THURSDAY
S I N C E
1 8 9 5
MAY 31, 2012
RTCC pro offers golf tips
Vol. 117, Issue 106
110
$
Page 11
INCLUDING H.S.T.
PROUDLY SERVING THE COMMUNITIES OF
ROSSLAND, WARFIELD, TRAIL, MONTROSE, FRUITVALE & SALM SALMO
Fine wine blends into art Saturday’s Art of Wine event has helped raise over $130,000 for pediatric ward BY TIMOTHY SCHAFER Times Staff
Talk about taking your taste testing to the teetotaling top. With over 100 wines set to be sampled in the ninth annual Art of Wine this Saturday night (7-10 p.m.), your taste buds — and not your gullet — will be tempted with an array of wines from 19 wineries at the Colombo Lodge. It’s a wine tasting marathon, the full-bodied art of wine painted on the palette of your palate, with proceeds going to the Kootenay Boundary Regional Hospital’s pediatric ward. A full roster of international and B.C.-bred wines — including Trail’s Columbia Gardens and Creston’s Skimmerhorn — will be stocking the cellar at Colombo Lodge for the semi-formal event that is at the top of the not-to-bemissed cultural calendar for Greater Trail. Started by Dr. Ken LeRose nine years ago, the gentlemen at Colombo Lodge have taken up the mantle of the event, carrying through on an issue that is near and dear to their hearts.
TIMOTHY SCHAFER PHOTO
The Art of Wine will run this Saturday night (7-10 p.m.) at the Colombo Lodge as Larry Martin and the rest of the Societa M.S. Cristoforo Colombo stage the ninth annual event. The benevolent Societa M.S. Cristoforo Colombo has been a patron of the pediatric ward for years, said its president, Larry Martin. Since its inception in 1905, the soci-
ety has been helping people in the area and adding in the ward, and the Art of Wine, to their purview made sense. “So now all people have to do is show up and taste a
ROSSLAND
lot of really great wines,” said Martin. “It’s a tough job, but somebody has to do it.” The society has raised over $130,000 for the ward — and over $15,000 last year — helping buy advanced equipment that could not otherwise be purchased for the hospital. “Our children benefit directly as a result,” said Martin. Winery representatives will be on hand at tables set up with the various styles of wine, with receptacles for the “sampled” fermented fruit to be discarded in. In the midst of the sampling smorgasbord, people will also be able to view a select group of Kootenay artists — who will donate 20 per cent of their sales to the pediatric ward — and partake in a feast of appetizers. In the afternoon the Art of Wine will host a trade-testing event (2:30-4:30 p.m.) in the hall as local beer and wine stores search for a selection of the best wines to suit their needs. A $50 ticket to the Art of Wine also puts you in line for thousands of dollars worth of door prizes, including several trips for two. Tickets are available at Totem Travel, Star Grocery, Bear Country Kitchen in Rossland, Fruitvale Pharmacy, Bubblees in Castlegar and Frosty’s Cold Beer and Wine Shoppe in Trail.
Pay to play City surveys citizens on cost of access to Trail’s aquatic centre BY TIMOTHY SCHAFER Times Staff
If you want to play in Trail you have to pay. In Rossland, the question of who pays what for the Trail Aquatic and Leisure Centre, how much, and in what form will come out in the wash after a month-long plebiscite question begins Friday. The City of Rossland is asking its residents for their view on the city making financial contributions through property taxation for the use of the aquatic centre. The issue has been a long standing and sorely debated one since regional recreation was dissolved in 2008 after decades of squabbling among the partners, with Trail finally imposing additional financial implications on non residents like Rosslanders after the city refused to include a pay-to-play requirement in their property taxes. Currently, Rosslanders pay a non Trail Resident Program fee, double what residents holding a valid card would shell out for daily, monthly or annual usage fees. Although the plebiscite question is nonbinding — using a simple for or against format — Rossland Mayor Greg Granstrom said the outcome will frame city’s council conscience in how to move forward. “The aquatic centre is a very costly facility to run, we are very aware of that,” he said. “And we’re also aware we have some major infrastructure work going on in the downtown right now … so every dollar we have is precious. We don’t have the nicety of a large industrial tax base.”
See SURVEY, Page 2
Montrose council backs moratorium on smart meters BY BREANNE MASSEY Times Staff
Smart meters won’t be installed on homes in Montrose if the village’s council has any input in the matter. On May 22 in its regular council meeting, village council carried a motion supporting a moratorium on the installation of smart meters in the community. Mario Como is a concerned resident of Montrose who part-
nered with the Kootenay chapter of Citizens for Safe Technology to raise concerns about the issues of smart meters. Como attended a village meeting two months ago and expressed concerns about the council’s delayed response to his request to accept a moratorium on smart meters. “Mayor (Joe) Danchuk postponed it,” said Como, “but postponing it is like putting the cart in
front of the horse.” Councillor Mary Gay put the motion forward and it was seconded by Coun. Cindy Cook, who stipulated she also wanted to support B.C. Southern Interior MP Alex Atamanenko’s presentation to Parliament to lower Safety Code 6 in regards to radio frequency. Safety Code 6 sets guidelines for utility companies to follow a certain standard and some of
the research indicates the safety code is set too high and should be lowered. “It’s too high,” said Cook during the council meeting, referring to Safety Code 6. Council supported a federal review of the code in the same motion, in light of increasing exposure to non-ionizing microwave radiation. “That was huge,” said Como referring to Cook’s stipulation.
“I’m hoping that other areas will come together because it’s going to affect everybody. It’s not just the Village of Montrose or Castlegar, everybody’s got a stake in it.” FortisBC is responsible for the Village of Montrose, but representatives were unavailable for comment about what kind of weight the village’s new motion carries, or if any smart meters have already been installed in the community.
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