this year. Much of this growth reflects changing market values for many properties, but also includes $11,000,000 in changes through subdivisions, rezoning and new construction.

"Property owners who feel that their property assessment does not reflect market value as of July 1, 2005, or see incorrect information on their notice, should contact the BC Assessment office indicated on their notice as soon as possible in January," said Inverarity.

"If a property owner is still concerned about their assessment after speaking to one of our staff, they may submit a written request by January 31, for an independent review by a Property Assessment Review Panel." The panels, independent of BC Assessment, are appointed annually by the Ministry of Small Business and Revenue, and meet between Feb. 1, and March 15 to hear formal complaints.

Assessments by Address is available for residential property owners to further assist property owners in understanding their property’s market value and to provide comparable sales information. This service is available on BC Assessment’s web site at www.bcassessment.ca from Jan. 3 to March 15. Paper copies of Assessment by Address are also available at local area offices and most municipal halls, libraries and government agents’ offices across the province. New for this year are some added Sales by Address; market value sales that occurred three months before and three months following the July 1, 2005 valuation date, between April 1 to September 30, 2005 are included.

The Penticton Assessment office is located at 3115 Skaha Lake Road – Suite 201. During the month of January, office hours are 8:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Monday to Friday.

Andi Zack: Oliver girl writing Nashville’s tunes

It is Christmas Eve and the clink of cutlery on china is a welcome sound to weary shoppers stopping for a lunch break in Cantaloupe Annie’s tearoom.

Today the patrons are in for a treat. At the front of the room, singer/songwriter Andi Zack is getting comfortable on a stool and letting her local accompanists—John McCallum and Jason McGillevray know she has tuned her acoustic guitar in a regular key.

She kibitzes with the crowd as she leads into her first number, a spunky little affirmation she co-wrote called ‘Sucks to be you’, set for release as a single by another up-and-coming artist, Danielle Peck, signed to Toby Keith’s label Big Machine.

There is a solid confidence in Zack these days. Honed by years of writers’ rounds and singing in Nashville clubs, and here for the holidays to visit her family Mike and Vi Wadman, this former Oliver girl turned Nashville performer proves the microphone is her milieu, as she slips with ease into several more of her up-tempo songs and ballads, like ‘Breathing Space’ and ‘Love You’re No Friend Of Mine.’

If Nashville is built on dreams and wishes, then Zack’s are coming true. With a new three-year publishing contract from Ash Street Music under her leather belt and a professional band—Martina McBride’s bass player, Sara Evans’ guitarist, Jason Aldean’s drummer and Lee Roy Parnell’s piano player—backing her during her twice-monthly performances at the various clubs in the city, Zack demonstrates with every calculated move that she has her future firmly in her grasp and is comfortable negotiating the convoluted maze of country music’s Mecca.

The successes have come gradually, giving Zack time to acclimatize and make her choices wisely. Not for her the instant rocket glare and fizzle; she understands that behind those stage floodlights breathes a business like any other, it has to make money for its owners and backers. And she has spent the last few years learning how the business works, networking with other artists and writers, co-writing songs, being visible in the right venues, playing the clubs and persistently knocking on publishers’ doors.

And that makes her deal with Ash Street Music as sweet as it gets—they wanted to sign her to a contract shortly after hearing some of her music.

"I went over and played about five songs for them," explained Zack after her appearance at the tearoom. "That was on a Friday and the following Tuesday they wanted me to come back in and talk serious. I was offered the actual deal over the phone [December 21] while I was here in Oliver; there was some bargaining, of course, but they agreed to what I wanted."

Her signature on the contract will open a new phase in her reach for music’s brass ring. Beginning in February, Zack will walk into ASM’s premises in a charming old residence with a big front porch on famed Music Row—16^th and 17^th Avenue packed with publishing companies and record labels—and take a seat in a writers’ room.

Here she will be expected to compose 18 complete songs a year—lyrics and melodies that are put together in monthly demo sessions, with the company choosing the best two or three for marketing to a number of male and female artists.

"When I finish a song and play it for them, they will determine who the best performer is to sing it, and the choice has a lot to do with the production. If the song might be good for Lee Ann Womack, for instance, they would do a musical arrangement similar to what she likes or has done before.

"The whole goal is to get an artist to sing your song."

Once that happens, songwriters like Zack are paid royalties from each subsequent spin on the radio and the number of records sold, as well as from its use in live performances and in videos played on Country Music Television (CMT).

Excited by the prospect of working with other talented writers and having the chance to widen her prospects in the business, she is already flirting with phrases and chords to take to the table.

"This next year is going to be incredible with lots of firsts. I’ll be working my tail off, but I have this opportunity now. And while I can’t say I’ve made it, I can say this is the beginning."

Her ultimate goal is to become a performer in her own right, signed to a record label and singing her own material.

In the meantime, though, her days are filled with decidedly Nashville activities—getting up mid-morning; writing tunes for an hour or two either singly or by joining forces with another songwriter; having lunch; writing for another few hours; taking a break; then readying herself for the evening’s rigorous schedule of see-and-be-seen-and-heard.

"I meet more people after 10 o’clock at night than during the day," she laughed, adding there are always shows she wants to attend, performers she wants to hear, writers she’d like to meet and work with, and clubs where she’d like to sing.

For the latter, Zack chooses a balanced mix of older and new material especially if she knows there are record company representatives in the audience.

Weekends are something else, however. Surprisingly, Nashville shuts down from Friday to Sunday, its artists having gone to ground to recover and recharge.

For Zack it is time spent with pharmacist husband, Neil, and engaging in ordinary pursuits like movies, friends, yardwork and shopping.

"On weekends I don’t even pick up my guitar."

Let’s look for other options for Tinhorn

Road 7 access to Highway 97 has always been problematic. Visibility is poor on a major curve and it has had its share of accidents over the many, many years this situation has existed.

The Department of Highways shouldn’t be faulted for seeking a solution but might we urge that they look beyond the current proposal to shut access to Road 7 and force traffic to take a circuitous route via Road 5. The fears expressed by Tinhorn Creek Winery that such a route will discourage many of the 30 to 40 thousand visitors a year who come for tastings is quite valid.

The department’s solution is the low cost fix of this problem but only for them, not for the community. Our wineries, and Tinhorn is a major player, are a very important part of our current and future economy. Their interests and traditional access need to be given serious consideration.