Becoming a Teacher is a many things, but I would hazard to say more a “Lifestyle choice” where you work desirable hours with weekends, long weekends, summers, and holidays all off. Any teacher knows what also comes with their chosen occupation, which is some work done at home, and also putting in time with the kids after...

City council, at its regular meeting last night (Tuesday) voted unanimously to send a letter expressing concerns around a recently launched, province-wide recycling program. Councillor Sue Heaton-Sherstobitoff, who brought the motion forward, said the roll-out of MultiMaterial BC (MMBC) was mishandled and the merit in the...

Dear Parents and guardians: I regret to inform you that the British Columbia Teachers’ Federation (BCTF), the union representing teachers, has informed the school district that they will be engaged in rotating strikes and will be withdrawing teaching services in all SD20 sites on Tuesday, May 27, 2014. As of this time, this...

The federal government--that is, Stephen Harper--is expected to announce its long anticipated decision on Enbridge’s Northern Gateway pipeline sometime in June. The decision could well determine whether or not the Conservatives can win the 2015 election. The momentum of opposition to the pipeline — and perhaps more importantly...

There are usually two Nelson City Council meetings per month, and one of them is always the Committee of the Whole, in which community groups, city departments and committees, and individual members of the public, may make presentations. Council does not make decisions at these meetings. If something presented to the Committee...

A few weeks ago I had the pleasure of spending some time with Kris Stanbra.  She had just been awarded the prestigious Courage to Come Back Award.  I was truly impressed by her story and thought I would share it with my constituents in the B.C. Southern Interior Kris grew up as a fun-loving, athletic child with a competitive...

The City of Trail will have a new sewer pipeline crossing the Columbia River, but it will be up to the citizens of Trail whether or not there will be a pedestrian/bicycle bridge as well. Councillor Robert Cacchioni is chair of the Sewerage Committee and represents Trail on the board of the Regional District. Currently, according...

I am very dismayed that my Bill C-571 did not get quite enough support in Parliament to pass on to Committee stage where it would have received thorough scrutiny and proper debate. I had hoped to follow an example set by the EU to have the same food safety standards, transparency and accountability applied to the horsemeat ...

The Kootenay region has endured a disproportionate amount of ecological damage due to numerous upper Columbia Basin hydro developments that have generated considerable economic benefits to the province, but also caused significant social and environmental damage to the region. The most recent dam at Revelstoke caused huge...

Silver City Days hosted a variety of floats this year. Among them was the City of Trail's new float for the ambassadors of Trail. This year's Miss Trail, Ella Meyer, stood at the top and the princesses sat on benches below. At their feet was a model of the Trail bridge and climbing up the truck was a model of the red Trail ...