TUESDAY
MARCH 18, 2014
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Vol. 63, Issue 52
Proudly serving Cranbrook and area since 1951
www.dailytownsman.com
PAT BATES PHOTO
Last week, the first-ever bouldering competition was held at Kimberley’s new Spirit Rock Climbing Gym. Thirty competitors of all ages from Kimberley, Cranbrook, and Fernie competed on pre-set routes of varying difficulty. Bouldering is a form of gymnastic-like climbing done without ropes and harness; the only protection from falling is the thick, soft foam mats on the floor. The winner of the competition was Noah Beeks from Cranbrook.
Teck reports fatality at Coal Mountain A 59-year-old man died Sunday in a serious incident at the Sparwood mine SALLY MACDONALD Townsman Staff
A 59-year-old Teck employee died in what Teck is calling a serious incident at Coal Mountain early on Sunday, March 16. The resource company reported that the fatality occurred at about 2 a.m. on Sunday. No other employees were injured. “We wish to extend our sincere condolences to the employee’s family, friends and colleagues,” said Nic Milligan, manager of community and aboriginal affairs. Appropriate authorities, includ-
ing the Ministry of Energy and Mines, have been notified and an investigation is now underway into the incident. Kootenay East MLA and Energy and Mines Minister Bill Bennett released a statement later on Sunday. “I wish to offer my sincere condolences to the employee’s family, the workers at Coal Mountain Operations and the community,” said Bennett. The name of the deceased has not been released. Coal Mountain is located 30 kilometres southeast of Sparwood in southeastern British Columbia.
Cranbrook gets clicking More than 500 urban deer surveys were completed in the first week SALLY MACDONALD Townsman Staff
Cranbrook residents have quickly begun filling out the city’s urban deer survey, which was posted online on Monday, March 10 at www.cranbrook.ca. By Friday, March 14, more than 500 surveys had been completed both online and via paper copies available at city hall. The survey remains available until March 28 at 4:30 p.m. “I am quite happy with the early response of our residents,” said Chris Zettel, corporate communications officer with the City of Cranbrook. “I am beginning to see some trending with some of the results, but it is still too early
to make any solid conclusions yet.” The survey gives residents the chance to have a say on how the city is managing the urban deer. The results of the survey will be presented to council so it can see how residents feel about the issue and use that input to guide future direction of urban deer control. The last time the public was surveyed about urban deer was September 2010, before the first urban deer count or cull. About 1,470 residents completed the 2010 survey, with about 75 per cent of respondents saying they would like to see at least a 30 per cent decrease in Cranbrook’s
urban deer population. Since then, Cranbrook has conducted two culls: one in December 2011 and one in February 2013. All meat was distributed to the Food Bank and Street Angels. There have been some hiccups with the online survey, Zettel mentioned. “Sometimes even with the best planning and testing, little things do come up. We’ve had a couple of small issues arise shortly after the survey went public, but those have been corrected,” said Zettel. “I want to thank those residents that made us aware of those issues, so we could look after them.”
See FIND, Page 4