Bait bike program launches in the Kootenays

Posted on 31. Aug, 2011 by Chris Shepherd in Crime

Bike thieves beware, Operation Hands Off is deploying bait bikes throughout the Kootenays in a joint effort with Nelson police and the RCMP to crack down on bike theft.
Bait bikes will be deployed in many popular locations. The bikes are equipped with tracking devices and hidden cameras to record the theft. “Thieves can be sure of a one way ticket to jail” said Pat Cowman, director of the Operation Hands Off program.

School year could be off to a rocky start

Posted on 31. Aug, 2011 by Chris Shepherd in Regions

While students are sharpening their pencils ahead of the coming school year, they may not actually have anywhere to use them if negotiations between the province and the B.C. Teachers Federation, reports the CBC.

Teachers voted 90 per cent in favour of strike action if demands for higher wages, smaller classes and better benefits aren’t met. The province has said teachers provide an essential service so they still have to work, but they won’t do some duties outside the classroom.

Midway mill saved

Posted on 30. Aug, 2011 by Chris Shepherd in Grand Forks

A last-minute loan from a local credit union saved the Midway at risk of failing before it could even re-open its doors, reports Karl Yu for the Grand Forks Gazette.

The mill was closed four years ago and a local organization came up with a plan to get the mill and its 50 jobs operating once more. A one million dollar debt due this month, nearly ended that dream however. Organizers hoped to raise the money through investors but they couldn’t pull it off.

Next of kin notified, deceased Nelson man named

Posted on 30. Aug, 2011 by Chris Shepherd in Nakusp

The next of kin have been notified and a Nelson family has learned their loved one, James Forrest Kienholz, 64, was the man killed in a float plane accident near Nakusp, reports the Nelson Post.

Kienholz and the pilot, also from Nelson, were landing on Upper Arrow Lake on Wednesday, Aug. 24 near Nakusp when their float plane crashed. The pilot, a 79-year-old man, escaped with minor injuries.

Retiree summits Kilimanjaro

Posted on 29. Aug, 2011 by Chris Shepherd in Cranbrook

Arthritic knees and a doctor’s recommendation to call off the journey didn’t stop a 62-year-old retired woman from summiting Africa’s highest peak this summer.

Maxine Adshead reached the 19,341 foot peak of Mount Kilimanjaro in August, facing altitude sickness and pervasive dust in the process.

Two Kootenay MLAs react to HST results

Posted on 29. Aug, 2011 by Chris Shepherd in Provincial Politics

Now that the HST has been defeated it’s time to move on, says the MLA for Kooteay East, reports Barry Coulter for the Cranbrook Daily Townsman.

BC Liberal Bill Bennett told the newspaper it’s time to spend energy improving the province.

Climber survives fall near MacBeth icefield

Posted on 29. Aug, 2011 by Chris Shepherd in Kaslo

Search and rescue craft from Vancouver Island had to be called in to rescue a man near the MacBeth icefield, reports Sean Sullivan for the Vancouver Sun.

The man fell 12 metres down a waterfall on the hike, north of Kootenay Lake. His leg was jammed between two rocks and local search and rescuers were unable to reach him.

MP’s office invites people to celebrate Layton’s life

Posted on 26. Aug, 2011 by Chris Shepherd in Castlegar

The constituency office of Alex Atamanenko, MP, at 337 Columbia Avenue in Castlegar, will be open at 10:30 a.m. on Saturday, August 27th to celebrate the life of Jack Layton and watch the state funeral live beginning at 11:00 a.m. PT. The service from Roy Thompson Hall will be broadcast via the web. A book [...]

Rossland draws in the docs

Posted on 26. Aug, 2011 by Chris Shepherd in Health, Rossland

There’s something in the air in Rossland. Or maybe it’s the water. Or the hills. Whatever it is, they should try and bottle it because according to the Rossland News, they have a large population of doctors choosing to live in their mountain town.

Rossland home builder and chamber director Cezary Ksiazek did some research and thinks there are more doctors per capita in Rossland than any other city in Canada.

Grizzlies reported in Nelson

Posted on 26. Aug, 2011 by Chris Shepherd in Nelson

Fall is around the corner and bears are eating as much as they can, which could lead the bruins into Kootenay communities, warns Nelson bear expert in Megan Cole’s story in the Nelson Star.

The Nelson Police Department received a report of a young grizzly in the city’s Rosemont neighbourhood. They found the bear and had a resident tell them of a larger bear, possibly the mother, also in the vicinity.