MONDAY
S I N C E
1 8 9 5
JULY 30, 2012
Child’s wish is to help orphanage
Vol. 117, Issue 146
110
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Page 8
INCLUDING H.S.T.
PROUDLY SERVING THE COMMUNITIES OF
ROSSLAND, WARFIELD, TRAIL, MONTROSE, FRUITVALE & SALM SALMO
Housing holes hamper local economy: report
GREAT GREETING
BY TIMOTHY SCHAFER Times Staff
The Greater Trail region is sorely lacking in the proper housing needed to move its economy forward, according to a new attainable housing strategic plan. The Lower Columbia Region Attainable Housing Strategic Plan is calling for regional acknowledgement that proper housing is indelibly linked to future community economic development and prosperity. The year-long study—commissioned by the Lower Columbia Community Development Team through its attainable housing committee—of the local housing market revealed a housing stock in disarray. Greater Trail’s Housing stock housing market has • 65.8 per cent of the local minimal diversity, housing stock is over 40 years aging infrastructure old, compared to 31.2 per cent and is in poor conprovince-wide (43.8 per cent in Castlegar). dition, placing the • 90.4 per cent of the local region far behind housing stock is over 25 years the provincial averold, compared to 61.9 per cent province-wide (75.6 per cent in age and unable to Castlegar). meet the needs of • 55.2 per cent of the local its residents, as well housing stock requires only as new people lookregular maintenance, compared to 67.7 per cent province-wide ing to relocate. (57.5 per cent in Castlegar). The report found • 34.1 per cent of the local the percentage housing stock requires minor repair, compared to 24.9 per of Greater Trail’s cent province-wide (35.2 per housing stock to be cent in Castlegar). double the provin• 10.7 per cent of the local cial average in age housing stock requires major repair, compared to 7.4 per (over 40 years of cent province-wide (7.3 per age), and in poorer cent in Castlegar). condition than the • 79.7 per cent of the local housprovincial average. ing stock are single detached family homes, compared to And, with a very 49.2 per cent province-wide high proportion of (77.4 per cent in Castlegar). single-family dwellSource: Statistics Canada, Census 2006, 2011 ings there were not enough multifamily units, the kind important for younger people entering the housing market as well as for seniors, available. Although there is a sense there is lots of housing out there and it is cheap, it doesn’t meet the market’s needs, said the attainable housing committee’s chair, Jan Morton. “So what is happening is because there are neighbouring communities that have housing at a price and better meets market demand, people may be getting jobs in our region but they are living elsewhere,” she pointed out.
See REPORT, Page 3
JIM BAILEY PHOTO
Hastings’ Kolby Buljevic gets mobbed by teammates after leading off the B.C. Little League championship game with a home run Saturday at Andy Bilesky Park. That hit would prove to be the winning run in Hastings’ 20-0 win over White Rock. Hastings now advances to the Canadian Little League championship in Edmonton next month. See story and more photos on Page 9.
Province commits cash for rural health No details on how money will be spent BY TIMOTHY SCHAFER Times Staff
Cash is coming from the province to help rural areas like Trail retain its doctors, but just how that money will be
spent is still not known, said the former head of the area’s surgical department. Dr. Andre De Greef said there was $10 million put aside in the new deal between the province and its doctors last week to address the problem of retaining rural doctors,
but the details of that agreement have yet to be worked out. He said doctors should know final results of the deal by mid October. “The BC Medical Association sent out a memo on how (the fund) is yet to be
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determined, how the money will be applied, and where it is going to go,” he said. “Nothing is definite at this stage.” On July 23 the province’s doctors ratified a new fouryear agreement expected to support efforts to recruit and
See UNIQUE, Page 3
Contact the Times: Phone: 250-368-8551 Fax: 250-368-8550 Newsroom: 250-364-1242