At this time of year when the snow is deep and we take time to relax with family, what could be better than turning up the heat, and snuggling in with a blanket and popcorn to watch your all time favourite movie. The Lone Sheep family thought it might be nice to share the movies that we can watch - not just once, but again,...

It's looking like the teen dances at the Element night club that caused such controversy will now be a thing of the past. Element owner Florio Vassilakakis said the government licensing has banned the events. "They've banned youth events that are like a normal evening in the club (without the alcohol)," he said. "I could,...

Traditionally Doukhobor hymns and psalms are passed verbally from generation to generation and rarely recorded. But in the 1960s an unusual taped session sung by Anna Markova, daughter of Peter P. Verigin – Chistiakov and mother of John J. Verigin, was done. This unique recording has recently re-surfaced and has been re-mastered for the community. […]

The Scriptures of the Christian Church tell us that the birth of the baby in the manger at Bethlehem came at the end of one era, and the beginning of another. In Luke's Gospel, the Angel Gabriel visits first not Mary, nor Joseph, but one Zechariah, a priest of the temple of Yahweh, and his wife, Elizabeth, a descendant of...

Castlegar’s own Holly Smee is stunned and delighted to have garnered the support of more than 10,000 people just days after launching a Facebook campaign in response to recent tragedy. Smee, a 34-year-old mental health worker, said she got the idea on the same morning that a school shooting spree took the lives of 20 […]

Twas the week before Christmas, and all through the house there was plenty of stirring, but not one goddamned louse. I had made extra sure we would all be nit-free, just in time for St. Nick to come down the chimney. We were over the pox, and the flu, and the cold, just holding our breath, worried […]

John the Baptist--by all accounts a wild eyed, camel-haired, fire-breathing, proclaimer of the word--is most well known for the words he reserves to those who came to hear him preach. Coming to cleanse themselves in the waters once crossed by their ancestors, on the completion of the journey from Egypt through wilderness....

This story is an excerpt from the City of Trail’s quarterly newsletter. Watch The Champion for other local newsletter lore. Trail’s Historic rocks walls and covered staircases offer one of B.C.’s best walking tours Local Trail resident Eileen Truant Pedersen has produced Set in Stone: A History of Trail’s Rock Walls, a coffee-table book that […]

It was the end of times. On moving to Trail from Castlegar we kept our rent down by agreeing to take down some of the trees that were rooting far too close to foundations and roof lines for either comfort or the good of the house. All told, I created stumps from an evergreen, two deciduous, and an ancient birch. The remains...

The West Kootenays Francophone Association (AFKO) will hold its annual Christmas dinner. This year the event will take place on December 8th at 5pm at Tarry’s Hall in Thrums. Members of the association, as well as locals are invited to attend this fun and yummy event. Special guest Santa Claus and his helpers will be […]