WEDNESDAY
S I N C E
OCTOBER 2, 2013
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Vol. 118, Issue 155
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Harvest time at organic vineyard Page 2
PROUDLY SERVING THE COMMUNITIES OF ROSSLAND, WARFIELD, TRAIL, MONTROSE, FRUITVALE & SALMO
Committee hears ideas for next B.C. budget
EARTH RANGERS VISIT LOCAL SCHOOLS
BY SHERI REGNIER Times Staff
JIM BAILEY PHOTO
Earth Ranger Meghan Woodworth had the attention of St. Michael’s students on Tuesday morning for her demonstration of animal behaviour. Woodworth brought a Harris’s Hawk, whiptail lizard and a barn owl (shown in photo) to the school for the presentation. The Earth Rangers School Outreach Program is visiting 550 schools across Canada to share its conservation message and educate students about protecting animals and their habitat. The program is visiting nine schools in the Greater Trail area thanks to its partnership with Teck.
Harvest Rescue serves double purpose BY SHERI REGNIER Times Staff
Harvest Rescue isn’t just about keeping the bears out of the neighbourhood. For a number of years, WildSafeBC (formerly known as Bear Aware) has been in the community ready to pick fruit from trees to deter the forage of bears, but this year a group of volunteers is ready to pick and bring the fresh bounty home for their families to enjoy. “I think most people who are on the list to pick fruit do so because they
don’t have mature trees of their own,” said Sita Lawson, volunteer for Harvest Rescue in Trail, Montrose and Fruitvale. “It’s more about getting involved to make use of the fruit and not letting it go to waste.” Harvest Rescue volunteers are ready to pick fruit at homes where the homeowner is absent, elderly or incapacitated. “Once in a while if the homeowner can’t do it themselves we will go and clean up the area if the fruit is not useful.”
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Recently Lawson volunteered to pick fruit that was small and riddled with worms. “I went over and picked and took the fruit to the bird rescue (BEAKS) in Castlegar so even that didn’t go to waste.” The Rossland Community Garden in Jubilee Park is the site of the annual Community Fruit Press Day on Saturday from 10 a.m. until 4 p.m., which is an event for people to bring in apples to press into juice. See BEARS, Page 3
AM AM
The all-party committee on finance and government got an earful from Kootenay residents during the public consultation meeting in Trail Tuesday morning. Every fall, a select standing committee of MLAs host 17 public consultations across B.C. to give citizens an opportunity to present ideas for next year’s provincial budget. Although each community has its own unique concerns, an overall message the MLAs are hearing is the need for a balanced budget, according to Dan Ashton, Penticton’s MLA and committee chair. Ashton might be “I’ve heard loud a familiar name to and clear that local citizens. His people realize family owned the well known retail times are difficult store, Ashton’s and there are Ladies Wear, in constraints.” downtown Trail until the early DAN ASHTON 2000’s. “I’ve heard loud and clear that people realize times are difficult and there are constraints,” said Ashton. “But people want government to ensure those hard earned tax dollars are looked after and that they want a balanced budget.” Ashton conceded that during the public meetings, speakers from municipalities, and various societies, agencies and education institutions are asking the committee to consider increasing allotments to keep up with inflationary times, which was a recurring theme during the Trail meeting. Selkirk College Student’s Union representatives Natalia Swartz and Zachary Crispin were first to speak, and emphasized how funding cuts have impacted the student body as a whole. “Cuts in funding increase student debt and create a system that does not meet the needs of high quality accessible education,” said Swartz. She recommended an increase in funding to the college, a decrease in tuition fees, elimination of student loan interest and further non-repayable student aid programs. Columbia Basin Alliance for Literacy members spoke about the key role the program plays in educating adults and families of all ages, and asked for $2.5 million to “support literacy in our province.” Selkirk College representatives submitted a written report to the committee and emphasized the challenge to provide education and training to meet the needs of the workforce in See REPORT, Page 3
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