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JUNE 13, 2012 Vol. 117, Issue 115
110
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Music in the Park returns Page 3
INCLUDING H.S.T.
PROUDLY SERVING THE COMMUNITIES OF
ROSSLAND, WARFIELD, TRAIL, MONTROSE, FRUITVALE & SALM SALMO
Trail taps into water conservation BY BREANNE MASSEY Times Staff
How much water is being used changes drastically during the summer, but a group of water ambassadors are encouraging residents to use water more efficiently this season. The Columbia Basin Trust (CBT) introduced a smart water program in 2009, but this is the first year that Trail has tapped into it. Three water ambassadors have been assigned to educate communities about water conservation, as well as offer free residential landscape and irrigation system audits for the summer. There are 12 communities across the Columbia Basin that are currently participating in similar programs. “(Their) primary goal is to reduce peak water consumption in the summer months (because) this is when the highest amount of water use occurs,” said Betty Anne Marino, promotions coordinator for the City of Trail. “It’s largely due to outdoor watering.” Marnie Kavanagh (Rossland), Diana Lupieri (Montrose/Fruitvale) and Ryan Macklon have been hired to get the word out. “I’ll be riding around on my bike basically going door to door,” said Macklon. “We’re trying to sign up people for lawn and garden assessments
ler system to check for any damage, including misalignment causing overspray, head to head coverage, and the pressure on sprinkler heads. “It’s like being a consultant,” said Macklon. “We don’t do any repairs, but we can give them advice. The local water ambassadors collaborate to create public displays and raise awareness about the importance of water conservation in the community. “A lot of people don’t even know how their automatic sprinkler systems work, right? They just get somebody come in and install it for them and a lot of people aren’t sure of how to operate it so we can work with them and teach them how to use their system and how to use it most effectively to save water.” Another aspect of the water ambassador job this season is to give public demonstrations about water conservation topics, including xeriscaping. Upcoming demonstrations begin at the Waneta Plaza Sidewalk Sale on June 17 BREANNE MASSEY PHOTO between 11 a.m. and noon Ryan Macklon extracts a soil sample he’ll use in the free lawn to 4:30 p.m. They will also be appearing at the Esplanade assessments provided by local water ambassadors. Market and the Rossland and we’re doing surveys about determine the type of soil in Farmer’s Market until the end garden and water use.” the homeowners’ yard, which of August. The water ambassadors determines how owners For more information or to conduct free lawn and gar- should be watering their yards sign up for a free garden assessden assessments on any- to use water more efficiently. ment, contact Macklon at 250one’s property. Typically this They also run through all the 231-1142 and watersmart@ involves taking soil samples to zones on an automatic sprink- trail.ca.
Grandmothers raising funds for African kids BY BREANNE MASSEY Times Staff
Neighborhood Grans to Grans is small organization with a big heart. The Greater Trail-chapter works with other grass roots communities in the region and the Stephen Lewis Foundation to raise money for African communities, its goal is to raise money for children who lost “We have so their parents from HIV/AIDS. much and we Neighborhood have no Grans to Grans is concept of the hosting a Strawberry Tea fundraiser on people there June 23 between who have so 1:30 and 3:30 p.m. in little.” the Rossland Seniors’ Hall admission is $3. JOAN MCKENZIE Ninety per cent of the financial contributions earned will go to directly to people throughout Africa who need it most. “I have done volunteer work in a primary health care situation in Ghana in 1988-89,” said Joan McKenzie. “It definitely influenced me to get involved with this (because) the AIDS epidemic there was still in its infancy and we certainly had people dying of AIDS and at that time, it was not an internationally recognized disease. The problem has been growing ever since.” McKenzie worked in Northern Ghana and witnessed a community filled with vulnerable people and returning to life in Canada was a huge adjustment. “We have so much and we have no concept of the people there who have so little,” said McKenzie.
See MILLIONS, Page 3
Positive outlook for Lower Columbia region economy BY TIMOTHY SCHAFER Times Staff
There is no bust apparent in the economic boom that is gripping the Lower Columbia region, according to a recent economic outlook released by the Lower Columbia Initiatives Corporation. Driven by metallurgy and healthcare— with over three quarters (2,500) of
those in Trail working for either Teck Trail Operations or the Interior Health Authority—the area’s residents have enjoyed wages and employment opportunities that have proven to be recession resilient. And those industries are rosy right now, a factor that has helped Trail weather the recent financial downturn that has afflicted most
areas of the West Kootenay, said Sandy Santori, the executive director of the Lower Columbia Initiatives Corporation (LCIC). In the LCIC’s “2012 Economic Outlook” the economic future of the region is positive, he said. “With over $1.25 billion in projects currently underway, the 2012 Economic Outlook … can be summar-
ized as an economic boom in the short-term, and as stable with steady incremental growth in the longterm,” Santori said. He noted that the metallurgical sector has experienced consistent growth in Trail, bucking a trend of downsizing across the industry, as illustrated by the signing a new five-year agreement between Teck
and its two biggest unions last Friday. The economic marketing analysis done by the MMM Group out of Kelowna for the City of Trail’s “Downtown Plan” said the long history of Greater Trail’s two major employers—having gone through various economic and political cycles—suggested the employment at the two organizations was
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likely to remain stable. In the downtown plan, it was noted that Teck provided over 1,500 direct jobs in 2010, contributing to a wide range of indirect and trickle-down employment opportunities in Greater Trail. Teck’s contribution to the local economy was $200 million in 2009.
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