Rossland’s Laura Jackman is one of the educators who took home awards from the 2018 Canadian Environmental Education Conference. Jackman is described as “a fearless guide in environmental education in School District 20. She has created and implemented a now community-wide, weeklong Bio Blitz, a celebration of environmental...

Bats – the kind that live in our area – are voracious insectivores.  As dusk settles in, the bats emerge and begin eating insects.  An ordinary brown bat, according to the website “Wildlife Education and Directory of Wildlife Experts,”  can eat up to 1,200 insects per hour – and up to 100% of its body weight in insects in one...

It’s time to revisit the topic of corporal punishment of children: spanking, swatting, or otherwise hitting a child as punishment or “correction.”  Is it ever acceptable?  There are so many different views, but now we have some new research evidence favouring the totally non-violent approach to child-rearing.   On March 5 of...

Climate scientists have said that planting trees can help to combat climate change. Some of Rossland's students have been helping with that.    Last Friday,  students of Ecole des Sept-Sommets planted over 150 trees and shrubs in the southeast corner of their school yard. These plants, some native plants ...

Having read the challenging piece on May 14, 'You don't have the right to believe whatever you want to', I feel that since the piece was intended to be challenging, perhaps it should be challenged. The basic premise of the text by Professor DeNicola was that some beliefs are too toxic for people to be allowed to hold them. ...

Rossland Rotary is now accepting International Youth Exchange applications: the deadline is September 30. Think about it! Will you graduate from high school in 2020 or later in the Rossland area? Will you be between the ages of 14 and 18 and a half years old as of August 1, 2019?   Would you like to spend 10 months living...

We all have ideas about how City Councillors should conduct themselves and all the things our council ought to do, but Monday evening’s session in Castlegar was presented by two well-informed experts on the topic whose ideas have withstood the test of reality.  If you have served on Council and think you’re...

Selkirk College is recognizing the importance employers place on soft skills with Co-Curricular Record (CCR), a new program that supports invaluable post-secondary learning taking place outside the classroom. When students return to campus this fall, they will be able to earn official co-curricular credit for participating ...

The “mid-life crisis” is a well-known phenomenon, often involving snazzy new sports cars, extra-marital affairs, or other impulsive and rash departures from the norm. Could sexual dissatisfaction be fueling such attempts to spice up their lives?  Middle-aged readers, if you’re less than ecstatic about...

Contemplating standing for election to your municipal Council this fall?  Come to this workshop and learn a lot.  Come to it even if you just want to be a better-informed voter. Government!  Do you recoil at the term “government”? Despite your initial reaction, government is not a four-letter word. Too often, we criticize it...