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Roxul to start emissions upgrades in June

by Erin Perkins on 18 Mar 2013
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Roxul installing new technology to help with odour and blue smoke emissions from the Grand Forks smoke stack. Photo Erin Perkins.

A $6 million upgrade is hoped to help reduce odour and blue smoke emissions from the Grand Forks Roxul facility.

Roxul announced the plans to have a Regenerative Thermal Oxidizer (RTO) installed to help improve local air quality late last week.

The RTO is a type of high efficiency afterburner that includes desulfurization equipment. It has been custom-made for the Grand Forks factory after several years of studies by independent researchers. Installation is expected to begin this June and be completed by the end of July 2013.

Arts Council questions SD51 on censorship of DECK over mooning scene

by Erin Perkins on 16 Mar 2013
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Boundary District Arts Council president Michele Garrison, left, made a presentation to the School District 51 Board of Education during a regular board meeting on Tuesday, March 12 alongside other BDAC directors Anya Soroka and Ted Invictus. Photo Erin Perkins.

The Boundary District Arts Council (BDAC) is accusing School District 51 of being “inconsistent” when it chose to censor the DECK presentation because of a bare-bottomed scene but not The Vagina Monologues, which was performed at the same Grand Forks Secondary School Centennial Auditorium in 2003.

Three of the society’s directors – president Michele Garrison, vice president Anya Soroka and secretary Ted Invictus -- made a presentation to the School Board during their regular meeting on Tuesday, March 12.

Barking dogs, fine schedule to put more bite in animal control bylaw

by Erin Perkins on 11 Mar 2013
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The RDKB animal control officer will be able to do more than these signs do for dog owners who don't follow the rules -- he'll be able to ticket them too under the new fine system in the new RDKB bylaw. Photo Erin Perkins.

Barking dogs and new fines are among the revisions made to the Regional District Kootenay Boundary animal control bylaw up for approval by the board of directors at the end of March.

The new bylaw had first, second and third reading at the regular board meeting in late February. Now stakeholders are being consulted for input before the bylaw will be brought forward for final approval. If approved, it will affect residents of Grand Forks, Greenwood, Christina Lake, Area C and Area D.

The most significant change to the bylaw is the part on barking dogs.

COMMENT: Canada’s reckless banks inflate house price bubble

by Murray Dobbin on 11 Mar 2013
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COMMENT: Canada’s reckless banks inflate house price bubble

The whole issue of the housing bubble, its extent and whether there will be a soft landing as predicted by many wishful thinkers has resulted in many interesting headlines in recent weeks – including some high on the delusional scale. One suggested that house prices are a mere 20% overvalued (if you believe that, I have a bridge to sell you). Another that Marc Carney, having solved the housing bubble issue, was now moving on to an allegedly different issue: economic growth.

Area D residents to expect nearly 8 per cent tax increase this year

by Erin Perkins on 07 Mar 2013
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Nearly 100 people attended the annual Area D Town Hall meeting in Grand Forks on Monday, March 4. Photo Erin Perkins.

Increased costs at the Aquatic Center and a new regional park among reasons for a 7.95 per cent tax increase to Regional District Kootenay Boundary (RDKB) Area D property owners in 2013.

A $200,000 property can expect to pay $606.06 – or $44.61 more than they did in 2012 to help offset some changes coming for the area, if the proposed budget is approved next month. Of those taxes collected, 39 per cent go to the province to fund things like schools, roads and policing. About 36 per cent pay for RDKB services an 3 per cent pay for hospital services.

Build a house for the Boundary’s bats this Sunday

by Contributor on 07 Mar 2013
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Help save our local bat population and learn to build your own bat house at a workshop on Sunday, March 10 at 1 p.m. in Grand Forks.

The Boundary Woodworkers Guild is joining forces with the Boundary Habitat Stewards and the City of Grand Forks to increase awareness around bats and to provide summerhouses for our local bats.

Grand Forks' green bin success a model for the region

by Andrew Bennett on 07 Mar 2013
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Grand Forks' green bin success a model for the region

A 200 household "green bin" pilot project for curbside compost collection in Grand Forks, instituted in 2011, was a "huge success" according to Alan Stanley, the Director of Environmental Services for the Regional District of Kootenay Boundary (RDKB), and has since been expanded to the whole city.

Kootenay Boundary's big, fat, million dollar 2014 recycling bonus

by Andrew Bennett on 07 Mar 2013
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Kootenay Boundary's big, fat, million dollar 2014 recycling bonus

Just when the Regional District of Kootenay Boundary (RDKB) needs a little cash to lengthen the life for the McKelvey Creek Landfill in Trail by 26 years—namely by composting organics rather than burying them—more than $1.2 million will soon be saved by the RDKB each year thanks to provincial legislation that will require industry to take full responsibility for the paper and packaging they produce.

In other words, in May, 2014, industries will take over blue bin recycling programs right across the province.

Wriggly worms and seed library featured at annual Seedy Saturday event

by Erin Perkins on 04 Mar 2013
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Lorraine Dick, coordinator for the Grand Forks Community Garden, will be at this year's Seedy Saturday event demonstrating how to use worms to create compost. Last year she demonstrated how to make your own seed tapes out of toilet paper. Photo Erin Perkins.

Learn about how to do your own worm composting, how to contribute to local seed and food sustainability and hobnob with like-minded gardening enthusiasts at the annual Seedy Saturday Seed Share and Exchange in Grand Forks, Saturday, March 9.

This year’s event, which is hosted by the Grand Forks and Boundary Regional Agricultural Society (GFBRAS), and the Boundary Organic Producers, is opened from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the Holy Trinity Anglican Church located at 7252 7th Street in Grand Forks.

Viral Video Shows the Extent of U.S. Wealth Inequality

by David Livingstone on 04 Mar 2013
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See video

This video posted to YouTube back in November 2012 is starting to go viral after Mashable posted it to its site on Saturday.

The video both shows how it is commonly accepted that there are gross disparities in wealth, but shows in graphic detail just how much most of us understimate the the extent of that disparity.

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