A campaign to decriminalize marijuana in B.C. is putting local politicians on the spot – including Castlegar’s Mayor Lawrence Chernoff. A coalition of eight B.C. mayors, through Stop the Violence BC campaign, sent a letter in April urging provincial leaders to “support the regulation and taxation of marijuana”, citing public heath concerns and crime reduction […]

Four area chambers of commerce have offered regional airport representatives their endorsement in a bid to encourage WestJet to come to the Kootenays – meanwhile the Castlegar chamber is being flooded with letters of support from local businesses. Just last week, WestJet invited members of the West Kootenay Regional Airport Advisory Committee (including Castlegar Mayor […]

On June 14 and 15, musicians (and Rossland residents) Nicola Everton and Michael Gifford (pictured here, flanked by Castlegar Mayor Lawrence Chernoff and Columbia Power’s Audrey Repin) will play at Talarico Place in Castlegar and Columbia View Lodge in Trail as part of their tour of 10 communities in the coming week. This is part […]

The construction of a bigger, better ferry for the Shelter Bay to Galena Bay crossing on Upper Arrow Lake is set to begin this year. The building contract for the new $26.5 million boat was awarded to WaterBridge Steel Inc. of Prince George who will be constructing the open-decked vessel in Nakusp. The boat will […]

Nelson City Council, normally quite an amiable group, descended into a tense stalemate Monday during a long discussion about the legalization and regulation of marijuana. The discussion included some acrimonious exchanges between Mayor John Dooley and Councillor Donna Macdonald.   Council was debating a motion that, if passed, would have had the mayor sign a […]

RCMP have released the identity of the 76-year-old man who died when his vehicled went into Slocan Lake last week (June 6) as George Edward Anderson of Slocan. Anderson drown after its suspected he drove his vehicle into the lake at the Slocan City Boat Launch. The B.C. Coroner’s Service and RCMP are continuing their […]

The BC Coroners Service announced Monday new dates for the inquest into the death of Sheilah Lorraine Sweatman. The dates are Nov. 19-23 at the Nelson courthouse. The inquest was originally scheduled to begin on Monday, June 4 but was postponed to ensure availability of all required witnesses, including counsel for parties with standing. The […]

Shawn Hlookoff, AKA, Shawn Hook, has come a long way since his trombone days in Rick Lingard’s band class at Mount Sentinel or his time on the volleyball or basketball courts inside the school gymnasium playing for one of the Wildcats varsity teams. Oh, and did we mention that Shawn Hook, let’s go with the […]

The Selkirk College Saints Men’s Hockey program is pleased to announce a commitment from defenceman Mark Strachan (Calgary, AB) to attend Selkirk College and compete for the Saints beginning in the 2012/13 B.C. Intercollegiate Hockey League season. Strachan joins the Saints following three seasons split between the Kootenay International Junior Hockey League’s Fernie Ghostriders and […]

BC Hydro is anticipating Kootenay Lake levels will continue to rise slightly during the weekend. Currently the lake is just marginally below last year’s peak of 1751.71 feet. The exact level and date of this year’s peak is dependent on temperature and rainfall amounts. Lakeshore property owners are urged to protect their homes and waterfront […]