I’m sure to receive at least a couple of accusations of being racist after writing this column, to which I would respond that I am not; However I am frustrated by what I believe are undeserved special rights the government is willing to grant Canadian native groups. What brought me to pen this was an […]

Celgar manager Al Hitzroth confirmed today that the mill he manages here in Castlegar has gotten the green light for $57.8 million in federal grant money through a program intended to help level the playing field after the U.S. announced $8 billion in black liquor subsidies for American pulp mills. Unlike the U.S. program, which […]

Photo: Castlegar Chamber of Commerce executive director Pam McLeod. More than a dozen local business interests were on hand Oct. 6 at the CBT Forum (across from city hall) to hear from Jon Garson, vice president of public policy development for the B.C. Chamber of Commerce, regarding the new Harmonized Sales Tax (HST). Representatives were […]

The first half of this he-said/she-said debate can be found in Rob Leggett’s Right to the Point column, in the Op/Ed page of the Castlegar Source. Rob and I have had some difficulty, lately, in finding an issue on which we passionately disagree. He solved that problem, however, with his most recent column on Winston […]

In a rare moment of accord, Celgar officials say they are as pleased as City of Castlegar representatives at the outcome of this year’s Union of B.C. Municipalities (UBCM) convention. Celgar manager Al Hitzroth said the UBCM resolution urging the provincial government to re-examine major industry taxation in B.C. is good news. “I’m still disappointed […]

In a decision brought by the B.C. appeals court Thursday, the provincial government is being held liable for negligence in a case involving a four-month-old Castlegar infant. The infant, now six years old, was violently shaken by his father on Sept 16, 2002, suffering permanent injury, and the child’s maternal grandmother is now seeking more […]

Photo: NDP MLA Katrine Conroy On Sept. 1, the B.C. Liberals presented their post-election budget, and offered the people of B.C. nothing other than a new tax for consumers, increased Medical Services Plan premiums and cuts to service says Kootenay West MLA Katrine Conroy. “If the Liberal party had admitted that they were bringing in […]

Monday morning saw police managing an unusual situation after a huge St. Bernard dog became trapped in a dumpster – with the garbage collectors en route. Castlegar RCMP Const. Sherry Karn said the call came in around 7 a.m. from staff at the Kootenay Market, who were concerned about the dog unwittingly ending up in […]

Smoke funnelling into Castlegar is most likely from an almost 2,000-hectare wild fire near Galena Bay in the Regional District of Central Kootenay, as well as another, of almost 8,000 hectares, on Terrace Mountain in the Central Okanagan, according to the Southeast Fire Centre. The Galena Bay fire was caused by lightning, while the Terrace […]

Dear Premier Campbell: On 24 July 2009 I submitted a letter to the Environmental Assessment Office, expressing concerns with the proposed Glacier Howser Private Hydroelectric Project.  Attached please find a copy of this submission. An overwhelming majority of people in our area are against this project as evidenced by over 1100 people who showed up […]