Usually, I’m in line with public opinion, in keeping with the democratic values that drive my very profession. But a recent Ipsos Reid poll conducted on behalf of the Canadian Red Cross just crosses the line for me – away from public opinion and into public hysteria or public stupidity, I can’t decide which. Apparently, about […]

Castlegar fire chief Gerry Rempel, shortly before being named honourary fire chief in Embetsu, Japan, was presented with a Queen’s Diamond Jubilee Medal in honour of his many years of service. Rempel, 57, also serves as airport manager, volunteers for Rotary, works as Brigade Superintendent for St John Ambulance and commanding...

  City residents should be able to enjoy two outdoor skating rinks this year in Kinnaird Park, after the city’s first such rink was met with overwhelming approval last year. City director of transportation and civic works Chris Barlow says it was the very popularity of the venue that created a safety risk which ultimately...

The West Kootenays’ All Star roller derby team, the Kootenay Kannibelles, are going to the Canadian national championships in early 2013, having finished second at the westerns tournament in 2012. As part of their fundraising efforts, they have teamed up with local game show company “The Price Is Jeopardy Or No Deal Of Fortune” for […]

This happy-go-lucky chocolate brown labrador turned in his long leash and protective vest this August, marking nine years of dedicated service with the BC RCMP as a drug sniffing dog. Otis was posted to the Southeast District Traffic Services between 2003 to 2012, working the corridor highways of the Interior region of BC. Otis worked […]

Local conservation groups are applauding news that the East Kootenay Conservation Program (EKCP) now includes the West Kootenay. This geographic expansion means that the renamed umbrella organization – now the Kootenay Conservation Program (KCP) – will forge new partnerships and help focus activities around private land conservation in both the East and West Kootenay. “For […]

Award-winning spoken word poet, Shane Koyczan, is embarking on a solo tour this fall. For Koyczan, 2012 has already included a residency at Glenbow Museum in Calgary and the release of Remembrance Year with his band The Short Story Long. The tour kicks off in Banff with a stop November 3 at the Element Club […]

Councillors Dan Rye and Gord Turner returned from the UBCM (Union of BC Municipalities) AGM disappointed over the resounding defeat of Castlegar's single resolution that the government roll back its increase on cross-border shopping allowances. Previously, the government allowed shoppers to return to Canada with $400 of...

Since I am a lover of the written word (at least the writing part of it), it may not come as a surprise to you to hear that I am also a bit of a bookworm. Not a bookworm in the usual sense, though. I can go months without finding a novel that interests me […]

The issue of Recreation Complex expansion is once more becoming one for public debate, as user numbers increase and the demand for more equipment and space becomes increasingly urgent, according to city councillor Kevin Chernoff. This, roughly two years after a referendum regarding a $25-million Complex expansion project...