Wrapping up 2011 around the region
By Boundary Sentinel
As we look back over the year in news for 2011, the region experienced many changes from devastating fires to growth and development. Two elections – national and local government – took place, crime in the world of social media impacted us locally, and long standing traditions were dealt devastating blows.
From our news world to yours as the year draws to a close here are the headlines we saw across the Kootenay / Boundary. Nelson: Kerr Apartments burn to ground in suspicious fire: Hours after 100 people from the Kerr Apartment Building were evacuated from the burning three-storey stone structure the city’s fire chief says the incident is being treated as suspicious. Occupy Nelson camp dismantled by City of Nelson: Although their camp has been removed by City officials, Occupy Nelson protestors vow to continue to occupy the grounds in front of City Hall, albeit with less of a permanent presence. With Nelson Police Department officers, bylaw officers and firefighters pitching in, a Nelson City council ordinance to vacate the grounds in front of City Hall was executed around noon on Thursday. Thousands pay respect to Nelson Search and Rescue member killedin swift water rescue: Rescue members from Golden to Grand Forks and Smithers to Seattle, Wash., flocked to Nelson Saturday to pay tribute at a memorial service for Ymir resident Sheliah Sweatman.
Sweatman, a member with the Nelson Search and Rescue, died in June after being swept down the Goat River near Creston while members of a swift water rescue team attended the scene of a submerged vehicle.
“I just want to be part of the ceremony . . . I want to pay my respect,” Shawna Lovell said prior to Saturday’s march as the Salmo Fire and Rescuer joined more than a 1,000 SARS, police and fire department members to show support for Sweatman.
“We’re a just a big family,” said and emotional Murray Springman, search manager with Nelson Search and Rescue.
“We have search and rescue members from all over B.C. and Alberta . . .. I saw people from King County in Seattle, Spokane Search and Rescue.” Castlegar: Facebook manual just the tip of a terrifying iceberg: A how-to manual detailing how to abuse young girls that was posted on Facebook by two Castlegar men is but the tip of a terrifying iceberg, according to local youth worker James McFaddin. McFaddin, youth worker and men’s outreach coordinator for Castlegar & District Community Services Society, said the document ‘Deflowered in Seconds’ is the least of a sub-culture that should scare local parents half to death. Local government elections gave people new choices: I’ve reported on a great many elections – federal, provincial, municipal – and there’s a kind of tried-and-true newspaper approach to candidate coverage. The reporter interviews the subject for perhaps a half-hour or hour, then writes it up in their own words and the result gets published. It occurred to me, this year, that perhaps there might be value in letting the candidates speak to the electorate themselves. It’s their campaign, after all. Castlegar takes its chances with new casino: Today’s the big day – after years of anticipation, Chances Gaming Centre will finally be opening its doors in Castlegar. Grand opening celebrations begin with an invitation-only reception, from noon to 4 p.m., with over 200 guests ranging from the local MP and MLA, as well as mayors-and-councils from all tri-city communities, to contractors and other members of the business community that have been working with Chances to date. Boundary region: Christina Lake bear feeder faces sentencing hearing: A day in court for the man who pled guilty for feeding 24 black bears in Christina Lake gave no satisfaction for either party in the matter yesterday as the final decision was delayed. In yesterday’s sentencing hearing crown counsel Joel Gold had two witnesses tell Grand Forks provincial circuit court Judge Rob Fabbro that the community of Christina Lake lived with an extremely dangerous situation throughout 2011 as the impact of the 10 to 15 years that Allen Piche fed bears played out. In the end 18 bears were killed, and the conservation officer dealt with 256 complaints with 100 in the month of August alone. Village of Midway re-opens their sawmill: Nearly 200 people turned out to witness the official re-opening of the Midway mill and to meet the new operators from Vaagen Bros. Lumber Inc. Officials from local and provincial government as well as a long list of dignitaries were present to lend their support for the venture. Beaverdell loses one of the oldest buildings in B.C. Fire took the one of the oldest hotels in the Boundary region last night in Beaverdell. Witnesses say that the fire was noticed at about 2 a.m. and the intense heat took the building quickly. Although there is speculation flying around the small community, the cause of the fire is unknown at this time. Local residents in the north end of town experienced a loss of power during the blaze. Kootenay / Boundary wide: ATV group proposes shift in trails use to attract visitors: In what they hope will become an international tourism attraction for the future, the Grand Forks All-Terrain-Vehicle (ATV) Club has linked up with the West Kootenay ATV Club to develop a world-class multi-user trail system spanning from Creston in the Rockies to the Okanagan. Dubbed the South Kootenay Trail System, the trails would be open 365 days a year to mountain bikers, hikers, horses, ATVs, off road motorcycles and snowmobiles. They estimate that once the trails are linked there could be as much as 1000 kilometres of accessible trails for users.
Rossland:
Early in the year Rossland introduced their new chief administrative officer, and the year ended with a conflict between a councillor and the CAO….
Interview: Victor Kumar, Rossland’s new CAO
Rossland’s new CAO Victor Kumar has been on the job now since December 1st. This week the Telegraph caught up with the city’s new manager to learn more about him and his plans, hopes and aspirations for his time in Rossland.
Born in the Fijian Islands in the 1950s, Kumar worked his first full time job for three years in labour and immigration with the Fijian national government. He then moved to Canada in 1974 where he att,ended university in Victoria as well as at UBC, gaining degrees in public sector management and Certified General Accountant accreditation along with a Bachelor of Commerce degree. Following his education he spent ten years working in the private sector in Vancouver with the Fraser Valley Milk Producers Association and CAE Morris, a retail aircraft company.
Rossland skate park gets a long awaited home:
A short aulie to the east of their previous location, the Rossland Skate park Association (RSA) has finally found a permanent location for their skate park. Following a well-chronicled saga in which RSA essentially wrote the book on how to engage the local community, city staff, council, other experienced cities and skate park groups as well as the local skaters themselves, the group have landed a prime piece of skatable real estate in Rossland’s midtown transition area, otherwise known as the cracked pavement lot on Third Avenue commonly referred to as the Emcon lot.
Councillor – CAO dispute ends with RCMP action:
Based on our crime stats, Rossland wouldn’t appear to be a prime location for an episode of the television show Cops. This week’s City Council meeting, however, would have made for a good first episode of such a series. Simmering tensions came to a head and ended with Charlton being removed from council chambers by RCMP members even as he continued to question both the mayor’s and the RCMP’s authority to do so.
It all started when, seeking to move on from what has been called a “distraction” by several councillors, Mayor Greg Granstrom brought forward as an agenda item a statement claiming how, through Charlton’s actions at the February 14th regular council meeting, he had breached the City’s contract with the CAO and potentially put the City and its taxpayers at risk:
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