LETTER: BC Teachers Taking a Stand for Public Education With Possible Strikes
BC Teachers are taking a stand for public education! What’s going to happen? It’s not something we do lightly but, after 16 months at the bargaining table and still a long way off from a fair deal, teachers across BC will begin rotating strikes on Monday, May 26 to May 29, 2014. Teachers in our school district will be on the...
LETTER: Not an 'I told you so', but SD 20 WAS told
Deaer editor, Most of us know the terrible situation SD20 finds itself in, needing to cut $730,000 from next year’s budget, when District finances have already been cut to the bone over the years. I’ve heard it argued that Rossland’s independent Seven Summits Centre for Learning is partly responsible for the problem, having...
LETTER: BC Wildlife Federation slams BC Hydro's management of Arrow Lakes fish populations
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...
LETTER: Paranoia or due process
Talk about putting the cart before the horse. Fall 2013 the RDKB (Regional District of Kootenay Boundary) launches the Kettle Blah-Blah Plan. A few months later Grand Forks city council slams through a unanimous motion to install residential smart water metres. The citizenry clamours, an open-house is held and already by April...
LETTER: Kootenay teachers want a deal, not a fight
Teachers have been forced into job action by this government for the reasons delineated in our, “Why Teachers May Be Forced Into Job Action”, Letter to the Editor that was published in the Rossland Telegraph, Castlegar News and Trail Times and circulated to all media outlets, DPAC, our School Board and CUPE:...
LETTER: Talking trash for greater good
Dear Editor: My husband and I are visiting Castlegar for the Easter weekend. We went for a 2-km walk up West Broadwater Road. This is a picture of the garbage we picked up along side of the road in that short distance! Unfortunately we were unable to pick up fridges, stoves, mattresses and yard clippings […]
Kootenay Lake Superintendent Jeff Jones responds to BCTF Phase 1 of strike action
Editor, The Nelson Daily To: The SD8 (Kootenay Lake) Community RE: Strike Action As you are aware, negotiations between the BC Teachers’ Federation (BCTF) and the BC Public School Employers’ Association (BCPSEA) are ongoing. From March 4 – 6, 2014, teachers across the Province held a strike vote. Unfortunately, the parties have not yet been […]
LETTER: Gilpin grasslands need protection not for quad use
It was upsetting to read the current description of the Gilpin Grasslands as a recreation area by the Grand Forks Quad Bike Club. Gilpin is an extremely important wildlife ecosystem, a point validated by three provincial governments and two land conservancies, all who have left an important footprint on Gilpin. The grassland...
LETTER: Why Teachers May Be Forced Into Job Action
Like all of you, teachers only want the best for their students. Despite bargaining for more than a year with the government there has been little progress made at the negotiating table. We have been waiting, very patiently, for the government to provide the necessary funding required for us to move forward in achieving a...
LETTER: Water Meter Extortion?
"If you don't let me put a water meter in your home, then I'm going to put one outside your home - and I'm going to charge you for it." Does a city have the authority to add additional water infrastructure like this and then charge individual residents for it? On Monday, April 8th, Grand Forks, BC residents learned a few...
