We have more fatal crashes than any other region. Are more drivers in the Southern Interior region of BC notably more stupid than drivers elsewhere in BC? Do so many of us here just not have a clue about winter driving? Or are we so much unhealthier that we have that many more medical crises causing car crashes? The statistics...

As 2018 approaches, it is a great opportunity to reflect on the past year. On behalf of Interior Health, it is my pleasure to recap some highlights. Of course the biggest story of 2017 was the wildfires that tore across several communities. In total 19 hospitals, health centres and residential care homes were evacuated. Close...

Environment Canada has issued a winter storm warning for the Kootenay Region. Hazardous winter conditions with snow accumulation of up to 40 cm in Trail and 30 cm in Castlegar are to be expected. The roads conditions this morning are fair, however if hazardous road conditions are expected before the end of the day, there is...

Two Castlegar men have died after a vehicular crash this morning, according to RCMP Sgt. Chad Badry. “Investigators with the Trail RCMP and West Kootenay Traffic Services attended a fatal collision on Highway 22 near Trail,” Badry said in a press release. “On Dec. 15, just after 4 a.m., Trail RCMP received a report of a head-on...

The Trail & District Arts Council is pleased to announce that it has received a $73,000 grant from Creative BC’s BC Music Fund (BCMF). The largest portion of this grant, supported by Creative BC and the Province of British Columbia, will be used for the theatre’s sound and lighting project, starting in June. Executive...

When most costs are rising in the New Year, natural gas and electricity bills will not; in fact, natural gas rates are decreasing. FortisBC delivers energy at the lowest reasonable rate, and on January 1, customers will receive just that. For natural gas customers across the province rates will decrease, and for electricity...

PIGS are starting 2018 with the second leg of a 12 week, 45-date tour that started out at the end of September at the Port Theatre in Nanaimo and took the band across Canada as far as Sydney, Nova Scotia. The second leg of the 'LEFT + RIGHT Canada Tour' features dates in Saskatchewan, BC and Alberta and will take them to over...

One of the many happy tasks of a Member of Parliament is meeting up with constituents when they visit Ottawa.  Last Thursday I had the pleasure of inviting representatives of the Okanagan wine industry to lunch.  They and their legal team had just had a memorable morning intervening in an important Supreme Court action, known...

Autism touches many people and families. With this comes an increasing need for awareness and understanding of practical resources and approaches for supporting situations in many contexts—schools, homes, community. In January, Selkirk College is launching SPECTRUM: Lifespan Autism Resources & Training, an exciting,...

In what some would consider a particularly repugnant new twist on email cons, perpetrators have escalated to threatening the lives of their intended victims. A Salmo man recently received an email (rife with spelling and grammatical errors) indicating that the sender was a hitman who had been contracted to murder the email's...