It was the end of times. On moving to Trail from Castlegar we kept our rent down by agreeing to take down some of the trees that were rooting far too close to foundations and roof lines for either comfort or the good of the house. All told, I created stumps from an evergreen, two deciduous, and an ancient birch. The remains...

A few months into the new blended learning model at Rossland Secondary School and we are able to take some time to reflect on the successes, as well as discuss the adjustments we need to make. We know it takes time to implement change and for the students and teachers to adjust to the new system and realize that the program...

I don’t see how a person as afflicted with ADD as myself could help but adore Christmas – all those twinkly lights and sparkly ornaments and bows and ribbons and bells, oh my! I hear other people’s angst about the increasingly commercial aspect of the holiday, but that’s never troubled me over much. Seems to […]

At least his father waited until he was in power before he gave the West the finger! But, just as I had suggested, Trudeau the Younger is so arrogant, so self-absorbed, and so dumb he has already insulted--and politically dismissed--an entire Western province, well before seeking the Liberal leadership, let alone becoming...

On Thursday last (November 22), we met with the Ktunaxa elders at the site of the former Residential School (St. Eugene Mission) near Cranbrook to offer our testimony in support of their expression of faith and spirituality. “We?”You ask? United Church ministers: Frank Lewis, of Cranbrook, Christine Dudley of Kimberley, and...

History does not repeat. People do. --- Voltaire As an historian, I am not supposed to say that people often cannot learn from history. Yet that is what I wrote in my last column. However, I still see much value in studying history for we-the-people who want to have some control over the politicians who have been elected to...

“…the basic cause of the energy crisis is not scarcity, it is moral ignorance and weakness of character. We don’t know how to use energy or what to use it for. And we cannot restrain ourselves. Our time is characterized as much by the abuse and waste of human energy as it is by the […]

In Mark's gospel we hear the story of a rich man catching up with Jesus.  “I’ve lived faithfully and followed the commandments,” he says. “What more must I do to inherit eternal life?” On hearing Jesus' prescription (give away everything to the poor and follow me) he leaves in despair. He cannot untangle himself from the...

Early last November I had the privilege of attending a public forum in Ottawa organized by the Canadian Peace Initiative.  The forum took place on a Friday evening featuring Professor Ian McKay of Queens University as a keynote speaker.  Professor McKay, author of Warrior Nation: Rebuilding Canada in an Age of Anxiety, talked...

A couple of polls showing the NDP losing support to the Liberals pose some pretty fundamental questions for the party and its small ‘l’ liberal leader Thomas Mulcair. Does the party follow the narrow political path of the two big business parties or does it reinvent itself as a movement party and tap into the deep dissatisfaction...