TUESDAY
S I N C E
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AUGUST 28, 2012 Vol. 117, Issue 166
110
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Calvin warms up to Blaze Page 12
INCLUDING H.S.T.
PROUDLY SERVING THE COMMUNITIES OF
ROSSLAND, WARFIELD, TRAIL, MONTROSE, FRUITVALE & SALM SALMO
SPARKLING STREETS
Cougar invades Sunningdale home Animal tracked down and killed by Conservation officer BY TIMOTHY SCHAFER Times Staff
TIMOTHY SCHAFER PHOTO
It was a clean start to the week for Ben Corbett, maintenance man for Kootenay Savings, as he washed off the sidewalk in front of the credit union, and then installed “structures” to discourage pigeons from roosting above the entrances.
An “emancipated” cougar walked right into a Sunningdale neighbourhood home on Saturday evening and attacked a woman while she was sitting on her living room sofa. A very old female cougar that was too weak from starvation to hunt in the normal fashion tried to find a quick meal at the Glen Drive residence on the edge of the neighbourhood. “This is an extremely rare occurrence and was driven by the animal’s desperation for food,” said Trail RCMP Sgt. Rob Hawton in a press release. Earlier this month the president of the Trail Wildlife Association (TWA), Terry Hanik, raised the alarm of a rise in predators in the region. Hanik said cougars and wolves were pushing into the area, adding their numbers to the plethora of coyotes already plaguing the backcountry and eroding the deer population. Former TWA president Rick Fillmore felt the network of power lines, logging roads and pipeline right-of-ways crisscross-
ing B.C. contributed to a corridor that allowed predators to be very mobile in their pursuit of prey— and it explained how so many predators have made it into the Greater Trail region. Those corridors have led the predators into more settled areas where the deer have been thriving for years, he said. With dwindling deer populations, however, the predators are looking further a field. On Saturday around 8:30 p.m. that field was in Sunningdale. “The woman was in her house with a number of puppies when the cougar walked in through an open door and attacked her on the sofa,” said Hawton. With the help of her dog the woman fought the cougar off and subsequently chased it out of the house. As a result, the woman received a couple of minor injuries to her upper leg from the cougar’s claws. Hawton said the cougar was gone upon the arrival of police and a subsequent search was not successful. B.C. Conservation officers were called in and eventually tracked down and destroyed the cougar Monday morning. After being contacted Monday for details on the attack and the predator situation in the area conservation officers did not reply.
Crowe offering a head start on high school year BY BREANNE MASSEY Times Staff
Moving into high school is a bit like getting an apartment for the first time, according to J.L. Crowe school counsellor Loretta Jones. Instead of skulking shyly down a hallway or getting lost on their first day at high school, new students and Grade 8’s can now feel confident thanks to a transition program developed several years ago. The program allows new
pupils the opportunity to adopt a locker, make it their own and map out a pathway to their classes for the next five years of their lives without the added pressure from older students around them. “We feel it’s one of the best things we could offer a prospective Grade 8 student and their parents to make them feel more comfortable and cause that stress level to go right down on the first day of school,” Jones said. “(Through this) kids are
prepared; they feel much more comfortable if they’ve got a friend and know the building. We feel it’s a super resource for us.” On Thursday between 9-11 a.m. students can move into their lockers early, tour the school and fill out their timetables with help from senior students in the leadership program. In addition school officials will be offering workshops about coping with social issues.
See ENROLMENT, Page 3
ummer It’s the last week of s ou holidays..everything y ... t a is l o o h c s o t k c a b r need fo • Free parking
• Food court
OPEN OP PEN EN 7 DAYS A WEEK • THURSDAY AND FRIDAY UNTIL 9 PM • Free kids playroom and ball pit 250.368.5202 5 min. east of Trail on Highway 3B
BREANNE MASSEY PHOTO
J.L. Crowe Secondary School counselor Loretta Jones helped Danae Gagnon fill out registration forms for her twin daughters at J. L. Crowe. The Gagnon’s recently moved to Greater Trail from Alberta and will be entering Grade 8 next week.
Contact the Times: Phone: 250-368-8551 Fax: 250-368-8550 Newsroom: 250-364-1242 Canada Post, Contract number 42068012