WEDNESDAY
S I N C E
1 8 9 5
OCTOBER 24, 2012 Vol. 117, Issue 202
110
$
Judges grade local wines Page 2
INCLUDING H.S.T.
PROUDLY SERVING THE COMMUNITIES OF ROSSLAND, WARFIELD, TRAIL, MONTROSE, FRUITVALE & SALMO
TRICK OR TREAT?
Region gets an early taste of winter BY GUY BERTRAND Times Staff
JIM BAILEY PHOTO
The newly fallen snow was a treat for ski enthusiasts but more of a trick for motorists and this scary Halloween character guarding a home on Davis Street in Fruitvale Tuesday morning.
Lead and dust levels continue to drop
BY TIMOTHY SCHAFER Times Staff
Lead and dust falls from Teck Trail Operations have been on a downward trend in the summer, but the levels in the air in Tadanac still remain high, says an official with the mining giant. In a September meeting of the Trail Health and Environment Committee, Teck superintendent
Winter is a part of life in the West Kootenay but its arrival often catches people by surprise. Such was the case on Tuesday as residents woke up to a variety of levels of snow accumulation from 22 centimetres in high elevations to a light covering in the valley. “We had a cold air mass for a couple of days then some moisture came up from the south,” explained Chris Cowan, weather forecaster for the Southeast Fire Centre. “But I don’t think winter is here for good yet.” He added there was over 15 ml of rain recorded in Castlegar Tuesday morning while snow dumped over 20 cm in the mountain ranges. “There’s a base of snow (in the mountains) that won’t go away. Some of it will melt but not all of it.” That’s good news for skiers but bad news for drivers. The West Kootenay Traffic Service was reporting several small accidents over the last few days including
of environmental remediation Mark Tinholt said in his air quality report that Teck has reduced overall metal emissions through equipment upgrades, changes to plant processes and improving maintenance and operations. This has resulted in a 95 per cent decrease in emissions of metals to air and water, something that has been decreasing since the
ARNE PETRYSHEN PHOTO
City of Rossland employee Curtis Nichols, spent Tuesday morning shovelling the more than 20 centimetres of snow that fell on the city. one Tuesday morning between the Nancy Greene Junction and Castlegar. Two people were reportedly taken to the Trail hospital. “Unfortunately this is usually what we see in the first week or two after the first snowfall,” said Sergeant Derrick Donovan. “We’ve had a few accidents over the last couple of days on the passes.” He also warned motorists of black ice. With near freezing temperatures and the road surface even cooler, the chance of black ice forming is very high. Cowan said drivers should expect those conditions for the rest
mid-1990s. The total suspended particulate is on a downward trend for East Trail and the hospital area, Tinholt noted, but the opposite was true for Tadanac, likely due to fugitive dust emissions. “Tadanac does have a higher concentration and it is closer,” said Tinholt. In January of 2011, the lead
O.A.C.
stk#13-13
See RAIN, Page 3
in dust falls rose to .1 milligrams per square decimeter hour (mg/ dm2), the highest it had been in six years. It reached .8 mg/dm2 one year later in 2012. Teck has recently initiated a focused fugitive dust project, with the objective of further reducing fugitive emissions from the company’s site.
See AIR, Page 3
Contact the Times: Phone: 250-368-8551 Fax: 250-368-8550 Newsroom: 250-364-1242
Champion Chev has an acre full of 2013 Pickups! ,*+- AG= Mc_ll[ =l_q =[\ .r. $ Starting at 33,750 % plus 0 financing! fom Jfo ;me [\ion Î=[mb `il =fohe_lmÏ <_mn Nlo]e Q[ll[hns4 `il [h _rnl[ ,&/** +0*&***egm jiq_lnl[ch
of the week. “It could be messy in the passes but it should clear up by Sunday.” Drive BC was reporting Tuesday morning of compact snow and slushy sections all the way from Christina Lake to Trail and from Trail to Salmo. Meanwhile with the sudden snow comes the sudden surge of motorists looking to put winter tires on their vehicles. And Tuesday was no exception. “It’s pretty crazy,” said Verna Dickson at OK Tire in Trail. “In all the years we’ve had the business I don’t remember it being this booked up this far in advance.”
Canada Post, Contract number 42068012
Trail BC
2880 Highway Drive Trail 250-368-9134 DLN #30251 www.championgm.com