The North Face Canadian Open Freeskiing Championships start today at Red
RED Mountain Resort is pleased to host over 160 athletes from around the world to compete in the Junior portion of The North Face Canadian Open Freeskiing Championships. With athletes from the United States, New Zealand and more regionally Western Canada, competitors have come to aspire for the top title of the Canadian Open...
Participatory democracy or puppet mastery? Open government in Rossland … or not?
In the lead-up to Rossland's recent municipal elections, all the candidates clamoured to speak in favour of greater transparency in local government machinations and to pledge allegiance to the principles of open communication and public consultation. It is fitting, then, that a controversy over the exclusion of council (and...
More questions than answers as Rossland's mayor apologizes for failing to consult with council
Mayor Greg Granstrom ended council's regular meeting on Monday with a brief apology for bypassing council consultation as he and CAO Victor Kumar ploughed ahead with a grant application for a $5 million dollar indoor swimming pool—but Granstrom made no mention of the $25,000 spent on the application without proper authorization.The...
Who is the CAO, what does he do, and what's his contract with Rossland?
The swimming pool controversy was sparked by a faulty process in which the CAO and the mayor neglected to consult council on important city matters, both strategic and financial, but now many Rosslanders are asking more fundamental questions, like "who is the CAO, what does he do, and what's in his contract?"Here we try and...
LEGENDS AND TALES OF THE MOUNTAIN KINGDOM: I Fought the Law and the Law Won, Part Two--Jack Ingram
About a year ago, I wrote a column about John Kirkup, Rossland’s first official lawman. I gave accounts of some of his exploits and tried to provide a sense of this big man’s personality around town. Kirkup didn’t have a long tenure as keeper of local law and order; he was apparently not popular with the politicians of the ...
Measuring our progress: An Energy Diet update
Without a doubt, Rosslanders are a hearty bunch as evidenced by the many of you that braved the storm in November to exchange your lights for energy efficient alternatives. In total, 152 strings of holiday lights were collected and 325 CFLS exchanged. If all of these lights are used to replace incandescent bulbs, Rosslanders...
Because they can: Federal government rushed legislation
Good or bad? Does it really matter anymore? This is a question that weighs on the minds of many Canadians. Government legislation (bills) which would normally be put through the proper course of debate in the House of Commons has been miraculously deemed “what all Canadians want” and pushed through the system by using Time ...
COMMENT: Who authorized $25,000 in architecture and engineering fees for a pool design council knew nothing about? The CAO must go!
Rossland, we have a problem. The end of 2011 was defined by a serious breach of democracy, a breach so egregious that it deserves the whole town's attention.As a taxpayer myself, I feel violated by this breach and feel it constitutes more than enough cause to terminate CAO Victor Kumar's contract immediately.Our mayor,...
Sustainability Commission seeks new manager as visions for sustainable action in 2012 loom large
The new year will bring new management to the Sustainability Commission (SC) as former manager Lea Thuot plants new roots on Vancouver Island."I have been honoured to work for the Rossland Sustainability Commission," Thuot wrote prior to her December departure, "and it is with great sadness that I will be leaving. I believe...
