Boundary Sentinel

Think about it.  If you could walk away with more than $32 million and only have to spend 36 months of your life in a federal prison (maybe even minimum security farm), would you do it? That’s almost a take of a million dollars a month … former investment adviser and convicted multiple fraudster Ian Thow has been alleged to have done pretty close to that

To the residents of the Kootenay Boundary;

There has been significant attention around the changes Interior Health is making to the Operating Room at Kootenay Boundary Regional Hospital. These changes are going forward next month and will ensure Interior Health is equitably distributing the resources available in the Kootenay Boundary for the range of core services provided.

Selkirk College’s Mir Centre for Peace Winter Lecture Series is
excited to announce the upcoming lecture of Nobel Laureate and founder
of the Canadian chapter of Medicin Sans Frontieres (Doctors Without
Borders), Dr. James Orbinski.

Dr. Orbinski is a member of the Order of Ontario and an Officer of the
Order of Canada-designations that recognize his achievements and ongoing
commitment to excellence in humanitarianism and global health. He was
President of the International Council of Doctors Without Borders at the

It's International Women's Day – a day I usually use to applaud the progress and accomplishments of my gender.

How cool that few would dare, any longer, refer to us as the “weaker sex” (at least not in our hearing), and that no one bats an eye when a woman's title is Dr. rather than Mrs. How wonderful to see women in Parliament and the Legislature (although look at the ratios – we're not there yet, ladies).

I love that I'm no longer expected to burn my bra in solidarity (bras are expensive and, as my colleague so aptly noted, we women need all the support we can get).

For the third weekend in a row, the Canadian Avalanche Centre (CAC) is issuing a special public avalanche warning for large sections of B.C. The warning includes the backcountry areas of the North Rockies and the Columbia Mountains, from Mackenzie south to the US border and east of Prince George, Kamloops and Osoyoos. Also included are the South Chilcotin Mountains, north of Pemberton. The warning is in effect immediately, through to Monday March 8.

Is radon gas putting you or your family at risk of lung cancer?

That's the question Dana Schmidt is trying to get all Castlegar residents to ask, as he continues to promote radon-gas testing in this, the second-worst radon hot-spot in the province.

Castlegar mayor Lawrence Chernoff has thrown down the gauntlet to mayors of Nelson, Trail and Grand Forks, as reigning champion of Fortis B.C.'s EarthHour Challenge.

Chernoff (pictured here with 2009's trophy for Castlegar besting the participation rates of all other communities in the region) said he hopes residents will once again turn off their lights for a single hour to reduce energy consumption and bring attention to conservation issues – this time on March 27 from 8:30 to 9:30 p.m.

City council heard, in its regular meeting Monday night, that resident water consumption increased by three per cent in 2009, compared to 2008's numbers – and that's a problem.

Councillor Gord Turner pointed out that the city is currently missing out on granting opportunities that depend on more-controlled water consumption.

The Health and Hospital Committee (HHC) of the Lower Columbia Community Development Team are planning a groundbreaking ceremony for the new heliport at Kootenay Boundary Regional Hospital.

The project has been made possible by the generous donations of a number of different groups:

$100,000            Signature Sponsor Kootenay Savings Credit Union Foundation

$100,000            West Kootenay Boundary Regional Hospital Board

Trophy hunters are turning British Columbia’s protected areas into graveyards for grizzlies, despite the province’s reputation as one of the last continental safe havens for the bears, according to new research by the David Suzuki Foundation.