Council/RDCK commit $20,000 to doctor recruitment strategy
The City of Castlegar and the RDCK (Areas I and J) are each throwing $10,000 into a kitty to begin proactively recruiting doctors to the area, according to city councillor Florio Vassilakakis. Vassilakakis said an ad hoc group of doctors and residents set up a meeting with the Chamber of Commerce, Castlegar mayor and council,...
Atamanenko takes horse slaughter issue to House of Commons
BC Southern Interior MP Alex Atamanenko will soon have his turn to debate one of his private members bill in the House of Commons. “I have just notified the House of Commons that I will be moving forward with my newly introduced Bill C-571 which will impose certain limits on the horse slaughter industry,” said Atamanenko....
COMMENT: Where are all the grown-ups overseeing our health care?
I'd like to paint a picture for you, explaining why, in my opinion, this region enjoys sub-par health services: Imagine, if you would, that you're the BC Minister of Health. You oversee five health authorities, with 16 health services delivery areas under them, all of them clamouring for a finite pool of funding and resources....
Broadband in Castlegar explained
This is the first of a four-part series that will describe what broadband is, what the potential is for rural communities as well as how and why Castlegar is exploring options around the development of high speed fibre optics broadband. Part One: The Columbia Basin Trust, the Columbia Basin Broadband Corporation (CBBC) and...
Trail says 'no' to Castlegar-funded examination of acute health care priorities in the region
Trail has chosen to opt out of a process initiated by the City of Castlegar to create a region-wide strategic plan for health care in the region. Castlegar contracted, at the cost of about $20,000, the services of consultant Jim Gustafson (formerly the CAO of the RDCK and, before that, Castlegar) to gather information from ...
Funding fun as council says 'yes' to museum and 'no' to Seven Summits
Monday, January 27th, 2014 It was a long evening -- a Committee-of-the-whole ("COW") meeting started at 5:00, followed by a regular Council meeting at 7:00. Funding, swimming holes, electric fences, broad-band --Read on! And please don't be disappointed by the lack of personal opinion in this column; it is my intention to...
Local MLAs to host BC finance critic in tri-city visit
In preparation for the upcoming provincial budget, opposition Finance Critic Mike Farnworth will be visiting the Kootenays, meeting with local governments, industry leaders and small business owners on Feb. 6 and 7. Farnworth, the MLA for Port Coquitlam, has held the post of Finance critic since 2011, and will be responsible...
Nelson Landing: One Step Closer, Vows to Preserve Red Sands Beach
It’s official. The CEO of Storm Mountain, Allard Ockeloen, and Peter Ward of Ward Engineering installed the welcome sign last week to the lakefront property known as Nelson Landing. Phase one of the homes will feature eight townhomes priced in the $400,000 range for 1,300+ square feet, which Ockeloen hopes to begin building this spring. […]
Ootischenia meeting clarifies Castlegar boundary extension issues
Around 90 people showed up to a meeting at the Ootischenia Hall last night to discuss concerns about a proposed boundary expansion by the City of Castlegar. As explained by meeting chair and RDCK Area J director Gordon Zaitsoff, there were two separate issues causing Ootischenia residents concern, the first being the city's...
GF hosts open house to answer water metre questions
More than 100 residents came to the City of Grand Fork's informational open house, thirsty to learn more about the upcoming expansion of water metre to all residential homes in city limits. “On behalf of council and our staff, we’d like to say thank you to everyone who was able to attend. We were extremely pleased with the...