WEDNESDAY
S I N C E
APRIL 23, 2014
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1 8 9 5
Vol. 119, Issue 63
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PROUDLY SERVING THE COMMUNITIES OF ROSSLAND, WARFIELD, TRAIL, MONTROSE, FRUITVALE & SALMO
Sport passes increase the price to play
Teck ponders cutbacks due market
GLASS ACT
BY SHERI REGNIER
BY SHERI REGNIER
After politics entered the arena and gave a one-two punch to recreation in the City of Trail, it’s the parents of young ballplayers left feeling the sting this baseball season. Compared to minor hockey expenses that range from $150 to $500, minor baseball fees in Trail have traditionally been much less costly, falling between $40 and $100 depending upon the age of the child. With the collapse of cost sharing recreation agreements and Trail Residency Program (TRP) cards no longer in play between Trail and surrounding communities this year, Warfield parents now have to purchase a sports pass at a cost of $204 per child on top of registration fees. Meaning, before a five-year old from Warfield can take a crack at a ball at Andy Bilesky Park, the parent has to cough up $244 and wait for reimbursement from the village. Other minor sports will see a similar impact depending on where you live and what facilities are available in the respective community. For example, Warfield minor hockey players are subject to a $373 fee on top of registration costs, while soccer players will pay an additional $204. To date, there have been a few submissions for reimbursement on baseball sports passes, according to Vince Morelli, Warfield’s chief administrative officer. Morelli confirmed that sports passes will be reimbursed fully and there is no limit per family once proof of registration within an organized league is submitted to the village hall. Further up the hill, parents in Rossland have been on the hook to pay for sports passes since 2009 when the regional recreation service was taken over by the City of Trail, and that city chose to opt out of cost sharing. For the past five seasons, Trail Little League volunteer organizers have grouped Rossland ballplayers onto one roster, and forwarded the list to Rossland council to make a decision on reimbursement. See DUTIES, Page 3
Cuts are coming to Teck Trail Operations after the company cited low prices in the commodities market lead to a $262 million reduction in first quarter profits compared to this time last year. The local union was informed that Teck will be undertaking a cost reduction plan, confirmed Gord Menelaws, safety chair for the United Steelworkers Local 480. “This would mean not only a five per cent reduction in costs but also a five per cent reduction in manpower across all Teck properties,” he explained. “For us that would mean about 75 employees.” That number would include staff personnel, as well as Local 480 and Local 9705 members, he added. To date, 41 employees have signed up for pension through January 2015, which would count towards the 75 positions, said Menelaws. He noted Teck Trail Operations was already on a manpower reduction plan to reduce the number of workers to 1,500 from 1,580 as of December 2013. “Teck Trail Ops will be doing everything in their power to avoid layoffs with the hope that the reduction plan would continue through attrition,” Menelaws explained. “It (layoffs) happens time to time based on the commodity market but their plan was to always get to 1,500 employees and that has not changed.” A spokesman from Teck offered up a limited response to the company’s Tuesday news release that announced 600 positions or five percent of its global workforce would be reduced through attrition, hiring freezes and reductions in contractors and employees at operations and corporate offices. “The industry continues to face challenging market conditions,” said Catherine Adair, Teck Trail’s community relations leader. “At Trail operations, where possible, efforts will be made to achieve planned reductions through attrition, which includes retirement.” Although zinc profits were down $5 million in the first quarter, the outlook for the ore is most favourable See MINE, Page 4
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GUY BERTRAND PHOTO
The Cominco Arena is shedding its hockey look for its summer appearance, which begins with this weekend’s Kootenay Chrysler Bull-a-Rama. From the left; City of Trail staff Darrell LeMoel and Jenn Daoust steady the huge sheet of glass as its removed from around the rink. There are over 200 sheets of glass in the arena with each weighing approximately 500 pounds. For more on this weekend’s Bull-a-Rama see Page 9.
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