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OCTOBER 16, 2012 Vol. 117, Issue 197
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Trail golfer off to nationals Page 11
INCLUDING H.S.T.
PROUDLY SERVING THE COMMUNITIES OF ROSSLAND, WARFIELD, TRAIL, MONTROSE, FRUITVALE & SALMO
COLOURFUL BACKDROP
City satisfied with B.C. Hydro’s flood response Councillor called for inquiry into damage BY TIMOTHY SCHAFER Times Staff
A Trail city council decision to let BC Hydro off the hook for its part in Columbia Basin-wide flood cleanup has one city councillor outraged. Robert Cacchioni said council seems satisfied that everything that could be done was done when a near record river level in July left the city on the hook for over $35,000 in repairs to the Columbia Pollution Control Centre (CPCC) and its Glenmerry Lift Station. Council had been asking BC Hydro for an explanation as to why the waters were allowed to rise so high and damage much infrastructure in Trail and throughout the Columbia Basin. A week ago council voted—with only Cacchioni against—to forego the request for an inquiry into BC Hydro’s actions after meeting with Crown corporation officials late last month in Victoria. “I’m of the opinion, in terms of political action, responsibility to tax-
payers—because it comes down to taxpayer’s dollars—that an inquiry should be forthcoming to see exactly what was done, how it was done, whether it was done appropriately and, coming out of that, what could be done in subsequent years,” Cacchioni said. He said his concern arises out of the fact that the big weather events that previously occurred once every 100 years —like the one this year— will now be every one in five years as climate change advances. In mid-September Cacchioni called for new flood control levels and asked BC Hydro to look at its permits for allowable water runoff levels. If the permit levels—or the water level allowed—were set too high they would affect where the sewage treatment plant’s outflows and the pumps were working. And the costs have rolled in as a result. The repairs, contractor’s fees, consultant’s fees and regional district staff overtime resulted in significant expenses are estimated to be about $200,000, with up to $190,000 still to come.
See CITY, Page 3
COMMUNITIES IN BLOOM
Trail recognized for floral displays More cooperation needed to win coveted international honour BY TIMOTHY SCHAFER Times Staff
GUY BERTRAND PHOTO
Mondays are often known to be blue but Garret Pickard of Focus Communications had the colourful backdrop of West Trail awaiting him as he worked on some fibre optic lines for Telus along Spokane St. in downtown on Monday.
Greater community participation in beautification is needed before the city can reach the final rung of the Communities in Bloom competition, says a local Community in Bloom committee member days after the city was given high marks for its performance in the international competition. Lana Rodlie said Monday the fivebloom rating and a special mention the city received at the awards ceremony on the weekend in Edmonton is as high as the Silver City can hope to attain, falling just short of the international title. She said the local committee has taken care of the aesthetics of the
city—planting flowers and cleaning the streets—but the stuff that is really going to spearhead the city into the winner’s circle still hasn’t come to pass. She said local groups like the Downtown Association have to come on board, as well as the Trail and District Chamber of Commerce and the Lower Columbia Community Development Team, as well as neighbourhood community groups, need to lend a hand. “We need these groups to start meeting together on a regular basis and to focus getting our whole town wrapped around the whole program, not just on flowers and street cleaning programs,” she said. “We need cooperation from everybody.” Trail was edged out by St. Martin’s Parish, Guernsey, Channel Islands
See JUDGES, Page 3
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