After a record snowfall in December, The Castlegar Source/Trail Champion received several phone calls from professional drivers, first responders and other area motorists expressing concern, and even outrage, over the condition of regional thoroughfares. A reader poll posted to both sites asking “Do you feel Emcon (the regional road maintenance contractor) is doing a good […]

The actions of as many as 200 intoxicated youth have BC Transit questioning the merit of continuing to provide free New Year’s Eve bus service in the Greater Trail/Rossland/Castlegar area. BC Transit corporate spokesperson Meribeth Burton said a scheduled 1 a.m. bus in Rossland New Year’s morning saw drunken teens behave in a manner so […]

Readers have suggested at least two important questions since we published the budget analysis and initiated our “Budge the Budget” DemocracySTORM: to what extent are community and recreation organizations paying their own way? And can we compare our budget with that of other communities?In keeping with the budget analysis,...

Historians, archaeologists, and palaeontologists focus on pivotal moments around which separate eras seem to hinge. It is no different in other disciplines as ecologists define community edges and philosophers erect words around meaning. Meanwhile, down on Planet Earth, climbers, bikers, skiers, and boaters flow over their ...

Calls to cut taxes should not come as a surprise. Individuals, business establishments, and corporations have been singing this tune for years. Resistance to taxes goes hand in hand with government at all levels. “No Tax Payments!”screamed a headline in Germany’s Neue Rheinische Zeitungon November 16, 1848. The article’s...

The Trail and District Chamber of Commerce now has a new leader at its helm, after the abrupt and somewhat controversial departure of former executive director Maggie Stayanovich (see http://trailchampion.com/news/update-chamber-president-offers-clarification-22206#.UOSh5uQ0WSo ). Incoming executive director Norm Casler, 50, was already at his desk this afternoon (Wednesday), ready to hit the ground running. “The best thing for […]

The Government of BC has been on a borrowing and spending spree for about eight years. A lot of this is being done using the “Public-Private Partnership” model (P3) of which the former Premier Campbell was exceedingly fond. In fact, he was such a leading proponent in Canada that the commercial interests behind the...

Canada and B.C. targeted funding to support business development, innovation, food safety, and sustainability under the Growing Forward agreement in the first quarter of 2012-13. Growing Forward is a five-year framework that co-ordinates federal, provincial and territorial agricultural policy. Between April 1 and June 30,...

 “History is just one damn thing after another.” John Masefield. “Life is understood backward, but lived forward.”Soren Kirkegaard This is it, the final column of Arc for the year 2012. This is the week I have often called “dead week” in my mind but not publicly (people would misunderstand!) because of my strange sense of...

I recently had the opportunity to attend a conference in Nanaimo sponsored by the Council of Canadians.  Maude Barlow and others in this social justice organization have been in the forefront when it comes to dealing with issues that threaten the very fabric of our nation. It was very encouraging to see the strong involvement...