WEDNESDAY
S I N C E
DECEMBER 12, 2012
Transit open house explains changes
1 8 9 5
Vol. 117, Issue 230
110
$
Page 2
INCLUDING H.S.T.
PROUDLY SERVING THE COMMUNITIES OF ROSSLAND, WARFIELD, TRAIL, MONTROSE, FRUITVALE & SALMO
New provincial wildfire plan fails to douse concerns
WARFIELD
Council kicks in for carbon offsets BY SHERI REGNIER Times Staff
Changes to strategic Wildfire Prevention Initiative take effect Jan. 1 BY TIMOTHY SCHAFER Times Staff
A new provincial cost sharing formula for reducing the threat of wildfires has not sparked the interest of the regional district. Larry Gray, chair of the Regional District of Kootenay Boundary (RDKB) board of directors, said the new program does address some funding concerns, but it does not go far enough to deal with the major issue facing governments like the RDKB. Gray said the formula contains no provision for wildfire mitigation on private property and managed forest lands. “And many of our communities are sur“Should the rounded, almost exclutaxpayers be sively, by privately held paying money lands,” he said. The new cost-sharto do the mitigation on ing formula for operational fuel reduction Crown lands treatments means the when they are province will pay 90 per cent of the project cost, really owned with an annual cap of by the $400,000 for municipalities and an annual cap provincial government?” of $600,000 for regional districts. LARRY GRAY The remaining 10 per cent of costs can be an in-kind contribution (e.g. staff time) or a cash payment from the municipality or regional district making the application. Previously, the initiative provided 90 per cent of the project funding up to $100,000 and 75 per cent of the remaining cost, up to a maximum of $400,000 per year. Gray was also adamant the regional district taxpayers should not have to pay any of the 10 per cent of the costs for mitigation on Crown land. “We have some concern about that, that the property really belongs to the government,” he said. “Should the taxpayers be paying money to do the mitigation on Crown lands when they are really owned by the provincial government?” Fuel management is the ongoing process of mitigating the risk of wildfire damage by reducing the amount of waste wood, tree needles, brush and other flammable material that could “fuel” a grassland fire or forest fire. The change through the Strategic Wildfire See TREATMENTS, Page 3
TIMOTHY SCHAFER PHOTO
Norm Laybourne rings the Salvation Army bell to help raise funds for the social service organization, as well as to repay a debt he feels he owes the Army.
The Village of Warfield council members agreed to support the Regional District of Kootenay Boundary (RDKB), carbon neutral project by kicking in $3,600 towards its 2012 carbon offset purchases. The “Carbon Neutral Kootenays” report was met with mixed reviews at Monday’s council meeting. “We had a presentation about the Darkwood Forest area, where they are doing some positive carbon neutral studies, so instead of paying the taxes to the government you can buy carbon credits locally,” said Warfield Mayor Bert Crockett. The village received a provincial grant for $3,531, so the carbon offset payment is basically cost neutral, said Vince Morelli, chief administrative officer for the village. “We have to pay it, and that is that,” said Coun. John Crozier. The money will go to the Nature Conservancy of Canada’s Darkwoods preservation project near Creston. Carbon offsetting refers to paying others to remove carbon dioxide emitted from the atmosphere, for example by planting trees or by funding carbon projects that should lead to the prevention of future greenhouse gas emissions. The report stated that local governments in the Kootenays spend about $11 million on energy and generate about 20,000 metric tons of carbon dioxide emissions,
Jobless rate dips, Kettle duty pays family debt job seekers grow BY TIMOTHY SCHAFER Times Staff
Norm Laybourne rings the Salvation Army bell and mans the donation kettle with a discernible determination. Standing in the hallway of the Waneta Mall four times per week, Laybourne positions himself unabashedly in the midst of the holiday traffic, ringing the bell, hoping to attract the attention of change-laden shoppers who might be convinced to lighten their load. Laybourne has taken up the mantle as volunteer for the Army in their annual fundraising drive at Christmas time for the last 10 years, something he does not do begrudgingly: he’s paying back a debt.
Over 70 years ago Laybourne was a lad of 13, living on his parents farm near Ponteix, Sask. It was during the Second World War and his eldest brother, Vic, had been serving in the Canadian Army and was stationed overseas in Holland. Norm still remembers the day his parents got a letter from the Department of Defence saying Vic was missing in action and was presumed dead, his dog tag missing. “But my mother said he was not missing, that he wasn’t dead,” Norm recalled. “So she got ahold of the Salvation Army and they found him alive in the hospital in Holland with no identification.” See SALVATION, Page 3
BY TIMOTHY SCHAFER Times Staff
Although the unemployment rate in the Kootenay region dropped in November, Statistics Canada has noted more people were looking for work in that month. The national statistical agency set the unemployment for the region at 6.9 per cent in November, compared to 7.7 per cent in October, a drop of almost one full percentage point. However, the news is far from rosy as the 2012 rate is up .5 per cent from the 6.4 per cent unemployment rate in November of 2011. And even as unemployment drops the labour force grows and more people are looking for work. Around 1,200 more people were looking for work in November than in October. Provincial unemployment was up slightly from last month, to 6.8 per cent from 6.7 per cent. See HOURLY, Page 3
Contact the Times: Phone: FineLine250-368-8551 Technologies 62937 Index 9 Fax:JN250-368-8550 80% 1.5 BWR NU Newsroom: 250-364-1242
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