Regional District Central Kootenay (RDCK) fire chiefs are reevaluating the practice of lifetime and elected fire chief postings. About six months ago the Central Kootenay Fire Chiefs Association (CKFCA), which includes the 18 volunteer fire chiefs from this district who oversee 330 volunteer firefighters and 18 firehalls,...

To help customers conserve energy FortisBC PowerSense plans to again distribute 10,000 laundry lines this summer at community events in Kelowna, the South Okanagan and the Kootenays. “Hanging laundry is a simple and cost effective way to show that you care about the environment and the energy you use,” says Tom Loski, vice ...

The lack of foresight our government has can be absolutely staggering sometimes. Our new currency and the application of it to our daily lives is a prime example of how we operate as a country. Force of habit led me to dumping two shiny 2012 toonies into an already overpriced parking meter the other day before realizing I may...

Clean. Drain. Dry. These simple steps will prevent zebra mussels and other aquatic invasive species from spreading into the waterways of the Kootenays. Aquatic invasive species, such as zebra mussels, Eurasian water-milfoil and New Zealand mudsnails have devastating impacts where they are introduced. They can ruin fishing and...

There is a discussion brewing in many of our communities right now about the opportunity to access broadband. If your community is in the Columbia Basin catchment area like my home town of Rossland the conversation is likely taking place for you as well. The Columbia Basin Trusts subsidiary Columbia Basin Broadband Corporation is offering […]

Selkirk College celebrated Teck Metals Trail Operation’s contribution to the Aboriginal Gathering Place, Thursday May 31. Carol Vanelli Worosz, Communications Manager for Teck Metals Ltd., in Trail, accepted a hand crafted metal art sculpture commissioned from B.C. Aboriginal artist, Clint George, in recognition of Teck’s...

The Selkirk Saints Athletics and Recreation program is preparing for another excellent week of golf instruction and activities for youth aged 7-17 yrs old. “We are very happy for the opportunity to keep this camp going after seven strong years,” comments Kim Verigin, camp coordinator and Athletic Director of Selkirk College....

It’s just under a year that Search and Rescue volunteer Sheilah Sweatman went out on a “recovery mission” near Nelson, B.C. only to have her life ripped away.This past weekend two more female search and rescue volunteers lost their lives in a “training mission” near Skookumchuck Rapids just outside of Halfmoon Bay, B.C. What...

Anyone who thought Dan Albas’ private member’s bill was going to open the floodgates to cheap cross-border shopping for wine should think again. When Albas’s Bill C-311 is finally passed, the provinces will experience an immediate shortfall in revenue. Indeed, John Skinner, the owner of Painted Rock Winery in Penticton is...

The words that title my piece are biblical and mean, roughly, “number, number, weight, division.” They are apt to this moment. I believe that numbers, judgment, and a state of feeling divided, are clues to our malaise as Canadians right now. To say that Stephen Harper divides Canadians like no other prime minister before him...