Connections between an MLA and his constituents matter
MLA Norm Macdonald An important part of having a democracy that works is knowing that you have an elected official that will listen to your concerns. As many of you will know, I began my political life as a town councillor and Mayor. As a municipal politician, the connection to voters was very immediate. A comment you made at council one evening...
Your residential property taxes are going up by…
By David F. Rooney It’s quasi-official: residential property taxes are going up by five per cent this year. Business taxes are also going up but only by 2.5 per cent. City Council, gathered as a Committee of the Whole (CoW) decided to adopt a financial plan devised by Finance Director Graham Inglis during a special meeting Thursday afternoon....
Avalanche Centre issues another special warning
The Canadian Avalanche Centre (CAC) is issuing a special public avalanche warning for a widespread area of the province’s backcountry. The warning includes the mountainous areas of the North Coast, the South Coast, the North Rockies, the Columbia Mountains and the Kootenay Boundary. The warning is in effect from Friday, Feb. 26, through to Monday,...
Council ponders 6% cut in city’s greenhouse gas emissions
By David F. Rooney Faced with a looming requirement to set greenhouse gas (GHG) emission reduction targets, Council seems poised to set one now: six per cent across the board by 2020. It doesn’t have the force of law yet. And the public will have a say on it during a 6:30-8 pm public meeting on Thursday, March 18, but it looks as though that will...
Odds and ends
David F. Rooney Have you benefitted from the work of the BC Children’s Hospital? If you have, Cooper’s Foods hopes you’ll share your story with the rest of the community. Sure, it sounds little odd… why would a supermarket care about something like that? But, as it turns out, there’s a very good point to it. For two weeks starting this...
Council’s environmental decisions mystify NCES President Sarah Newton
By David F. Rooney This week’s City Council decisions to put off a cosmetic pesticide ban for six months and to put on hold a plan to hire an environmental sustainability consultant mystify North Columbia Environmental Society President Sarah Newton. To her, the decisions look like political waffling. Council should, she believes, be forging ahead...
Unrealistic expectations puts City’s Environmental Sustainability Coordinator job on hold
By David F. Rooney It won’t cost the City a dime — at least for the first year — but Council has, for now, balked at hiring an “environmental sustainability coordinator” in large part because no one knows exactly what such a person should really be doing. “It won’t cost the City anything, it won’t cost local...
Transgendered parolee charged with local CIBC robbery
A transgendered federal parolee was arrested after a chase by automobile and on foot and charged with robbing the local CIBC branch Tuesday afternoon. “The suspect entered the bank and produced a note which made reference to a firearm,” Cpl. Rod Wiebe said in a statement Tuesday evening. “An undisclosed amount of money was turned over...
Council puts off anti-pesticide commitment for six months
By David F. Rooney Citing a need to better confer with stakeholders, City Council put off a decision regarding a ban on cosmetic pesticides for at least six months Tuesday. The Environmental Advisory Committee had recommended that Council ask staff to “investigate implementation of a cosmetic pesticide bylaw based on the Invermere model.” Invermere...
CBT offers student scholarships based on community service
Columbia Basin Trust (CBT) is now accepting applications for its Youth Community Service Awards, valued at $2,000 and awarded based on volunteer community service rather than academic standing. “We are particularly proud to be able to present these awards to youth, who have shown a commitment to volunteering in their communities, for them to use...
