News from June 28 to July 6, 2010

Whitewater going for glory with new lift

Work is underway to open up the coveted Whitewater backside to powder enthusiasts via the addition of a new triple chair.  The ”Glory Ridge Chair” will ”carry riders up to a vertical drop of 2,042 feet in 11 minutes”.  A Fernie- based lift installer, Summit Lift Company, will be working steadily throughout the summer months to have the lift ready for the 2010 snow season.  Juggernaut Development Inc., a West Kootenay-based company will brush and log eight new backside runs.

No parking in city parkade

The downtown city parkade will be undergoing maintenance for the next three weeks (July 12 to July 31st).  The renovations were 15 years overdue.  The $150,000 contract was awarded to an Okanagan company.

No room for retreat on HST

The new HST (Harmonized Sales Tax) began affecting pockets of consumers starting July 1st.  The new tax is geared to provide tax relief for businesses while passing the tax burden onto individuals.  It will be up to the individual business and contractors whether or not they will pass on their tax break to customers.  There is a theory that suggests that lower business taxes may encourage businesses to expand and thus hire additional employees, or that businesses may be more likely to remain local instead.

Chamber rolls out CP station restoration plan

Primarily due to a $300 thousand dollar contribution from the Columbia Basin Trust (CBT) this past spring, the CPR station restoration has begun.  This week, the Nelson and District Chamber of Commerce, The City of Nelson and CP Rail have completed the land and property transfer agreements of this ”Class A” heritage structure.  The CPR station will house the new Visitor Gateway, along with new offices for the Chamber of Commerce, the Nelson Economic Development Partnership, the Nelson Kootenay Lake Destination Marketing Organization, with the remaining space allotted to private and public sector usage.

Interior Health undergoes restructuring

IH has undergone a major shift in terms of its executive organization.  To replace the previous senior executives who worked out of 4  distinct geographical regions, 9  vice-presidents (a less number) will work in a joined effort across the entire West Kootenay Boundary region.  IH CEO, Dr. Rob Halpenny, hopes the moves will increase consistency and efficiency of services and resources.

MEC donation helps ecological work on Darkwoods land

A $50,000 donation from Mountain Equipment Co-op topped off the Nature Conservancy of Canada’s fundraising efforts for financing the ongoing ecological work being done in the Darkwoods land.  This parcel of land forms a triangle of wilderness bridging the West Arm Provincial Park, the Midge Creek Wildlife Management Area and the Creston Valley Wildlife Management Area.  Currently, ecological inventory is being conducted, including the tagging and tracking of Grizzly Bears in order to better understand their habitat.  In order to fully remove any forestry footprints from the area, work crews have been steadily removing all remaining logging structures since tree harvesting ceased in 2008.

School District makes cuts to balance budget

Even though Kootenay Lake School District No.8 was provided with $300,000 more than last year from the government, difficult decisions were made in terms of budgeting for the upcoming 2010-2011 school year.  Cuts were made in the areas of administration and staffing at the secondary level.  Pat Dooley, the superintendent of School District 8, said that funding hasn’t increased in key areas such as transportation and labor to match the higher operating costs of those services.  SD8 has formally petitioned the Minister of Education, Margaret McDiarmid, for a cease in budget reductions, specifying that the School District cannot operate under any further reductions without deeply impacting the quality of education its students.

Last Man Standing

Reo’s Videos now remains the sole movie rental facility in Nelson, BC after the Movie Gallery officially shuts its doors this weekend.  After about three years after the Movie Gallery first filed for bankruptcy in 2007, the second largest movie rental chain is throwing in the towel.  Paul Osak, the owner of Reos is ready to step up to fill the void by continuing to cater to local interests.

After 109 years, NDN’s run is over

What might be the news of the year- Nelson Daily News (including the Weekender) has been sold by Glacier Media to Black Press and scheduled to close its news room permanently as of September 3, 2010.  25 jobs will be lost in the process.  Like many Canadian community newspapers, the NDN had been financially struggling for years due to weak subscription rates and low revenues.  However staff such as NDN/ Weekender Editor Bob Hall, were excited by the recent sudden sale of the paper to Black Press, looking forward to the new direction that the paper might take.  The notice of closure came as a total surprise to all staff involved.  Out of all the community newspapers that Glacier Media sold to Black Press, only the Nelson Daily News/ Weekender will cease operation.

Kootenay News is a regular feature of Kootenay Career Development Society.