Could a new flag fly over the village of Harrison Hot Springs?
As part of a project, students from J.L. Jackson Secondary School in Salmon Arm recently wrote a letter to Harrison's village council and submitted a potential rework of the village's flag.
Students in the class were tasked with redesigning municipal flags, and Harrison's redesign came from Ben Kallies and Armaan Dhaliwal. The redesign consists of a dark blue sky, a radiant sun peeking over a majestic mountain range and a bald eagle faking flight in the foreground.
Kallies and Dhaliwal felt their design better symbolized the village than the current flag. The background was changed to blue with a mountain range because of the area's close association with hiking. The sun cresting over the mountains represented the "very pretty" sunsets that frequent Harrison.
According to an email from Dhaliwal, the eagle referred to the migration of the bald eagle to the Harrison River and the surrounding area every year as well as the thousands of birdwatchers who flock to Agassiz-Harrison to see the eagles.
"Eagles are very common (in Harrison Hot Springs) and we thought that eagles describe very well the city of Harrison Hot Springs," Dhaliwal wrote. "We chose to make the background blue because we think that the sky in Harrison Hot Springs is almost always blue and beautiful."
Coun. Mark Schweinbenz said despite the dreary weather winter has brougth to the village so far, he agreed the summers were indeed blue and beautiful.
"I love the eagle and I love the sun and the connection to the water and the sky," he said. He encouraged the students to "keep up the good work."
During their most recent council meeting, the village officials acknowledged the design and agreed to draft a "thank you" letter to Kallies and Dhaliwal as well as commemorative pins from the village. Council also directed staff to contact local schools to possibly organize a flag contest that celebrates Harrison Hot Springs.
J.L. Jackson Secondary is part of SD83 and consists of approximately 650 students.
