Talk about putting the cart before the horse. Fall 2013 the RDKB (Regional District of Kootenay Boundary) launches the Kettle Blah-Blah Plan. A few months later Grand Forks city council slams through a unanimous motion to install residential smart water metres. The citizenry clamours, an open-house is held and already by April...

Habitat for Humanity Boundary (Grand Forks) and Habitat for Humanity West Kootenay (Castlegar/Nelson) announced their merger today.  Together, they will create a regional affiliate “Habitat for Humanity Southeast British Columbia”, (HFHSEBC) with a service area that includes the Boundary and Kootenay areas.  (Rock Creek to ...

It seems that no one likes to pay taxes, yet taxes buy the goods and services we use together in our communities. For example, it would be difficult to pay for the fire or police department individually, or schools, hospitals or roads. Historically, income taxes have been used to reduce inequality, with top earners paying a...

Grand Forks locals have a chance to help former resident, 25-year-old Rose Schwarz as she battles for her health and life. Schwarz has been fighting for her own well-being for the last 11 year, since she was 14-years-old. During that time, her health has gotten continuously worse. Now she can only eat through a feeding tube...

A Grand Forks’ man has become the first person in Canada to be fired for refusing to get a flu shot. Arnold Hoekstra, 49, worked as a nurse’s aide at the Boundary Hospital for five years in an adult day program. When pressure was put on him to get the flu shot, he refused. As an alternative, he was asked to wear a mask while...

Joseph Boutilier rolled into Grand Forks this week, not in a car, truck or bus, nor a bicycle, motorcycle or scooter. His mode of transportation is a unicycle and he is taking that unicycle straight to Ottawa to raise awareness on global climate issues. “Basically, I’m going to raise a big stink. That’s the long and short of...

It is interesting that any time trade is debated in the House of Commons New Democrats are always accused by the Conservatives of being “anti-trade”.  However, as our Trade critic, Don Davies stated in the Jan. 29th debate on the proposed Canada-Honduras Free Trade Agreement, we believe thatCanadians recognize the importance...

In Grand Forks, Laranna Androsoff is known as the Aboriginal Family Support Worker at Boundary Family and Individual Services Society (BFISS) and as Trinity’s mom. But earlier this month she got wider recognition for the latter. Androsoff was invited to speak at the 2014 Global Summit on Childhood in Vancouver. There she sat...

It was upsetting to read the current description of the Gilpin Grasslands as a recreation area by the Grand Forks Quad Bike Club. Gilpin is an extremely important wildlife ecosystem, a point validated by three provincial governments and two land conservancies, all who have left an important footprint on Gilpin. The grassland...

Like all of you, teachers only want the best for their students. Despite bargaining for more than a year with the government there has been little progress made at the negotiating table. We have been waiting, very patiently, for the government to provide the necessary funding required for us to move forward in achieving a...