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Sicamous to donate $1 per person in district to help Village of Lytton rebuild

Sicamous council received a call to action from the Regional District of Mount Waddington
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The remains of a large structure and vehicles destroyed by the Lytton Creek wildfire are seen on the side of the Trans-Canada Highway near Lytton on Aug. 15, 2021. (THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck)

The District of Sicamous will be donating a dollar per capita to the Village of Lytton.

At its Sept. 22 council meeting, the district received correspondence for action from the Regional District of Mount Waddington (RDMW).

RDMW sent a letter to local governments across B.C., asking them to match its donation of one dollar per person in its representative area, to the Village of Lytton, to help it rebuild after a devastating wildfire tore through it this summer.

Mayor Terry Rysz instantly showed support for RDMW’s request and mentioned how close to home the Two Mile Road wildfire was.

“We didn’t lose a facility or a life, it was different in Lytton and we should support this,” said Rysz.

Kelly Bennett, the district’s chief financial officer, said a dollar-per-capita donation would likely be just over $2,400.

It would be under $3,000, but over $2,000, she said, adding the district had money available for a donation of this size.

Coun. Bob Evans said Sicamous was blessed and fortunate to come out unscathed from the Two Mile Road wildfire and said he’d like to see the donation amount be raised to $5,000.

Bennett said the district would have sufficient funds for a donation of that size as well.

However, Coun. Malcolm Makayev said he doesn’t think there’s anything wrong with donating only what RDMW asked for. Coun. Colleen Anderson agreed; the two shared the same concerns regarding the district possibly needing the extra money in the future.

When that discussion was done, Coun. Jeff Mallmes motioned to support the dollar-per-capita donation to the Village of Lytton, and the motion passed.

Read more: Hiking trails near Sicamous reopen after Two Mile Road wildfire

Read more: ‘This could happen to anyone’: Golden man, 38, with COVID-19 fighting for life in ICU


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