Regional News

New age bureaucracy: move to entirely digital records era has begun

by Timothy Schafer Local Journalism Initiative Reporter on Monday October 03 2022

The electronic records management project approved by city council in January of 2022 is officially underway — Creative Commons photo.

City Hall is on a mission to go paperless.

The electronic records management project approved by city council in January of 2022 is officially underway — launching June 13 — with a pilot program earmarked for Development Services’ historical records and property files.

Newly minted records management coordinator, Lisa Matchett, and the director of Corporate Services, Sarah Winton, began the process of converting hard copy (paper) information to digital by shipping off boxes of property files to a company called Micro Com — a Lower Mainland-based firm.

Calls for service decline for Grand Forks RCMP as fall begins

by Boundary Sentinel on Monday October 03 2022

Detachment Commander Sergeant Darryl Peppler said in September, the call volume dropped to 183, despite the summer like conditions.

Even though summer-like weather continues into the fall, Grand Forks police note there has been a decline in calls for service.

Generally, the summer months keep police officers busy with a noted increase in calls for service and tends to tail off come September.

That is once again the case this year for the Grand Forks RCMP.

“In the summer months, we typically see a lot of ‘reactive’ policing attending from call to call which keeps us very busy,” says Detachment Commander Sergeant Darryl Peppler. 

Another phase takes place in wildfire protection in city’s watershed around Selous Creek

by Timothy Schafer Local Journalism Initiative Reporter on Friday September 30 2022

The project is designed to reduce the risk of wildfire adjacent to Nelson.

Fuel modification continues in the Selous Creek area through the Selous Creek Wildfire Fuel Mitigation project, building an eyebrow of protection for Nelson through a three-metre wide no-tree zone.

A collaboration between the Regional District of Central Kootenay (RDCK) and Kalesnikoff Lumber Co. Ltd., the Selous Creek fuel management project begins again this month and is designed to reduce the risk of wildfire adjacent to Nelson and the threat to its secondary source of water, the Selous Creek water intake.

Rainforest in effect locally but drought, water scarcity conditions affect rest of B.C.

by Timothy Schafer Local Journalism Initiative Reporter on Friday September 30 2022

The West Kootenay watershed is intact and at a very low drought level despite drought and water scarcity across the majority of the province — Creative Commons photo.

B.C.’s temperate inland rainforest is living up to its billing.

The West Kootenay watershed is intact and at a very low drought level despite drought and water scarcity across the majority of the province.

Drought and water scarcity continues to affect the west coast, south coast and northeastern areas of B.C. that have experienced little to no rainfall over the past five weeks with continued dry weather in the forecast.

More layers added to municipal election campaign with chamber slice

by Timothy Schafer Local Journalism Initiative Reporter on Friday September 30 2022

The Nelson and District Chamber of Commerce’s all-candidate forum at the Prestige Lakeside Resort, Wednesday, Oct. 12 from 7-9 p.m.

The slate of all-candidate forums and campaign opportunities in the 2022 Nelson municipal election is rounding out with the chamber of commerce now weighing in.

Long-time political pundits Bob Hall (chamber director) and Darren Davidson (business recovery advisor and communications consultant) will step to the mic and moderate the Nelson and District Chamber of Commerce’s all-candidate forum at the Prestige Lakeside Resort, Wednesday, Oct. 12 (7-9 p.m.).

Kootenay Lake School District students mark National Day for Truth and Reconciliation

by Lone Sheep Publishing on Thursday September 29 2022

School District No. 8 students from Nelson parade through the Heritage City downtown to mark Orange Shirt Day and honour residential school Survivors and their families and communities. — Photo courtesy Kootenay Lake School District

School District No. 8 (Kootenay Lake) turned orange this week, not just because fall has arrived, but because students and staff marked the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation, and Orange Shirt Day, an Indigenous-led movement to honour residential school Survivors and their families and communities across Canada on September 30.

Stop guessing – drug checking saves lives

by Interior Health Authority on Thursday September 29 2022

Whether someone is planning to experiment with drugs for the first time, rely on the illicit supply for pain relief, or use drugs on a regular basis and purchase from a familiar source, they are strongly encouraged to drop off a sample beforehand for testing.

Due to several recent drug poisoning events in the region, Interior Health is urging people to use available drug checking services in order to stay safer. A region-wide drug alert remains in place following these toxic drug poisonings.

Interior Health has expanded drug checking services in response to the toxic drug crisis.

Investigation into fatal Pass Creek MVI continues

by Castlegar Source on Thursday September 29 2022

On Wednesday, Sept. 28, Castlegar RCMP were notified of a fatal crash in Pass Creek.

When a man failed to return after a social outing the previous evening, his friends returned to Norns Creek, Ladybird forest service road in Pass Creek to look for him, according to an RCMP press release..

Tire tracks were seen over a 150-foot embankment. Upon closer examination, they discovered an extensively damaged Jeep in a stream at the bottom of the hill.

Helping low income population find the finances

by Contributor on Thursday September 29 2022

The Skills Centre is partnering with the Columbia Basin Alliance for Literacy (CBAL) to deliver the new program throughout the Kootenay and Boundary regions.

Something as simple as banking isn’t so simple for many people.

Navigating the financial supports available to people living with low income means filling out forms, answering personal questions, reading and signing documents — all actions that can be overly complicated to the client trying to get the service.

The people trying to help don’t always have all the tools available to make this process as easy and useful for the client as it could be either.

Complaints about smell on garbage day and frequency of pickup a work in progress: mayor

by Timothy Schafer Local Journalism Initiative Reporter on Thursday September 29 2022

Mayor John Dooley said it will be around one year before the city will launch its much-awaited organics waste diversion program and take the odour of rot out of the trash — Creative Commons

The smell on garbage day in Nelson won’t be going away soon enough, despite a number of people complaining about the scent and bi-weekly garbage pickup.

Mayor John Dooley said it will be around one year before the city will launch its much-awaited organics waste diversion program — curbside compost collection — and take the odour of rot out of the trash.

But he said the city has been receiving plenty of requests for organic collection to be fast-tracked, as well as the return to weekly trash collection, instead of the bi-weekly rotation now in place.

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