Happy Independence Day to our all of our American friends! This has been a short week due to the extra long weekend celebrating Canada Day. The crews have been hard at work on a variety of fronts.

Chateau Blanc installed the smaller of 2 cranes this week and it is in operation using a remote control. This crane has a horizontal reach of over 150 feet. A second larger crane is parked on truck trailers at Happy Valley while crews prepare its location. Workers are busy forming the huge support columns for the western part of the building and setting up forms for a massive concrete pour occurring next week for the core pad located under the tower.

The Edge project is moving ahead; blasting has progressed and footings are still being formed. The other two phases are moving forward with framing, exterior finishing, and interior insulation.

It was another busy week on the Stonegate site. The forming was pulled of the first floor, the elevator shaft is being formed and first floor walls are ready for installation. Crews continue to pre-fabricate walls in the underground parking area.

At the Terraces site, excavators have been busy all week shaping the lots and the road as well as installing gas, water, and sewer services.

Up at Feathertop, excavation was completed and the footings for the parking garage were poured for what will surely be one of the premier residences on the mountain.

Big White work crews enjoyed a short week. The renovation work to double the size of the daycare commenced with the removal of some walls and building fixtures. Another crew continued with the repainting and repairing of all the woodwork on the exterior of the Village Centre Mall.

Lift crews have been preparing Lara’s Gondola for the bull wheel removal in order to replace the bearings. This is a huge job and requires removal of the cable. The roof of the upper station was removed and they are waiting for a crane for the next stage.

Brush cutting continued on the Ridge pod this week with the crew working on Roller Coaster. Next up is Squirrel.

It was a busy holiday weekend for the events crew. Starting on Friday, the crew was on the Westside at the annual Westside Daze. They ran a games and activities area at Johnson Bentley Park. This four day event provided lots of family friendly fun, music and food. On Canada Day, the crew set up a kids play area and tents for shade at Waterfront Park in downtown Kelowna. The Big White mascots and the BC Summer Games staff went recruiting for volunteers. They had great success but more volunteers are still needed. Go online to www.kelowna2008.ca for details. Remember, you could win a season pass to Big White and Silver Star just by volunteering. Do it for the Kids!