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2013 in review: People power resonates throughout Greater Trail

The Trail Times continues its review of the top stories and moments from 2013 in Greater Trail. This edition will review April to June.


APRIL

1 – B.C. businesses and consumers adjusted to the elimination of the Harmonized Sales Tax and the return of the Provincial Sales Tax and the Goods and Services Tax.

2- The Glenmerry Citizens Group presents a petition to the city, with over 900 signatures, which eventually halts plans to sell an empty lot in the city’s subdivision.

4 – Thanks to a groundswell of support and online voting, the Rossland-Trail Minor Hockey Association is $20,000 richer in the Kraft Hockey Goes On promotion. Volunteers across Canada were nominated and Trail’s Ken Koshey received enough votes to place him among the 25 winners. A volunteer from Golden was one of five in Canada to earn their association $100,000.

10 – A CBC online survey, which ranked hospitals in Canada, gave the Kootenay Regional Boundary Hospital a “B” grade. While the grade was good, Interior Health CEO Robert Halpenny dismissed the survey as “subjective.”

19 – A retirement party was held for Local 480 president Doug Jones, who  retired after serving four terms as the local union leader.

15 – Fruitvale athlete Heather Johnson was safe following a tragic bombing at the Boston Marathon. Johnson crossed the finish line about two hours before terrorists detonated bombs that killed three and injured over 100.

15 – The Village of Fruitvale received almost $500,000 from the Gas Tax Fund to continue upgrades to its Water Treatment Plant.

15 – School District 20 rejects an offer from the City of Rossland to keep K-12 classes in its city. The city offered a grant-in-aid of $140,000 per year for three years to keep the grades.

16 – The writ was dropped on the 40th provincial election in British Columbia, which was held on May 14.

19 – Trail’s Don Nutini, a tireless community volunteer and promoter, is selected at the 2012 Trail-Warfield Citizen of the Year. The Knights of Columbus bestowed the honour on him at a ceremony at St. Michael’s School prior to the start of Silver City Days.

24 – A new sponsor for the annual Rivers Day festival is sought after the Skills Centre drops from its spearheading role. The day features a cleanup along the Columbia River banks as well as a celebration at Gyro Park.

25 – The Trail food banks are in crisis mode as demand increases while donations drop due to the slow economic conditions in the region.

26 – The deadline for candidates to register for the May 14 election arrives with four people running in the Kootenay West riding – incumbent Katrine Conroy of the NDP, Jim Postnikoff of the BC Liberals and two Independent candidates – Joe Hughes of Nakusp and Glen Byle of Trail.

MAY

2 – Canada Post ponders opening a private franchise in Trail. Union opposes move citing potential job losses.

3 – An Ontario man was killed when the tractor trailer he was driving flipped at the bottom of the Rossland Hill. The RCMP have concluded that the fully loaded commercial semi trailer unit carrying bricks suffered a mechanical failure when it lost its brakes while descending Highway 3B between Rossland and Trail and rolled near the intersection of the highway and Tennyson Avenue in Warfield, killing the driver.  A summer student working for the Village of Warfield nearby suffered injuries from the truck’s debris.

6 – Heroes come in all shapes and sizes and at the 2013 Purina Animal Hall of Fame ceremony the four-legged variety were honoured including one from Trail. Angie Prime and her dog Vicious were in Toronto for the ceremony on Monday after Vicious came to her rescue when a cougar invaded their Sunningdale home last August.

7 – After months of heated debate, announcement of school closure and staff cuts, School District 20 finally passes its balanced budget in front of a sparse crowd at the Trail Middle School.

10 – Cheyanne Friess, Miss Italo Canadese, was crowned Miss Trail 2013 while Emily Dawson, Miss Trail Legion, was selected as Trail Princess.

14 – The election drama that unfolded across the province last night barely made a ripple in the Kootenay West riding. An hour after the polling stations had closed and 45 of the 115 ballot boxes reporting, NDP incumbent Katrine Conroy was already declared the winner. On a night when the B.C. Liberal Party shocked the experts with its majority win, it was all too predictable in Kootenay West. The final results, released two weeks later showed Conroy with 11,349 votes, Liberal Jim Postnikoff with 3,831, independent Joseph Hughes with 2,391 and independent Glen Byle with 431.

23 – The City of Trail released details on a mutual agreement that outlines the Silver City’s intent to expand its boundary into Teck-owned land in Area A. The deal involves 66 parcels of land including Teck’s Waneta Reload Facility and the Waneta Dam. The regional district expressed concerns over the deal pointing to the potential negative impacts and tax-sharing formulas for the Waneta Dam will have to be worked out between the Beaver Valley and Trail.

25 – A fishing trip to Little Wilson Lake near Rosebery has left one Trail man presumed drowned. RCMP searched for 32-year-old Michael Guthrie for two weeks following his disappearance after the boat he was in capsized. One man made it to shore but Guthrie was never found. RCMP brought in sonar equipment to search the deep, frigid lake but did not recover the body.

26 – The last two Catholic parishes in Trail, St. Anthony’s Church, and Our Lady of Perpetual Help (OLPH), were canonically suppressed to create the Holy Trinity Parish. Canonical suppression refers to the dissolution of a parish. The church is being renamed Holy Trinity (Trinity defines God as three divine persons) to encompass displaced parishioners from St. Francis Xavier Church in downtown Trail, which closed some time ago.

JUNE

13 - A former Trail RCMP detachment Staff Sergeant, Nick Romanchuk, has been promoted to the position of Officer in Charge of the Kelowna RCMP. Romanchuk was stationed in Trail from 2004 to 2008, when he was promoted to the rank of Inspector as the first Officer in Charge of the Kootenay Boundary RCMP and stationed in Nelson.

14 – The Columbia River has a new watchdog to guard the future of its southerly flow. Kootenay West MLA Katrine Conroy has been appointed opposition critic for the Columbia River Treaty (CRT) review after an NDP post-election reshuffle of duties.

16 – The City of Trail has been saving for a rainy day, and this year it’s time to spend some of the nest egg. A memorandum of the city’s 2012 financial audit was reviewed at council and the report revealed a surplus of cash and a hefty savings account. “The city is in a healthy position,” said Craig Teindl, City of Trail  auditor from L. Soligo & Associates Ltd. “This refers to the fact that as of Dec. 31, 2012, the city had enough cash and investments to pay off all the debt and still have some cash left over.” Teindl said that in 2012, the total revenue of the city was almost $20 million, and of that total almost $12.5 million, or 62 per cent came from property taxes. Another eye-catching figure noted in the report is the city’s $10 million in cash and short term investments.

18 – As the final graduating class of Rossland Secondary School (RSS) made its exit, the Neighbourhoods of Learning (NOL) committee and Red Mountain Academy confirmed its plans to open an independent school in Rossland this fall. The Red Mountain Academy has committed to enrolling its nine international students, but to move forward, the independent school needs to have a minimum of 33 students from grades 8-12 enrolled by June 25.

22 – The Arlington Bar and Grill got approval from Trail City Council to open at 9 a.m. for breakfast service and close earlier, at 12:30 a.m. The final approval must come from the B.C. Liquor License Board.

26 – A Trail family is trying to help victims of the flooding in Alberta. The Howell family is accepting donations, which will be loaded into a trailer and taken to Calgary to help victims of the devastating floods.

27 – Fortis BC locks out members of Local 213 of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers. The moves affects 225 employees in B.C.’s Southern Interior.