The Canadian Office and Professional Employees Union, local 378 (COPE 378) today announced that its members at FortisBC Inc. (Electric) have given the union a 88 per cent strike vote.   “The strength of this vote is because of the employer’s attempt to attack our benefits,” said COPE 378 Senior Union Representative Brad Bastien in […]

The Nature Conservancy of Canada (NCC) is doing its best to preserve wildlife in and around the Creston Valley after purchasing 306 acres (124 hectares) that are frequented by an at‐risk population of grizzly bears as they move between the Selkirk and Purcell mountains. “Protecting this land in the valley bottom is vitally important for […]

Talks have been replaced with information pickets after bargaining between the Regional District of Central Kootenay (RDCK) and CUPE Local 2262 broke down Friday. Unionized staff at the Nelson and District Community Complex set up information picket lines outside the entrance to the pool entrance Friday at 4 p.m. As this was...

“The strong do what they will, the weak do as they must.”  - Thucydides, c. 405 BCE, viewing Greek wars. I teach a history course entitled “Chosen Peoples”: ancient Israelites, pagans and Christians are the topic. With synchronistic wonder, a crisis has come upon us in the Middle East involving Iran/Persia and Israel/Judah....

School District No. 8 administration has decided to reduce the number of staff at the board office on Johnstone Road by eliminating the Assistant Secretary Treasurer position, effective Wednesday. “This particular (decision) aligns with our intent that all of our resources as much as possible go directly to the classroom,...

Reading letters to the editor and speaking with individuals here and there in our communities has led me to understand that convincing some people that humans have a part in climate change is about as likely as convincing others that our current MP is doing a good job, or that our MLA belongs to the right party. I've had the...

Greenwood residents are being warned not to use their tap water for anything but flushing their toilets until Interior Health Authority (IHA) has ruled out a possible contamination. Today, Monday Sept. 17, a City of Greenwood crew member discovered the lock on the access hatch to the community's reservoir had been removed by...

Nicolas Peissel is a self-described “methodical” person. The 35-year-old Montrealer inherited his sea-faring skills honestly, having grown up on a farm where his parents spent the better part of 10 years building a sailboat to live out their dreams. A decade of work as a shipwright gave Nicolas the opportunity to sail all sorts of […]

A court date and driving prohibition was not enough for a 38-year-old man from Cranbrook, B.C. to stay off the road. On Sunday, Sept. 9, at about 4:00 p.m. Midway RCMP stopped a vehicle on Highway 33 in Rock Creek, B.C.  The male driver, on probation with conditions not to be driving, was known to police as already banned...

With Parliament back in full swing I would like to reflect a bit on the 2011 general election which for several reasons was quite historic. The 41st Parliament obviously changed our party by thrusting us into the role of Official Opposition for the first time, but it also changed the face of the House of Commons, by making ...