Recent brush fires - including one today - underline importance of regional mutual aid agreements
Ootischenia Fire Department responded to a brush fire just outside of town this afternoon, according to OFD Captain Cody Kabatoff. He said the call came in at roughly 4:15 p.m., and OFD responded to a wildfire about six km up Hwy 3 toward Christina Lake, with mutual aid assistance from the Castlegar Fire Department. “We...
SD 20 to drop bus fees, refund monies already paid
The School District 20 has eliminated the controversial student busing fees slated to be implemented this school year, after finding out they'll be ellibigle for a roughly $243,000 grant earmarked for transportation services. Castlegar Trustee Mickey Kinakin said this means the district has to submit a report indicating the...
Trail/Beaver Valley agree to two-month extension of recreation agreement
The City of Trail’s Recreation Agreement Negotiating Committee and the Beaver Valley Parks Recreation Committee (BV Rec) recently met to discuss the renewal of the one-year Recreation Funding Agreement that expires at the end of August 2016. Due to immediate time constraints associated with the new agreement expiring, both ...
LETTER: Insurance Brokers Assoc exec rebuts article re: rural insurance
To The Editor: Editors Note: This letter is in response to the following article: http://bit.ly/2bLDDvf The Insurance Brokers Association of B.C. would like to respond to inaccuracies in your story of Aug. 18 entitled: “RDCK director pushes for rural fire insurance change.” “’We have areas in the Regional District where people...
Local company raises $2,000 for Search and Rescue
Endless Adventures Fundraising campaign for the West Kootenay Search and Rescue Training weekend was a huge success. Endless Adventure raised $2,000 to help support and alleviate the pressure on volunteers who occasionally need to use their own funds for training and equipment. At the Saturday-night dinner, Andrea and Chris...
Selkirk College Inks President Angus Graeme for Five More Years
After a successful five years at the helm of Selkirk College, President Angus Graeme has been given a vote of confidence by the Board of Governors to continue his leadership of post-secondary education in the West Kootenay and Boundary. The Board announced that Graeme has signed another five year contract to continue in his...
Rash of B&Es spurs police to request public assistance
Police are requesting public assistance after six break-and-enters Friday night, according to RCMP Sgt. Laurel Mathew. “Castlegar RCMP are investigating a rash of commercial break and enter crimes that occurred overnight on Aug. 19. The break-ins were discovered early the next morning. Two of the break-ins were on 6th Ave.,...
COLUMN: From the Hill -- Electoral Reform, and a Cycle Tour of the Riding
As summer winds down, our thoughts naturally turn to back-to-school shopping and back-to-work after a break for a good Canadian summer. I’ll be going back to Ottawa in September to resume work on all the issues before Parliament; one of the major issues we will be discussing is electoral reform. In last year’s campaign, both...
Letter: How do privately owned prisons compare with privately owned senior facilities?
To The Editor: I have been trying to increase public awareness of the poor quality of care that our seniors receive in facilities with the hope that more people will raise their voices against this outrage, to our provincial government. The Senior Advocates reports verify that the quality of care is declining due in part to...
Chicken issue to fly again at council meeting
A hugely contentious issue is once again going to take wing in an open city council meeting Sept. 6 – whether to allow urban poultry and bee-keeping within city limits. The issue has come up in years past and drawn near-record crowds of community members to council chambers, both in support of, and opposition to, such a change...
