FRIDAY
< Cranbrook and the Boer War
JANUARY 24, 2014
Sam Steele heads for South Africa | Page 7
‘Next’ and ‘Exquisite Hour’ >
CCT productions open tonight, Friday, Jan. 24 | Page 2
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Vol. 63, Issue 17
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Council prepares for industrial grow ops ARNE PETRYSHEN Townsman Staff
Council passed first and second reading to a bylaw that will allow medical marijuana grow operations to be located in an industrial zone in the city. The move comes in anticipation of new federal regulations concerned with licensing of medical marijuana grow operations. Mayor Wayne Stetski said up until now Ottawa has set the locations, but under the new federal legislation it will soon be under the authority
of municipalities. “We need some bylaws to deal with where they’re going to go,” Stetski said, noting that council had spoken to MP David Wilks on the matter. “MP Wilks’s recommendation was probably we should be trying to limit this to industrial zones, so that you don’t have medical marijuana grow operations in residential areas around Cranbrook.” Coun. Gerry Warner said he has mixed feelings about the medical marijuana industry.
“Certainly forty years ago when I was in university, I never smoked cigarettes in my life, but I did my share of pot smoking there for a few years,” Warner said. “I sure never thought I’d see the day that I’d be sitting on a coun-
cil somewhere, in Cranbrook, helping to legislate a place to grow this stuff, which was then highly illegal.” Warner asked where could be a better place to grow pot than Cranbrook,
which is touted as the sunniest place in B.C. The pending regulations are based on Health Canada requirements and require a minimum 100 metre setback for medical marijuana grow operations within the M-2
Industrial Zone from a residential zone, school, childcare facility, playground or park use, intended to minimize potential land use conflicts.
See CITY, Page 5
Longtime Boys and Girls Club director retires ARNE PETRYSHEN Townsman Staff
After 25 years as an integral part of the Cranbrook Boys and Girls Club, Gord Johnston is stepping away from it to focus on his position in Habitat for Humanity. Johnston started on the board in 1988. He spent five years as a member of the board, then became executive director in 1993 and stayed in that position up until Dec. 2013. “It seems like a long time, but also seems like just yesterday,” he said. “I love the job, I could have stayed there forever. It’s a great job. But I kind of moved on to Habitat
“It seems like a long time, but it also seems like just yesterday. I love the job, I could have stayed there forever. It’s a great job” Gord Johnston for Humanity, I wanted to get that going. It’s time for some young people to come in and take over and take it in whatever direction they see fit.”
See JOHNSTON, Page 3
ARNE PETRYSHEN PHOTO
Sue Inshaw, Kristi McRae and Chelsey Dormer (left to right) are the owners of One Love Hot Yoga in Cranbrook. The yoga studio uses infrared panels to add heat to the traditional yoga sequence. See page 5 for a business feature.
Saturday January 25th
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