OOPS! You spelled that wrong. So what?
Spell lots of words wrong! Use apostrophes when you have no earthly reason to do so! Confuse ‘C’, ‘see’, and ‘sea’! Me saying this may seem dissonant to many who know me. I am a well-recognized grammar Nazi. I once got a death threat beginning with, “To the heretic hoar and her bastard son … ”. I was less offended by the death...
NDTA protests Kootenay Lake School Board 'celebration' meeting
The two sides in the BC Teachers’ dispute have been sitting under a Maxwell-Smart-like "Cone of Silence" for the past two weeks hoping a lack of public rhetoric or media mudslinging would put an end to the strike/lockout that has shut down public schools in the province since June. Wednesday, at the foot of Hall Street, that...
No movement in impasse between city and union workers
The impasse between the City of Castlegar and its union workers seems as relentless as ever today, after the second day of labour action. While not fully on strike per se, CUPE 2262 has issued a ban on overtime work as a first step after issuing 72-hour strike action notice on Friday, Aug. 15. Chris Barlow, city director of...
Hundreds of soldiers muster in region for exciting exercises
No, be not afraid, the Kootenays haven’t gone to war. If you’re noticing an influx of military vehicles and personnel, it’s because roughly 450 reserve soldiers and 80 military vehicles from across the province are now in the area to begin a fascinating training exercise called Exercise Kootenay Cougar 2014. According to Major...
The trouble with truffles - Castlegar style
The environment ministry is turning eyes toward Castlegar – not because of any sort of spill or calamity, but rather because of a truffle. Yes, that’s right, a truffle. It all started when life-long area resident Vera Chernoff was digging around in her flower bed and found what she thought was a rotten potato – which would ...
Visits to Violin Lake are actually trespassing
The City of Trail would like to remind the community that the Violin Lake area is private property and is closed to the public for any use at all times. Scheduled logging activity, with the use of heavy machinery, is currently underway in this area. Therefore the city would like to emphasize the importance for all people to...
Trail's Ximena Abresch claims women's Canadian Cheese Rolling title
Don’t look now but there’s another champion for the Home of Champions — and the newest recipient doesn’t play hockey. Twenty-year-old Ximena Abresch of Trail was crowned the Women’s Champion at the Canadian Cheese Rolling Festival Saturday in Whistler. Abresch, a student at University of BC, took home an 11-pound wheel of...
Mother Nature cools off Southeast Fire Centre; crews work to mop up Slocan Park wildfire
What a difference a week makes. Last week at this time some residents in the Slocan Valley were on evacuation alert praying the Slocan Park wildfire would continue to burn in the opposite direction — away from their homes. Sunday, Information Officer Jordan Turner said the Southeast Fire Centre has received a “substantial...
Robin Williams made you uncomfortable? You have no idea.
Ed note: I sent this column to many of my people and asked if I was doing wrong in publishing it. They essentially said that, if I value telling the truth, I need to publish it. But it will likely hurt my business. I decided I want to be a better person than a better reporter. So here it is. I was so touched and moved by the...
City responds to CUPE's 72-hours strike notice
In the same week that Local 2262 requested the City to return to the bargaining table, Union Employees have issued 72 hour strike notice. “The city is concerned that the Union continues to represent that it is the city that needs to come back the bargaining table when it was the union that booked out the mediator, will not ...
