There’s a new pass for BC Bus Pass riders in the West Kootenay after the BC Government announced pass holders will be able to use public transit systems across the province now that TransLink is closing its fare gates. There are about 100,000 people who have a subsidized BC Bus Pass and almost 80% of […]

Bats!  Such harmless and essential creatures -- yet, even now, still so often feared and  misunderstood.  If you see a bat flying around at dusk in the Kootenays, be aware that the little creature is eating insects at a great rate.  Insect-eating bats are of vital importance to farmers around the world for controlling insect...

 As Selkirk College students prepare for the final push to the end of the Winter Semester, students and instructors in the School of University Arts & Sciences (UAS) gathered on the Castlegar Campus last week to recognize outstanding achievements and accomplishments. The annual UAS Excellence Awards Ceremony was held in The Pit and provided a […]

A Community Voters Challenge, created to increase voter turn out in the area during last year’s October federal election has given local communities something to crow about, with local turn outs eclipsing both provincial and federal averages. “Two of our communities had a voter turnout of over 80 per cent. Given that the national level […]

Castlegar city council unveiled its proposed 2016 budget and five-year financial plan at a public open house Tuesday evening, in what proved to be one of the best-attended budget consultations in years. Councillor and Finance Committee chair Dan Rye said this year’s budget, reaching almost $27 million (roughly $12.7 million for operations and $14.2 for […]

         When I look out the window at this time of year, I see the black speckled snow piles disappearing and the increased dust and gravel on the streets and sidewalks. Most people assume the black specks are dirt, but they are also moulds. Here are the solutions to stop or minimize symptoms of  sneezing, nasal or sinus...

 Special Meeting of Rossland City Council, April 4, 2016, 3:00 pm Present:  Mayor Kathy Moore, and Councillors Lloyd McLellan, Andrew Zwicker, Andy Morel, Aaron Cosbey, and John Greene  Public Input:   KCTS President  Ryan Kuhn  spoke on the value to communities of trails.  "Trails are considered a primary driver of migration...

By Richard Cannings, MP for South Okanagan -- West Kootenay Last week we saw the Liberal government bring forward their first budget, a document that was expected to deliver on the many promises they made just six short months ago during the campaign. Instead of fully delivering on those campaign commitments, they delivered...

Honourable Minister McCallum, The West Kootenay Friends of Refugees agreed to sponsor a Syrian family of four, through the BVOR program, on Jan.6/16.  As you are probably well aware, this is an exciting commitment for dozens of people in any sponsoring community.  We have spent countless hours fundraising and preparing the community of Rossland BC to welcome this […]

Discussions on electoral reform are as persistent in Canadian politics as is their failure to achieve results. Before any decisions are contemplated on what kind of electoral system would best serve Canadian democracy, we ought to reflect on which objectives elections are to advance in a democratic society. What is a democracy?...