THURSDAY
S I N C E
1 8 9 5
MARCH 22, 2012
Science whiz offers new ideas for home heat
Vol. 117, Issue 58
110
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Page 9
INCLUDING H.S.T.
PROUDLY SERVING THE COMMUNITIES OF
ROSSLAND, WARFIELD, TRAIL, MONTROSE, FRUITVALE & SALM SALMO
THE TASTE OF VICTORY
Teachers’ union aims to kill bill Provincial vote in April could prompt walkouts BY VALERIE ROSSI Times Staff
Greater Trail teachers could be asked to walk off the job in attempt to kill a bill that has ended Phase 1 of their job action. Kootenay Columbia Teachers Union representative Andy Davidoff arrived back in town Wednesday after participating in a four-day session on the B.C. Teachers’ Federation’s next move. “The bottom line is that we have examined a full range of options for us to take,” he said. “We are definitely going to do everything we can to kill Bill 22 and will hold a provincial vote on withdrawal of services, extra curricular services and possibly a full withdrawal of service.” The votes will be cast April 17 and 18 but in the meantime school will
be normal for Kootenay Columbia students coming back from spring break Monday. A second member vote would have to be held with majority support before the union approves any strike action that would defy Bill 22 and trigger fines of $1.3 million a day for the union and $475 a day for individual teachers. In the meantime, the B.C. Teachers’ Federation plans to launch a legal challenge against the bill that passed last week to end limited job action that started last fall on the first day of school. “The message is that Bill 22 needs to be killed and the government’s actions continue to be draconian,” said Davidoff. “This legislation is being introduced against teachers first but all of the other public service sector and even private unions know that they’re next.”
Pacific Coastal beefs up service to Trail BY VALERIE ROSSI Times Staff JIM BAILEY PHOTO
Members of the Campbell River Tyees bantam team sunk their teeth into their gold medals after downing the Burnaby Winter Club 2-1 in overtime in the final game of the B.C. Tier 2 Bantam championship at the Cominco Arena on Wednesday. See Page 10 for more.
Avalanche strikes heli-skiers BY VALERIE ROSSI Times Staff
The Trail hospital’s heliport was in action Wednesday afternoon when two patients were transported by helicopter following an avalanche that struck a small group of heli-skiers in the Bonnington Mountain range near Blewett in the morning. Police are releasing limited information at this time but
B.C. RCMP Cpl. Dan Moskaluk confirms that one man is dead and another person has lifethreatening injuries. “At this time we can confirm that the guide and one of the skier’s were able to self rescue themselves suffering only minor injuries and were able to dig out the remaining parties,” he said in the initial news release. The second skier, a woman,
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died later in the day as a result of her injuries. RCMP were notified of the avalanche at about 10 a.m. Wednesday morning and then immediately activated Nelson Search and Rescue (SAR) but SAR stood down shortly after, as the heli-ski operator had activated its emergency protocol with assets in position to immediately respond, rescue and remove the group.
Pacific Coastal is expanding its service to the Trail Airport with significant schedule improvements taking flight this spring. The airline will run an evening trip to and from Vancouver Sunday through Friday and add an additional Saturday flight starting April 10, which coincides with the six-year anniversary of operation at the local facility. “We have seen healthy growth in the region over the last couple of years and we just thought we wanted to be able to continue to give the market an opportunity to continue to grow so we wanted to give it some more capacity,” said Spencer Smith, vice president of commercial services. “We’re excited about it, it’s really going to be interesting to see how the region responds.”
The Richmond-based company opened its operation in Trail on April 10, 2006, offering a single flight from Vancouver seven days a week. Strong local support and growing passenger numbers led to the addition of a second weekday flight about six months later. The new spring/summer schedule was designed to provide Greater Trail residents more travel options and greater convenience, especially with the addition of a second flight on Saturday and the latest departure time (just after 8 p.m.) from Trail offered by any airline in the region Sunday through Friday. The intent is to maintain the extended schedule until Daylight Saving Time kicks in and the days get shorter and the airline can no longer operate that late due to dark conditions.
Kootenay Savings’ 10% profit sharing dividend this year has put $3.7 million back into our members’ pockets and our local economy. Join us and put your money where your heart is for all the right reasons.
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