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Year in review - July

The Trail Times recaps notable events from July 2015 including improved internet access and the Waneta Expansion opening

3 – Kootenay Savings and Credit Union consolidates Trail and Warfield branches. The Warfield branch, which opened in 1956 as the Warfield Credit Union, will continue to offer ATM and night deposit services.

8 – A nighttime video of Trail, produced by 19-year-old Eric Gonzalez, has become an Internet hit. The video, shot during the quiet nighttime hours, features still shots and drone footage overlooking the Columbia River and Teck.

9 – The federal government handed the Columbia Basin Trust $3.34 million to improve Internet access for rural residents in the Kootenay region. The work, which is expected to be completed by 2017, will improve access for residents living rurally in Ross Spur, Rossland and Genelle among other Kootenay locations.

9 – The regional health community is working together to attract young physicians to the area. The Kootenay Boundary Rural Family Practice Residency Program is aimed to make young physicians feel welcomed in the area and entice them to remain in the region to continue their careers.

10  - Special guests and dignitaries were on hand  for the Waneta Expansion grand opening. The $900 million, 335 MW project is located near Trail, downstream from the Waneta Dam on the Pend d’Oreille River.

13 – The federal government continued to dole out cash in the area. Three announcements were made locally which includes, $750,000 to the Kootenay Association for Science and Technology, to establish a metallurgical incubator in Trail; over $1 million for the Trail armoury to upgrade its facility; $2 million between the federal and provincial government to Rossland for new water mains.

21 – Crews respond to a small wildfire near Casino and quickly bring it under control. It foreshadowed a busy time ahead for firefighters.

22 - Pierre Cloutier stopped in Trail along his trek across Canada in a wagon train. The Quebecer completed his 4,000-kilometre cross-Canada trip in 290 days and finished in Vernon at the end of August.

22 – The first poll for the new South Okanagan-West Kootenay riding shows the NDP holding 44 per cent of the support in the federal election followed by the Conservatives at 20 per cent and the Liberals at 9 per cent.

25 – After missing for 11 days, Trail’s Gavin Ballard was discovered by search crews in a wooded area of the Pend d’Oreille. The 23-year-old was reported missing on July 14 and extensive searches scoured areas above Sunningdale before his abandoned car was spotted near the Buckley Campground.

31 – The City of Trail and the Beaver Valley Recreation Committee agree to a one-year deal for a recreation agreement. The deal will allow residents from Fruitvale, Montrose and Area A to use Trail facilities at Trail resident rates. BV Rec withdrew from the City of Trail recreation in 2013 and launched its own recreation payment system to various degrees of success. The one-year deal goes into affect Sept. 1.