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Two great characters head to retirement
Kootenay Crust
By Ian Cobb
The life of a journalist involves a myriad of journeys into the ‘all-sorts’ box of community characters and leaders.
We meet all the movers and shakers, the leaders, wannabe leaders, the famous, wannabe famous and, best of all, those who truly make a difference and do much of it with little fanfare.
If I had a nickel for every time someone doing something genuinely good for their fellow person told me to bugger off and leave them alone – I’d have enough to buy a box of quality beer (at least).
In short, we journalists see the best and the worst of our society and after 25 years mucking about in the teaming waters of news-as-it-happens in the East Kootenay, I am pleased to say that I meet many more good people than bad.
Doing ride-alongs with the RCMP allowed me to see directly into the eyes of the sniffling mess our peace officers are tasked with on a shift-by-shift basis. You don’t see your community the same again afterward. You also start respecting and appreciating the men and women who put their lives on the line every day when you see how much crazy shit they have to put up with, and experience.
I’ve proud to say I can claim several RCMP officers, past and present, as a friend. They’re good people to the man and woman Jack of ‘em. Shockingly not, they all have ripping good senses of humour.
One such officer is Staff Sergeant Marko Shehovac, now retired, formerly NCO of the Columbia Valley RCMP Detachment. He left the force this week to fish himself into the future.
Along with running the detachment, staunching bashed beaks on the bench for the Columbia Valley Rockies, driving his wife Bev mad in his quest to obtain a fishing boat, thrashing local high school kids at ball hockey and filling police cruisers with food for the Columbia Valley Food Bank, Marko has been penning the Columbia Valley RCMP report.
The tradition of the local RCMP detachment NCO writing a weekly police report (for the Columbia Valley) stems back to the earliest days of newspapering in the valley. It was rolling when I came on the scene in 1991.
Sgt. Ron Halverson was the man when I started at The Valley Echo. He was a hard man from which to extract a comment and needed constant coercing to produce a RCMP report. But he did sit down and go through the files once a week, as did those who followed him as detachment commander. There were only a couple NCOs between Ron in the early 1990s and Marko’s arrival in 2009 (not counting lengthy gaps between where poor corporals had to fill in), and they also did the reports after much pleading.
I knew of Marko before he arrived in the valley as I always read the Golden Star, where his particular use of the language, mixed in with RCMPese, and style, began to be noticed.
When we started e-KNOW, one of the first things I did was contact Marko and asked him to include us in his weekly report, which always includes a vignette from his past experiences policing elsewhere or a current ditty, or a tale about his latest attempt to nautically sway Bev, or how his officers took down a bunch of kids at ball hockey. Our readers have embraced Marko’s weekly reports and we thank him humbly for taking the time to do them; and not just do them, but create often thoughtful, usually funny tales, as well as cautionary ones.
We also wish Marko and Bev all the best in this great chapter of life; may the fish be plentiful and the boat be awesome.
The only person who has appeared in e-KNOW more than Marko is another community treasure – this time one whose community spans the entire region.
The reason Cranbrook resident Donna Grainger appeared in e-KNOW and all the other papers so much is because she was freaking awesome at her job and was accepting cheques on behalf of East Kootenay Foundation for Health (EKFH).
It is safe to conclude that a great many East Kootenay residents have had a better turn at the East Kootenay Regional Hospital or in other regional facilities because of Donna’s and EKFH’s outreach and fundraising work the past 11 years.
Unfortunately for the region but great for Donna and Leigh, is the fact Donna has retired – leaving some damned big shoes to fill.
One of Donna’s strengths is her communications skill. I met her when she was working for BC Hydro and she was good at her job then. When she started as executive director of EKFH, she took things to another level. The use of professionally produced press releases, showcasing donations made and honouring those who made them, has been a regular occurrence the last decade in all regional newspapers.
That exposure in turn has inspired many more people, organizations and businesses to open their wallets and give to the cause that benefits every single one of us.
Often described (accurately so) as a tour de force, Donna is leaving at the top of her game. Along with so many others who you’ve touched with your great work, Donna, we wish you a blissful retirement and thank you for being one of those awesome community characters and leaders who make journalists’ lives all the better.
