Recent comments

Here is my take on the elephant's identity.

Citizens (which includes the responsibility to pay taxes and participate in their own governance) do not need to hear candidates spout the platform of the party they represent. You don't have to go to a meeting for that, you can sit in your most comfortable chair at home, coffee at hand, and read all about it in flyers, pamphlets, newspapers, or your techno-gadget.

Nor does it contribute much for candidates to spell out where they stand on specific questions. For the most part, that can be deduced from the platform of the party they represent.

As to techno-wizzardry, hmm, I'd be one surprised monkey if somebody could explain to me that the problem with our democracy is a lack of electronic gadgetry.

Rousseau recognized a few years back that it is impossible for all the people to meet all the time to make all the decisions. It is democracy's central problem. The creation of elected assembly was seen as a solution to that problem.

Taking a minute to think about it, what is the most important question a citizen needs to come to terms with before marking a ballot, before appointing somebody else to make binding decisions on his part?

Well, how about trying to figure out HOW candidates THINK? How do each one of the candidates standing before you think? How do they reason? How do they determine values? How far are they willing to go, internally within the party, to engage in the forming of a party position?

I don't care what a party stands for, but I do wonder how the people who formulate the stand taken by the party approached the issue, how they weighed the options, and how they ultimately came to take the stand they took. How does a party deal with minority views within its own ranks? To what degree does a party consider and reflect on views taken by the variety of citizens who make up a community (be that a municipality, a province, or a country). To what degree is a party going out to try and understand the views of those who see the world through different glasses?

I do not need to attend a meeting to decypher a rubber stamp, but I do need to attend a meeting to try and understand HOW candidates think, HOW they reason, and HOW open they are to reconsider their own views and beliefs that may, on second thought, have been formed in haste.

I'm glad they found the electrical hook up but otherwise, money well wasted. Pretty sure there is lots of coke dealers in this town

Maybe council should consider reducing their stipends by 5% for the next budget year to, you know, send a message. After all, it's City staff and council decisions that have put us in the position we're in, not the community groups who mostly use volunteers.

Wow, that's almost 25% overbudget!  Why so much?  Was there a worldwide shortage on sewer pipes last summer?  Did they have to pay a 50% wage premium to attract construction workers to our remote town?  Were there big payouts to ex-city employee owned firms?

This makes all the budget debates about funding for groups or programs seem inconsequential.

Council has to ask:  why did it take so long to find out we're so far over-budget, was it really unavoidable?  What caused such a dramatic cost increase?  Why are we liable for the cost overruns?  Was this mis-managed?

You'd think that with such a highly paid city manager and assistant, that they would have been able to handle the oversight of this contract without such a drastic overrun.  The city manager is given broad powers to handle contracts so they can handle them efficiently, not so that they can let things go to sh!t and not have to worry about accountability.  Unless there's a damn good reason for this, I'd say it's time to find someone who can manage this kind of project a lot better.  And this time around let's find the right person for a price in line with a town our size.  If we have as many infrastructure projects to come as this article suggests, we better get our ducks in a row before we bankrupt our city.

Thanks for your comments Kathy, reasonable and balanced, and as kind as council deserves.

But I have no trouble speaking my mind.

Some incredibly stupid decisions were made at that meeting, and I would like council to know that they have a chance to change their minds.

Egads, it's been one spectacularly bone-headed decision after another in chambers...

1) Hiring a new CAO without a job competition to search for all available candidates. I'm not saying Cecile isn't good at what she does. Frankly, it's been a huge breath of fresh air to have the financial plan explained in clear terms after all the inane, non-sensical garbage that tumbled out of Victor Kumar's haughty holier-than-thou lips as he tried to muscle democracy out of the way.

2) Approving a new contract for the CAO and Deputy CAO without getting it vetted by a third party lawyer. Hopefully Victor Kumar's lawsuit against the city gets that message through to council as a whole.

3) Choosing a CAO candidate (the only one I know of) who was going to take 2 months of holiday right off the bat, just as the city faces a budget cut because of $1.4 million in cost over-runs in the downtown project because of Victor Kumar's inept "administration."

I could go on BUT—big but—these dumb decisions are in the past, and we have to live with them....$300,000+ in salaries for two people, 10 year contracts, 2 year notice, etc., etc., ...

We don't YET have to live with the idiocy of last Wednesday evening.

Okay, so the city is facing $1.4 million that's been dragged out of reserves because Kumar screwed up the last AAP. Okay, I get that.

So, am I to take it that council's solution is to nickel-and-dime community groups for a mere $14,000 relative to the 2012 budget?

Meanwhile we subsidize the arena to the tune of $130,000 after accounting for revenues, but not counting the debt from recent $1 million upgrades, and not counting the infrastructure deficit of more renos in the works...surely there's something wrong there...

Am I to understand that the solution is to axe the Sustainability Commission manager?? Are you kidding me? What's $1,400,000 minus $30,000 again?

Coun. Blomme, much as I am certain your heart is in the right place, you are absolutely out to lunch if you think your decision has helped keep volunteerism alive. Out to lunch.

What a paid manager means is this: 1) Leverage as grants roll in, 2) Accelerated change as someone has time to do what the rest of us volunteers can't get around to doing, like networking and getting grants, 3) More time for volunteers to do things as the manager deals with the paperwork, 4) More energy among volunteers as more gets done, 5) More leverage as non-profits coordinate and form relationships around the hub....I could go on.

Take the Earth Day celebrations as a micro-case-in-point. Hugely succesful, and entirely volunteer driven, but entirely coordinated by our SC manager. Yes, I did my part getting the movie, Rachael did her part putting together the chicken crawl, and a WHOLE BUNCH of people did their part for the Miners' Hall activities, and so on...but right at the core, conducting the whole thing, ensuring success, was Ann Damude. I just got the damn movie and didn't have a second to spare on anything else... Ann made Earth Day happen, let there be no mistake, and Earth Day pulled the community together, hundreds and hundreds of people united to celebrate a future of working with nature. What was the biggest constituency? Children. That's sustainability.

Another example, Alex Loeb is doing a great job with car share, but who do you think is Alex's go-to for ideas and support?

When we face volunteer fatigue, as we all do, who picks up the slack to makes sure the work hasn't been wasted, that the projects plow on and get done?

The SC is roundly derided by a certain cadre in Rossland who seem to think the Task Forces are autonymous and self-sustaining. But that's because this cadre don't understand the new challenges of the new era. They're also not on the task forces, or even involved in sustainability. Too bad for them, stuck in the past, too bad for us.

The SC is a hub, an incredibly exciting, cutting edge hub that is the envy of cutting edge change-makers across this country! It is one reason I moved to Rossland, a big one! Have you noticed the town is swimming with young people? It's partly recreation, but it's also culture, a culture of exciting, optimistic change for a better future.

I volunteer actively with Rossland REAL Food...council might not even notice us because we're not funded by the city. We do our markets, garden tours, workshops, movie nights, etc. ourselves...BUT with help and support from the SC, and particularly the SC manager.

Council, you haven't axed a management position, you've cut the hub from a wheel and left more spokes dangling than you even understand.

Do you think we (RRF) are going to get the detailed, passionate, in-depth support from some part time city staffer? Does city staff even have the time? All I ever hear is how busy staff are and that they have no time!!

Yes, the city has been helpful to allow/permit city property for things like the farmer's market and the community garden. Thanks, absolutely thanks. This is important stuff.

But it's the SC that's really the go-to for local activists aiming for real change.

A "luxury" Coun. Wallace? Sustainability is a luxury?

And by the same logic, a museum is not?

I love that the museum is there, it's a great resource, and I think the work that the likes of Libby Martin and Joyce Austin get up to is absolutely commendable and important. The Heritage Commission and Jackie Drysdale also do great work putting a shine on the town's roots.

But it's a drain, one we must pay for constantly, our dues to the past.

Using Coun. Blomme's logic, shouldn't a volunteer be doing the curating? Why doesn't Joyce do it for free?

For the same reason that the SC manager doesn't do it for free. And if the mayor thinks that being an SC manager requires less training, creativity, specialization, and effort than being a museum curator, then his monster's head just might be reaching the large intestine...

I'm not saying cut the museum. Give them a chance, for sure. They've been unfairly axed by Teck because of some pretty weak liability concerns over the adit.

But the "Gateway Project" will not create a buzz without a million bucks in marketing, and then some. Even then, it won't make that budget back in visitors, not by a long shot, aging baby boomer heritage tourists or not.

I have to agree with Coun. Fisher: if Rossland wants a museum, and it most certainly should, we have to accept that it is going to be a constant financial drain...a drain of $35/household/year,

The museum comes with almost none of the leverage, relationship-building, or boon to the local economy that the SC affords.

The SC is a luxury? Is $1.5 million ($1000/household on average) in federal, provincial, and corporate funds flowing into Rossland to do energy upgrades a luxury?

Is the family-friendly initiative—identifying key priorities to encourage more young families to come to Rossland—a luxury?

No! This is absolutely the crux! At $20 per household per year, we're getting unreal value from the SC.

And hang on, what about all the money the CBT has been trying to throw at the SC—particularly to fund the manager PLUS programming—for years now, but the CBT keeps getting stymied by the likes of Granstrom and Kumar who seem to have an aversion to the word "sustainability" except in the context of a museum!

You know what's really a luxury? The 20th century mindset that focuses on infrastructure instead of people, that highlights industrial solutions over creativity...

One example, before I go. There are huge millions pending to deal with Rossland's sewage in the long term. The 20th C. solution is an $80 million industrial plant down in Trail to turn waste into somewhat less repulsive waste.

C'mon people, get with the new era!! For one, we don't have money. For two, we know a lot more about nature now. ANd nature has a way of doing things for free. And better. Compare your kidneys with dialysis.

The 21st C. solution to sewage: stepped ponds and streams in and out of polycarbonate greenhouses in a gravity-fed oasis below the golf course, smelling sweetly of "waste" turned into clean water, rich soil, and tourist dollars as people wander the botanical gardens and marvel that this used to be pissed away.

Yes, Mayor Granstrom, when I say "flush," I mean it in the the sense of "flush" with cash, creativity, and natural wealth. I understand you mean it in the sense of "flush it down the tubes," out of sight, out of mind...until you piss and moan about the regional tax bill that is.

Time for some vision on council, folks, some vision please.

Can you now see the advantage of Council not submitting the CAO contract to a legal review before signing it? The money saved then (and no doubt placed into an interest bearing legal defense reserve account) is now available to defend the City in small debt court.

There is a logic to that. Get used to it, this ain't no curtain call.

Unbelievable! Despicable! Victor Kumar, have you no shame?

I hope that the launching of “Mouths of Many” books was succesful. Students are in today's generation are really bookworm in their own ways. Some even incline theirselves to writing especially creative writing. Meanwhile, college students everywhere have felt the vicious sting of the bookstore markup on textbooks. They could be egregious, but there are ways around it, say renting one's textbooks. Amazon used to only do that for the Kindle, but now Amazon book rental reaches hardcopies. Get an installment loan to pay for your textbooks.

I am stepping into big shoes :)

This is such a wonderful opportunity for me and I'm so grateful for it. I really wish Mona all the best in the future and look forward to to working in the Boundary. There is so much to explore here! 

Thank-you Mona for creating this online information center for our community.  You have always worked hard to present a balanced point of view in a community full of passionate, but different view points.  I know you will continue to serve the community as a professional and as a volunteer.  Here's to the Boundary!

The impressive numbers quoted for the leading countries in the use of renewable energy sources, whilst true, are also misleading since the information refers only to the use of renewable energy for electicity generation.

The total energy mix shows that fossil fuels are still their predominant source of energy with Germany at 78%, Portugal 76%, Denmark 77% and China at over 90%.

The percentage of renewables in their energy mix is Germany at 10%, Portugal 22%, Denmark 20% and China at about 6%.

Canada's primary energy mix actually looks way better than these countries with fossil fuels at about 67% and renewables at 26%.

However, this 26% is made up of about 21% hydro and about 5% other renewables such as wind and solar which is where Canada lags behind those other countries.

Canada's main energy problem is that we simple use too much, ranking 9th highest out of about 135 countries in a World Bank listing and 2nd highest in a list of 29 OECD countries.

With no leadership and no long term energy plan it will be a very long time before Canada can say "black energy is on its last legs".

This story is a bit inaccurate.

Rescue (fire/ambulance / police) didn't arrive on scene until after the man  had been successfully resuscitated after being pulled from his car in the  creek  by the two young men (Chris and Steve) mentioned in the story. When  the man was pulled from his vehicle, he was purple and not breathing.  CPR  was performed by a young woman (Lisa) who had stopped to offer assistance on  instruction from a nurse who stopped at the scene. The nurse had to flag  down a bus driver to contact rescue in Christina Lake because no one had  cellular service, so rescue didn't arrive for quite some time after the  accident, not just as they pulled the man from his vehicle.

If not for the actions of these four people, the man in the accident would have died on scene.  I hope through investigation, you can gather the names  of these people and celebrate them for the heroes they are or at the very  least, update your story to accurately reflect the actual events.

Thank you!

-- submitted to the Castlegar Source anonymously