NDTA protests Kootenay Lake School Board 'celebration' meeting
The two sides in the BC Teachers’ dispute have been sitting under a Maxwell-Smart-like "Cone of Silence" for the past two weeks hoping a lack of public rhetoric or media mudslinging would put an end to the strike/lockout that has shut down public schools in the province since June. Wednesday, at the foot of Hall Street, that...
No movement in impasse between city and union workers
The impasse between the City of Castlegar and its union workers seems as relentless as ever today, after the second day of labour action. While not fully on strike per se, CUPE 2262 has issued a ban on overtime work as a first step after issuing 72-hour strike action notice on Friday, Aug. 15. Chris Barlow, city director of...
The trouble with truffles - Castlegar style
The environment ministry is turning eyes toward Castlegar – not because of any sort of spill or calamity, but rather because of a truffle. Yes, that’s right, a truffle. It all started when life-long area resident Vera Chernoff was digging around in her flower bed and found what she thought was a rotten potato – which would ...
RDCK works to make HB Mine’s tailings pond safe
It is hoped that constant monitoring of the tailings pond at the HB mine site near Salmo, along with a lawsuit designed to bring Teck Mining to the table, will prevent a disaster on the Salmo River similar to the Mount Polley tailings pond collapse earlier this month in the BC Interior. Mount Polley Mine’s earth dam collapsed...
City responds to CUPE's 72-hours strike notice
In the same week that Local 2262 requested the City to return to the bargaining table, Union Employees have issued 72 hour strike notice. “The city is concerned that the Union continues to represent that it is the city that needs to come back the bargaining table when it was the union that booked out the mediator, will not ...
This year's Shambhala a mixed bag, from a policing perspective
Shambhala Festival ended well in terms of crashes and accidents, but there were many arrests, according to West Kootenay TRaffic Services Sgt. John Ferguson. "The West Kootenay Traffic Services and Nelson IRSU are pleased to announce that during the week long Shambhala Festival no reported fatal or serious crashes occurred...
City CUPE workers serve 72-hour strike notice
The following is a press release issued by CUPE Local 2262: CUPE Local 2262 city workers have filed 72-hour strike notice with the BC Labour Board. The 34 workers have been without a contract since February 2013. This marks the first time in 60 years that the union has been forced to a strike in its contract negotiations with...
LETTER: Break the Silence
If someone is being bullied, the last thing you want to do is walk away from them. They need support, and lots of it. I do not know of anyone that would walk away, or stop being friends with someone who is being bullied. That would be shameful. We need to start treating mental illness and depression as we do with bullying. ...
Veteran mediator Vince Ready agrees to help solve the teacher's dispute
Mediator Vince Ready is having a change of heart in the teachers dispute with the government. After declining to get involved earlier, the veteran mediator has decided to make himself available in an attempt to end the labour dispute between B.C. Teachers' Federation and the B.C. Public School Employers' Association, the...
Slocan Park Wildfire now 80 percent contained
Fire crews continue to make headway on the Slocan Park Wildfire located approximately two kilometers north of Highway 6 in the Slocan Valley. The fire is now 80 percent contained, thanks in part to the hard work of the 81 firefighters and steady rains during the past few days. One one helicopters remains working on the fire....
