Several hundred people attended a Celebration of Life for Zach Larsen on Saturday at the Pentecostal New Life Assembly Church. I wouldn’t normally write a story like this in the first person – it’s not about me, after all – but I tried and tried to write it as an impartial observer and just couldn’t […]

Police are confirming that Zach Larsen, the 19-year-old man who went missing June 6 and was found in the Columbia River June 21, died of drowning. “A post mortem examination …showed that Zach’s cause of death was drowning,” said RCMP Sgt. Laurel Mathew. “Investigation has not revealed any suspicion of foul play. “The Castlegar RCMP […]

 Memorial services for 19-year-old Castlegar man Zach Larsen have not yet been scheduled, as the family awaits the conclusion of a forensic examination, to be conducted tomorrow. An impromtu memorial has been established at Mushroom Park (at the corner of 2 Street and 6 Avenue), however, where mourners are leaving flowers, candles, teddy bears and […]

 Castlegar’s the worst in the Kootenays and the fourth-worst out of 160 B.C. municipalities in terms of the tax burden placed on businesses as compared to residential taxes. This, according to a June 15 report by the Canadian Federation of Independent Business (CFIB), which indicates only the communities of North Saanich, Revelstoke and Tumbler Ridge […]

The body of a missing 19-year-old Castlegar man, Zachary Larsen, was recovered from the Columbia River today. Castlegar RCMP Sgt. Laurel Mathew said a passerby walking along the riverbank spotted the body in the river between the Robson and Kinnaird bridges. She said a forensic examination will be conducted, but until the results are available, […]

In a conflict that dates back to the 1970’s, the battle over the Gilpin Grasslands near Grand Forks between cattlemen and conservationists is still unresolved. Grand Forks City Council has found themselves the go to point for both sides of the controversy to try and garner government support for their cause. This round had ...

 Castlegar RCMP detatchment commander Sgt. Laurel Mathew said she’s received some feedback indicating a public perception that police have given up on the search for 19-year-old Zach Larsen, who disappeared June 6. She said nothing could be further from the truth.   “It varies, but as many as five officers at a time are working […]

 The family of missing 19-year-old Castlegar man Zachary Larsen has posted a $10,000 award for any information leading to the young man’s safe return. Larsen was last seen at around 3 a.m. on June 6. There was a possible later sighting at 5 a.m. in the city’s downtown core, but police have been unable to […]

 Do we as a community have the right to know if there is a dangerous or violent offender in our midst? I would like to believe that most of us would respond with a resounding yes. Yet, what if that same offender was a youth? Aaahh… now the answer is not so easy, is it? […]

Getting back to the free software series, let’s take a look at Open Office (www.openoffice.org). Called OOo for OpenOffice.org, Open Office is a full-featured office suite with a word processor, spreadsheet package, presentation software and a database. To get all of those applications in a version of Microsoft Office, you would have to look at […]